Podia vs Kajabi (2026): Which Fits a Coaching Business?

Podia vs Kajabi comes down to budget and scale. Podia is the simpler, cheaper storefront: plans run from $49 to $179 a month, every plan allows unlimited customers, and it suits a coach selling a handful of courses, downloads and paid sessions. Kajabi costs $179 to $499 a month and gives you a bigger marketing engine (funnels, larger contact allowances, more admin seats). Neither tool was built to run 1:1 or small-group coaching between sessions, which is why this comparison ends with a third option.

We make Coachful, a coaching platform, so we have a stake in this question. Below we keep Podia and Kajabi to what their own pricing pages, help centers and public reviewers say (as listed in October 2026), and we are specific about where Coachful wins and where it does not.

What is the short answer by use case?

If you mainly sell courses and downloads on a small budget, Podia is usually the better fit. If you run large email funnels and expect thousands of contacts, Kajabi has more room. If clients pay you for coaching and you want to deliver programs, habits and check-ins between calls, a coaching platform such as Coachful fits better than either.

• New coach, first digital product, under 500 subscribers: Podia Shaker. The 0% fee and lower monthly price matter more than advanced automation at this stage.
• Course creator with a growing list of 2,000+ contacts: Kajabi Basic or Growth. Podia's included email subscribers stop at 1,000 even on its top plan.
• Coach running paid programs with weekly calls and accountability: Coachful. Booking, contracts, payments, program delivery, habits and check-ins share one client record.
• Coach with a team of assistants and multiple brands: Kajabi Pro, if a course and community business is the core, or a Coachful team plan if the core is client coaching.
• Coach testing an idea for a few weeks: Podia's 14-day trial needs no card; Kajabi's 14-day trial makes the card optional.

How do Podia and Kajabi compare side by side?

Ranking criteria for this comparison: one login for the whole client journey, between-session delivery, total stack cost, and setup effort (including whether someone will build it for you). On those terms Coachful ranks first, Podia second for most solo coaches on cost, and Kajabi third unless list size is your main constraint.

Podia positions itself as an easy all-in-one storefront. Its pricing page lists unlimited customers on every plan, which is generous, but it counts email subscribers separately and includes only 100, 500 or 1,000 depending on the plan.

Kajabi covers courses, communities, websites, funnels and email for selling knowledge products. Its plans count products and contacts: the Basic plan caps you at 5 products and 2,500 contacts, and includes 0 AI credits.

How much do Podia and Kajabi cost in 2026?

Podia costs $49, $99 or $179 a month on monthly billing, and Kajabi costs $179, $249 or $499 a month. Podia's top plan costs the same as Kajabi's entry plan, so on price alone Podia wins for most solo coaches.

Podia's fees in practice

Podia's Mover plan adds a 5% Podia fee on every sale, on top of standard Stripe or PayPal processing (2.9% plus 30 cents is the standard rate Podia cites). Shaker and Earthquaker charge 0%. PayPal is only available from Shaker up.

The break-even is simple. As an illustrative example: Mover costs $49 plus 5% of sales, and Shaker costs $99 flat. At $1,000 of monthly sales, 5% is $50, so both cost $99. Above $1,000 a month in sales, Shaker is cheaper. On annual billing ($42 versus $84), the break-even drops to $840 of monthly sales. If you plan to sell a coaching package of any real size, start on Shaker.

The second cost to watch is email subscribers. Podia includes 100 on Mover, 500 on Shaker and 1,000 on Earthquaker. Its pricing page says you can buy extra subscribers (the price is not shown) and that it never upgrades you automatically. A coach with a 3,000-person list would pay for extra subscribers on any Podia plan, or keep their list in a separate email tool.

Kajabi's fees in practice

Kajabi Payments in the US charges 2.9% plus 30 cents on Basic, 2.8% plus 30 cents on Growth and 2.7% plus 30 cents on Pro. If you connect a different provider (PayPal excluded), Kajabi adds its own fee on top of that provider's charges: 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro. In other words, Kajabi nudges you toward its own payment processing.

Add-ons listed on the pricing page include extra contacts at $125 a month per 25,000 and an AI credit top-up of $15 for 500 credits (marked as coming). Kajabi's comparison table puts the branded mobile app on Pro. Kajabi also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan. For a full breakdown, see our Kajabi pricing guide and Podia pricing guide.

A worked monthly cost example

Here is an illustrative example, not a quote. A coach sells a $1,000 program to 5 clients a month ($5,000 of sales) and has 400 email subscribers.

• Podia Shaker: $99 plan, 0% Podia fee, plus about $146.50 in standard processing (2.9% plus 30 cents on five charges). Roughly $245.50 a month.
• Podia Mover: $49 plan, plus $250 in Podia fees, plus the same processing. Roughly $445.50, and 400 subscribers exceeds the 100 included.
• Kajabi Basic with Kajabi Payments: $179 plan plus about $146.50 in processing. Roughly $325.50 a month.

Neither figure includes a scheduling tool, an e-signature tool or a habit-tracking app, which most coaches add to either platform. That stack cost is where a coaching platform changes the maths.

How do the features compare, one by one?

Kajabi has deeper marketing features and larger limits; Podia has a broader set of product types for the money. Neither covers per-client coaching work such as habits, check-ins or individual program plans.

Courses and digital products

Both platforms handle courses well for a coaching business of modest size. Podia's advantage is the product count: Mover already allows 50 products and 500 videos, while Kajabi Basic stops at 5 products. If you sell many small things (worksheets, mini-courses, recorded workshops), Podia gives you more room per dollar. Kajabi's advantage is depth around the course: funnels, landing pages and marketing email are unlimited on every plan.

Email and contacts

This is Podia's weakest point and Kajabi's strongest. Podia includes 100 to 1,000 email subscribers. Kajabi includes 2,500 contacts on Basic and 25,000 on Growth. If your business depends on a large newsletter, Kajabi (or a dedicated email tool alongside Podia) is the realistic choice.

Community

Podia includes community spaces on every plan (25, 100 or unlimited). Kajabi includes 1 community on Basic and Growth and 3 on Pro. For a coach running one paid group, either works. For several cohorts with separate spaces, Podia's allowance is more generous. Our Circle vs Podia comparison and Mighty Networks vs Kajabi comparison cover community-first options in more depth.

Coaching sessions and scheduling

Podia lists coaching as one of its product types, so you can sell sessions. Its September 2026 profile notes no native video calls. Kajabi's coaching approach centers on products and communities rather than per-client plans. With either platform, coaches typically add a separate scheduling tool, a contract tool and something for between-session accountability. That is the gap we discuss below.

AI features

Kajabi includes 0 AI credits on Basic, 500 on Growth and 1,000 on Pro. Podia's plan list does not include an AI credit allowance. Neither documents an assistant that works from per-client coaching data, because neither stores that data.

Team seats

Kajabi allows 2, 11 or 26 admin users depending on the plan. Podia allows 1 assistant on Shaker and unlimited assistants on Earthquaker. For a solo coach with a virtual assistant, both are fine.

What is the client experience like on each?

On both Podia and Kajabi, the client experience is a storefront plus a members area: they buy, log in, and work through content. That fits course buyers. It is thinner for coaching clients, who need a place to see their next session, today's tasks and their progress toward a goal.

On Podia, clients reach a web-based members area; its September 2026 profile notes no mobile app. On Kajabi, the branded mobile app appears on Pro in the pricing comparison table. On both, a coaching client who also books calls, signs a contract and tracks habits is sent to other tools for those steps, with other logins.

Public reviews point the same direction on overall satisfaction rather than coaching specifics. As listed in October 2026, Podia holds 4.1 on Trustpilot from 153 reviews, and Kajabi holds 3.4 from 2,347 reviews. Read the individual reviews before relying on the averages: the sample sizes differ by more than ten times.

What do coaches lose on both Podia and Kajabi?

Both tools sell access to content. Neither tracks what a specific client does between sessions, so the work of coaching (accountability, check-ins, habit tracking, session notes) happens elsewhere.

In practice, a coach on either platform often adds:

• a scheduling tool with calendar sync and reminders;
• an e-signature tool for coaching agreements;
• a habit or check-in app, or a shared spreadsheet, for accountability;
• a notes system for session records;
• on Podia, often a separate email tool once the list passes 1,000.

Each extra tool adds a subscription, a login for the client and a place where data can drift out of sync. For a course business that is acceptable. For a coaching business where the client relationship is the product, it is the main cost.

Which should you pick: Podia or Kajabi?

Pick Podia if you are a solo coach selling courses, downloads and occasional sessions to a small list and want the lowest monthly bill. Pick Kajabi if you run a marketing-led course or community business with thousands of contacts and want funnels built in.

Choose Podia if

• you sell many small products and want unlimited customers on every plan;
• your list is under 1,000 subscribers, or you already use another email tool;
• you want PayPal at checkout (Shaker and up) without an extra platform fee;
• you want to try it for 14 days without entering a card.

Choose Kajabi if

• your list is past 2,500 contacts and email is your main sales channel;
• you want unlimited funnels and landing pages on the entry plan;
• you have a team that needs more than a couple of admin seats;
• you want a branded mobile app and can justify the Pro plan.

More detail lives in our Podia review, Kajabi review and the side-by-side page at Kajabi vs Podia.

Is there a third option built for coaching?

Yes. If coaching clients, rather than course buyers, pay most of your bills, Coachful is built for that work and usually replaces Podia or Kajabi plus the 3 or 4 tools you would add to them.

What Coachful is

Coachful is a coaching platform. One subscription covers booking, payments, contracts, program delivery with habits and check-ins, courses, a community, a website with funnels and email, and an AI assistant. The coach has one login, and the client gets one branded app (the coach's branding inside the Coachful app). It is built for coaches who deliver programs, not just sessions; solo coaches growing into a small team; and coaches replacing 4 to 6 tools. On Trustpilot, Coachful holds 4.5 from 21 reviews.

Where Coachful beats both

• Between-session delivery. Multi-week programs with weekly goals, daily tasks, habits, morning and evening check-ins, goals with progress bars and streaks. Neither Podia nor Kajabi offers per-client habits or check-ins.
• Booking that belongs to the client record. Booking pages with availability rules, buffers, minimum notice and time-zone detection; two-way Google, Apple/iCloud and Outlook sync; built-in video or auto-created Zoom, Meet and Teams links; email reminders, plus SMS and WhatsApp reminders once messaging is enabled.
• Contracts before the first call. Coaching agreements with e-signature, stored on the client record.
• A real client record. Goals, check-ins, habits, notes, intake answers, tags, payments and sessions in one place, with a status of thriving, active, quiet or at risk, and an AI briefing per client.
• Payments without a platform cut. Payments go through your own Stripe Connect or Razorpay account with a 0% Coachful platform fee: one-time, subscriptions, payment plans, order bumps, coupons, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Clients are not capped by a contact count. Plans are flat monthly prices; lower plans cap the number of clients, Pro is unlimited (current plans: Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients; Solo: $49/month for up to 20 clients; Pro: $99/month with unlimited clients; Studio: $199/month with unlimited clients).

Here is a short walkthrough of how programs are built and delivered in Coachful:

Courses and community are included in your Coachful membership too: courses with modules, lessons, drip and completion tracking; downloads, videos, books and bundles; a community feed, group chat, direct messages and video events, with cohort groups created automatically when a client enrolls in a program. See courses for coaches and group coaching software.

On the marketing side, Coachful has a section-based website builder with a blog, custom domain, SEO settings and 30 designed homepage templates; booking, application, lead-magnet and checkout funnels with pixel and UTM tracking; and email lists, broadcasts and multi-step sequences. Michelle, the built-in AI assistant, works from your live practice data: it builds programs, drafts emails, summarizes recorded sessions and briefs you before each call. Questions and planning are included in your membership; confirmed builds and changes use AI credits.

Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service.

Why Coachful stands out: a free white-glove service. On every plan, you can ask the Coachful team to build your website, funnel, sales page, program, course outline, email sequence, form or event for you. From Create > We'll build it for you, describe what you want, attach up to 8 reference links and up to 10 files (logos, photos, brand guides, copy), and the team builds it inside your own account, usually within about 24 hours. Nothing is invented: no fake credentials, testimonials or prices; gaps are left for you to fill. One recent example: a somatic coach leaving Kajabi had their homepage and About page rebuilt and the contact form connected. Another: a business mentor for beauty professionals got a 12-week mentorship sales page, a free start-up-guide funnel and rewritten follow-up emails. The service does not cover recording videos, logo design, ad management or ongoing marketing. Read more about the free white-glove service.

Where Podia or Kajabi beats Coachful

• Course marketplace or pure course business. Coachful is not a course marketplace. If you sell courses to thousands of strangers and rarely coach anyone, Kajabi or Podia is the more natural home.
• PayPal. Coachful has no PayPal. Podia (Shaker and up) and Kajabi both support it.
• Your own App Store listing. Coachful's client app ships under the Coachful listing with your branding. Kajabi's branded app on Pro is the route if your own listing matters.
• Affiliate payouts. Coachful tracks affiliate links, clicks, conversions and revenue, but payouts are recorded manually rather than sent.
• Non-coaching websites and plugins. Coachful's website builder is for coaching sites and has no third-party plugins.
• Clinical work. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and does not sign a BAA, so clinical records and insurance billing belong in a clinical system. Coaching is not treatment; refer clients with medical or mental health needs to a licensed professional.

How to start

Start a free trial, then request a free white-glove build of your website, program or funnel. During onboarding, your clients, programs and content are imported for you. Plans start at Lite: $29/month for up to 5 clients, and monthly plans cancel in one click. If you are leaving Kajabi specifically, see our Kajabi alternative page and Coachful vs Kajabi; if you are leaving Podia, see Podia alternatives.

How hard is it to move off Podia or Kajabi later?

Both let you export your contacts, but neither exports course content in one file. Plan your exit before you build a large catalogue.

Kajabi offers CSV exports for contacts, subscriptions, sales and members (sent by email). Course content is downloaded manually, asset by asset, and its older profile notes data is removed 90 days after cancellation. Podia exports contacts to CSV, customers per product (active enrollments only) and sales or invoices. Coachful exports a full client ZIP (roster, notes, check-ins, goals, habits, sessions and form responses) plus course export, and is GDPR-ready.

Which coach should pick which tool?

Match the tool to how you earn: content sales point to Podia or Kajabi, client relationships point to a coaching platform.

• Life and mindset coaches running 90-day programs: Coachful, for habits, check-ins and journeys. See Coachful for life coaches.
• Business and executive coaches with 1:1 retainers: Coachful, for contracts, session notes, invoices and ICF hour tracking. See Coachful for business coaches.
• Fitness and nutrition coaches: Coachful's Fitness & Nutrition pack adds a workout builder, logging, nutrition targets and check-ins (no wearable sync). See fitness and nutrition coaching.
• Coaches whose main product is a self-paced course: Podia on a budget, Kajabi at scale.
• Newsletter-led coaches with tens of thousands of subscribers: Kajabi Growth, or a dedicated email tool alongside Podia.

For broader shortlists, see Kajabi alternatives for coaches and Podia vs Teachable.

Frequently asked questions

Is Podia cheaper than Kajabi?

Yes. Podia costs $49, $99 or $179 a month on monthly billing, and Kajabi costs $179, $249 or $499. Podia's top plan costs the same as Kajabi's entry plan. Remember Podia's Mover plan adds a 5% transaction fee.

Does Kajabi or Podia charge transaction fees?

Podia charges 5% on Mover and 0% on Shaker and Earthquaker, plus processing. Kajabi charges no extra fee when you use Kajabi Payments or PayPal, but adds 2%, 1% or 0.5% (Basic, Growth, Pro) on top of other providers' fees.

Which has better email marketing, Podia or Kajabi?

Kajabi, mainly because of the allowances: 2,500 contacts on Basic and 25,000 on Growth, against Podia's 100, 500 or 1,000 included email subscribers. Podia sells extra subscribers but does not show the price on its pricing page.

Do Podia or Kajabi have free trials?

Both offer 14 days. Podia's trial needs no card or plan choice. Kajabi's card is optional; if you enter one, Kajabi places an authorization hold and charges when the trial ends, and some features stay locked until you activate a paid plan.

Can I run 1:1 coaching on Podia or Kajabi?

You can sell sessions and coaching access on both. Neither offers per-client habits, check-ins or individual program plans, so most coaches add scheduling, contract and accountability tools alongside them.

Is Podia or Kajabi better for a beginner coach?

Podia is usually the easier and cheaper start, especially on Shaker, which removes the 5% fee. If your coaching depends on client accountability between calls, a coaching platform with a free trial and a done-for-you setup will save you building a stack of tools.

What is Coachful's free white-glove service?

On every plan, the Coachful team builds a website, funnel, sales page, program, course outline, email sequence or similar inside your account from your brief, references and files, usually within about 24 hours. It does not include recording videos, logo design, ad management or ongoing marketing.

Does Coachful support PayPal like Podia and Kajabi?

No. Coachful takes payments through your own Stripe Connect or Razorpay account, including Apple Pay and Google Pay, with a 0% Coachful platform fee. If PayPal checkout is essential, Podia (Shaker and up) or Kajabi supports it.

Can I move my clients from Kajabi or Podia to Coachful?

Yes. During onboarding, your clients, programs and content are imported for you. Export your contacts as CSV from Kajabi or Podia first, and download course assets you want to keep.

Is Coachful HIPAA-compliant?

No. Coachful is not HIPAA-certified and does not sign a BAA, so it is not for clinical records or insurance billing. Keep clinical records in a clinical system whichever coaching or course platform you use.