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The Best Kajabi Alternatives

Kajabi is polished, but it starts at $179 a month and its Basic plan allows only 5 products and 2,500 contacts. These six alternatives cover the same jobs for less, or do one job better.

By Vishal Jethwani Updated Prices checked November 2, 2026

The best Kajabi alternatives at a glance

Systeme.io Free plan

Beginners and solo creators who want funnels, email and courses on a budget

Free plan; paid from $17/mo

Podia No free plan

Simple courses, downloads and community for small creators

From $49/mo

Thinkific No free plan

Course creators who want unlimited courses and strong learning tools

From $109/mo

Teachable No free plan

Creators who want a simple, affordable course storefront

From $39/mo

Kartra No free plan

All-in-one marketing with built-in help desk tools

From $59/mo

Skool No free plan

Paid communities with courses and gamification

From $9/mo

Prices in USD from each provider's pricing page, checked November 2, 2026. Plans and prices change; confirm before you buy.

Why look beyond Kajabi?

  • High entry price: $179 a month, or $1,716 a year billed yearly.
  • Tight Basic limits: 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 website.
  • You may not need everything: many creators use only courses and email.

1. Systeme.io: best overall value

The closest all-in-one match: courses, email marketing, funnels, checkout, a blog and an affiliate program. Free plan, then $17–$97 a month, with 0% transaction fees. Startup's 5,000 contacts for $17 compares with Kajabi Basic's 2,500 for $179. Drawback: less design polish and fewer integrations. See Systeme.io pricing.

2. Podia: best simple alternative

Courses, downloads, coaching, community and a website from $49 a month; no Podia fee from Shaker ($99). Drawback: email subscriber caps of 100–1,000. See Podia pricing.

3. Thinkific: best for course-first businesses

Unlimited courses on every plan from $109 a month ($82 yearly), plus communities and cohorts. Drawback: email marketing needs a separate tool. See Kajabi vs Thinkific.

4. Teachable: cheapest course storefront

From $39 a month ($29 yearly). Drawback: 7.5% fee on Starter and no built-in email marketing. See Kajabi vs Teachable.

5. Kartra: best for marketing automation

Unlimited email and SMS, pages and products from $119 a month for 2,500 contacts, $60 less than Kajabi Basic. Drawback: higher tiers include fewer contacts than Kajabi's. See Kartra vs Kajabi.

6. Skool: best for community-led courses

Community, courses and live calls for $9 a month (10% fee) or $99 a month (2.9% fee). Drawback: no email marketing or funnels. See Skool pricing.

How to choose

  • Everything Kajabi does, for less → Systeme.io
  • Simple and affordable → Podia
  • Many courses → Thinkific
  • Lowest course-only price → Teachable
  • Heavy marketing automation → Kartra
  • Community first → Skool

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest alternative to Kajabi?

Systeme.io, with a free plan and paid plans from $17 a month. Skool Hobby costs $9 a month but covers only community and courses.

What is the best free Kajabi alternative?

Systeme.io's free plan includes a course, 3 funnels, 2,000 contacts and unlimited emails.

Is Kartra cheaper than Kajabi?

At 2,500 contacts, yes: $119 vs $179 a month.

Do Kajabi alternatives include email marketing?

Systeme.io, Kartra and Podia include email; Thinkific, Teachable and Skool usually need a separate email tool.

This guide is based on each provider's official pricing page, documentation and published features, checked on November 2, 2026. Where a provider shows prices in local currency or loads them dynamically, US prices were cross-checked against several pricing trackers and are labelled as such. See how we review software.