ajabi and Teachable are for sure two of the most marketed solutions for starting an online learning business. We get why. They offer excellent features and apps, substantial sales and marketing support, and are easy to use.
Isn't it what aspiring edupreneurs, coaches, online course creators, and even academies seek?
Yet, if you are here and thinking about whether or not to use Teachable vs Kajabi, you know that picking the right platform is not so easy.
Let’s dive deeper into the analysis of these two platforms and see key differences in features, pricing, and possible effects on your course.
What are the Main Differences of Kajabi vs. Teachable?
Kajabi and Teachable offer similar approaches to course creation and course selling. Yet, each of them excels in different categories.
Notably, their mission statements give us a hint: Kajabi focuses on entrepreneurship and business success, while Teachable puts the transformation of knowledge into income at the center.
Thus, Kajabi provides powerful marketing and sales tools.
Teachable excels in course creation.
With this in mind, we defined the criteria and principles for the Teachable vs Kajabi comparison. In our review, we focused on analyzing the following features and factors:
- Course creation features;
- Engagement tools;
- Content options;
- Course compliance and drip content;
- Reporting;
- Customization;
- Mobile learning;
- Integrations;
- Marketing and sales tools;
- And pricing.
Knowing how each online platform excels in certain categories will help you pick the right one to create and sell courses online.
💡Brief review: Kajabi is an all-around platform that gives you an online course platform that facilitates many processes, including sales and marketing; whereas Teachable is excellent for a start in course creation, having a significant focus on content and support in monetization.
Further reading: Best Teachable Alternatives and Best Kajabi Alternatives.
Overview of Kajabi vs Teachable
Teachable vs Kajabi: Key Features Comparison
Teachable vs Kajabi updates
Another important part is how the product grows. Let’s consider how products react to the market and answer creators' needs.
In particular, Teachable has fewer regular updates. However, recently, it offered a well-awaited community feature (in January 2024) and membership customization. The minor improvements refer to the checkout process, banners, and the iOS app.
Kajabi offers minor and significant monthly product updates, along with programs and cases on how to use the tools. The recent features relate to sales and tax tools, community updates, and Creator Studio for better marketing content. At the same time, minor additions, like new metrics, integrations, or buttons, are added to features regularly.
That way, both Kajabi and Teachable consistently provide new solutions, focusing on issues they are criticized for, like lack of collaboration options, and the marketing and sales tools. Yet, Kajabi seems to do it more frequently, especially regarding features related to selling online courses.
#1. Which Platform Offers the Best Course Creation Features: Kajabi or Teachable?
If comparing Teachable vs Kajabi, both platforms provide an easy-to-use and intuitive drag-and-drop course builder.
Kajabi allows the creation of 4 types of products: courses, coaching sessions or series of them, communities, and podcasts. In contrast, Teachable provides courses, coaching, membership, and digital downloads. The latter can be used as bundles for a sale.
What about course structure? Kajabi and Teachable have a common curriculum structure with modules and lessons and a valuable option to import content from other courses.
Notably, the first platform allows the creation of submodules, while adding quizzes is available only as a separate activity from lessons.
At the same time, with Teachable, you can add quizzes only as an option within a lesson, which, in our humble opinion, is more organic for course creation. Also, Teachable offers a convenient "bulk edit" function, making editing duplicated or AI-generated programs easy.
💡Verdict: Teachable seems to offer better options for effective course development and editing.
#2. How Flexible Are Kajabi and Teachable with Content Formats?
Even though Teachable brings more diverse and advanced opportunities, they both have a standard text editor.
With Kajabi, you first pick media format, then, add text, and can upload downloads. And we would say that building a lesson with it is pretty simple, sometimes too basic. It allows adding only one media piece, either video or audio, for display.
In contrast, Teachable uses a system of multiple blocks, giving you more flexibility and content variety (from audio files and banners to embedded pieces and custom code inclusion). You can edit the text in a new window, which is not a bad thing. Notably, a new integration with Unsplash allows you to add free and paid pics from the stock and make your course content more engaging.
Lastly, the Teachable AI tool is actually more advanced, allowing generating text in a text editor, making summaries, and assisting in quiz creation.
💡Verdict: Teachable brings major advantages in regard to content variety, its creation, and management thanks to cool native integrations, video upload, and AI support; Kajabi is pretty basic in this regard.
#3. Which Platform Provides Better Support and Community Building Tools?
Let’s explore the work of the support team and see which platform does better for users.
Kajabi offers 24/7 live chat support for users on Growth and Pro Plans. For those using Free and Basic plans, the email ticket is the option. At the same time, Kajabi has a decent Help Center, Kajabi University, and offers an ability to connect with experts. Even though there are negative reviews regarding support responsiveness, Kajabi’s options are pretty flexible and would be great for creators and coaches.
Teachable provides decent email support for creators of paid and free plans (from 8 PM to 8 AM every day), while live chat is available only on workdays, from 10 AM to 5 PM. Yet, there is a great Help Center, backed by the ability to use accelerator programs and community for course creation (under Paid Plans).
💡Verdict: Both products do well; even though Kajabi’s live chat can be an advantage compared to Teachable, users have reported issues with support responsiveness.
Next, what about collaboration? Kajabi and Teachable may have some limited collaborative learning tools. However, they do have proper features that can be used for discussion and community building.
First of all, Kajabi has a powerful built-in feature - live sessions. It is ideal for Q&A, lessons, and lectures. It allows inviting up to 200 students and breaking them into separate groups inside the session. Also, you can make recordings, set specific dates for a session to reoccur, and add descriptions about the event.
Next, Kajabi offers community creation (as they acquired Vibely in 2022). You can use it specifically for the course or as a standalone product. Yet, know that it counts as one product regarding plan limits. How good is it? In addition to the feed and channels for posting and discussion, you can organize challenges, events, and leaderboards. It allows you to create a gamified experience.
What can Teachable provide? In January 2024, Teachable introduced a long-awaited community feature. Yet, it is still not as advanced. Thus, for proper community learning courses, creators are likely to use such integrations as Circle. so.
Besides, you can use the comments section to start discussions, upload files, and have multi-level threads.
💡Verdict: Even though both products offer community features, Kajabi seems to bring more to the table, due to its powerful live session feature and gamification support within its community. Yet, Teachable has a solid comments section for discussion.
#4. Kajabi vs Teachable: Which Platform Offers Better Assessment and Quiz Options?
We should divide assessments and quizzes in regard to these two platforms.
Kajabi provides quizzes as a part of content to be added to a module or submodule. Via an easy quiz builder, you can create open, single, or multiple-choice questions or questions with images. The same applies to the Assessment feature accessed from the Students section. Students can also upload files as an answer.
Kajabi offers grading options and automation upon the completion of the assignments. With it, you can set surveys and exams for the students.
Teachable offers only multiple-choice quizzes. Due to the intuitive quiz constructor, they are effortless to create. Moreover, the AI tool allows you to generate quizzes based on module text materials. Grading is available under Pro or higher plans.
💡Verdict: Kajabi offers a wider variety of quiz types, while Teachable has a unique AI quiz generator.
#5. Which Tool Excels at Drip Scheduling and Course Compliance?
Any creator wants to control when the courses are delivered. For this reason, an LMS needs to have a drip course option.
Both platforms allow setting a date or period after which the module will be available to the students. They can be turned on in a separate window or in module settings.
Nonetheless, we consider that Teachable features are a bit more advanced allowing you to control to which students the drip course will apply. Regarding course compliance settings, Teachable has separate settings to enforce video watching, lesson order, or graded quiz completion.
With Kajabi, you can lock modules until a certain activity is completed. So, it can work as a course compliance method too.
💡Verdict: Teachable has more advanced drip scheduling and comprehensive course compliance compared to Kajabi's basic module locking.
#6. Certification: Teachable brings more under Pro Plan
Certificates serve as an indicator of knowledge and may be crucial for the learners in terms of skills showcase. It is especially true for bootcamps. Both LMSs offer decent options for generating certificates.
You can issue Teachable certificates with the Pro plan. This platform offers several editable templates where you can change blocks. So, it gives you some freedom for customization.
In contrast, Kajabi has simpler certificate features, allowing you to customize only specific fields and logos. The good news is that an Accredible app works well with Kajabi.
Both platforms use automation to deliver the certificates upon the completion of courses or quizzes. Kajabi is more flexible and can issue the document after almost any activity.
💡Verdict: More customization and editing capabilities from Teachable under ProPlan; Kajabi brings greater flexibility when issuing certificates.
#7. Reporting: Standard features and advanced heatmaps
Comparing reporting of Kajabi vs Teachable features, we should say that they are quite similar. These platforms both offer such significant options:
- Student reports: a critical space to see the completion rates and track student progress and activity.
- Video heatmap: a practical feature to see how learners follow video lessons.
Yet, Kajabi provides an excellent tag system for better management of student data, and its heatmap is more detailed and pleasing in terms of design.
Teachable student reports are suitable for tracking completion and allow instructors to enforce the content. However, the reports should be accessed within each course separately.
💡Verdict: Both platforms are okay; Teachable offers better reports, while Kajabi's seems to offer more organization.
#8. Course customization: Kajabi offers more flexibility
If you want to make your course or coaching program visually appealing and connect it to your brand, we should say that Kajabi has some benefits in this regard.
In particular, Kajabi provides templates for the course theme, which saves time and can help creators differentiate from other edupreneurs. With them, Kajabi brings a builder that offers a customizable preset that can be customized, including sections, blocks, banners, sidebars, headers, and colors.
On the other hand, Teachable offers only two basic templates for your course page. Simultaneously, its customization opportunities are pretty basic. In the "Theme" section, you can add the school logo, favicon, thumbnails, and branding (under a Pro plan) and pick colors for the course theme.
Notably, there is one great feature: custom text. With it, you can override default school text settings and translate it into another language.
💡Verdict: Kajabi provides more design flexibility, as Teachable has limited templates and customization features.
#9. Kajabi vs Teachable: Which Platform Has a Better Website Builder?
Also, Kajabi and Teachable are platforms that allow you to build your website for course sales.
Kajabi website builder is a profoundly more advanced tool, having numerous (40+) templates with worthy presets and sections.
Its builder has flexible blocks for customization and related user experience. It brings the capacity to create blogs and additional pages apart from landing, checkout, or thank you pages.
Teachable Builder is standard, but easy to use. Creating a simple landing page with banners and key buttons will not be an issue. The same applies to a thank you page or products page. It is just not as advanced as Kajabi.
💡Verdict: Kajabi, offering a better builder and numerous templates, suits more complex website needs; while Teachable's builder is simpler and less customizable.
#10. Teachable vs Kajabi: Which Platform Offers a Better App?
Both platforms offer great mobile applications to support learning experiences that should be effective if your students prefer studying via phone.
Above all, the Kajabi app seems more advanced, being available for iOS and Android users. It brings more opportunities for students: mark posts as favorites, explore lessons and communities, and get updates and notifications. Creators can use AI to support the course creation.
In contrast, Teachable is more of an addition to the main software. It is excellent for course browsing. However, it is available only for iOS owners, sends no notifications, and offers no branding.
💡Verdict: Kajabi's mobile app is more advanced, available for iOS and Android, with more functionalities.
#11. Integrations: Which Platform Connects Better with Other Tools?
Comparing Kajabi vs. Teachable integrations capabilities, there is a significant focus on apps referring to Email Marketing, Sales, Analytics, and Member Experience. Powerful Kajabi native integrations relate to these areas (the recent integration with Adobe Creator Studio greatly supports this fact); other apps can be integrated via Zapier or webhooks.
Simultaneously, Teachable provides a variety of useful add-ons to enhance the overall platform experience. Zoom, MailChimp, Zapier, Intercom, etc., are just a few of them. Besides, there is essential Unsplash integration for quick photo upload.
We would underline the integration with Cisco.so and the single sign-on option. Why? It brings an advanced community solution to the table.
Note. Sid Yadav, the founder, and CEO of Cisco.so, is a former VP of Products at Teachable, implying products have strong ties.
💡Verdict: Teachable provides a broader range of useful integrations, whereas Kajabi focuses on marketing and sales.
Which Platform Is More User-Friendly for Course Authors?
Both Kajabi and Teachable are pretty easy to use and have decent navigation. Yet, each has a distinct focus, affecting the usability of the platform for the users.
In particular, Kajabi is more intuitive in terms of website customization, community creation, and mobile learning. Why? It has more templates and presets, provides a more advanced mobile app, and great automation capabilities.
Meanwhile, Teachable is easier for course creation due to its intuitive drag-and-drop course builder, robust AI support for content creation, and flexible content blocks. Also, its advanced course compliance features make it more effective for course authors focused on delivering structured learning.
💡Verdict: For an intuitive course creation, Teachable is the better choice; Kajabi provides a more responsive website builder, user-friendly customization, and great marketing features.
What Are the Key Differences in Marketing and Sales Features?
Before all, sales and marketing features make Kajabi and Teachable top-rated platforms for course creators. Yet, Kajabi is different as it provides more advanced marketing tools and convenient sales funnel features.
Both solutions offer standard and similar marketing tools such as coupons, discounts, upsells, affiliate programs, and product bundles. They are common for such all-around platforms.
Notably, Kajabi has several powerful tools that allow for doing more in marketing:
- Kajabi has a powerful built-in email marketing tool with basic and custom email templates and broadcasts. (The Teachable tool is much more simple.)
- Sales funnels are another advantage that Kajabi offers, allowing creators to build custom funnels or via templates and manage the inflow of learners. You can set notifications, opt-ins, and offers there. (Teachable brings no sales or marketing funnels feature.)
- Kajabi offers a great variety of automation that can be used to send notifications or trigger a marketing campaign or event.
💡Verdict: Kajabi seems to offer more advanced and varied marketing capabilities, which is understandable regarding its "all-in-one solution positioning." Teachable is doing well, having necessary integrations with ClickFunnels and email services, as well as a separate feature for payment.
How Do Kajabi and Teachable Handle Payment Processing and Financial Management?
Kajabi and Teachable both offer great tools for payment processing. First of all, they provide integration with PayPal and Stripe along with payment gateways. These gateways include automatic tax calculation, collection, and disbursement features, which streamline financial management for course creators.
However, Teachable provides a unique, more advanced feature, bringing significant benefits to the users. Teachable:pay feature is a distinct Teachable feature, the payment gateway, that allows creators to schedule and accept payments and manage taxes.
It offers a notable advantage in handling EU/VAT taxes, removing the need for creators to manage complex international tax rules. Additionally, Teachable has a service called "back office" to manage affiliate payouts, a feature absent in Kajabi.
Regarding payouts, Kajabi allows instant payments when transactions occur, while Teachable offers customizable schedules, letting creators choose to receive payouts daily, weekly, or monthly.
💡Verdict: Teachable, with its special tool, is a preferred choice for financial management in course creation.
How Do Pricing Models for Kajabi and Teachable Compare?
Kajabi and Teachable have similar plans when it comes to plans. There, Kajabi’s low-tier plans seem to be more expensive, even Teachable takes a transaction fee. That way, some plans can be beneficial for academies, while others for creators.
Let’s compare the Kajabi vs Teachable pricing and then consider which platform is more affordable for edupreneurs.
Case #1. Creator with several groups just starting a business
First, let's examine which product will be more cost-effective for the creator just starting their journey.
Imagine you have two courses with 25 people in each and 2 admins, meaning you will need a plan for 50 active users and 2 admins.
If you want Kajabi, you may take the Kickstarter or the Basic Plan.
How much is Kajabi per month? The Kickstarter will cost $69, offering 1 product and 50 users; while the Basic Plan will cost $149 per month, offering 1,000 active users, 3 products, 3 funnels, 1 website, and only additional admin to the owner.
Remember. If you want to create a joint community for engagement or additional materials, the community requires 1 product slot, and the Kickstarter Plan provides only 1 product slot.
If using Teachable, you will likely pick the Basic Plan, costing $59 per month, offering 5 products and unlimited students, yet bringing no course completion certificates and grading features. Nevertheless, remember that under this plan, Teachable will take a 5% transaction fee from every student payment.
Note. Now, Teachable offers a community, meaning you don’t need to use third-party integrations or count the community as an additional product.
The Teachable Basic Plan is $10 cheaper than the Kajabi Kickstarter Plan and 90$ cheaper than the Kajabi Basic Plan (not considering the 5% fee Teachable will take for the service from each transaction).
💡Highlight: Teachable is a more affordable option for online course creators just starting, yet it comes with specific transaction fees (that may affect income) and limited functions. (If you sell premium courses, pick Kajabi or a Teachable plan without transaction fees).
Case #2. Group of creators starting an academy
Let's take a different scenario: imagine you are the creator wanting to create an academy with 225 active users (11 active groups with 25 students in each, 2 teachers, and 1 administrator)
If going with Kajabi, you will need to pick the Growth Plan, costing $199/mo, and offering 15 products and funnels, 10,000 active users, advanced automation, branding, and affiliate marketing.
If using Teachable, you will likely pick a Pro Plan, costing $119/mo, offering 50 products to be published, 0% transaction fees, 5 admin seats, and advanced functions.
As a result, Teachable is $80 cheaper. However, what about the features they provide?
💡Highlight: In this particular case, Teachable can be a better option, asking for no fees and offering its powerful content and drip course features. Yet, if you think about selling and marketing more to the audience, with Kajabi, you will pay more but are likely to earn more as well.
Kajabi vs Teachable Verdict: Which is better for you?
Based on Kajabi vs. Teachable analysis, we may say the following:
- If you are looking for robust sales and marketing capabilities, rather than a more standard LMS with a variety of options, go for Kajabi.
Kajabi offers great products and is very flexible in customization. Yet, your course is unlikely to be advanced even with community and live session features.
- If you are seeking for a more affordable option with a greater course content variety and structure for learning, Teachable should be your choice.
It has more content options, offers advanced drip and course compliance courses, and offers an effective AI tool.