Is Kajabi Worth It? Plus the hidden costs of cheaper alternatives.
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If you’ve been searching for an all-in-one platform for your online business, you’ve probably come across Kajabi. One of the biggest objections people have is the price. At first glance, it seems more expensive than some newer platforms. But is it really?
The true cost of a platform isn’t just its monthly fee. It also includes the cost of additional tools, tech support, and the time spent managing it all. Speaking from experience, when I moved from WordPress, Mailchimp, and multiple plugins (which required a WordPress expert to maintain) to Kajabi, I actually saved money. Instead of juggling different subscriptions and paying for external help, I now manage everything in one place for one price.
So while Kajabi may not look like the cheapest option upfront, when you factor in what you’re no longer paying for, it can actually be the more affordable choice. Let’s break it down.
The All-in-One Advantage: More Than Just Convenience
Kajabi’s biggest selling point is that it’s an all-in-one platform. It handles your website (this website and my blog are hosted on Kajabi), website hosting, courses, email marketing, memberships, podcast hosting, funnels, lead magnets, newsletters, CRM, member app, online community, and even your checkout system, payments, affiliates and more within one ecosystem. At first, this might sound like a convenience factor, but there’s a deeper value here.
When you piece together multiple platforms, such as a website on WordPress, a course platform like Teachable, an email service like ConvertKit, and a checkout tool like ThriveCart, you’re not just paying multiple bills. You’re also dealing with:
- Integration challenges: Will all these tools seamlessly talk to each other, or will you need expensive and often complicated add-ons like Zapier to make them work?
- Software reliability: If one platform has an update that breaks an integration, your entire system could be down.
- Time spent troubleshooting: The more moving parts you have, the more things that can (and will) go wrong.
Kajabi eliminates these worries by ensuring everything works together from the start. No third-party integrations are needed, no hidden compatibility issues, just a seamless experience.
Stability vs. Cost Savings: Why Cheaper Platforms Aren’t Always Better
Yes, there are newer and cheaper all-in-one platforms on the market. Some claim to offer everything Kajabi does for a fraction of the price. But here’s what many business owners don’t consider:
- Newer platforms are less tested. Every software company has bugs, but established platforms like Kajabi have the resources and experience to fix them quickly.
- Reliability matters. If a newer platform shuts down or has a major tech failure, what happens to your business?
- Customer support and learning curve. More established companies typically have better customer support, a wealth of training resources, and a community of experienced users who can help troubleshoot issues.
When Kajabi releases new features, they are generally better tested and more reliable than those from startup platforms that might still be ironing out major bugs.
The True Cost of ‘Cheap’ Platforms
Choosing a platform isn’t just about the price tag, it’s about the cost of running your business smoothly. While Kajabi's price might seem higher, consider the following hidden costs of choosing a cheaper alternative:
- Extra software subscriptions. If your budget platform lacks robust email marketing or analytics, you must pay for those elsewhere.
- Developer or tech support fees. If your DIY tech setup breaks, you might need to hire someone to fix it.
- Downtime and lost revenue. If your course checkout page stops working due to an integration issue, how much revenue could you lose while fixing it?
Continuous Enhancements at No Extra Cost
Over the past year, Kajabi has introduced several new features and enhancements to help creators build, scale, and manage their businesses more effectively. Here are ten notable additions:
- Newsletters: Convert social media followers into subscribers and monetise exclusive content through paid or free subscriptions.
- Digital Downloads: Sell protected, downloadable files such as PDFs and .zip files securely within Kajabi, providing customers with easy access to their purchases.
- Invoicing: Create, send, and manage invoices directly through Kajabi Payments, streamlining payment processes without relying on third-party tools.
- Branded Mobile App: Launch a fully customizable mobile app under your brand, allowing customers to access content, make purchases, and receive push notifications.
- Creator Studio: Transform videos into various content formats such as emails, blogs, and social media posts quickly and effortlessly.
- Email A/B Testing: Optimize email campaigns by testing different versions to determine which performs better, leading to improved open and conversion rates.
- Adobe Express Integration: Enhance content creation with integrated tools for editing, searching, and generating images directly within Kajabi's editor.
- Link In Bio Feature: Create a customizable landing page to share across social media profiles, directing followers to your Kajabi content and offers seamlessly.
- Enhanced Community Features: Personalise your community space with modular controls, branded elements, custom emojis, and engage members through polls and scheduled posts.
- Kajabi Payments Expansion: Now available in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, Kajabi Payments offers integrated payment processing with features like invoicing, sales tax management, and support for Buy Now, Pay Later options.
These updates reflect Kajabi's commitment to providing creators with comprehensive tools to effectively manage and grow their businesses.
In a recent Facebook group poll, Kajabi ranked as the top course platform out of hundreds of options. One user shared, “I'm always happy when I get a course and it's on Kajabi. I enjoy using the course app as a student.” This is ultimately why I signed up for Kajabi—because I enjoyed using it as a student first and wanted the same experience for my customers.
Is Kajabi the Right Investment for You?
Kajabi isn’t the cheapest platform on the market, and it’s not meant to be. It’s designed for business owners who want an integrated, reliable, and stress-free experience. If you value stability, ease of use, and the ability to focus on growing your business instead of managing tech headaches, then Kajabi’s price is an investment rather than an expense.
Before deciding, ask yourself: Do you want to spend your time troubleshooting tech and managing multiple subscriptions, or do you want a platform that just works?
Sometimes, the cheapest option isn’t the most cost-effective in the long run.
Special Bonuses When You Sign Up With My Link
Join Kajabi's 30-day free trial using my affiliate link, and I'll gift you a 1-hour 1-1 strategy session to help you unlock Kajabi's potential in your business, even before you've committed to a paid plan.
Plus, get additional support bonuses when you choose a paid Kajabi plan at the end of the trial:
✅ 1-month support via Voxer (or a similar messaging app) to answer all your Kajabi questions
🎁 And if you choose an annual plan, you get a second bonus after 30 days!
✅ Sign up for an annual Kajabi plan and get an extra 2-hour session with my tech VA, a Kajabi expert!
Personally, switching to Kajabi has been a game-changer. It’s saved me thousands in software costs and countless hours of tech headaches. Having everything in one place has accelerated my business growth, and I wouldn’t run my business any other way.