Teachable vs Kajabi 2026: Honest Comparison for Solopreneurs
Includes January 2026 Kajabi price increase and hidden surcharge breakdown · No sponsored verdict · June 2026 · 14 min read
Bottom Line – PassiveKit
Teachable vs Kajabi 2026: Different Tools at Very Different Price Points
Teachable Builder at $69/month is the right platform for most solopreneurs selling one to five online courses. Kajabi at $143/month (Basic, annual) is an all-in-one platform replacing your course tool, email marketing, and website – worth it only when you are already paying for multiple tools that add up close to Kajabi’s price. The January 2026 Kajabi price increase (Growth from $159 to $199/month) and a hidden 0.7% subscription surcharge make the consolidation maths harder than Kajabi’s marketing suggests.
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Affiliate Disclosure: PassiveKit earns commission on Teachable referrals. Kajabi has an affiliate program but PassiveKit does not currently participate – Kajabi is assessed independently. Kajabi links carry rel=’nofollow’.
Teachable vs Kajabi: The Core Difference
Teachable and Kajabi are not direct competitors at the same price point. This is the most important thing to understand before reading any comparison.
Teachable Builder at $69/month is a focused course platform. It delivers courses, tracks student progress, handles payments, and manages affiliates. That is what it does – nothing else.
Kajabi at $143/month (Basic, annual) is an all-in-one platform: course delivery, email marketing, website builder, landing pages, funnels, and a blog. It replaces four or five separate tools in one subscription.
The question is not which platform is better – it is whether you need what Kajabi adds beyond Teachable, and whether Kajabi’s price is lower than the tools it would replace.
Kajabi 2026: What You Need to Know Before Comparing
Kajabi raised prices significantly in January 2026 – the first major pricing change in nearly a decade. Growth went from $159/month to $199/month annually, a 25% increase. Pro went from $319/month to $399/month. Existing customers were not grandfathered at old rates, which caused significant backlash.
Watch out: Kajabi’s pricing page shows a 0% transaction fee. What it does not show: a 0.7% surcharge on every subscription and payment plan transaction on top of Stripe’s standard 2.9% + $0.30. For a membership or instalment-payment business, the effective processing rate is 3.6% + $0.30 per recurring charge – not the 2.9% you see advertised. Additionally: a 1.5% surcharge applies to international card payments on all plans.
Full Pricing Comparison: Teachable vs Kajabi 2026
Teachable Plans 2026
| Plan | Annual/mo | Monthly | Transaction fee | Products | Students | Team seats |
| Starter | $29/mo | $39/mo | 7.5% per sale | 1 | 100 | 1 |
| Builder | $69/mo | $89/mo | 0% | 5 | 1,000 | 5 |
| Growth | $139/mo | $189/mo | 0% | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10 |
| Advanced | $309/mo | $399/mo | 0% | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Teachable Starter’s 7.5% transaction fee makes it more expensive than Builder once monthly revenue exceeds $533. For most solopreneurs, Builder at $69/month is the correct starting plan. 7-day free trial, credit card required. 30-day money-back guarantee on annual billing.
Kajabi Plans 2026 – After January Price Increase
| Plan | Annual/mo | Monthly | Products | Contacts | Admin users | Key gate |
| Kickstarter | $69/mo | $89/mo | 1 | 250 | 1 | Hidden – not on main pricing page |
| Basic | $143/mo | $179/mo | 5 | 2,500 | 2 | Entry – most features included |
| Growth | $199/mo | $249/mo | 50 | 25,000 | 11 | Affiliates, advanced automations |
| Pro | $399/mo | $499/mo | Unlimited | 100,000 | 25 | Branded app, API, custom code |
Kajabi Kickstarter ($69/mo annual) exists but is not displayed on the main pricing page – access via specific partner or affiliate links. At 250 contacts and 1 product, most creators outgrow it within weeks. Basic at $143/month annual is the realistic entry point. 30-day free trial (credit card required). Annual billing is non-refundable after 30 days.
Watch out: Several important Kajabi features are gated behind Growth ($199/mo): affiliate programme, advanced automations (IF/THEN triggers), cohort courses, video transcription, and branding removal. If you need affiliates on Kajabi, you are looking at $199/month minimum – not $143/month.
The Real Cost: Teachable vs Kajabi at Equivalent Tiers
| Teachable plan | Kajabi equivalent | Monthly gap (annual billing) | Annual gap |
| Builder $69/mo (5 products) | Basic $143/mo (5 products) | $74/month more for Kajabi | $888/year more |
| Growth $139/mo (unlimited products) | Growth $199/mo (50 products, affiliates) | $60/month more for Kajabi | $720/year more |
| Advanced $309/mo | Pro $399/mo | $90/month more for Kajabi | $1,080/year more |
Kajabi is more expensive at every comparable tier. The consolidation case for Kajabi requires that the tools it replaces (email marketing, website, landing pages) cost enough to offset the premium.
The Consolidation Maths: When Does Kajabi Actually Save Money?
Kajabi’s value case depends on replacing tools you currently pay for. Here is the honest calculation:
| If you currently pay for… | Monthly total | Kajabi Basic | Saving / Extra cost |
| Teachable Builder + Kit Creator ($33/mo) | $69 + $33 = $102/mo | $143/mo | −$41/mo – Kajabi costs more |
| Teachable Builder + Beehiiv Scale ($43/mo) | $69 + $43 = $112/mo | $143/mo | −$31/mo – Kajabi costs more |
| Teachable Builder + Kit Creator + Hostinger ($5/mo) | $69 + $33 + $5 = $107/mo | $143/mo | −$36/mo – Kajabi costs more |
| Teachable Growth + Kit Creator | $139 + $33 = $172/mo | $143/mo | $29/mo saving with Kajabi |
| Teachable Growth + Beehiiv Scale | $139 + $43 = $182/mo | $143/mo | $39/mo saving with Kajabi |
| Teachable Growth + Kit Creator + Hostinger | $139 + $33 + $5 = $177/mo | $143/mo | $34/mo saving with Kajabi |
Kajabi Basic only saves money when you are on Teachable Growth ($139/month) or higher plus a separate email platform. If you are on Teachable Builder ($69/month), Kajabi costs more at every configuration. The savings only materialise at the Teachable Growth tier and above.
Not yet earning consistently from courses? Start with Teachable Builder.
Teachable Builder at $69/month (annual) gives you 0% transaction fees, 5 products, 1,000 students, a dedicated mobile app, and built-in affiliate management. Kajabi’s comparable tier costs more than twice as much and adds features most solopreneurs at this stage do not need.
Try Teachable Builder Free →Feature Comparison: Where Each Platform Wins
| Feature | Teachable Builder | Kajabi Basic | Winner |
| Course delivery | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Student progress tracking | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Completion certificates | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Mobile app for students | Yes – dedicated | Yes | Tie |
| Transaction fees | 0% | 0% (but 0.7% subscription surcharge) | Teachable – cleaner |
| Products included | 5 | 5 | Tie |
| Student/contact limit | 1,000 students | 2,500 contacts | Kajabi |
| Email marketing | No – needs external tool | Yes – full platform built-in | Kajabi |
| Website builder | No | Yes – templates included | Kajabi |
| Landing pages | No | Unlimited | Kajabi |
| Sales funnels | No | Yes | Kajabi |
| Blog | No | Yes | Kajabi |
| Affiliate management | Yes | No – Growth plan ($199/mo) | Teachable |
| Advanced automations | Yes | No – Growth plan ($199/mo) | Teachable |
| Podcast hosting | No | Yes | Kajabi |
| Community features | Yes | Yes (limited on Basic) | Tie |
| Custom domain | Yes | Yes | Tie |
| Team seats | 5 | 2 | Teachable |
| Free trial | 7 days (CC required) | 30 days (CC required) | Kajabi |
| Annual billing refund | 30-day money-back | Non-refundable after 30 days | Teachable |
| Price (annual) | $69/month | $143/month | Teachable |
Email Marketing: Kajabi Built-In vs Teachable + External Tool
Kajabi includes a full email marketing platform – subscriber management, broadcasts, sequences, and automation triggers based on course activity. This is the primary reason creators consider Kajabi over Teachable.
The honest assessment of Kajabi’s email marketing against dedicated tools:
- Kajabi email is functional but not as powerful as Kit or Beehiiv on automation depth
- Kajabi’s contact limit on Basic is 2,500 – hit this quickly if you run paid ads or have an active content site
- Kajabi email does not have a built-in ad network or referral system (Beehiiv does)
- Kajabi sequences cannot match Kit’s visual automation builder complexity
The practical question: if you currently use Kit’s free plan (up to 10,000 subscribers), Kajabi’s email is a downgrade in list size limit at the Basic tier. You would be paying $143/month for an email tool that caps you lower than Kit’s free tier.
Pro tip: If email marketing is important to your business, do not evaluate Kajabi solely on the email feature. Compare Kajabi Basic’s 2,500 contact limit against your current list size and expected growth. If you are approaching 2,500 subscribers, Kajabi Basic becomes a constraint before it becomes a consolidation tool.
Website Builder: Does Kajabi Replace WordPress or Hostinger?
Kajabi includes a website builder with templates for sales pages, landing pages, and a blog. For solopreneurs who do not currently have a website, this is a meaningful inclusion.
For solopreneurs who already have a WordPress site on Hostinger ($4.99/month Business):
- Migrating to Kajabi’s website means rebuilding existing content and losing accumulated SEO authority
- Kajabi’s website SEO tools are less flexible than WordPress – limited meta control, no direct plugin ecosystem
- Kajabi’s website templates are polished but constrained – less customisation than WordPress + a premium theme
The consolidation saving on website hosting: Hostinger Business at $4.99/month versus the marginal cost of Kajabi’s website feature (which is bundled into the plan price). Saving approximately $5/month is not a meaningful factor in the Kajabi vs Teachable decision.
Already paying for Teachable + email + website? Run the consolidation maths first.
Kajabi only saves money if your current tool stack costs more than Kajabi’s plan. Use the table above to calculate your specific break-even before committing to Kajabi’s annual billing – which is non-refundable after 30 days.
Try Kajabi Free – 30 Days →Student Experience: Teachable vs Kajabi
Both platforms deliver a professional student experience. The differences are in polish and mobile:
| Teachable | Kajabi | |
| Course player interface | Clean, modern | Clean, modern |
| Mobile app | Dedicated Teachable app | Kajabi app (branded on Pro $399/mo) |
| Progress tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Completion certificates | All plans | All plans |
| Drip content | Yes | Yes |
| Quizzes and assessments | Yes | Yes |
| Community integration | Yes – Teachable Communities | Yes – basic on Basic plan |
| Video hosting | Unlimited on all plans | Unlimited on all plans |
One meaningful difference: a branded Kajabi mobile app is only available on the Pro plan ($399/month annual). On Basic and Growth, students use the generic Kajabi app. Teachable’s dedicated student app is available on all plans including Builder – a genuine advantage at entry price.
Affiliate Management: Teachable Wins Clearly
Teachable Builder includes built-in affiliate management at $69/month. You can recruit affiliates, set commission rates, and track referral sales without any additional tools.
Kajabi does not include affiliate management on Basic ($143/month). The affiliate feature is gated to Kajabi Growth at $199/month. If affiliate marketing is part of your course growth strategy, Kajabi’s effective entry price for a comparable feature set is $199/month – not $143/month – making the price gap with Teachable even larger.
Who Should Choose Teachable vs Kajabi
| Your situation | Choose |
| First course, under $533/month revenue | Gumroad first – validate before any platform fee |
| Validated course, 1–5 products, need affiliate mgmt | Teachable Builder – $69/month, affiliates included |
| Currently on Teachable Builder + Kit free | Stay – switching to Kajabi costs $74/month more |
| Currently on Teachable Growth + paid email platform | Run the maths – Kajabi Basic may save money |
| Want a website + email + courses in one tool | Kajabi Basic – but check contact limits vs your list |
| Running paid ads to a growing email list | Kajabi Growth ($199/mo) – Basic’s 2,500 contacts fill fast |
| Building a high-ticket coaching business ($1,000+ per client) | Either – Kajabi’s brand may justify the premium |
| Want branded mobile app for students | Teachable (all plans) or Kajabi Pro ($399/mo) |
| Need affiliates on Kajabi | Kajabi Growth ($199/mo) – not Basic |
| Concerned about platform lock-in | Teachable – easier to migrate individual tools |
The recommended solopreneur stack vs Kajabi
Teachable Builder ($69/mo) + Kit free (up to 10,000 subscribers) + Hostinger Business ($4.99/mo) = $74/month total. Comparable coverage to Kajabi Basic at $143/month – at nearly half the price. Upgrade individual tools when you outgrow them.
Migration: Teachable to Kajabi
If you decide to move from Teachable to Kajabi, the migration has three components:
- Course content – Teachable exports course videos and files. Kajabi has no direct Teachable importer – you rebuild the course structure manually and re-upload content.
- Students – export your Teachable student list as CSV and import into Kajabi. Paid students need to be manually re-enrolled or offered a discount code. Active recurring subscribers need to be migrated through Stripe – Kajabi’s migration team can assist.
- Website and landing pages – no migration tool. Rebuild manually in Kajabi’s page builder.
Watch out: Kajabi Payments lock-in is a significant migration risk that most articles do not cover. If you use Kajabi Payments (Kajabi’s own processor), subscriber payment information is stored in Kajabi’s system – not in your Stripe account. Migrating subscribers off Kajabi Payments to another platform causes 15–25% subscriber churn on average as subscribers must re-enter payment details. If you use your own Stripe account on Kajabi, you avoid this lock-in but pay an additional 2% surcharge on Basic.
Teachable vs Kajabi FAQ
Is Kajabi worth it compared to Teachable?
Kajabi is worth it only if you are already paying for a course platform plus a separate email marketing tool that together cost more than Kajabi Basic’s $143/month. If you are on Teachable Builder ($69/month) plus Kit free ($0) or Beehiiv Launch ($0), Kajabi costs $74/month more for features you may not fully use. The consolidation savings only materialise at the Teachable Growth tier ($139/month) combined with a paid email platform.
What does Kajabi have that Teachable does not?
Kajabi includes built-in email marketing (broadcasts, sequences, automations), a website builder, unlimited landing pages, sales funnels, a blog, and podcast hosting. Teachable includes none of these – it is a focused course platform. The trade-off: Kajabi costs more than twice as much as Teachable Builder at the entry level, and several key features (affiliate management, advanced automations) require Kajabi Growth at $199/month rather than Basic at $143/month.
Does Kajabi have hidden fees?
Yes – two significant hidden costs. First: a 0.7% surcharge on every subscription and payment plan transaction, on top of Stripe’s standard 2.9% + $0.30. For a course business running recurring memberships, the effective processing rate is 3.6% + $0.30 per charge. Second: if you use your own Stripe account instead of Kajabi Payments, Kajabi adds a 2% surcharge on Basic, 1% on Growth, and 0.5% on Pro. Additionally, international card payments carry a 1.5% surcharge on all plans.
Did Kajabi raise prices in 2026?
Yes. In January 2026, Kajabi raised the Growth plan from $159/month to $199/month annually – a 25% increase. Pro went from $319/month to $399/month annually. Existing customers were not grandfathered at previous rates. The Kickstarter plan ($69/month annual) was removed from the main pricing page, making Basic at $143/month the effective entry-level plan. This pricing restructure significantly changed the consolidation maths for Teachable vs Kajabi comparisons published before 2026.
Can I use Teachable instead of Kajabi?
Yes – for most solopreneurs selling online courses, Teachable Builder at $69/month covers the core course delivery workflow more cheaply than Kajabi. Add Kit free (up to 10,000 subscribers) for email marketing and Hostinger Business ($4.99/month) for website hosting – total $74/month versus Kajabi Basic’s $143/month. The trade-off is managing three separate tools instead of one. Switch to Kajabi when the time saved managing one platform outweighs the $69+/month premium.
Does Teachable or Kajabi have better affiliate management?
Teachable Builder ($69/month) includes built-in affiliate management. Kajabi does not include affiliates on Basic ($143/month) – it is gated to the Growth plan at $199/month. If affiliate marketing is part of your course growth strategy, Teachable is the cheaper option by $130/month at the first tier where both platforms include affiliates.
Which has a better student mobile app – Teachable or Kajabi?
Teachable includes a dedicated student mobile app on all plans including Builder at $69/month. Kajabi’s generic app is available on Basic and Growth. A branded Kajabi app – with your own logo and branding – requires the Pro plan at $399/month annual. For most solopreneurs, Teachable’s included mobile app is a meaningful advantage over Kajabi at comparable price points.
