The short decision
Start with the gap
Course delivery, member community, checkout and agency CRM lead to different shortlists.
Compare the whole plan
Check contacts, products, fees and any email add-ons before replacing Kajabi.
Evidence basis: Prices and capabilities come from official vendor pages. Scenario choices are editorial analysis. No hands-on testing is claimed.
Kajabi alternatives at a glance
| Platform | Best fit | Published entry | Key capability | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io | Creator funnels, email and course | $0/month Free | One course | 2,000 contacts; three funnels |
| Thinkific | Course-first businesses | $54/month Basic | Unlimited courses on Basic | Basic: 1 community; 5 downloads; student/bandwidth limits. |
| Teachable | Course and coaching sales | $39/month Starter | 5 products on Starter | Starter: 7.5% platform fee; 5 products. |
| Podia | Simple product, email and community setup | $42/month Mover, annual billing | Online courses | Mover: 5% platform fee; 100 email subscribers. |
| LearnWorlds | Structured online learning | $29/month Starter | Unlimited paid courses; 1,000 active learners on Starter | Starter: $5/paid enrollment; 1,000 active learners. |
| Circle | Community-first membership | $89/month Professional, annual billing | Included | Professional: 2% platform fee; Email Hub extra. |
| Kartra | Funnel and marketing stack | $59/month Essentials | 1 membership or course on Essentials | Essentials: 500 contacts; 5% platform fee. |
| GoHighLevel | CRM and agency/client operations | $97/month Starter | Included | Starter: 3 subaccounts; usage charges may apply. |
| SamCart | Checkout-focused selling | $79/month Core | Courses App | Upsells and Affiliate Center require Pro. |
The columns describe published availability, not feature quality. Compare the cited plan terms before purchase.
Start with the missing capability
Why creators look beyond Kajabi
Kajabi's Basic plan is listed at $179/month on monthly billing. It has five products and 2,500 contacts. A buyer may want a lower subscription, different course or community tools, a different checkout, or agency CRM functions. Those are different reasons to switch, so the choice begins with the workflow being replaced. Kajabi pricing
Systeme.io
A lower-entry creator stack for funnels, email and a course.
Its Free plan lists 2,000 contacts, three funnels, one course and one affiliate program. Kajabi products and Systeme.io courses are different plan units; compare the specific offer you sell. Read the direct comparison.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Consider Systeme.io when its published funnel, email and course limits cover your workflow.
Marketing: Funnels and email
Thinkific
Course-first businesses. The buyer wants course delivery and learner tools to lead the stack.
- Published entry
- $54/month Basic
- Course offer
- Unlimited courses on Basic
- Boundary
- Basic allows one community and five digital downloads; student and video bandwidth limits apply.
Official pricing and features; US price confirmation · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: Course email automation
Teachable
Best fit
Course and coaching sales. The buyer sells courses or coaching and wants to evaluate Teachable’s checkout and student experience. The published plan includes courses, coaching and downloads, with checkout and student apps. Builder removes the stated platform transaction fee under the listed payment conditions.
Plan check
$39/month Starter. Starter charges a 7.5% platform transaction fee and allows five published products; payment processing is separate.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: Built-in email marketing
Podia
Simple product, email and community setup
The published plan includes courses, community, a website, landing pages and checkout. Shaker adds affiliate marketing and removes Podia's platform transaction fee. The buyer wants courses, community, a website and email under a simpler plan structure.
$42/month Mover, annual billing. Mover has a 5% platform transaction fee and 100 included email subscribers; more subscribers require an add-on.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: 100 subscribers included on Mover
LearnWorlds
$29/month Starter
Starter includes course hosting on a custom domain, quizzes and live sessions. Pro Trainer adds certificates, subscriptions and SCORM uploads. The buyer needs more learning-specific tools and can model the enrollment fee.
Before switching: Starter charges $5 per paid enrollment and allows 1,000 active learners per month; Pro Trainer removes that enrollment fee.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: Mass email credits from Pro Trainer
Circle
Community-first membership. The member community and live events are more central than a broad marketing suite.
Professional includes community, courses, live events, website and payments. Business adds workflows and standard migration services.
Confirm the destination plan and transfer path for content, subscribers, payments and domains. Published entry: $89/month Professional, annual billing. Professional has a 2% platform transaction fee; Email Hub is an extra monthly charge.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: Email Hub add-on
Kartra
Funnel and marketing stack. Funnels, checkouts and email automation are more central than Kajabi’s product model.
- Published entry
- $59/month Essentials
- Course offer
- 1 membership or course on Essentials
- Boundary
- Essentials is limited to 500 contacts, five pages, one product and a 5% platform transaction fee.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: 10,000 emails/month on Essentials
GoHighLevel
Best fit
CRM and agency/client operations. The business manages client accounts and CRM pipelines as well as marketing. The pricing page lists CRM pipelines, workflow automation, funnels, courses and communities. Subaccounts and rebilling distinguish its agency workflow.
Plan check
$97/month Starter. Starter includes three subaccounts; Unlimited is $297/month. Email, phone and other usage-based charges may apply.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: Email and SMS; usage charges
SamCart
Checkout-focused selling
Core lists unlimited pages, products and checkouts, cart abandonment and a Courses App. Compare external email and community needs separately. Checkout and product sales matter more than community or all-in-one email.
$79/month Core. One-click upsells, order bumps and Affiliate Center appear on the $199/month Pro plan, not Core.
Official pricing and features · Verified September 29, 2026
Marketing: Integration engine
Best Kajabi alternative by situation
| Situation | Consider | Why and what to check |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest-cost all-in-one | Systeme.io | Free plan with funnels, email and one course; check Free limits. |
| Course-first | Thinkific or LearnWorlds | Compare course delivery requirements and enrollment or bandwidth limits. |
| Community-first | Circle | Community, events and courses are central; Email Hub costs extra. |
| Advanced funnel and automation | Kartra | Published funnel, email and checkout tools; check tier limits. |
| Checkout-focused | SamCart | Pages and checkouts are central; Pro gates upsells and Affiliate Center. |
| Agency-oriented | GoHighLevel | CRM, pipelines and subaccounts; usage charges can add to subscription. |
Budget for the required plan
Plan cost checklist
Compare the tier that covers your contacts, catalog and members. Keep monthly billing separate from annual-effective prices, then add platform fees, payment processing and any email or usage charges.
Use the published entry table as a shortlist, then check the required tier against your actual limits. Official Kajabi pricing.
How to choose
- List the Kajabi products, contacts, communities and automations you actually use.
- Compare monthly billing with annual-effective prices on the same basis.
- Check platform transaction fees, payment processing and any add-on charges separately.
- Test how courses, subscriber consent, domains and member access would move before canceling the old service.
- Review the exact plan for email, funnels, affiliate management and community needs.
Questions buyers ask
The published Basic subscription is $179/month with five products and 2,500 contacts. Some buyers need a lower entry cost or a platform organized around courses, community, checkout or agency CRM. Official pricing and features.
Systeme.io publishes a Free plan with one course, three funnels and 2,000 contacts. A free plan is different from the time-limited trials listed by several other vendors. Official pricing and features.
Systeme.io, Podia and Kartra publish email features in their plans. Thinkific lists course email automation; Circle offers Email Hub as an extra charge. Compare the exact email workflow and included allowance rather than a simple yes/no.
Thinkific, Teachable and LearnWorlds each publish dedicated course features. The right fit depends on product count, learning features, enrollment fees and the other marketing tools the business needs.
Circle publishes community, courses, events and payments in Professional. Its Email Hub adds a separate charge, so compare the whole stack.
Before choosing a destination, inventory course files, student access, domains, emails, contacts and payment arrangements. Podia publishes migration help with plan-specific limits; other migration terms need review with the destination vendor.
Sources and verification
Product information was checked against these official pages on September 29, 2026. Prices, limits and conditions may change; confirm the current plan before purchase.
- Kajabi: Official pricing and features
- Systeme.io: Official pricing and features
- Thinkific: Official pricing and features; US pricing update
- Teachable: Official pricing and features
- Podia: Official pricing and features
- LearnWorlds: Official pricing and features
- Circle: Official pricing and features
- Kartra: Official pricing and features
- GoHighLevel: Official pricing and features
- SamCart: Official pricing and features
Our software comparison methodology explains this source standard. Explore software alternatives by workflow for a wider shortlist.