ThriveCart vs SamCart

BY TOOLSRAY · UPDATED AUGUST 2026

// THE VERDICT

SamCart costs $79 a month on Core and $199 on Pro, 25% less on yearly billing, and tells you so on a public page. ThriveCart does not publish its pricing where you can read it without an account, so comparing the two on cost means signing up to find out. If a published, predictable price is part of what you are buying, that difference decides it. If you already know ThriveCart's terms from your own account, compare on features instead.

Both are checkout platforms for people selling digital products, courses and coaching: order pages, upsells, subscriptions and affiliate management. Before any feature comparison, there is a difference worth stating plainly. SamCart publishes what it costs. ThriveCart does not. On 20 August 2026 we tried thrivecart.com/pricing and it redirected to a sign-in page, so there is no public price to quote. That is not a scandal, plenty of software does it, but it is a real thing to know before you plan a budget around one of them.

SamCart prices below were checked on 20 August 2026 at samcart.com/pricing.
ThriveCartCheckout, funnels, and subscriptions for digital sellers.THRIVECART DOES NOT PUBLISH PRICING. CHECKED ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2026: THRIVECART.COM/PRICING REDIRECTS TO A SIGN-IN PAGE. ANY FIGURE YOU FIND ELSEWHERE IS SOMEBODY'S QUOTE OR AN OLD LIFETIME-DEAL PRICE.
SamCartHigh-converting checkout and upsells.FROM $79/MO

Head to head

ThriveCartSamCart
Starting priceThriveCart does not publish pricing. Checked on 9 September 2026: thrivecart.com/pricing redirects to a sign-in page. Any figure you find elsewhere is somebody's quote or an old lifetime-deal price.From $79/mo
Published pricingNo public pricing page as of 20 Aug 2026Yes, on samcart.com/pricing
Entry planNot publishedCore $79/mo
Higher planNot publishedPro $199/mo
Yearly discountNot published25% off
Team seatsNot published1 on Core, unlimited on Pro
UpsellsIncluded1-click upsells on Pro
Support add-onNot publishedDedicated live support $19/mo on any paid plan

What SamCart charges, precisely

SamCart Core is $79 a month and includes unlimited pages, products and checkouts, its AI assistant, cart abandonment, the integration engine, no added fees on SamPay, and one team seat.

Pro is $199 a month and adds one-click upsells, priority support, multiple marketplaces, its best processing rates and unlimited seats. Yearly billing takes 25% off both.

There is also an optional add-on: dedicated live support for $19 a month on any paid plan. Worth flagging because live support is the kind of thing people assume is included at $79.

Why we cannot put a number next to ThriveCart

We checked thrivecart.com/pricing on 20 August 2026. It redirects to thrivecart.com/signin, and there is no price anywhere in the page we could read. We are not going to guess, and we are not going to repeat a figure from a blog post that may be two years old.

What we can say is what this means for you as a buyer. You cannot budget for ThriveCart from the outside. You cannot compare it against a competitor on a spreadsheet before committing to a conversation. And if the terms change, you will not find out by checking a page.

For some buyers that is fine, particularly those who already own an account. For anyone choosing a checkout platform for the first time, it is a genuine friction, and the fact that SamCart simply prints $79 and $199 is worth something.

What actually matters in a checkout platform

Once you get past price, these tools are judged on a short list. Does the checkout convert? Can you run one-click upsells and order bumps without duct tape? Does subscription billing handle failed payments and dunning properly? Can affiliates be managed inside the platform?

SamCart puts one-click upsells on the Pro plan at $199, not on Core at $79. If upsells are central to how you sell, and for most course and coaching businesses they are, your real SamCart price is $199 a month, or about $149 on yearly billing. Comparing at $79 will mislead you.

That is the same trap as the transaction fee on a course platform. The entry plan is the advertised price; the plan you will actually run on is the real one. Price the tier that includes the feature you cannot do without.

Processing fees, and the phrase to look for

SamCart describes its payment processing as no added fees on SamPay for Core, and best processing fee rates available on Pro. The phrase to hold onto is added fees. Every checkout platform sits on top of a payment processor, and the processor's percentage is yours to pay regardless.

What varies is whether the platform takes a cut on top. No added fees means SamCart is not adding one when you use its own payment path. That is a meaningful commitment and worth confirming for whichever payment method you actually intend to use.

Ask ThriveCart the same question directly when you speak to them, and get the answer in writing. On a checkout tool, a one percent platform cut costs more over a year than the entire subscription.

Which should you choose?

Choose ThriveCart if…

  • You already have a ThriveCart account and know your terms
  • Someone you trust has priced it for your specific case
  • Its affiliate management and upsell flow fit how you sell
  • You are comparing on features rather than budgeting from scratch
TRY THRIVECART ↗

Choose SamCart if…

  • You want to know the price before you create an account
  • You want unlimited pages, products and checkouts on the entry plan
  • One-click upsells and multiple marketplaces matter to you
  • You want unlimited team seats without a separate negotiation
TRY SAMCART ↗

// We may earn a commission if you sign up through these links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes our verdict.

// WHAT WE WOULD DO

If you are choosing from scratch and want to plan a budget, SamCart is the one you can price today: $79 for Core, $199 for Pro, 25% off yearly, and $19 a month if you want dedicated live support. Assume Pro if upsells matter, because they usually do.

ThriveCart may well suit you better on features, and plenty of people who use it are happy. But we will not print a price we could not verify, and neither should you accept one from a page that has not been updated in a while. Ask them directly, get the platform fee position in writing alongside the subscription, and compare that against SamCart's published numbers.

Frequently asked

How much does ThriveCart cost?

We could not verify a current price. On 20 August 2026, thrivecart.com/pricing redirected to a sign-in page with no pricing visible, so there is no published figure to quote. Ask ThriveCart directly rather than relying on numbers from older articles.

How much does SamCart cost?

Core is $79 a month and Pro is $199 a month, with 25% off yearly billing. Dedicated live support is an optional $19 a month add-on on any paid plan.

Which plan do I need for one-click upsells?

On SamCart, the Pro plan at $199 a month. The $79 Core plan does not include them. For most course and coaching businesses that makes $199 the realistic price rather than $79.

Does SamCart charge transaction fees?

SamCart states no added fees on SamPay for the Core plan and best processing fee rates available on Pro. You still pay your payment processor's own percentage, as you would on any platform.

How many team members can I add?

SamCart Core includes one team seat and Pro includes unlimited seats. ThriveCart does not publish this where we could check it.

Which should I choose?

If you are budgeting from scratch, SamCart, because you can price it before signing up. If you already have ThriveCart access or someone has priced it for your case, compare on features and on the platform fee, which over a year matters more than the subscription.

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