Kajabi cost in 2026: the true 3-year price of a course website

Kajabi cost at a glance

Kajabi costs $143 to $399 a month billed yearly, or $179 to $499 billed monthly. Kajabi takes no revenue share, but Kajabi Payments charges card processing on every sale, and that rate depends on your plan.

Every plan includes a website, funnels, unlimited marketing emails and a custom domain, and Kajabi’s help center describes a built-in blog. Basic keeps a “Powered by Kajabi” footer and has no affiliate program; both start on Growth. The standard trial is 14 days (Kajabi pricing).

Over three years, with a domain and one email inbox, Kajabi Basic costs $5,448.24 billed yearly or $6,744.24 billed monthly, before card fees. Here is how that compares with the alternatives.

What a course website costs, part by part

• The plan. From $0 (Systeme.io Free, Gumroad) to $499 a month (Kajabi Pro or Thinkific Expand billed monthly).
• Platform fees. A cut of each sale: 7.5% on Teachable Starter, 5% on Podia Mover, 10% + $0.50 on Gumroad, 10% + 30 cents on Skool Hobby, and 0% on most other plans. Our transaction fees entry explains the difference from processing.
• Card processing. What the payment gateway charges, usually 2.9% + $0.30 per US card.
• Domain. We budget $48.24 over three years for a .com, or $36.96 where the plan or host includes the first year. None of the course platforms here includes a free domain.
• Email. One Google Workspace inbox for $252 over three years. Course platforms send marketing email but don’t host an inbox; see websites and email.
• Extras. Kajabi sells extra contacts in blocks of 25,000 for $125 a month, and Kajabi Sales Tax costs $0.15 per transaction where you turn it on.

The 3-year cost before you sell anything

The Thinkific rows use the prices after its increase of about 10% on August 13, 2026 (Thinkific’s notice). Start went from $888 to $978 a year and from $99 to $109 billed monthly. The WordPress plugin row uses Tutor LMS Pro for 1 site at $199 a year. LifterLMS’s Earth Bundle is $199 the first year with code FIRSTYEAR50 but renews at full price ($398), so $995 over three years. Bluehost’s $3.99 needs a 36-month term and renews at $9.99. See our WordPress review for hosting and upkeep.

Stan and Skool cannot run on your own domain, so the domain there only forwards visitors and gives you an email address.

Worked example: 40 sales a month of a $97 course

Say you sell 40 copies of a $97 course every month for three years. That is 1,440 sales and $139,680 in revenue ($3,880 a month). Here is what each route costs once each platform’s transaction fee and card processing are added.

*Gumroad says its 10% + $0.50 does not include card processing but doesn’t print a rate, so this row adds Stripe’s published 2.9% + $0.30, the rate third-party guides also cite. Gumroad’s fee alone is $10.20 a sale, or $14,688 over three years. The WordPress and Systeme.io rows use Stripe’s published rate too, since you connect your own Stripe account there.

How we got the fee column: 2.9% of $97 is $2.813, plus $0.30 is $3.113 a sale, times 1,440 sales is $4,482.72. Teachable Starter adds 7.5% ($7.275) and Podia Mover and Squarespace Core add 5% ($4.85). Thinkific’s help center lists 2.9% + $0.30 per US card on Thinkific Payments, and Stan’s lists the same Stripe rate. Squarespace’s 5% is its Digital Content fee on Core.

Three things stand out:

• At this volume, a percentage fee costs more than a bigger plan. Teachable Starter’s 7.5% costs $3,492 a year here, while moving to Builder costs $480 a year more. Builder pays for itself above $6,400 a year in sales.
• Free can be the expensive option. Gumroad is the cheapest route with no sales and the most expensive one here. Systeme.io’s Free plan is capped at 500 students, so this example needs Startup.
• Kajabi’s extra cost buys tools, not lower fees. Kajabi Basic billed yearly costs $888 a year more than Teachable Builder, with the same card rate. It makes sense if it replaces a separate email, blog or community tool you would otherwise pay for. Our Kajabi vs Teachable page goes feature by feature.

For comparison, on Udemy a $97 sale pays you $35.89 if the buyer found you on Udemy (37%) or $94.09 through your own coupon or referral link (97%), based on the net amount after taxes and fees. Udemy can also change your price through its deals program, so treat that as a ceiling.

Contracts, refunds and the cost of leaving

• Kajabi: full refund within 30 days of your first charge, then nonrefundable. When you cancel, the site goes inactive, customers lose access and data may be deleted 90 days later.
• Teachable: full refund within 30 days of your first paid sign-up; cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing cycle.
• Thinkific: cancel any time, but no refunds unless Thinkific made an error or the law requires one.
• Podia: refunds only within 72 hours of a renewal or upgrade charge. Your site goes offline the moment you cancel, and content is kept 180 days.
• Stan Store: refunds reviewed by hand for payments in the last 30 days. Withdraw your balance before cancelling.
• Skool: “Skool doesn’t issue refunds.” The group turns read-only after your last paid period.
• Systeme.io: cancel any time; your account drops back to the Free plan at the next billing date.

The biggest cost of leaving is time. No hosted course platform here documents a one-file course export, so moving means downloading videos one at a time and re-uploading them. Self-hosted WordPress scores 10/10 on our exit scores; read leaving your website builder before you commit to anything else.

Hidden costs to check

• Kajabi: +1.5% on international cards, +0.7% on subscriptions and payment plans, $15 per dispute, and refunds don’t return the original fees. Third-party processors (other than PayPal) add a Kajabi fee of 2% on Basic.
• Teachable: connecting your own Stripe or PayPal (its Custom Payment Gateway) adds a 2% Teachable fee for US-based creators. Automated affiliate and co-author payouts need BackOffice, at 2% to 2.8%.
• Thinkific: using your own Stripe or PayPal adds a Thinkific fee: 2% on Start, 1% on Grow, 0.5% on Expand.
• Podia: Mover allows 100 email subscribers, and there are no add-ons; you must move up a plan.
• Contact caps: Kajabi Basic stops at 2,500 contacts and Systeme.io Free at 2,000. Free leads count too, not just buyers.
• Udemy payouts: a $25 minimum and payout-vendor fees of $3.50 to $25 per transaction.

How to keep the cost down

1. Start on a low-fee plan, not just a cheap one. Work out your break-even: Teachable Builder beats Starter above $6,400 a year in sales, Podia Shaker beats Mover above $10,080, and Skool Pro beats Hobby above about $15,200.
2. Pay yearly once you’re sure. Kajabi Basic is $432 a year cheaper billed yearly. Use the trial or refund window to decide first.
3. Put the course on your own domain so a later move doesn’t cost you your links.
4. Don’t pay twice. If your platform includes email marketing and a blog, cancel the separate tools.
5. Check promos against renewals. LifterLMS’s FIRSTYEAR50 code halves year one, but renewals are at full price ($398 a year for 1 site).

To try your own numbers, use our website cost calculator or read the course and creator websites guide for how each option works.

Website costs in other industries: Real estate, Law firms, Dental, Medical, Therapists, Contractors, Electricians, Restaurants, Schools, Salons, Churches, Artists, Events, Vacation rentals, Nonprofits. All industries.