Achene vs Kajabi
There’s a better home for your online courses.
An all-in-one platform that raised its prices across every plan in January 2026 and limits its entry plan to 5 products and 2,500 contacts.
Get early access to AcheneKey differences
- $14/mo
- Entry price for a full course platform
- vs $179/mo for Kajabi Basic ($143/mo billed annually)
- Unlimited
- Courses you can publish on Achene
- vs 5 products on Kajabi Basic
- Unlimited
- Students you can reach by email
- vs 2,500 contacts on Kajabi Basic
Feature by feature
How Achene and Kajabi stack up on the things that matter most to independent educators.
| Feature | Achene | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $14/month | $179/month ($143/month billed annually) |
| Course (product) limit | Unlimited on all tiers | 5 (Basic) · 50 (Growth) · Unlimited (Pro) |
| Email contact limit | No limit | 2,500 (Basic) · 25,000 (Growth) · 100,000 (Pro); more in blocks of 25,000 for $125/month |
| Commission on sales | 0% on all tiers | No revenue share. Kajabi Payments costs 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic; other processors add 2% |
| Email marketing | Included on all tiers | Included on all tiers |
| Community | Global + per-course forums | 1 community on Basic and Growth, 3 on Pro |
| Video transcription | Free on every plan | Included on every plan |
| Automations and workflows | Workflows and broadcasts on every plan | Advanced automations start on the Growth plan |
| Custom domain | All paid plans | All paid plans |
| Annual lock-in | None, month-to-month | 20% discount incentivises annual |
Prices and features checked on . Plans change, so confirm on Kajabi’s own pages before you decide. Sources:
Included on every plan
Everything you get with Achene.
Beyond the headline price, every Achene plan includes a built-in CRM with automations, live classes, community and a leaderboard, so you never pay extra to unlock a feature as you grow.
Get paid
Keep every penny, paid straight to your Stripe account.
- 0% commission on student payments
- Free, one-time and subscription courses, with free trials and bundles
- No payout holds and no annual lock-in
Build your courses
Everything to author, schedule and share your lessons.
- Rich lessons with video, audio and files
- Drip release, free preview lessons and recording in your browser
- A media library and automatic transcripts
Teach live
Classes and events inside your own site.
- Live video classes with your students
- RSVPs, reminders and calendar links
- Recordings saved to your library
Community
A place for students to talk, with the tools to keep it healthy.
- A forum for your whole academy and one for each course
- Points, levels and a leaderboard you can switch on or off
- Pin, lock and moderate, with reply notifications by email
Students and email
Know your students, then reach the right ones.
- Every student becomes a contact, with tags and saved segments
- Broadcasts, branded templates and automations
- Your own sending domain, GDPR tools and one-click unsubscribe
Your brand
Your name on everything, and a great day for your students.
- Your own domain, logo and colours
- Notes pinned to video moments, bookmarks and resume where you left off
- Passwordless sign-in and eight interface languages
Pricing, side by side
All prices in USD. No commission on student payments on any Achene tier.
Kajabi plans
Basic
$179/mo- Up to 5 courses
- Unlimited students
- Email marketing: Included
- Community: Included
- Custom domain: Included
Growth
$249/mo- Up to 50 courses
- Unlimited students
- Email marketing: Included
- Community: Included
- Custom domain: Included
Pro
$499/mo- Unlimited students
- Unlimited courses
- Email marketing: Included
- Community: Included
- Custom domain: Included
Achene plans
Seed
$14/mo- 0% commission on all sales
- Unlimited courses, unlimited students
- 100 GB video storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 2,000 emails/mo
- Live classes: 1,000 minutes/month included
- Community forums: Included
- Email broadcasts: Included
- Custom domain: Included
Taking RootMost popular
$70/mo- 0% commission on all sales
- Unlimited courses, unlimited students
- 500 GB video storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 10,000 emails/mo
- Live classes: 5,000 minutes/month included
- Community forums: Included
- Email broadcasts: Included
- Custom domain: Included
Thriving
$140/mo- 0% commission on all sales
- Unlimited courses, unlimited students
- 1 TB video storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- 20,000 emails/mo
- Live classes: 10,000 minutes/month included
- Community forums: Included
- Email broadcasts: Included
- Custom domain: Included
See what you’d save
Enter your current plan and revenue to see your estimated annual saving with Achene.
Currency
Your estimated annual savings
Kajabi annually
$2,148
Achene annually
$840
0% commission
You save
$1,308
Estimates only. Kajabi prices are quoted in USD and converted at the same rates as Achene’s price list (£1 ≈ $1.40 ≈ €1.30). Does not include standard Stripe processing fees (2.9% + $0.30), which apply to all platforms.
Why educators move away from Kajabi
Kajabi raised its prices on every plan in January 2026.
Kajabi Basic counts every email contact, not just paying students. Past 2,500 means Growth at $249/month, or blocks of 25,000 contacts at $125 a month.
The Basic plan allows 5 products. A sixth course means $249/month Growth, even if 5 products is the only limit you hit.
Affiliate programs, cohort courses, advanced automations and webhooks all start on the $249/month Growth plan.
The $179/month headline is the monthly price. The $143/month on the pricing page needs annual billing.
Kajabi Payments costs 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, and using another processor where Kajabi Payments is offered adds a 2% fee.
Switching from Kajabi
- Export your student list from Kajabi.
- Import it into Achene as a CSV. Every student becomes a contact you can tag and segment.
- Rebuild your courses in the lesson builder. Video hosting is included on every plan.
- Connect your Stripe account, so payments go straight to you at 0% commission.
- Point your own domain at your school, then email your students to say you have moved from Kajabi.
Your next chapter starts here
Your teaching.
Your people.
Your proper home.
Claim your founding spot and help shape what comes next. We’ll be in touch with launch news, not a checkout page.
Built for teachers, not shareholders.