Kajabi alternatives in 2026: 8 cheaper ways to sell courses
Kajabi now starts at $179 a month. Here are 8 Kajabi alternatives for courses, coaching, and memberships, with real prices and fees checked September 2026.
Kajabi's cheapest plan is now $179 a month ($143 a month billed yearly), after its first price rise in ten years. The best Kajabi alternative for most solo creators is Eden: courses, cohorts, coaching, memberships, and downloads from $29 a month plus 5% per sale, which works out cheaper than Kajabi Basic until you sell about $3,000 a month. Teachable, Podia, and Thinkific are the closest like-for-like swaps, Skool is the pick if community is the product, and Systeme.io is the free option.
This guide is for creators who priced Kajabi, or pay for it now, and want to know what the same money buys elsewhere. Full disclosure: we make Eden, which is first on this list. Every price below was checked on each company's own pricing page in September 2026. Payment processing (usually 2.9% + 30¢ per US card sale) applies on every platform and is left out of the platform fees unless we say otherwise.
What Kajabi costs now
Kajabi moved existing customers to new prices on January 13, 2026. Legacy plans now pay the same as the new ones, and the old $89 Kickstarter plan is no longer offered to new customers.
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Products | Contacts | Admin users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $179 | $143/mo | 5 | 2,500 | 2 |
| Growth | $249 | $199/mo | 50 | 25,000 | 11 |
| Pro | $499 | $399/mo | Unlimited | 100,000 | 26 |
Kajabi Payments costs 2.7% to 2.9% + 30¢ depending on your plan. If you use your own Stripe account instead, Kajabi adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, or 0.5% on Pro.
What you get is a lot: a website, funnels, unlimited email marketing, communities, cohort courses, a branded mobile app, affiliates, and automations. That is the honest case for Kajabi. If you use most of those every week, it can be worth the price. The trouble is that most creators start with one course and a mailing list, and pay for the whole suite anyway. The contact caps add up too: Basic stops at 2,500 contacts, and every extra 5,000 costs $25 a month.
The short version
| Platform | Best for | Price from | Platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden | Courses, coaching, and AI products from one workspace | $29/mo | 5% |
| Teachable | A straight course platform at a low start price | $39/mo ($29 yearly) | 7.5% on Starter |
| Thinkific | Unlimited courses and a long free trial | $54/mo ($40 yearly) | 0% |
| Podia | Courses, downloads, coaching, and community in one plan | $42/mo (yearly) | 5% on Mover |
| Skool | Community-first courses | $9/mo | 10% on Hobby |
| Circle | A polished paid community | $89/mo (yearly) | 2% |
| Systeme.io | Funnels and email on a free plan | Free | 0% |
| Payhip | Selling downloads and simple courses with no monthly bill | Free | 5% on Free |
1. Eden
Eden is a creator workspace with a store built in. You write your lessons, notes, and files in Eden, then sell them as a course, a cohort, a coaching offer, a membership, a digital download, or a bundle. Every product lands on your own page at your handle, which doubles as your link in bio.
What it does well:
- Every product type Kajabi sells to a solo creator: courses with lesson checkmarks, cohorts with seats and live sessions, coaching with applications and booking on your Google Calendar, memberships billed monthly or yearly, downloads, and bundles.
- Selling tools on the $29 Starter plan: discount codes, order bumps, timed sales, and testimonials. Pro at $79 adds one-click upsells after checkout, an affiliate program that tracks each affiliate's link and cut, and Meta Pixel tracking.
- Something Kajabi has no version of: a Custom AI built from your course. Buyers can ask it about the lesson they are on, run the exercise, and get feedback in your voice. See how to sell a custom AI.
- It is the same workspace where you research, write, and schedule your content, so the $29 is not only a store bill.
Where it falls short: Eden has no built-in email broadcasts. It sends buyers and signups to Kit, beehiiv, GoHighLevel, or Substack instead. There is no community space (cohorts link out to your Discord, Skool, or WhatsApp group), no funnel builder, and no custom domain. Your store lives at your-handle.eden.so. And the 5% fee means that past a certain size, Kajabi's flat price wins.
The fee math: Eden Starter is $150 a month cheaper than Kajabi Basic. The 5% fee closes that gap at $3,000 a month in sales. Against Kajabi Growth, the break-even is about $4,400 a month.
Price: free to build. Selling needs Starter at $29/mo, Pro at $79/mo, or Studio at $199/mo. Eden takes 5% of each sale, and Stripe's processing fee comes out of your share.
Best for: creators who sell what they know and want courses, coaching, and an AI tutor without a $179 monthly bill.
2. Teachable
Teachable is the closest thing to a straight Kajabi swap for courses. It has a course builder, sales pages, coupons, and unlimited students on every plan.
Where it falls short: the Starter plan takes 7.5% of every sale on top of processing, and it allows only 5 products and 1 admin user. The fee drops to 0% on Builder, which costs $89 a month. More in Teachable alternatives.
Price: Starter $39/mo ($29 yearly), Builder $89/mo ($69 yearly), Growth $189/mo ($139 yearly). 7-day trial.
Best for: a course-only business that will move to Builder once sales are steady.
3. Thinkific
Thinkific gives you unlimited courses on every plan and the longest trial on this list, 30 days. There is no platform fee when you use Thinkific Payments.
Where it falls short: the Basic plan allows only 5 digital downloads, and using Stripe or PayPal directly adds a gateway fee that varies by plan. Plans have been renamed, so older reviews quote prices that no longer exist.
Price: Basic $54/mo ($40 yearly), Start $109/mo ($82 yearly), Grow $219/mo ($164 yearly).
Best for: creators with several courses who want room to grow on one flat price.
4. Podia
Podia bundles courses, downloads, coaching, community, and events into every plan. It is the simplest "all of it, no setup" option.
Where it falls short: the email caps are very low (100, 500, and 1,000 subscribers by plan), so you will likely pay for a separate email tool anyway. The Mover plan also takes 5% per sale. See Podia alternatives.
Price: Mover $42/mo, Shaker $84/mo, Earthquaker $150/mo, all billed yearly. 14-day trial, no card needed.
Best for: a small creator who wants every product type in one easy dashboard.
5. Skool
Skool is a community with a classroom attached. Members get courses, a feed, a leaderboard, and live calls in one place, which is why so many coaches moved there. We compared it in depth in Eden vs Skool.
Where it falls short: there is no real website, funnel, or email-marketing builder. The Hobby plan takes 10% of each sale.
Price: Hobby $9/mo with a 10% fee, Pro $99/mo with a 2.9% fee.
Best for: creators whose product is the community itself.
6. Circle
Circle is the most polished paid-community platform, with courses, events, and member spaces.
Where it falls short: every plan takes a platform fee, and the entry price is close to Kajabi's own old Kickstarter plan.
Price: Professional $89/mo with a 2% fee, Business $199/mo with 1%, both billed yearly. 14-day trial.
Best for: communities large enough to need real moderation and structure.
7. Systeme.io
Systeme.io has the most generous free plan on this list: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, and unlimited emails, with 0% fees. Paid plans stay cheap.
Where it falls short: the pages and course player feel basic next to Kajabi or Eden, and design control is limited.
Price: Free, then Startup $17/mo, Webinar $47/mo, Unlimited $97/mo.
Best for: creators who want funnels and email on a tiny budget.
8. Payhip
Payhip sells courses, downloads, and memberships with every feature on every plan. The only difference between plans is the fee.
Where it falls short: the course and community tools are simple. It is a store first.
Price: Free with a 5% fee, Plus $29/mo with 2%, Pro $99/mo with 0%.
Best for: selling downloads and a simple course with no monthly bill.
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Eden if you sell what you know as courses, coaching, or an AI, and want it next to the workspace you already make content in.
- Choose Teachable if you only sell courses and will grow into the Builder plan.
- Choose Thinkific if you have many courses and want a long trial first.
- Choose Podia if you want courses, downloads, and coaching on one simple plan.
- Choose Skool if the community is the product.
- Choose Systeme.io if you need funnels and email for free.
- Stay on Kajabi if you use its email, funnels, website, and app every week and sell well past $4,000 a month. Moving is work, and it only pays off if the new tool covers what you use.
Selling mostly from your link in bio? See Stan Store vs Kajabi.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Kajabi cost in 2026?
Basic is $179 a month, Growth is $249, and Pro is $499. Paying yearly brings them to $143, $199, and $399 a month. Kajabi raised prices for existing customers on January 13, 2026.
Does Kajabi still have the $89 Kickstarter plan?
It is no longer offered to new customers. Kajabi's pricing page starts at Basic.
What is the cheapest Kajabi alternative?
Systeme.io and Payhip both have free plans. Skool starts at $9 a month but takes 10% of each sale. For a full set of course, coaching, and membership tools, Eden starts at $29 a month plus 5%.
Is there a Kajabi alternative with no transaction fee?
Yes. Thinkific, Systeme.io, Teachable's Builder plan and up, Podia's Shaker plan and up, and Payhip Pro all charge 0% platform fees. You still pay payment processing everywhere.
Can I move my Kajabi course to Eden?
Yes. Rebuild the lessons as a course in Eden (paste or import your documents and videos), then import your existing customers so they get access without paying again.
Want to see what your course looks like with an AI tutor inside it? Start Eden free, build the course, and publish when you are ready.