Trying to sell online courses while building a community around your content is a lot harder than most creators think. 

Between managing email marketing, membership subscriptions, digital downloads, and a learning management system that actually delivers a great learning experience, creators often end up duct-taping multiple tools together just to make their course sales work.

Luckily, that's where platforms like Kajabi stand out. 

It's an SaaS platform that helps creators and entrepreneurs create, market, and sell their digital content from a single dashboard.

Whether you're a business coach looking to package your expertise into high-ticket online courses or a relationship therapist building a private membership community for ongoing support, Kajabi gives you the tools to launch your own course platform and turn your followers into paying members with ease.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about Kajabi and explain why many video creators are using the platform to help grow their community.

We'll also highlight 12 Kajabi alternatives that offer different pricing models, community features, and more flexible tools for selling digital products and courses online. 

What Makes Kajabi Stand Out?

Kajabi is built for one core purpose: helping you turn what you know into a profitable online business without piecing together multiple apps or external platforms.

Since launching in 2010, the company has helped tens of thousands of creators generate billions in revenue, with many scaling into six- and seven-figure businesses.

What makes the platform different is that it doesn’t just host your content—it connects everything—your website, products, email marketing, payments, automation, and community—into one streamlined system that's designed to grow with you.

You don't need any coding, extensive plugins, or worry that your integrations won’t randomly break overnight.

Just a centralized hub that packages your content with confidence, allowing you to spend less time managing tech and more time turning your expertise into consistent, scalable income.

And if you still need more convincing on whether Kajabi is right for you, here are several reasons that make the platform really stand out:

Course Builder

Kajabi’s course builder is where your expertise turns into an actual product you can sell.

Just log in and head over to the "Products" section, where you can start building out your program by organizing your material into modules and lessons that feel structured and intentional. 

You can upload video trainings, audio files, written lessons, quizzes, surveys, and exclusive downloads, all housed inside a private member area designed to support a polished learning experience.

Kajabi also includes an AI content assistant that helps by generating course outlines, writing landing page copy, developing sales video scripts, and even creating promotional content for your social media pages. 

That means you’re not staring at a blank screen trying to figure out what comes next. Instead, you have built-in support that helps accelerate your course creation without sacrificing quality.

Branding & Customization

Kajabi gives creators full control over how their brand appears online by including a full website builder directly in the platform.

Rather than hiring a developer or navigating complicated code, you can design your site using a visual editor that allows you to adjust layouts, sections, colors, fonts, and content blocks in real time.

The drag-and-drop functionality makes it easy to structure pages exactly how you want them, whether you’re building a homepage, sales page, or landing page for a new product launch.

Kajabi also offers professionally designed templates that serve as a strong starting point, while still allowing for deep customization so your site doesn’t feel generic.

Overall, it does a great job of reducing any technical maintenance you might have to deal with on other SaaS sites without sacrificing your platform's aesthetic and functionality. 

Podcast Hosting

Looking for a platform to host your podcast? Kajabi's got you covered!

The platform provides you with enough tools to create a dedicated homepage for your podcast where you can upload new or existing episodes and distribute them to major listening apps without ever having to manage multiple programs. 

You can even choose to run a public show to grow your brand or create a private, members-only podcast as part of a paid subscription or online course offer.

Throw in the ability to bundle episodes with digital products and track viewer performance with built-in analytics, and you've got a platform that rivals most podcast hosting sites. 

Marketing & Analytic Tools

One of Kajabi’s strongest advantages is that it doesn’t treat marketing as an afterthought; rather, it integrates it directly into the platform.

Instead of paying for separate email software or funnel builders, you get a fully integrated email marketing system that allows you to send broadcasts, create automated sequences, and segment your audience based on behavior.

Kajabi also provides customizable landing pages and pre-built sales funnels that guide potential customers from opt-in to checkout in a structured way. 

On the analytics side, Kajabi provides visibility into key metrics such as opt-ins, revenue, subscriptions, and overall course sales.

And because your marketing tools and product delivery live in the same system, your automations are triggered by real customer actions, making your campaigns more responsive and far easier to manage.

Managing Your Community

Beyond selling online courses, Kajabi lets creators build and manage private or paid membership communities directly on the platform.  

Members can engage through discussion feeds, live events, challenges, and progress tracking inside a dedicated portal.

So instead of sending your audience to an external community platform like Facebook Groups or Discord to chat, Kajabi keeps engagement tied to your courses and digital products.

This helps create a stronger, more immersive learning experience for your audience while boosting long-term subscription growth.

Accepting Payments

Kajabi makes getting paid as simple as possible with fully customizable checkout pages that let you present your products professionally and accept payments directly on your website, without needing a separate payment system.

The platform automatically integrates with Stripe and PayPal, enabling you to accept major credit cards and digital payments while managing transactions from your dashboard.

You can even structure your pricing in multiple ways, including one-time payments, recurring subscriptions, multi-pay plans, or limited-time promotional offers. 

And because payments are directly connected to your products, email marketing, and automations, new customers can instantly receive access to their courses or memberships without manual setup.

This reduces friction during the buying process and eliminates the backend stress that often comes with managing third-party payment tools, allowing creators to focus on scaling their businesses rather than troubleshooting transactions.

Kajabi Partner Program

Kajabi offers an affiliate program that lets creators turn their platform loyalty into an additional stream of recurring income.

If you already teach course creation, business strategy, or digital product development, recommending Kajabi can feel like a natural extension of your content.

When someone signs up through your referral link and becomes a paying subscriber after their free trial, you earn ongoing commissions based on your partner tier.

It's a great way to earn additional revenue on a platform where you're already selling. 

Why You Might Want to Look for a Kajabi Alternative

When it comes to video hosting and course management, Kajabi is undoubtedly an excellent solution for many creators. But knowing when it’s not the right tool is just as important as knowing when it is.

Depending on your budget, product type, or long-term goals, there are situations where another platform might make more sense.

Here’s an honest breakdown of why Kajabi might not be the best platform for creators:

• You’re Still Figuring Your Niche and Not Making Revenue Yet: If you’re testing your first offer and cash flow is tight, Kajabi’s monthly pricing plans may feel like unnecessary pressure. Starting with a lower-cost or free plan elsewhere can reduce risk while you prove demand.

• You’re Only Selling Simple Digital Downloads: Kajabi is built for structured online courses, memberships, and layered sales funnels. If you’re just selling a single eBook or PDF templates, a lightweight platform like Fourthwall, Gumroad, or Sellfy may handle that job with less overhead.

• You Want to Sell Physical Products: Kajabi isn’t designed for inventory management or complex shipping workflows. If you’re running an eCommerce store with tangible goods, platforms like Fourthwall will give you stronger tools for fulfillment and logistics.

• You Operate Purely as a Service Provider: If your revenue comes exclusively from 1:1 client work and you have no plans to create online courses or scalable digital products, Kajabi may be more infrastructure than you need. Simpler scheduling and invoicing tools might serve you better.

• Community is Your Entire Business Model: Kajabi includes membership and community features, but if your top priority is deep discussion threads, advanced member segmentation, and a community-first design, platforms like Circle or Mighty Networks are more specialized in those areas.

• You Want Total Design Control: Kajabi offers solid customization through its builder, but it’s still a structured system. If you prefer complete backend flexibility and custom development freedom, platforms like WordPress can offer more control, though it comes with added complexity and maintenance.

Bottom line: Kajabi is the kind of platform that makes sense when you’re committed to building a real course or membership business and not just experimenting with an idea. 

If you’re still validating your first offer or figuring out whether selling digital products is right for you, a simpler, more affordable tool might be a smarter starting point.

However, if you’re ready to scale and treat your expertise like a full-fledged brand, Kajabi becomes the perfect upgrade.

Top Kajabi Alternatives for Selling Courses Online

1. Fourthwall

If you’re looking to upload and sell online courses, gated video libraries, or exclusive digital products, Fourthwall gives you a fully branded membership site where your premium content lives behind a secured paywall.

With Fourthwall, you can upload high-quality VOD content (including 1080p), such as educational courses, gaming tutorials, or video podcasts, and organize them into tagged collections or Netflix-style series, creating a professional-looking catalog for your audience to enjoy.

You can even set up tiered memberships that give your audience different levels of access—whether that’s basic entry to your video library, mid-tier perks like exclusive downloads and bonus lessons, or VIP access that includes live streams, private chats, and behind-the-scenes content.

But what really sets Fourthwall apart is how it goes beyond digital content.

In addition to selling courses and memberships, you can design and sell physical merch, like apparel, accessories, and collectibles, directly from the same storefront.

For creators looking to scale their brand beyond online courses, Fourthwall gives you the tools to soar!

Pricing: Free to join with no monthly subscriptions or hidden fees. Fourthwall only charges a 5% on all memberships and digital products sold. 

2. Podia

Podia is a streamlined, all-in-one platform built for course creators who want to launch fast without getting buried in tech.

You can create and sell unlimited online courses, digital downloads, webinars, coaching sessions, and memberships, all while supporting unlimited students and bandwidth on its core plans.

It's built-in website builder lets you design clean, conversion-focused sales pages without touching code, making it easy to present your offers professionally from day one.

Podia also includes email marketing, affiliate management, customer messaging, and course completion certificates, so you don’t have to stack extra software just to grow.

With instant payouts and strong customer support, it’s a practical choice for creators who want a simple, scalable way to sell digital products and build a loyal audience.

Pricing: Podia’s Mover plan starts at $39/month ($33/month annually) with a 5% transaction fee, while the Shaker plan costs $89/month ($75/month annually) with no transaction fees.

3. Thinkific

Thinkific is a dedicated online course platform built for educators and entrepreneurs who want to deliver structured, high-quality learning experiences.

It gives you the tools to design self-paced programs, live sessions, and cohort-based courses in a way that feels organized and intentional.

With Thinkific, you can build out full lesson pathways with assignments and assessments that reinforce what students are learning, rather than simply uploading videos and calling it a course.

The platform also allows you to create a branded website where your courses and digital products are showcased professionally. 

For educators who want a focused, education-first system that relies less on external tools, Thinkific provides a solid foundation for growing a course-based business.

Pricing: Thinkific offers a Free plan with no transaction fees, followed by paid tiers starting at $49/month (Basic), $99/month (Pro), and $499/month (Premier).

4. Circle

Circle is a community-first platform tailored for creators whose business revolves around connection and conversation, not just content delivery. 

Rather than treating discussion as an add-on to a course, Circle structures everything, such as live events, group coaching, content libraries, chats, and resources, inside flexible community spaces that feel dynamic and interactive.

This makes it ideal for cohort-based programs, masterminds, and ongoing memberships where engagement and accountability drive results.

You’re not locked into a rigid course-first framework, which gives you the freedom to design learning experiences around collaboration and conversation.

With strong branding controls, detailed analytics, gamification tools, and a dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android, Circle lets you create a fully customized, scalable community environment.

Pricing: Circle’s paid plans start at $99/month (Professional), $219/month (Business), and $499/month (Enterprise), with custom pricing for its fully branded app option.

5. Teachable

Teachable provides the infrastructure to build structured lessons that guide students through a clear learning path from start to finish.

You can design professional sales pages and a centralized storefront for all your products, making it easy for potential students to explore and enroll.

Teachable's flexible pricing options allow you to offer one-time purchases, payment plans, or recurring subscriptions, depending on how you want to monetize your content.

The platform handles all payments and affiliate commissions automatically, which makes it especially useful for creators who collaborate with partners or rely on referral marketing.

Though it doesn’t include a built-in community space, it does remain a strong choice for educators who want a reliable, course-focused system built specifically for monetizing expertise.

Pricing: Teachable offers a Free plan with transaction fees, while paid plans start at $39/month (Basic), $199/month (Pro), and $299/month (Business).

6. Learnworlds

LearnWorlds is for educators and businesses that want to create immersive, professional-grade online learning experiences.

The platform allows you to build and sell courses, memberships, and subscriptions while delivering content through an interactive course player designed to increase engagement.

Instead of simply uploading videos, you can enhance lessons with built-in editing tools, transcripts, assessments, and question banks that make your content more dynamic and structured.

The platform also includes a customizable website builder, allowing you to design your online school and experiment with layouts to match your brand.

While LearnWorlds focuses heavily on course-based businesses rather than broader digital product ecosystems, it excels at helping creators monetize structured education with a polished, interactive delivery system.

Pricing: LearnWorlds plans start at $29/month (Starter, plus $5 per course sale), $99/month (Pro Trainer), $299/month (Learning Center), with custom pricing for Corporate plans.

7. Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks centers your business around your community by offering free or paid memberships and personalized feeds that bring relevant discussions and content to your members.

The platform supports live streams, virtual events, direct messaging, and group chats, which makes it easier to create real interaction with your network rather than passive chit-chat.

On higher-tier plans, you can also offer live or cohort-based online courses directly inside your community, blending structured learning with ongoing engagement.

Your members can also interact through profiles, events, and calendar features, while you track your community's growth and participation through built-in analytics.

Although course tools and advanced monetization features require you to upgrade to the Business plan or above, it's definitely worth the investment if you have a thriving community you want to keep together. 

Pricing: Mighty Networks plans start at $39/month (Community), $119/month (Business), with custom pricing available for Mighty Pro.

8. LearnDash

LearnDash is a WordPress LMS plugin that gives creators full control over their online course business. 

It has a drag-and-drop course builder that makes it easy to organize your lessons, while its interactive elements, such as quizzes, assignments, leaderboards, and certifications, provide a more engaging experience for students.

However, one of LearnDash’s biggest advantages is flexibility. Since it works with virtually any WordPress theme, you can integrate it with a wide range of plugins, allowing you to add memberships, subscriptions, community tools, or as many eCommerce features as needed.

You also won’t pay transaction fees on your course sales, which can be appealing for creators scaling higher-ticket programs.

That said, LearnDash requires a lot of comfort with WordPress and the ability to manage multiple integrations, so it’s best suited for creators who need extensive customization and are prepared to handle the technical side of running their own site.

Pricing: LearnDash plans start at $199/year (Basic), $229/year (Plus), and $369/year (Pro), not including WordPress hosting and domain costs.

9. Kartra

Kartra is an all-in-one marketing platform geared toward creators who want a strong sales infrastructure around their content.

It allows you to build checkout pages, sales funnels, email campaigns, and automated marketing sequences without relying on multiple third-party tools.

While it isn’t a traditional course-first platform, you can monetize content through paid membership areas, drip releases, and gated resources, making it possible to sell digital products and subscription-based access.

Where Kartra really stands out, though, is on the business operations side.

It includes built-in calendar scheduling for appointments, a customer helpdesk for support tickets, and lead management tools to organize and nurture potential prospects. 

For creators looking to prioritize marketing automation and backend sales systems over community features, Kartra offers a powerful solution. 

Pricing: Kartra plans start at $99/month (Starter), $199/month (Silver), $299/month (Gold), and $499/month (Platinum).

10. Teachery

Teachery is an online course platform that focuses on simplicity over complexity.

It provides course creators with a clean, easy-to-use editor that lets them build unlimited lessons and modules without feeling overwhelmed by advanced tools or settings. 

If you want to duplicate a course for a new cohort or rerun a program, you can do so quickly without having to rebuild everything from scratch.

With Teachery, you can create polished sales pages and landing pages to promote your offers, while also supporting memberships, product bundles, and affiliate programs.

Because there are no upsells or feature-locked add-ons, you get access to the full toolset for one flat rate, which makes budgeting predictable and straightforward. 

Pricing: Teachery costs $49/month or $470/year with unlimited courses and students included on both plans.

11. Gumroad

Gumroad is a lean, no-frills eCommerce platform that makes it incredibly easy for creators to start selling digital products without building a full-on website.

You can upload your course files, set a price, write a simple sales description, and start accepting payments in under an hour.

There are no upfront monthly fees, and digital files are delivered to customers instantly after purchase.

Gumroad also includes basic audience tools, allowing buyers to follow you and receive updates about new launches, which makes it easier to resell future courses or bundles.

Though it lacks many advanced customization options and built-in course structures like traditional LMS platforms, it works pretty well if you want to sell self-paced video lessons or downloadable course materials without having to manage a lot of tech. 

Pricing: Gumroad charges no monthly fees. Instead, it takes a percentage of each sale (starting at 10% and dropping to around 3.5% as you earn more).

12. Sellfy

Sellfy is one of the most straightforward platforms on this list, making it ideal for beginning course creators who want to start selling without navigating a complicated backend. 

The platform gives you a clean, ready-to-go storefront with a smooth checkout experience, automated digital delivery, and unlimited product uploads, so you can focus on content rather than configuration.

Sellfy also includes built-in tools for email marketing, discount codes, upselling, subscriptions, and cart recovery, but keeps everything intentionally simple and easy to manage.

There’s no overwhelming dashboard, no feature overload, and no hidden complexity. Just a lean system built to help you monetize your digital downloads and online courses quickly.

Pricing: Plans start at $22/month (Starter), $59/month (Business), and $119/month (Premium), with no transaction fees and a 14-day free trial available.

How to Choose the Right Platform for Your Content

When it comes down to it, choosing the right online course platform isn’t just about picking the most popular name. It’s about matching the right tools to your business goals.

Whether you’re planning to create online courses, run memberships, or build a full-scale community, the platform you choose will shape your entire workflow.

Here’s a quick overview of steps to consider when choosing the right platform for your content. 

Start With Your Business Model

Before comparing platforms, ask yourself one simple question: What am I actually selling?

If your focus is structured online courses with assessments and certifications, you’ll want a strong LMS built for course creation.

If community is your main product, Mighty Networks might make more sense.

If you’re planning to sell online courses alongside digital downloads and coaching, an all-in-one platform with built-in marketing tools could be the smarter move.

Compare Free vs. Paid Pricing Plans

Many platforms offer a free plan or trial, which is great for testing the waters before committing to higher pricing plans.

However, free tiers often limit advanced features like automation, affiliate tools, memberships, or unlimited students.

Evaluate what’s included at each level and decide whether you’re optimizing for low startup cost or long-term scalability.

Evaluate Course Creation & LMS Features

Look closely at the course builder itself.

Does the platform offer drag-and-drop editing? Can you structure lessons with quizzes, prerequisites, and drip content? 

If you're looking for something more intuitive and self-contained, platforms like Kajabi or Thinkific may feel easier if you want to avoid managing plugins.

Review Monetization & Marketing Tools

Selling online courses isn’t just about hosting videos—it’s about driving revenue.

Check whether the platform includes email marketing, sales funnels, landing pages, affiliate programs, and marketing automation.

Some platforms deeply integrate these tools, while others require third-party integrations. If your strategy depends on email campaigns and automation workflows, that can be a deciding factor.

Consider Community & Membership Features

If you plan to build recurring income through memberships, make sure the platform supports subscriptions and gated content.

Platforms like Kajabi and Fourthwall combine memberships with digital products, while Mighty Networks leans heavily into community-driven learning.

Consider whether you want to include discussions, live events, or even a mobile app experience to keep your members engaged.

Think About Integrations & Long-Term Flexibility

When choosing an online course platform, it’s important to look beyond the core features and think about how everything connects behind the scenes.

Some platforms, like Kajabi, aim to keep your website builder, email marketing, sales funnels, and memberships inside one unified ecosystem.

Others, such as LearnDash, rely heavily on third-party integrations through WordPress, with tools like Zapier to connect your LMS with email providers, payment processors, and marketing software.

In the end, neither approach is automatically better as it all comes down to your preferences and level of technical comfort.

Turn Your Audience Into a Sustainable Income Stream

If you’re serious about monetizing your expertise, Fourthwall gives you more than just a place to upload videos. It gives you a full website dedicated to growing your brand!

Host and sell online courses, lock premium content behind memberships, and create tiered subscription levels that reward your most engaged fans.

With Fourthwall, your storefront is fully customizable, your audience data belongs to you, and you keep the majority of your recurring revenue.

You can even design and sell physical merch which you can promote directly on your videos or social medial channels, giving you more ways to make money and turn casual viewers into loyal supporters.

So if you're looking to build a long-term buisness off your content, sign up with Fourthwall today and join the hundreds of thousands of creators who are monetizing their content and turning their brand into a full-on business. 

FAQ: Kajabi

What is Kajabi and how does it work?

Kajabi is an all-in-one online course platform that allows course creators to build, market, and sell digital products such as online courses, memberships, coaching programs, and podcasts.

It combines a course builder, email marketing, sales funnels, and payment processing into one ecosystem. This eliminates the need for multiple third-party tools when launching and scaling a knowledge-based business.

Is Kajabi worth it for course creators?

Kajabi can be worth the investment for course creators who want an integrated system with built-in marketing tools, automation, and email campaigns.

It is especially valuable for those who plan to sell online courses long-term and scale through memberships and recurring revenue. However, creators on a tight budget may prefer starting with platforms that offer a free plan.

What are the best Kajabi alternatives in 2026?

Some of the most popular Kajabi alternatives include Podia, Thinkific, Fourthwall, LearnWorlds, and Mighty Networks.

Each platform offers different strengths, such as advanced LMS features, community-driven learning, or greater customization through WordPress.

Overall, the right choice depends on whether you prioritize course creation, community building, or flexible pricing plans.

Does Kajabi have a free plan?

Kajabi does not offer a permanent free plan, but it typically provides a free trial so creators can test the platform before committing to a paid subscription.

If having a free plan is essential, alternatives like Thinkific or other online course platforms may offer entry-level options.