Top 4 Kajabi Alternatives in 2025 (insider perspective)
Get an insider's perspective on the best Kajabi alternatives in 2025. Discover how Esmerise, Podia, Thinkific, Teachable compare in ease of use, features, pricing, and more.
Introduction
Unlike most “Kajabi alternatives” articles you’ll find online, which just list features and prices of similar platforms in a superficial way, here you’ll get a different perspective.
We’re the team behind Esmerise, and over the years we’ve helped hundreds of creators migrate not only from Kajabi, but also from the other platforms we’ll discuss here. This has given us a unique and practical understanding of how these solutions really work for creators. We know them in depth: exactly where each one shines, where it causes friction, and which specific types of creators it is (or isn’t) really built for.
We’re happy to share all this with you: you’ll find a pragmatic review of all the best alternatives to Kajabi. Of course, we’ll also talk about Esmerise, our own platform, which we engineered specifically to address the gaps and opportunities we discovered through direct experience.
Our goal is to give you the clarity you need to make a truly strategic decision. The platform you choose will in fact have a huge impact on your efficiency, your students’ experience, and your business success. Let’s get started!
We’re the team behind Esmerise, and over the years we’ve helped hundreds of creators migrate not only from Kajabi, but also from the other platforms we’ll discuss here. This has given us a unique and practical understanding of how these solutions really work for creators. We know them in depth: exactly where each one shines, where it causes friction, and which specific types of creators it is (or isn’t) really built for.
We’re happy to share all this with you: you’ll find a pragmatic review of all the best alternatives to Kajabi. Of course, we’ll also talk about Esmerise, our own platform, which we engineered specifically to address the gaps and opportunities we discovered through direct experience.
Our goal is to give you the clarity you need to make a truly strategic decision. The platform you choose will in fact have a huge impact on your efficiency, your students’ experience, and your business success. Let’s get started!
What does Kajabi really offer, and what criteria do we use to evaluate the best alternatives?
Kajabi is one of the most comprehensive platforms on the market, a true all-in-one. However, it’s exactly this ambition to do “everything” that creates the most common friction points:
These weaknesses line up almost exactly with the key criteria we’ll use to analyze each alternative in this guide:
- Operational complexity: Kajabi tries to centralize every tool, but its CRM and email marketing system will never match the power of dedicated software. This forces creators to choose: settle for basic features or still juggle external tools, partly defeating the point (and cost) of an all-in-one.
- High cost and limits: For serious use, you’ll quickly exceed $159/month, not including pricey extras for a branded app (up to $199/month more).
- Fragmented mobile experience: The ecosystem is split into 3 separate Kajabi-branded apps, and to make things worse, the one for creators is basically useless for actual course management.
These weaknesses line up almost exactly with the key criteria we’ll use to analyze each alternative in this guide:
- User experience & ease of use: Is the platform an accelerator for your business, or a brake that requires constant study? We’ll look at the initial learning curve and how efficient daily workflows become once you know it.
- Marketing & sales tools: Are payment systems reliable? Is the page builder powerful and intuitive? Are integrations with your favorite external tools native?
- Community & engagement: Does the platform blend courses, community, and gamification into a seamless experience? In 2025, this is the key element so your students can really get value from your courses.
- Mobile experience (for creators & students): Does it offer a single unified, branded app? This shouldn’t be optional anymore, it’s essential to make sure students can always access your content and feel close to your brand. According to our own data, most students access courses exclusively from mobile.
- Value for money (real value): Is the price sustainable? And above all, what do you end up paying if you need more advanced features like a branded app, unlimited products, custom domains, or software integrations? How much do the extras/upgrades really cost?
Teachable: the traditional choice
📌 For a more direct comparison, check out our article Teachable vs Kajabi.
| Key Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| User Experience | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Very easy at first, but can become limiting) |
| Community & Gamification | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Basic features, not integrated with courses) |
| Mobile Experience & App | ⭐️⭐️ (App only for iOS students, no branding options) |
| Marketing & Sales | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Essential tools that work well) |
| Value for Money | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Great to get started, less convenient on advanced plans) |
What it’s really like to build and take a course on Teachable?
Teachable’s course editor is functional and very intuitive for beginners, thanks to its drag-and-drop system now common to most platforms. However, the student experience is quite pragmatic: it relies on a traditional content list that’s completely separate from any community features, which doesn’t encourage engagement or the feeling of being part of a shared journey. This feels increasingly limiting in 2025, especially compared to more modern platforms.The same can be said for the app and mobile experience, which is pretty disappointing: as a creator, there’s no dedicated app for you, though you can manage things from a mobile browser. For your students, the official app is only available for iOS (leaving Android users out), you can’t customize it with your own branding (not even as an add-on), and it doesn’t integrate the community feature, making it ultimately incomplete.
Community and gamification (student engagement)
Teachable was one of the first online course platforms, and you can feel its “age” especially in the student experience. The community feature is there, but it’s still kept separate from courses: you can link to it, but there’s no native integration, so interactions aren’t really contextual. As for gamification, it’s simply not there. In short: Teachable still offers a very traditional, functional but not very engaging experience. If you want to build a real community or use modern engagement tools, it’s probably not the best alternative for you.
What’s it like to sell and monetize your digital products on Teachable?
Teachable provides reliable tools to sell courses, bundles, subscriptions, and payment plans, with decent flexibility.There are two payment options:
- Teachable:Pay (integrated): Easy to set up for cards and PayPal, but payouts follow Teachable’s own schedule.
- Custom gateways (Stripe/PayPal): More control, but PayPal only works together with Stripe and only for one-time payments in USD, an important limitation for many in Europe.
How much does Teachable really cost?
The basic plan starts at $59/month and allows up to 5 products of each type, great for starting out. However, if you want advanced features (like connecting your own domain), higher plans are less competitive and quickly become more expensive than many alternatives.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Teachable is great for those starting a simple project on a reliable, established platform. However, its lack of true innovation, perhaps due to its acquisition by Hotmart, and a less engaging mobile and student experience make it increasingly uncompetitive. These are the main reasons why creators we've helped have chosen to migrate to Esmerise.
Podia: the simple and affordable option
📌 For a more direct comparison, check out our article Kajabi vs Podia.
| Key Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| User Experience | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Extremely simple and intuitive) |
| Community & Gamification | ⭐️⭐️ (Functional community but separated, gamification absent) |
| Mobile Experience & App | ⭐️ (No native app for creators or students) |
| Marketing & Sales | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Excellent page builder and flexible product management) |
| Value for Money | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Great value, generous plans) |
What is it really like to create and take a course on Podia?
The course creation experience on Podia is one of its strongest points. The interface is clean, modern, and very intuitive, making it quick and frictionless to set up your courses. However, the student experience, while visually appealing, still relies on the traditional list of contents. The community, although functional, remains a separate product and is not smoothly integrated into the lessons, which limits contextual interactions.The biggest compromise of this approach shows up on mobile: Podia doesn’t offer any native app, for creators or students. While the website is well-optimized for mobile browsers, the total absence of a dedicated app is a significant strategic limitation in 2025, reducing accessibility and engagement for users on the go.
Community and gamification (student engagement)
Podia offers a well-designed and flexible community feature that lets you create both public and private spaces. However, like other platforms from its generation, the community is treated as a separate product from the course experience (even if it can be linked, like in Teachable). Gamification, on the other hand, is completely missing. In short, the lack of a dedicated app, absence of gamification, and a community that’s detached from the learning flow may result in a less engaging experience for students.
What is it like to sell and monetize your digital products on Podia?
Podia stands out for those selling not only courses, but also digital downloads, webinars, and community memberships. Payment processing is handled through the usual partners, Stripe and PayPal, and you’ll need to connect an account to receive funds. One of Podia’s biggest strengths is its page builder: it’s one of the most modern and intuitive on the market, letting you create professional sales pages effortlessly using well-designed templates. There’s also a built-in basic email marketing system (with a small additional cost) and a solid set of direct integrations.How much does Podia really cost?
Its pricing is one of its strongest advantages. The plans are simple, transparent, and very affordable. The base "Mover" plan (about $39/month) already offers unlimited products with a small 5% fee, while the "Shaker" plan (around $89/month) removes it entirely. There are no hidden fees for essential features, making Podia one of the most budget-friendly alternatives on the market.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Podia offers one of the best value-for-money ratios on the market. It’s extremely user-friendly, and its page builder is excellent, making it ideal for those selling multiple digital products. However, its biggest drawback is the complete lack of a mobile app for both creators and students. This is the main reason creators cite when migrating to Esmerise.
Thinkific: the cooler traditional platform
📌 For a more direct comparison, check out our article Thinkific vs Kajabi.
| Key Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| User Experience | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Intuitive and functional, but not excellent) |
| Community & Gamification | ⭐️⭐️ (Community separated from courses, no gamification) |
| Mobile Experience & App | ⭐️⭐️ (Student app has issues, branded option is very expensive) |
| Marketing & Sales | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Flexible with Thinkific App Store, complex page builder) |
| Value for Money | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Great entry/mid plans, but removing their branding is very expensive) |
What is it really like to create and take a course on Thinkific?
Creating a course on Thinkific is a functional and familiar experience. The editor uses a classic layout that allows you to organize your content neatly, though the interface can sometimes feel confusing and less visually polished than other alternatives. For students, the learning experience sticks to the traditional list of lessons, which feels uninspiring and isolated, since community features are kept separate from the learning flow.When it comes to mobile, Thinkific doesn’t shine. For you as a creator, there’s no dedicated management app, so you’re forced to use the browser with some limitations. For students, there’s an app for iOS and Android, but it receives fairly critical reviews on iOS and can’t be customized with your brand unless you pay for a very expensive add-on starting at $199/month.
Community and gamification (student engagement)
Like Teachable and Podia, Thinkific also shows signs of its “age” in its architecture. Its community features, while available and well-structured, exist in a separate environment from the courses. This means interaction doesn't happen contextually within lessons, but rather in a dedicated space. As for gamification, there are no native features: adding points or badges requires external integrations with additional cost and complexity.In summary: Thinkific’s approach to engagement is traditional; features exist, but they’re not integrated, resulting in a disconnected experience for the student. It’s a solid platform for delivering content, not for easily building a truly interactive learning ecosystem.
What is it like to sell and monetize your digital products on Thinkific?
Thinkific provides a solid selling system, with flexible payment management through an integrated solution (Thinkific Payments) and direct gateways. Its biggest marketing asset is the Thinkific App Store, which allows you to expand functionality through many third-party integrations. However, as mentioned earlier, its native page builder is cluttered and less intuitive compared to competitors.How much does Thinkific really cost?
The base plan (about $48/month) is a good starting point, with unlimited courses and zero transaction fees. The issues arise when your brand needs to grow: to remove Thinkific’s branding, you’ll need to upgrade to the $195/month plan, and a custom-branded app will cost you an additional $199/month. These “hidden costs” make the platform extremely expensive for anyone looking to scale with advanced features.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Thinkific is a solid and reliable platform, great for delivering traditional courses with a good base plan. The problem arises when you want to scale: the costs to become a professional brand are prohibitive. Removing their branding requires a $195/month plan, and a custom-branded app costs an additional $199/month. Creators who migrate to Esmerise usually do so to find a more engaging and modern student experience, more sustainable costs, and in some cases, greater ease of use.
Esmerise: the modern all-in-one with a native app
What’s it really like to create and follow a course on Esmerise?
Esmerise redefines course creation by removing the divide between backend and frontend. As a creator, you build and edit content "in-context", seeing exactly what your students will see in real time. For them, learning isn’t just a list of lessons, it’s an integrated learning ecosystem, where courses, community, and gamification work together to dramatically boost engagement and completion rates.This philosophy extends seamlessly to mobile. Esmerise offers a unified native app for both you and your students, a unique feature in this industry. You can manage your entire academy from your phone with no limitations. Your students access all content and interactions in a consistent and professional space. Most importantly, the app is customizable with your icon starting from the mid-tier plan, without the high extra costs typical of other platforms.
The platform is also fully localized in 4 languages (Italian, English, Spanish, and French), with customer support available in all of them, and includes a full video walkthrough to help you make the most of every feature.
Community & Gamification (Student Engagement)
Modern learning science is clear: isolated and passive learning doesn’t work. Studies published in leading academic journals (such as Computers & Education and the British Journal of Educational Technology) consistently show that the most effective online courses create synergy between content, social interaction, and motivation. When students feel part of a shared journey and see their progress recognized, completion rates increase dramatically.Esmerise was built from the ground up on this principle, offering a truly integrated learning environment that includes the option to activate a forum section and group chat, both seamlessly embedded within the course space.
This is further enhanced by a flexible and native gamification system. You can create a real internal economy 🏆 with points, badges, and rewards to recognize consistency and progress, turning learning from a passive task into an engaging journey.
Community and gamification are no longer add-ons, but core elements of the new generation of digital learning paths.
How does selling and monetizing your digital products work on Esmerise?
Esmerise takes a centralized and powerful approach, allowing you to create products that combine courses, community, and gamification in one single offer. Payment management is extremely flexible (Stripe, PayPal, installments, multi-currency), and the strategic advantage lies in the many direct native integrations with leading industry tools, eliminating the need for Zapier for common automations.How much does Esmerise really cost?
Esmerise pricing plans are designed to include premium features without outrageous add-on fees. The basic plan already includes unlimited products, but the real competitive edge is in the intermediate tier: the fully customizable mobile app with your brand is included, a feature that on other platforms can cost hundreds of euros more per month. The goal is to give you all the tools to grow, with no surprises. We believe that Esmerise currently offers the best value for money on the market, whether you're just starting out or already have an established brand and want to stand out.
Our Insider Perspective
💡 Esmerise is not just an alternative, but a direct response to the limitations of traditional platforms. Instead of separating courses, community, and mobile, we’ve integrated everything into one powerful and intuitive ecosystem. An exceptional student experience is the biggest accelerator for a creator's business, and our entire platform is built on this principle, from the app included in the price, to the human support that guides you in your growth, to the revolutionary 'in-context' creation experience. Esmerise is the best alternative for those who want to stand out from the competition and build a successful business in the 2025 landscape.
Final comparison: Teachable vs Podia vs Thinkific vs Esmerise
| Key Aspect | Teachable | Podia | Thinkific | Esmerise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usability & Interface | ✅ Very simple ⚠️ Can become limiting | ✅ Very simple ✨ Modern interface | ✅ Simple 🧩 Less polished | ✅ Intuitive & fluid ✨ In-context interface |
| Student Experience | 👴 Traditional 🧊 Isolated experience | 👴 Traditional 🎨 Clean design | 👴 Traditional 🧊 Community isolated | 🎓 Integrated experience 🤝 Social learning |
| Marketing & Sales | 📄 Basic builder 🔗 Native integrations + Zapier | 📄 Excellent builder 📧 Integrated email marketing (extra cost) | 📄 Confusing builder 🔗 Thinkific App Store | 📄 Excellent builder 🔗 Native integrations |
| Community & Gamification | 🟡 Separate ❌ None | 🟡 Separate ❌ None | 🟡 Separate ❌ None | ✅ Integrated 🏆 Advanced gamification |
| Mobile & White‑Label App | 📱 iOS app only ❌ Not brandable | ❌ No app ❌ Not available | 📉 Yes, but poor iOS reviews 💸 Very expensive ($199/mo) | ✅ Unified app 🎁 Included & brandable |
| Pricing & Value | 💲 Affordable start ⚠️ High plans less value | ✅ Excellent value ♾️ Generous plans | 💲 Affordable start 💸 High plans costly | ✅ Excellent value 🎁 Unique features included |
Final verdict: which platform to choose in 2025?
We hope this in-depth analysis has been helpful. As we’ve seen, the key is choosing the platform that offers the best experience to build a successful business in 2025. The online learning world has evolved, yet many legacy platforms are struggling to keep up, forcing you to compromise: a solid course but with an outdated student experience, or a lively community with weak teaching tools (like Skool and similar).
Esmerise was born from exactly this: listening to the frustrations and needs of hundreds of creators who, like you, wanted more. We engineered from the ground up a new learning ecosystem where courses, community, and gamification finally work together. Because when students are more engaged, they don’t just complete your courses, they become a loyal community that supports your long-term growth.
Along the way, we removed all unnecessary complexity and added industry-first features, like a unified PWA app customized with your brand (included, not an expensive extra), human multilingual support 🇮🇹🇬🇧🇪🇸🇫🇷 to support you along the way, and affordable pricing plans with no artificial limits, designed to grow with you.
Esmerise was born from exactly this: listening to the frustrations and needs of hundreds of creators who, like you, wanted more. We engineered from the ground up a new learning ecosystem where courses, community, and gamification finally work together. Because when students are more engaged, they don’t just complete your courses, they become a loyal community that supports your long-term growth.
Along the way, we removed all unnecessary complexity and added industry-first features, like a unified PWA app customized with your brand (included, not an expensive extra), human multilingual support 🇮🇹🇬🇧🇪🇸🇫🇷 to support you along the way, and affordable pricing plans with no artificial limits, designed to grow with you.
Start building your business today.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Kajabi in 2025?
It depends on your priorities. Podia offers the best value for money for simplicity. Teachable is a solid starting point. Thinkific is flexible thanks to its apps. If you're looking for an alternative that surpasses Kajabi in modernity, user experience, and value, Esmerise is the best choice due to its integrated ecosystem with courses, community, and an included native app.
Is there a cheaper but equally powerful alternative to Kajabi?
Yes. Platforms like Podia or Teachable are cheaper but often sacrifice advanced features like a native app or community integration. Esmerise is designed to offer superior value: it includes premium features like a customizable app and an integrated community at a much more competitive price than Kajabi's advanced plans.
Which platform offers the best mobile experience compared to Kajabi?
Kajabi's mobile experience is fragmented across 3 apps. Teachable has a limited app for iOS only, and Podia has no app at all. The best alternative is Esmerise, the only platform offering a single, unified native app for both creators and students, fully brandable, and included in its mid-tier plans.
Why should I choose an alternative to Kajabi?
The main reasons are high cost, complexity, and a user experience that is beginning to feel dated. Kajabi's base plans are very restrictive, and unlocking its true power requires hundreds of euros per month. Alternatives like Podia, Teachable, Thinkific, and Esmerise offer more accessible entry points and, in some cases, a more modern and integrated experience.
What is the best Kajabi alternative for building a community?
While Teachable, Podia, and Thinkific offer community features, they are often separate from the course area. For a truly integrated experience, Esmerise is the best alternative. It is built to merge courses and community into a single environment, increasing student engagement and the perceived value of your offer.
