Kajabi vs Thinkific vs Podia for Course Creators: 2026 Pricing After Kajabi's Price Hike

Kajabi raised prices in January 2026. Basic went from $149 to $179 per month - a 20% increase. Growth went from $199 to $249. The price hike sent a wave of creators looking at alternatives, and the two platforms that absorbed most of that traffic were Thinkific and Podia. This comparison runs the actual 2026 numbers across all three.

Note before reading: Podia's pricing has a counterintuitive trap. The Starter plan at $9/month charges a 10% fee - higher than the free tier's 8% fee. Low-volume sellers pay more on a paid plan than on the free one. That's not a typo.

All prices as of mid-2026. Verify at kajabi.com/pricing, thinkific.com/pricing, and podia.com/pricing before committing.

Platform Pricing (2026)

Source: pickthatcourse.com/articles/teachable-vs-kajabi-vs-thinkific-2026 (2026); ddiy.co/pricing-plan-guide-course-platforms/ (2026); ruzuku.com/learn/articles/podia-vs-thinkific (2026).

Kajabi: Full-Stack at a Full-Stack Price

Kajabi includes email marketing, funnels, landing pages, and affiliate management on every plan. The value argument is that you're replacing 3-4 separate tools. The counter-argument: Kajabi Basic at $143/mo annual still limits you to 3 products.

On the payment side, Kajabi runs its own processor (Kajabi Payments) at 2.9% + $0.30 on US transactions, with an additional 0.7% on subscriptions and 1.5% on international cards. There is no separate "platform fee" layered on top, but the processor rate is not zero.

For an astrology certification program priced at $2,000: Kajabi Payments takes roughly $58 per sale. On Thinkific's 0% platform fee, you pay Stripe's standard rate and no additional platform cut. At 10 sales per month, that gap approaches $580/month.

Source: courseplatformsreview.com/blog/kajabi-pricing/ (2026); kourses.com/kajabi-vs-thinkific/ (2026).

Thinkific: The Fee-Free Workhorse

Thinkific charges 0% platform fees on all plans. No exceptions, no tiers where fees appear. The $36/mo Basic plan (annual billing) includes unlimited courses, quizzes, assignments, and certificates. For a practitioner building a certification program, that's the fundamental selling point.

Thinkific's G2 rating sits at 4.6/5 - higher than the category average. The tools are more focused than Kajabi's all-in-one approach: course and community features are strong; email marketing and funnels require third-party integrations (Kit, Mailchimp, Zapier).

Comparing the product-to-price ratio directly: Thinkific Basic allows unlimited courses at $36/mo. Kajabi Basic allows 3 products at $143/mo. The 4x price gap for comparable course output is the argument most migration-oriented creators make.

Source: teachery.co/blog/online-course-platform-pricing-comparison-2026 (2026).

Podia: Read the Fee Structure Before Choosing

Podia allows unlimited products on every plan including the free tier. That's genuinely useful. But the fee structure rewards jumping to Mover ($39/mo, 5% fee) or Shaker ($89/mo annual, 0% fee) - not Starter.

Podia Starter at $9/mo charges a 10% fee. Podia Free charges 8%. If your monthly sales are under a certain volume, the free tier is actually cheaper than Starter. Running the math: at $500/month in sales, Starter costs $9 + $50 in fees = $59 total; Free costs $0 + $40 in fees = $40 total. Starter is more expensive until sales volume makes the fee gap meaningful in Starter's favor - which it never quite does, because Mover at $39/mo drops the fee to 5% and is the more rational upgrade.

Podia Shaker ($75/mo annual, 0% fee) includes affiliate marketing, email marketing, and community - the closest Podia equivalent to Kajabi's all-in-one positioning at roughly half the price.

Source: iimagined.ai/blog/online-course-platform-comparison-teachable-gumroad-thinkific (2026).

Fee Comparison on a $2,000 Certification Sale

Note: Thinkific and Podia Shaker with Stripe match Kajabi Payments on processor cost per sale. The difference is monthly platform cost and product limits.

Which Should You Pick

Solo astrologer or tarot practitioner, first certification program: Thinkific Basic ($36/mo annual, 0% fees). Unlimited courses, certificates included, no fee surprises. The single strongest option for practitioners who need certification delivery without a $140/mo platform overhead.

Growing practice, want email + course + community in one place, revenue above $3,000/mo: Podia Shaker ($75/mo annual) or Kajabi Basic ($143/mo annual). Podia Shaker costs half of Kajabi Basic and covers the same core features. Kajabi wins if you want its specific funnel builder and affiliate system.

Full online school with team, funnels, high-volume launches: Kajabi Growth or Pro. The all-in-one architecture earns its price at volume. For course sales at $50,000+/year, replacing the tool stack Kajabi replaces makes financial sense.

For platform options specific to selling astrology courses, see software/course-platforms for the full directory including Teachable and Gumroad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Kajabi raise prices in 2026? Yes. Basic went from $149 to $179/mo (monthly), Growth from $199 to $249/mo, Pro from $399 to $499/mo. Annual rates increased proportionally. The increase took effect in January 2026. Source: courseplatformsreview.com/blog/kajabi-pricing/ (2026).

Is Podia free actually usable? For testing or very low volume (under $200/month in sales), yes. The 8% fee is high but predictable. The limit is that you cannot remove Podia branding on the free tier and email marketing is not included. At any serious revenue level, Mover ($39/mo, 5% fee) or Shaker ($75/mo annual, 0% fee) make more sense.

Does Thinkific include community features? Thinkific's Start plan ($74/mo annual) includes memberships and community features. Basic ($36/mo annual) focuses on courses - no community module. If community is required at entry price, Podia Mover or Skool are worth comparing.

What platform is best for a $500 course with 50 students/year? At $25,000/year in revenue, Thinkific Basic ($432/yr annual + Stripe fees) is the clear cost winner. Kajabi Basic would cost $1,716/yr for the same functionality. The fee differential on Thinkific vs Podia Free at that volume: Thinkific ($432/yr, 0% platform fee) vs Podia Free ($0 + 8% = $2,000/yr in fees). Thinkific Basic is cheaper from the first student.