Detailed Kajabi Pricing Review - Is Kajabi really worth the cost?

I admit.

When I first started in the world of online courses, I almost instantly wrote Kajabi off (I didn't even do a free trial) as I thought it was too expensive.

I'm a bit of a tightarse I admit and when you're starting out and not yet bringing in any money from your business, it's hard to spend a lot and Kajabi is pricier than some other options.

Plus I already had a website on Squarespace and an email provider (Convert Kit) so I originally thought Kajabi was unnecessarily expensive for what I needed - a place to host my courses.

So I looked at other cheaper options.

Eventually - after spending weeks comparing and looking at dozens (maybe hundreds!) of reviews, I settled on Teachable for $39 a month on the basic plan. 

But I never loved it.

The support was slow and SUPER frustrating.

I lost hours and hours trying to follow their help articles to set up the site and domain. I'd contact support, then wait almost a day to hear back (being in Australia often makes 9 am-6 pm support extra hard) then they would not answer my question or just send me a link to a help article.

Sooooo frustrating Teachable grrrr!

Now the course was OK on Teachable - it never looked great because the customisation is very limited, but was OK.  You can read more about our change from Teachable to Kajabi here.

What I hated was that the sales pages to set up for the course were awful. (I was told in the teachable FB group it looked like something a kindergartener would make). Which was annoying, as I'm not a fancy web designer per se, here at The Unicorn Advisory our amazing designer Mia is in charge of that. But I have been working online and building websites since 1999, so I'm not exactly a newbie - I can hold my own!

Just a heads up

Blog Posts from The Unicorn Advisory may contain affiliate links, but I’m a no-bullshit affiliate kinda gal, as you can read about in my affiliate disclaimer.

I only share products and services I use and love and would recommend an affiliate program or not. 

The few $$ I make from affiliate income, costs you absolutely nothing and goes straight to our family holiday fund ✈️ so my kids and I thank you 💗

Trying to save money, comes at a cost

I quickly discovered this cheaper option of using Teachable, wasn't really helping me.

Especially as I had to upgrade to the $99 a month version to create a custom payment gateway to get instant payouts (otherwise it was waiting 30 days to get paid!! (and paying a commission to teachable as well!)

On the basic plan, you couldn't really track student progress either. That pro pricing plan recently went UP to $119 a month (Teachable is the only company I saw INCREASE their prices during Covid-19), so it is now even more expensive than it was 18 months ago. 

Speaking of costs... all the other costs I had each month trying to "save money" because Kajabi was "too expensive" soon added up.

Squarespace $28 a month

Convert Kit $49 a month

Teachable $99 a month

Just with those three things I was at $176 (it was $116 a month when I was using the $39 teachable plan - but paying Teachable commission and a 30-day wait til you get paid on the $39 plan... I don't think so!).

Plus, I was still linking my sales page videos from YouTube, not hosting them on Teachable, so I could get stats and have MUCH more control over the player and options.

In my ideal world, I would have added Vimeo or Wistia to have better control over my videos, and have the ability to look at video analytics to see how people were watching them. But that is an extra cost of $50+ a month.

Thankfully, a few months into this "money-saving" process, I started looking at other options to host my sales pages and freebie pages, like Leadpages. I came back across Kajabi and decided to actually test it out and take a free trial so I could see what it was like.

And I am SO glad I did!

Honestly, I wish I had just done it from the start!

Apart from the first few days, when I had the frustrations of learning a new system, Kajabi has blown every other option out of the water!

I was soon a total Kajabi convert and now very much a Kajabi evangelist - For good reason.

The 24/7 tech support on the growth plan (that is the plan I'm on) has saved me SO MUCH TIME!

Every time we had any issue - we got help pretty much straight away.

No sending an email and getting a help article emailed back a day later.

It was literally a situation of the chat support person jumping into our account and helping us with things we didn't know how to do. I think in that first week - we were on the chat help 20 times or more.

Now it's more like once a month, jumping on chat if I need help with something specific, but knowing that is there is a sanity saver like the chat, really stops wasted time!

I've never experienced anything like it with any other software company. The monthly Kajabi cost was worth that alone - especially in the beginning while you're working things out. 

So How Much Does Kajabi Cost?

Kajabi pricing starts at $119 a month for the basic plan, with annual payment - which saves 20% on paying month to month ($149 a month, paid monthly). 

Growth, the middle tier, is worth the extra $40 over basic, in my opinion. Even for the 24-hour live chat alone. I don't use the live chat much nowadays, but in the first month or two, I was on live chat multiple times a day, and being able to get answers and sort things out instantly, is a game-changer! You can also remove the Kajabi branding from the footer and use some handy extra features like advanced automations and the affiliate program.

The pro plan is $319 a month paid annually ($399 monthly), but if you're wanting to use different URLs (website addresses) for different products, it can quickly be worthwhile, as you can have multiple sites on one account. Not to mention you get 100 products, which is more than enough for most course or membership creators!

On pro, you also get up to 100,000 email subscribers!

When you compare the cost of Kajabi to email marketing platforms, you'll especially start to compare the value! 100k subscribers on Convert Kit will see you paying $619 per month - and that is JUST for email! Other email providers like Drip are double that and cross over the $1k per month fee 😮

Yes, those email providers have some extra features, but Kajabi gives you an entire platform AND email, for a fraction of the cost!

What is included with a Kajabi Subscription?

Website (replacing WordPress/Squarespace/Wix)

You can build your entire website on Kajabi and it actually works really well for SEO, despite the common myth that WordPress is the only good platform for SEO. You get unlimited pages included in all plans.

The website builder is drag and drop, and really easy to use once you become familiar with it. You can create pages and update them yourself. You can also get help making your site look amazing with pre-made templates (check ours here), or getting a Kajabi Expert Team (hi 👋) to create it for you.

Landing Pages (replacing Leadpages/Instapage)

You can create landing pages in WordPress or Squarespace (with some code) but people often like using specific landing page software instead, to help them create these focus-driven, one job pages. Leadpages and Instapage are popular choices, but personally, I LOVE Kajabi's landing pages. It was actually through trying out Leadpages and wondering what all the fuss was about, that I actually tried Kajabi's pages to test an alternative. I loved them so much, I moved everything to Kajabi and the rest is history!

Sales Funnels (replacing Click Funnels)

There are many die-hard Click Funnels fans! Many people love, and use the software that lets you do all sorts of complicated 3 x upsell, downsell AKA the "would you like fries" (and an apple pie and a coffee AND a whole extra burger meal with your order) strategy popular with some internet marketers. For most people, it's overkill, and whilst Kajabi "only" offers an order bump and one upsell, there is a very high chance that will be more than enough for you! Some people love Kajabi's student area so much, they use Click Funnels AND Kajabi, but I really don't think you need that - especially when you're first starting out!

Blog (replacing Wordpress/Squarespace/Wix)

I resisted using the Kajabi blog for a long time. In terms of customisation - especially compared to other sites, it's not there yet. However, when I really truly thought about it and looked at my stats, most of the traffic to this site (60%+) is on mobile and that figure is going to get higher and higher. Much of the fancy customisation is irrelevant on mobile, where information comes first, so I bit the bullet and moved everything to Kajabi. My verdict... I actually love it now! Having everything in one place is a big win, simplifying is also a big win.  I do miss choosing my image size, but it's nowhere near the big deal I thought it was before I moved. And with the new encore website/blog editor coming very soon, there will be much more customisation and I'm happy with that!

Email capture (replacing Optin Monster/Sumo)

There aren't nearly as many options for pop ups, screen takeovers and other methods of capturing emails, as you get with programs like Optin Monster and Sumo. But you do get a popup that can show on exit intent or at a pre-defined time on any page or blog of your choosing.

(You may have already seen this one today? Get our 16 awesome Kajabi tips free guide here if you missed it!)

Email marketing (replacing Mailchimp/Convert Kit/Active Campaign/Drip)

If you're running an online business, you NEED email marketing software. It's as critical as a website. But the cost of it can add up as your list grows! Personally, I was using Convert Kit and pretty happy with it, but decided to move everything into Kajabi for simplicity. It was a great move and whilst I am missing some features a little - they aren't a deal-breaker, and saving a lot of money each month is worth it! Personally, I've found Kajabi's email deliverability on par with Convert Kit. Yes, some emails do end up in spam - but that happened with Convert Kit as well! I'm a fan and very happy having everything in one place! 

Checkout/Payments (replacing SamCart/ThriveCart/SendOwl) with NO transaction fees

Did you know Kajabi's has over 50,000 customers who've processed over $1.5 billion through the platform! That is some serious impact Kajabi is having and an integrated, simple checkout function is part of why it's such great value. Yes you could use a specific checkout software, that just does checkouts, but if you use something like SamCart, you'll be paying hundreds extra each month and it's not necessary. Seeing some big industry players doing $4 and 5 million launches this year using the standard Kajabi checkout, makes me very happy to use it.

Affiliate program (replacing TapAffiliate, ThriveCart, SamCart)

Affiliate functionality allows you to give a commission to others who recommend your product to others. Your affiliates get a special link with their tracking code attached, that they can share and anyone who clicks, will get the sale tracked back to the affiliate. Kajabi's affiliate program is pretty simple - but if you're just starting with an affiliate offer - simple is what you need! It's easy to set up (you can have yours up and running in half an hour). It doesn't have as much functionality as other programs, but because it's inbuilt into the platform, you don't need any further integration and is easy to use. Affiliate functionality is only available on the growth and pro plans however.

Course and Membership Area (replacing Teachable/Thinkific/Podia/Memberpress/Wishlist Member/Accessally/other WP plugins)

For beautiful courses, there is only one choice, Kajabi. It is the industry-leading course platform and one of the only platforms where you can have fantastic flexibility with the styling and design of your student area (without the cost of custom coding!)

I've tried a number of platforms and Kajabi really is the standout leader. Many of the top million dollar course creators may use other systems for things like website, checkouts, or email marketing, due to the additional functionality specialist systems can offer, but they still use Kajabi's student area - which shows just how popular it is! If the big names - many of which are doing $10 million + are using Kajabi for their student area, there is a reason! Many of these industry superstars are charging thousands for their programs and using Kajabi to run it, which gives me a lot of confidence.

PLUS

Automations: You can segment your list and trigger a plethora of actions based on the automations in Kajabi. This is really helpful for funnels and when you only want to email specific people. You can also use automations to automatically enrol (or remove) people from your courses or programs and manage the progress of your course, using them for things like student gamification. These are powerful and incredibly useful.

Analytics: track the visitors to your website and landing pages and how those visitors are converting. You can also track the statistics of how your offers are performing (and how your students are tracking) and helpful subscription metrics - such as monthly recurring revenue and forecasted revenue. It's not google analytics level of information, but it's quick and easy to access to see how you're tracking.

Mobile App: Make your programs easy to consume on the go through the Kajabi app! You don't even need to do anything, any enrolled program will automatically show up in the app when your student or member signs in with their email.

Other Kajabi Benefits

The Company and Culture

Not sure what is in the water at Kajabi HQ, but they have a team that cares. It's just amazing and is evident everywhere.

It even comes through with the culture of the Kajabi Facebook group - I've never encountered a group of people so willing to help and give back to the Kajabi community - and I'm talking users here. I think the culture of Kajabi rubs off on the people who are in the community.

So much knowledge is shared for free and people genuinely want to help which is fantastic.

Extra Perks

Kajabi University

One of the great perks of signing up to Kajabi is access to Kajabi University where you can learn about Kajabi AND some of the important areas of course creation. You'll find courses on email marketing, accounting, webinars, even growing your team. PLUS the university will be expanding once Kajabi is back working in their head office post-Covid, including a fabulous course on business planning from yours truly 🤩

Live Chat Support

I cannot say enough good things about the support you get with Kajabi Live Chat. It made ALL the difference when I first got started on Kajabi and I used it constantly in the first month. Even now, as a Kajabi expert, I still get on there several times a month for help if I get stuck or have a question. Live Chat is only available on the Growth and Pro plan, but it is worth every cent.

Kajabi Assistant

From the header area, right inside Kajabi, you can easily access Kajabi Assistant, which is not just a help centre, but a way to quickly access any of your content. You can search for a person, an email, a page, or anything and be taken right to it.

It's what the big names use

There is a reason why people like Amy Porterfield, Brendon Burchard, Charlene Johnson, James Wedmore, Jenna Kutcher, and more use Kajabi. Apart from getting a custom-built platform (which doesn't come cheap!) Kajabi really does stand out as being the best option.

People who are making millions of dollars a year from their courses want a platform that reflects their high-value programs and you can 100% get that with Kajabi.

From the unrivaled student area customisation options (which are going to get even better when the new encore product theme is introduced later in 2020) to flexibility in page and email design, I find it sleek. Like a European car. You really feel like you're getting the best system and it feels very much worth it.

Kajabi is a solid company

Kajabi just recently celebrated its 10 year birthday. In those 10 years, they have helped over 50,000 business owners create and sustain a successful business online. So successful in fact, that Kajabi customers have made over 1.5 billion dollars on the platform to date!

The online business industry is growing more and more every day, it is extremely important to have a company with a strong uptime. Kajabi averages 99.7% uptime, and they back up the platform hourly.  

It's so important for me to know I'm working with a company that will be around for a long time (and has a great reputation) and Kajabi 100% ticks those boxes for me.

The biggest benefit that makes Kajabi worth it

For me, it is my time.

Which can be vastly underrated and often people will spend hours and hours each week to try and save $20 or $30 a month on software expenses, which I don't think is a smart way to run a business.

I've gone down both paths - having multiple programs with multiple systems and logins and integrations and I started a second Kajabi business that was all in Kajabi.

When I actually experienced having it in one place, oh man, it was SUCH an incredible difference! I didn't need to jump back and forth between different systems, making sure everything was all linked up and working. It just worked, one platform, one login, simplicity!

Experiencing that - everything in one place, was the catalyst to move all of the Unicorn Advisory systems into one place and we couldn't be happier!

I find it quicker and easier to make pages and funnels in Kajabi than other systems. I can clone pages quickly, bring in templates, and importantly, clone products, which also saves time, as you do the design work once, then it's done.

As a very busy business owner, time is critical, and saving those little bits of time every day, really adds up. It also feels less stressful just having it all together. Sure, down the track when my business is at 7 figures, I may reassess and look at some other options.

But if it's good enough for James Wedmore, who does $5 million dollar launches with Business by Design, to use Kajabi's checkout, courses, and affiliate program, and Denise Duffield Thomas, who has earned over $10 million in her business and uses ALL of Kajabi's functionality including blog and email, I feel confident it's good enough for me!

Free Kajabi Trial

If you're not sure if it's for you, or you're weighing up options right now, the best and easiest thing to do, is, start a free Kajabi trial. You could even start a trial with whatever you're comparing it to, to really test out what will be the best option.

AND because we're big believers in radical generosity here at The Unicorn Advisory, we'll also throw in an incredible bonus pack worth over $500 with your free trial including resources to help you get started. That's how much we believe in the software and love it.

We want to share the love with you.

Click here to start a free trial and see if Kajabi is worth it, for you.

 I love Kajabi and am always happy to answer any questions, or help you overcome any hesitations!

I hope this post will help you in your decision-making process!

Cheers, Sue x