Kajabi vs Podia: Which One Is Worth the Monthly Bill?

Podia wins on cost for most creators starting out; Kajabi wins only once you actually need what its bigger bill buys.

Picture a creator with one course, a small list under 500 people, and a few hundred dollars a month to spend on tools. On Podia, that’s the Shaker plan at $99/month, with a 0% platform fee — you’d only pay standard Stripe or PayPal processing on top. On Kajabi, that same creator has to start at Basic, $179/month, because there’s no cheaper door in. Two very different bills for a course creator who, on paper, needs roughly the same thing.

Prices verified September 2026.

What the price gap actually buys you

Kajabi’s Basic plan costs about the same as Podia’s top-tier Earthquaker plan, so the question is what that money is for. The answer is scale and infrastructure: Kajabi Pro handles unlimited products and 100,000 contacts, with 3 websites and 3 communities baked in. Podia includes up to 1,000 email subscribers on its highest plan, and you can buy more room if you outgrow that, but it’s still built for creators, not sprawling membership empires.

Kajabi also runs its own payment system, Kajabi Payments, with no platform fee and processing that gets cheaper as you climb tiers, 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, down to 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. Route payments through a third-party provider instead, and Kajabi tacks on a surcharge: 2% on Basic, shrinking to 0.5% on Pro. Podia’s fee structure is almost the inverse, free on Shaker and Earthquaker, but a 5% cut on the entry-level Mover plan, on top of the processing fee Stripe or PayPal takes regardless.

Here’s the detail that catches people off guard: Podia’s cheapest plan, Mover at $49/month, doesn’t just lack a few extras. It blocks affiliate marketing, upsells, PayPal, and Zapier entirely, and adds that 5% fee on every sale. If you want any of those features, you’re paying $99/month for Shaker anyway, which puts it a lot closer to Kajabi’s entry price than the sticker suggests.

Three creators, three answers

A coach selling one $200 course to a small list of 300 people: Podia’s Shaker plan, at $99/month, with no platform fee eating into each sale. Kajabi’s cheapest plan here is nearly double the cost for capacity this creator won’t use yet.

A creator running a course, a membership community, and a growing list past 25,000 contacts: Kajabi Growth includes exactly 25,000 contacts, so the moment that list goes over, the choice is either buying an extra block of 25,000 contacts for $125/month on top of Growth, or moving up to Pro at $499/month ($399 on annual billing) for 100,000 contacts included. Podia’s plans include up to 1,000 subscribers with the option to buy more, but neither Podia tier is built for a list this size in the first place.

Someone testing an idea with under 100 subscribers and no budget for platform fees: Podia’s Mover plan technically fits the numbers, but the missing PayPal support and 5% cut make it a rough starting point. Read the Podia review before assuming “cheapest” means “free of catches.”

The verdict

Podia for most creators starting out, especially anyone under 1,000 subscribers who wants predictable costs without a platform fee eating their margin. Kajabi if you’re already running a sizeable list, need multiple websites or communities, or want Kajabi Payments’ built-in processing without third-party surcharges, that’s when the higher bill starts paying for itself. If you’re choosing between Kajabi and a more course-specific competitor instead, the Kajabi vs Teachable comparison covers that fork.

Who should NOT choose Podia

Anyone who wants a huge included contact allowance without paying to add more as they grow. Podia’s tiers top out at 1,000 subscribers included, and while you’re not forced off the platform past that, Kajabi’s Pro plan simply includes far more room (100,000 contacts) for creators managing very large lists. Also skip Podia if you need PayPal or Zapier on a tight budget: those live behind the $99/month Shaker plan, not the $49 one.

Who should NOT choose Kajabi

Anyone testing a course idea with no existing list and no certainty it’ll sell. There’s no free plan, and even the “cheap” option is $179/month, a real bill before you’ve made a dollar. If you’re not sure the course will sell yet, that’s a lot of money riding on hope. Read the full Kajabi review before committing, especially the contact-limit math on Basic.

What switching later costs you

Moving off either platform means re-exporting your student list, rebuilding checkout pages, and losing any reviews or testimonials tied to your storefront. Podia advertises free migration help, up to 50 products on Mover, up to 150 on Shaker and Earthquaker, which softens the move if you’re migrating in, not out. Moving out of Kajabi is less documented on their own pricing page, so budget more time than you’d like.

FAQ

Is there a free plan on either platform? No. Kajabi offers a free trial (length isn’t stated on its pricing page) plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. Podia gives you a 14-day free trial with no card required, but the free plan itself was discontinued.

Which platform is cheaper if I pay annually? Both drop their prices on annual billing. Kajabi’s Basic goes from $179/month to $143/month, and Podia’s Mover drops from $49/month to $42/month. Just know Podia won’t give partial refunds on annual plans, so don’t commit yearly until you’re sure.

Does Kajabi’s contact limit force an upgrade if I grow my list? Not necessarily. You can buy an extra block of 25,000 contacts for $125/month on any plan instead of jumping to the next tier, worth checking against the tier price before you upgrade automatically.

What happens to my transaction costs if I use PayPal on Kajabi? PayPal is exempt from Kajabi’s third-party surcharge, so you avoid the extra 2% (Basic), 1% (Growth), or 0.5% (Pro) that other outside processors trigger. Kajabi Payments is exempt too.

Can I run affiliate marketing on Podia’s cheapest plan? No. Affiliate marketing, upsells, PayPal, and Zapier are all missing from Mover and only unlock starting at Shaker, $99/month. If your launch strategy depends on affiliates, price in Shaker from day one.

How does Podia compare against Teachable instead of Kajabi? That’s a different trade-off, mostly around transaction fees at the low end. The Podia vs Teachable comparison walks through it in detail.

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How we got these numbers. Prices and fees come straight from the official pricing pages of Kajabi, Podia, checked in September 2026. Where a value wasn’t published, the table shows “—”. Prices in this space change often — confirm on the provider’s site before you buy.