What Is Kajabi? I Tested It So You Don’t Have To
If you’ve been researching platforms for selling online courses, coaching, memberships, or digital products, you’ve probably come across Kajabi.
At first, I thought Kajabi was simply another course platform.
After actually digging into how it works, I realized that’s not really the point.
Kajabi is more like an all-in-one business platform for selling your knowledge.
It combines course hosting with websites, landing pages, email marketing, sales funnels, payments, automation, memberships, coaching, and communities.
You get a lot in one place, but you’re also paying more than you would for a basic course platform.
So, What Exactly Is Kajabi?
In simple terms:
Kajabi helps you turn your knowledge into an online business.
You can use it to sell things like:
- Online courses
- Coaching programs
- Memberships
- Digital downloads
- Communities
- Newsletters
- Podcasts
You can then market those products using Kajabi’s email, landing pages, funnels, and automation tools.
For example, imagine you’re a business coach.
You could create:
Free business guide
↓
Email newsletter
↓
$99 mini-course
↓
$997 main course
↓
$2,500 coaching program
And Kajabi can handle much of that customer journey in one system.
That’s considerably more than simply uploading videos.
What I Liked About Kajabi
The biggest thing I noticed was how connected everything is.
With many platforms, you end up with something like:
Course platform + email software + website + funnel builder + payment system + community platform.
That’s a lot of subscriptions and logins.
Kajabi’s whole selling point is eliminating that “Frankenstein” setup.
Its course platform connects with landing pages, emails, checkout, automation, payments, and community features.
For someone trying to run a serious online business, I can see why that’s appealing.
Creating a Course
Creating a course is one of the main reasons people consider Kajabi.
You can organize your content into modules and lessons, schedule releases, track progress, and add assessments.
You’re not limited to simply uploading a collection of videos.
Kajabi also supports structured learning experiences and different types of educational products.
My impression?
The course-building side is strong, but it’s the surrounding business tools that make Kajabi interesting.
If you only need somewhere to host videos, there are cheaper options.
Kajabi’s Marketing Tools Are the Real Attraction
This is probably where Kajabi separates itself from basic course platforms.
You can create landing pages, collect leads, send emails, build automated sequences, and connect those activities to your offers.
For example:
Someone downloads your free guide.
→ Kajabi adds them to your email list.
→ They receive an automated welcome sequence.
→ They receive educational content.
→ They receive your course offer.
→ They purchase.
→ Their customer experience continues automatically.
That’s the type of system I’d want if I were trying to build a business, rather than sell a single course.
What About Websites?
You don’t necessarily need a separate website builder.
Kajabi includes website and landing page functionality, along with custom domain support on applicable plans.
That means you could potentially have:
YourBrand.com
with your:
- Homepage
- About page
- Blog
- Course pages
- Landing pages
- Checkout
- Memberships
all connected to the same platform.
That’s convenient.
What About Communities?
Kajabi also includes community functionality.
This lets creators give customers a place to interact, receive announcements, and engage around their courses or memberships.
I wouldn’t say Kajabi is necessarily the best community-first platform.
If your entire business is built around community engagement, I’d probably compare it with something like Skool.
But if your community is an extension of your course or membership, Kajabi makes a lot of sense.
Kajabi for Coaching
Kajabi isn’t limited to prerecorded courses.
You can also use it for coaching programs, including structured coaching experiences, scheduling, payments, and client delivery.
That’s important because many creators eventually realize they don’t want to make all their money from courses.
They might want to offer:
Course + group coaching + private coaching
Kajabi is designed to accommodate that progression.
The Biggest Problem: Price
Here’s where I think you need to be realistic.
Kajabi isn’t cheap.
Its current pricing has multiple tiers, with the entry-level annual equivalent listed at $71/month and higher plans going considerably higher.
For an established creator, that may be perfectly reasonable.
For someone who hasn’t made a single sale?
Not necessarily.
If you’re starting with:
- No audience
- No email list
- No customers
- One course idea
I’d think carefully before committing to an expensive all-in-one platform.
I’d validate the idea first.
Is Kajabi Worth the Money?
I think the answer depends on how much of Kajabi you actually use.
If you’re only using:
Course hosting + checkout
I’d probably look elsewhere.
But if you’re using:
Website + email + landing pages + funnels + automation + courses + coaching + community
the value becomes much easier to understand.
You’re essentially replacing several separate systems with one platform.
That’s the calculation I’d make.
Who Is Kajabi Best For?
I’d recommend looking at Kajabi if you’re:
A course creator
You want to sell one or multiple courses.
A coach
You want to combine coaching with digital products.
A consultant
You want to package your expertise into scalable offers.
A creator
You want to monetize an audience through multiple products.
A membership owner
You want recurring revenue from content and community.
Kajabi specifically targets coaches, educators, consultants, creators, and other experts who are building businesses based on their expertise.
Who Probably Doesn’t Need Kajabi?
I wouldn’t rush into Kajabi if you’re:
- Just testing an idea
- Selling one inexpensive digital product
- Only looking for video hosting
- Already happy with your website and email software
- Running a very small side project
You could end up paying for a lot of functionality you never touch.
My Favorite Thing About Kajabi
It’s the all-in-one approach.
I don’t want to log into six different platforms to figure out why an email didn’t trigger after someone purchased my course.
Having the product, customer, marketing, checkout, and delivery systems connected is genuinely useful.
Kajabi’s current platform is specifically designed around keeping those pieces together.
My Biggest Complaint
The price.
That’s really the elephant in the room.
Kajabi makes the most sense when you’re treating your online business as an actual business.
If you’re making $10,000 a month from courses and coaching, paying for an integrated platform can be an easy decision.
If you’re making $100 a month, it’s a different story.
I’d rather see a beginner prove their offer first.
Kajabi vs a Basic Course Platform
Here’s how I’d think about it:
|
If You Need… |
Kajabi |
|
Course hosting |
✅ |
|
Website |
✅ |
|
Email marketing |
✅ |
|
Landing pages |
✅ |
|
Sales funnels |
✅ |
|
Automation |
✅ |
|
Coaching |
✅ |
|
Community |
✅ |
|
Memberships |
✅ |
|
Digital products |
✅ |
|
All-in-one system |
✅ |
|
Lowest possible price |
❌ |
That’s the tradeoff.
More functionality, higher price.
My Final Verdict
After testing and looking at Kajabi as a complete business system rather than just a course platform, I understand its appeal much better.
I wouldn’t describe Kajabi as:
“A place to upload your online course.”
I’d describe it as:
“A platform for turning your expertise into a business.”
That’s what Kajabi does well.
You can create the product, build the website, collect leads, send emails, create funnels, process payments, deliver the product, and continue selling to your customers from one ecosystem.
My rating:
Course creation: 9/10
Marketing: 10/10
Automation: 9/10
Ease of use: 9/10
All-in-one functionality: 10/10
Affordability: 6/10
Overall: 9/10
Would I recommend it to everyone?
No.
Would I recommend it to someone serious about building a U.S.-based online course, coaching, or digital-product business?
Absolutely worth considering.
The biggest lesson I took away is simple:
Don’t buy Kajabi because you want to host a course. Buy it because you want to build a business around that course.
That’s when the price starts making sense.
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