Top 5 Kajabi Alternatives for Coaches in 2026, Ranked

Kajabi is built to sell courses, and it does that well. Coaches who search for Kajabi alternatives for coaches usually run a different business. Most of their income is live coaching, the course is a side product, and since the January 2026 price change they pay $179 a month for marketing tools they half use while tracking client progress in a spreadsheet.

Coachful is our #1 Kajabi alternative for coaches in 2026. It has the course builder, website, funnels and email, and it is built around the client relationship: programs, habits, check-ins, agreements and one-to-one sessions.

This guide ranks five options. Podia, Thinkific, Systeme.io and Skool each suit a different kind of knowledge business, and if courses and a large email list drive your revenue, Kajabi may still be the right home. For course tools specifically, see our course platform comparison.

Why coaches look for a Kajabi alternative

Kajabi has been around since 2010 and joins up more than most: website, blog, landing pages, funnels, email, checkout, courses, communities and coaching share one contact record. Its coaching product has a scheduler, built-in live video for up to 200 participants, session notes and milestones. Capterra reviewers rate it 4.4 from 226 reviews.

The reasons coaches move on:

• The price went up in January 2026. Basic is $179 a month, or $143 billed annually. Growth is $249, or $199 billed annually. The restructure raised prices by 25% to 61% and removed the cheaper Kickstarter plan from the public pricing page.
• Basic has tight limits. Five products, 2,500 contacts and two admin users. Contacts on Basic were cut from 10,000. There are no AI credits and no affiliate program on this plan.
• Bringing your own Stripe costs extra. Kajabi Payments carries no platform fee. Use your own Stripe or PayPal account and Kajabi adds a surcharge of 0.5% to 2%.
• The coaching product stops at the session. There is no habit tracking, no daily check-ins and no goal dashboard for clients, and no contracts or e-signature.
• Value for money is its weakest score. It is the lowest of Kajabi's Capterra sub-ratings, at 3.7 out of 5.

If courses and a list of thousands bring in most of your revenue, and coaching is the upsell, Kajabi's marketing engine is hard to match. Stay.

The top 5 Kajabi alternatives for coaches, ranked

Competitor prices are in US dollars on monthly billing unless stated, checked on 2 September 2026. Payment processing and optional extras can add to the total. Coachful's pricing page shows the plans and client allowances available to you.

How we ranked these Kajabi alternatives for coaches

This is our ranking, built from each vendor's pricing page, help documentation and public reviews, plus our own product. The word that matters in the title is coaches. We ranked for a business where live client work comes first:

• Coaching delivery: one-to-one sessions, programs, tracking between calls, agreements.
• Entry cost and fees: the monthly price a new or part-time coach really pays, and any cut of sales.
• Marketing you keep: website, funnels and email, so leaving Kajabi does not mean starting over.
• Course tools: enough to host and sell what you teach.

Coachful ranks first because it is the only option here built for the first criterion. The other four are course, funnel or community tools at lower prices, ordered by how much of Kajabi they replace.

1. Coachful: best overall Kajabi alternative for coaches

Coachful starts from the client and works outward. Each client has a home with their program, tasks, habits, sessions and messages. Courses, a website, funnels and email sit around that, so the marketing you built on Kajabi has somewhere to go.

Courses that sit next to coaching

The course builder has modules, lessons, drip release and completion tracking. A course can be sold alone, attached to a program, or bundled with sessions. More on the course platform page.

Website, funnels and email come with it

You get a section-based website with a blog, funnels for booking, applications, lead magnets and checkout, and email with broadcasts and automated sequences. Leads land in a pipeline with stages and follow-ups.

What you gain for the coaching itself

• Programs with daily structure. Multi-week programs with goals, tasks, lessons and notes, and a view of who is on track.
• Habits and check-ins. Daily habits with streaks and morning and evening check-ins in the client app.
• Agreements with e-signature. Sent before the first call. Kajabi has no contract feature.
• Scheduling built for one-to-one work. Booking pages with availability rules, buffers, session credits and two-way sync with Google, Apple and Outlook calendars.
• A client app on every plan. iPhone and Android, with your branding inside.
• No platform fee with your own Stripe. Payments run through Stripe Connect or Razorpay, and Coachful adds nothing on top.

Kajabi and Coachful side by side

Potential limitations

• Kajabi's course tools go further. Quizzes, assessments and certificates are part of Kajabi. Coachful tracks completion and keeps the testing light.
• Affiliate payouts are manual. Coachful creates affiliate links and tracks clicks, conversions and revenue. Paying affiliates is recorded by hand.
• It is the wrong tool for a pure course business. If you sell courses and never coach live, the client features are wasted.
• Entry plans cap clients. Kajabi limits products and contacts. Coachful limits clients on its entry plans. Check the plan shown to you.

Choose it when: coaching is the main thing you sell and you want the course, the website and the email in the same account. The Coachful vs Kajabi comparison goes feature by feature.

2. Podia: the nearest all-in-one at a lower price

Podia is the closest thing to Kajabi for a fraction of the cost. It suits a solo creator with a small list who wants one friendly tool.

Where it shines

Most of the pieces on every plan. Website, blog, email, community, courses, downloads and coaching products are included from the first tier, with unlimited customers and a 30-day trial. Reviewers praise the support, and Capterra rates it 4.6 from 120 reviews.

Potential limitations

• The cheapest plan takes 5%. Mover is $49 a month with a 5% transaction fee. Shaker is $99 with no fee.
• No native scheduling. A coaching product takes payment, then hands the client to a Calendly or similar link. There are no intake forms or contracts.
• Small email allowances and no app. Plans include 100, 500 or 1,000 email subscribers, with more billed on top. There is no mobile app.

Choose it when: your business is courses and downloads with some coaching sessions added. It ranks second because it replaces the most of Kajabi for the least money. See Kajabi vs Podia.

3. Thinkific: best for course depth

Thinkific is a course platform first. If the teaching side of Kajabi is what you use, it gives you that for much less.

Where it shines

Serious course tools with no platform fee. Every plan includes unlimited courses with drip scheduling, quizzes, assignments and certificates, plus a community. Thinkific takes no platform fee on paid plans, and its Coaching and Webinars product adds group sessions over Zoom.

Potential limitations

• No booking calendar. Coaching products rely on a pasted Calendly or similar link.
• Basic caps coaching products. Basic is $49 a month, or $36 billed annually, with five coaching products. Start, at $99, removes that cap.
• Marketing is lighter than Kajabi. There are landing pages and upsells but no multi-step funnel builder, and serious email automation usually runs through another tool. A branded app is a $199 a month add-on.

Choose it when: quizzes, assignments and certificates matter and you can run marketing elsewhere.

4. Systeme.io: best for funnels and email on a budget

Systeme.io is the low-cost answer to Kajabi's marketing side. Funnels, email, courses and an affiliate program run on one contact record.

Where it shines

A free plan that is usable. The free plan includes 2,000 contacts, three funnels, one course and unlimited emails with no platform fee. Startup is $17 a month. There is a booking calendar that takes paid appointments, and its reviews are exceptional: 4.9 on Trustpilot from 8,424 reviews.

Potential limitations

• The client experience is plain. There is no mobile app, communities and courses are basic, and there are no live rooms.
• No coaching tools. No programs, habits, check-ins or contracts.
• The builder is less flexible. Reviewers describe the page editor as clunky next to premium tools.

Choose it when: you think in funnels, want to stop paying $179, and are happy to deliver coaching over Zoom and email.

5. Skool: best for a paid community

Skool suits a coach whose product is a paid group with weekly calls and a library of lessons.

Where it shines

Simple enough that members use it. A community feed, a classroom for courses, a calendar and points and levels that reward participation. Members and courses are unlimited, and the Hobby plan is $9 a month.

Potential limitations

• Skool takes a cut. Hobby carries a 10% transaction fee. Pro is $99 a month with 2.9% plus 30 cents, rising to 3.9% on sales above $899.
• Very little control. There is no custom domain, no website, no funnels and no email automation, and payments must run through Skool.
• Nothing for one-to-one work. No availability-based booking, intake, contracts or client notes. Trustpilot reviews are poor, at 1.7 from 51, mostly about billing.

Choose it when: community is the product and you want to launch in an afternoon. It is fifth because it replaces the least of what a coach uses Kajabi for. See our Skool alternatives guide.

How to switch from Kajabi without losing your list or your courses

Kajabi removes data 90 days after cancellation, so export first and cancel last.

1. Export contacts, sales and members. Kajabi emails CSV exports for contacts, subscriptions, sales and members from the dashboard.
2. Download course content. Videos and files have to be downloaded one asset at a time. Start with your best-selling course.
3. Rebuild the page that earns. Move your main sales page and checkout first, then the email sequence behind it.
4. Check your billing term. Annual plans are not refundable part-way through, beyond the 30-day guarantee on a first payment. Time the move to your renewal date.
5. Run both for one cycle. Keep Kajabi live until existing customers have access in the new platform, then cancel.

Coachful's onboarding includes help importing clients, programs and content.

Our verdict: Coachful is the #1 Kajabi alternative for coaches

Coachful is our first recommendation for coaches leaving Kajabi. It gives live client work the tools Kajabi lacks, with programs, habits, check-ins and agreements, and keeps the courses, website, funnels and email, with no platform fee on your own Stripe account.

Choose Podia for a small creator business at a lower price. Choose Thinkific if course depth matters most. Choose Systeme.io for funnels on a budget. Choose Skool if the community is the product. And stay with Kajabi if courses and a large list earn most of your revenue.

Try Coachful with one real offer

Build one program with a short course attached, invite a test client and go through the first week on your phone. Coachful has a 7-day free trial, card required, no charge during the trial, cancel in one click.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Kajabi alternative for coaches in 2026?

Coachful is our #1 Kajabi alternative for coaches. It combines courses, a website, funnels and email with tools built for live client work: programs, habits, check-ins, agreements and scheduling. Podia is the better pick for a creator who mainly sells courses and downloads on a small budget.

How much does Kajabi cost in 2026?

Kajabi Basic is $179 a month, or $143 billed annually. Growth is $249, or $199 billed annually, and Pro is $499, or $399 billed annually. Prices rose by 25% to 61% in January 2026, and the $89 Kickstarter plan was removed from the public pricing page. Prices were checked on 2 September 2026.

Is Kajabi good for coaching?

For group coaching sold alongside courses, yes. The coaching product has a scheduler, built-in live video, session notes and milestones. For ongoing one-to-one client work it is thinner: there is no habit tracking, no daily check-ins, no client goal dashboard and no contract signing.

What is the cheapest Kajabi alternative?

Systeme.io has a free plan with 2,000 contacts, three funnels and one course, and its first paid plan is $17 a month. Skool starts at $9 a month but takes 10% of sales on that plan. Podia starts at $49 with a 5% fee.

Does Kajabi charge transaction fees?

Not if you use Kajabi Payments, which charges card processing only. If you connect your own Stripe or PayPal account, Kajabi adds a surcharge of 0.5% to 2% depending on the plan. Coachful, Thinkific and Systeme.io add no platform fee.

Can I host courses on Coachful?

Yes. Coachful has a native course builder with modules, lessons, drip release and completion tracking. Courses can be sold on their own, bundled with sessions or attached to a coaching program. Kajabi goes further on quizzes, assessments and certificates.

Kajabi or Podia for coaches?

Podia costs far less and covers website, email, courses and community, but it has no native scheduling, no contracts and no mobile app. Kajabi has a scheduler and live video inside its coaching product at a much higher price. A coach who needs client tracking and agreements is better served by Coachful.

How do I move my courses off Kajabi?

Export contacts, sales and members as CSV files, then download course videos and files, which Kajabi provides one asset at a time. Rebuild your main course and sales page on the new platform, give existing customers access, and cancel Kajabi last. Data is removed 90 days after cancellation.

Related guides: Coachful as a Kajabi alternative, ClickFunnels alternatives for coaches, Circle alternatives and the top 5 online coaching platforms, ranked.