The honest answer in one paragraph
Thinkific is better under £5K MRR; Kajabi is better over £10K MRR. The transition zone between £5K and £10K is where the honest advice is “it depends on your tool stack.” If you’re paying separately for ConvertKit + Circle + a funnel builder + Thinkific, Kajabi Growth at £127/mo is almost certainly cheaper and simpler. If you’re only using Thinkific as a course platform with a separate email tool, Kajabi’s bundling doesn’t justify the price jump.
The switching cost from Thinkific to Kajabi is real but manageable — one to two weeks to migrate courses, email sequences, and student data. The switching cost from Kajabi back to anything else is much higher.
The MRR-based decision framework
Thinkific to Kajabi is the most common upgrade path in this market, and most creators make the jump too early. The correct question isn't 'which platform is better?' — it's 'at my current MRR, does Kajabi's bundling save me money vs buying the tools separately?' At £3K MRR with ConvertKit (£35/mo) + no funnel builder + no community: Thinkific is £88/mo cheaper. At £8K MRR replacing ConvertKit + Circle + Leadpages: Kajabi may be £100+/mo cheaper. Run the actual numbers.
Head-to-head: 7 dimensions
1. Price comparison at real usage
| Your tool stack | Thinkific path | Kajabi path |
|---|---|---|
| Course only | £39/mo | £71/mo (Kickstarter) |
| Course + email (ConvertKit £35) | £74/mo | £71/mo |
| Course + email + community (Circle £89) | £163/mo | £127/mo (Growth) |
| Course + email + community + funnel builder (£37) | £200/mo | £127/mo |
The bundling math tips toward Kajabi the more tools you’re replacing. The break-even is approximately at “course + email + community” — roughly £10K MRR for most S1/S3 creators.
2. Course builder
Both are solid. Thinkific’s tree-structure course editor is slightly cleaner for large courses. Kajabi’s is more integrated with the funnel builder (you can trigger pipeline steps from lesson completion). No material difference for a creator with one to five courses.
Edge: Draw
3. Email marketing
Kajabi’s email tool is approximately ConvertKit in feature depth — sequences, broadcasts, basic conditionals, and segmentation. Thinkific requires a third-party email tool. If you’re already paying for ConvertKit, Kajabi’s email is equivalent and reduces your tool count.
Edge: Kajabi (eliminates a subscription)
4. Sales funnels / Pipelines
Thinkific: Requires Zapier + Leadpages or a separate funnel builder. Kajabi: Pipelines is a built-in funnel builder. Pre-built blueprints for the main creator workflows. Real product, not a toy.
Edge: Kajabi (significant if you need funnels)
5. Community
Thinkific: Community add-on exists (£49/mo), functional but thin. Kajabi: Kajabi Communities is better — posts, challenges, chat, mobile app. Still behind Circle and Mighty Networks, but ahead of Thinkific.
Edge: Kajabi (marginally)
6. Video hosting
Both host video natively. Thinkific was slightly more reliable on large file uploads in our testing. No material difference for standard course content.
Edge: Thinkific (marginally, for large files)
7. Lock-in and switching cost
Thinkific: Low lock-in. Student CSV, course content export, drip schedule documentation. One week to migrate. Kajabi: High lock-in. Email automation, community history, pipeline data, and internal analytics all proprietary. Two to four weeks to migrate, with community data loss.
Edge: Thinkific (decisively for flexibility)
Switching from Thinkific to Kajabi: the real process
Most creators switch Thinkific → Kajabi between £5K and £10K MRR. The process:
- Export student emails from Thinkific (CSV)
- Import into Kajabi
- Recreate course structure (no direct import; manual or via Zapier bridge)
- Rebuild email sequences in Kajabi’s automation tool
- Set up Kajabi Payments or own Stripe
- Redirect course URLs (Thinkific uses
yoursite.thinkific.com/courses/; Kajabi uses your own domain)
Total time: five to ten working days depending on content volume. The URL change will cause a temporary GSC ranking dip — plan around a low-traffic period if SEO matters.
Switching from Kajabi back to Thinkific: why it’s harder
The reverse migration is more painful. Kajabi’s community history (posts, comments, member relationships) does not export. Kajabi’s pipeline blueprints don’t translate to other platforms. Your email list exports cleanly, but the automation logic doesn’t. If you’re using Kajabi Communities as a primary product, migrating off means a hard restart for your community members.
This is the lock-in asymmetry. Going up to Kajabi is manageable. Coming back down is a rebuild.
The realism caveat
Most creators who ask “Thinkific or Kajabi?” are under £5K MRR and are imagining the scale they’ll reach in six months. Plan for the revenue you have today, not the revenue you hope for. Thinkific Basic at £39/mo is correct for today; revisit at £5K MRR with your actual tool stack in front of you.
Final verdict
Start on Thinkific Basic (£39/mo). Graduate to Kajabi Growth (£127/mo) when: you’re paying separately for email + community + funnel tools and the combined bill exceeds £127/mo, OR you’ve crossed £10K MRR and want one bill instead of four.
Never move to Kajabi for the course builder alone. Thinkific’s course experience is equivalent. The Kajabi premium is entirely in the bundled marketing stack.
Prices shown are as of the last tested date and may have changed. Always verify on the vendor's official pricing page before purchasing. All prices converted to GBP at approximate exchange rates. Annual billing assumed unless stated otherwise.