5 Cheaper Kajabi Alternatives in 2026 (Sell Courses for Far Less)

Kajabi is the all-in-one platform for coaches and course creators: courses, coaching, communities, a website, email marketing, funnels and checkout in one place. It is polished — and expensive. In January 2026 Kajabi retired its entry-level Kickstarter plan, so the cheapest option is now Basic at $143 a month billed yearly or $179 month to month, limited to five products and 2,500 contacts. Growth costs $199 ($249 monthly) and Pro costs $399 ($499 monthly). Kajabi takes no platform fee, but card processing through Kajabi Payments costs 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, and connecting your own payment provider adds a surcharge of 2% on Basic.

For a creator earning a few thousand dollars a month, $1,700–2,150 a year in software is a big slice of revenue. The alternatives below cover courses, products and email for much less — and two have usable free plans.

What Kajabi actually costs in 2026

Extra contacts cost $125 a month per 25,000. Affiliate programmes and advanced automations start on Growth. Third-party payment surcharges are 2% (Basic), 1% (Growth) and 0.5% (Pro). The current tiers are listed on Kajabi's official pricing page.

The 5 cheaper alternatives at a glance

How we picked these alternatives

We compared course building, coaching and memberships, email marketing, funnels and checkout, transaction fees, contact limits and the real cost for a creator at 2,500 contacts. Prices checked 28 October 2026.

1. Systeme.io

Price: Free (2,000 contacts, one course, unlimited emails); Startup $27/month ($17 billed yearly); Webinar $47; Unlimited $97. No transaction fees on any plan. See Systeme.io's official pricing page for current plans.

Systeme.io is the closest all-in-one Kajabi alternative and, at the low end, the cheapest. It combines courses, sales funnels, email marketing, automation rules, a blog, an affiliate programme and webinars, and it never takes a cut of your sales. The free plan is genuinely usable for launching a first course, and the Unlimited plan costs about a quarter of Kajabi Growth.

Systeme.io pricing in detail

What you get

• Courses, memberships and communities.
• Sales funnels and checkout with upsells and order bumps.
• Email marketing and automation rules.
• Affiliate programme management.
• 0% transaction fees on every plan.

Where it falls short

• Design flexibility is limited — pages look template-driven.
• Course player is functional rather than beautiful.
• Fewer integrations than Kajabi.

Who it's best for

New and growing creators who want Kajabi's all-in-one approach for a fraction of the price. Skip it if brand design and a premium student experience matter more than cost.

2. Podia

Price: Mover about $33/month billed yearly (5% transaction fee); Shaker about $75/month billed yearly (0% fee). Prices vary by billing period. See Podia's official pricing page for current plans.

Podia is the simplest way to sell courses, digital downloads, coaching sessions, webinars and community memberships. It includes a website builder, email marketing and checkout, and it is known for friendly support and an easy setup — many creators launch their first product in an afternoon. It is not as feature-rich as Kajabi, but it covers what most solo creators need.

Podia pricing in detail

What you get

• Courses, digital downloads, coaching and webinars.
• Community for members.
• Email marketing with basic automations.
• Website builder with sales pages.
• Affiliate programme on Shaker.

Where it falls short

• Fewer marketing automations than Kajabi.
• Transaction fee on Mover.
• Limited design control.

Good to know

Podia's Shaker plan removes the transaction fee, so the break-even point is roughly when your monthly sales reach about $800–900. Podia also includes a free plan option with higher fees at times; check the current offer. Its customer support is consistently praised, which matters if you are not technical and want help setting up products, emails and checkout pages.

Who it's best for

Solo creators who sell a handful of products and value simplicity. Skip it if you need advanced funnels or sophisticated automations.

3. Thinkific

Price: Basic $36/month billed yearly ($49 monthly); Start $74 ($99); Grow $149 ($199). 0% transaction fees. See Thinkific's official pricing page for current plans.

Thinkific is a course-first platform with one of the best course builders on the market: quizzes, surveys, assignments, certificates, drip schedules and a polished student experience. It has communities and memberships, and a large app store for integrations. Email marketing is basic, so most Thinkific users pair it with a separate email tool.

Thinkific pricing in detail

What you get

• A powerful course builder with quizzes, assignments and certificates.
• Communities and memberships.
• Live lessons via Zoom integration.
• App store with integrations for email, CRM and analytics.
• 0% transaction fees.

Where it falls short

• Email marketing needs another tool.
• Funnels are basic.
• Using your own Stripe account may add a surcharge.

Good to know

Thinkific Communities and memberships let you bundle courses into subscriptions, which is useful for recurring revenue. If you connect your own Stripe account rather than Thinkific Payments, check whether a surcharge applies to your plan. Thinkific also offers a separate "Plus" enterprise tier for training businesses and companies that sell to organisations, with features such as bulk enrolment and SSO.

Who it's best for

Educators and training businesses whose main product is a high-quality course. Skip it if you want everything, including email, in one platform.

4. Payhip

Price: Free (5% transaction fee); Plus $29/month (2% fee); Pro $99/month (0% fee). See Payhip's official pricing page for current plans.

Payhip lets you sell courses, digital downloads, memberships, coaching and physical products from a simple store — with no monthly fee on the free plan. It handles EU and UK VAT automatically, supports coupons, affiliates and upsells, and has a basic email marketing tool. For creators just starting out, paying 5% of sales instead of $143 a month is a much safer bet.

Payhip pricing in detail

Standard payment processing (PayPal or Stripe) applies on top on every plan.

What you get

• Courses, downloads, memberships and coaching.
• Automatic EU and UK VAT handling.
• Coupons, upsells and affiliate programme.
• Email marketing basics.
• Embeddable buy buttons for your own website.

Where it falls short

• Basic store design.
• Course player is simpler than Kajabi or Thinkific.
• Marketing automation is limited.

Good to know

Payhip's free plan is a good test bed: launch a product, see if it sells, and upgrade only when the 5% fee costs more than a paid plan — at Plus, the switch makes sense above roughly $725 a month in sales. Payhip acts as the merchant of record for EU VAT on digital products, which saves a lot of administrative work for European buyers. You can embed buy buttons on an existing website or Linktree page.

Who it's best for

Creators launching their first products who want no monthly cost until sales grow. Skip it if you need a full website, funnels and advanced email in one place.

5. Teachable

Price: Starter $29/month billed yearly ($39 monthly) with a 7.5% transaction fee; Builder $69/month billed yearly ($89 monthly) with 0% fee; higher tiers available. See Teachable's official pricing page for current plans.

Teachable is one of the original course platforms and still one of the easiest to use. It supports courses, coaching, digital downloads and memberships, handles sales tax and VAT through Teachable Payments, and has a mobile app for students. Builder, at $69 a month billed yearly, is the first plan without transaction fees and costs less than half of Kajabi Basic.

Teachable pricing in detail

What you get

• Course builder with quizzes and completion certificates.
• Coaching products with scheduling.
• Teachable Payments with tax handling.
• Student mobile app.
• Affiliate programme on higher plans.

Where it falls short

• 7.5% fee on Starter.
• Email marketing is limited.
• Website and funnel tools are basic compared with Kajabi.

Good to know

Teachable's Starter plan is best used briefly while you validate a course; the 7.5% fee quickly costs more than upgrading to Builder. Teachable handles sales tax and VAT when you use Teachable Payments, which removes a significant compliance task. Students get a dedicated iOS app, so courses work well on phones without extra effort.

Who it's best for

Course creators who want a reliable, easy course platform at a fraction of Kajabi's price. Skip it if you rely on Kajabi's funnels and pipelines.

What a creator with 2,500 contacts pays per year

Fees matter: on $40,000 of annual sales, a 5% fee costs $2,000 — more than Kajabi Basic. Move to a 0% plan once your sales justify it.

How to switch without losing your work

1. Export your contacts and customers from Kajabi as CSV, including tags.
2. Download course videos and files, or re-upload from your originals.
3. Rebuild one course first and test the student experience end to end.
4. Move active subscriptions carefully — payment subscriptions rarely transfer automatically; plan a migration offer.
5. Redirect your old URLs so links in emails and social posts still work.

Which one should you choose?

• You want Kajabi's all-in-one approach for a fraction of the price: Systeme.io.
• You sell a few products and want simplicity: Podia.
• Your course experience is the product: Thinkific.
• You are starting out and want no monthly fee: Payhip.
• You want an easy, dedicated course platform: Teachable.

Hidden costs and gotchas

• Transaction fees. A cheap plan with a 5–7.5% fee can cost more than an expensive plan once you sell a lot.
• Payment processing. Card fees (around 2.9% + 30¢) apply on every platform on top of any platform fee.
• Contact limits. Kajabi charges for extra contacts; check how each tool counts them.
• Email tool costs. Thinkific and Teachable often need a separate email platform.
• Migrating subscribers. Recurring payments are tied to the platform that collects them.

Our verdict

Systeme.io is the best Kajabi alternative for most creators — courses, funnels and email in one place for a fraction of the price. Podia wins on simplicity, Thinkific on course quality, Payhip for starting with no monthly fee, and Teachable for an easy, dedicated course platform.

More cheaper alternatives: see our breakdowns of the cheaper options to Kit (ConvertKit), Wix and Shopify.

Related reading: How to Design a Landing Page That Converts, Is a Newsletter Worth It? and What Is a Marketing Funnel?.

Planning a switch, or not sure which tool fits the way your team works? Book a free call and we will look at your stack with you.

Prices are US list prices in USD unless marked, checked on 27 October 2026. "Annual" means the per-month price when billed yearly. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm on the vendor's site before buying. Product names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here for identification only.

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