15. 10 Things I Hate About Kajabi (And Why You Might Want To Consider an Alternative)

If you’ve been in the online business world for more than a minute, you’ve probably heard of Kajabi. It’s praised as the ultimate all-in-one platform for coaches, course creators, and digital entrepreneurs. Your mentors use it. Influencers swear by it. There’s even a whole convention dedicated to it.

But here’s the deal: I think Kajabi kinda sucks.

Yep, I said it. And before the Kajabi stans come for me, know this—if it works for you, amazing. But if you’re on the fence or have found yourself Googling “Kajabi alternatives” in frustration, I’m here to validate that gut feeling.

As someone who’s tested just about every tool out there, I’m here to help you make smart, strategic tech choices based on what actually works—not hype, not affiliate incentives, and certainly not convention buzz.

So let’s talk about why you might want to consider Kajabi alternatives—and what to watch out for if you’re still thinking of jumping in.

Looking for Kajabi Alternatives? Here’s What to Know First

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Kajabi’s {insane} pricing structure:

• Crazy-low limits: The Basic plan gives you one product. Yes, ONE. And the next tier up, for an additional $40/month or so, only gives you three. If you sell multiple offers, you’ll be pushed to upgrade—fast.
  

• High monthly fees: You’re paying premium prices, which would be just fine if it truly were a one-and-done. But you'll likely still need other tools to fill in the gaps (like for quizzes, funnel testing or deadlines, or even decent email automations).
  

• Affiliate incentives: Kajabi pays affiliates 30% recurring commission—for life. That’s around $40/month for every person who signs up. So yeah, when big names hype it up, that might be a factor 🤷‍♀️

  
  

Now, as an affiliate myself for other products, I too hype things up. But I also tell you where they fall flat (lookin' at you, ClickUp bugs!). So if you want a no-holds-barred kind of opinion, I'm your girl.

Everything Starts to Look the Same

If you’ve ever signed up for a Kajabi course, you know what I’m talking about. The course layout is identical no matter what you bought. Maybe they switch up the button colors, but you've got a video in the center, a playlist to the right, and text down below.

Want to put the text above the video? Or remove the player? Yeah, too bad.

And the checkout page gives you the "wild creative freedom" to give a description, add an image and/or testimonials, customize your banner image and... that's about it. You can't change the layout, heck you can't even change the background color without some CSS (and that coding is applied to ALL your checkout pages. You also can’t offer multiple payment options on one checkout page without creating separate links.

Kajabi’s “Advanced Automations” Are Laughably Basic

You’d think an all-in-one platform would shine when it comes to workflows and email funnels, right? Nope.

• You can’t create conditional automations

  
  

• You can’t easily remove someone from a sales sequence if they’ve already bought

  
  

• You can't add dynamic content (like specializing sections or text based on customer profiles)
  

• You can't effectively use Zapier to add people to your list from other platforms (say a quiz software tool) because Kajabi has locked down the available zap options.

  
  

Even worse? Most of these "advanced" features are locked behind the “Growth” tier. Which means… yep, more money (we're talking $160/month IF you pay annually for access to features that quite honestly should be standard.

The Data Is Sketchy and A/B Testing Is MIA

One of my clients was shown to have 200+ site visitors in a day on Kajabi. But Hotjar said 14. We weren’t running ads. We weren’t going viral. And her business is brand new. So… which number is lying? The only reason that number would be so high on Kajabi would be if it is counting visits to the page from the page owner or to the editing tools, since that's where we were spending our time. And honestly, who cares how many times I visit my own site? That's not usable data—I'm looking for how often other people visit it!

And speaking of using data, A/B testing can help you optimize a page or an email because it lets you test two versions of something and see which one converts better. I may have misspoken in the podcast, because Kajabi DOES let you A/B test emails and landing pages, but not website pages or checkout pages, both of which are meant to drive conversions and therefore could benefit from this extra bit of optimization data.

You’ll Still Need Other Tools (So Why Not Just Choose Better Ones?)

Kajabi sells itself as a “replace everything” platform. But if you want:

• To offer quiz lead magnets and deliver result-specific email funnels

• Countdown timers that expire and redirect

• Media libraries that aren’t a hot mess

• Templates that don’t require a PhD in coding to tweak
  

...you’re going to need (several) third-party tools. And probably some aspirin.

So let me ask you this—if you’re going to pay for extras anyway, wouldn’t it make more sense to choose tools that do each job better?

Thrive in 5: Where Do You Fall on the Customization vs. Convenience Scale?

Kajabi banks its value on convenience. Everything’s in one place (and I use "everything" with a heavy dose of sarcasm), and that’s great—until you want things to work your way.

So take five minutes and ask yourself:

• Do I care more about ease and simplicity—even if it means giving up flexibility?

• Or do I want full control over how my business looks, runs, and grows—even if it means stitching a few tools together?
  

There’s no wrong answer here. But knowing where you fall on that spectrum will help you make smarter tech decisions—Kajabi or not.

Final Thoughts (And Your Next Best Move)

Kajabi isn’t evil. And it’s not useless. But it’s also not the magical unicorn platform it’s hyped up to be. If you’re looking for something that offers real control, customization, and strategic growth potential—it’s time to explore Kajabi alternatives.

👉 Want help figuring out which tools are actually worth your time, money, and sanity? I’ve tried almost all of them, and I’m happy to give you the no-BS breakdown (minus the affiliate pitch).

Let’s get you set up with the right tech for your business. Click here to book a free call with me and we can chat about what's best for you and your business.