My Short and Honest Kajabi Review For Selling Digital Products

Are you wondering if Kajabi is the right platform for you?

If you’re planning on selling online courses, membership access, or group coaching then Kajabi is one of the recommended choices.

I want to help you make the decision if Kajabi is right for you.

‍As a quick introduction:

I’ve sold 6 figures in online courses and coaching programs. Around 2 years ago I switched to Kajabi from Teachable.

Even though I’m using Kajabi in my business, it doesn’t mean I’m going to completely praise the company.

I'll share both my pros and cons from my experience.

Let’s start:

Pro: Kajabi Will Make Your Business Profitable

Kajabi helps you sell digital products such as online courses, events, memberships, coaching, and more.

The core features of Kajabi are the ability to:

Create sales pages
Build funnels (called pipelines in Kajabi)
Setup checkout pages
Accept payments
Host digital products only accessible to customers

If you’re looking to do any of this at a basic done-for-you level with templates, then Kajabi is a great tool.

However:

‍If you are looking to customize and brand your pages exactly how you want them...

...then Kajabi isn't going to be easy because it requires custom code to do so.

For example:

Kajabi will let you build and layout a page the way you want to, but you are only able to use the pre-designed elements.

These pre-designed elements are what I like to call "Kajabi Branded".

They look like they're part of Kajabi's brand, and not your own.

Example of a Kajabi Landing Page — Example of the Kajabi Streamlined Opt- in Page template

Instead if you want to build custom website pages with 100% control, I would recommend using Webflow.

This is the tool I use for building my landing pages and sales pages.

For my sales pages built using Webflow, I link any buttons or call to actions on that page to my Kajabi checkout pages.

Here's an example of a landing page (opt-in page) I built using Webflow... which could also be done using a tool like LeadPages or Unbounce.

Example of a Webflow Landing Page — Example of a landing page I created using Webflow for my free training.

Pro: Kajabi is Very Quick To Learn & Easy To Use

With any tool you’re going to be spending a lot of time using it.

So you want it to be visually pleasing, fast at loading, and easy to use… right?

The good news:

Kajabi nails their user experience.

You’ll find the interface:

Easy to use and understand
Quick to navigate around
Fast at loading

You'll also find other helpful features such as their Kajabi Assistant.

This tool helps you navigate the interface, find helpful guides, or quickly go to a setting.

For example here's me searching for Domain using the Assistant:

Kajabi knows their ideal customer isn't comfortable with tech and has ensured their platform is created for this ideal person.

So if you're not too comfortable with tools and settings things up you'll have no problem figuring it out.

If you're a pro when it comes to tech then you'll fly through the process too.

Pro: They Provide Great Support

Next let's talk about Kajabi's support.

Like most companies these days Kajabi provides excellent support over email and live-chat.

‍I don't have much to say here because I rarely use support.

‍I'm more of a Google it kinda-a-guy unless the problem is more serious.

‍Most SAAS (service as a software) companies have great support as it's a standard these days.

Kajabi is no exception.

The few rare times where I've had to jump on the live chat to get help I've only waited between 2-10 minutes to get connected.

‍From there the service and support was excellent.

‍Typically most live chats have canned responses and move you onto someone "higher up".

Which really means you have to wait a few days to get real support... which can be very frustrating.

I never had this issue with Kajabi.

Pro: Kajabi Gives You The Full Business-Running-Package

If you’re brand new and starting your business Kajabi is a great tool.

Because it has everything you need to get started:

Email Marketing
Landing pages
Sales Pages
Website Pages
A Blog
Products
Offers
Checkout
Discounts & Coupons
Payment Gateway
Funnels
Analytics

The #1 reason why I recommend Kajabi is because it's a great tool for new online coaches and entrepreneurs.

If you are looking to sell digital products but don't want the overwhelm that comes with setting up many tools...

...then Kajabi is your answer.

Otherwise you have to learn each individual tool and integrate them using another tool like Zapier.

If the idea of that sounds overwhelming and stressful, then Kajabi will make your life easy.

Plus when you're first getting started online you want to focus on growing your audience and validating your offer.

Not running around like crazy trying to learn 10+ tools.

However because Kajabi is the all-in-one solution it comes at a price...

Con: You’re Not Getting The Supercar of Tools

Okay so I use Kajabi for my business and I love it.

But I have one BIG problem with it:

Kajabi is an all-in-one tool.

Kajabi has everything you need to "Build, market and sell your online course, membership site or coaching program with no coding, no hiring, no learning curve, no plugins and no broken integrations."

This sounds great right?

But the problem with all-in-one tools is that they don't allow you to do everything the best.

They instead do everything but only good enough.

Kajabi is like a swiss army knife but for running a profitable online coaching business.

And while swiss army knives are very helpful... they're not typically the best tool for one specific job.

For example a swiss army knife screwdriver is no match for a power drill when it comes to hinging a new door.

So here's my 2 cents:

I use Kajabi for hosting my online courses and the checkout pages.

The rest of my business uses other third-party tools.

I don't use Kajabi's other features because they don't do the job good enough for what I need. Instead I use individual tools that do their specific job really, really, well.

For example:

Companies like LeadPages, InstaPage, and Unbounce are amazing at creating high-converting landing pages.

They include features such as:

A/B split testing
High converting templates
Full page customization & branding
Built in analytics
Page speed delivery optimization

Kajabi doesn't have these important features listed above for their pages and the same applies for Kajabi's other features & tools.

For example Kajabi's email marketing tool.

You can send out campaigns and broadcast emails... but that’s it.

Whereas email marketing tools like Drip which I currently use for my business give you the features to build powerful automations and:

Track users behavior so you can target them at specific interactions
Ask "if" questions to perform certain actions (e.g. If they do X then send Y, otherwise send Z)
Track your users lifetime value
Add users to a custom Facebook advertising audience

And many more powerful features required for scaling a business.

You don't need powerful features when you're starting your business, but as you grow you will start finding it painful that Kajabi doesn't include essential features business owners need to scale.

Kajabi is great for a beginner setting up their business.

It removes the confusion and overwhelm of connecting and integrating tools together.

So you can focus on growing and learning about your audience whilst validating your offer.

These are more important than having the perfect looking button on your landing page.

Or having advanced email marketing automations.

The Final Verdict... Should You Use Kajabi?

My short answer is “Yes".

But only if you’re a brand new online coach looking to sell an online course, membership or coaching program.

This is because Kajabi removes the shiny object syndrome and overwhelm that comes with using many tools.

You can grab an extended free Kajabi trial by using this link here.

But:

If you are a successful online coach already looking to perhaps switch from your current platform to Kajabi...

...I have a bit more of a complicated answer:

I have a love/hate relationship with Kajabi.

This is because I only use it for the checkout pages and hosting my online courses (member area).

I'm paying $159 per month to do this.

Looking at other platforms that offer these same features (e.g. Teachable or Podia) they only cost $99 and $79 per month.

I love the interface Kajabi has for my online courses and while I want my customers to have a great experience learning...

...it's hard to justify spending $60 extra per month for an interface that isn't 100x better than others. It isn’t even 10x better to be honest.

Instead I want to invest that into paid advertising to attract new leads and customers who I can help and serve.

Or invest into a tool that will help increase my conversions.

But for now I'm currently locked into using Kajabi for 1 whole year due to my plan.

But once my plan gets closer for renewal I'm considering:

Switching to a different online course platform that is cheaper and includes checkout pages
Or I may switch to a different online course platform and sign up to checkout tool like SamCart to optimize my checkout pages

This is because after using Kajabi for 2 years and using all their features... they don't make sense for me to use any more.

This is because I use other tools that do the job better.

Here's a list of the tools I currently use:

Webflow for creating my website, sales pages and blog
Unbounce & LeadPages for creating landing & sales pages
Drip for doing my email marketing

To summarize:

I recommend Kajabi if you're getting started with your business.

If you're already crushing it online then Kajabi can provide a great backend management and front-end learning hub for your customers.

But I would suggest investing in individual tools that help your business scale if you have the technical skills and willingness to learn how to use each tool to its full potential.

It's easy for me to do this as I've grown up using computers, worked as a graphic and motion designer, built websites using code, and worked in complicated 3d applications... so using online tools comes pretty quick and naturally for me.

If you're not in the same boat which I understand many people are not, then Kajabi could be a great option for you as it does everything you need!

I also have a full list of the business tools I use here.

My biggest advice is to always test a tool for yourself and see if it's a right fit for your businesses and customers needs.