Kajabi Pricing 2026: The January Restructure, Hidden Fees, and Cheaper Alternatives

Kajabi raised prices in January 2026 - the first major restructure in nearly a decade. For practitioners who built their course business on Kajabi, the change arrived without grandfathering. If you're evaluating Kajabi now or reconsidering your plan, here is the full fee picture.

New Plan Structure (Annual Billing)

The Basic contact cap dropped from 10,000 to 2,500 - a 75% reduction. A practitioner who had 3,000 email subscribers on Basic now has to upgrade to Growth ($199/mo) or trim their list. The Kickstarter plan ($89/mo) was removed from public pricing in January 2026, though it reportedly surfaces during free trials or via direct support contact.

Source: Kajabi pricing updates Q4 2025; netpartners.marketing, kourses.com (2026).

Payment Processing Fees

Kajabi charges 0% platform transaction fee on all plans - but that headline figure hides a layer of payment processing costs.

With Kajabi Payments

With Your Own Stripe Account

If you connect an external Stripe account instead of using Kajabi Payments, an additional surcharge applies on top of Stripe's own fees:

On Basic with external Stripe: you pay Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30 plus Kajabi's 2% surcharge - roughly 4.9% + $0.30 per transaction. That is more expensive than Teachable's 7.5% on Starter only at lower price points.

Source: learningrevolution.net Kajabi pricing, jiffycoursesonline.com (2026).

The Price Increase: What It Means for Practitioners

Basic rose approximately 61% from the previous price point. Legacy customers were not grandfathered at old rates. Forums and creator communities documented significant migration activity after the announcement - creators moving to Thinkific ($36/mo annual, 0% platform fees with Thinkific Payments) or Podia ($33/mo annual, 5% platform fee) as cost-driven exits.

The Basic-to-Growth upgrade forced by the contact cap reduction is the most impactful change. If your list already exceeded 2,500 at the time of restructure, you went from paying $89-$119/mo (previous Basic pricing, varies by source) to $199/mo overnight.

Source: ddiy.co Kajabi review, toolstackreviews.io (2026). [VERIFY exact previous Basic price before restructure via Kajabi's own pricing history.]

Break-Even vs Kajabi Payments

At $5,000/mo in course revenue on Basic:

- Processing via Kajabi Payments: 2.9% x $5,000 + $0.30 x (number of transactions) + $143 plan = $288 + variable fixed fees
- Same revenue on Thinkific Basic ($36/mo, 0% with Thinkific Payments): $36 + Stripe fees only

The comparison only holds if you use Thinkific Payments for both. If you connect external Stripe on Thinkific Basic, Thinkific reportedly charges its own surcharge on that plan - the exact percentage is not uniformly disclosed, so verify before switching. See Teachable vs Thinkific for a fuller comparison.

Stripe Ban Risk for Spiritual Practitioners

Kajabi processes payments through Stripe infrastructure. Stripe's prohibited business list restricts psychic services and fortune tellers in Japan, Mexico, and Thailand. Practitioners based in those markets, or who primarily serve customers there, face payment processing friction regardless of which Kajabi plan they use.

Kajabi's own acceptable use policy does not explicitly ban esoteric or spiritual content as of searched 2026 sources - but Stripe is the gating layer. [VERIFY Kajabi's current acceptable use policy directly before launching.]

For practitioners in restricted markets, alternatives that operate outside Stripe's infrastructure include DodoPayments (Merchant of Record, 4% + $0.40) paired with a dedicated course host, or Thinkific with Dodo as the payment layer. See accepting payments in your esoteric business.

When Kajabi Pricing Makes Sense

Kajabi bundles hosting, email marketing, community, website builder, and checkout into one subscription. That all-in-one approach has real value if you're replacing 3-4 separate subscriptions. At Growth ($199/mo), you get:

- 15 products
- 25,000 contacts (replaces a $50-100/mo email tool)
- 1 community (replaces Circle or Mighty Networks)
- Website and landing page builder (replaces a page builder)
- Checkout and affiliate tracking

If you're currently paying $50 for an email platform + $50 for community + $30 for a website = $130/mo plus course platform fees, Kajabi Growth at $199 with those features bundled narrows the effective cost gap.

When to Consider Alternatives

For the astrology and tarot course market specifically, see selling astrology courses online and course pricing psychology for spiritual practitioners.

For launching a structured astrology school with multiple instructors or products, see launching an astrology school.

FAQ

Was there any grandfathering for existing Kajabi customers?

Reported sources indicate no grandfathering at the January 2026 restructure - legacy customers moved to new pricing. If you were on a legacy plan, check your billing dashboard for your actual current rate and compare it to published 2026 prices. Some users on annual plans may have locked in old pricing until their renewal date.

Does the 0% platform fee apply when I use external Stripe?

No. Zero platform fee is Kajabi's framing when using Kajabi Payments. If you connect your own Stripe account, Kajabi adds a surcharge (2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, 0.5% on Pro). You also pay Stripe's own processing fees on top of that. Total cost on Basic with external Stripe is roughly 4.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Can I use Kajabi in countries where Stripe restricts spiritual businesses?

Kajabi's platform is accessible from most countries. The restriction is in payment processing: if you're selling to customers in Japan, Mexico, or Thailand via Stripe-routed checkout, those transactions can be declined or your account flagged. Stripe's restriction targets sellers whose business is categorized as psychic services - how your business is categorized depends on your product descriptions and Stripe's risk assessment. Verify with Kajabi support before launching in those markets.

Is the Kickstarter plan still available in 2026?

Kickstarter ($89/mo) was removed from public pricing pages in January 2026. Some users report it being offered during free trials or when contacting Kajabi support directly. As of early 2026, it is not reliably available as a standard signup option. [Verify current availability with Kajabi directly.]

What happened to the 10,000-contact limit on Basic?

The January 2026 restructure cut the Basic contact cap from 10,000 to 2,500. Practitioners who had grown their list to 3,000-10,000 contacts while on Basic were effectively forced to upgrade to Growth ($199/mo) or reduce their subscriber count. This was the most criticized aspect of the restructure in creator forums.