What is Kajabi and Why Look for Alternatives?

What is Kajabi?

Kajabi is a powerhouse in the online course platform arena, designed specifically for entrepreneurs, educators, and influencers who want to create, market, and sell digital content. This all-in-one platform simplifies the process of course creation, offering a suite of tools that cover everything from building your course to marketing it and handling sales. With Kajabi, you can create engaging online courses, set up marketing campaigns, and manage your sales all in one place. However, while Kajabi is a popular choice for many, its premium pricing and certain limitations might prompt some users to explore other options.

Why look for a Kajabi alternative?

Despite its robust feature set, Kajabi may not be the perfect fit for everyone. Some creators might find its pricing a bit steep, especially if they are just starting out. Others might seek more advanced features or greater flexibility in customization and integrations. Additionally, while Kajabi offers a range of tools, some users might prefer platforms that provide better customer support or scalability options. Exploring alternatives to Kajabi can help you find a platform that aligns more closely with your specific needs and business goals.

Who Does It Better? Shiken or Kajabi as an Online Course Platform?

All course creators want to use the best online course platform for their business, but there are so many to choose from and it can be hard to know which one is for you. If you’ve been searching for a while, you’ll likely have come across Kajabi at some point. Customer support is a crucial factor when choosing an online course platform, and it will be compared between Shiken and Kajabi.

What is Kajabi Good For?

As one of the market-leading course-creation websites, it has built up an excellent reputation for good reason within the online courses space. Started in 2010 by Kenny Rueter, Kajabi sells itself as an all-in-one platform, offering website building, course creation, selling and marketing in one place for online courses. If you don’t want to deal with external providers and like the idea of simplicity, then this might seem very attractive online course platform.

If, however, you want a little more flexibility in your business, you might prefer a platform like Shiken, which gives you the options to use your own website if necessary. Shiken also gives you more variety in the course creation process, so your courses are more personalized, helping them to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Kajabi, on the other hand, offers scalability options, allowing users to grow their business without switching platforms.

So which platform is best for you? The answer lies in their unique features.

Everything in one place for easy course creation and management

The biggest benefit of Kajabi is the fact that it has an integrated solution for every part of the process to create online courses. Not sure how to structure your course? The Kajabi AI tool can plan an outline for you to work from. Need a website to give context to your business and make your courses easy to find? The Kajabi website builder will help you make one with the aid of lots of different themes. And your subscription price includes hosting too!

And when it comes to making the courses, all the tools are there, with options to suit all the different ways you might like to present your course. You can offer coaching products, create communities for each course and even make and monetize podcasts. There are helpful marketing features like landing pages, email automation and sequences, so you can get people engaged with your courses and the analytics tools give you an idea of how your campaigns are doing, so you know if your efforts are successful.

Kajabi supports various integrations, allowing users to connect with other tools and services they already use.

An exciting new feature of Kajabi, which makes it one of the best online course platforms, is the AI Creator Studio. This is a fantastic tool for helping you take your content and multiply it, with seemingly unlimited possibilities. Show the AI tool one of your videos, courses, podcasts, etc., and then decide if you’d like to make a blog post, social media post, reel or video clip from it. The clever AI system will do it for you, allowing you to edit it to better fit your brand, if needed. Or, if what it offers is not quite right, you can easily regenerate new content.

And, since Kajabi puts a huge focus on your earning potential through the site, it has a streamlined process for handling transactions and taking money for your courses. It offers potential students flexible payment options and an easy checkout process so they can buy without hassle, increasing conversion for you and protecting your profit. There’s no transaction fees and students can pay using Apple Pay and Google Pay, making it a mobile-friendly checkout too.

How much does Kajabi cost?

Kajabi is definitely not one of the cheapest online course platforms, but its price is justified by its huge range of features that make course creation effortless. Unlike many of its competitors, including Shiken, it doesn’t have a free plan, but it does offer a 14-day trial. Be aware, you will have to enter your debit or credit card details to get this, so make sure to cancel in plenty of time if you decide Kajabi is not for you.

Kajabi offers several pricing plans, each catering to different levels of users and their needs. The cheapest is the Kickstarter package at $69 a month, which is great for beginners but has limited options. The most expensive is the Enterprise package which is for six-figure creators, with the cost only available by contacting the sales team. All the packages are slightly cheaper if you pay for a year up-front rather than monthly.

You can upgrade as your business grows, which is convenient, and while the cost may seem expensive, if you were to outsource many of the features the platform offers, you’d likely be paying substantially more. So, if you use Kajabi to its full potential, it is worth it.

What are the limitations of Kajabi?

Everything sounds great so far, doesn’t it? However, despite Kajabi’s incredible course creation technology, it seems its customer service is lacking. There is a number on the website you can call, but if you are outside of the USA, this is possibly not an option for you. There is a 24/7 AI chatbot to help, but if you want to speak to an actual person, you may struggle.

Users have also found it difficult to cancel their plans or obtain refunds. It can be done, but the process is challenging.

As for the technology itself, the analytics system is pretty basic. It is very useful but not as comprehensive as it could be. And the AI Creator Studio is still far from perfect, but this is something that will likely get better very quickly as this online tool advances.

The user experience with Kajabi can be affected by its high cost and limited customer support. And of course, there’s the price, which might be a limiting factor for brand-new course creators. It’s up to you to weigh up whether or not this platform is worth the cost for you.

Top Online Course Platforms for Creating and Selling Online Courses

When it comes to creating and selling online courses, the market is brimming with options. Each platform offers unique features, pricing models, and user interfaces, making it crucial to choose the one that aligns best with your needs. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or a budding entrepreneur, selecting the right platform can significantly impact your success. Some platforms, unlike Kajabi, offer a free plan, which can be beneficial for beginners. In this section, we will explore some of the top online course platforms that can help you create and sell online courses effectively.

Thinkific

Thinkific stands out as a top-tier online course platform, trusted by businesses of all sizes for its reliability and feature-rich environment. It allows creators to design highly customized learning experiences with ease. Thinkific offers custom web themes and domains, integrated quizzes and assignments, and the ability to host live lessons and events. One of its standout features is the best-in-class support available on all plans, ensuring that you have the help you need whenever you need it. If you’re looking for a platform that combines flexibility, advanced features, and excellent support, Thinkific is a strong contender.

Teachable

Teachable is another leading online course platform that serves as a comprehensive home base for your online course business. It caters to a wide range of creators, from online course developers to coaches and community leaders. Teachable offers a robust set of features, including digital downloads, sales and marketing tools, and native AI technology to enhance your course creation process. Additionally, Teachable supports seamless integrations with other tools and services, making it an excellent choice for creators who need more than what the platform can offer on its own. With Teachable, you can build a successful online course business that meets all your needs.

By considering these alternatives, you can find a platform that not only meets your unique needs but also helps you build a thriving online course business.

Introducing Shiken as a Leading Option

Among the myriad of online course platforms available, Shiken stands out as a leading option. Shiken offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to help you create and sell online courses with ease. With Shiken, you can create unlimited courses, incorporate engaging video lessons, and customize your course layout to reflect your brand. Shiken also supports the creation of membership sites, allowing users to offer exclusive content to their members. The platform also boasts advanced marketing tools, including email marketing, affiliate management, and sales analytics, ensuring your courses reach the right audience. Additionally, Shiken’s intuitive website builder allows you to create a professional-looking website to showcase your courses and attract students, making it a robust alternative to Kajabi.

How does Shiken measure up to Kajabi?

Shiken is not quite as comprehensive as Kajabi, but it does offer far more in terms of flexibility and variety of course options, including the ability to sell courses and provide course completion certificates, adding value to the students' learning experience.

Courses people actually want to complete

Video courses are great because they allow you to get information across in a personal, relatable way, but Shiken thinks variety helps courses to appeal to a wider range of people. That's why it mixes passive and active learning options into your course creation process. Make videos as your base, but supplement that with quizzes and games, with leaderboards and visible skill progression to increase engagement and ensure a five-star rating on your course.

AI integration

Just like Kajabi, Shiken includes AI tools in course creation, making for a quicker, smoother process. You can use AI to create course summaries and take-away PDFs for your students to print and refer to when offline. Or take your content repurposing to the next level by creating blog posts, social media posts and other texts that will bring your students back to your course. You can even create Wiki pages, dashboards and databases using AI!

Shiken's AI is a great alternative to Kajabi with unlimited courses, a website builder, digital downloads and the ability to sell courses. Let's take a deeper look.

Advanced Features for Online Course Creation

Shiken goes above and beyond in providing advanced features for online course creation, ensuring your courses are not only informative but also engaging and interactive. Here are some of the standout features:

• Video Lessons: Enhance your courses with video lessons that provide a personal touch and keep students engaged.
• Quizzes and Assessments: Test your students’ knowledge and understanding of the course material with interactive quizzes and assessments.
• Course Completion Certificates: Reward your students with course completion certificates, adding value to their learning experience.
• Advanced Analytics: Gain insights into your course sales, student engagement, and revenue with Shiken’s advanced analytics, helping you make data-driven decisions.

These features collectively make Shiken a powerful tool for online course creation, ensuring your courses stand out in a competitive market.

Next-level marketing tools

Shiken’s marketing suite is one of the things that makes it the best platform for online courses. You can use it to ensure your course is front and center of students’ minds when they are searching for what your course offers. Shiken also supports affiliate marketing, allowing users to expand their reach through partnerships. Create emails that will encourage clicks, social media posts that will stop people scrolling, and sales pages that promote your courses in the best possible light, all with the aid of templates and AI.

Selling your way

The Shiken store is a great place to promote your course and allow potential students to follow your activity. Customers can buy and compare your courses with ease in this space, as Shiken supports multiple payment gateways, making it easy for students to purchase courses. But you can also add your course to your own landing page, giving you more control over how it is presented and the ability to create landing pages that attract students and offer various digital services, including paid or free memberships and online courses.

Community-Focused Alternatives

If you’re looking for a community-focused alternative to Kajabi, there are several platforms worth considering. These platforms offer features that foster a sense of community among students, enhancing their learning experience and community engagement. Building a thriving learning community can be a game-changer for your online course business, as it encourages interaction, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Building a Thriving Learning Community with Shiken

Shiken excels in creating a community-focused learning environment. Here are some of the features that help you build a thriving learning community:

• Discussion Forums: Foster interaction among students by creating discussion forums where they can ask questions, share insights, and support each other.
• Live Webinars: Engage with your students in real-time by hosting live webinars, providing additional learning opportunities and fostering a sense of connection.
• Community Groups: Create community groups for your students to connect, collaborate, and share their experiences, enhancing their learning journey.
• Gamification: Encourage student engagement and participation by incorporating gamification elements such as badges and points.

By leveraging Shiken’s community-focused features, you can create a more engaging and interactive learning experience for your students, setting your courses apart from the competition.

With these new sections, the article now provides a comprehensive comparison between Kajabi and Shiken, highlighting Shiken’s strengths and unique features, making it a compelling alternative for online course creators in 2024.

Cost comparison

Shiken is a steal compared to Kajabi. The free version gives you limited access to most features of the platform, so you can start creating without paying any money, allowing you to get a feel for Shiken and what it can do. All packages allow you to enroll unlimited students without additional costs, ranging from £39 a month to £147 a month, with an enterprise option available on request. These packages allow you to scale your business over time, so you can promote growth in your course creation business.

So, which one will you choose?

Both Kajabi and Shiken are respected platforms to use in 2024, but which one is the best platform for online courses? The answer lies ultimately in your skill level, budget and the features you’d want to include.

Shiken is a little more purse friendly than Kajabi, but it doesn’t currently have the website builder and hosting. However, it offers digital downloads, which can be a significant advantage for course creators looking to monetize their knowledge by offering various digital products. The analytics and AI tools in Shiken are a little more comprehensive and reliable than those in Kajabi, but Kajabi has arguably a more robust course creation system that makes it very easy to create simple courses from scratch.

Some may argue that this removes any flexibility or originality from Kajabi, while others will appreciate the fact that they can build courses with little technical knowledge.

Both platforms have great marketing tools and offer AI assistance throughout the course creation process. Of course, our bias leans towards Shiken for its flexibility and customization options, but there’s only one way to know which of these two brilliant online course platforms will suit you best. Why not sign up for a free account today and test it out for yourself?

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