Kajabi vs Udemy: A Comprehensive Platform Comparison

When it comes to creating and selling online courses, choosing the right platform can significantly impact your reach, revenue, and long-term business growth. Kajabi and Udemy represent two fundamentally different approaches to online course creation and distribution. While Kajabi offers a comprehensive platform for building your own branded course business, Udemy provides access to a massive marketplace of potential students. This detailed comparison will help you determine which platform aligns better with your teaching goals, business model, and long-term vision.

Overview of Kajabi

Get Started with Kajabi🔥

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform designed for entrepreneurs, creators, and educators looking to build and scale their online businesses. It provides a comprehensive ecosystem for creating, marketing, and selling digital products such as online courses, memberships, and coaching programs—all without relying on multiple third-party tools.

With its integrated website builder, email marketing automation, and sales pipeline creation, Kajabi simplifies the process of running a digital business. Even users with minimal technical knowledge can easily create high-quality content using pre-built templates and intuitive drag-and-drop functionality. By integrating powerful marketing tools with a robust learning management system (LMS), Kajabi enables businesses to efficiently attract, engage, and convert their audience while maximizing revenue—all from a single, user-friendly dashboard.

Key Features of Kajabi

  • Course Creation Tools: Develop and deliver engaging online courses with video content, assessments, and drip-fed lessons.
  • Website Builder: Design fully responsive, professional websites with built-in blogging capabilities and customizable templates.
  • Sales Pipelines: Create automated funnels for lead generation, product launches, and webinars.
  • Email Marketing Automation: Send personalized email campaigns, track engagement, and automate follow-ups.
  • Membership Capabilities: Set up subscription-based memberships to generate recurring revenue.
  • Payment Integration: Securely accept payments via Stripe and PayPal with zero additional transaction fees.
  • Analytics Dashboard: Monitor revenue, track customer behavior, and measure marketing performance with in-depth insights.
  • Community Features: Build an interactive member space for discussions, engagement, and networking.

Ideal User Base for Kajabi

  • Course Creators: Educators and professionals looking to monetize their knowledge through online courses.
  • Coaches & Consultants: Those offering coaching services, webinars, and one-on-one mentorship programs.
  • Membership Site Owners: Entrepreneurs looking to create thriving subscription-based communities.
  • Digital Entrepreneurs: Individuals managing multiple digital products and looking for a streamlined business solution.

Overview of Udemy

Get Started with Udemy🔥

Udemy is a global online learning marketplace where students can discover and enroll in courses taught by expert instructors across a vast range of subjects. Rather than being a course creation platform, Udemy is primarily a course distribution platform that connects instructors with millions of potential students worldwide.

Founded in 2010, Udemy has grown to host over 180,000 courses in multiple languages, covering everything from technical skills and business development to personal hobbies and creative arts. The platform handles all aspects of marketing, payment processing, and customer service, allowing instructors to focus on creating quality content rather than building their own marketing infrastructure.

Unlike platforms that require creators to attract their own audience, Udemy provides immediate access to its massive user base, though this comes with significant revenue sharing and less control over pricing, branding, and student relationships.

Key Features of Udemy

  • Course Marketplace: Access to a global audience of over 40 million students actively seeking courses.
  • Course Creation Tools: Basic tools for creating courses with video lectures, quizzes, and assignments.
  • Instructor Dashboard: Track course performance, student feedback, and revenue statistics.
  • Student Engagement: Built-in Q&A, discussion boards, and direct messaging with students.
  • Marketing Support: Udemy promotes courses through its algorithm, email marketing, and paid advertising.
  • Coupon System: Create promotional coupons for marketing campaigns and student acquisition.
  • Reviews and Ratings: Social proof system to build credibility through student feedback.
  • Mobile Learning: Courses available on Udemy's mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Ideal User Base for Udemy

  • First-time Course Creators: Educators new to online teaching who want to test their content before building their own platform.
  • Subject Matter Experts: Professionals looking to share their knowledge without building a full business infrastructure.
  • Side Hustlers: Those creating courses as a supplementary income stream rather than a primary business.
  • Volume-focused Teachers: Instructors prioritizing student numbers over revenue per student.
  • Global Instructors: Teachers looking to reach students across multiple countries and languages.

Core Functionalities Comparison

Understanding the fundamental differences between Kajabi and Udemy is crucial for choosing the platform that best aligns with your teaching goals and business model. Here's a detailed comparison of their core functionalities:

1. Business Model and Platform Philosophy

Kajabi operates as a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform where you build your own independent course business. You pay a monthly subscription fee for access to the platform's tools, but you retain 100% of your course revenue. Kajabi empowers creators to build a brand, establish direct relationships with students, and create multiple digital products under their own business umbrella.

Udemy functions as a marketplace where you list your courses alongside thousands of others. The platform is free to join, but Udemy takes a significant revenue share from each sale (typically 50-75% for sales through Udemy's marketing channels and 3% for instructor-generated sales). In exchange, Udemy provides access to millions of potential students and handles aspects like marketing and payment processing.

2. Course Creation and Management

Kajabi offers comprehensive course creation tools with support for various content types including video, text, quizzes, surveys, and downloadable resources. Courses can be structured into categories, modules, and lessons with options for drip content scheduling, prerequisites, and completion tracking. Kajabi also provides more advanced assessment capabilities with quizzes, assignments, and progress tracking.

Udemy provides more standardized and restricted course creation tools focused primarily on video lectures, supplementary resources, quizzes, and practice exercises. Udemy enforces specific course quality requirements and structure guidelines that instructors must follow, including minimum content duration and specific lecture arrangements. The platform has stricter limitations on file sizes and content types compared to Kajabi.

3. Pricing Control and Revenue

Kajabi gives creators complete control over pricing their digital products. You can set your own prices, create different tiers, offer payment plans, implement dynamic pricing, run promotions, and bundle products together. Most importantly, you keep 100% of the revenue (minus payment processor fees), with no additional commission taken by Kajabi.

Udemy maintains significant control over course pricing with a standardized pricing structure that limits instructors' options. Udemy frequently runs platform-wide discounts and promotions (often reducing courses to $9.99-$19.99) without requiring instructor approval. While you can set your initial course price, Udemy's pricing algorithm and promotional strategy largely dictate what students actually pay. Revenue sharing significantly impacts earnings, with Udemy taking up to 75% of the sale price for courses sold through their organic traffic and promotional channels.

4. Marketing and Student Acquisition

Kajabi provides robust marketing tools including email marketing, sales funnels, landing pages, and automation workflows, but you're responsible for driving your own traffic and building your audience. The platform offers pre-built marketing pipelines, affiliate management, and SEO tools, but success depends on your own marketing efforts rather than an existing marketplace of students.

Udemy handles much of the marketing for you through its established marketplace, search algorithm, and promotional activities. Courses can gain visibility through Udemy's internal search, category placement, featured sections, and email marketing. Udemy also invests in paid advertising to drive students to the platform. While this provides access to a built-in audience, you compete with thousands of similar courses, and visibility depends largely on factors like reviews, engagement metrics, and topic popularity.

5. Branding and Student Relationships

Kajabi allows complete branding control where you build your own identity separate from the platform. Students purchase directly from your branded website, and you own the student relationship including contact information, communication channels, and lifetime value. This facilitates long-term relationship building, cross-selling additional offerings, and developing a loyal customer base.

Udemy provides minimal branding opportunities within a standardized Udemy-branded experience. Students primarily identify as Udemy customers rather than your students. Udemy owns the student relationship and restricts direct contact with students outside the platform. Communication is limited to the Udemy interface, and instructors cannot export student email addresses or contact information for external marketing.

6. Website and Business Infrastructure

Kajabi includes a complete website builder with customizable themes, blogging functionality, and product pages, allowing you to create your entire online presence without additional tools. The platform also provides integrated email marketing, payment processing, membership management, and affiliate systems—essentially everything needed to run a digital product business.

Udemy does not provide any website building or independent business infrastructure. Instructors receive a standardized profile page within the Udemy marketplace but cannot create additional pages, blogs, or custom-branded experiences. For building an independent online presence, Udemy instructors must use separate tools and platforms outside the Udemy ecosystem.

Pricing Comparison: Kajabi vs Udemy

Understanding the pricing structures and financial implications of both platforms is essential for making an informed decision based on your budget and revenue goals.

Kajabi Pricing Plans

Kajabi offers several tiered pricing options designed to accommodate businesses at different growth stages:

1. Basic Plan ($149/month)

The Basic Plan is ideal for newcomers to online business. It includes essential tools to get started, such as:

  • Support for 3 products and 3 pipelines.
  • 10,000 contacts and 1,000 active members.
  • Basic marketing automation.
  • Unlimited landing pages and emails.

2. Growth Plan ($199/month)

The Growth Plan is perfect for scaling businesses that require advanced marketing features and greater resource limits:

  • Support for 15 products and 15 pipelines.
  • 25,000 contacts and 10,000 active members.
  • Advanced automation and affiliate program management.
  • Removal of Kajabi branding for a more customized experience.

3. Pro Plan ($399/month)

The Pro Plan is designed for established businesses with high-volume requirements:

  • Support for 100 products and 100 pipelines.
  • 100,000 contacts and 20,000 active members.
  • Priority support and custom branding capabilities.
  • Advanced features such as code editor access for deeper customization.

4. Kickstarter Plan ($89/month)

This budget-friendly option is ideal for beginners who want to test Kajabi's core functionalities before committing to higher-tier plans:

  • Limited products and pipelines.
  • Basic features for course creation and email marketing.

All Kajabi plans include a 14-day free trial, and users can save approximately 20% by opting for annual billing.

Udemy Pricing Structure

Udemy operates on a fundamentally different pricing model compared to Kajabi:

1. Platform Access

  • Free for Instructors: There is no cost to create an instructor account and publish courses on Udemy.
  • No Monthly Fees: Unlike Kajabi, Udemy doesn't charge subscription fees to instructors.

2. Revenue Sharing Model

  • Instructor Promotion Sales: When students purchase through instructor-generated links or coupons, instructors keep 97% of the revenue (Udemy takes 3% as a processing fee).
  • Udemy Organic Sales: For sales generated through Udemy's marketplace, search results, or advertisements, instructors receive only 37-50% of the revenue.
  • Udemy Business Sales: For courses purchased through Udemy Business (corporate learning programs), revenue is calculated based on engagement minutes, typically resulting in 25-45% of standard course price.

3. Pricing Limitations

  • Pricing Tiers: Courses must be priced according to Udemy's predefined tiers ($19.99, $24.99, $29.99, etc., up to $199.99).
  • Discount Control: Udemy frequently runs site-wide promotions and discounts, often reducing course prices significantly (to $9.99-$19.99) regardless of the original price set by instructors.
  • Price Optimization: Udemy may automatically adjust your course price based on user location, demand, and other factors to maximize conversion rates.

4. Additional Costs

  • External Marketing: While Udemy provides marketplace access, many successful instructors still invest in their own marketing to drive direct sales (where they keep 97% of revenue).
  • Production Costs: Instructors are responsible for all course production costs, including video equipment, editing software, and content creation tools.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

Choosing between Kajabi and Udemy ultimately depends on your teaching goals, business model, and long-term vision. Here's guidance to help you make the decision that best aligns with your specific needs:

Choose Kajabi if:

  • You want to build your own branded course business with complete control over pricing, marketing, and student relationships
  • You're focusing on higher-priced premium courses ($100-$2000+) where Kajabi's monthly fee is offset by higher revenue per student
  • You plan to create multiple digital products (courses, memberships, coaching) under one business umbrella
  • You want to build direct, long-term relationships with your students for repeat business and community building
  • You already have an audience or are willing to invest in building your own marketing channels
  • You value creative freedom in course structure, content types, and assessment methods
  • You prefer keeping 100% of your revenue even if it means more responsibility for marketing

Choose Udemy if:

  • You want immediate access to a large marketplace of potential students without building your own audience
  • You're new to course creation and want to test your content before investing in your own platform
  • You're creating courses in highly competitive, price-sensitive categories where low price points are the norm
  • You prefer focusing on course creation rather than marketing, sales, and technical infrastructure
  • You're teaching topics that align well with Udemy's corporate training program (Udemy Business)
  • You're comfortable with limited control over pricing, branding, and student relationships
  • You value high student numbers and global reach over revenue per student

Many successful educators actually use both platforms strategically—publishing some courses on Udemy to reach new audiences and build their reputation, while hosting their premium, flagship courses on Kajabi where they maintain full control and revenue. This hybrid approach leverages Udemy for audience building and Kajabi for maximizing revenue and business growth.

By carefully considering your specific goals, audience, subject matter, and business model, you can select the platform that provides the best foundation for your teaching business.