Kajabi alternatives: course platforms compared on price and fees
Short answer: The main Kajabi alternatives are Teachable, Thinkific, Podia, Mighty Networks and Circle. Teachable has the lowest starting price but charges a 7.5% fee on its cheapest plan. Podia is a simple all-in-one choice for small creators. Thinkific suits course businesses that want room to grow. Mighty Networks and Circle suit creators whose community matters as much as the courses.
You want the real monthly cost of a course platform once the transaction fees are added in, not just the sticker price.
I'm Ranjit, and I run Blur Studio: 15+ years building software, 120 apps taken live, and clients who have gone on to raise $10M+. I build AI systems and processes that help businesses do a lot more with a lot less time. I also work differently from most of what else is out there, more on that further down this page. Say hello.
Why do people look for a Kajabi alternative?
The main reasons are the monthly price, the limits on each plan, and the fees on each sale. Here is what Kajabi's own pricing page shows.
- Plan prices: Basic costs $179 a month, or $143 a month on a yearly plan. Growth costs $249 monthly or $199 yearly. Pro costs $499 monthly or $399 yearly.
- Product and contact limits: Basic allows 5 products, 2,500 contacts and 2 admin users. Growth allows 50 products and 25,000 contacts. Pro allows unlimited products and 100,000 contacts.
- Extra contacts cost more: Kajabi sells extra contacts in blocks of 25,000 for $125 a month.
- Fees on each sale: With Kajabi Payments, a US card sale costs 2.9% plus $0.30 on Basic, a little less on higher plans. If you use another payment provider, Kajabi adds its own fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro.
So a creator on Basic pays $1,716 a year on a yearly plan, before fees. For a creator who uses the website, email and community tools every day, that can be fair value. For someone who mainly sells one course, a cheaper platform may fit better.
What are the best Kajabi alternatives?
Each option below suits a different kind of creator. The price shown is the lowest paid plan on the vendor's own page.
Blur Studio (best value)
A ready-built, well-tested core with a different pricing model: no per-seat fees, and it covers almost all the features you'd actually need, usually working out to the best value for money. On top of that, Blur Studio builds owned customizations, meaning you can ask for it to be modified to your exact specifications, and you own those modifications outright. Learn more over a quick call with me, Ranjit.
- Best for: Businesses that need software that works without barriers, no unnecessary fees and options to customize it to their needs.
Teachable
Teachable is a platform for selling courses and other digital products. Starter costs $39 a month, or $29 a month yearly, but it charges a 7.5% fee on each sale and allows 5 products. Builder costs $89 monthly or $69 yearly, with 10 products and a 0% Teachable fee when you use Teachable Payments. Card processing fees still apply, such as 2.9% plus 30 cents for US cards. Students are unlimited on these plans. There is no free plan, but each plan has a 7-day free trial.
- Best for: New course creators who want a low starting price and plan to move up as sales grow.
Thinkific
Thinkific is a course platform with unlimited courses on every paid plan. Start costs $109 a month, or $82 a month yearly, with 2 admins and 1 community. Grow costs $219 monthly or $164 yearly. Thinkific Payments charges a 2.9% processing fee. If you use Stripe or PayPal, Thinkific adds a gateway fee that varies by plan. There is no free plan, but there is a 30-day free trial. A branded mobile app costs $199 a month extra.
- Best for: Course businesses with many courses or a growing team.
Podia
Podia keeps things simple. Every plan includes a website, a blog, built-in checkout and email, with products and community spaces. Mover costs $42 a month billed yearly ($504 a year), allows 50 products, and charges a 5% Podia fee on sales. Shaker costs $84 a month billed yearly and charges no Podia fees. Payment processors such as Stripe and PayPal still charge their standard fees. Podia offers a 14-day free trial.
- Best for: Solo creators who want an easy all-in-one setup at a lower price.
Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks puts community first, with courses included. Launch costs $79 a month, or $950 a year, and charges a 2% transaction fee. Scale costs $179 a month with a 1% fee. Growth costs $354 a month with a 0.5% fee. All plans allow unlimited members, and there is a 14-day free trial.
- Best for: Creators and coaches whose members value the community as much as the content.
Circle
Circle is also a community platform, and every plan includes courses. Professional costs $89 a month on yearly billing, with a 2% transaction fee. Business costs $199 a month with a 1% fee. Circle notes that its listed prices are based on yearly billing. It offers a 14-day free trial.
- Best for: Paid communities and memberships that want a community space with courses inside.
How do Kajabi alternatives compare on price and fees?
| Platform | Lowest paid plan (yearly billing) | Monthly billing | Platform fee on lowest plan | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kajabi | $143 a month (Basic) | $179 a month | 2% if you use another payment provider | Yes, length not listed |
| Teachable | $29 a month (Starter) | $39 a month | 7.5% | 7 days |
| Thinkific | $82 a month (Start) | $109 a month | Gateway fee if you use Stripe or PayPal | 30 days |
| Podia | $42 a month (Mover) | Not listed | 5% | 14 days |
| Mighty Networks | $950 a year (Launch) | $79 a month | 2% | 14 days |
| Circle | $89 a month (Professional) | Not listed | 2% | 14 days |
Payment processing fees, such as card fees, apply on top of these on every platform. Always add up the plan price plus fees at your real sales volume. A plan with a higher monthly price and no platform fee can cost less once you sell more.
Kajabi vs Thinkific vs Teachable: which is right for you?
- Choose Kajabi if: You want your website, products, community and payments in one account, and you will use all of it.
- Choose Thinkific if: You sell many courses and want unlimited courses on every paid plan.
- Choose Teachable if: You are just starting and want the lowest monthly price. Plan to move off Starter once sales grow, because of the 7.5% fee.
When does a custom learning platform make more sense?
For most creators, one of these platforms is the right choice. They handle hosting, checkout and student logins for you. A custom build starts to make sense in a few cases.
- You sell to businesses: Companies may want their own login, team seats, progress reports and invoices. That is closer to a client portal than a course site.
- Fees add up at high volume: A platform fee of even 1% to 2% becomes real money at large sales numbers.
- Your product is more than video lessons: For example, tools, calculators, live data or AI coaching that course platforms do not support.
- You need to connect deeply with other systems: Your CRM, booking tool and accounting software need to share data with your course platform.
For the full decision, see my guide on build vs buy software.
How would Blur Studio approach a course platform?
My first advice is often to stay on a platform until you have steady sales. A custom build costs more up front, so it needs a clear reason. When that reason exists, I build a learning platform around how you sell and teach. That can include team accounts for business clients, an AI assistant trained on your course content, and links to your CRM and payment system. My guide to an AI knowledge base explains how that assistant works. You own the code, the student data and the accounts.
Need something completely custom?
Everything above is a path to get it running quick and cheap. But sometimes the honest answer is that none of those quite fit, and what you actually need is something custom that you own, built uniquely for your business from the ground up, with AI thoughtfully designed into the parts of it that your processes actually benefit from. An asset that grows in value, not a generic, one-size-fits-all boilerplate that's an expense with a lock-in. This is a complete bespoke build, and it's something I do very well. Get in touch to know more.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest Kajabi alternative?
Teachable's Starter plan has the lowest price, at $29 a month on a yearly plan as of October 2026. It charges a 7.5% fee on each sale, so Podia or a higher Teachable plan can cost less once you make regular sales.
Is Thinkific better than Kajabi?
Thinkific is a strong choice if courses are your main product, because every paid plan includes unlimited courses. Kajabi suits creators who want their website, products and community in the same account.
Does Kajabi charge transaction fees?
Kajabi Payments charges card processing fees, such as 2.9% plus $0.30 for a US card on Basic. If you use another payment provider, Kajabi adds a fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro.
What is a good Teachable alternative?
Podia is a simple alternative that includes a website, checkout, email and community spaces on every plan. Thinkific is a good choice if you plan to sell many courses.
When should I build my own course platform?
Build your own when you sell to businesses that need team accounts or when platform fees cost you a lot at high volume. It also makes sense when your product needs tools that course platforms do not offer. Most creators should start on a platform first.
Which Kajabi alternative has the lowest transaction fees?
Kajabi, Mighty Networks and Circle all charge around 2% if you don't use their own built-in payment processor, while Teachable charges 7.5% on its entry Starter plan and Podia charges 5% on its entry plan. If per-sale fees matter more to you than the monthly price, run your real sales volume through each one before choosing.
Roughly what does this cost?
As a broad reference, fixes and finishes start at around $1,500, and new builds start higher, always a fixed price agreed in writing before I start, never an hourly rate. My AI app cost guide explains what actually drives a quote up or down.
Is my project too small for this?
No. Most of the owners I work with have no tech team at all, that is the whole point. If the smarter move is a cheap software subscription instead of custom software, I will tell you that on the first call, even though it means I do not get paid.