Kajabi Pros and Cons: Understand These Before Buying

I've been using Kajabi since 2018 to run my online business, and I want to share an honest assessment of what works well and what could be improved. This platform excels at hosting digital products like courses, coaching programs, podcasts, memberships, and newsletters, making it ideal for digital entrepreneurs. However, it's not designed for physical product sales, so you'll need to link out to platforms like Shopify or Amazon for that.

When I switched to Kajabi, I cancelled multiple subscriptions and saved money overall, though the pricing might seem high at first glance. The all-in-one nature means you get website building, email marketing, payment processing, analytics, and CRM tools under one roof. While this saves time learning multiple platforms, those seeking best-in-class tools for specific functions might find dedicated solutions more suitable. The page builder is intuitive and robust, the coaching features include automatic call recording, and the funnel builder makes creating sales sequences straightforward.

Key Takeaways

• Kajabi is an all-in-one platform best suited for digital products and services, not physical product fulfillment
• The integrated payment system, coaching tools, and funnel builder streamline business operations but may lack some specialized features found in dedicated platforms
• Customer support is excellent through live chat and help resources, though response times may vary as the platform grows

Core Functions for Digital Entrepreneurs

Digital Product Offerings Overview

The platform excels at supporting specific business types. If you're selling online courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, communities, newsletters, or digital downloads, this platform could be great for you. It's designed purely for digital products and services businesses.

I use several of these products regularly. The courses, coaching, community, podcast, newsletters, and downloads are all available within the platform. Each product has its own dedicated functionality.

The coaching product is one of my favorites. You can add title, coach's name, coach's email, description, and your own branding. The coaching templates are now available, and you can schedule everything within one tool.

One of the best updates is the Kajabi live recording feature. Any coaching calls automatically upload back into your customer's product. When this coaching product first came out, you had to download the call, compress it, and upload it back into the package manually.

The funnel feature provides a canvas to build out sales funnels and promotional funnels with one click. You can select the funnel blueprint you want and it will build it out for you. You can edit this, reorder pages, and view all your analytics as people opt in, go through training, and check out with your offer.

Service Business Applicability

The platform works well if you are purely a digital products or services business. I saved quite a bit of money when I moved to this platform and canceled all my other subscriptions.

However, there's no fulfillment mechanism within this platform for physical products. You can link out to your Shopify store or Amazon store, but you cannot manage physical product sales directly.

If you're just starting out in your entrepreneurial journey and only need one domain, a landing page, and some social links, this could be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The platform is very powerful, but it may not suit someone looking for just a landing page.

For multiple businesses, you can set up multiple sites under one account. Each site can have its own domains and business settings. The payment settings and site settings are site-specific, which allows you to manage multiple businesses under one account.

Integrated Platform Benefits

All-in-One Toolbox Advantages

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform. When you sign up, you get access to products, sales functionality, marketing elements, analytics, and CRM tools all under one roof.

By having one tool to do all of these things, you save so much time and effort when learning a new platform. You don't need to jump between different systems or learn multiple interfaces.

When I came across to Kajabi, I had to cancel all of my other subscriptions, which was great. The platform handles everything from course creation to email marketing to payment processing in a single dashboard.

The funnel feature is a real big pro for me. You can build out sales funnels and promotional funnels using one click by selecting a funnel blueprint, and it will build it out for you. You can edit this to your heart's content and reorder pages.

Key integrated features include:

• Online courses and coaching
• Podcasts and memberships
• Communities and newsletters
• Digital downloads
• Email marketing
• Landing pages and websites
• Payment processing
• Analytics and reporting

If you have more than one site, you can click on the top left to see multiple sites. You can set up multiple domains and multiple businesses under one account, with site-specific settings for payment and configuration.

The coaching product is super simple with title, coaches name, coaches email, and description options. You can put your own branding on there, use coaching templates, and schedule everything within one tool.

Time and Subscription Savings

I saved quite a bit of money when I came across to Kajabi because I could cancel all of my other subscriptions. I would really encourage you to get a calculator out and have a look at exactly what is included in these pricing packs to see if you're going to be saving money.

The funnel feature saves a lot of time by making things one sequential order. You have a canvas to view all of your analytics as people opt in, go through your training, and check out with the offer you've positioned.

One of the best updates I've seen is Kajabi live recording for coaching calls. You can flick a switch so any coaching calls you have will automatically upload back into your customers product. When this coaching product first came out, you had to download that call, compress it, and then upload it back into the package.

Time-saving benefits:

The page builder is really intuitive. All you need to do is click into each element and then you can edit each element on the left-hand side. You've got all of these different sections and settings where you can add your own favicon, change the style guide, and use design tools.

Kajabi has white labelled Stripe and got all of the payments under one roof. You don't have to go into a third-party payment provider as Kajabi has you covered for a very simple solution.

Pricing Considerations

Comparing Costs and Value

I would really encourage you to get a calculator out and have a look at exactly what is included in these pricing packs. Then see if you're going to be saving money or not if you sign up to Kajabi on any of these platforms.

For me, it's a pro. I saved quite a bit of money when I came across to Kajabi. I had to cancel all of my other subscriptions, which was great.

The pricing includes both monthly and annual versions. When you consider what's included in these pricing packs, you can determine whether the value justifies the cost for your specific needs.

What's Included:

• All-in-one platform functionality
• Multiple products (courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, communities, newsletters, digital downloads)
• Payment processing through Kajabi Payments
• Page builder and funnel tools
• CRM capabilities
• Marketing and analytics features

Payment Processing Fees:

If you choose not to use Kajabi Payments, additional fees apply. If Kajabi payments is available in your area and you are not choosing to use it, then Kajabi does slap you with an additional fee.

• Kickstarter plan: 5% fee if you're not using Kajabi payments
• This excludes PayPal and Kajabi payments
• If you are using a third-party payment provider, then you're going to get slapped these extra fees on top of your current fees using your payment provider

For me, this is a little bit of a cheeky way to try and get people to use Kajabi Payments. If Kajabi payments you see as a pro, this is great. If you want a bit more fidelity in terms of using Stripe, this is probably another one of those cons.

When Affordability May Be a Challenge

If you are just starting out in your entrepreneurial journey and you only need say one domain and a landing page and some signposters, some social links, then this could be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Kajabi is a very powerful platform, but it's probably going to be a con for you if you're just looking for that landing page. The platform is designed for those running digital products or services businesses with multiple offerings and features.

When Kajabi May Not Be the Right Fit:

• You're at the very beginning of your business
• You only need basic landing page functionality
• Your requirements are limited to simple social links and signposting
• You don't need the full suite of features included in the platform

The pricing reflects the robust, all-in-one nature of the platform. This means you're paying for comprehensive functionality even if you only need a fraction of what's available.

Limitations for Physical Product Sellers

I need to be upfront about one significant limitation. If you're selling any type of physical product, Kajabi is probably not for you.

The platform has no fulfillment mechanism built into it. While you can technically link out to your Shopify store or your Amazon store, there's no native support for handling physical product sales within Kajabi itself.

Kajabi excels at what it does for digital offerings. The platform is designed specifically for:

• Online courses
• Coaching
• Podcasts
• Memberships
• Communities
• Newsletters
• Digital downloads

If you're purely a digital products or services business, this platform could be great for you. But the moment you need to manage inventory, shipping, or fulfillment for physical goods, you'll hit a wall.

This is a fundamental design choice rather than a missing feature. Kajabi has positioned itself as a platform for digital entrepreneurs, and that's where it puts all its development resources.

I've found that if your business model relies on selling physical products, you're better off looking at platforms that were built specifically for that purpose. You could theoretically use Kajabi for your digital offerings while maintaining a separate platform for physical products, but that defeats the purpose of an all-in-one solution.

Website and Page Building Experience

Intuitive Editing and Design Tools

The page builder is really intuitive. All you need to do is click into each element and then you can edit each element down on the left-hand side.

You've got all of these different sections and you've got all the settings where you can add your own favicon, change the style guide. The design tools are here to help you.

It's a really robust landing page or page builder. It served me well in terms of building out my entire platform using this Kajabi page builder.

I have used quite a number of different page builders. This is one of the only cons with the page builder, but it is pretty robust.

Drag-and-Drop Flexibility Shortfalls

Some page builders are actually a little bit better in terms of usability. If I click this image of me on the right, I could just move it over to the left-hand side.

In Kajabi, you can't do that drag and drop. This is probably one of the only cons with the page builder.

Managing Payments Within the Platform

Kajabi Payments Versus Stripe

Kajabi has white-labelled Stripe and organized all payments under one roof. You don't have to go into a third-party payment provider because Kajabi has you covered.

If you want a very simple solution, this is a benefit. However, if you want more fidelity in terms of what you can use the payment system for, it's important to note that this is a white label of Stripe.

If you want all the bells and whistles that Stripe offers, I would probably suggest using Stripe directly instead of Kajabi Payments.

Third-Party Fees and Restrictions

Kajabi adds an additional fee if you choose not to use Kajabi Payments. This fee applies when Kajabi Payments is available in your country but you opt not to use it.

The fee structure works as follows:

• Kickstarter plan: 5% fee on transactions
• Fee exclusions: PayPal and Kajabi Payments
• When fees apply: Using a third-party payment provider

If you use a third-party payment provider, you'll get these extra fees on top of your current fees from your payment provider. For me, this is a bit of a cheeky way to try and get people to use Kajabi Payments.

If you see Kajabi Payments as beneficial, this works well. If you want more fidelity in terms of using Stripe directly, this fee structure is another consideration to keep in mind.

Coaching and Client Engagement Tools

Scheduling and Session Features

The coaching feature is one of my favorite products within the platform. The setup is straightforward with fields for title, coach name, coach email, description, and branding options.

Coaching templates are now available to streamline the setup process. You can schedule everything within one tool without needing external applications.

The coaching product includes these key elements:

• Title and description fields for session details
• Coach information including name and email
• Custom branding options
• Template library for quick setup
• Built-in scheduling functionality

I use the coaching package extensively. It consolidates session management in one place.

Live Recording Capabilities

The Kajabi live recording feature represents a significant update. You can flick a switch to enable automatic recording of coaching calls.

Key benefit: Any coaching calls you conduct will automatically upload back into your customer's product library. This eliminates manual workflow steps.

When this coaching product first launched, this capability didn't exist. I had to download each call, compress the file, and manually upload it back into the package. The automatic upload saves considerable time.

The platform offers the Kajabi built-in video system for these recordings. However, there's a limitation with the picture-in-picture functionality. When you share your screen during a session, you lose the picture-in-picture mode. This means you can't see your client anymore within the video frame while sharing your screen.

Funnel Creation and Performance Tracking

Automated Blueprint Usage

The funnel feature provides a canvas where I can build out sales funnels and promotional funnels with one click. I can select the funnel blueprint I want and it will build it out automatically.

I can edit the funnel to my heart's content and reorder pages as needed. The tool provides one sequential order that makes it easy to view analytics as people opt in, go through live training or recorded training, and then check out with the positioned offer.

This feature saves me a significant amount of time by keeping everything in one organized sequence.

Checkout Options and Analytics Gaps

I can only link one checkout within a funnel. If I had a couple of options to purchase, such as a monthly or an annual plan, I can't link another offer within my funnel.

I have to set up multiple purchase options outside of the funnel. When people land on the sales page, they still see two options to purchase monthly or annually.

Only one of these options will show up in the analytics when I'm reviewing the funnel performance. This limitation affects my ability to track complete conversion data for all checkout variations within the funnel interface.

Multi-Site Management and Account Settings

Configuring Multiple Domains

If you're lucky enough to have more than one site, you can click on the top left to see multiple sites. You can click into manage sites, and then within your settings, you can edit or manage your settings for payment settings and site settings.

This is going to be site specific. If you think about the multiple websites you could have, this is all site specific. You can set up multiple domains and multiple businesses under one account.

When you scroll down to account settings, you can access subscription and billing. You can also access account details, which is all accountwide. Remember, one account could have multiple sites.

Notification and Privacy Controls

When you go to notifications and privacy, this is accountwide. If I wanted to give someone the reigns with one of my other sites or one of my other businesses, I can't select individual notifications per site.

Everyone has to select the individual notifications accountwide. What I would prefer is if Kajabi had this at the site level. Then you can give everyone owning that business or that site all the notifications to do with that specific site.

Support and Customer Service Experience

Help Center and Live Chat

In any Kajabi account, you can click on the bottom left to contact support. They have a great help center where you can pop it out and search for whatever you're having trouble finding. You can also contact support by emailing them directly.

One of the best things about Kajabi is their live chat support. I can click on that and reach out to chat support, where I have the option to ask to speak to a human or get AI support.

This is some of the best support I have seen on any of these software platforms. It's a really big pro for me.

Response Times and Platform Growth

As Kajabi is doing so well and building out new features while growing as a company, sometimes the chat support to a real human being might take a little bit longer than I would like. This is the only small con I've noticed with their support system.

Getting Started and Exclusive Offers

If you're looking to use the Kajabi platform to start or grow your online business, I'm going to walk through what you need to know after having used this platform since 2018.

To kick things off, you can head over to kajabi.com. The first thing to understand is what this platform does well.

If you click on the products dropdown, you'll see Kajabi excels at selling online courses, coaching, podcasts, memberships, communities, newsletters, and digital downloads. If you are purely a digital products or services business, then this platform could be great for you.

What this platform is not for: If you're selling any type of physical product, there's no fulfillment mechanism within this platform. You can link out to your Shopify store or your Amazon store, but Kajabi won't handle physical product fulfillment.

When it comes to pricing, some people will look at the pricing and say that's a little bit much. You've got the monthly and the annual version. I would really encourage you to get a calculator out and have a look at exactly what is included in these pricing packs, then see if you're going to be saving money or not.

For me, I saved quite a bit of money when I came across to Kajabi. I had to cancel all of my other subscriptions, which was great.

However, if you are just starting out in your entrepreneurial journey and you only need one domain and a landing page and some signposters or some social links, then this could be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Kajabi is a very powerful platform, but it's probably not the right fit if you're just looking for that landing page.

If you scroll down on the pricing page, you'll see that if Kajabi Payments is available in your area and you're not choosing to use it, then Kajabi does slap you with an additional fee. On the Kickstarter plan, there's a 5% fee if you're not using Kajabi payments (this excludes PayPal and Kajabi payments).

If you are using a third-party payment provider, you're going to get slapped with these extra fees on top of your current fees using your payment provider. For me, this is a little bit of a cheeky way to try and get people to use Kajabi Payments.