If you’re trying to choose between Kajabi and Thinkific, I think the decision is easier than it looks.

Both let you sell online courses, memberships, digital products, and other educational experiences. But after comparing how they actually work, I see them as having two different personalities.

Thinkific is more focused on teaching and course delivery.

Kajabi is more focused on building an entire business around your courses.

And once I looked at the pricing, marketing tools, and overall workflow, I wouldn’t automatically choose Kajabi just because it has more features.

Here’s what stood out to me.

Kajabi vs Thinkific at a Glance

Feature	Kajabi	Thinkific
Course creation	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Student experience	⭐⭐⭐⭐½	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Email marketing	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Sales funnels	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Website	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Community	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Marketing automation	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Pricing	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Best for	Online business	Course-focused business

My First Impression

The difference became obvious pretty quickly.

With Kajabi, I was thinking about the entire customer journey:

Visitor → Lead → Email → Sales Page → Purchase → Course → Upsell

With Thinkific, my attention was more on:

Course → Student → Learning Experience

That’s not a criticism of Thinkific.

Actually, I think it’s one of its biggest strengths.

If you’re an educator primarily focused on creating an excellent learning experience, you may not need all the marketing machinery Kajabi offers.

Thinkific Is Much Cheaper

This is probably the biggest reason I’d look at Thinkific first.

As of August 2026, Thinkific’s new annual pricing is:

• Basic: $475/year ($40/month equivalent)
• Start: $978/year ($82/month equivalent)
• Grow: $1,968/year ($164/month equivalent)

Thinkific implemented these new prices on August 13, 2026.

Kajabi is considerably more expensive.

Its current annual pricing starts at:

• Starter: $71/month
• Basic: $143/month
• Growth: $199/month
• Pro: $399/month

So if price is your biggest concern, Thinkific wins easily.

But There’s an Important Catch

You shouldn’t compare the cheapest plans based only on the monthly price.

Thinkific’s Basic plan is primarily focused on course and learning functionality. Some of Kajabi’s major advantages—such as its integrated email marketing, funnels, and broader marketing system—aren’t equivalent features on Thinkific’s entry plan.

So the real question is:

Do I need all of Kajabi’s marketing tools?

If you don’t, Thinkific becomes incredibly attractive.

If you do, Kajabi’s higher price starts making more sense.

Course Creation: Thinkific Slightly Wins

This surprised me a little.

If my only job were to create and deliver an online course, I’d be very comfortable choosing Thinkific.

It’s built around the learning experience.

You can create structured courses, organize lessons, manage students, and build educational experiences without needing to use all the marketing features of an all-in-one platform.

Thinkific has also invested in its new course builder, Learner Hub, communities, live events, and mobile experience.

Winner: Thinkific

If your priority is:

“I want to create a really good course.”

Thinkific gets my vote.

Marketing: Kajabi Wins

This is where Kajabi pulls away.

Kajabi combines:

• Email marketing
• Landing pages
• Funnels
• Automations
• Checkout
• Offers
• Website tools

into one platform.

Imagine someone downloads a free ebook.

I can create a sequence like:

Free ebook

↓

Welcome email

↓

Educational emails

↓

Course promotion

↓

Checkout

↓

Course access

That’s exactly the type of workflow Kajabi is designed for.

Thinkific can absolutely be part of that system, but you may need additional marketing tools and integrations.

Winner: Kajabi

Sales Funnels: Kajabi Wins

If you’re serious about marketing, this is one of the biggest differences.

Kajabi has built-in funnels and landing pages.

That means you can build your customer journey without necessarily adding another funnel platform.

Thinkific’s strength lies in course delivery rather than in being a full sales-funnel platform.

So if your business depends on:

• Lead magnets
• Email sequences
• Webinars
• Launch campaigns
• Upsells
• Automated marketing

I’d choose Kajabi.

Winner: Kajabi

Website: Kajabi Wins

Kajabi is also stronger if you want your entire online presence under one roof.

You can have:

Website

↓

Blog

↓

Landing pages

↓

Course

↓

Checkout

↓

Customer account

all connected.

Thinkific also provides website-building capabilities, but I found Kajabi’s all-in-one approach more appealing if the website itself is an important part of the business.

Winner: Kajabi

Community: Thinkific Has the Edge

This one is much closer.

Thinkific has invested heavily in communities and live events, and its 2026 updates specifically highlight Communities with live events and the rebuilt Learner Hub.

Kajabi also has community functionality, so you aren’t giving that up by choosing Kajabi.

But if the primary purpose is education + community, Thinkific becomes particularly interesting.

If the primary purpose is marketing, products, and community, Kajabi makes more sense.

Winner: Thinkific

Integrations: Thinkific Wins

Another thing I liked about Thinkific is that you’re not locked into one ecosystem.

Thinkific currently advertises 90+ apps in its App Store.

That’s useful if you already have a technology stack you like.

For example, you might already use:

• An email platform
• CRM
• Analytics software
• Webinar software
• Marketing tools

Thinkific can fit into that ecosystem.

Kajabi’s philosophy is almost the opposite:

“Why use five tools when you can use one?”

Neither approach is inherently better.

Winner: Thinkific for flexibility

Automation: Kajabi Wins

If I wanted automated marketing, Kajabi would be my choice.

For example:

Someone purchases a course.

→ They receive a welcome email.

→ They’re tagged appropriately.

→ They’re added to a sequence.

→ They receive an upsell later.

→ They receive another offer after completing the course.

This type of automation is one of Kajabi’s biggest advantages.

Winner: Kajabi

Which Is Easier?

I’d give Thinkific a slight advantage.

Not because Kajabi is difficult.

It’s because Kajabi has more things going on.

That’s the tradeoff.

Thinkific

You can concentrate on:

Create → Sell → Teach

Kajabi

You can concentrate on:

Attract → Capture → Nurture → Sell → Deliver → Upsell

If you don’t need the second system, Thinkific can feel cleaner.

What I Would Choose for My First Course

If I had never sold a course before and had a limited budget, I’d probably choose:

Thinkific

I’d rather spend less money validating my course idea.

I don’t need an elaborate funnel if I don’t have an audience yet.

My setup could be:

Thinkific

↓

Course

↓

Checkout

↓

Students

Once I started making sales, I could add more sophisticated marketing.

What I Would Choose for an Established Business

This changes completely.

If I already had:

• 10,000 email subscribers
• Multiple courses
• Coaching
• A digital-product store
• Paid traffic
• Automated funnels
• Several offers

I’d seriously consider:

Kajabi

At that point, the ability to consolidate tools becomes much more valuable.

Kajabi’s current Basic plan includes 5 products, 2,500 contacts, a website, a community, unlimited funnels, landing pages, marketing emails, and automation features.

That’s a lot of infrastructure in one subscription.

What About Coaching?

This depends on how your business works.

If you’re primarily selling courses with some coaching added on, Thinkific can work.

But if your business revolves around:

Course + Coaching + Marketing + Sales Funnels

I’d lean toward Kajabi.

Kajabi positions coaching, courses, marketing, payments, and automation as part of the same connected platform.

Winner: Kajabi

What About Memberships?

Both can work.

I’d choose Thinkific if membership is heavily education-focused.

For example:

“Pay $49/month for access to 100 lessons, monthly classes, and a learning community.”

I’d choose Kajabi if membership is more of a marketing-driven business:

“Join our membership, receive weekly content, attend coaching calls, get exclusive products, and receive personalized offers.”

The difference is subtle, but important.

What I Didn’t Like About Kajabi

Let’s be honest.

It’s expensive.

The current annual plans start at $71/month and quickly move into three-figure monthly pricing.

It can be overkill.

If you only need course hosting, you’re probably not using everything you’re paying for.

You’re buying an ecosystem.

That’s convenient, but it also means you’re putting more of your business inside one platform.

What I Didn’t Like About Thinkific

Thinkific’s biggest limitation, from my perspective, is that it doesn’t try to be Kajabi.

If I want sophisticated marketing automation, funnels, and a complete creator-business ecosystem, I may need additional tools.

That can mean:

Thinkific + email platform + funnel software + other integrations

Suddenly the cheaper platform isn’t necessarily as cheap.

My Scorecard

Category	Winner
Course creation	🏆 Thinkific
Student experience	🏆 Thinkific
Pricing	🏆 Thinkific
Community	🏆 Thinkific
Integrations	🏆 Thinkific
Email marketing	🏆 Kajabi
Sales funnels	🏆 Kajabi
Automation	🏆 Kajabi
Website	🏆 Kajabi
All-in-one business	🏆 Kajabi
Beginner value	🏆 Thinkific
Established creator	🏆 Kajabi

My Final Verdict

After comparing both, I don’t think you can make a bad choice here.

But I wouldn’t choose them for the same reason.

Choose Thinkific if:

• Your main product is an online course.
• You care about the learning experience.
• You want lower costs.
• You want more integrations.
• You don’t mind using separate marketing tools.
• You’re building an education-focused business.

Choose Kajabi if:

• You want an all-in-one platform.
• Email marketing is important.
• You need sales funnels.
• You sell multiple products.
• You offer coaching.
• You want your website and marketing connected.
• You’re building a larger creator business.

My personal winner?

🏆Thinkific for course creators

🏆Kajabi for business builders

If I were starting my first course today, I’d probably pick Thinkific.

If I already had an audience and wanted to turn my expertise into a larger business with courses, coaching, email marketing, funnels, and multiple offers, I’d pay more for Kajabi.

The biggest lesson from comparing them is this:

Don’t pay Kajabi prices just because Kajabi has more features. Pay for Kajabi when you actually need those features.

If you’re mainly teaching, Thinkificoffers better value.

If you’re building an entire business around what you teach, Kajabi is worth the extra consideration.