Updated 30 March 2026
Thinkific vs Kajabi
Course platform versus business platform. Thinkific at $49/month does one thing well: hosting and selling courses. Kajabi at $149/month replaces your course platform, email tool, website, funnel builder, and community platform. The right choice depends on what tools you already own.
Thinkific
$49
/month (Basic)
Course-focused, add integrations as needed
Kajabi
$149
/month (Kickstarter)
All-in-one: courses + email + website + funnels
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Thinkific | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $49/mo (Basic) | $149/mo (Kickstarter) |
| Course hosting | Core product, excellent | Included, good |
| Email marketing | Basic (needs Mailchimp/ConvertKit) | Built-in (full featured) |
| Website builder | Landing pages only | Full website builder |
| Sales funnels | No (needs ClickFunnels or similar) | Built-in pipeline builder |
| Community | Thinkific Spaces | Kajabi Community |
| Transaction fees | 0% all plans | 0% all plans |
| Podcast hosting | No | Built-in |
| Coaching products | No native coaching | Built-in coaching |
| Automation | Basic (via Zapier) | Built-in automation |
| Custom domain | Basic plan+ | All plans |
| Course customization | Extensive | Good but less flexible |
| App store | Growing ecosystem | Limited integrations |
| Mobile app | Add-on ($199/mo) | Included on Growth+ |
Total Cost of Ownership Comparison
Kajabi replaces multiple tools. To make a fair comparison, add up what you would spend on those tools separately alongside Thinkific:
| Tool | With Thinkific | With Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Course hosting | $49/mo (Thinkific Basic) | Included |
| Email marketing | $30-$50/mo (Mailchimp/ConvertKit) | Included |
| Website | $15-$30/mo (Squarespace/WordPress) | Included |
| Sales funnels | $0-$97/mo (free tools or ClickFunnels) | Included |
| Community platform | Included (Spaces) | Included |
| Estimated Total | ~$139/month | $149/month |
When you need all five tools, Kajabi at $149/month is comparable to Thinkific + separate subscriptions at ~$139/month. The convenience of a single platform may justify the $10/month difference. But if you already have some of these tools, adding Kajabi duplicates them.
Kajabi Pricing Tiers
Kickstarter: $149/mo
- 1 product
- 1 funnel
- 1,250 contacts
- 10,000 emails/month
- 1 admin user
Basic: $199/mo
- 3 products
- 3 funnels
- 10,000 contacts
- 25,000 emails/month
- 1 admin user
Growth: $399/mo
- 15 products
- 15 funnels
- 25,000 contacts
- Unlimited emails
- 3 admin users
- Branded mobile app
The Verdict
Choose Thinkific if:
You already have an email marketing platform and website. You want the cheapest course hosting with 0% fees. You want maximum course customization. You need more than 1 course on the cheapest possible plan. You prefer a best-of-breed approach with specialized tools for each function.
Choose Kajabi if:
You are starting from scratch with no existing tools. You want everything in one place with one login. You value simplicity over flexibility. You need built-in sales funnels and email automation. You do not want to manage multiple separate subscriptions and integrations.