Note (September 2026): An earlier version called Thinkific the more expensive platform and misspelled Kajabi as “Kajabis”; as of September 2026 Thinkific’s published plans start well below Kajabi’s. Prices and plan details have been updated from both companies’ pricing pages.
Kajabi vs Thinkific: Kajabi is the all-in-one choice, bundling unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels on every plan, from $179 a month (as of September 2026). Thinkific is the lower-cost, course-focused choice, from $54 a month with a 30-day free trial, but email marketing and landing pages start on its $109 Start plan.
Key Takeaways
- As of September 2026, Kajabi costs $179, $249 or $499 a month billed monthly ($143, $199 or $399 a month billed annually), according to Kajabi’s pricing page.
- Thinkific costs $54, $109 or $219 a month billed monthly ($40, $82 or $164 billed annually), with a custom-priced Plus plan, according to Thinkific’s pricing page.
- Kajabi includes unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels on every plan; Thinkific’s Basic plan has no email marketing or landing pages.
- Thinkific offers a 30-day free trial and no free plan; Kajabi offers a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Choose Kajabi to replace several marketing tools with one subscription; choose Thinkific to launch courses on a smaller budget.
People do have a passion for sharing their knowledge with other people around, but they think that they don’t have the sufficient knowledge. This is one of the major reasons behind the building of the platforms where people can freely share their knowledge with the world.
Sell Courses Online – Kajabi and Thinkific
There are a number of people around the world who are passionate about selling their content online but fail to do so because of lack of the online facilities through the platforms. But now, we have some best platforms for the people where they can easily share their digital content.
In order to grow your business online, it is important to have a complete suite of tools including the marketing and affiliation tools which can help us in earning money as well. Today, we are here with two platforms in comparison to each other, Kajabi and Thinkific.
Both the platforms help people in setting up the websites, creating the digital products and selling them easily online. It doesn’t matter what kind of passion you have and how you want to teach or share your knowledge with people, these online platforms have everything covered under them.
Why choose Kajabi?
To be honest our personal favorite is Kajabi. And the reason is that it helps in selling the products or services or content online easily in a simple process. If you are running an online business, then you can go with Kajabi because using it you needn’t have any other tools.
Kajabi bundles the core tools an online course business needs under one roof: as of September 2026, every Kajabi plan includes unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels, according to Kajabi’s pricing page. Kajabi helps in making everything easy when it comes to sharing knowledge and products with the people. It offers all the features which are needed for selling, marketing and delivering the content. It is just one system which creatively helps in selling your knowledge and helping those who want to learn about that particular topic. it simply turns your passion for sharing knowledge into profits.
Why choose Thinkific?
In our view, Thinkific suits a different buyer than Kajabi. Thinkific is the cheaper of the two (as of September 2026 its Basic plan is $54 a month billed monthly, against $179 for Kajabi Basic), but its Basic plan does not include email marketing or landing pages, so creators on that plan may need separate marketing tools.
Thinkific focuses on courses, communities and learning programs; its email marketing, landing pages and live Zoom sessions start on the Start plan, according to Thinkific’s pricing page. It is a platform for the independent experts, speakers, coaches, companies and the authors who have to work quickly in creating and delivering the courses.
Thinkific offers a 30-day free trial, so creators can judge how easy the course builder and site customization are before paying anything.
Between the two, Kajabi is the more complete all-in-one option for creators who want courses, email marketing, landing pages and funnels in one subscription, while Thinkific is the lower-cost option for creators who mainly need to publish and sell courses.
Both Kajabi and Thinkific are built around a creator’s own branded site and products rather than a shared course marketplace. Though we would recommend you all to go with Kajabi, yet we would also ask you people to check out all the features offered by these two platforms before choosing the one. 🙂
Kajabi vs Thinkific at a Glance
Kajabi and Thinkific are both hosted platforms for creating and selling online courses. Kajabi LLC was founded in 2010 by Travis Rosser and Kenny Rueter and is based in Newport Beach, California. Thinkific was founded in 2012 by Greg Smith, Matt Smith and Miranda Lievers, is based in Vancouver, Canada, and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: THNC).
| Feature (as of September 2026) | Kajabi | Thinkific |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan, billed monthly | Basic, $179/month | Basic, $54/month |
| Middle plans, billed monthly | Growth, $249/month | Start, $109/month; Grow, $219/month |
| Top plan, billed monthly | Pro, $499/month | Plus, custom pricing |
| Annual billing | $143, $199 or $399 per month | $40, $82 or $164 per month (25% saving) |
| Products or courses | 5 (Basic), 50 (Growth), unlimited (Pro) | Unlimited published courses on all plans |
| Contacts or students | 2,500 / 25,000 / 100,000 contacts | 10,000 current students (Basic to Grow) |
| Admin users | 2 / 11 / 26 | 1 / 2 / 6 |
| Email marketing and landing pages | Unlimited on every plan | Start plan and above |
| Communities | 1 / 1 / 3 | 1 / 1 / 3; unlimited on Plus |
| Branded mobile app | Included on Pro | Plus plan add-on ($199/month) |
| Trial | Free trial plus 30-day money-back guarantee | 30-day free trial; no free plan |
Figures come from the Kajabi and Thinkific pricing pages in September 2026. Both companies change plans and prices from time to time, so check the current page before buying.
How Much Do Kajabi and Thinkific Cost?
Kajabi costs $179 a month for Basic, $249 for Growth and $499 for Pro when billed monthly, as of September 2026. Paying annually lowers these to $143, $199 and $399 a month. Extra contacts beyond a plan’s limit cost $125 a month per additional 25,000 contacts, according to Kajabi.
Thinkific costs $54 a month for Basic, $109 for Start and $219 for Grow when billed monthly, as of September 2026, or $40, $82 and $164 a month billed annually. The Plus plan is quoted individually and is aimed at what Thinkific calls high-growth businesses that need a custom solution and dedicated support.
Transaction Fees Compared
Kajabi’s fees depend on the plan and the payment processor. With Kajabi Payments, card processing is 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, 2.8% + $0.30 on Growth and 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. With a third-party payment provider, Kajabi lists a fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro.
Thinkific Payments, its built-in processor, charges 2.9%, which Thinkific describes as in line with processors such as Stripe and PayPal. When a creator uses a third-party processor instead, additional gateway fees apply and vary by plan, according to Thinkific’s pricing page.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Kajabi if:
- You want email marketing, landing pages, funnels and your website in one subscription.
- You sell a small number of products and want marketing tools built in.
- You want a branded mobile app without a separate add-on (Pro plan).
Choose Thinkific if:
- You want the lowest starting price; Basic is $54 a month billed monthly.
- You plan to publish many courses, since every plan allows unlimited published courses.
- You already use a separate email tool, or you are happy to start on the Start plan for built-in email and landing pages.
How to Decide in Four Steps
- List what you will sell: count your courses, memberships and coaching offers, then check them against Kajabi’s product limits (5, 50 or unlimited).
- Count your audience: compare your email list with Kajabi’s contact limits and your learner numbers with Thinkific’s 10,000 current-student limit.
- Price your full stack: add the cost of any email, landing page or funnel tool you would need alongside Thinkific, then compare that total with a Kajabi plan.
- Use the trial: build one lesson and one sales page on each platform during the free trial before committing to annual billing.
For more background, see our detailed Kajabi review, the guide to key trends shaping e-learning, this list of free no-code landing page builders and these email marketing strategies for promoting a course.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kajabi more expensive than Thinkific?
Yes. As of September 2026, Kajabi’s cheapest plan is $179 a month billed monthly, while Thinkific’s Basic plan is $54 a month. Kajabi’s price includes email marketing, landing pages and funnels, which Thinkific adds from its $109 Start plan.
Does Thinkific have a free plan?
No. As of September 2026, Thinkific offers a 30-day free trial instead of a free plan, and plans can be upgraded, downgraded or cancelled during the trial, according to its pricing page.
Does Kajabi have a free trial?
Yes. Kajabi offers a free trial on its plans and a 30-day money-back guarantee; its pricing page does not state the trial length, so check it when signing up.
Can I sell unlimited courses on Kajabi?
Only on the Pro plan. Kajabi Basic allows 5 products and Growth allows 50, while Thinkific allows unlimited published courses on every plan, as of September 2026.
Which platform has lower transaction fees?
It depends on the plan. Kajabi Payments charges 2.7% to 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, and Thinkific Payments charges 2.9%. Both add fees when a third-party processor is used.
