If you’re in the market for an online course platform, I suggest reading my review of Kajabi first. In it, I’ll go over the pros and cons of the platform and compare it to other top options.
Also, I’ll provide a cost analysis to help determine if Kajabi is a worthwhile investment.
Pros of Kajabi: What I Like About It
Kajabi has a number of benefits that make it a great platform for online course creators.
- Built-in email marketing tools eliminate the need for third-party integration.
- The Sales Pipeline Builder software makes it easy to create different types of marketing funnels.
- Marketing automations allow you to automate certain actions based on student behavior.
- Kajabi is highly customizable, so you can tailor it to match your business or brand.
- A wide selection of professionally designed themes makes it easy to create a polished look.
- The platform offers great coaching tools to facilitate interactive sessions.
- You can set a custom domain to make your course appear as part of your existing website.
- The built-in Community platform lets you engage with your students and offer upsells, including paid community access.
- Flexible payment options, such as monthly payment plans or recurring subscriptions, are available.
- The Kajabi marketplace gives your course added exposure.
Cons of Kajabi: What I Don’t Like About It
Despite its many benefits, Kajabi also has some downsides.
- Kajabi does not offer a free option and is slightly more expensive than some other platforms.
- To offer completion certificates, you must use a third-party platform called Accredible.
- The course marketplace on Kajabi is small and lacks a search function.
Kajabi Overview
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that provides users with the tools they need to create, market, and sell their online courses.
The platform is designed to streamline the course creation process by providing users with everything they need in one place.
Payment Integrations and Email Marketing
Kajabi allows users to integrate with payment processors such as Stripe and PayPal, making it easy for them to accept payments for their courses. Users can also use email marketing tools to promote their courses and communicate with their students.
Automated Marketing Campaigns and Funnels
Kajabi offers fully automated marketing campaigns and funnels to help users optimize and scale their online course selling business. This allows users to focus on creating their courses while Kajabi handles the marketing and sales process.
Built-in Analytics and Custom Domains
Kajabi provides built-in analytics tools that let users track their progress and continue to grow their business. Additionally, users can create their custom domain to ensure that their courses can be found easily and efficiently.
Course Creation Tools and Templates
Kajabi offers a course creation tool that lets users create classes, videos, and other forms of digital educational content. The platform also provides a library of ready-made themes to streamline the website creation process.
Lead Generation and Product Launch Tools
Kajabi offers lead generation and product launch tools to help users efficiently automate their marketing campaigns. This includes webinar funnels through what’s called Blueprints to make your course selling business even more efficient.
Networking and Mobile Features
Kajabi also offers networking and mobile features to help users stay connected with their students and manage their courses on-the-go.
How Much Does Kajabi Cost?
Kajabi offers three pricing plans to choose from, each with its own set of features and benefits. The pricing ranges from $149 to $315 per month, and annual billing options are also available for a cost savings.
No Hidden Fees
Kajabi has a transparent pricing structure and does not have any hidden fees. However, there is a standard Stripe merchant processing fee of 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction.
Money-Back Guarantee
One of the great things about Kajabi is that they offer a money-back guarantee. This means that if you are not satisfied with their software within 30 days of your first payment, you can cancel your subscription and request a refund.
Kajabi Basic
The Basic Plan is the most affordable option and costs $149 per month or $119 per month when billed annually.
This plan includes 3 products, 3 pipelines, unlimited landing pages, and marketing emails. Users can have up to 10,000 contacts and 1,000 active members.
The Basic Plan also includes access to Kajabi University, webinars, pre-made templates, and key automation features.
Kajabi Growth
The Growth Plan is the most popular option, costing $199 per month or $159 per month when billed annually.
This plan includes 15 products, 15 pipelines, and up to 25,000 contacts. Users can have up to 10,000 active members and one website.
The Growth Plan also includes advanced automation, 24/7 chat support, and the ability to remove Kajabi’s branding from your domain.
Kajabi Pro
The Pro Plan is the most expensive option, costing $319 per month or $255 per month when billed annually.
This plan includes 100 products, 100 pipelines, up to 100,000 contacts, and up to 20,000 active members. Users can have up to 3 websites and up to 25 admin members.
The Pro Plan also includes all of the features from the Basic and Growth plans, plus additional advanced features.
No Additional Costs
Users can upgrade or downgrade their plan at any time without incurring any additional costs. This makes it easy to start with a lower-priced plan and upgrade as your business grows.
Well Known Kajabi Customers
Kajabi is a popular choice among course creators, with over 25,000 users including well-known names like Amy Porterfield (online marketing expert), Brendan Burchard (personal development coach), and Billy Gene (social media marketing guru).
Impressive Metrics
The platform has been accessed by over 33 million students and has generated over $650 million in sales. These impressive metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of Kajabi for online course creators.
Is Kajabi Worth the Cost?
Kajabi is considered the Cadillac of online course platforms, but it does come at a premium cost compared to some of its competitors.
The two main pricing plans for Kajabi are the Basic ($149/mo.) and Growth ($199/mo.) plans.
In comparison, some competitors offer plans priced as low as $49 and $99 per month.
Extra Features and Benefits
While the basic features of comparable plans may be similar, Kajabi provides additional functions that set it apart from the competition. For example, most providers offer only one of the following features, while Kajabi offers all of them:
- Sales funnel builder
- Email marketing tools
- Membership site builder
- Landing page builder
- Online course creation tools
- Webinar platform
By offering these features as part of its platform, Kajabi eliminates the need for users to purchase and integrate multiple third-party tools.
This can save users time and money, making the higher cost of Kajabi worth it for some users.
| Kajabi Cost Analysis | |||
| Kajabi Functionality | 3rd Party | 3rd Party Cost (Low-end) | 3rd Party Cost (High-end) |
| Sales Funnel Builder | ClickFunnels | $97/month | $297/month |
| Marketing automations | Zapier | $20/month | $120/month |
| Email Service Provider | MailChimp | $10/month | $299/month |
| Website themes + blog | Bluehost | $8/month | $119/month |
| Affiliate Platform | ShareASale | $550 start-up (equates to $46/mo. for first year). Plus 20% of affiliate earnings transaction fee. |
If you choose a course platform other than Kajabi, you may need to purchase and integrate multiple third-party tools to access similar features.
These additional costs can range from $181/mo. to $881/mo., not including affiliate platform transaction fees.
The Cost Is Justified
Even if you only plan to use one or two of these key features, Kajabi’s comprehensive platform may justify its higher cost.
By offering all of these features in one place, Kajabi eliminates the need for users to purchase and integrate multiple third-party tools.
This can save users time and money while creating a professional-looking sales funnel.
Kajabi Communities Overview
Kajabi recently announced the acquisition of Vibely, which will soon be available as part of Kajabi’s monthly subscription program. Let’s explore what this means for Kajabi’s customers.
What Is Kajabi Communities?
Kajabi Communities is a feature that allows course creators to form communities within their platform for their students to discuss ideas and interact with each other.
These communities can be exclusive and are similar to Facebook groups.
Administrators can create multiple communities for specific topics or offer these communities as a separate feature for an additional charge.
Kajabi and Vibely
The next generation of Kajabi Communities will use the Vibely platform, which Kajabi recently acquired. This will add features that foster closer relationships and more interactive groups to the existing Kajabi Communities feature.
The Vibely features include challenges, leaderboards, live calls and chats, accountability tools, and more. The acquisition will create a better overall experience for those using Kajabi Communities.
This update is currently available to a select few but is expected to launch for all customers in January 2023.
What Is Vibely?
Vibely is a platform that allows creators to form communities and exchange ideas while creating closer relationships between members and creators. It provides a more intimate experience than Facebook groups.
Vibely features include event hosting, Zoom integrations, resources for administrators and members, and the option to create fun challenges and display scores on a leaderboard.
Creators using Vibely have the power to choose how much they charge for access to the groups.
Migration to the New System
Users will not need to take any action to receive the benefits of the Vibely acquisition. The updated version of Kajabi Communities will automatically include the new Vibely features, providing an even better experience for Kajabi’s customers.
Kajabi Free Trial Promotion
Kajabi is offering a 60-day free trial that includes access to their new Creator Challenge. With the Creator Challenge, users can launch their businesses with the help of established creators and entrepreneurs who use the Kajabi platform.
Other benefits of signing up include community access, weekly virtual training sessions, and weekly challenges to help grow your business. Kajabi’s 60-day free trial is available from December 1st to 20th.
Alternatives to Kajabi
While Kajabi is a top course platform that offers a comprehensive suite of features, it may not fit everyone’s budget.
Here are some top alternatives to Kajabi:
- Thinkific
- Learndash
- Teachable
- Podia
- Udemy
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Kajabi? Kajabi is a one-stop-shop software for selling online courses. It is an all-in-one platform that allows users to start their own business by selling their own online classes.
Is Kajabi legit? Yes, Kajabi is a legitimate company that was founded in 2010 by Travis Rosser and Kenny Rueter. The company has over 60 employees serving more than 25,000 course creators.
Who uses Kajabi? Kajabi is used by tens of thousands of individual course creators and accessed by over 33 million students.
Does Kajabi replace MailChimp? Kajabi has built-in email marketing tools, so there’s no need to use a third-party email provider. However, Kajabi can integrate with popular email service providers like Aweber, MailChimp, Drip, ConvertKit, and Active Campaign.
Can I sell physical products on Kajabi? Yes, users can sell physical products through Kajabi. However, the software is primarily designed to sell courses and digital products.
Does Kajabi have gamification? Yes, Kajabi supports gamification, which is a way to boost engagement through goals and challenges like points, awards, and badges. It helps students stay motivated and absorb more information.
What is a Kajabi pipeline? Pipelines are marketing funnels designed to maximize conversions of leads and sales. Users can connect landing pages, videos, and email marketing drips in a series to nurture leads into making purchases.
Does Kajabi integrate with WordPress? Yes, Kajabi integrates with WordPress.
Is Kajabi mobile-friendly? Yes, Kajabi courses are fully mobile responsive and render well on any phone, tablet, or computer.
Is Kajabi free? Kajabi offers a free 14-day trial, but the service is not free.
Does Kajabi charge transaction fees? No, Kajabi does not charge transaction fees.
Is Kajabi an LMS? Yes, Kajabi is a web-based learning management system (LMS). LMS software is used to provide training courses and educational content in both written and video format.
Where is Kajabi located? Kajabi headquarters is located in Irvine, California.
What does Kajabi mean? According to one of the founders, Travis Rosser, Kajabi is an aboriginal word that means “to take flight.”