Skool vs Kajabi in 2026: price, fees, and which one fits your business
Skool is a $9 or $99 community with courses. Kajabi is a $179 course business with email and funnels. A side-by-side on price, fees, and features, plus a third option.
Pick Skool if the community is the product: it's simpler, it's cheaper, and Pro's 2.9% + 30¢ fee already includes card processing. Pick Kajabi if courses, email, and sales funnels are the business and the community is a side room: it has all of them built in, but starts at $179 a month and Basic and Growth include only one community. If you want a community with real chat plus courses, email, and a store, Eden sits in between at $29 a month plus 5% per sale.
Full disclosure: we make Eden, the third option below. Prices come from skool.com/pricing and kajabi.com/pricing, checked on October 8, 2026.
Skool vs Kajabi at a glance
| Skool | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Hobby $9/mo, Pro $99/mo | Basic $179/mo, Growth $249, Pro $499 (about 20% less yearly) |
| Fee per sale | 10% on Hobby, 2.9% + 30¢ on Pro, card fees included | No platform fee. Kajabi Payments 2.9% + 30¢ (2.7% on Pro) |
| Members | Unlimited | Unlimited members, contacts capped by plan |
| Communities | Each group is its own plan | 1 on Basic and Growth, 3 on Pro |
| Community style | One feed, levels, leaderboard | Channels, chat, events, and challenges |
| Courses | Unlimited, simple classroom | 5 products on Basic, 50 on Growth, unlimited on Pro |
| Email marketing | None for leads | Included: 2,500 contacts on Basic, 25,000 on Growth |
| Landing pages, funnels | No | Yes |
| Admins | Not listed | 2 on Basic, 11 on Growth, 26 on Pro |
| Phone app | Skool app (3.8 stars on the App Store) | Kajabi app; branded app on Pro |
| Discovery | Skool's directory of groups | None |
The fee math at three sizes
Say you charge $50 a month. Monthly cost, including card fees.
| Monthly revenue | Skool Hobby | Skool Pro | Kajabi Basic (monthly) | Kajabi Basic (yearly) | Kajabi Growth (monthly) | Eden Starter | Eden Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 (20 members) | $109 | $134 | $214 | $178 | $283 | $114 | $254 |
| $5,000 (100 members) | $509 | $274 | $354 | $318 | $419 | $454 | $474 |
| $20,000 (400 members) | $2,009 | $799 | $879 | $843 | $929 | $1,729 | $1,299 |
- Skool Pro is the cheapest for a big community. Its fee already includes card processing.
- Kajabi has no platform fee, so its cost grows only with card fees. From about $3,000 a month, it costs less than Eden Starter on the community alone.
- Kajabi's price buys more than a community. Email, landing pages, and funnels are inside that $179. On Skool, you'd pay for those separately. See Skool pricing for that stack.
Where Skool wins
- Price to start. $9 a month gets you a working community with courses.
- Simplicity. One feed, a classroom, a calendar. Members learn it in a minute.
- Fee at scale. 2.9% + 30¢ with card processing included.
- Discovery. Skool's directory brings in some members on its own.
- Motivation for some groups. Levels and leaderboards push some members to post.
Where Kajabi wins
- The whole course business. Courses, coaching, email, landing pages, funnels, and a website in one place.
- Email. Real email marketing to your list, from 2,500 contacts on Basic.
- A branded app. Kajabi Pro includes your own app. Kajabi lists it as a $199 a month value.
- No platform fee. You pay card processing only.
Where each one falls short
Skool: no channels or group chat, no email for people outside the group, no landing pages, and no way to sell a download or a coaching call on its own. The iPhone app sits at 3.8 stars from 776 ratings.
Kajabi: expensive to start. Basic and Growth include just one community, and Basic caps you at 5 products and 2,500 contacts. The community is one part of a course platform.
Choose Skool or Kajabi
Choose Skool if the community is your main product, you want to start cheap, and you'll handle email somewhere else.
Choose Kajabi if you sell courses with funnels and email sequences, you can spend $179 or more a month, and the community supports the course.
The third option: Eden
Eden is a creator store with communities built in. A community is a product next to your courses, coaching, downloads, and paid newsletter.
- Chat that feels like Telegram. Channels that show their last message, threads, voice notes, photo grids, and channels only some members see, like VIP.
- A Library and events. The Library is Eden's forum for guides, breakdowns, and wins, with categories, pinned posts, and best answers. Events sync to members' calendars.
- Courses inside the community. Include a course free for members, or show courses they can buy, on the community's Courses tab.
- Email included. Starter includes 10,000 contacts and 10,000 sends a month. Start a sequence when someone joins (Pro).
- Phones included. Members use the Eden app on iPhone and Android.
Price: Starter $29 a month (1 community), Pro $79 (3 communities), Max $199 (unlimited, 2% fee). 5% per sale on Starter and Pro, plus Stripe. No member caps.
Where Eden falls short: on a big community, Skool Pro and Kajabi cost less per sale. Eden has no directory that brings in new members, no branded app in your name, no points or leaderboards, and no private messages between members.
Choose Eden if you want a community with real chat plus courses, email, and a store, and you'd rather start at $29 than $179. See Communities, Eden vs Skool, and Eden vs Kajabi.
Frequently asked questions
Is Skool better than Kajabi?
For a community-first business, usually yes: it's simpler and much cheaper. For a course business with email and funnels, Kajabi does more.
Is Skool cheaper than Kajabi?
Yes. Skool starts at $9 a month and Pro is $99. Kajabi starts at $179 a month, or $143 billed yearly. Kajabi includes email and funnels, which Skool doesn't.
Does Kajabi take a transaction fee?
No platform fee. Kajabi Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.8% + 30¢ on Growth, and 2.7% + 30¢ on Pro.
Can I use Skool and Kajabi together?
Yes. Some creators sell the course on Kajabi and run the community on Skool. You pay for both and members have two logins.
How many communities does Kajabi include?
One on Basic and Growth, three on Pro.
Sources
- Skool pricing and Skool on the App Store
- Kajabi pricing
- How Skool payments work, for card fees being included
All checked October 8, 2026.
Want a community, courses, and email in one place for $29? Start Eden free and create a community.