The comparison tables for Kajabi, Teachable, and Thinkific are everywhere. What's harder to find is the decision logic - when to go with which one, at what stage, for what kind of practice. This guide skips the feature-by-feature checklist and goes straight to the decision tree, grounded in the actual pricing changes these platforms made in 2025 and what they mean for astrology schools, tarot practitioners, and spiritual educators.

All prices as of mid-2026. Kajabi, Teachable, and Thinkific all changed their plans in 2025; verify at kajabi.com, teachable.com, and thinkific.com before committing.

The Price Reality in 2026

Platform	Minimum paid plan	Transaction fee	Email marketing included?
Kajabi Basic	$149/month (annual)	0%	Yes (full suite)
Teachable Starter	$29/month	7.5% on all sales	No
Teachable Builder	$69/month	0%	No
Teachable Growth	$139/month	0%	No
Thinkific Basic	$36/month	0%	No (integrations)
Thinkific Start	$74/month	0%	No

Sources: support.teachable.com/en/articles/11682410-new-teachable-plans-in-june-2025 (June 2025); courseplatformsreview.com/blog/kajabi-pricing/ (2026); ddiy.co/pricing-plan-guide-course-platforms/ (2026); ruzuku.com/learn/articles/kajabi-vs-teachable (2026).

Kajabi removed its $69/month Kickstarter plan in 2025. The floor is now $149/month. That is a significant jump and it changes the calculus for early-stage practitioners.

Teachable added a new Starter plan at $29/month in June 2025, but it carries a 7.5% transaction fee. That fee can cost more than upgrading to Builder depending on your revenue.

The Teachable Fee Trap: When Builder Pays for Itself

Teachable Starter at $29/month looks affordable until you model what 7.5% does to your revenue.

Break-even formula:
- Plan cost difference: Builder $69 - Starter $29 = $40/month more for Builder
- Fee rate on Starter: 7.5% = 0.075
- Revenue at which Builder's fee savings covers its extra cost: $40 / 0.075 = $533/month

At $533/month in course sales, Builder ($69) and Starter ($29 + 7.5% fee) cost exactly the same. Below $533/month, Starter is cheaper. Above $533/month, Builder saves you money.

A practitioner selling a $97 course to 6 students per month ($582 gross) is already past break-even. Six students. Builder pays for itself almost immediately for any practitioner with a functioning course offer.

If you're on Starter and making more than $533/month, upgrade now. Every month you wait on Starter above that threshold, you're paying Teachable more than the Builder plan would cost.

When to Choose Teachable

Teachable is the right choice when:

You want the lowest entry point to validate a course: Starter at $29/month lets you publish one product and see if it sells before committing to anything higher. The 7.5% fee is the cost of that validation. If the course doesn't sell, you've lost $29, not $69.

You're under $533/month in course revenue: Starter is cheaper. Simple math.

You already have a separate email platform: Teachable has no built-in email marketing on any plan. If you're already using Kit or Mailchimp, that's not a loss - you keep what's working and add course delivery on top.

You need to sell up to 5 products: Builder at $69/month covers 5 products. For most practitioners launching a signature course plus a workshop or two, that's sufficient headroom.

Where Teachable falls short: no built-in email marketing, no landing page builder as robust as Kajabi's, and no funnels. You build those elsewhere and connect them.

When to Choose Kajabi

Kajabi Basic at $149/month is not cheap. But it includes email marketing, landing pages, checkout, funnels, community, and unlimited courses - all in one platform, with 0% transaction fees.

The math for switching to Kajabi:

A practitioner on Teachable Builder ($69/month) who also pays Kit Creator ($39/month) for email is spending $108/month combined. Kajabi Basic at $149/month is $41/month more - for a unified platform, stronger funnel-building tools, and zero additional seats for an email list under ~5,000 subscribers.

Kajabi makes sense when:

You're running an established school with consistent revenue: At $1,000+/month in course sales, the $149/month Kajabi baseline represents less than 15% of revenue. The all-in-one workflow efficiency at that scale often justifies it.

You run multi-step funnels: Kajabi's pipeline builder lets you connect lead magnet, email sequence, and checkout without stitching together separate tools. For practitioners running formal launches (live cohorts, masterminds, certification programs), that integration saves hours per launch cycle.

You want to eliminate tool sprawl: If you're managing 5-6 separate tools (email, course delivery, scheduling, landing pages, community), Kajabi consolidates most of them. The $149/month covers ground that would otherwise cost $200-300/month across separate tools.

Kajabi Growth at $199/month and Pro at $399/month are warranted only when you're running multiple practitioners or large affiliate programs. Most solo spiritual educators don't need them.

When to Choose Thinkific

Thinkific's key differentiator is straightforward: 0% transaction fees on all paid plans, starting at $36/month for Basic. It's not as feature-rich as Kajabi and not as instructor-focused as Teachable, but its pricing is transparent and its course delivery is solid.

Thinkific makes sense when:

You want unlimited courses without the Kajabi price: Thinkific Basic at $36/month offers unlimited courses with 0% fees. Teachable limits you to 1 course on Starter and 5 on Builder. For practitioners building a curriculum across multiple modalities (astrology fundamentals, advanced transits, compatibility, annual forecasting), Thinkific's unlimited structure fits better at a lower price point.

You prioritize self-paced course delivery over funnels: Thinkific's course player and student experience are clean. If the primary use case is delivering a structured self-paced course - not running complex launches - Thinkific does that well at the lowest 0%-fee price point.

Thinkific Start at $74/month adds assignments, communities, and more customization. Grow at $149/month brings Thinkific's price to parity with Kajabi Basic - at that point, Kajabi's additional marketing tools make it the stronger choice.

Payment Considerations for Spiritual Course Platforms

All three platforms integrate Stripe as the primary payment processor. Stripe restricts certain esoteric service categories in specific countries and classifies spiritual/psychic services as high-risk in others. A course titled "Advanced Tarot Certification" may attract Stripe's risk review differently than a course titled "Intuitive Card Reading Fundamentals" - the category review is inconsistent, but the risk is documented.

The safer path for spiritual educators: use Payhip as an external checkout linked from your course platform, or NowPayments for crypto acceptance. Both are esoteric-friendly.

For related discussion, see kajabi vs thinkific vs podia and teachable vs podia. For launching your first course, see sell astrology courses online.

Decision Tree

Revenue under $533/month from courses: Teachable Starter ($29/month) to validate. Upgrade to Builder when you cross $533/month.

Revenue over $533/month, need 1-5 products: Teachable Builder ($69/month) + your existing email platform.

Revenue over $1,000/month, want all-in-one: Kajabi Basic ($149/month). Consolidates email, funnels, and courses.

Building a multi-course curriculum, want unlimited courses and lowest 0%-fee entry: Thinkific Basic ($36/month).

Running formal launches with multi-step funnels: Kajabi regardless of revenue stage - the funnel builder justifies the premium.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Teachable 7.5% fee on top of payment processing fees?

Yes. The 7.5% Teachable transaction fee is separate from payment processor fees (Stripe charges ~2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). On Starter, a $100 course sale costs you $7.50 (Teachable) + ~$3.20 (Stripe) = ~$10.70 in total fees, netting you ~$89.30. On Builder ($69/month), the same sale nets you ~$96.80 minus the flat monthly fee.

Did Kajabi really remove its cheaper plan?

Yes. Kajabi's Kickstarter plan at $69/month was available until 2025. It was discontinued. The current minimum is Basic at $149/month (annual billing). Practitioners who were on Kickstarter before the change were grandfathered in as long as they maintained their subscription.

Can I migrate from Teachable to Kajabi later without losing student data?

Migration between course platforms is manageable but requires manual work - exporting student lists, re-enrolling, migrating course content. Most platforms allow CSV export of student data. The content migration (video uploads, quizzes, drip schedules) is the bigger effort. Build on Teachable knowing migration is possible but not seamless.

Does Thinkific have email marketing built in?

No. Thinkific integrates with email platforms (Kit, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) but does not include email marketing natively. You need a separate email platform regardless of which Thinkific plan you're on.

What about Podia or Mighty Networks?

Podia is covered in the Kajabi vs Thinkific vs Podia comparison. Mighty Networks is built around community-first learning rather than course-first delivery - a different model suited to cohort-based programs where peer interaction is as important as the content itself.