The online education space is evolving, with sales funnels and course management at its core. Thinkific and Kajabi are two platforms that stand out in this space, each offering a suite of tools tailored for educators and course creators.
These platforms often find themselves compared due to their significant roles in the market. Each brings unique strengths and features to the table, making the choice between them a common dilemma for many. If you are one of the people looking to find out which one is better, then in this article, we will do a direct comparison between Thinkific vs Kajabi.
Through this article, we aim to provide a comprehensive comparison of Thinkific and Kajabi. We will:
- Explore the distinct features of each platform.
- Assess how they cater to different aspects of course management and sales.
- Guide you in determining which platform might be the better choice for your online courses.
By the end of this exploration, you’ll have a clearer understanding of both Thinkific and Kajabi, which will help you make an informed decision for your online course business.
Let’s get started.
What is Thinkific?
Thinkific is a platform that allows you to create, market, and sell online courses. Known for its user-friendly interface, it empowers educators and entrepreneurs like you to transform your expertise into dynamic online learning experiences. With Thinkific, you get the flexibility to design courses that reflect your vision, coupled with powerful tools to effectively engage and educate your audience.
Best Thinkific Features
Below are some of the best Thinkific features you can use to sell courses effectively:
- Drag-and-Drop Course Builder: Easily create courses with a user-friendly interface.
- Diverse Content Types: Supports videos, quizzes, and interactive content.
- Customizable Design: Tailor the look and feel of your courses to match your brand.
- Integrated Payment Gateways: Simplifies course sales with built-in payment processing.
- Marketing and Sales Tools: Equipped with features to help you promote your courses.
- Detailed Analytics: Track your course performance and student engagement.
- Responsive Customer Support: Quick and helpful support for any queries or issues.
Pros of Using Thinkific
- User-friendly interface and course creator
- Own your brand, content, and student data
- Wide range of integrations with popular tools
- Scales alongside your business growth
Cons of Using Thinkific
- Can get pricey on higher tiers
- Less flexibility in page templates than competitors
- Limited built-in email and sales funnel features
Let’s now look at its popular alternative – Kajabi.
What is Kajabi?
Kajabi is a comprehensive platform that serves as a one-stop shop for your online course creation and marketing needs. It stands out for its all-in-one approach, integrating course creation, website building, and marketing tools in one package. This platform is ideal if you’re looking to simplify your process and manage everything from a single dashboard.
Best Kajabi Features
Kajabi’s standout features make it a powerful tool in your online course creation process. Here’s a look at what sets Kajabi apart:
- All-in-One Platform: Combines course creation, marketing, and sales in one place.
- Powerful Course Builder: Offers advanced tools for creating engaging course content.
- Integrated Email Marketing: Features built-in tools for email campaigns and automation.
- Customizable Website Templates: Provides a range of templates for a professional web presence.
- Robust Marketing Funnel Tools: Includes tools for creating effective sales funnels.
- Comprehensive Analytics: Delivers detailed insights into course performance and student engagement.
- Membership and Community Features: Supports building a community around your courses.
Pros of Using Kajabi
- Streamlined Course Management for handling all aspects of your course in one place
- Advanced Marketing Capabilities to effectively promote your courses
- High Customization Potential to align your courses and website with your brand
- Strong Community Building to foster student interaction and loyalty
- Effective Sales Funnel Integration to maximize course sales and conversions
Cons of Using Kajabi
- Higher Price Point reflecting its comprehensive feature set
- Learning Curve due to the breadth of features available
- Limited Course Marketplace requiring reliance on external marketing
- Fewer Third-Party Integrations compared to other platforms
- Heavier Platform which might be more than needed for simpler course setups
Thinkific vs Kajabi – Comparison Table
To give you a clearer picture of how Thinkific and Kajabi stack up against each other, let’s analyze a side-by-side comparison through the following table.
| Features | Thinkific | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Course Creation | User-friendly course builder | Comprehensive course creation suite |
| Customization Options | Custom branding & site design | Advanced customization capabilities |
| Marketing Tools | Basic marketing tools included | Robust marketing & sales pipelines |
| Sales Pages | Built-in customizable sales pages | Optimized sales funnel integration |
| Student Engagement | Quizzes, surveys & student discussions | Community building features |
| Multimedia Support | Supports various multimedia formats | High-quality video hosting & streaming |
| Integrations | Wide range of third-party integrations | Integrates with major tools & platforms |
| Pricing Plans | Flexible pricing tiers | Fewer but comprehensive plans |
| Customer Support | Email and phone support | Extensive customer support options |
| Analytics & Reporting | Basic reporting tools | Advanced analytics & insights |
Thinkific vs Kajabi: In-depth Key Differences
Let’s look at the detailed comparison of Thinkific and Kajabi, focusing on key aspects that matter most to you as a course creator. This comparison will help you understand the nuances of each platform, guiding you to make an informed choice based on your specific needs.
i. Ease Of Use (Learning Curve)
Kajabi stands out for its integrated design, offering an all-in-one platform that simplifies the creation and management of online courses, membership sites, and more. Its streamlined approach means you can manage everything from a single location, saving time and effort, especially if you’re not keen on dealing with the complexities of plugins or extensions.
In contrast, Thinkific is celebrated for its user-friendly nature, boasting an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes course creation straightforward and accessible, even for beginners. While Thinkific is easy to use without coding skills, it also offers the flexibility to add custom code, providing an avenue for more personalized course experiences.
On the grounds of ease of use, Thinkific is much easier comparatively due to being focused on the core necessity – creating and selling courses. Kajabi which is a popular alternative to thinkfic comes with a lot of features, but that just means it takes more time to learn.
ii. Course Creation & Hosting
Kajabi excels in course creation with its array of features, including the ability to upload videos and audio files, create quizzes and assessments, and issue course certificates. It stands out with customizable templates and user-friendly design tools, streamlining the course creation process. This makes Kajabi ideal for those who seek a comprehensive, feature-rich platform for developing diverse and interactive courses.
On the other hand, Thinkific offers a more straightforward approach, providing essential course creation tools and ready-to-use templates. This is particularly beneficial for new course creators, as it simplifies the process of organizing and transforming expertise into marketable courses.
While Thinkific may not have as many advanced features as Kajabi, its user interface and ease of use make it a strong contender, especially for those starting their journey in online course creation. But as you grow your business, Kajabi is a better tool when you consider scalability and control over various types of courses that you may want to create.
iii. Course Page Customization
Kajabi takes the lead in course page customization with its extensive design tools, allowing you to create highly personalized and branded course pages. This platform is a perfect match if you prioritize detailed customization and want your courses to stand out visually.
On the flip side, Thinkific offers a simpler approach to customization. Rather, they expect you to use their ready-made templates for easy-to-build, professional-looking course pages.
So, if you want more customization options, Kajabi would be your ideal choice. But if you are a beginner and want an assisted approach, Thinkific may be a good choice.
iv. Sales and Marketing Features
Thinkific offers a solid foundation for sales and marketing, providing tools to track orders, create discount coupons, and set up subscriptions. It also includes the option to run an affiliate program with custom payment terms. This setup is great if you need essential sales tools to support your courses.
On the other hand, Kajabi steps up in marketing with a focus on sales funnels, pipelines, and sales automation, incorporating email marketing tools as well. This approach integrates courses into a comprehensive marketing strategy, making Kajabi a strong choice if you’re aiming to use advanced marketing techniques and want your courses to be a central part of your sales process.
So, while solely selling courses is easy with Thinkific, Kajabi makes it much easier for advanced promotion and business growth.
v. Email Marketing and Automation
Kajabi stands out with its built-in email marketing software, enabling you to craft effective email campaigns directly within the platform. It offers a range of features like one-off broadcasts and automated email sequences, which are triggered by specific actions taken by your audience. This integration is particularly useful if you’re looking to streamline your marketing efforts and keep everything under one roof.
In contrast, Thinkific provides the basic functionality for email broadcasts but doesn’t include built-in email automation. However, it compensates by offering extensive integrations with popular email marketing tools such as MailChimp, ConvertKit, Constant Contact, AWeber, ActiveCampaign, and EngageBay.
Comparatively, Kajabi is definitely the better choice out of the two if you require email marketing with no additional costs.
vi. User Experience and Interface
Thinkific is known for its straightforward and intuitive interface, making it a great choice for those new to online course platforms. Its simplicity ensures that you can focus on creating and managing your courses without getting bogged down in complex settings.
On the other side, Kajabi offers a more integrated user experience. While it might present a slight learning curve for newcomers, its sleek interface seamlessly combines course creation, marketing, and sales tools. This integrated approach is beneficial if you’re looking for a platform that offers a wide range of features but is still accessible and user-friendly once you get the hang of it.
Both Thinkfic and Kajabi are great in terms of UX and UI and can be stated as equals in this matter.
vii. Memberships & Community
Kajabi’s recent addition, Kajabi Communities, brings a powerful set of tools for building and monetizing an engaging community. It’s packed with features like live calls, challenges, and real-time chat, enhancing the interactive experience. This makes Kajabi a strong choice if you’re looking to create a dynamic and interactive community around your courses.
Thinkific, in comparison, offers Thinkific Communities, allowing you to create a dedicated space for members to connect and collaborate on specific topics. You have the flexibility to integrate these communities into your courses or offer them as standalone products. Additionally, Thinkific Memberships enable you to create exclusive membership sites.
Both Thinkific and Kajabi are close competitors in this matter, and we don’t think either of them can be stated as better in this regard.
viii. Analytics & Reporting
Kajabi’s analytics offers a comprehensive view of your course performance, including metrics like net revenue, offers sold, and page views. It goes further by providing advanced metrics such as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), Average Revenue per User (ARPU), and Churn Rate. This depth of analysis is invaluable if you’re focused on closely monitoring the financial health and growth of your online course business.
In contrast, Thinkific’s analytics focuses on giving you a clear picture of orders and student engagement. The Orders Report in Thinkific allows you to track trends and get an overview of total orders over a specific period. This feature is particularly useful for understanding student purchasing behavior and identifying your most popular courses.
While Thinkific may not offer as extensive financial analytics as Kajabi, it provides essential insights into student engagement and course performance, which are crucial for refining your marketing strategies and enhancing the overall student experience.
So, which one can be considered better in this regard totally depends on your business goals and requirements.
ix. Pricing Plans Comparison
The pricing structure of your chosen course platform is a critical factor, directly impacting the cost and potential profit of your courses. Let’s compare the pricing models of Thinkific and Kajabi to see how they align with your budget and business needs.
Thinkific offers four distinct plans, catering to a range of needs from beginners to more established course creators. Each plan is designed to scale with the growth of your online education business, providing flexibility and options to suit different stages of your journey.
On the other side, Kajabi presents three pricing plans. These plans are structured to accommodate various levels of course creation and marketing needs, from basic setups to more advanced, feature-rich requirements.
As you can see, Kajabi is very expensive due to offering so many extensive marketing features along with course creation and selling. Thinkific is cost-effective for it comparatively, but it may get more costly as you add up more marketing tools to your course promotional strategy.
The Better Solution For Course Selling – A Third Option To Explore
As you saw, in the comparison of Thinkific vs Kajabi, they both have their unique advantages. But if you are looking for something that can give you the best of both of these tools? Then you should look into a third option – Hosting the course site on WordPress using WPFunnels & TutorLMS.
Is WPFunnels & TutorLMS A Better Solution?
While Thinkific and Kajabi are powerful platforms, WPFunnels and TutorLMS bring together the best of both worlds, offering a comprehensive solution for your course creation and marketing needs.
WPFunnels lets you create customized sales funnels, a feature that mirrors Kajabi’s powerful marketing tools. It allows you to design and implement effective sales journeys, guiding potential students through a journey from purchasing an initial course, to purchasing more courses down the line as upsells. TutorLMS, on the other hand, offers a user-friendly course creation experience akin to Thinkific, making it easy for you to develop and manage your courses.
Together, WPFunnels and TutorLMS provide a potent combination. They offer the simplicity and ease of course creation found in Thinkific, while also delivering the advanced marketing and sales funnel capabilities of Kajabi. This makes them an attractive alternative, especially if you’re looking for a solution that balances user-friendliness with advanced marketing strategies.
WPFunnels & TutorLMS Pricing
WPFunnels Pricing:
- Basic: $97/year
- Professional: $147/year
- Agency: $247/year
View WPFunnels Pricing Details
TutorLMS Pricing:
- Individual: $199/year
- Freelancer: $399/year
- Agency: $799/year
Pricing Comparison
| WPFunnels + TutorLMS | Thinkific | Kajabi |
| Starting at $25/month ($296/year, billed annually) | Starts at $36/month ($432/year, billed annually) | Starts at $119/month (1428/year, billed annually) |
WPFunnels and TutorLMS emerge as cost-effective solutions, especially when compared to Thinkific and Kajabi. Their pricing plans are significantly lower, making them accessible to a wider range of users, from individual educators to larger educational institutions.
While offering competitive features similar to Thinkific and Kajabi, WPFunnels and TutorLMS provide a more budget-friendly alternative without compromising on the essential functionalities needed for successful course creation and sales funnel management.
So if you are a startup, or looking for a cost-effective solution to selling courses, moving to WordPress and using these two plugins will prove to deliver high ROI and better scalability for your business.
Thinkific vs Kajabi vs WPFunnels & TutorLMS – Which One Should You Use?
If you’re seeking a platform that’s straightforward and beginner-friendly for course creation, Thinkific is your ideal choice. It simplifies the process, making it accessible for those just starting out.
For a more integrated solution with advanced marketing and sales tools, Kajabi stands out. It’s perfect if you need comprehensive features beyond just course creation, although on the expensive side.
WPFunnels & TutorLMS, however, offer a blend of both tools. They’re great if you want the ease of Thinkific and the marketing depth of Kajabi.
Yet, for small or medium-sized businesses, or if you’re new to this, consider starting with WPFunnels & TutorLMS. They’re more affordable and simpler to use, providing a balanced mix of essential features without overwhelming complexity.
Conclusion
The choice between Thinkific, Kajabi, and WordPress (via WPFunnels & TutorLMS) ultimately rests in your hands, aligning with your unique business goals and needs.
Each platform offers distinct advantages – whether it’s the user-friendly nature of Thinkific, the comprehensive marketing tools of Kajabi, or the balanced approach of WPFunnels & TutorLMS. Reflect on what matters most for your online course journey.
Remember, the right platform is the one that resonates with your vision and empowers you to achieve your goals.
If you want to get an in-depth guide on how WPFunnels and TutorLMS work together, then here is a complete guide:
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What sets Kajabi apart from Thinkific?
Kajabi and Thinkific both offer key eLearning features for successful online businesses but cater to different needs. Thinkific is ideal for newcomers or those on a budget who don’t require advanced email marketing, whereas Kajabi is tailored for experienced course creators looking to scale up with comprehensive marketing tools.
2. Is Kajabi limited to just course creation?
Unlike Thinkific which focuses mainly on course creation, Kajabi serves as a broader business-building platform. It allows you to monetize your expertise not only through courses but also through coaching, digital products, and more, offering a versatile solution for entrepreneurs. Plus, you get to use it’s advanced marketing tools to create sales funnels and email marketing automation flows to sell more courses.
3. Can WPFunnels integrate with other LMS platforms besides TutorLMS?
Yes, WPFunnels is also compatible with LearnDash, having a dedicated addon to create funnels for LearnDash courses.
5. What makes WPFunnels unique in course marketing?
WPFunnels stands out for its focus on creating tailored sales funnels for online courses. You will be able to make order bump offers, use a custom checkout page, make upsell course offers, and many more. This specialization enables course creators to design targeted marketing strategies, leading to increased course sales.
