You’re confident that you have what it takes to be a successful educational entrepreneur. Have you found the right platform to help you do this?
Course management or LMS services let you create meaningful content, share them with your students and potential customers, and make substantial profits from selling them. Today, there are hundreds of online LMS platforms out there, each with impressively convincing features that are hard to beat. It can be difficult to decide which one is right for you with all the options available.
I’ve had a fair share of struggles in choosing the perfect place to develop my entrepreneurial skills since I started selling courses. After becoming more confident, I moved from one platform to another until I found Kajabi. I may have already found the right one, but that won’t stop me from giving you sound advice to guide you through your journey.
I will be giving you a brief overview of Kajabi and its alternative LMS services. We’ll take a close look at their distinct assets, the pros, the cons, what makes each other different or similar, and my opinion on whoever gets to use any of them!
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Legit Marketing Reviews’ YouTube channel. To get a comprehensive overview of Kajabi, you may still want to check out our article below.
Kajabi: An Overview Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
You may have heard the name “Kajabi” before. It is an online course management platform that is popular and well-known. You can create and sell courses with almost any solution you want.
Course builder? It’s there. You need a reliable website builder. Got it. A wide range of pre-made templates and themes? Certainly. You will find a variety of great sales and marketing tools. Sure thing! No matter what you need to manage and sell your content, Kajabi has the tool to help you with that.
Kajabi presenting itself as a one-stop service is enough to resonate with developing and established edupreneurs quite well. For this reason, it has received plenty of glowing reviews, though there are some valid criticisms here and there. It’s no wonder why Trustpilot has scored Kajabi an outstanding 4.6 out of 5.
Kajabi’s Key Features
Kajabi is best known for its intuitive interface, wide range of customization and flexible editing capabilities. Its course builder is designed to give you the tools needed to cultivate a convenient educational experience between you and your students. Meanwhile, its website editor and free hosting allow you to have a fully personalized space where you could share what you have with anyone.
Kajabi offers so much more than this. Its built-in suites of marketing tools work as well as any third-party provider combined. It is notable that LMS platforms have sales pipelines included. Other LMS platforms require you to connect with a separate service that offers this feature. Kajabi’s support and learning resources are reliable, as you would expect.
The Pros and Cons of Using Kajabi
Kajabi follows a unique business model that’s not often used by other LMS platforms and is all-in-one in nature, and with it, there are plenty of perks. One of these is the minimization of needing to integrate with third-party apps, as nearly all the course management and marketing tools are found in-house. Another lies in revenue – Kajabi takes none of its shares, meaning you get to keep 100% of your profit from selling content.
While it’s worth noting the benefits of Kajabi’s business model, we shouldn’t fully ignore its downsides. Pricing is a major problem. Plans start at over $100 more than other services. It doesn’t help that there is no free plan. Many users aren’t happy with the absence of essential course management tools, especially certifications, on the platform. Kajabi’s cons aren’t as severe as its pros. However, they are still worth considering. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
Pricing plans start at: Kajabi Basic starting at $119/month
Is there a free plan? It does not offer a free plan, but you can try it for 14 days.
Kajabi is a great choice because you don’t need third-party integrations or platforms, it offers very affordable but very valuable plans, reliable user communities, and amazing customer support.
Kajabi is best for established professionals, newbies who have enough financial resources to pay Kajabi’s features and experienced edupreneurs.
Kajabi vs. Thinkific
Thinkific joins Kajabi and other top online LMS platforms. It allows you to concentrate on the task at hand. You can explore a variety of course-building tools, and use it to your advantage to produce content for your students. It’s known for its set of industry-level tools at a valuable price range, including a built-in certification tool, as well as its ability to integrate with thousands of third-party platforms through the Thinkific App Store.
> > Click Here to Check Out Kajabi < <
I’ve used Thinkific to create and sell my course content for years before Kajabi. Though my needs may have outgrown what Thinkific had to offer, I could at least appreciate how it gave me enough flexibility to handle my courses during my tenure. Thinkific offers both a free and a premium plan, making it a viable Kajabi option for anyone with limited resources, especially financial.
The Similarities
Thinkific positions itself as an all-in-one place with intuitive course management tools for a better learning experience. It is similar to Kajabi and offers a course builder, customizable website editor and a range of business tools. You can also create a community for your students.
Both platforms excel in the area of course options. No matter which you prefer, you have the chance to create stable online courses and/or membership pages. Even better, you can create assessments in them that are rich with variety. As for teacher-student interactions, I’ve found that my subscribers had little to no issue at all navigating their version of the Thinkific interface just like with Kajabi.
The Differences
Thinkific offers its users a lineup of industry-level features at a reasonably valuable price range, despite borrowing the 0% transaction fee model from Kajabi. You’ll be able to see the differences in the premium entry-level plan and the one below. The former does not offer a free plan, but it offers a functional, though limited, one.
Other than the value pricing, Thinkific’s other bonuses include its far-more-accurate reports and analytics, as well as the way it handles security measures within the service.
The Pros and Cons of Thinkific
One thing that I like about Thinkific is that it’s user-friendly for both me and my students. The lack of depth in some features is another thing that I did not like. Although I like its built-in credential system, it is not my favorite feature. However, the lack of advanced business tools or theme options for websites is a major downer. However, all of this has been compensated for by a greater range of integrations.
Pricing plans begin with: Thinkific Start, as low as $74/month
Does it have a free plan? Yes
Why Thinkific? A premium starter plan that offers smooth career progression, superior analytics and reporting capabilities, and a super-intuitive user interface.
Thinkific is more suitable for Newbie edupreneurs with limited skills, those who wish to sell courses without any complex marketing jargon
Kajabi vs. Teachable
Teachable is another popular service that shares the same premise as Thinkific in that it lets you build a completely integrated learning experience. It also takes care of all the technical stuff. It was created by course creators for course creators. Therefore, it is natural that the main focus here is on course management.
Teachable has been lauded by beginners and bona fide creators alike. It is especially popular with beginners due to its low price and ease of use. Its extensive course management tools, rich content analytics, well-versed editing, customization, and editing capabilities are what keep pros returning to it. Teachable, just like Thinkific has a fully functional built-in certification tool. Kajabi does not.
The Similarities
Teachable’s course building features are of the same quality as Kajabi’s. Both ways you would be happy with the ease with which you can create memberships, courses, and other products with seamless versatility. While you could technically take advantage of these with any of the two, it’s clear now that Teachable has the upper hand. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
Accessibility is a key component in course creation. Therefore, it’s important that students can access your content from any device at all times and places. This is addressed by both Teachable and Kajabi with mobile apps that can be downloaded on any device powered by Android or iOS.
The Differences
Teachable may excel in its course creation and management capabilities, but not much so in other aspects. For example, its native marketing suite doesn’t carry the same weight as Kajabi. It’s evident that Kajabi gives its version the same attention and care as its course-building tools. Both platforms are excellent in terms of reporting and analysis. Teachable, however, is more detailed.
> > Click Here to Check Out Kajabi < <
Teachable’s general interface looks simpler and less complicated. Even though you won’t have to code a lot, especially if it’s new to the process, Teachable gives you the freedom to go beyond its limitations with its Power Editor.
The Pros and Cons of Teachable
Teachable is, and remains to be, extremely affordable, making it a solid hit for newbies and budget-conscious pros alike – so much so that I was strongly considering hopping on it when I entered into the course business! Its signature course management features are robust and easy to use, as well. As for the cons, it falls short in its customization offerings and marketing tools, although it’s evident what the platform truly focuses on.
Pricing plans begin with: Teachable Basic, as low as $29/month
Is there a free plan? Yes
Reasons to choose Teachable: Extremely beginner-friendly user interface, extensive course management and analytics, simple interface that also allows for advanced-level adjustments
Teachable is more suitable for Absolute beginner edupreneurs, established business professionals, budget-conscious power users
Kajabi vs. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is a top online service used by entrepreneurs and businesses all over the world. While this sounds promising, it operates differently from Kajabi and the other two LMS platforms we’ve already covered so far. Instead of offering the usual suite of course management, marketing, and analytics tools, it leans heavily on the marketing aspect. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
Simply put, ClickFunnels is primarily a digital marketing platform that allows users to have their products/content spread throughout the internet, with potential profits expected at their doorstep. It has a wide variety of competitive business features that can be used for any purpose. It is versatile too. You can use it to promote both your courses and your physical products, if you have them. ClickFunnels is best recognized for its rich library of sales funnel templates, split testing, and intuitive landing page builder.
The Similarities
ClickFunnels shares a common feature with Kajabi: the sales funnel feature. Both platforms offer a wide range of templates each strategically designed to encourage a bountiful flow of profit and optimized for any objective. While their respective versions do leave an impression, ClickFunnels has comparatively more to deliver, since sales pipelines are their main strategy, after all.
ClickFunnels’ interface is just as intuitive as Kajabi. Both services can’t be beaten as well when it comes to marketing and sales – the checkout and payment tools, in particular, are as instinctive as you could expect. Their customer service is also top-notch.
The Differences
In digital marketing, making an effective landing page is as important as sending automated e-mails and crafting well-designed pipelines. Kajabi and ClickFunnels both have page-building abilities, but Kajabi only allows you to create a fully functioning website. ClickFunnels, however, limits you to a handful of page options, including the landing page.
Hiring affiliates within your member base is a guaranteed way to collect more leads and both services allow you to do just that with simple yet industry-grade tools. With ClickFunnels, you get to use this function if you have either a physical or digital product. With Kajabi, meanwhile, you’re essentially only limited to your digital content, including your courses.
ClickFunnels: The Pros and Cons
Although I don’t know much about sales and marketing jargon, some of my colleagues can confirm that ClickFunnels is a great tool for delivering the intended results. ClickFunnels is guaranteed to give entrepreneurs a better conversion rate turnout, and the funnel-building and landing page creation tools are equally outstanding. It doesn’t excel in course-building, which is why it’s not as important for developers.
> > Click Here to Check Out Kajabi < <
Pricing plans start at: ClickFunnels Basic starting at $127/month
Does it have a free plan? No, but it offers a 14-day free trial
Reasons to choose ClickFunnels: Strategic focus on digital marketing, the guarantee of a bigger sales turnout, flexible integration with other apps such as LMS platforms
ClickFunnels works best for Edupreneurs who have large budgets and individuals who wish to sell digital courses as well as physical products. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
Kajabi vs. Kartra
Kartra is another popular choice for market-savvy entrepreneurs. It specializes in product sales, marketing campaigns and other fail-proof strategies. This one is very interesting. It functions in a similar way to Kajabi, allowing you to create courses and memberships right away. However, it also works similarly to ClickFunnels with other aspects such as page building and marketing tools. You can sell physical and digital products.
Kartra is designed to increase engagement and leave subscribers asking for more. It has a large archive of full sales pipelines or campaigns, an easy scheduling system, additional widget options, and a unique scheduling system. Kartra allows you to share your campaigns with other users and get a 360-degree view on where your leads are headed.
The Similarities
Both Kartra and Kajabi excel when it comes to offering a hefty load of industry-grade business features. With the sales pipelines, on one hand, you’d have the chance of success no matter where you look as both have plenty of optimized templates. On the other, you’d get to enjoy an excellent array of marketing tools, notably the automations.
Nearly the same thing can be said about their page-building capabilities. Although you may have more options to explore with Kartra, both platforms take the cake in terms of performance and flexibility. I’d just like to add my two cents here: though there are notable similarities both Kartra and Kajabi share, I also think the same applies to ClickFunnels, considering there are certain characteristics that are identical to the other.
The Differences
Kartra may have the upper hand over ClickFunnels as it manages to have a decent amount of course management tools. If you compare it to Kajabi’s version of Kartra, you might find that Kartra isn’t able to keep up with it as well. Despite this, Kartra does exceedingly well in its marketing, lead generation, and customer retention capabilities.
If you take a look at the widget options in its website builder, you may find stuff like countdowns, pop-ups, and anything that can easily convince potential customers. This is what happens when you have a platform that puts one thing above all others. There may be some cons, but there will always be pros. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
Kartra’s Pros and Cons
Kartra’s robust offering of features, from page creation to business, is impressive. The set of plans are also very valuable as you can get the most out its core tools regardless of where you go. Although Kartra is a great tool for business, it’s not as good at course building. Plus, I heard it can be quite difficult to explore sometimes, especially for first-timers.
Pricing plans begin with: Kartra Starter, as low as $79/month
Is there a free plan? No, and it doesn’t offer a free trial either
Kartra is a top-quality business tool that doesn’t always need code, enhanced customer retention options and powerful video hosting.
Kartra is more suitable for Individuals who want to sell both digital and physical products, entrepreneurs with a keen eye for better marketing
Kajabi vs. Podia
A fan favorite and an underrated one, Podia is an LMS platform best known for its very affordable price range, extremely easy-to-explore user interface, and a list of valuable yet functional course and business features. It is similar to Kajabi but a lighter and more accessible version. Podia, along with the previously mentioned Teachable, has been seen by many course creators as a great starting point in their careers.
I can certainly attest to this as this platform helped significantly in welcoming me into the field – without Podia, I wouldn’t even know about the ins and outs of course-building, and I wouldn’t even end up using higher-end services like Kajabi to this day! Podia is a leader in communication. It allows users to easily message their customers without any hassle. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
The Similarities
Podia is poised to be a kind of LMS that’s all-in-one in nature, much like Kajabi and, to some extent, Thinkific. While the other two are renowned for their premium-level advanced tools, Podia adjusts its version to be more budget-friendly and easy to use. You’ll find tons of functionality no matter where your eyes go.
Podia offers a variety of flexible and dynamic functions that cover nearly every aspect of course management. These include the course builder, player, page themes, sales funnels, and even sales funnels.
The Differences
The idea of a budget-friendly all-in-one platform may sound promising; however, since Podia is structured to be this way, you and I can guess now that it’s always bound to have limits. Compare its features to Kajabi’s, and you’ll notice one is less high-end than the other.
Podia may have the right platform to help beginners grow, but not enough to further develop them into experts – it’s for this reason that I had to switch to Thinkific once I felt it was the right time. Podia may certainly not be as advanced as Kajabi, but it sure is straightforward and functional for its price. Its interface is so easy to use that it’s loved by both beginners and professionals.
The Pros and Cons of Podia
You can create unlimited courses with Podia. This is great for power users or if you are a beginner. All premium plans include transaction fees, and you don’t have to pay any transaction fees. Podia does offer a free plan, but there are lots of limitations that may be getting in your way. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
> > Click Here to Check Out Kajabi < <
Pricing plans begin with: Podia Mover, as low as $33/month
Is there a free plan? Yes
Reasons to choose Podia: Flexible and convenient ease of use, creator-friendly course management features, great affiliate marketing and drip campaign tools
Podia is best suited for DIY entrepreneurs, absolute beginners, and those who are looking to test drive course management.
Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks
Originally a social media network, Mighty Networks has built a huge following, further developing into a well-rounded platform that doesn’t just give you access to the typical LMS tools but also a great range of communications features to help keep your students engaged with your content.
It places a strong emphasis upon forging connections and building community. You can also use its marketing and course-building functions. And you can share what you have made through your customizable social media feed, which you can personalize. Your feed can be used to send updates, allow your members to comment, or even notify them that you are hosting a live stream. If I could describe Mighty Networks in a few words, it’d be “it works just like Facebook!”
The Similarities
Similar to Kajabi, Mighty has enough tools to let you create courses, memberships, and other kinds of content in-house. Both offer decent video hosting and live streaming, so if teaching via video is your thing, you can film them and upload them to either platform.
Both services offer mobile apps that you, or your students, can download to interact with your content anywhere and anytime. A good thing about this is that they’re compatible not just with iOS devices but also with Android ones, so accessibility is highly guaranteed. Mighty recently added an affiliate program. However, because it is new, it may take years for it to become as robust as Kajabi. Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
The Differences
The major distinction between Mighty and Kajabi has to be what it specializes best – the former focuses more on community-building, and the other on the courses, coupled with a bunch of other things. As you can see, Mighty’s ability to build courses is not as good as it could be. They are functional but not as advanced and sophisticated as Kajabi’s.
Kajabi‘s communication tools, meanwhile, are decent enough, but they’re not as dynamic as Mighty’s. Although Kajabi claims to be a one-stop platform, I find it hard to believe that it can keep up with Mighty’s messaging, social feed, and comments capabilities. I am a Kajabi user, so I can attest to this!
The Pros and Cons of Mighty Networks
It is obvious that Mighty Networks excels in community-building. The platform has been recognized as an ideal place for networking. It can be used for course content as well as for many other products. It’s been established that Mighty’s ability to create course content is very limited. Plus, to add salt to the wound, you can only get this feature if you’re subscribed to a higher business plan.
Pricing plans start with the Community Plan starting at $33/month
Is there a free plan? It does not offer a free plan, but you can try it for 14 days.
Mighty Networks is a great choice: A highly-optimized social network for you and your friends, a more-functional mobile app, and minimal course-building and other marketing tools
Mighty Networks is more suitable for Edupreneurs who believe that communication is at the heart of course management, professionals looking to integrate it with other services
Conclusion Thrivecart Vs Kajabi
This comprehensive review has come to an end. I hope you found it helpful in making your final decision. Picking the most suitable LMS platform can be somewhat of a rough task but with enough credible resources and opinions from other users, it may be less cumbersome.
Kajabi is a service I recommend. If you are considering Kajabi as a service, it can be assumed that you have the professional skills to want to give it a try if you plan on becoming an edupreneur. I can also bet that you have enough finances to afford it. Kajabi’s products are well-priced and offer a lot of features. You may feel that they are worth the investment.
If you don’t feel confident with your current resources – whether it’s monetary funds or professional skills – and you feel that Kajabi may be too difficult for you, you might not be ready. If this is the case, I am always happy to give you my other suggestions.
Mighty Networks is a great option if you are interested in connecting with your fellow members, but don’t mind the basic course tools. If you’re running short on budget, it’s either between Teachable or Podia. Better marketing and sales tools? Either between ClickFunnels or Katra. Affordable alternatives to Kajabi itself? Look no further than Thinkific and Podia.
It doesn’t matter what LMS you choose, but what matters is that you have the platform to help you become a better educator. Again, I’m very glad to have helped you choose the right LMS to jumpstart your career in the course business!