You are probably here because you’re thinking of starting your online business in 2025 and want to know which platform works best for you between Kajabi and Thinkific. After extensive testing and research, we've written this detailed comparison to help you make the right choice. Whether you're just starting out or own a growing online business, this guide will show you exactly what each platform offers and which one deserves your money.
While Kajabi is an all-in-one business platform designed to replace your website builder, email marketing tool, CRM, sales funnel builder, and more, Thinkific is a course-first platform, focused on delivering high-quality learning experiences with strong student engagement tools. Here is a table that compares both of them at a glance.
Comparison Table
Kajabi Overview
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that provides all of the tools you need as a course creator from one dashboard. The fact that Kajabi provides a complete business solution has made it a popular choice for creators looking to save cost on multiple subscriptions and have everything they need on one platform. Kajabi’s products and features include online courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, email marketing & automation, sales funnel builder, website builder, CRM, webinar hosting, analytics and more.
Kajabi also has AI features such as its Creator Studio for converting course content into different forms of marketing content such as social media posts, emails and blog posts.
Thinkific Overview
Thinkific is a course creation focused platform that also provides other creator monetization products such as communities, digital downloads, memberships, coaching, webinars, as well as email automation, analytics and landing page creation tools.
Thinkific supports corporate training with its enterprise features such as SCORM support, API access and more. Some other features that make Thinkific stand out include: an easy to use drag-and-drop course builder, student engagement tools and customization. Thinkific also provides AI tools such as its AI quiz generator, which creates quizzes for your students based on content in your course.
Detailed Feature Comparison
Course Creation & Management
Kajabi:
Kajabi uses a template-based course creation system with a drag and drop course builder which supports features like bulk uploads and imports. The course builder provides support for video, audio, text, and downloadable content and users can add different types of content in the same lesson but it is not very flexible.
Thinkific:
Thinkific also provides a drag-and-drop course builder with bulk upload and import features but offers more flexible content creation. One of the top features that Thinkific provides is intermission and progress pages in between lessons, which Thinkific says significantly increases learner engagement and course completion.
Thinkific also provides support for SCORM and xAPI content for corporate training as well as advanced quiz features with question banks for better student engagement.
Winner: Thinkific
Both Thinkific and Kajabi are quite good at course creation, but Thinkific is slightly better with more content flexibility and learner engagement features.
Marketing & Sales Tools
Kajabi:
Kajabi provides very good marketing and sales tools such as advanced email marketing and automation features, a sales funnel builder, one-click upsells and order bumps, affiliate program management and A/B testing capabilities.
Thinkific:
Thinkific provides basic marketing tools such as basic email marketing and automation, landing page creation tools and upsells.
Winner: Kajabi
Kajabi provides more advanced marketing features that makes it better positioned for driving business growth.
Pricing & Payment Processing
Kajabi:
Kajabi has four pricing plans and offers both monthly and yearly payment options with a 20% discount on yearly plans. Kajabi also has its own payment processor and offers zero transaction fees on payments but charges payment processing fees ranging from 0.5% to 6% depending on several factors. It also provides support for coupons and promotions
Kickstarter plan: $89/month for the monthly plan and $71/month for the yearly plan
Basic plan: $149/month for the monthly plan and $119/month for the yearly plan
Growth plan: $199/month for the monthly plan and $159/month for the yearly plan
Pro plan: $399/month for the monthly plan and $319/month for the yearly plan
Thinkific:
Thinkific also has four pricing plans with monthly and yearly payment options with 25% discount on yearly plans. Thinkific also has its own payment processor and also supports Stripe and Paypal for payments. Thinkific does not charge transaction fees but charges payment processing fees ranging from 1% to 5% depending on whether you use their own payment processor or a third party payment processor.
Basic plan: $49/month for the monthly plan and $36/month for the yearly plan
Start plan: $99/month for the monthly plan and $74/month for the yearly plan
Grow plan: $199/month for the monthly plan and $149/month for the yearly plan
Thinkific Plus plan: Custom pricing
Winner: Thinkific
Thinkific offers better entry pricing at almost half the cost of Kajabi’s lowest plan, they both offer zero transaction fees (apart from the payment processor fees) but Thinkific wins because it makes it less expensive for users to start and decide whether they want to continue with it or migrate to another platform.
The Hidden Costs of Using Kajabi and Thinkific
Kajabi Hidden Costs:
- Creator Studio upgrades for advanced AI features
- Website widgets and add-ons
- Branded mobile app (additional cost)
- Premium website templates
Thinkific Hidden Costs:
- Email marketing tool
- Sales funnel software
- Advanced integrations
- Third-Party Payment Processor fee
Website & Design Features
Kajabi:
Kajabi provides professional website templates, drag-and-drop page builder, custom code editing on the Pro plan, mobile-responsive designs, a blog and more.
Thinkific:
Thinkific provides a page builder with a drag & drop editor that is not as easy to use as Kajabi’s. It has limited customization options that give less creative freedom. It provides templates but these are limited in comparison to Kajabi templates and most advanced features require subscription to a higher plan.
Winner: Kajabi
Kajabi wins with superior design, better templates and more customization options.
Community & Engagement Features
Kajabi:
Kajabi has a built-in community feature that allows users to create posts where they and their community members can share text, videos, images and PDF files in discussions threads. Users can also schedule events and livestream them for up to 200 attendees.
There are also challenges and leaderboard features as well as group chat for better community engagement.
Thinkific:
Thinkific also provides community features with basic discussion features and limited engagement tools.
Winner: Kajabi
Kajabi provides better and more engaging community features that drive engagement and growth.
Mobile Learning Experience
Kajabi:
Kajabi provides mobile apps for iOS and Android and offers a branded app feature for you to fully customize it to your brand. The mobile app supports In-app purchases and push notifications
Thinkific:
Thinkific also has a mobile app that provides a good mobile learning experience with an option to customize the app to your brand. The customization features on Thinkific’s app beats Kajabi’s basic customization features.
Winner: Tie
Both Kajabi and Thinkific provide a good mobile app experience.
Which has a better user experience?
Due to its many features, Kajabi is a bit more difficult to use than Thinkific. To solve this problem, Kajabi provides a comprehensive onboarding process and extensive video tutorials through Kajabi university.
Thinkific provides a simpler user experience with a simple to use interface, quick course setup and easy navigation.
Winner: Thinkific
Compared to Kajabi, Thinkific is easier for beginners to get started, launch their first product and start making sales.
Customer Support
Kajabi:
Kajabi provides email support and an extensive knowledge base on all plans and provides 24/7 live chat support on higher pricing plans. It also provides frequent trainings and webinars to help users use the tool better.
Thinkific:
Thinkific provides email and phone support as well as access to a knowledge base and video tutorials for all customers. It also has a community forum for users to ask questions and get answers from other users. Thinkific has won a G2 award for the quality of their support.
Winner: Tie
Both Kajabi and Thinkific provide good customer support options.
Pros & Cons
Kajabi Pros
- All-in-one tool (replace 5+ apps easily)
- No transaction fees
- Beautiful site and funnel templates
- Strong email + automation system
- Deep analytics and CRM
- Great student experience on mobile and desktop
Kajabi Cons
- Higher upfront cost than most platforms
- Can be overwhelming for beginners
- Limited design flexibility unless you upgrade or know code
- Requires a mindset shift to use all features effectively
Thinkific Pros
- Strong focus on student progress and engagement
- Excellent branding options (white-label available)
- Scales well for solo creators or institutions
- Easy to integrate with marketing tools
Thinkific Cons
- No built-in funnels or CRM
- Upsells and marketing features are limited
- Some features (like white-label) only on higher tiers
- No podcast & blog features
User Reviews & Ratings
Kajabi
- Capterra rating: 4.4/5
- Loved for: Marketing features, support
- Complaints: Expensive, difficult to fully use
Thinkific
- Capterra rating: 4.4/5
- Loved for: Good course experience, student tools, support
- Complaint themes: Weak marketing features
Both platforms have the same rating level on Capterra and are generally rated as excellent by customers.
Which Platform Offers The Better Value?
Value is in the eyes of the beholder so I can’t definitively say which of the two gives more value but here are some things to guide you in deciding which platform holds more value for you.
Kajabi Does This Better
- Email Marketing & Funnels: Drag-and-drop automations, tagging, CRM
- Web Design: Build full websites and landing pages from scratch
- Built-In Podcasting & Blogging: Extra content tools built-in
- Simplicity at Scale: Everything in one place
Thinkific Does This Better
- Student Learning Environment: Better tracking, assignments, certifications
- Pricing Flexibility: Sell bundles, subscriptions, free trials, etc.
- White-Labeling: Completely remove Thinkific branding
Who Should Choose Kajabi?
Choose Kajabi if:
- You are an established course creator looking for more growth
- You want an all-in-one solution to avoid using multiple tools
- You’re looking for advanced sales and marketing tools
- You have the budget for premium features
Who Should Choose Thinkific?
Choose Thinkific if:
- You only want to create courses
- You want an affordable platform
- You work for/own an organization that needs enterprise training features
- You prefer a simple, easy to use platform
- You don’t care much about marketing and sales tools
- You need better student engagement features to drive better learning outcomes
Conclusion
Both Kajabi and Thinkific are excellent platforms, but they have different selling points.The best option is to test the free trials of both platforms extensively to see which works best for your needs and then consider pricing and other features you need before making your final decision.
FAQs
Can I use both Kajabi and Thinkific?
Yes you can but it would be unnecessary. Choose the one that works best for your business. Kajabi for all-in-one, Thinkific for courses.
Do either Kajabi or Thinkific support memberships?
Yes, both platforms support memberships, but Kajabi offers better membership features with its email and sales tools.
Which platform is better for beginners, Kajabi or Thinkific?
Thinkific is easier to get started with. Kajabi takes a while to master but allows you do much more.
Can I build a blog or podcast on Thinkific?
No, Thinkific does not support blogging or podcasting. Kajabi supports both.
Do they both offer mobile apps?
Yes! Both platforms offer branded mobile experiences but custom branding is only available on higher plans.
Can I move from Thinkific to Kajabi or vice versa?
Yes, both platforms provide migration assistance for new customers with detailed text/video guides and technical support.
What are Other Kajabi Alternatives?
Other Kajabi alternatives include SchoolMaker, Teachable, Podia, LearnWorlds, Mighty Networks and so on.
(can change CTA here to "start free trial")
