Kajabi Alternatives: 4 Cheaper Platforms Compared on Real Monthly Cost

Kajabi's entry plan costs $179 a month. That's about $2,150 a year before your first sale. If you sell one course and send a weekly email, much of that pays for funnels, podcasts and AI tools you may not open.

This guide compares four cheaper Kajabi alternatives on what you'd actually pay at $2,000 a month in sales, transaction fees included, and on what you'd give up by leaving. It also covers the part most lists skip: how to switch without losing paying members.

Many "Kajabi alternatives" pages are written by a competing platform that ranks itself first. We don't sell a course platform, and we tell you when staying on Kajabi is the smarter move.

Quick verdict

1. 1

   Systeme.io Cheapest all-in-one swap

   Free plan; paid from $17/mo

   Funnels, email and courses in one login, with no Systeme.io transaction fees. $162/mo less than Kajabi Basic.

   Start Systeme.io free →Read our notes ↓
2. 2

   Thinkific Best for course-first creators

   From $54/mo · 30-day trial

   Unlimited courses and no platform fee when you use Thinkific Payments.

   Try Thinkific free →Read our notes ↓
3. 3

   Podia Best for downloads + small community

   From $49/mo · 14-day trial

   Courses, downloads, coaching and community on every plan. Move to Shaker once sales pass $1,000/mo.

   Try Podia free →Read our notes ↓

Prices checked Oct 2026. Plans change, so please confirm on each vendor's site.

On this page

1. Kajabi alternatives compared side by side
2. Why creators leave Kajabi
3. Step 1: decide what you actually need to replace
4. How we compared
5. Systeme.io: the cheapest all-in-one swap
6. Thinkific: the course-first alternative
7. Podia: the simple swap for downloads and coaching
8. Teachable: the cheapest way to test one course
9. What each alternative really costs at $2,000 a month
10. How to switch without losing paying members
11. When to stay on Kajabi
12. Also worth a look
13. Which Kajabi alternative should you pick?
14. FAQ
15. The bottom line

Kajabi alternatives compared side by side

Kajabi is the reference row. "Platform fee" is what the platform itself takes from each sale, on top of card processing.

Prices shown are monthly billing at the time of our last check. Please confirm on each official pricing page before you buy.

Why creators leave Kajabi

Kajabi isn't a bad product. It's a premium one, and premium pricing doesn't suit every stage of a creator business.

• The price before revenue. Basic is $179/mo ($143/mo billed annually). Growth is $249 and Pro is $499.
• Basic fills up fast. 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 website, 1 community. A lead magnet, a mini course and a membership already use 3 of the 5 products.
• Key features sit on Growth. Your own affiliate program and removing Kajabi branding start at $249/mo. The branded mobile app is Pro-only.
• The processor fee. At $2,000 a month in sales, Basic with your own Stripe account costs $179 + $40 = $219 a month.
• Feeling stuck. Users in reviews and forums describe feeling "locked into the platform", especially when subscriptions run through Kajabi Payments. See the switching checklist.

To be fair, every Kajabi plan includes unlimited funnels, landing pages and marketing emails. The question is whether you need all of it right now.

Step 1: decide what you actually need to replace

Match the alternative to what earns you money today, not what you might build someday.

If email is the heart of your business, you can also split the job: a cheaper course platform plus a dedicated email tool. Our guide to the best email marketing platforms for creators shows what that costs by list size.

How we compared

We judged each platform against Kajabi Basic on real monthly cost at your sales level, the platform's cut of each sale, trial length, the limits that matter to a switcher (products, contacts, students) and what you give up. Every price and fee comes from official pricing or help pages, and vendor claims are attributed, not presented as our findings. See how we review.

Card processing (about 2.9% + 30¢ per US card sale on most of these platforms) applies everywhere, Kajabi included, so we leave it out of the cost math.

Systeme.io: the cheapest all-in-one swap

Systeme.io

Best for: Replacing the whole Kajabi bundle for less

Free plan; paid from $17/mo

Free plan

Yes, 2,000 contacts, 1 course

Platform fee

0% on all plans

Startup ($17/mo)

5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, 5 courses

Sender email

needs your own domain (no Gmail or Yahoo)

Skip it if: your brand depends on a premium look and you'd rather pay Kajabi than spend time customizing templates.

Start Systeme.io free →Opens systeme.io

Systeme.io is the closest thing to a low-cost Kajabi: funnels, email marketing, a website and blog, courses and communities in one dashboard. Systeme.io says you can accept payments through Stripe or PayPal "at no extra cost." Plans are Free, Startup ($17), Webinar ($47) and Unlimited ($97) a month, and annual billing gives you 2 months free.

What you gain vs Kajabi

• $162 a month back. Startup costs $17 against Kajabi Basic's $179. That's $1,944 a year, or $2,424 if you're paying Kajabi's 2% processor fee at $2,000 in sales.
• More contacts for less. Startup includes 5,000 contacts, double Kajabi Basic's 2,500, with unlimited email sending on every plan.
• Room to grow. Even the top Unlimited plan ($97/mo) costs less than Kajabi Basic.

What you lose vs Kajabi

• Polish. Reviewers describe some templates as dated, so budget extra time for design.
• Unlimited funnels. Kajabi includes them on every plan. Systeme.io's own plan data caps Startup at 10 funnels and Webinar at 50 (its pricing FAQ's "unlimited" wording overstates this).

Want the full picture? Read our Systeme.io review.

Thinkific: the course-first alternative

Thinkific

Best for: Creators whose business is the course

From $54/mo (Basic)

Free plan

No, 30-day trial

Platform fee

0% with Thinkific Payments

Courses

Unlimited (10,000 active-student cap)

Memberships

from Start ($109/mo)

Skip it if: you mainly sell coaching or one-off downloads, or you sell memberships but don't want to pay $109/mo for the Start plan.

Try Thinkific free →Opens thinkific.com

Kajabi treats a course as one product type among many. Thinkific puts the course player at the center and adds communities, downloads and coaching around it. Plans are Basic $54, Start $109 and Grow $219 a month ($40, $82 and $164 billed annually).

Thinkific Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ (US), with no Thinkific cut. If you insist on Stripe, Thinkific adds 5% on Basic, 2% on Start and 1% on Grow (US, Canada, UK and EU sellers).

What you gain vs Kajabi

• $125 a month back on Basic with Thinkific Payments ($54 vs $179), or $1,500 a year.
• No product cap on courses. Kajabi Basic stops at 5 products. Thinkific publishes unlimited courses on every plan.
• A longer runway to rebuild. The 30-day trial is more than double Kajabi's maximum of 14 days.

What you lose vs Kajabi

• Memberships and certificates on the entry plan. Both start on Start ($109/mo).
• Kajabi's marketing depth. Thinkific Basic includes email automation templates, but not Kajabi's unlimited funnels and landing pages. Many course creators pair it with a separate email tool.
• Some headroom. Basic includes 5 digital downloads, 100 GB of video bandwidth a month and 1 admin. A branded mobile app is a $199/mo add-on.

Deciding between the two course-first options? Our Thinkific vs Teachable comparison breaks down fees and limits plan by plan.

Podia: the simple swap for downloads and coaching

Podia

Best for: Downloads, small courses, coaching and community

From $49/mo (Mover)

Mover ($49/mo)

5% fee, 50 products

Shaker ($99/mo)

no Podia fee, affiliates, upsells

Email

100 / 500 / 1,000 subscribers by plan

Trial

14 days, no card needed

Skip it if: your email list is your main sales engine and already has more than a few hundred subscribers, or you rely on multi-step funnels.

Try Podia free →Opens podia.com

Podia's pitch is simplicity. Every plan includes courses, downloads, coaching, community, a website, a custom domain and sales tax handling (Podia lists 230 countries).

What you gain vs Kajabi

• Far more products. Mover allows 50 products and Shaker 150, against 5 on Kajabi Basic.
• Affiliate marketing at $99. It's on Shaker; on Kajabi it starts at $249.
• $80 a month back on Shaker at $2,000 in sales ($99 vs $179), or $960 a year.

What you lose vs Kajabi

• Email list size. This is the big one. Podia's email is capped at 100 / 500 / 1,000 subscribers by plan; past that you need to upgrade or buy more. Podia says it doesn't auto-upgrade you. Kajabi Basic includes 2,500 contacts.
• Funnels and advanced automation. Podia keeps things simple on purpose.
• Margin on Mover. The 5% fee costs $100 at $2,000 in sales.

Teachable: the cheapest way to test one course

Teachable

Best for: Testing a single course idea

From $39/mo (Starter)

Starter ($39/mo)

7.5% fee, 5 products

Builder ($89/mo)

0% with teachable:pay, 10 products

Trial

7 days, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee

Imported students

$0.50/mo each above 100 (new schools)

Skip it if: you're bringing hundreds of existing students over from Kajabi, or you expect steady sales but plan to stay on Starter.

Try Teachable free →Opens teachable.com

Teachable sells courses, coaching, downloads and memberships. Growth is $189 a month, and annual billing drops Starter to $29 and Builder to $69. Builder adds built-in email marketing, a community, an affiliate program and a custom domain.

What you gain vs Kajabi

• $90 a month back on Builder at $2,000 in sales ($89 vs $179), or $1,080 a year.
• Affiliates at $89. Builder includes an affiliate program; Kajabi starts it on Growth at $249.
• Tax handling on every plan. Teachable's checkout calculates and handles US sales tax, VAT and GST on every plan, Starter included.

What you lose vs Kajabi

• The 7.5% fee on Starter. It's $150 at $2,000 in sales, which makes Starter ($189 total) dearer than Kajabi Basic with Kajabi Payments.
• Cheap migration of a big audience. Students who buy through Teachable's checkout are unlimited on new accounts, but students you import, enroll for free, or sell elsewhere cost $0.50/month each beyond the first 100. Import 500 Kajabi members and that's 400 × $0.50 = $200 a month. Older schools still have per-plan active-student caps until their plan renews under the new terms.

What each alternative really costs at $2,000 a month

Here's the monthly cost at $2,000 in sales: plan price plus any platform fee, monthly billing, card processing excluded.

The chart shows Kajabi Basic with Kajabi Payments. With your own Stripe account, add $40 and it becomes the most expensive option here.

Two break-even points fall out of the math:

• Teachable: above about $667 a month in sales, Builder is cheaper than Starter ($50 ÷ 7.5%).
• Podia: above $1,000 a month, Shaker is cheaper than Mover ($50 ÷ 5%).

See what you'd save versus Kajabi at your own sales level. Enter your monthly sales and payment setup to compare each platform's real monthly cost, fees included.

You can also try our real cost calculator on its own page.

How to switch without losing paying members

The risky part of leaving isn't the videos. It's the people who pay you every month.

1. Keep Kajabi running until the end. Overlap at least one billing cycle so nobody loses access mid-move.
2. Export your data first. Download your contacts, your customer list (who owns which product) and your original video files.
3. Check student limits before importing. Systeme.io Free caps students at 500. Teachable charges $0.50/month per imported student beyond 100 on new schools. Thinkific caps active students at 10,000.
4. Rebuild one product and test it. Re-upload lessons, then run a real purchase and refund it.
5. Sort out recurring payments. Subscriptions live with the processor that holds the card details. If yours run through Kajabi Payments, ask Kajabi support in writing whether they can move. If not, plan for members to re-subscribe on the new checkout, with a clear end date for the old subscription. On your own Stripe account, ask the new platform whether it can attach existing subscriptions.
6. Tell members before, not after. Share the date, new login details and who to contact. A small thank-you, such as a bonus lesson, can help people re-subscribe.
7. Move your domain last. Point your domain, update email sender settings, then cancel Kajabi.

When to stay on Kajabi

Kajabi earns its price for some creators. Staying put makes sense if:

• Kajabi is a small share of revenue. At $10,000 a month in sales, $179 is under 2%.
• You use most of the bundle: courses, community, coaching, email and funnels in one place.
• You have a large list. Growth includes 25,000 contacts with unlimited marketing emails.
• You want a branded mobile app included (Kajabi includes it on Pro).
• Many members pay through Kajabi Payments and moving them would put recurring revenue at risk.

Staying? Cut the bill instead. Moving to Kajabi Payments or PayPal removes the 2% processor fee on Basic, and annual billing ($143/mo) saves $432 a year, per Kajabi's pricing page. Compare Kajabi's current plans.

Also worth a look

Not in our main four, but a fit for specific setups. Prices are from each vendor's pricing page.

Which Kajabi alternative should you pick?

Match your stage, not your ambitions:

• Pre-revenue or under $500 a month: Systeme.io's free plan, then Startup ($17) when you outgrow it. Testing one course? Teachable Starter works while sales are small.
• $1,000–$2,000 a month, mostly courses: Thinkific Basic with Thinkific Payments ($54) or Teachable Builder ($89).
• $1,000+ a month, mostly downloads and coaching: Podia Shaker ($99), plus an email tool if your list is over 500.
• Established, but over-paying: if Kajabi is a few percent of revenue and you use the bundle, drop the processor fee and stay.
• Building your list from zero: read how to start an email list first.

FAQ

Does Kajabi charge transaction fees?

Kajabi takes no revenue share if you use Kajabi Payments. If you use another processor (except PayPal) where Kajabi Payments is available, add 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth or 0.5% on Pro. Card processing applies either way: on Kajabi Payments, US rates are 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic.

What is the cheapest alternative to Kajabi?

On official pricing, Systeme.io. It has a free plan with 2,000 contacts and one course, and paid plans start at $17 a month with no Systeme.io transaction fees.

Is there a free alternative to Kajabi?

Yes. Systeme.io's free plan caps you at 500 students and 1 automation rule, and Payhip's free plan takes 5% of each sale. Thinkific, Podia and Teachable offer trials instead (30, 14 and 7 days).

Can I move my students and subscriptions off Kajabi?

Students, yes, with manual work: export your contacts and customer list, then import them. Subscriptions are harder because they live with the payment processor. Ask Kajabi support whether yours can move; if not, plan a re-subscribe campaign.

Is Thinkific better than Kajabi?

For a course-first business, Thinkific usually costs less and puts no cap on courses. Kajabi is the better fit if you use its funnels, email and community together and the price is a small share of your revenue.

The bottom line

Kajabi is a premium all-in-one platform, priced like one. Until it pays for itself, you can get most of what matters for far less.

Systeme.io is the best value for replacing the whole bundle: a free plan, $17 paid plans and no Systeme.io transaction fees. Thinkific is our pick if courses are the core of your business. Podia and Teachable work too, if you watch their entry-plan fees and limits.

Start the free plan or trial that fits your main product, rebuild one offer, test checkout, then move your members.

Start Systeme.io freeFree plan with 2,000 contacts

Start Thinkific's 30-day trialNo platform fee with Thinkific Payments