6 Best Kajabi Alternatives for Course Creators (2026)

Quick picks

Each platform below wins for a different kind of Kajabi business. If you're short on time, start here.

• Lowest cost below about $33,000 a month in sales: Whop
• Simple paid community with levels and leaderboards: Skool
• Email marketing included in the plan: Podia
• Sales tax handled on course sales: Teachable
• Structured training and selling seats to teams: Thinkific
• Community depth, events and live rooms: Circle
• Funnels and sequences you've built and don't want to rebuild: staying on Kajabi

We list Whop first because it has the lowest yearly cost in our math at $1,000 and $10,000 a month. We earn a commission from Whop and nothing from the other platforms on this list.

What a year costs on each platform

Kajabi Basic is the most expensive option here at $1,000 a month, and second only to Circle at $10,000 and $50,000. For each platform we used whichever plan that sells monthly memberships is cheapest at that revenue, for a $49 membership.

Prices as of October 2026, from each company's public pricing and help pages. Plans change, so check before you buy.

Yearly cost = 12 × (monthly plan price + revenue × fee rate + charges × $0.30), where charges = revenue ÷ $49. All plans are billed monthly, with US cards on each platform's default or recommended processor, and no add-ons, taxes, payout fees or currency conversion. The fee rates are 3.2% on Whop (2.7% card plus 0.5% billing), 10% on Skool Hobby, 2.9% on Skool Pro, 7.9% on Podia Mover (5% plus Stripe's 2.9%), 2.9% on Podia Shaker, 3.6% on Teachable, Thinkific and Kajabi Basic (2.9% card plus 0.7% on recurring charges), and 5.6% or 4.6% on Circle (its 2% or 1% fee plus Stripe's 2.9% and 0.7% Billing).

Three caveats change the order for some readers. Above about $33,000 a month, Skool Pro and Podia Shaker beat Whop, by about $612 a year at $50,000. Podia doesn't document whether Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee applies to its subscriptions; if it does, add $840 a year at $10,000. And Kajabi Basic caps you at 2,500 contacts and 5 products, so many larger businesses need Growth, which costs $720 more a year at $10,000. Run your own price and volume through the creator fee calculator.

Why creators look for Kajabi alternatives

Most of the reasons come back to price, with support and community engagement close behind.

• Kajabi raised its Basic, Growth and Pro prices in 2025. Archived pricing pages show Basic going from $149 to $179 a month, Growth from $199 to $249 and Pro from $399 to $499, and Kajabi moved legacy accounts to the new prices from the first bill on or after January 13, 2026. One r/kajabi user said the change added $1,200 a year to their bill.
• Current plans add a 2%, 1% or 0.5% fee if you process sales through your own Stripe account, which nudges sellers toward Kajabi Payments.
• Many creators pay for the full bundle but use a slice of it. A November 2025 r/kajabi post asked for a setup covering courses, email, funnels, scheduling and a CRM without stitching six tools together, which is exactly what Kajabi sells.
• Kajabi refunds only within 30 days of your first charge, so annual subscribers who want out mid-year don't get money back. An October 2025 r/kajabi thread warned others about it.
• Support complaints show up regularly, such as a December 2025 r/kajabi thread about slow and sometimes wrong answers.

The full breakdown of Kajabi's 2026 pricing has every plan, fee and change with dates.

How we ranked these alternatives

We ordered the list by yearly cost at $10,000 a month, the middle of our three revenue levels, and broke the Skool and Podia tie with the $1,000 figure. Cost isn't the only factor, so each section also covers what the platform is built for, what you give up compared with Kajabi, and how hard it is to move your members.

Every price, fee and feature comes from the company's own pricing page or help center, checked on October 2 and 3, 2026 and listed at the end of this page. We haven't run paid accounts on these platforms for this page. We left out tools that only cover part of what Kajabi does, such as email-only or checkout-only products.

1. Whop: best for keeping the most of each sale

Whop is a pay-per-sale platform with no monthly plan. You build a store from products and attach apps to them: Courses, Chat, Forums, Events with livestreaming, Files, and access to Discord or Telegram.

Whop charges 2.7% + 30¢ per US card sale, plus 0.5% on subscription charges, with 1.5% more for international cards (full Whop fee list). In our math a year costs $457 at $1,000 a month in sales, $4,575 at $10,000 and $22,873 at $50,000.

Where it's strong:

• It has the lowest yearly cost here up to about $33,000 a month, because there's no plan fee.
• Its Discover marketplace has taken 0% commission since May 12, 2025, and its affiliate network lets other people sell for you.
• Checkout accepts cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, crypto and ACH, with buy now, pay later for approved sellers.

Where it falls short:

• Whop's API can't add members for you, so every member claims access through a link, and Kajabi Payments subscribers re-subscribe.
• New accounts can face reserves and a $2,500 per-checkout cap until approved, and some sellers on r/whop reported 90-day holds in 2026.
• Every sale runs through Whop Payments; you can't plug in your own Stripe.

Switching from Kajabi: our free wizard creates Whop products and plans for the Kajabi offers you confirm and rebuilds your course outline, while you re-upload or embed the videos. Subscribers on your own Stripe can move with Whop's Stripe migration and keep their renewal dates. Kajabi Payments subscribers re-subscribe with a free trial that ends on their next renewal. The step-by-step Kajabi to Whop switch walks through it.

Choose Whop if you sell courses, memberships or community access and want to keep more of each sale. The head-to-head Whop vs Kajabi comparison goes deeper.

2. Skool: best for simple paid communities

Skool is a community platform built around a feed, a classroom, a calendar and levels with leaderboards. Video hosting and live calls are included on both plans.

Hobby costs $9 a month ($90 a year) and takes 10% + 30¢ per transaction. Pro costs $99 a month ($990 a year) and takes 2.9% + 30¢, or 3.9% + 30¢ on charges above $900. Skool is the merchant of record and adds EU VAT on top of your price. Growth Boost, on by default since June 2026, takes 30% of recurring revenue from members Skool brings in through Discovery or its ads, and owners can bid 40% to 70%. A year costs $1,381 at $1,000 a month on Hobby, then $5,403 and $22,261 at $10,000 and $50,000 on Pro.

Where it's strong:

• The member experience is simple, with one feed, one classroom and one calendar, and levels reward activity.
• Skool handles VAT and pays out weekly in your local currency.
• Pro's 2.9% + 30¢ has no separate subscription or international-card surcharge.

Where it falls short:

• Prices are USD only, checkout takes cards and wallets only, and you can't connect your own Stripe or PayPal.
• There's no email marketing, funnel builder, website builder or custom domain.
• There's no public API, and Hobby allows one admin.

Switching from Kajabi: you rebuild courses by hand, and because Skool runs every payment through its own merchant account, every paying member signs up again.

Choose Skool if community is the product and you want the simplest setup. Our Whop vs Skool comparison and the list of Skool alternatives cover where it falls short.

3. Podia: best for email marketing in the same plan

Podia bundles courses, downloads, coaching, events, a community, a website and email marketing behind one checkout, aimed at small creator businesses.

Mover costs $49 a month ($42 billed yearly) and takes a 5% Podia fee. Shaker ($99, or $84 yearly) and Earthquaker ($179, or $150 yearly) take no Podia fee. Payments go to your own Stripe account, plus PayPal on Shaker and up, at their standard rates. A year costs $1,609 at $1,000 a month (Mover and Shaker tie), then $5,403 and $22,261 on Shaker.

Where it's strong:

• Email marketing, a website and a community come with every plan, with 100, 500 or 1,000 email subscribers included.
• Money lands directly in your own Stripe or PayPal account.
• Podia offers free hands-on migration help for up to 50 products on Mover and 150 on the higher plans.

Where it falls short:

• More email subscribers cost extra every month, for example $70 a month for 10,000.
• Mover caps you at 50 products and 500 videos, and there's no public API or webhooks.
• PayPal only takes one-time payments, and you handle sales tax filing yourself.

Switching from Kajabi: Podia's team can help move products, but Kajabi Payments subscribers still re-subscribe, as they would anywhere.

Choose Podia if you want email marketing and a simple site on the same bill as your courses, and your list is small enough to fit the included tiers.

4. Teachable: best for hands-off sales tax on courses

Teachable is a course platform that also sells coaching and digital downloads, with student apps for iOS and Android.

Starter costs $39 a month ($29 yearly), takes a 7.5% fee and allows 5 published products. Builder ($89, or $69 yearly) drops the fee and adds email marketing, affiliates and a custom domain. Growth ($189, or $139 yearly) adds certificates, an API and 50 products. Teachable Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ on US cards, plus 0.7% on recurring charges and 0.5% on sales where tax is assessed. On Builder, a year costs $1,573, $6,123 and $26,341 at our three levels.

Where it's strong:

• Teachable Payments handles US sales tax and EU and UK VAT for you.
• Course tools are mature: drip, quizzes, certificates on Growth, and offline viewing in the student apps.
• Memberships, bundles and community don't count toward product limits.

Where it falls short:

• Starter's 7.5% fee and 5-product cap push most sellers to Builder or above.
• Plans and fees changed repeatedly in 2025 and 2026, including new usage fees for students who didn't buy.
• There's no course export, and cancelling takes your school offline.

Switching from Kajabi: courses are rebuilt by hand, and Kajabi Payments subscribers re-subscribe. Teachable's Custom plan includes migration assistance.

Choose Teachable if courses are the whole business and you'd rather not deal with sales tax. The Teachable alternatives roundup covers its weak spots.

5. Thinkific: best for structured training and team sales

Thinkific is a course platform with communities, live lessons and group orders for selling seats to companies.

Basic costs $54 a month ($40 yearly) but doesn't include memberships or payment plans. Start ($109, or $82 yearly) adds them, along with certificates and assignments. Grow ($219, or $164 yearly) adds the API, bulk student import, group orders and the option to use your own Stripe or PayPal, with a 1% gateway fee. Thinkific Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ on US cards and 0.7% on subscriptions. Prices rose about 10% on August 13, 2026. On Start, a year costs $1,813, $6,363 and $26,581 at our three levels.

Where it's strong:

• Every self-serve plan includes unlimited courses and up to 10,000 current students.
• It has deep training features: certificates, assignments, quizzes and, on the custom Plus plan, SCORM.
• Thinkific remits US and Canadian sales tax, and the free trial runs 30 days.

Where it falls short:

• Memberships need the $109 Start plan.
• Community caps are low, at 1 community on Basic and Start and 3 on Grow.
• A branded mobile app costs another $199 a month.

Switching from Kajabi: you rebuild courses by hand, and Kajabi Payments subscribers re-subscribe.

Choose Thinkific if you sell structured training, need certificates and assignments, or sell seats to teams.

6. Circle: best for community depth and events

Circle is a community platform with discussion spaces, chat, events, live streams and live rooms, courses, a member directory, workflows and an optional Email Hub.

Professional costs $99 a month ($89 billed yearly) with a 2% transaction fee. Business costs $219 ($199 yearly) with 1%. Scale costs $419 a month billed yearly with 1%, and Circle Plus is custom-priced with 0.5%. Payments run through your own Stripe account, so Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ and its 0.7% Billing fee on subscriptions apply, with Circle's fee on top. A year costs $1,933 at $1,000 a month and $8,643 at $10,000 on Professional, and $33,901 at $50,000 on Business.

Where it's strong:

• It has the deepest community toolset on this list, with branded mobile apps on Circle Plus.
• You own the Stripe account that holds your members' payments.
• Circle offers free payment migration for communities with $100,000 or more a year in revenue, and free course migration on yearly Business plans and up.

Where it falls short:

• Every sale pays Circle's fee on top of Stripe's.
• Many extras are metered add-ons, including Email Hub contacts, extra admins at $10 a month each and extra live hours.
• Stripe is the only native processor, so there's no PayPal.

Switching from Kajabi: Circle's migration help can cover courses and payments for eligible accounts, but Kajabi Payments subscribers re-subscribe, since Kajabi documents no export of those subscriptions.

Choose Circle if community depth and events matter more than cost. Compare it directly in Whop vs Circle, or see the Circle alternatives we'd consider.

Should you leave Kajabi at all?

Staying is the right call if Kajabi's marketing tools are doing real work for you. Kajabi doesn't export email sequences, funnels or automations, so wherever you go, you rebuild them by hand.

Stay if your sales depend on Kajabi funnels and sequences, if you sell through the branded app included on Pro, or if most of your members pay through Kajabi Payments and you can't afford the drop-off of asking them to re-subscribe. Stay too if you're on a Founder or Beta Invite plan that kept its old price. If price is the only problem, check whether yearly billing fixes it: it saves $432 a year on Basic, $600 on Growth and $1,200 on Pro.

If Skool is on your shortlist, our three-way Kajabi vs Skool vs Whop comparison puts all three side by side.

How to move off Kajabi

The Kajabi side of the move is the same wherever you go. Export your contacts, subscriptions, payment plans and offer purchases, download your course videos, copy anything with no export, move your subscribers, and cancel Kajabi last.

Our guide to exporting from Kajabi covers each file before the 3-day download links expire. If Whop is your pick, you can start a free migration: it rebuilds your products, course outline and community and sets up member claim links. When everyone has moved, use our steps to cancel Kajabi without double billing.