Head to head
Teachable vs Thinkific vs Kajabi
The same six questions asked of each one, side by side.
| Attribute | Lowest ongoing costTeachable | AlternativeThinkific | AlternativeKajabi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $39/mo | $54/mo | $179/mo |
| Free tier | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Ease of start | Scored 4/5Running in an hour | Scored 4/5Running in an hour | Scored 3/5A weekend to learn |
| Fit for solo / small team | Scored 4/5Good for a small team | Scored 4/5Good for a small team | Scored 2/5Priced above small teams |
| Switching cost | Medium | Medium | High |
| Best for | Creators who want a proven course platform and expect to reach the Builder plan quickly, where the transaction fee disappears. | Course sellers who want their own domain and none of their revenue skimmed, without paying Kajabi money to get there. | Established creators replacing four or five subscriptions at once — courses, email, landing pages, checkout and a community all run from one place. |
| Worth knowing side by side | |||
| Transaction fee | 7.5% | None | None |
| Renews higher | No | No | No |
| Worst for | Low-volume sellers parked on Starter. The 7.5% cut plus 2.9% processing means roughly a tenth of your revenue leaves before you do. | Video-heavy libraries on the entry plan — 100GB of monthly bandwidth goes quickly once a few hundred students are watching. | Anyone still validating an idea. $179/mo before your first sale is the most expensive starting line in this category by a wide margin. |
| Skip it if | You need a custom domain on day one — that is a Growth-plan feature at $189/mo, which is a steep entry point for a first course. | You want an all-in-one that also runs your email marketing and funnels. Thinkific is a course platform, not a business suite. | You already have an email platform and a website you like. Kajabi's value is the bundle, and you would be paying twice for tools you have. |
| Visit | Visit | Visit | |
Why Teachable is flagged here
A safe, well-trodden course platform whose cheap plan quietly takes 7.5% of everything. It has the lowest ongoing cost of the tools compared here. We compare on the price you keep paying, not the introductory rate — a plan advertised cheaply that renews higher is ranked on its renewal price. Read the methodology.
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