Kajabi vs Teachable vs Thinkific vs Podia: 2026 Pricing

Thinkific, Teachable, Kajabi, and Podia all changed their pricing in 2025 and 2026. Thinkific starts at $40 a month, Teachable at $39, Kajabi at $179, and Podia at $42, but the entry price is not the real cost once transaction fees and included features are counted. Below is every current plan, side by side, current to mid August 2026.

What does each platform cost at the entry tier?

• Thinkific Basic. $40 a month billed annually ($50 monthly). Unlimited courses, a custom domain, affiliate tools, and Zapier email integrations. 0 percent transaction fees on every plan, including this one.
• Teachable Starter. $39 a month billed monthly, $29 annually. Carries a 7.5 percent transaction fee, the highest entry level fee of the four platforms.
• Kajabi Basic. $179 a month, or $143 billed annually. No transaction fees. Bundles email marketing, a funnel builder, and website hosting, which the other three platforms do not include at the entry tier.
• Podia Mover. $42 a month billed annually. Carries a 5 percent transaction fee on this tier only.

What does each platform cost at the mid tier?

• Thinkific Start. $82 a month billed annually. Adds payment plans, subscriptions, completion certificates, live lessons through Zoom, and priority phone support.
• Teachable Builder. $89 a month billed monthly, $69 annually. Drops the transaction fee to 0 percent, which makes it cheaper than Starter for any course selling more than roughly $650 to $800 a month.
• Kajabi Growth. $249 a month, or $199 billed annually. Raises the product limit to 50 and the contact limit to 25,000, and adds advanced automations and an affiliate program.
• Podia Shaker. $84 a month billed annually. Drops the transaction fee to 0 percent.

What does each platform cost at the top tier?

• Thinkific Grow. $164 a month billed annually. Adds advanced analytics, bulk student tools, API access, and removes Thinkific branding.
• Teachable Growth. $189 a month billed monthly, $139 annually. 0 percent transaction fees.
• Kajabi Pro. $499 a month, or $399 billed annually. Unlimited products, up to 100,000 contacts, up to 3 separate sites, and API access included rather than as an add on.
• Podia Earthquaker. $150 a month billed annually. 0 percent transaction fees, the platform's full feature set.

Which platform actually costs less once transaction fees are counted?

Sticker price and real price diverge fastest at the entry tier. Teachable Starter's 7.5 percent fee means a course doing $5,000 a month in sales pays $375 in fees on top of the $39 plan, more than the plan itself. Thinkific charges 0 percent on every plan, including Basic, which makes its $40 entry price the cheapest real cost for a low volume creator, not just the cheapest sticker price.

Kajabi and Podia's higher tiers both drop to 0 percent, so the comparison only matters at the bottom of each platform's pricing ladder. Once a creator is past a few thousand dollars a month in sales, the plan tier matters more than the platform choice.

What does Kajabi include that the others charge extra for?

Kajabi is the only one of the four built as an all in one platform rather than a course host. Its plans include a page and funnel builder, email marketing with automations, and website hosting, all of which Thinkific, Teachable, and Podia either omit or offer in a limited form. A creator paying separately for a course platform plus an email tool plus a funnel builder can land near Kajabi's $179 a month anyway once those are added up, which is the actual comparison worth running before assuming Kajabi is the expensive option.

Key takeaways

• Thinkific starts at $40 a month with 0 percent transaction fees on every plan, the cheapest real cost for a creator doing under a few thousand dollars a month in sales.
• Teachable Starter carries a 7.5 percent transaction fee. Its $89 Builder plan drops that to 0 percent and pays for itself past roughly $650 to $800 a month in sales.
• Kajabi starts at $179 a month but bundles email marketing, funnels, and hosting that the other three platforms charge for separately or omit.
• Podia's entry Mover plan carries a 5 percent fee; Shaker at $84 a month drops it to 0 percent.
• All figures above are current to mid August 2026. Course platforms change pricing roughly once a year, so recheck before committing to an annual plan.

Frequently asked questions

Which course platform is cheapest overall?

Thinkific Basic at $40 a month with 0 percent transaction fees is the cheapest real cost for a creator selling under a few thousand dollars a month. Teachable's $39 Starter plan looks cheaper on the sticker price but its 7.5 percent fee usually makes it more expensive in practice.

Do these platforms charge setup fees?

None of the four charge a setup fee on their standard plans. Kajabi's optional Access add on, roughly $100 a month on top of any plan, includes strategy sessions and is the closest thing to a setup charge among the four.

Is it cheaper to use a course platform or build my own funnel?

For most course creators, no. Kajabi's $179 a month replaces an email tool, a funnel builder, and hosting that would otherwise cost $150 to $350 a month combined. A custom build only wins once you need something none of the four platforms offer.

Where this fits with the rest of your launch

Platform cost is one line in a much bigger launch budget. Course launch agency cost in 2026 breaks down what the marketing system around the course, the emails, the sales page, and the promo video, actually costs on top of whichever platform you pick.

Once the platform is chosen, the course launch email sequence template covers exactly what to send and when, and preselling a cohort before it exists is worth reading first if you have not validated the course yet.

A platform choice, not a launch strategy

EchoPulse works with coaches and course creators on the systems around whichever platform you choose. The platform is the smallest decision in this budget. What runs on top of it decides whether the launch works.