Kajabi vs Thinkific: Which Platform Is Best?

So you've got it down to Kajabi vs Thinkific, and you're stuck. I get it. From the outside, the two look almost identical. Host your programs, take payments, and grow with you. Read it enough times, and it sounds like the same pitch from both of them!

But most of the comparisons out there were written for course creators, and a surprising number still quote plans that don't exist anymore. That's not much help to you as a business owner. Your week looks like discovery calls, services to get done, and group programs to run, plus an email list that needs feeding.

I've been building on Kajabi for over seven years. I've also poked around Thinkific enough to know where it beats Kajabi (yes, there are a few spots). And below I’m compiling all of my thoughts on how the two compare for you right now.

Let’s dive in!

Kajabi vs Thinkific: The Quick Answer

Kajabi is the better choice for most online business owners because it handles the marketing side as well as the programs. Thinkific is great for courses (you get unlimited ones on every plan), but you'll probably end up paying for a separate email tool to fill them.

Just take a peek at the side-by-side (prices as of November 2026):

What's the Difference Between Kajabi and Thinkific?

Thinkific is a learning platform first. It's built for courses, communities, and student experience, and it also serves companies that train customers and teams.

Kajabi is an all-in-one business platform. Courses are one piece. Coaching, your full website, email marketing, funnels, and community all run from one dashboard. If you're new to it, start with what Kajabi is and how coaches and service providers use it.

Someone (aka you) has to bring in the leads and book the calls before a session ever happens. If your platform doesn't cover that part, you'll usually end up duct-taping five separate tools together and praying they sync.

Kajabi vs Thinkific Feature Breakdown

Okay, feature by feature. This is Thinkific vs Kajabi on the stuff you'll actually touch every week.

Coaching Tools and Scheduling

Kajabi's coaching product supports 1:1 and group coaching, with an agenda, resources, and private notes for every session. The Kajabi Scheduler syncs with Google Calendar, Outlook, or Office 365, and you can meet on Kajabi's built-in live video (up to 200 people in a group session), Zoom, or Google Meet. Clients book and join from their own library.

Thinkific coaching lets you sell 1:1 sessions and group workshops, and its pricing page lists Zoom sessions and bookable calendars on every plan. You'll connect your own video tool for the calls themselves.

My take: Kajabi keeps more of that client experience under your own brand. I walk through my setup for Kajabi coaching in a separate post.

Website and Sales Pages

Both platforms include a site builder, landing pages, and a custom domain. Thinkific also lets you keep your main website somewhere else and use Thinkific just for your programs.

Kajabi gives you a complete website, from homepage to blog, plus sales and opt-in pages that connect directly to your email and checkout. It's what I build every custom site on. 

Need ideas for the design of your website? Browse the best Kajabi websites.

Email Marketing and Automations

This is where the biggest difference is made for business owners.

Kajabi email marketing comes with unlimited marketing emails on every plan. You can send newsletters, launch sequences, and nurture emails to everyone on your list, not just paying clients. Automations tag contacts and grant access after a purchase. (Read my post here on Kajabi automations to learn more).

Thinkific includes pre-built email sequences and abandoned cart emails, and it suggests pushing leads to a tool like Kit or Mailchimp. Bulk emails to students start on the Grow plan. So most people on Thinkific pay for a separate email platform for their newsletter.

Funnels and Selling

Kajabi includes unlimited funnels and landing pages on every plan, so you can build a path from free download to discovery call to paid program. I break that setup down in my post on Kajabi funnels.

Credit where it's due, Thinkific's checkout is pretty dang great. Order bumps, bundles, payment plans, coupons, after-purchase upsells, all there. What's missing is the funnel itself. No builder ties your lead magnet to your email sequence to your sales page.

Courses, Community, and Memberships

This is Thinkific's home turf. You get unlimited courses on every plan (Kajabi can't say that), along with quizzes, assignments, certificates, and drip content. Thinkific communities come included as well: 1 on Start, 3 on Grow, and 10 on Expand.

Kajabi caps you at 5 products on Basic and 50 on Growth, then goes unlimited on Pro. Every plan includes a Kajabi community and memberships with recurring payments. For a business owner with a handful of programs, Basic or Growth is plenty.

Mobile App

Kajabi's branded mobile app is included on the Pro plan and is a $199/month add-on on Basic and Growth. Thinkific's branded app is a $199/month add-on, so Kajabi Pro saves you that cost.

Integrations

Thinkific's App Store adds tools like Zapier, Kit, HubSpot, and Zoom. Kajabi offers fewer native integrations, including Zapier, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign.

The difference? Thinkific needs those add-ons to cover marketing. Kajabi's built-in email, funnels, and scheduler mean most people rarely need them.

Kajabi vs Thinkific Pricing

Thinkific is cheaper to start, no argument there. The question is what you're paying less for. I’m including the pricing for both platforms as of November 2026 below.

Kajabi Pricing

From Kajabi's pricing page:

• Basic: $143/month billed annually, or $179 month-to-month
• Growth: $199/month billed annually, or $249 month-to-month
• Pro: $399/month billed annually, or $499 month-to-month

Kajabi takes no revenue share. With an outside processor like Stripe, it adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, and 0.5% on Pro. With my affiliate link, you can get a 30-day free trial. And every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Learn more about Kajabi pricing.

Thinkific Pricing

From Thinkific's pricing page:

• Start: $82/month billed annually, or $109 month-to-month
• Grow: $164/month billed annually, or $219 month-to-month
• Expand: $374/month billed annually, or $499 month-to-month

Heads up if you've read older reviews: Thinkific no longer offers its Basic plan to new customers. And if you use Stripe instead of Thinkific Payments, Thinkific fees also include a third-party gateway fee of 2% on Start, 1% on Grow, and 0.5% on Expand.

What You’ll Actually Pay

Line them up and Thinkific Start comes in at $61 a month under Kajabi Basic, and Grow comes in at $35 a month under Kajabi Growth. That's a big difference over the course of a year.

But, if you add on the email platform you'll need for your newsletter, the savings really shrink. Add a separate website or funnel tool on top, and it can vanish altogether. Make sure to price out the whole stack before you decide because moving platforms later can become a big mess.

• Choose Kajabi if: You'd rather run your website, coaching, email marketing, funnels, and community from one login than babysit a pile of subscriptions.
• Choose Thinkific if: You're building a big course library, student tools like quizzes and certificates matter most to you, and you already pay for an email platform you like.

Leaning toward Kajabi? As a Kajabi web designer and strategist for online business owners, I build your website, programs, and automations to work together from day one.

When Thinkific Might Be the Better Fit

That said, Thinkific is the better fit for some people:

• You plan to build a lot of courses. Like, a lot.
• Companies buy your training and need group seats or invoicing.
• You already love where your website and email list live.
• You really want quizzes, assignments, and certificates.

But if you're a business owner growing an email list, booking calls from your site, and selling programs, Kajabi saves you from stitching tools together later. For the full picture, read my Kajabi review after seven years on the platform.

Still comparing Kajabi vs Teachable vs Thinkific? Take a look at this Kajabi comparison to see how it stacks up against Teachable, ClickFunnels, and more.

Can You Move From Thinkific to Kajabi?

Yes, but plan on doing it by hand. Kajabi hosts a walkthrough for moving from Thinkific, but it doesn't offer free in-house migration services. You'll rebuild your programs and pages in Kajabi and import your contacts yourself, unless you hire a Kajabi expert like me.

If you decide to handle it on your own, make sure to set up your automations and test every checkout before you switch your domain. Rushing the move is how emails go to the wrong people!

FAQs

What Are the Downsides of Kajabi?

Price and plan limits, mostly. Basic runs $143 a month billed annually and caps you at 5 products and 2,500 contacts, so business owners with bigger lists need the Growth plan. The standard trial is only 14 days, and if you're coming from another platform, you'll need to migrate by hand.

How Much Does Thinkific Cost a Month?

As of November 2026, Thinkific's Start plan costs $82/month billed annually, or $109 month-to-month. Grow is $164 annually or $219 monthly, and Expand is $374 annually or $499 monthly. There's a 30-day free trial, but the old Basic plan is not available for new customers.

What Are the Disadvantages of Thinkific?

Marketing is definitely the disadvantage of Thinkific. It doesn't include a full newsletter tool, so most business owners end up paying for a separate email platform anyway. You'll also bring your own video tool for sessions, and removing Thinkific branding means upgrading to Grow, which starts at $164 a month billed annually.

Is There Anything Better Than Kajabi?

Maybe, depending on what you sell. For someone  who wants a website, scheduling, email, funnels, and community under one roof, I haven't found a better all-in-one option. Course-heavy businesses may do better on Thinkific. But if all you need is a funnel for paid ads, ClickFunnels is worth a look.

Is Kajabi Worth It for Coaches and Service Providers?

Yes, but there's a catch. A half-built (or built incorrectly) Kajabi is just wasted money. Done right, it replaces your website builder, email platform, scheduler, and funnel tool, so one subscription runs your business. If all you need is a place to host a course, Thinkific serves you better.

So, Is Kajabi or Thinkific Better for Your Business?

So where does this Kajabi vs Thinkific comparison land? My take is that Thinkific is a great place to teach, but Kajabi is a better place to run a coaching or service-based business. 

When your website, email list, programs, and sessions all live in one spot, you spend less time playing tech support and more time with clients. That's the strategic foundation I want every business owner to have, and starting there saves you from migrating later. So why not do it right from the start, right?

One warning, though. Kajabi only pays off when it's set up strategically. A gorgeous website sitting on top of broken automations won't book clients for you.

That's exactly what I build in Kajabi Accelerator. It's a fully cutomized, done-for-you Kajabi buildout that includes:

• Offer and product strategy coaching
• Brand design
• Website copywriting
• SEO strategy
• Custom Kajabi website design
• Client flow planning and automation setup
• A launch-with-ease gameplan

Want to try Kajabi before you commit? Use my special links to get 3 months for just $99 or try Kajabi free for 30 days.

✨ Learn more about the Kajabi Accelerator, or book a call with me here.