The best Kajabi alternatives in 2026

The Quick Answer

• Best Kajabi alternative for most people: Systeme.io. It keeps the all-in-one setup Kajabi users rely on (unlimited email sends, sales funnels, courses, communities, a booking calendar and an affiliate program) with a 0% transaction fee on every plan. Startup costs $170 a year, against $1,716 a year for Kajabi Basic billed annually.
• Best for course-first businesses: Thinkific. Unlimited courses, a community, email automation and landing pages from $40 a month billed annually, with no platform fee when you use Thinkific Payments.
• Best simple all-in-one: Podia. Courses, downloads, community, events, email and a website, with no Podia fee from Shaker ($84 a month billed annually). Watch the low number of email subscribers included.
• Best for payments and global tax: Teachable. Builder ($69 a month billed annually) removes the transaction fee and adds email marketing, and Teachable Payments handles sales tax, VAT and GST in 45+ countries. Teachable's community is closed to new schools.
• Best for a paid community: Mighty Networks. Community, courses, events and livestreams with mobile apps on every plan, from $79 a month billed annually, but a transaction fee on every plan.
• Best marketing suite: Kartra. Funnels, email and SMS, checkouts, calendars and webinars, with courses and memberships included. Starter is $99 a month billed annually.

Why People Leave Kajabi

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for coaches, educators and creators. One subscription covers courses, coaching, memberships, a community, newsletters, podcasts, a website, checkout pages and unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels. Kajabi does not take a revenue share.

The reason most people look elsewhere is the bill. Kajabi has three plans:

Three things push the price up faster than people expect:

• Basic is small. Five products and 2,500 contacts. Going over five products means Growth, which costs $672 a year more billed annually. Going over 2,500 contacts does not force an upgrade: Kajabi lets you add contact capacity or move up a plan.
• Common features sit on Growth. Affiliate programs, advanced automations, webhooks, cohort courses and removing Kajabi branding all need Growth.
• Add-ons are expensive. Extra contacts come in blocks of 25,000 for $125 a month. The branded mobile app is included only on Pro, or costs $199 a month as an add-on.

If you are earning well and use every part of Kajabi, the price can be fair for what you get. If you mainly sell a course or two and send a newsletter, you are paying for tools you do not use.

Kajabi Alternatives at a Glance

Payment processing (card fees charged by the payment provider) applies on top on every platform. Where vendors publish US card rates, they are around 2.9% + $0.30.

What Each Alternative Costs for the Same Jobs

A cheaper sticker price only helps if the plan does the same jobs you use Kajabi for. This table shows the cheapest plan on each platform that covers each job, using annual billing.

Two patterns stand out. Systeme.io is the only alternative that covers all five jobs for a fraction of Kajabi's price. Thinkific and Podia come close for around $82 to $84 a month billed annually, which is still $59 to $61 a month less than Kajabi Basic.

Where Transaction Fees Eat the Savings

The cheapest plans on Teachable, Podia, Kartra and Mighty Networks take a percentage of every sale. Kajabi does not. At low sales the fee is small; as you grow, it can cost more than Kajabi.

The examples below use annual billing and US card sales of $100 each, so $1,000 a month is 10 sales and $5,000 a month is 50 sales. They show the plan price plus the platform's own fee. Card processing comes on top everywhere: at 2.9% + $0.30 that is $29 + $3 = $32 on $1,000 and $145 + $15 = $160 on $5,000.

At $1,000 of sales a month

At $5,000 of sales a month

At $5,000 a month, Teachable Starter, Podia Mover and Kartra Essentials all cost more than Kajabi Basic. The fix is to move up one plan. The break-even points, billed annually:

• Teachable Starter to Builder: Builder costs $40 more, and 7.5% of $533 is $40. Above about $533 a month in sales, Builder is cheaper.
• Podia Mover to Shaker: Shaker costs $42 more, and 5% of $840 is $42. Above about $840 a month, Shaker is cheaper.
• Kartra Essentials to Starter: Starter costs $47 more, and 5% of $940 is $47. Above about $940 a month, Starter is cheaper.
• Mighty Networks Launch to Scale: Scale costs $100 more and saves 1%, so it only pays off on fees above $10,000 a month in sales.

Smaller fees to know about:

• Teachable adds 0.7% on recurring transactions and 0.5% on tax-assessed transactions on its default "Standard" payments bundle. On $5,000 a month of subscription sales, the 0.7% is $35.
• Thinkific Payments adds 0.7% on subscriptions and payment plans, and 0.5% on transactions where sales tax is assessed (US rates; the tax fee also applies in Switzerland).
• Kajabi adds its own fee if you use a third-party processor where Kajabi Payments is offered: 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, 0.5% on Pro (PayPal excluded). On $5,000 a month with Stripe on Basic, that is $100.
• Mighty Networks charges 5% during its free trial, and Apple takes 15% of purchases made in its iOS app.

What You Lose by Leaving Kajabi

Price is only half the decision. Kajabi puts several things in one bill that you may have to replace or give up:

• Unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels on every plan. Systeme.io and Kartra match this most closely. Thinkific has email automation and landing pages. Podia has email but includes only 100, 500 or 1,000 subscribers by plan; more is a paid add-on. Teachable has email from Builder only. Mighty Networks does not list an email tool.
• Checkout extras. Kajabi has upsells, downsells, order bumps, pay-what-you-want, cart bundles, embedded checkout and invoicing, plus Afterpay and Klarna through Kajabi Payments.
• Sales tax handling. Kajabi Sales Tax calculates and collects tax at checkout and generates filing reports, but it needs Kajabi Payments and does not file or remit the tax for you. Teachable handles sales tax, VAT and GST in 45+ countries with Teachable Payments, but not on a Custom Payment Gateway. Thinkific calculates, collects and remits sales tax for the US and Canada; for UK and EU VAT it only says it calculates the tax, after you opt in. Podia lists sales tax for 230 tax jurisdictions. Kartra calculates and adds sales tax or VAT at checkout, with downloadable Excel reports. Systeme.io supports charging VAT, but we found no US sales tax feature. Mighty Networks does not list sales tax handling on the pages we checked.
• A mobile app. Kajabi's Customer App is on all plans, and a branded app is included on Pro. Teachable and Mighty Networks have free apps. Thinkific has a free Thinkific Mobile App with no plan restriction shown in its help center; its branded app is a $199/month add-on. Podia, Kartra and Systeme.io have no app on their sites.
• AI tools. Kajabi's Cofounder, plus video transcriptions and translations on every plan. AI credits differ by plan: none on Basic, 500 on Growth and 1,000 on Pro.
• One login for everything. Each tool you add back (an email platform, a scheduler, a community app) adds a bill and an integration to maintain.

Kajabi review

Overview

Kajabi is the benchmark here: courses, coaching, memberships, community, newsletters, podcasts, a website, checkout and marketing in one subscription, with no revenue share.

Key features

• Unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels on all plans
• Courses with quizzes, drip and automatic certificates; cohort courses from Growth
• Coaching with native scheduling and recurring payments
• Kajabi Payments with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay, Klarna and sales tax
• Kajabi Customer App on all plans; branded app on Pro or $199/month

Pricing

Basic $143/month billed annually or $179 billed monthly; Growth $199 or $249; Pro $399 or $499. Annual billing saves 20%. There is a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan. Card processing on Kajabi Payments (US) is 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, 2.8% on Growth and 2.7% on Pro, plus $0.30.

Pros

• Everything in one place, including unlimited email and funnels
• No revenue share on any plan
• Strong checkout: upsells, downsells, order bumps, BNPL
• Built-in sales tax calculation and collection (with Kajabi Payments)

Cons

• Highest entry price in this comparison
• Basic allows only 5 products and includes 2,500 contacts
• Affiliates and branding removal need Growth
• Branded app costs $199/month unless you are on Pro

Who should use it

Established creators who use most of its tools and would otherwise pay for several separate services.

Who should skip it

Anyone selling one or two courses who does not need funnels or a large email list.

Systeme.io review

Overview

Systeme.io is a funnel, email and course platform priced by contact count, with a free plan that never expires and a 0% transaction fee on every plan. It is the closest match to Kajabi's all-in-one model at the lowest price.

Key features

• Course builder with drip, module locking, auto-graded quizzes and bundles
• Communities sold as one-time or subscription products
• Sales funnels with one-click upsells, order bumps, deadline funnels and A/B tests
• Unlimited email sends on every plan; automation rules (1, 10, 100 or unlimited) and workflows (1, 5, 20 or unlimited) by plan, from Free to Unlimited
• Affiliate program, white label and unlimited sub-accounts on every plan

Pricing

Free: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, 500 students, 1 community. Startup $17/month billed monthly or $170/year (about $14.17/month): 5,000 contacts, 5 courses, 5 communities, unlimited students. Webinar $47/month or $470/year: 10,000 contacts, 20 courses, evergreen webinars. Unlimited $97/month or $970/year: unlimited contacts and courses. Free migration comes with Unlimited, or with Startup and Webinar on annual billing. Card processor fees (Stripe, PayPal and others) still apply.

Pros

• Lowest cost for the full set of jobs
• 0% transaction fee on every plan, including free
• Unlimited email sends on all plans
• Affiliate program even on the free plan
• Many payment options: Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Mercado Pago and more

Cons

• No branded mobile app
• Mixed messaging on video hosting: one page says you can host videos, the FAQ says to embed from YouTube, Vimeo or Wistia
• No dedicated coaching product, only a booking calendar
• Its own pages disagree on certificates: the help center shows completion certificates with a custom logo and signature, while the courses page FAQ says there are none

Who should use it

Kajabi users who rely on email and funnels and want to cut costs by 90% or more.

Who should skip it

Course businesses that need a polished mobile learning app.

Thinkific review

Overview

Thinkific calls itself a learning commerce platform. It is more course-focused than Kajabi, with unlimited courses on every plan and a community built in.

Key features

• Unlimited published courses with quizzes, drip and an AI quiz generator
• Communities with spaces, live events and DMs
• Email automation, landing pages and a site builder on all plans
• Thinkific Payments with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Afterpay and sales tax
• Payment plans, bundles, upsell flows and paid memberships from Start

Pricing

Basic $40/month billed annually ($54 billed monthly), Start $82 ($109), Grow $164 ($219). Thinkific Plus is quoted by sales. There is a 30-day free trial. Thinkific charges no transaction fee with Thinkific Payments; US card processing is 2.9% + $0.30. Thinkific's help center also lists a fee for using your own Stripe account (5% on Basic, 2% on Start, 1% on Grow), but that table also lists retired plans, so check it before relying on a third-party gateway.

Pros

• Unlimited courses from $40/month billed annually
• No platform fee with Thinkific Payments
• Community and email included on every plan
• 30-day free trial

Cons

• Basic lacks certificates, paid memberships and payment plans
• 10,000 current student cap on Basic, Start and Grow
• Branded app is a $199/month add-on; PayPal only from Grow
• Removing Thinkific branding needs Grow

Who should use it

Creators whose business is mainly courses and who want community and email in the same place.

Who should skip it

Marketers who live in funnels and want Kajabi-level checkout flows on the cheapest plan.

Podia review

Overview

Podia is a simple all-in-one store for courses, downloads, coaching, community, events, email and a website. It is the easiest switch for solo creators who found Kajabi more than they needed.

Key features

• Courses with quizzes, certificates, cohorts, drip and bulk CSV import
• Community with free or paid tiers, group chats and DMs
• Events on Zoom, Google Meet, YouTube Live or in person
• Email broadcasts, sequences and automations
• Payment plans and sales tax for 230 jurisdictions

Pricing

Mover $42/month billed annually ($49 monthly), Shaker $84 ($99), Earthquaker $150 ($179). Mover charges a 5% Podia fee; Shaker and Earthquaker charge none. There is a 14-day trial with no card. Podia includes migration of up to 50 products on Mover and 150 on Shaker and Earthquaker.

Pros

• Courses, community and email in one simple plan
• No Podia fee from Shaker
• Migration included on every plan
• Certificates and cohorts included

Cons

• Only 100, 500 or 1,000 email subscribers included; more is a paid add-on (up to 2,500 subscribers is $28/month billed monthly or $22/month billed annually). Podia says it never auto-upgrades you
• PayPal, affiliates, upsells and Zapier need Shaker
• Coaching relies on external schedulers
• No mobile app found

Who should use it

Solo creators with a small list who want one tidy tool.

Who should skip it

Anyone with an email list over 1,000 people, since the add-ons erode the savings.

Teachable review

Overview

Teachable focuses on selling courses, coaching and downloads, with payments and global tax handled for you when you use Teachable Payments (not on a Custom Payment Gateway). Teachable says its community feature is in maintenance mode and not available to new schools.

Key features

• Courses, coaching, digital downloads, memberships and bundles on all plans
• Teachable Payments with tax handling in 45+ countries
• Upsells, order bumps, abandoned cart emails and coupons on all plans
• Email marketing and an affiliate program from Builder
• Free student app on iOS and Android

Pricing

Starter $29/month billed annually ($39 monthly), Builder $69 ($89), Growth $139 ($189); Custom through sales. Starter charges 7.5% on all sales; Builder and up charge 0%. US domestic card processing is 2.9% + $0.30. The pricing page shows a 7-day trial on its plan cards and a 30-day trial offer in a popup, so the length you get may vary. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pros

• Builder removes the fee and adds email for $69/month billed annually
• Strong tax handling with Teachable Payments (sales tax, VAT, GST)
• Free iOS and Android student app
• Coaching on every plan

Cons

• Community not available to new schools
• Students added without a paid checkout (imports, API, manual enrollment, $0 checkouts, 100% coupons) over 100 cost $0.50 per student per month on every plan
• Certificates and bulk imports need Growth
• One admin on Starter and Builder, five on Growth; extra admins $20/month ($240/year on annual plans)

Who should use it

Course and coaching sellers who care most about payments and tax compliance.

Who should skip it

Kajabi users with an active community, or with a large student list to import.

Mighty Networks review

Overview

Mighty Networks is built around community. Courses, events, livestreams and challenges sit inside it, and members use Mighty's apps on iOS and Android on every plan.

Key features

• Spaces, feeds, chat, private groups, cohorts and events
• Courses with quizzes, certificates, drip and SCORM embeds
• Livestreaming on all plans (20 hours/month on Launch)
• Gamification: streaks, points, leaderboards
• AI Cohost for planning and setup

Pricing

Launch $79/month billed annually ($950/year) or $95 billed monthly; Scale $179 ($2,150/year) or $215 monthly; Growth $354/month billed annually ($4,250/year) or $425 monthly; Mighty Pro by quote. Transaction fees are 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth, on top of Stripe fees. The 14-day trial needs no card and runs on Growth, with a 5% fee during the trial.

Pros

• Best community experience in this list
• Unlimited members on every plan
• Apps for members on all plans
• Payment options include installments, tiers and bundles

Cons

• Transaction fee on every plan
• No email marketing listed; Kit and Zapier need Scale
• Stripe only on the web, no PayPal
• Branded apps only on Mighty Pro

Who should use it

Creators whose main product is a paid membership community.

Who should skip it

Course sellers who depend on email marketing and funnels.

Kartra review

Overview

Kartra is a marketing suite: funnels, email and SMS, checkouts, calendars and webinars, with membership sites and courses included.

Key features

• Drag-and-drop pages, funnels and a funnel mapper
• Email and SMS marketing (10,000 emails and texts a month on Essentials, unlimited from Starter)
• Membership sites and courses with drip and free or paid tiers
• Calendars, webinars and video hosting from Starter
• Affiliates, surveys, quizzes and helpdesk from Growth

Pricing

Essentials $52/month billed annually ($59 monthly), Starter $99 ($119), Growth $189 ($229), Professional $429 ($549). Essentials charges 5% on sales and allows 1 product, 1 course, 5 pages, 500 contacts and 10,000 emails and texts a month. Starter and up charge 0%. Kartra offers a trial, but its own pages give different lengths, so check before you sign up. There is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pros

• Funnels and email depth close to Kajabi
• SMS marketing included
• 0% fee from Starter
• HIPAA compliant at no extra cost

Cons

• Essentials is too limited for most course businesses
• Hitting the contact limit auto-upgrades you, with a mid-cycle fee
• No dedicated community product
• Pricing tables are internally inconsistent

Who should use it

Marketers who want funnels and email first and courses second.

Who should skip it

Educators who want a dedicated course platform with community.

Migrating Off Kajabi: A Checklist

We could not confirm the details of Kajabi's export tools, so check Kajabi's help center for the current steps. The general checklist for moving any course business:

1. Export your contacts and students with their tags and purchase history, and decide who gets access to what on the new platform.
2. Check import costs before you import. Teachable charges $0.50 per student per month for students added without a paid checkout (imports, API, manual enrollment) beyond the first 100, and bulk imports need Growth. Thinkific's bulk import is on Grow.
3. Download your course videos and files and re-upload them. Rebuild quizzes, drip schedules and certificates.
4. Recreate payment plans and subscriptions. Recurring billing usually does not move by itself. Ask both platforms how to move active subscribers, or let existing plans run to the end while new buyers use the new checkout.
5. Rebuild emails, automations and funnels. These rarely transfer and take the most time.
6. Redirect your domain and set up redirects from old page URLs so links in emails and search results keep working.
7. Ask about migration help. Podia includes migration of up to 50 or 150 products, Systeme.io offers free migration on Unlimited or annual Startup and Webinar plans, Mighty Networks includes migration services from Growth, and Teachable's Custom plan lists migration assistance.
8. Time your cancellation. Overlap the two platforms for at least one billing cycle so no student loses access.

How to Choose

Start from the jobs you actually use in Kajabi, then the sales volume you expect.

• You use email and funnels every week: Systeme.io for the lowest cost, Kartra Starter if you want SMS and webinars.
• Your business is courses: Thinkific Basic or Start.
• You want one simple tool and have a small list: Podia Shaker.
• Your product is a community: Mighty Networks.
• You sell internationally and want tax handled: Teachable Builder with Teachable Payments, or Thinkific if you sell mainly in the US and Canada.

Then check the fee maths. If you sell more than about $533 a month on Teachable, $840 on Podia or $940 on Kartra, skip the entry plan and take the next one up. Before you commit, use the trial to rebuild one real course and one real checkout, and send a test email sequence.

The Verdict

For most people leaving Kajabi because of price, Systeme.io is the best alternative. It is the only tool here that covers courses, community, coaching bookings, email and funnels on one plan for $170 a year, with no transaction fee on any plan, so the savings hold as sales grow. You give up a mobile app and Kajabi's checkout polish. If those matter, Thinkific is the course-first choice at $40 to $82 a month billed annually, and Podia suits solo creators with small lists. Pick Mighty Networks if your community is the product.