Best Course Creation Software 2021

Kajabi Competitors & Alternatives

Are you considering purchasing Kajabi to manage your course creation process? Before making the purchase, it’s best to learn about Kajabi’s top competitors. The six best alternatives are listed below, along with details on their features and pricing.

Kajabi is one of the most popular, and advanced course creation solutions in the market. It is robust, highly customizable, and best for experienced course creators. However, it belongs in a competitive market. Therefore, we recommend comparing Kajabi against its top competitors before purchasing.

There are seven course creation solutions worth considering. They primarily differentiate based upon their feature-richness, the level of control they give you over your course and website designs, and the marketing tools offered. As you can see below, Kajabi is an advanced solution that is also one of the most expensive.

”best

Below, we provide detailed insight into Kajabi’s features and pricing, and compare those factors against its top competitors. To gain a better understanding of Kajabi and its capabilities, you can read our in-depth Kajabi review. You can also read more of our course creation software comparisons.

All of the information in this guide is based upon research, discussions with course creators, and dozens of hours spent hand-testing the leading course creation software platforms. The details of our research process can be found on our article covering the best online course platforms.

Table of Contents

Kajabi Features

Before we examine Kajabi’s competitors, it’s important to understand Kajabi’s own features. As an all-in-one platform, Kajabi offers course creation features not found in other solutions like advanced marketing tools and high-level design capabilities.

The nine most important features that Kajabi offers are described in the table below.

FeatureDescription
Course BuilderKajabi offers a course builder that you can use to create and publish courses in multiple multimedia formats, including images, videos, code, links, and assessments. Kajabi also includes different themes that showcase course elements in different arrangements on screen.
Website BuilderKajabi lets you build your website from scratch, and host it on your custom domain. Unlike other tools, Kajabi’s website builder is design-focused with lots of customization features. You can use your own or prebuilt themes and page templates to design your website.
Email CampaignsIn Kajabi, you can send email broadcasts and email sequences. Email broadcasts are single emails that are used to promote a product or increase customer engagement. Email sequences are a series of automated emails triggered by customer actions.
Affiliate ManagementIn Kajabi, your affiliates can earn a percentage of every transaction they’ve brought to your site. Kajabi also provides performance data for your affiliate marketing channel including conversion rate, conversations, form submissions, and clicks.
Marketing AutomationsKajabi offers pipelines, which are an automated series of actions you can set up to move your customers through your marketing funnel. For example, after someone fills out a form, you can automatically send them an email sequence that leads them to an offers page that markets courses relevant to their responses.
QuizzesIn Kajabi, you can choose whether your quiz is multiple choice, paragraph, file upload, or multiple answer. You can also set a passing grade, write a “start”, “passed”, and “failed” message, and group questions together into sections.
CouponsKajabi lets you create coupons that work either once, monthly, or forever. You can create a coupon code, set the discount as a dollar amount or percentage, and set an expiration date.
Course BundlesKajabi lets you bundle your courses into packages that can be sold at a discounted price. You can set each bundles’ title, description, and image. You can also send a confirmation of purchase email, and send purchasers to a thank you page.
Sales TrackerKajabi’s sales tracker lets you monitor your net and offer revenue, revenue for certain time periods, and returned revenue and refunds. Kajabi also displays this information graphically.

Kajabi Competitor Overview: Features

Below is a chart that compares each competitors’ available features. Almost all of these competitors offer standard course creation features. However, the main difference between all of them is the audience each works best for. For example, Kajabi works best for more experienced creators and Podia works best for beginner creators.

We also recommend paying attention to each platform’s marketing tools because the quality ranges widely. For example, Kajabi offers advanced tools like automations, email campaigns, and pipelines. Thinkific only offers a sales widget that can be used to purchase your courses anywhere online.

Kajabi feature comparison chart vs. competitors

Kajabi Competitor Overview: Pricing

Kajabi’s pricing starts at $149, with its most popular plan priced at $199 per month. You can also save 20% if you purchase the annual plan upfront. Kajabi is currently the most expensive solution in the market. However, it charges 0% transaction fees for every plan.

Here are some pricing comparisons between Kajabi and its top competitors:

Online Course PlatformPricing
Kajabi
  • Basic: $149 per month
  • Growth: $199 per month
  • Pro: $399 per month
Thinkific
  • Free: $0 per month
  • Basic: $49 per month
  • Pro: $99 per month
  • Premier: $499 per month
LearnWorlds
  • Starter: $29 per month
  • Pro Trainer: $99 per month
  • Learning Center $299 per month
Teachable
  • Basic: $39 per month
  • Pro: $119 per month
  • Business: $299 per month
Podia
  • Mover: $39 per month
  • Shaker: $79 per month

Top Kajabi Competitors

The course creation market offers solutions that work for different types of course creators. We’ve ranked Kajabi’s top six competitors based on their features, pricing, and usability.

Kajabi
Kajabi
Rating 91
Thinkific
Thinkific
Rating 90
Thinkific
Thinkific
Rating 90
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds
Rating 89
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds
Rating 89
Teachable
Teachable
Rating 87
Teachable
Teachable
Rating 87
Podia
Podia
Rating 85
Podia
Podia
Rating 85

1: Thinkific

Thinkific is a popular, mid-tier online course platform with over 50,000 instructors. While it’s not as robust as Kajabi, it is feature-rich for an intermediate solution. Its platform is also more intuitive, more reasonably priced, and better for beginner course creators.

For a direct comparison, check out our Kajabi vs. Thinkific article.

You'll prefer Kajabi if:

  • You want a single platform to manage your course building, marketing, and selling
  • You want advanced marketing tools – automated campaigns, and pipelines
  • You want a mobile app that your students can use
You'll prefer Thinkific if:

  • You want a basic, free plan simply to host your content online
  • You want to keep your integrations – including Mailchimp, WordPress, and Squarespace
  • You want course templates that make it easier and faster to make courses
Thinkific
Rating: 90
Starting Price: $49 per month

Thinkific is an online course creation solution with approximately 50,000 instructors. It helps course creators build and market their online courses and websites. It’s not the most advanced solution, but it’s powerful and easy-to-use. Overall, it’s ideal for ambitious beginners and established course creators.

Pros:
  • Thinkific offers a basic, free plan that’s ideal for testing the platform or hosting your content
  • Thinkific is one of the more affordable middle-tier solutions available
  • Thinkific offers course templates
Cons:
  • Thinkific is limited in terms of customizing the design of your courses and website
  • Thinkific does not offer a mobile app
  • Thinkific does not support ACH payments

2: LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds is a newer online course platform with over a thousand instructors. It is also most similar to Kajabi in terms of how advanced each platform is. They both offer great design flexibility and let you create more professional looking websites. While LearnWorlds does not offer the marketing tools Kajabi does, it is more budget-friendly.

For a direct comparison, check out our Kajabi vs. LearnWorlds article.

You'll prefer Kajabi if:

  • You want a single platform to manage your building, marketing, and selling
  • You want advanced marketing tools – including automated campaigns, pipelines, and email marketing
  • You want a mobile app for your students
You'll prefer LearnWorlds if:

  • You want the best website design capabilities
  • You want a wider range of multimedia uploads – including ebooks, SoundCloud, and YouTube videos
  • You want to include gamification elements in your courses – i.e. badges
LearnWorlds
Rating: 89
Starting Price: $29 per month

LearnWorlds is a new, fast-growing course creation software solution with around a thousand instructors. LearnWorlds is an advanced solution that gives course creators complete control over the design of their websites. We recommend LearnWorlds if you value a professionally designed website, and the ability to fully customize your courses.

Pros:
  • The LearnWorlds course builder comes with a wider range of customization options than any other solution in the market
  • LearnWorlds is mobile and tablet friendly, and offers a mobile app for an extra fee
  • LearnWorlds offers interactive videos
Cons:
  • LearnWorlds' course player is not very customizable
  • LearnWorlds does not include an email marketing tool
  • LearnWorlds does not offer an in-platform student feedback feature

3: Podia

Podia is an online course platform with over a thousand instructors. While Podia is not as feature-rich, it is a high-quality, basic solution that is more affordable and approachable than Kajabi. Podia is ideal for those who are just starting their course creation journeys.

For a direct comparison, check out our Kajabi vs. Podia article.

You'll prefer Kajabi if:

  • You want a single platform to manage your course building, marketing, and selling
  • You want advanced marketing tools – automated campaigns, and pipelines
  • You want a mobile app that your students can use
You'll prefer Podia if:

  • You want a simpler, more affordable tool that is better for beginners
  • You prefer use external software to market your courses – e.g. Aweber or Mailchimp
  • You value an in-platform student messaging feature
Podia
Rating: 85
Starting Price: $39 per month

Podia is a course creation solution with over a thousand instructors. Podia provides what you need to sell online courses, webinars, file downloads, and memberships without worrying about the technology involved. We recommend Podia to those who are beginners and need a basic platform to begin their course creation journeys.

Pros:
  • Podia is one of the more affordable solutions in the market
  • Podia allows you to stream live classes with no coding knowledge
  • Podia offers an in-platform student messaging feature
Cons:
  • Podia does not offer a mobile app
  • Podia does not offer gamification features
  • Podia does not offer an in-platform student feedback feature

4: Teachable

Teachable is the most popular course creation solution in the market with over 120,000 instructors. It is a mid-tier tool that is more user-friendly and affordable than Kajabi. Teachable is best for those who want to build effective courses, but don’t need any of the extras that come with advanced platforms.

For a direct comparison, check out our Kajabi vs. Teachable article.

You'll prefer Kajabi if:

  • You want a single platform that manages your course creation, marketing and selling
  • You want advanced marketing tools – including automated campaigns, pipelines, and email marketing
  • You want advanced site design features
You'll prefer Teachable if:

  • You want a simpler tool that is more affordable and better for beginners
  • Having more advanced sales reporting is important to you
  • You want to create in-platform certificates to give to students who complete your courses
Teachable
Rating: 87
Starting Price: $39 per month

Teachable is one of the most popular course creation solutions with over 120,000 instructors. Teachable is an intuitive, powerful platform that beginners can master. Teachable is best for course creators who prefer a high-quality, mid-tier solution.

Pros:
  • Teachable works well for the hobbyist course creator
  • Teachable offers a clean and organized student experience
  • Teachable offers a built-in certificate creator to recognize students who have completed courses
Cons:
  • Teachable’s email feature is very limited and not marketing friendly
  • Teachable does not offer gamification features
  • Teachable’s platform does not offer translations of your site or courses

5: Heights Platform

Heights Platform is a newer, more basic course creation solution that helps creators build courses and sell digital products. Height’s Platform is not nearly as robust in features compared to Kajabi, but Heights Platform customers have influence over the product’s roadmap. Heights Platform also offers superior in platform student discussion tools.

You'll prefer Kajabi if:

  • You want advanced marketing tools – including automated campaigns, pipelines, and email marketing
  • You want advanced site design features
  • You want a mobile app that your students can use
You'll prefer Heights Platform if:

  • You want high quality student discussion tools – including message boards and student messaging
  • You want above average customer support
  • You want to include gamification elements in your courses – i.e. badges
Heights Platform
Rating: 84
Starting Price: $49 per month

Heights Platform is a new, up-and-coming course creation platform with a focus on driving successful student outcomes. It includes the standard features that help creators build online courses and sell digital products. Overall, Heights Platform is best for those who need a simpler, more basic course creation solution.

Pros:
  • Heights Platform does not charge additional transaction fees
  • Heights Platform’s customer support is quick and highly responsive
  • Heights Platform lets you sell other products along with your courses – including digital products and messageboards
Cons:
  • Heights Platform is priced similarly to Thinkific and Teachable, but not as feature-rich
  • Heights Platform’s course & site builder offer limited design customizations
  • Heights Platform does not come with tools to execute affiliate marketing campaigns

6: Mighty Networks

Mighty Networks is an online course platform that supports creators who want to build a community around their content. Mighty Networks is more affordable than Kajabi, but less robust in terms of features. However, Mighty Networks is more intuitive and offers superior student discussion features compared to Kajabi.

You'll prefer Kajabi if:

  • You want a single platform that manages your course creation, marketing and selling
  • You want advanced marketing tools – including automated campaigns, pipelines, and email marketing
  • You want advanced site design features
You'll prefer Mighty Networks if:

  • You want an advanced, in-platform student discussion tool
  • You want to customize the language used in your online school – for example, you can refer to yourself as a professor, or teacher
  • You want to stream live classes without any coding
Mighty Networks
Rating: 82
Starting Price: $98 per month

Mighty Networks is a course creation platform that helps creators build a community around their course content. If you believe that a community-focused online platform is the best fit for your school and courses, then Mighty Networks is an option worth considering. Overall, Mighty Networks is best for those who need a more basic course creation solution.

Pros:
  • Mighty Networks offers an advanced, in-platform student discussion tool
  • Mighty Networks offers a mobile app that lets students take courses on-the-go
  • Mighty Networks lets you customize the language used in your online school – for example, you can refer to yourself as a professor, or teacher
Cons:
  • You have to purchase Mighty Networks’ Business plan to create and host courses
  • Mighty Networks does not offer features found in most alternative solutions – including quizzes, assignments, coupons
  • Mighty Networks charges different transaction fees depending on the plan you purchase

Bottom Line

Kajabi is one of the most popular online course solutions in the market. It is also the most advanced, with marketing tools and design capabilities not found in many competitors. However, its platform has a steep learning curve, so we recommend Kajabi for experienced course creators.

Before you make your purchase though, we suggest comparing Kajabi to other highly ranked platforms:

  • LearnWorlds is best for experienced course creators who want advanced design capabilities at a more affordable price
  • Thinkific is best for those who want a powerful mid-tier platform that’s also user-friendly
  • Teachable is ideal for beginner and more established course creators who want an effective platform
  • Podia is best for beginners who want a basic and affordable platform

You can also use our course creation quiz to figure out which solution works best for you.

Amy Yang

Amy Yang is a Junior Research Analyst at SoftwarePundit, where she conducts in-depth analyses on software markets and products. Amy has expertise in content production and managing digital and social platforms. She has a Bachelor of Science in Communication & Media, and a Minor in Web Programming and Applications from NYU. You can connect with Amy on LinkedIn.

Amy is an expert in several software categories including:

  • Course creation software
  • Electronic signature software
  • Social media software
  • Website builder software

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