Kajabi or LearnDash: which should you choose?
Both run good courses. They just ask you to give up different things.
Danica LouweUpdated 5 min readChoose Kajabi if you want courses, email, a website and checkout in one place, and you’d rather not manage hosting. It starts at $143 a month billed yearly. Choose LearnDash if you want to own your site and customise it, and you’re comfortable looking after WordPress. It’s $350 a year plus hosting, and extras can add up.
One is a service you rent. The other is software you run.
We’ve used both, and there’s nothing wrong with either. Prices were checked on 6 November 2026, and server and domain costs come from our cost guide.
What Kajabi is
An all-in-one hosted platform. Courses, landing pages, email, community and checkout come with the subscription, with no plugins to manage. You log in, configure and build.
What LearnDash is
A plugin that adds courses to your WordPress site. You host it, so you have the files and the database, and you can change almost anything. You also look after security and updates.
What Kajabi costs
Basic is $179 a month, or $143 billed yearly, with 2,500 contacts. Growth is $249 or $199, with 25,000. Pro is $499 or $399, with 100,000. Kajabi takes no revenue share, though card processing fees still apply.
What LearnDash costs
The licence is $350 a year for one site. With your own server and a domain, that’s about $91 a month, or about $65 on managed hosting. Hetzner’s page showed the server we priced as unavailable, so confirm it’s in stock. Email, a community and page builders are extra if you need them.
Where each one limits you
On Kajabi, you’re working within what the platform provides, and cancelling closes the site. On LearnDash, your limits are time, skill and server power.
Answer these honestly.
You’re mostly deciding between control and convenience, and these questions tell you which you value more.
- Do you already run your business on WordPress?
- Will you need a layout or a flow that a template can’t do?
- Who will handle hosting, updates and backups? If it’s you, do you want to?
- How large will your contact list be in two years?
- Do you need email, checkout and a community on day one?
- How much would it matter if you had to leave the platform?
Choose by what you want to spend your time on.
In our view you can’t go far wrong, as long as you choose for the business you actually have.
- 1
Choose Kajabi for simplicity
You want everything in one place, don’t want to deal with hosting or plugins, and you’re happy with what the platform provides. It’s a good fit for a solo business that wants to launch quickly.
- 2
Choose LearnDash for control
You want full ownership and custom layouts or flows, or you already use WordPress. It suits educators, coaches and businesses planning to grow, if you don’t mind managing plugins or have a developer.
- 3
Price both over three years
Use the same features on both sides, including email and community. Use renewal prices, and your expected list size rather than today’s.
- 4
Try it before you commit
Kajabi has a 14-day free trial. For LearnDash, set up a test site. Build one course and one purchase in whichever you’re leaning towards.
- 5
Keep your data portable
Whichever you choose, keep your contacts and course materials somewhere you can get to, so a future move is a project rather than an emergency.
The technical version, for your developer
Details that come up once you start building on LearnDash.
- Payments. LearnDash has Stripe and PayPal built in. When a client needs a specific checkout flow, we usually use WooCommerce instead.
- Protecting pages. LearnDash groups can control access, and the [ld_group] shortcode can show content only to group members. Check this before adding a separate membership plugin.
- Community. BuddyBoss is what we usually pair with it, from $199 for the first year and then $399. Our free MemBuild Community plugin is another option.
- Plugin count. If the site is slow, review the plugin list. Once you’re past 10 to 20, check whether you still need each one, because each uses server resources.
- Kajabi’s contact limits. Over the plan’s limit, Kajabi adds blocks of 25,000 contacts for $125 a month, or you can move up a plan.
How owners describe it
“I’m trying to decide on a software like GHL, Kajabi, Kartra etc where I can have everything for my business in one place like funnels, calendars, courses, communities etc..”
Watch it done
Both platforms, side by side, from someone who has built on them. Recorded in October 2025: Kajabi’s plans and LearnDash’s price have both changed, so use this page for current numbers.
Questions owners ask
Which is cheaper?
It depends on what you’d add. LearnDash and hosting can cost less than Kajabi Basic, but Kajabi’s price already includes email, a website, checkout and a community. Add those to LearnDash, and it may no longer be cheaper. Price both with the same list of features.
What happens if I stop paying?
On Kajabi, your site goes away when you cancel, though you can export contacts. With LearnDash, LearnDash says courses keep working with an expired licence, but you lose updates and security fixes, and you still need hosting.
Do I need a developer for LearnDash?
Not to start. Its documentation is written with non-technical users in mind, and there are many tutorials. You do need to spend time learning it, or have someone to help with hosting, updates and security.
Does LearnDash need lots of other plugins?
Not always. It has its own checkout and course protection, so check those before adding a membership plugin. Our builds often add BuddyBoss, Elementor and WooCommerce, but each plugin adds work for your server, so keep only what you use.
Can I move from Kajabi to LearnDash later?
Yes, but it’s a rebuild. Contacts export, while pages, automations and lesson-level progress don’t come across cleanly. Our Kajabi to WordPress guide covers what to expect.
