margaret wappler from los angeles times wrote that the song "showcases estelle’s ability to sound pushed to her limits but never broken." jon dolan from rolling stone describes the song as "resilient post-breakup neo-soul." mark edward nero from about.com praised the track, while reviewing the album, writing that "one of the few tunes where estelle really shines without any other vocalists is 'thank you', a sweetly bitter track about how a woman is angry and sad about losing her man to someone else, but also grateful because the experience has made her a stronger person." jon caramanica from new york times said that the track "the gentle, loping “thank you” is clear homage to lauryn hill."