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With so many online course platforms out there today, you probably feel overwhelmed by the decision over which one you should use.
Maybe you researched competitors and thought to yourself, "Well, platform A has feature X but not feature Y, and platform B has feature Y but not feature X..."
In frustration, you pull at your hair, feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Sound familiar?
We want to help ease your decision and also clarify some of the real differences… because to find out which platform works for you, you need to look at more than just a comparison sheet.
You need to understand how those features work together and how they'll fit your business needs.
So today, we're going to look at a comparison between two all-in-one online course platforms, Kajabi, and Thinkific so that you can make a better, more informed decision for which platform to use. If you're also weighing Teachable, our Kajabi vs Teachable comparison covers that matchup in the same depth.
The course builder
Thinkific's course builder is clean, drag-and-drop, and purpose-built. It handles video hosting, multimedia lessons, assignments, and completion certificates well. If all you need is a course delivery tool, Thinkific does it.
Kajabi's course builder is equally capable. Video lessons, drip content by date or enrollment, clickable video chapters, quizzes, and a unified media library. Plus course drip by specific calendar date (not just "7 days after enrollment"), which matters for cohort-based programs. And built-in analytics show you exactly where students engage, drop off, and complete, so you can improve your course without guessing.
Call this one close, with Kajabi edging ahead on insights.
Website builder and templates
Kajabi preloads every account with the Premier template, with several other modern templates to choose from, then lets you customize the whole site with the website builder, including landing pages and opt-in forms, to match your brand.
Thinkific's website builder offers three themes (Vision, Empire, and Vogue), each with three or four style variations, for about a dozen total combinations. It's straightforward, but you're more limited in what marketing elements you can add without separate software.
On the course side, Kajabi also has dedicated templates for mini-courses, standard online courses, and evergreen (drip-released) training, plus a branded mobile app so students can access their course and you can reach your community from anywhere. Thinkific does not have a mobile app at this time.
Bottom line: Thinkific's builder is fine for a quick, no-frills course site. Kajabi gives you more room to build a full brand presence and a mobile experience around the course itself.
Where it gets different: marketing
When a student finishes your course, what happens? When someone visits your sales page and doesn't buy, how do you follow up? When a lead downloads your free resource, how do they get nurtured toward the paid course?
Kajabi includes email marketing, automations, landing pages, funnels, and behavior-based triggers. Your course, your marketing, and your payments share the same data. You can build an automation that says "when someone finishes Module 3, send them an upsell email for the advanced course" ... all inside Kajabi.
Thinkific's marketing tools are more limited. You'll likely need an external email platform (Kit, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) and possibly a separate landing page builder. The tools work, but they don't share data natively. Setting up the "finished Module 3 → send upsell" automation requires an integration (usually Zapier) between Thinkific and your email tool.
Payments and revenue optimization
Kajabi includes native upsells, order bumps, payment plans, subscriptions, and affiliate tools. You can also build multiple membership tiers with different access levels and layer in cross-sells alongside upsells and order bumps to increase what each customer spends. The checkout is built to maximize revenue per customer, not just process a transaction.
Thinkific handles basic payments and has added order bumps on higher-tier plans. But features like automated upsell sequences, sophisticated affiliate management, and built-in revenue analytics require Thinkific Plus (enterprise pricing) or external tools. Where Thinkific does hold its own is international sales: it integrates with e-commerce tools like Shopify and supports well over 100 currencies out of the box.
For a course creator who wants to build a real business (not just sell one course), the revenue tools around the course matter as much as the course itself.
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Customization and branding
Kajabi's page builder lets you customize section layouts, add new blocks, and adjust padding, animations, and desktop vs. mobile visibility, so your site can look genuinely different from the next Kajabi site.
Thinkific's themes are clean and easy to use, but customization stays within predefined layouts. If you're comfortable with code, Thinkific does allow theme code editing for deeper changes.
Bottom line: Kajabi gives you more flexibility without touching code. Thinkific's deeper customization is there, but it's a developer-level option, not a drag-and-drop one.
The AI factor
Kajabi includes Cofounder, which helps course creators decide what to teach, structure their curriculum, write sales copy, set pricing, and plan their launch. It can see what you've already built on the platform and give recommendations based on your actual business, not generic templates.
Thinkific has added AI features for content generation, but they're focused on lesson creation rather than business strategy.
Learning experience
Thinkific has real strengths here: randomized question banks and bulk quiz question import, useful if you're building serious assessments at scale.
Kajabi leans into engagement outside the lesson itself: live video sessions, coaching programs, and community challenges that keep students connected to more than just the next module.
Bottom line: If assessment depth is your priority, Thinkific has dedicated tools for it. If keeping students engaged around the course matters more, Kajabi's community and live features add more of that.
Integrations and support
Kajabi offers native integrations with tools like MailChimp, Drip, and ConvertKit on top of everything already built in. Thinkific leans harder on integrations generally, connecting with a wide range of marketing tools since less comes built in.
For support, Kajabi offers 24-hour chat, plus Kajabi University for tutorials on creating, marketing, and selling your course. Thinkific offers support through email and phone, along with its own training site for new users. Both platforms also have community help forums.
Bottom line: Kajabi's support is more hands-on and available around the clock. Thinkific covers the basics on a narrower set of channels.
Security
Both platforms use SSL encryption and protect your content from unauthorized access. Kajabi adds two-factor authentication and GDPR compliance on top of that baseline. Thinkific lacks built-in two-factor authentication, but does protect against unauthorized downloads of course materials and restricts access to enrolled students only.
Bottom line: Both platforms cover the fundamentals. Kajabi's two-factor authentication is the extra layer if account-level security is a priority for you.
Pricing
Thinkific's Basic plan starts at $40/mo billed annually ($54/mo billed monthly), and covers unlimited courses, one community, and up to five digital downloads, with no platform transaction fees on any plan. Its Start plan ($82/mo annually, $110/mo monthly, Thinkific's "Most Popular" tier) adds live cohorts, certificates, and memberships. Grow ($164/mo annually, $219/mo monthly) removes Thinkific branding and unlocks a third community plus API access.
Kajabi's Basic plan starts at $179/mo ($143/mo billed annually), and includes 2,500 contacts, 5 products, a full website, one community, email marketing, funnels, and payments, with no platform transaction fee.
Bottom line: On sticker price alone, Thinkific's entry tier is cheaper. But Thinkific's Basic plan caps you at 5 digital downloads and doesn't include email marketing, funnels, or landing pages. Match Kajabi's included toolset and you're really comparing Kajabi Basic to Thinkific's Grow tier ($164 to $219/mo), plus whatever email and funnel tools you still need to bolt on. Kajabi folds all of that into one plan and one price.
Scaling beyond one course
This is the real question. If you plan to have one course forever, both platforms work fine.
If you plan to add coaching, community, memberships, podcasts, or digital downloads alongside your courses, Kajabi handles all of those natively. Thinkific is primarily a course platform, and expanding beyond courses means adding external tools.
Frequently asked questions
What's the main difference between Kajabi and Thinkific?
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for creating and marketing your course business: website, email, funnels, community, and payments all included. Thinkific is more focused on course creation itself, with marketing and automation handled through third-party integrations.
Can I build a fully customized website on Thinkific?
Thinkific's website builder covers the basics with limited customization. For more advanced design, you'd need external tools or theme code editing.
Is Kajabi or Thinkific better for community building?
Kajabi includes built-in community tools like discussion boards, live events, and group challenges. Thinkific's community features are more basic by comparison.
For a full feature comparison, see our Kajabi vs Thinkific breakdown.
Still researching?
Check out our other platform comparisons:
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