Kajabi VS Thinkific

Key Differences Between Kajabi And Thinkific For Online Course Creators

• Core Offering: Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that goes beyond course hosting by bundling website building, email marketing, funnels, and automation into a single solution. Thinkific focuses primarily on robust course creation and delivery, with strong student engagement and community tools, but relies more on integrations for advanced marketing and sales automation.
• Ease of Use: Kajabi provides a polished interface with drag-and-drop site/page builders and ready-made funnel templates, reducing the need for third-party tools. Thinkific emphasizes simplicity in course creation and customization, but advanced design features may require a steeper learning curve compared to Kajabi’s all-in-one flow.
• Customization & Branding: Kajabi includes website and landing page builders with customizable themes, though full customization (like custom code editor) is reserved for higher tiers. Thinkific offers more design freedom through themes, drag-and-drop customization, and support for custom HTML/CSS on higher plans.
• Pricing Model: Kajabi’s plans start at ~$149/month (Basic) and scale up to ~$399/month (Pro), with no transaction fees. A Kickstarter plan (~$89/month) is occasionally offered for new accounts only, but not for ongoing upgrades. Thinkific offers a free forever plan (1 course, 1 community, 2 spaces), with paid tiers starting around ~$49/month (Basic) through ~$199/month (Grow). Thinkific charges 0% transaction fees if using Thinkific Payments; however, using third-party processors (Stripe/PayPal) may add 1–5% depending on plan level.
• Monetization & Sales: Kajabi stands out with built-in sales funnels, email automation, checkout pages, upsells, order bumps, and affiliate management, making it a complete marketing suite. Thinkific includes coupons, memberships, bundles, upsells, and affiliates but often requires third-party marketing integrations for advanced automation.
• Student Experience: Kajabi provides a smooth, mobile-friendly learning environment with assessments, certificates (via integrations), and community areas. Thinkific offers richer engagement options out-of-the-box, including assignments, surveys, certificates, and dedicated community spaces.
• Integrations & Ecosystem: Kajabi reduces dependency on external tools thanks to built-in email, funnels, and analytics, though it integrates with Zapier and select apps. Thinkific integrates widely with tools like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Stripe, and Zapier, giving more flexibility but requiring extra setup for a full marketing stack.
• Best For: Kajabi is best for creators and businesses wanting an all-in-one solution that handles courses, websites, and marketing without multiple subscriptions. Thinkific is ideal for course creators who prioritize robust course delivery, student engagement, and design flexibility, and who don’t mind integrating third-party marketing tools.