Last Updated on October 10, 2026 by SaaS Stacked
Quick picks
- Best all-in-one value: Systeme.io — free plan includes a full course; $27/month Startup when you grow. Courses, email, and funnels on one bill.
- Best dedicated course platform: Teachable — Builder at $89/month ($69 annual), the most polished student experience under $100/month.
- Best for structured learning: Thinkific — Basic at $54/month ($40 annual) with unlimited courses; certificates and assignments from Start.
- Simplest all-in-one: Podia — Mover at $49/month ($42 annual) plus a 5% fee; the easiest setup in the category.
- Best for validating with $0: Gumroad — no monthly fee at all; 10% + $0.50 per sale. Pay only when you earn.
Why Kajabi is overkill for most creators
Kajabi restructured its pricing in January 2026 — its first major price change in nearly a decade. Current plans: Basic at $179/month ($143 annual), Growth at $249/month ($199 annual), Pro at $499/month ($399 annual). There is no free plan; you get a 14-day trial. Basic caps you at 5 products and 2,500 contacts, and payment processing fees apply on top (2.9% + $0.30 through Kajabi Payments, plus a 2% fee if you use your own gateway on Basic).
Do the math for a creator selling one $99 course to a small audience: $2,148/year before you’ve made a dollar. Kajabi is genuinely excellent — polished course player, assessments, coaching tools, a brand students recognize. But it’s priced for businesses already making money from courses, not for someone validating course #1.
Most creators don’t need Kajabi. They need somewhere to host videos, take payment, and email students — at a price that doesn’t punish them for being small.
The alternatives, honestly reviewed
1. Systeme.io — best all-in-one value
The free plan is the headline: 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, one funnel, and one full course — genuinely free, no credit card. The $27/month Startup plan adds more funnels, courses, and a custom domain. You get course hosting with drip content, a community feature, checkout with order bumps and upsells, plus email automation — all on one bill.
The honest tradeoff: it’s not a full LMS. No quizzes or graded assessments, and the course player is simpler than Kajabi’s. For video courses with drip content, that’s fine. For certification-style programs, it isn’t.
Related: our full Systeme.io Review (2026): Is the Free Plan Actually Enough?
Pick if: you want courses, email, and funnels for $0–27/month and don’t need quizzes.
2. Teachable — best dedicated course platform
Teachable restructured in 2026 too: Starter at $39/month ($29 annual) with a 7.5% transaction fee, Builder at $89/month ($69 annual) with 0% fee, Growth at $189/month ($139 annual). No free plan — 7-day trial. Starter caps you at 5 products and 100 active students; Builder is the realistic starting point for anyone selling regularly (the fee math flips around ~$670/month in sales).
What you get for it: the most polished course player under $100/month, quizzes, certificates (Builder+), and built-in EU VAT handling. What you don’t: real email marketing or funnels — you’ll pair it with an email tool.
Pick if: the course itself is the product and student experience matters most.
3. Thinkific — best for structured learning
Basic at $54/month ($40 annual) with unlimited courses and 10,000 students — generous on paper. Certificates, assignments, memberships, and payment plans unlock on Start at $109/month ($82 annual). No free plan; 30-day trial.
Two things to watch: the course builder assumes you’re comfortable with more settings than Teachable’s, and there’s a gateway surcharge — 5% on Basic, 2% on Start, 1% on Grow — if you process through your own Stripe account instead of Thinkific Payments. Use their payments and it’s 0%.
Pick if: you need assessments, certificates, or structured learning paths.
4. Podia — simplest all-in-one
Mover at $49/month ($42 annual) with a 5% transaction fee; Shaker at $99/month ($84 annual) with 0%; Earthquaker at $179/month ($150 annual). Every plan includes courses, digital downloads, coaching, community spaces, a website, and email marketing. No free plan; trial length has varied — check current.
Podia’s real advantage is simplicity: the cleanest interface in this category. You can set up a course and start selling in an afternoon. The math to remember: Shaker becomes cheaper than Mover at roughly $840/month in revenue, because the 5% fee overtakes the price gap. Watch the email subscriber caps too (100 on Mover, 500 on Shaker) — growing lists cost extra.
Pick if: you sell a mix of courses, downloads, and coaching and want the easiest setup.
5. Gumroad — best for validating with $0
No monthly fee, no tiers, no setup cost. You pay 10% + $0.50 per direct sale, plus payment processing (~2.9% + $0.30). Sales through Gumroad’s Discover marketplace cost a flat 30%. Since 2025 Gumroad acts as merchant of record, meaning it handles global sales tax and VAT for you — a genuine plus for international sellers.
The catch: the 10% never drops, no matter your volume. At $5,000/month in sales you’re handing over $500+ before processing. Gumroad is a launchpad, not a forever home. Also note: fees aren’t returned on refunds.
Pick if: you’re validating your first product and refuse to pay a subscription before revenue exists.
Side-by-side
| Platform | Starts at | Platform fee | Free plan | Trial | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io | $0 (then $27/mo) | 0% | Yes | — | All-in-one value |
| Teachable | $39/mo ($29 annual) | 7.5% on Starter, 0% above | No | 7 days | Polished courses |
| Thinkific | $54/mo ($40 annual) | 0%* | No | 30 days | Structured learning |
| Podia | $49/mo ($42 annual) | 5% on Mover, 0% above | No | 14–30 days | Simplicity |
| Gumroad | $0 | 10% + $0.50/sale | Yes (free tier) | — | Validating |
| Kajabi | $179/mo ($143 annual) | 0% | No | 14 days | Established brands |
*Thinkific: 0% through Thinkific Payments; 5%/2%/1% surcharge on Basic/Start/Grow if you use your own Stripe.
Who should actually stay on Kajabi
Honest answer: if your courses already generate $3,000+/month, Kajabi’s polish can justify $179/month. Assessments, the coaching product, the branded mobile app on Pro, and a checkout flow students trust — plus real switching costs (rebuilding products, re-uploading content, migrating students). Don’t churn platforms mid-launch to save money you can already afford.
Everyone else: start cheaper. You can always move up when revenue demands it; you can’t get back the months you spent paying for capacity you didn’t use.
Related: Best ClickFunnels Alternatives (2026): Cheaper Tools That Replace It
FAQ
Can I migrate my course off Kajabi later?
Yes. Export your videos and content, rebuild the curriculum on the new platform (budget a weekend per course), and migrate students via CSV import. Your sales pages and email sequences need rebuilding — there’s no magic transfer button.
Which alternative is cheapest to start?
Systeme.io ($0 with a real free plan) or Gumroad ($0 until you make a sale). Teachable’s Starter ($39/month + 7.5%) is the cheapest paid course-first option.
Do these handle sales tax and VAT?
Teachable, Podia, and Gumroad handle EU VAT and sales tax collection for you. Systeme.io and Thinkific: check current — tax handling varies by payment setup.
Will my students notice the difference?
On Teachable or Thinkific, no — both have polished student experiences. On Systeme.io or Gumroad, the experience is simpler but perfectly functional for video courses.
What if I outgrow the cheap option?
That’s the good problem. Teachable and Thinkific scale to serious catalogs; Systeme.io’s $97 Unlimited tier covers most solo creators indefinitely. Only move to Kajabi when a specific feature (assessments, coaching, mobile app) is worth $179/month to you.
Bottom line
Start on Systeme.io if you want courses, email, and funnels for nearly nothing. Start on Teachable (Builder) if the course experience is the whole business. Start on Thinkific if you need quizzes and certificates. Start on Podia if you want the simplest setup. Start on Gumroad if you won’t pay a subscription before your first sale. Start on Kajabi when your course revenue makes $179/month a rounding error — not before.