Profit-first verdict
Teachable wins platform cost. Kajabi wins consolidation.
Choose Teachable when courses, coaching, downloads, and memberships are the business and you already have marketing tools. Choose Kajabi when its integrated site, email, funnels, automation, and community replace more than the $74 monthly premium over Teachable Builder.
Current published plans
The pricing decision is $69 versus $143 for many growing creators
| Plan | Annual-plan equivalent | Platform charge | Key capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teachable Starter | $29/month | 7.5% transaction fee | 5 products, 100 active students |
| Teachable Builder | $69/month | 0% base transaction fee | 10 products, 1,000 active students |
| Kajabi Basic | $143/month | 2% with affected third-party providers | 5 products, 2,500 contacts |
| Kajabi Growth | $199/month | 1% with affected third-party providers | 50 products, 25,000 contacts |
Annual-plan USD equivalents checked August 23, 2026. Active students and contacts are different capacity measures and should not be treated as interchangeable. Normal payment processing is separate.
Original $100-course math
Teachable stays cheaper at every modeled sales volume
The Teachable column automatically chooses Starter or Builder based on the lower subscription-plus-platform-fee cost. Kajabi Basic is shown with a preferred payment route and with its listed 2% fee for an affected third-party provider.
| Monthly sales | Teachable lowest modeled cost | Kajabi Basic preferred route | Kajabi Basic + 2% provider fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 sales / $500 gross | Starter: $66.50 | $143 | $153 |
| 10 sales / $1,000 gross | Builder: $69 | $143 | $163 |
| 30 sales / $3,000 gross | Builder: $69 | $143 | $203 |
Payment processing, tax, refunds, currency conversion, optional BackOffice, and usage overages are excluded. Teachable Starter and Builder tie at about $533 in monthly gross revenue.
The $74 question
What must Kajabi replace to earn its premium?
Kajabi Basic costs $74 more per month than Teachable Builder on annual billing. Kajabi becomes the lower total-stack cost only when its additional capabilities replace more than $74 of subscriptions or recurring operating work.
Count as a real Kajabi saving
- An email platform you would cancel.
- A funnel or landing-page tool you would cancel.
- A paid community platform you would cancel.
- Automation software or integration work you would remove.
- A separate website subscription Kajabi would replace.
Do not count imaginary value
- Features you will not use in the next year.
- Tools you plan to keep after adopting Kajabi.
- Promotional discounts that disappear at renewal.
- Gross revenue before refunds and payment costs.
- Automation that still requires manual maintenance.
Course delivery
Teachable keeps the student product at the center
Teachable supports courses, coaching, digital downloads, bundles, and memberships. Its current plans include course drip, certificates, lesson comments, quizzes, progress reporting, mobile student apps, upsells, and cart recovery. Builder adds affiliate tools and removes the base transaction fee.
Kajabi also delivers courses and multiple expert products, but the product sits inside a wider marketing operating system. The decision is less about whether both can host video lessons and more about whether the business needs Kajabi's connected customer journey.
Marketing and ownership
Kajabi connects the lead, buyer, member, and follow-up record
Kajabi Basic includes one website, one community, unlimited landing pages, unlimited funnels, and unlimited marketing emails within its contact and plan limits. That integrated data is the clearest reason to pay more: a form submission can trigger email, automation, offer, checkout, onboarding, and community access without stitching several systems together.
Teachable's focused approach can be an advantage when your email, website, and analytics already work. Replacing a healthy stack merely to make it all-in-one can create migration cost without improving the customer experience.
Limits and overages
Count capacity before comparing headline subscriptions
| Constraint | Teachable | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Products | Starter 5; Builder 10; Growth 50 | Basic 5; Growth 50; Pro unlimited |
| Audience measure | Starter 100 active students; Builder 1,000 | Basic 2,500 contacts; Growth 25,000 |
| Imported students | Starter 5; Builder 50; overage rules can apply | Managed through Kajabi contact and customer limits |
| Administrators | Starter and Builder list one admin-level user | Basic 2; Growth 11 |
Teachable's published usage rules can add charges when limits are exceeded without sufficient native commerce. Kajabi's contact, product, website, and administrator limits can force a plan upgrade. Model the capacity you expect 12 months from now.
Payments
The available payout route can decide before features do
Teachable publishes different processing rates based on payment method, school location, student location, and currency. A custom Stripe gateway can also carry an integration fee in the documented cases. Confirm the gateway and payout route available to your school.
Kajabi Payments is available only to businesses registered in its listed regions. Kajabi says third-party provider fees do not apply to PayPal or where Kajabi Payments is unavailable. Confirm eligibility, provider, settlement currency, and payout—not merely whether a buyer can reach checkout.
Choose by operating model
The right answer is visible in the tools you intend to keep
Choose Teachable if
- You want a focused course-commerce platform.
- Your website and email stack already work.
- You prefer a $69 fee-free growth plan.
- Courses, coaching, downloads, and memberships cover the offer mix.
- You are willing to manage a few integrations.
Choose Kajabi if
- You want one record from lead to customer to member.
- Email, funnels, community, and automation will be used immediately.
- The integrated stack replaces more than $74 per month.
- You sell several types of expert products.
- Fewer integrations are worth a higher subscription.
Frequently asked
Teachable vs Kajabi questions
Is Kajabi better than Teachable for beginners?
Usually only when the beginner will use the complete marketing stack immediately. Teachable's lower entry price is easier to justify for a first course, but Starter's 7.5% fee makes Builder the better plan after about $533 in monthly gross revenue.
Can Teachable replace Kajabi?
It can replace the course, coaching, download, membership, and commerce functions. You may still need separate email, website, funnel, community, or automation tools to recreate the complete Kajabi system.
Which platform has better marketing?
Kajabi has the broader integrated marketing system. Teachable has useful selling features such as upsells, coupons, cart recovery, memberships, and affiliates on eligible plans, but it is not positioned as the same all-in-one marketing suite.
Which has fewer transaction fees?
Teachable Builder and higher plans list a 0% base transaction fee. Kajabi's extra provider fee depends on plan, provider, and Kajabi Payments availability. Both still have normal payment processing costs.
Official sources
Check pricing, fees, and payment eligibility
Pricing, plan limits, and fee claims were checked against official Teachable and Kajabi documentation on August 23, 2026.
Vendor links are currently direct and non-affiliate.