The Best Kajabi Alternative for Coaches and Creators: Stred vs Kajabi (2026)

Quick answer

The best Kajabi alternative for creators who sell coaching and digital products from their social bio is Stred. Kajabi now starts at $179 a month ($143 a month billed annually) for 5 products and 2,500 contacts (Kajabi pricing). Stred has a free plan with 0% platform fees, and paid plans at $19 and $39 a month that include bookings, a storefront, and a link hub on one mobile page. Stay with Kajabi if you run a full course business that depends on funnels, communities, and built-in email automation at scale.

If you are searching for a Kajabi alternative, the price is usually the reason. Kajabi is a genuinely capable all-in-one platform, but its entry plan costs more per month than many new creators earn in their first year of selling. And if most of your buyers find you through Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, you may be paying for a website builder, funnels, and a course engine you barely use.

This guide compares Stred and Kajabi on pricing, fees, coaching, and fit, with a worked example of what you keep on $1,000 of sales. Kajabi figures were checked on its official pricing page and help centre on 6 November 2026. Stred figures come from Stred pricing on the same day.

Stred vs Kajabi at a glance

Kajabi pricing and fees explained

Kajabi charges a flat monthly subscription and does not take a percentage of your sales. As of 6 November 2026, its three plans are:

• Basic – $179/mo ($143/mo billed annually): 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 website, unlimited landing pages and marketing emails.
• Growth – $249/mo ($199/mo billed annually): 50 products and 25,000 contacts.
• Pro – $499/mo ($399/mo billed annually): unlimited products, 100,000 contacts, and 3 websites.

On top of the subscription, card processing applies. With Kajabi Payments, US rates are 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, falling to 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. If you connect a different processor where Kajabi Payments is available, Kajabi adds a further 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, or 0.5% on Pro (Kajabi pricing).

Kajabi used to offer a cheaper Kickstarter plan, but it no longer appears on the pricing page. That leaves Basic as the cheapest way in, and it fills up quickly: a lead magnet, a mini-course, a coaching offer, a membership, and one more product is already five.

Stred pricing

Stred uses low flat plans and never takes a cut of your sales:

• Free – $0: storefront, unlimited links, 3 products, bookings, and 0% platform fees.
• Creator – $19/mo: unlimited products and services, email marketing, discount codes, upsells, and custom branding.
• Pro – $39/mo: custom domain, memberships, courses, advanced analytics, and priority support.

Payment processing applies on every plan. See the full breakdown on Stred pricing.

What you keep on $1,000 of sales

Here is a like-for-like example. You sell 20 coaching calls or digital products at $50 each in a month, for $1,000 in revenue. We use the same card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 for both platforms (Kajabi's published US rate on Basic, which also matches Stripe's standard US pricing). That works out to $29 plus 20 × $0.30, or $35 in processing.

On these numbers, Stred Creator leaves you $160 more each month than Kajabi Basic on monthly billing. Over a year that is $1,920, before counting the 5-product cap you would hit on Kajabi Basic.

The gap shrinks as you grow. Because neither platform takes a percentage, Kajabi's fixed fee matters less at $20,000 a month than at $1,000. If you are already at that level and use Kajabi's funnels, email, and community every day, its price can be fair value. The example above is for creators who are earlier on, or who mostly sell from social media.

Features compared

Coaching and bookings

Both platforms take coaching seriously. Kajabi's Coaching product supports 1:1 and group programs, its own Kajabi Scheduler with Google or Outlook calendar sync, email reminders, a client dashboard for notes and recordings, and built-in live video. You can also plug in Calendly, Acuity, or Zoom (Kajabi Help Center). For structured, multi-week coaching programs, that is a strong toolkit.

Stred is built for selling sessions straight from your bio. You can sell paid 1:1 calls and multi-session packages, take payment upfront, sync with Google Calendar, ask intake questions, and send automatic reminders. Bookings are included on the free plan. If coaching is your main offer, Stred for coaches shows the full flow, and our guide on how much to charge for a coaching call can help you set prices.

Courses, memberships, and community

This is where Kajabi is clearly stronger. It was built for course creators, with course hosting, cohort courses, communities, and memberships, all connected to email automations and funnels. If your business is a flagship course with a community around it, Kajabi does more than Stred.

Stred includes courses and memberships on the Pro plan, but it does not offer community forums or sales funnels. It suits creators whose courses sit alongside coaching, templates, and other products, rather than being the whole business.

Storefront and link hub

Kajabi gives you a full website with landing pages. That is powerful, but it is not designed as the single link in your Instagram or TikTok bio, so many creators still add a separate link tool.

Stred combines a storefront and a link-in-bio page. Your products, booking calendar, YouTube, podcast, newsletter, and socials all live on one mobile page, so followers can tap and buy without leaving the app. If you sell on Instagram, the Instagram store guide shows how it works.

Email and analytics

Kajabi includes unlimited marketing emails and automations on every plan, which is a real advantage if email drives your launches. Stred offers lead magnets and waitlists on every plan, with email marketing on Creator. For analytics, Stred tracks clicks, conversion, revenue, and top traffic sources per product, so you can see which platform actually sends buyers.

Who each platform is best for

Choose Stred if you:

• Sell coaching calls, digital products, or services mainly through Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
• Want one link that is both your storefront and your link hub.
• Are early on, and a $179 monthly fee would eat most of your revenue.
• Want a free plan with bookings and 0% platform fees, and room to upgrade later.

Stay with Kajabi if you:

• Run a course-led business with communities, cohorts, and funnels.
• Rely on email automations and launch sequences to drive most of your sales.
• Need a full website with multiple landing pages on one platform.
• Already earn enough that the subscription is a small share of revenue.

How to switch from Kajabi to Stred

Most creators can move in an afternoon. This order keeps your links and sales working:

1. Claim your free store at stred.store and pick your username.
2. List what you actually sell on Kajabi today, and decide what moves to Stred first, usually coaching and digital downloads.
3. Recreate your products with files, descriptions, cover images, and prices.
4. Set up bookings with your availability, session lengths, packages, and intake questions.
5. Export your contacts from Kajabi as a CSV, then import them so you can keep emailing your audience.
6. Add your links, such as YouTube, podcast, newsletter, and socials.
7. Update your bio link on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X.
8. Keep Kajabi running until existing course members or coaching clients have been moved or finished, then downgrade or cancel.

Comparing more options? Read our Gumroad alternative breakdown too.

The verdict on the best Kajabi alternative

Kajabi is a strong platform for full-scale course businesses, and it is fair to say it replaces several tools at once. But for creators who mainly sell coaching and digital products to their social followers, its $179 starting price is hard to justify. Stred gives you a storefront, bookings, and a link hub in one place, with 0% platform fees from the free plan up.

Ready to keep more of what you earn? Start your free store at stred.store and set up your first booking today.