Kajabi vs LearnDash Comparison 2026
Kajabi bundles landing pages, email, checkout, community and the course itself from one vendor, from $143 a month billed annually or $179 month to month, which comes to at least $1,716 a year. LearnDash is a WordPress plugin instead: $259 a year for one site, no monthly option, with hosting, backups and a payment plugin left as separate costs on top of the licence. Kajabi's price includes everything; LearnDash's price is only the starting point, and the real total depends on what hosting and a cart add.
Courses, funnels and email under one roof
Turn a WordPress site into a course platform
At a glance
- Kajabi starts cheaper, at $143.
- Neither has a free tier.
- LearnDash bills annually only, so there is no month to try it for.
Side by side
Kajabi | LearnDash | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $143 | From $259 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing (they differ) | Monthly or annual | Annual only |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
Kajabi
Courses, funnels and email under one roof
Kajabi is the expensive end of course platforms and sells the reason for it plainly: landing pages, email, checkout, community and the course itself all built by one company, so nothing has to be wired together. Coaches with a working offer tend to stay. Anybody still testing whether the offer works is paying several hundred a month to find out.
Our note
This is the expensive end of the category by a distance, and the money buys one bill and one support line rather than a better course player. Worth it once the offer is proven. An expensive way to find out whether it sells.
Only on this side
- Covers landing pages & funnels
- Covers memberships & subscriptions
LearnDash
Turn a WordPress site into a course platform
LearnDash is the answer for somebody who already has a WordPress site and does not want their course living on somebody else's domain. Lessons, quizzes, drip schedules and certificates all become part of the site you own, and the payment plugin is your choice rather than theirs. Hosting, backups and the security of that site stay your problem. That is the whole trade against a hosted platform.
Why people weigh these two
- LearnDash instead of Kajabi
- LearnDash turns a WordPress site you already run into the course platform from $259, a fit for anybody who does not want to migrate off WordPress the way a Kajabi move would require.
- Kajabi instead of LearnDash
- Kajabi puts courses, funnels and email under one roof from $143, the heavier all in one option.
Which one should you pick
Pick Kajabi when one bill and one support line for the whole funnel is worth paying for, and the offer already sells. At $143 a month billed annually and up, it is the expensive end of the category, and the money buys convenience rather than a better course player specifically.
Pick LearnDash when a WordPress site with its own audience already exists and the course should live on that domain rather than a platform's. The licence is $259 a year at the entry tier, far below Kajabi's annualized cost, but that number is a floor: hosting, backups and a payment plugin are the creator's own problem and add real cost on top.
Common questions
- Which is actually cheaper once everything is added up?
- LearnDash's licence alone, at $259 a year, is far below Kajabi's $1,716 a year at minimum. But LearnDash does not include hosting or a payment plugin, both bought separately, so the full comparison depends on what those cost on top of the licence.
- Does LearnDash offer monthly billing?
- No, it is annual only: $259, $399 or $599 a year with no monthly option printed anywhere. Kajabi bills monthly, from $143 a month billed annually or $179 paying month to month.
- Which one includes hosting?
- Kajabi does, along with landing pages, email and checkout, all from one vendor. LearnDash is a plugin for a WordPress site you already host, so hosting, backups and security remain the creator's responsibility and cost.
- Which is better for someone still testing whether their course sells?
- LearnDash, on price: $259 a year risks far less than Kajabi's $1,716-plus. Kajabi's own listing agrees it is an expensive way to find out whether an offer works, and says it earns its price once that offer is already proven.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.