Kajabi starts at $179 a month, and plenty of coaches only use a slice of it. We checked the official pricing pages of eight alternatives in October 2026, from Skool and Circle to Teachable, Thinkific and Systeme.io. For each one you get who it suits, what it does better or cheaper than Kajabi, the catch, and the real starting price with fees.
The best Kajabi alternative depends on what you use Kajabi for. Skool ($9 a month) suits paid communities, Teachable ($39) suits course sellers, and Systeme.io (free, then $17) is the cheapest all-in-one with funnels and email. Circle and Mighty Networks suit branded communities. Kajabi itself starts at $179 a month.
Who this is for: Coaches, consultants and course creators paying for Kajabi who want something cheaper or a better fit.
Kajabi has three plans. Basic is $179 a month ($143 a month billed yearly), Growth is $249 ($199 yearly) and Pro is $499 ($399 yearly), according to Kajabi's pricing page. Basic gives you 5 products, 1 community and 2,500 email contacts. Growth lifts that to 50 products and 25,000 contacts.
Kajabi does not take a platform cut if you use Kajabi Payments. You pay card fees instead, from 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic in the US down to 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. If you use your own payment provider, Kajabi adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro.
So why do coaches leave? The fair reasons are simple. The price is high when you are starting out and only have a handful of buyers. Many people pay for funnels, email and a website and only use the course area or the community. And some want a busier, more social community than Kajabi's, the kind people check every day.
None of that makes Kajabi a bad tool. It means you should pay for the parts you use. Before you look at the list, write down the three jobs Kajabi does for you right now. That list decides which alternative fits.
Here are eight alternatives, each with who it suits, what is better or cheaper than Kajabi, the catch and the real starting price. All prices are in US dollars.
Skool suits coaches whose business is the group: a monthly membership, a feed, live calls and a classroom. It is far cheaper than Kajabi. Hobby is $9 a month and Pro is $99, with unlimited members, courses, videos and live calls on both, per Skool's pricing page.
The catch is fees and scope. Hobby takes 10% + 30¢ on every sale. Pro takes 2.9% + 30¢ on charges up to $899 and 3.9% + 30¢ above $900, according to Skool's payments FAQ. There are no funnels or sales pages, and member prices are in US dollars. We compare the two head to head in Skool vs Kajabi.
Price from: $9 a month. Fees: 10% on Hobby, 2.9% to 3.9% + 30¢ on Pro.
Circle suits coaches who want a calm, organised community with spaces, courses, events and live streams under their own domain. It starts lower than Kajabi: Professional is from $89 a month billed yearly, Business is $199 and Scale is $419, per Circle's pricing page.
The catch is that email is extra. The Email Hub add-on is $99 a month for 10,000 contacts, which closes most of the gap with Kajabi Basic. Circle also takes 2% on Professional and 1% on Business and Scale, on top of Stripe's own card fees. Live streams on Professional are capped at 100 attendees and 10 hours a month, and a branded app needs the custom Circle Plus plan.
Price from: $89 a month (yearly). Fees: 2% on Professional, plus card fees.
Teachable suits coaches who mainly sell courses and want a clean student experience with mobile apps. Starter is $39 a month ($29 yearly), Builder is $89 ($69 yearly) and Growth is $189 ($139 yearly), according to Teachable's pricing page. Email marketing and memberships are listed on every plan, and iOS and Android student apps are included.
The catch is the Starter fee: 7.5% on every sale, with only 5 published products. Builder drops that to 0% when you use Teachable Payments, though card fees of 2.9% + 30¢ still apply in the US. Community only appears from Builder up, and removing Teachable branding needs Growth.
Price from: $39 a month ($29 yearly). Fees: 7.5% on Starter, 0% on Builder and up with Teachable Payments.
Thinkific suits coaches who run a proper course academy, often with several programmes and a community for each. Start is $109 a month ($82 yearly), Grow is $219 ($164 yearly) and Expand is $499 ($374 yearly), per Thinkific's pricing page. Email automation with templates is on all plans, and every plan gets a 30-day free trial.
The catch is that it is no longer the cheap option it once was. On monthly billing, Start costs more than Teachable Builder and is only $70 a month below Kajabi Basic. Bulk email needs Grow, and a branded mobile app is a $199 a month add-on. Thinkific Payments charges a standard 2.9% processing fee, and Stripe or PayPal add a gateway fee that varies by plan.
Price from: $109 a month ($82 yearly). Fees: 2.9% with Thinkific Payments.
Podia suits coaches who want courses, downloads, a community and email in one plain dashboard, without learning a big system. Mover is $49 a month ($42 yearly), Shaker is $99 ($84 yearly) and Earthquaker is $179 ($150 yearly), according to Podia's pricing page. Community is on every plan, and there is a 14-day free trial with no card.
The catch is in the small print. Mover takes a 5% transaction fee and includes only 100 email subscribers, which most coaches pass in weeks. Shaker removes the fee but still only covers 500 subscribers. Stripe or PayPal charge their own 2.9% + 30¢ on all plans. Funnels are simpler than Kajabi's.
Price from: $49 a month ($42 yearly). Fees: 5% on Mover, none on Shaker and up.
Systeme.io is the closest like-for-like swap for Kajabi's all-in-one idea: funnels, email, courses, a blog, affiliates and communities in one place. The Free plan covers 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels and 1 course. Startup is $17 a month, Webinar is $47 and Unlimited is $97, per Systeme.io's pricing page. Every plan has 0% transaction fees and unlimited email sends.
The catch is polish. Pages and course areas look more basic than Kajabi's, and the community feature is newer and lighter than Skool or Circle. Stripe and PayPal still charge their own processing fees. If you came from ClickFunnels or Kajabi for the funnels, Systeme.io is the one to test first.
Price from: free, then $17 a month. Fees: 0% from Systeme.io.
Stan suits coaches who sell mostly from Instagram or TikTok and want a mobile-first link-in-bio shop for calls, guides and small courses. Creator is $29 a month ($300 a year) and Creator Pro is $99 a month ($948 a year), according to Stan's own pricing guide. Stan takes no cut of your sales on either plan; Stripe or PayPal fees still apply.
The catch is depth. Stan is a storefront, not a course academy or a community hub. Built-in email marketing, funnels and order bumps sit on Creator Pro, which costs the same as Skool Pro. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial. It works well as a front door, less well as the home for a long programme.
Price from: $29 a month. Fees: 0% from Stan, plus card fees.
Mighty Networks suits coaches who want community, courses, events and live streams in one place, with room to grow into a branded app. Launch is $79 a month, Scale is $179 and Growth is $354, per Mighty's pricing page, with two months free on yearly billing. Launch includes 20 live streaming hours a month with up to 100 viewers.
The catch is fees and the app. Mighty takes 2% on Launch, 1% on Scale and 0.5% on Growth. Your own branded app needs Mighty Pro, which has no published price. The pricing page also does not make clear which course types sit on which tier, so check before you buy. Email marketing is lighter than Kajabi's.
Price from: $79 a month. Fees: 2% on Launch.
Prices below were checked on each vendor's official pricing page at the time of writing (October 2026). They are starting prices on the cheapest plan, and card processing fees from Stripe or PayPal apply on top unless the row says otherwise.
| Platform | Price from | Transaction fee | Community | Courses | Email built in | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kajabi (for reference) | $179 a month ($143 yearly) | None with Kajabi Payments (card fees from 2.7% to 2.9% + $0.30); 0.5% to 2% with your own processor | Yes, 1 on Basic | Yes | Yes, 2,500 contacts on Basic | Courses plus funnels and email in one |
| Skool | $9 a month | 10% + 30¢ (Hobby); 2.9% to 3.9% + 30¢ (Pro) | Yes, the main feature | Yes | No, member broadcasts only | Paid communities |
| Circle | $89 a month (yearly) | 2% on Professional, plus card fees | Yes | Yes | Add-on, $99 a month | Branded communities |
| Teachable | $39 a month ($29 yearly) | 7.5% on Starter; 0% from Builder with Teachable Payments | From Builder | Yes | Yes | Course sellers |
| Thinkific | $109 a month ($82 yearly) | 2.9% with Thinkific Payments | Yes | Yes | Yes, bulk email from Grow | Course academies |
| Podia | $49 a month ($42 yearly) | 5% on Mover; none from Shaker | Yes | Yes | Yes, 100 subscribers on Mover | Simple all-in-one shop |
| Systeme.io | Free, then $17 a month | 0%, plus card fees | Yes | Yes | Yes, unlimited sends | Funnels on a tight budget |
| Stan | $29 a month | 0%, plus card fees | No | Yes | Creator Pro only | Selling from social media |
| Mighty Networks | $79 a month | 2% on Launch | Yes | Yes, check tier | Basic | Community plus courses |
Read the table by job, not by price. If you need email, add the cost of an email tool to anything that lacks it. If you need a busy community, Skool, Circle and Mighty Networks are built for it. If you need funnels, only Systeme.io comes close to Kajabi's range.
Kajabi vs Teachable. Teachable is cheaper for course sellers. Builder at $89 a month ($69 yearly) has no Teachable fee with Teachable Payments, built-in email and student apps. Kajabi Basic costs $179 but adds unlimited funnels, landing pages and a website. If you sell one or two courses and already have a website, Teachable usually wins. If you run launches with sales pages, webinars and email sequences, Kajabi saves you from paying for three extra tools.
Kajabi vs Thinkific. The gap is smaller than it used to be. Thinkific Start is $109 a month and Kajabi Basic is $179, and both have email and communities. Thinkific is stronger for running several programmes and communities as an academy. Kajabi is stronger for marketing, with funnels and pages built in. Pick Thinkific if teaching is the main job and Kajabi if selling is.
A quick way to settle it: price the extra tools you would need with each. A $69 course platform plus a $30 email tool and a $40 page builder is no longer cheap. Our consulting rate calculator helps you see how many clients a tool bill really costs you each month.
Stay on Kajabi if you use most of it. If your courses, email list, sales pages, checkout and community all live there and they work, moving saves money on paper but costs you weeks. You would rebuild pages, move contacts, recreate email sequences and reconnect payments, and every broken link loses a sale.
Stay too if your list is past a few thousand contacts and you email it often. Kajabi Basic includes 2,500 contacts with unlimited sends, and Growth covers 25,000. Many cheaper tools look cheap only until you add a proper email tool.
Switch if you only use one part. A coach who pays $179 a month for a community of 40 people is better served by Skool or Circle. A coach selling one course with no funnels can move to Teachable or Podia. And if you want a lively group that people visit daily, read our Skool alternatives guide too, because the community tools differ more than the course tools do.
Do three things before you cancel anything. List the jobs Kajabi does for you. Add up what you use and what each alternative would cost with any tools it lacks. Then run a free trial with one real product, not a test page, so you see the student and checkout experience your buyers will see.
Often the tool is not the problem. If people are not buying, a cheaper platform will not fix a weak offer or a missing follow-up. Our guide on how to turn your audience into customers covers the usual gaps.
A done-for-you studio fits when you would rather not spend a month moving pages and emails yourself, or when you suspect the real leak is in the offer or the funnel. We look at where you are losing buyers, then build and run the fix with you. If that sounds useful, book a free audit and we will tell you whether switching is worth it.
Systeme.io has a free plan with 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels and 1 course, and paid plans from $17 a month with 0% transaction fees. Skool Hobby is $9 a month but takes 10% + 30¢ of every sale. For most coaches taking real money, Systeme.io is the cheaper all-in-one.
Yes. Teachable starts at $39 a month ($29 yearly) against Kajabi's $179, but Starter takes 7.5% of each sale. Builder at $89 a month removes that fee with Teachable Payments. Kajabi adds funnels, pages and a website that Teachable does not match.
If your offer is a group or membership, Skool or Circle is usually the best fit. If you sell courses, Teachable or Thinkific. If you need funnels and email in one place for less, Systeme.io. Pick by the job, then check the fees on your real prices.
Not if you use Kajabi Payments, where you pay card fees from 2.7% to 2.9% + $0.30 in the US depending on plan. If you use your own payment provider, Kajabi adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro, per Kajabi's pricing page in October 2026.
It takes time more than skill. You need to export contacts, re-upload course videos, rebuild sales pages, recreate email sequences and move paying members to new billing. Plan a few weeks and run both platforms side by side until existing subscriptions are moved.
Send us your setup and we will tell you honestly where it is leaking customers and what to fix first. Free, no pitch.