Kajabi vs Teachable: Which platform is right for you?

Kajabi and Teachable both empower educators with intuitive course creation tools, but their approaches cater to different aspects of the course development process.

Kajabi's robust platform is designed for creators seeking comprehensive tools, including a built-in presentation creator and the ability to host live lessons via Zoom. This makes Kajabi ideal for those looking to offer a mix of asynchronous and synchronous learning experiences.

"It takes forever to build a course and set up pricing plans/offers," said one Kajabi review on Trustpilot.

On the other hand, Teachable emphasizes ease and accessibility, offering a straightforward course builder that supports a variety of content types. Its focus on downloadable content and multimedia integration makes it a strong contender for creators prioritizing diverse content delivery.

Thinkific stands out with its intuitive drag-and-drop builder AI features, and extensive app integrations, simplifying the course creation process.

The learning experience on Kajabi is sleek and modern, with a clean design that facilitates easy navigation and progress tracking. Completion certificates and student progress tracking are standout features, ensuring learners remain motivated and informed of their achievements.

Teaching experience was one theme amongst negative reviews of Kajabi, with one reviewer on Trustpilot saying, "My courses are great, and they help people. Why did they not sell on Kajabi? It was too complicated for me and, to boot, way too expensive."

Teachable, while maintaining a straightforward user interface, places a strong emphasis on student interaction and engagement, offering features like student course reviews and multiple payment options. This community-focused approach helps in building a more interactive and supportive learning environment, however, their actual Community product is not as robust as Kajabi's.

One student of a Teachable creator was not impressed by the student experience, saying, "I can’t speak for the teacher experience, but I’ve purchased courses that use the Teachable platform and the overall experience is horrendous."

After publishing your course, you need to get it in front of the right audience. Sales and marketing tools enable creators to gain visibility and earn revenue.

Kajabi shines with its all-in-one marketing suite, offering native tools for email marketing, sales page customization, and a variety of sales features like subscriptions, bundling, and order bumps. Its built-in payment processor and B2B selling options provide a seamless sales experience for course creators.

A Kajabi user on Trustpilot shared some issues around gated and paid content access for members and non members in their memberships solution.

Another user expressed concern with their Marketing features, saying they're "missing basic features in its email marketing sequence."

Teachable counters with a robust set of sales tools and customizable payment plans, making it easy to create and market courses. However, creators should note the transaction fees on paid products, which could impact overall revenue.

Thinkific leads with over 90 integrations, offering unparalleled flexibility in marketing your courses.

Kajabi offers advanced customization options, including CSS/HTML editing for those on higher-tier plans, allowing for a high degree of brand alignment and course landing page customization.

Teachable provides a more streamlined approach to design customization, focusing on the customization of courses and communities. This ensures that creators can still offer a personalized learning environment without the need for extensive design skills.

One Trustpilot reviewer didn't like how much Teachable charged for the ability to customize their site's code, saying: "The fact that teachable is now charging a $665 monthly fee for creators to access their own custom code is ridiculous."

It’s important to choose a course platform that you can trust, where getting the answers to your questions is easy and your data is secure. 

Both Kajabi and Teachable offer comprehensive support networks, including multiple support options and access to private instructor communities. 

Kajabi's dedicated customer support team ensures quick resolutions, while Teachable's live chat support (for higher-tier plans) and group coaching calls offer real-time assistance.

Reviewers on Trustpilot had some concerns with Teachable's support, saying "Overall reasonably stable and full-featured. However, customer support is absolutely atrocious ... I've submitted dozens of online support tickets, and Teachable always replies with a quick excuse about why they can't help with the issue."

A user of 5+ years noted that customer support has been on the decline under Teachable's new ownership: "... since the company changed hands in 2020, customer + creator support has declined severely."

In terms of security, both platforms offer peace of mind with 99.9% uptime, 24/7 monitoring, secure cloud hosting, and daily backups.

Kajabi adds an extra layer of security with a dedicated sandbox site for testing and development.

A mobile app is a great way for your audience to engage with your learning content from anywhere, at any time. 

Kajabi provides a mobile app available on iOS and Android, supporting communities and offering a beta version of a white-labeled app. This extends the learning experience beyond the desktop, allowing students to engage with content on their mobile devices.

Teachable also offers a mobile app on iOS, focusing on complementing the desktop course experience. While it doesn't currently support in-app purchases or a white-labeled app, it ensures students can access courses anytime, anywhere.

As an alternative, Thinkific has two mobile app options for you to choose from: Thinkific Mobile and Branded Mobile. If you’re looking for a white-labeled app that spotlights your brand with your own App Store listing and logo, Branded Mobile ($199/month) has what you need.  While Branded Mobile reflects your own branding, Thinkific Mobile comes at a lower cost, and includes Thinkific branding.

From a pricing standpoint, Teachable currently only offers three pricing tiers that work well for solopreneurs. They also do not offer a free plan, so you're not able to test and experiment with the platform, and your course, before you start paying. This is a huge barrier to course creators who need ample experimentation time before they are ready to monetize.

Kajabi offers three tiers ranging from $149 to $399 that vary mostly on usage. Users have access to almost all features within their core plan.

Value for money is one common theme for negative reviews on Kajabi's Trustpilot:

One Trustpilot user shared, "It sounds great, so much is available, but unless you really know, you will get absolutely nowhere and pay dearly for it."

"For the price I pay, the website development platform is incredibly lacking," said another Trustpilot user.