3 Best Kajabi Alternatives: Cheaper competitors with free starter plan

Written By Matej  |  Course creation  |  0 Comments

Why Should You Consider Switching or picking a Different Tool in 2022. Are there really cheaper alternatives to Kajabi that can without doubt stand up or even surpass this platform?

Yes there are 3 free Kajabi alternatives that captivate, charm, enchant, and also fascinate and are free. Integrated tools to create digital products and memberships like a pro in no time.

best Kajabi alternatives

Picking up an affordable competitor will in fact substitute the pricy course creation platform for our project. Having doubts if it truly is worth the time? We analysed the free websites that can substitutes the high-priced curse creating system. What we discovered?

Let’s be real…

It’s not picking the exact same online learning platform, we pick features of this software. The primary features to upload and sell your online are excitingly taken care of every Kajabi competitor. So basically they do their job to substitute the basic needs.

What is the difference?

The new cheaper alternative doesn’t mean to be absolutely the same, or worst. It surprisingly have even smartest solutions and better user experience. If it’s more user friendly the project can be finished faster…

You really don’t want to get stuck with the hard learning curve that Kajabi requires to start your own course. Users are often disorientated and need an expert to guide them.

Creating an online course is time consuming and can be nerve wracking, for a smaller course creator. Also can be very challenging.  

How to make the course creation process faster?  

To sell a course online we need tools. Tools that complement, build and help promote our course or courses. Maybe a few years ago the only option was Kajabi and was -”take it or leave it”. Now a lot of options are on the market.  Before you needed a big budget to start. But now the best alternatives offer a free starting plan that offers the possibility to start at ease and at your own terms. You can create your course, upload it, create your landing pages and sales pages before you pay any money. How good is that?

Knowing that promoting a course also requires some investment, sparing some money with these platforms is a good way to plan your resources now and in the future.

So…

Do you want a website like Kajabi but even easier to use?

Let’s compare the 3 best alternatives to Kajabi with a free starting plan.

Kajabi vs Teachable vs Thinkific vs Systeme

Kajabi vs Teachable vs Thinkific vs Systeme

Pick and purchase the best tools for your online business.

When comparing Kajabi with Teachable, Thinkific and Systeme.io, the focus was on the tools that course creator will need to make profit from the course. Presuming that you want to make some money out of the course you create. All in one platform that includes not only video hosting and membership options, but also marketing tools.

As … Creation of a course comprehend also selling it.

What do you need to sell a course online?

Keep in mind that, to sell a course you need sale funnels, coupons for promotion, an affiliate program to drive traction and momentum on the sales. That is not all. Creation of a website is also included, more specific a landing page or selling page.

We are focusing on basic features that the best online learning platforms must have, when you want to create your online course. 

Pick the best affordable platform for creating online course incredibly fast. Look at the table below to compare the systems and their main points to take action fast as you can.

WebsiteLearning platform free planMail marketing integrationSale funnels free versionCoupons & Promotions Run your own affiliate programCustom domain integration
Kajabi.comNOYES (not free plan)NOYES (not free plan)YES (not free plan)YES (not free plan)
Systeme.ioYESYes (*free plan)YESYESYESYES (free plan)
Teachable.comYESYES (not free plan)NOYES (not free plan)YES (not free plan)YES (not free plan)
Thinkific.comYESNONOYES (not free plan)NOYES (not free plan)
Comparation of Kajabi similar websites

Comparing Kajabi free alternatives the one that catch the eye in the free version is Systeme.io. It’s almost seems unreal how good it looks.

When you shouldn’t pick the competitor System.io

If you already have a lot of courses recorded, then is not for you. The free version have 90% of functionality opened. The catch is that the free plan has 1 course for free. You can create a website, funnels, mail marketing even affiliate program for 1 course. When you sell more than one course, you have the option to start with the Start-up plan (look below the price comparation table for more details).

The free offer off System.io is for beginners. Who are starting to create the course online and want make some money out of it with all the integrated marketing tools. The task is easier because is an all in one system like Kajabi that offers a variety of tools to sell the online course.

Compare Kajabi-like platforms features for course creators

WebsiteMembershipTransaction FeeWebsite BuilderMultilangage
KajabiYESintegration with Paypal or Stripe and their feesCode EditorNO
System.ioYESintegration with Paypal or Stripe and their feesYESYES
Teachable.comYES$1 + 10% per transaction (free plan)Advanced theme customizationNO
Thinkific.comYESintegration with Paypal or Stripe and their feesYESNO
Comparation Kajabi vs Thinkific vs Teachable vs System

What “Similar to Kajabi” options do they offer  

Features used for creating online courses that sell.

1.Creation of your own website

How to build an online course without coding?

kajabi vs wordpress

Websites are the best way to promote your business. You can have a website for just about anything from exercise classes to dog walking. You don’t need to be a web designer to make a website, you can use one of the many free website builders online that provide all the tools you need in order to create your own unique site.

But when it comes to a website with online courses there are some more details that are needed. 

So you will be desperate for the best website builder with:

  • membership,
  • payment methods, 
  • landing page software creation, 
  • and also testing landing pages.  

Do not exclude email marketing to further sell the course with sales funnels integration. And a blog function to take advantage of free SEO traffic.

Don’t worry how to build an online course without coding, because all the online platforms have thought of all. The creations of a course is extremely facilitated if you use one of Kajabi similar platform.

The best Kajabi Alternatives as Systeme.io offers it all.

2.Integration with PayPal and Stripe. – Transaction fees

Kajabi similar

Kajabi-like platforms can have an integrated processor for card payment or you can integrate the most diffused ones. Most used is PayPal and Stripe. 

Kajabi vs Teachable 

On Kajabi you need integration with card processing apps. 

Insted on Teachable…

Teachable seems have their own processor as they charge :

  • $1 + 10% per transaction – free plan, 
  • 5% per transaction – basic  plan, 
  • No transaction fees in Pro and business 

To understand better…

A fixed transaction fee is charged by most credit card companies for every transaction that you make. This may not cover the “processing cost”. But this is another discussion.

Shortly…

Most paying systems charge a flat rate of 2-5% for each purchase, but this does not cover the cost of the transaction. I would like to give you a link to PayPal and Stripe costs, but it differentiate based on wher are you located. So is better if you search in Google for:

  • Braintree pricing in ___________ (your country) or
  • Braintree pricing transaction fees ___________ (your country) or

The same search for Paypal transaction fees in ______________ (your country).

So websites like Kajabi, System.io and Thinkific.com have 0% transaction fee but PayPal or Stripe do have it. Their integration is an essential imperative need to get payments with credit cards. Credit cards are the synonym to receive payments online.

No integration, no payment…

They process card payments on all websites, online shops,…. you really, really need it….

Regarding how many money you keep…. Among all free plans the looser is Teachable as he charges the most for transaction. It’ seems as he wants to rob us with their transaction fees. 10% of the sale and an additional 1$ he takes away. It’s wisely to consider this when you plan the price of the course. Surely the cost of the course can’t be $1 because the transaction fee is $1 additional $0,1 (10% of the price). The costs are $1,10 if your course cost 1 dollar. It seems insane the costs are more than the price. Ha ha ha. Be careful when you make big discounts that the cost is not $1.

3.Membership

How to build an online course that sells?
best membership site platform

A popular option when selling courses is to offer subscription plans. This way you can have customers pay on a monthly or yearly basis. Another thing you should consider is giving customers the choice of an initial payment followed by regular payments spread out over 12 months.

Members can enjoy the benefits of purchasing a bundle subscription to save money. They can pay monthly or yearly, and they get access to all the courses in this one bundle.

How to build an online course that sells even more? Translating it in more languages?

4.Multilanguage 

cheaper alternatives to Kajabi with multilanguage - spanish, doiche, italian,

If you are not an english speaking course creator and work locally.  Having a multi language feature offers for you an easier to set up path. 

And if you are locally oriented, having a native platform helps your users to. Finding yourself in the situation when a user doesn’t speak English but all functionality of the system is in English can be quite challenging. It also can result in refunds.

Among the best alternatives to Kajabi there is SYSTEME.IO that is Multilanguage. Look at the languages that Systeme.io is translated.

5.Sales funnel builder website

Sales funnel builder software is a tool that helps take your company’s vision and turn it into a reality. With a software that offers you to build a sales funnel, you can create customized sales funnels that are customized to your business. Building a website with a sales funnel optimize the sales process and elevate the chances of sucess.

Every business that does marketing online needs a funnel for sales. 

Sabri Suby, who has abundant years of experience in the field of online sales, published a book called “SELL LIKE CRAZY: How to Get As Many Clients, Customers and Sales As You Can Possibly Handle.” The book is designed to help people understand sales funnels and how they can be applied.

Another book that can make you understand how the sales funnels work is: “Dotcom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online with Sales Funnels” by Russell Brunson.

Building a website with tools for marketing makes it easy to take the sales at another level. Hope the books help you create a good selling funnel. Now lets jump on the main thing… pricing.

Price comparison 

kajabi price comparation

Kajabi vs Teachable vs Thinkific vs Systeme costs

You plan to scale up your business? Then the pricing is also to be taken in consideration. The future price if you scale up your course creation business will meter fast. You wouldn’t want to migrate systems later on because of the extreme cost that some Kajabi competitors have. See it clearly with your own eyes how in the price table below.

WebsiteFree planbilled monthlyPrice Plan 1Price Plan 2Price Plan 3
System.ioYESYes $228/year 
(yearly 30% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$27/month
$396/year 
(yearly 30% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$47/month
$828/year 
(yearly 30% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$97/month
Teachable.comYESYes$348/year
(yearly 25% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$39/month
$1.188/year 
(yearly 16% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$119/month
$2988/year 
(yearly 16% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY
$299/month
Thinkific.comYESYes$468/year
(yearly 20% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$49/month
$948/year
(yearly 20% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$99/month
$4788/year
(yearly 20% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$499/month
KajabiNOYes$1.428/year
(yearly 20% discount )
 
BILLED MONTHLY

$149/month
$1.908/year
(yearly 20% discount )
 
BILLED MONTHLY

$199/month
$3.828/year
(yearly 20% discount )

BILLED MONTHLY

$399/month
Kajabi with Teachable, Thinkific and Systeme.io price comparison

Kajabi is a powerful marketing automation tool that is full of features and offers a great user experience for users with large budgets. But if you are starting up and your pockets are not full enough, then select a cheaper alternative to Kajabi.  Pick and purchase the best for your needs and budget only when you have tested and confirmed it’s usability.

Which is the Cheaper platform to create an online course

The best price when the free version becomes tight

The best price is by far Systeme.io, and as we said before is unreal what all it offers. It’s starts at $27/ month compered to $149/ month of Kajabi it’s a huge, huge difference. And if you pay the whole year in advance $228 versus $1.428 (Kajabi). You get the whole year for less than 2 months cost on Kajabi. Unbelievable.

Looking at the others

Teachable starts at $39/month. Still cheaper if set side by side with Kajabi’s prices.

Thinkific follows Teachable with $49/month. But is worth the extra money vs System.io? Let’s analize the 3 free platforms singularly.

Picking the best Online learning platform for course creators

There are many useful products out there that can help you quickly and easily set up your course, blog and store the content. There are also programs that let you host courses, or create auto-responders for when people subscribe to your email marketing. Lets look specifically at the 3 free websites like Kajabi:

  • SYSTEME.IO
  • TEACHABLE
  • THINKIFIC

Kajabi course software can be expensive upfront. How about we discuss some Kajabi like platforms even more? The free starter plan options stand in for different needs.

The best alternatives offers.

The no. 1

kajabi alternatives systeme.io – New First-class and cheaper all in one platform entrepreneurs
Kajabi vs systeme.io

1. systeme.io – New First-class and cheaper all in one platform

This course creator’s website is a European product. It’s projected to serve Europeans which is why it is Multilanguage. Do not fear if you are from America or other countries. They have amazon servers to host the videos. Amazon servers have CDN that no matter where you they are fast and extremely responsive.

You can have your systeme.io courses in different languages and is fully translated in:

  • Español
  • Português
  • Deutsch
  • Italian
  • Nederlands
  • Русский

The easiest way to grow your online business by selling online courses, creating your affiliate program, uploading videos, and handling the billing. Systeme.io handles everything for you, even email marketing. The learning curve is so small, it’s almost unbelievable! I find only the amount of pre-built templates small, but you can customize a lot. The course and sales funnel can be finished in just 2 days. Systeme.io offers a very friendly environment to start building the whole process.

Through this platform, the process of creating a course has gotten easier and cheaper, while providing an online training portal where everyone can create a course.

Here are some alluring features that systeme.io provide: 

  • one can create courses online and upload the videos 
  • sync with Stripe or PayPal integration and 
  • attach a sales funnels with their funnel builder, 
  • email marketing tools, 
  • also they have membership hosting.
  • 1-click upsells

These features are combined to form a powerful marketing machine that will ignite your business. If you ask me, Systeme io is an noteworthy online learning platform . Top high-ranking not only because is cheaper alternative to Kajabi, but of so many good reviews. It’s easier to set up with a large amount of options for marketing. They give the best value that money can buy among the competitors.

The best thing about this online learning platform is that you can set up all the courses, mail marketing and landing pages at no cost. And you upgrade only if you want more courses. Its the best course creation platform for beginners. 

Even better have 1-click upsells. Surprisingly only this alone can make the difference in your revenue.

It’s definitely the cheaper alternative to Kajabi. The Unlimited plan is cheaper than Kajabi’s starting price.

With the help of this alternative online learning platform, your business will be ready in no time. Faster than a WordPress alternative, where you need to have your own hosting for videos, manage membership and risky updates of WordPress that can crush every site in seconds.

Another possibility that gives you a chance to have a good starter plan is Teachable.

We already looked at the features, characteristics and pricing so the task of comparison is already at a good phase. 

But…

What makes the characteristics of Teachable distinctive in particular manor? Distinguishing unmistakable quality, facet or property at the beginning can make your everyday task faster, easier like a child’s play.

What is the best website builder for entrepreneurs and couches all in one? Is it Teachable?

Teachable.com - Most modern website for course creation
Kajabi vs Teachable

2. Teachable.com – Most modern for course creation

Is Teachable better than the others? It has some good and bad points in the free starter plan. 

The best pick is if:

  • you want unlimited courses and students free of costs. 
  • if you want to do quizzes.

But when it starts to get interesting and you need the tools to market your course…

The free plan, do not include:

  • email marketing options,
  • unbranded website (you have their logo on the site)
  • coupon codes
  • Third-party integrations
  • Members-only community

And the free plan has high transaction fees.

Teachable free seems perfect if you want to upload a lot of courses at once. It’s the best course creation platform for teachers or therapists, who already have their customers and don’t need to build sales funnels at the beginning. 

It’s not the cheaper alternative to Kajabi. Among the 3 alternatives is a mix. _The price starts at $39/ month but the pro version is the same price as Kajabi’s pro version. 

Their most popular plan is $119/month, where you get the most advanced features designed to improve, rise and encourage student engagement. If compared, it is still cheaper. But is the best value for your money? To create unlimited courses, yes. Is it the best learning platform for course creators in the free option? No you must absolutely upgrade to take advantage of their most juicy features.

kajabi like platforms
Kajabi vs Thinkific

3.Thinkific review

So why choose Thinkific? The best of what the reviews say on Trustpilot is that their support team is very responsive and helpful.

The free plan is a bit restricted on what you can do. The greatest about this cheap platform is that you have:

  • Full e-commerce (also in systeme.io)
  • Email and phone support
  • Unlimited students (also in systeme.io and Teachable)

The cons are:

  • removing Thinkific branding requires Premier (cost $399/month) (cheapest plan on System.io (cost $27/month), Teachable (cost $119/month)
  • With a large student base you cannot easily see the basic information 
  • don’t have email marketing integrated (systemes.io and Teachable.com have it)

Of the 3 alternatives Thinkific has the minor functionality for marketing options. You need additional mail marketing software to increase sales (additional cost). You can’t create unlimited courses, only can have unlimited students.

Is a noble selection of top ranking functionalities for course creators. Among the top free alternatives shine the tool of Advanced Course Building, unlocked in the middle price range.

Warning – is not an all-in-one platform! It is only meant to be an online course platform, not an all-in-one platform. Please keep in mind that for mail marketing and funnel creation you will need an additional provider.

Absolutely not the cheaper alternative to Kajabi, but has some good angles.

Why WordPress is not an option for entrepreneurs and coaches

cheaper alternative to kajabi

When comparing WordPress with Kajabi or  Systeme.io or Teachable.com or Thinkific.com there are 2 main reasons why it can not be compared for entrepreneurs and couches. WordPress is not created specifically for selling additional digital products, courses and memberships like this specific systems.

What is the big break for WordPress?

There are 2 main reasons:

  • One big learning curve,
  • Two it’s not native

What means is not native? To integrate so many management system options in WordPress you need a considerable number of plugins. 

Yes they also can be free but what is the catch? 

1.Learning curve to understand how all works in WordPress is quite long

Even if you already know WordPress, each plugin is a new tool and you need to learn how it works. With Kajabi similar websites you have 1 tool to learn. In WordPress there are many different plugins. Count every plugin as a different tool. Compared with established learning platforms the knowledge you must acquire is even bigger. It also means that you will start see sales later than in the other platforms.

2. These plugins can be incompatible with each other. 

This means the whole website can crash or keep crashing in time ( likely a small percentage to happen). But what is likely to happen? Another little spoken truth in WordPress is that they can interfere with one another. What happens then? No one knows because they were not meant to work together. Some examples:

  1. Graphically can interfere with what you can do and can’t.  One can be a graphical add on the other a security. But if they are not compatible they both can not work how they should.
  2. When wordpress updates (and it does a lot), the plugins are not updated at the same time and can cause serious troubles. Before you even discover which plugin is doing the trouble your working schedule is already gone. Will this plugin be updated to work with the new WordPress version? If it’s free and not well known … probably not. How much time will this consume as an entrepreneur? No clue. Nobody knows. You must understand the risks of losing time every week with these updates and small malfunctions.

Comparing WordPress and Kajabi similar websites. The affirmation is that WordPress is not among the best cheaper alternatives to Kajabi. 

Even if it is cheaper at the beginning in the long run you will pay the price in the time consumed on it. And not in the learning curve but in the stress that plugins are not all compatible all the time. They stop working without any notice. I love WordPress but for curse cration is a big combination of different plugins that are not always up to what is WordPress doing.

WordPress is leaving an evolving beast and the plugins are always meant to keep up with it. 

Conclusion: Choose the Best Alternative for Your Needs

REASSUMING – how to start an online course business for cheap

Lets look how to start an online course business for cheap in 2022. The best platforms.

Among the 3 that have the free starting plan the most complete – “no costs’ ‘ starting plan is systeme.io.  It’s limited to only 1 course. Meanwhile the others have more courses to upload but the marketing tools are locked, or there are none (Thinkific.com).

If you are really searching for the best Kajabi free alternative, again systeme.io has the far longest functionalities in the free version. It has a no code website builder for beginners. It also has an affiliate marketing program. You can make landing pages, funnels, AB testing, Unlimited file storage space.

If you are looking how to create a course fast with all the tools at hand, Systeme is a perfect launching platform.

Comparing pricing undoubtedly Systeme.io wins.

Teachable wins if you need a tool that offers to create quizzes.

Both Teachable and Systeme.io are Kajabi like platforms. This software’s allows anyone to create, publish, market, and sell their online courses in a matter of minutes. They are built to walk you through the entire process and help you set up your online course pages including the course intro video. You can also easily integrate your own domain.

Thinkific wins when it comes to originating an amazing student experience. It is also premium when creating and publishing your course. It’s a among best course creation platform but is not an email service provider. Email marketing is out of the question.

If you need to build a website with membership and a learning platform then Thinkific is enough. To market your course you will have to buy additional tools.

If you want the complete package – sell courses and physical products you have the option with both Thinkific and Systeme.io, that include e-commerce options. 

The feature One-Click Upsell is in all modern course creators platforms and also all 3 free Kajabi competitors have it. Works for selling additional digital products, courses and memberships all the time.

What is a must have for the best course creation software in 2022

How to create a course fast? There are many tools out there for creating courses. 

So what you shoud absolutly look for?

It must be simple to use, have a simple user friendly design to use, and it fits your budget. As, all the alternatives are free you can literally make an account on each one. Try how user friendly they are and how fast you can work on them. The faster you work, easier it is to finish the course creation phase. You should be able to create your first raw online course in minutes. 

All 3 Kajabi free alternatives are awesome tools for creating courses. They offer a variety of features and templates to make it easy to create the perfect course in no time. You can customize your courses with their builders or use the templates they have available. They also offer online course hosting, making it painless and uncomplicated to upload the class modules.

Do not wait any longer to start your free account on all 3 alternatives of the pricey Kajabi.

Go to: 

Test all and then pick one and create digital products and memberships like a pro in no time.