Circle vs Kajabi
Circle sells access to people: spaces, live rooms, events and apps, with a course module that is adequate but shallow, from $89 a month. Kajabi sells a whole business system of funnels, email, landing pages and courses from $179 a month. Community-led memberships go to Circle, while established course sellers consolidating their marketing go to Kajabi.
Niels AbrahamsenAnalyst, Security & Infrastructure
Hannah Reiter
Tomasz WierzbickiVendors can pay for visibility on this site; it never changes what we say about a product. How that works.
Choose Circle ifmembers are paying to be in the room with each other, you want live events, unlimited members and mobile apps, and the course only needs to be good enough.
Choose Kajabi ifyou sell courses through funnels and email campaigns, have the revenue to justify the higher plans, and want pages, checkout and content under one roof.
Circle and Kajabi side by side
| Circle | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Our online course platform rank | #5 of 14 | #6 of 14 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| Pricing | Per month per plan, published, from $89 on annual billing; a transaction fee of 2% to 0.5% on every plan | Per month, published tiers by products and contacts, from $179; a 2% to 0.5% fee on sales through third-party processors |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Professional: $89 a month, based on annual billing, plus a 2% transaction fee | Basic: $179 a month, or $143 a month billed yearly |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A paid community where the course is the joining excuse | An established seller consolidating funnels, email and courses in one place |
| Not for | A catalogue of structured courses with assessment and certificates | A first course with no audience and no revenue yet |
Both are reviewed in full in our online course platform ranking: Circle and Kajabi.
Where they differ
Circle 0 · Kajabi 1 · open 4- 01
What the member is paying for
Circle is the shape that fits when the product is access to people: a forum, live rooms and events, with courses to work through in between. Kajabi is priced and built as a business system for selling courses. Neither is wrong, but they answer different questions, so the winner depends on what your members actually buy.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
Fees as revenue grows
Circle charges a transaction fee on every plan: 2% on Professional at $89 a month, 1% on Business at $199 and Scale at $419, and 0.5% on Circle Plus. Kajabi says it takes no revenue share, but Kajabi Payments costs 2.9% plus $0.30 on Basic, and a third-party processor adds 2%, 1% or 0.5% by plan. The cheaper one changes as sales rise.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Funnels, email and pages
Every Kajabi plan includes unlimited landing pages, funnels and marketing emails next to the courses, and that is its reason to exist. Circle includes a website and payments, and offers Email Hub, with broadcasts, automations, forms and segmentation, free below 100 contacts and as a paid add-on beyond that. For selling to people who are not yet members, Kajabi is the more complete tool.
Edge: Kajabi
- 04
What the entry plan allows
Circle Professional includes unlimited members, 20 spaces, three admins and ten moderators, with courses, live events, a custom domain and mobile apps. Kajabi Basic includes five products, 2,500 contacts, one community, one website and two admin users. A membership that grows by headcount fits Circle's limits more easily; a small catalogue with a modest list fits Kajabi's.
Depends on the buyer
- 05
What leaving would cost
Both are hard to leave, in different ways. Kajabi hosts the video itself and holds pages, emails and funnels, so migrating is a rebuild. With Circle the archive of community posts is what members paid for, and it is rarely exportable in readable form. Keep masters and member lists outside either.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
Neither suits a solo creator with a handful of courses and downloads who wants low cost and a quick start. Podia offers courses, downloads and memberships on one published price with a free plan, and Payhip is free to start and handles EU VAT.
Circle or Kajabi: questions
4 answersIs Circle or Kajabi better for a paid membership community?
Circle, when the community is the product. It is bought for the forum, live rooms and events, and is the strongest option in the category for that shape. Kajabi hosts a community too, but it is designed around funnels, email and courses, not around conversation.
Do Circle and Kajabi take a cut of sales?
Circle charges a transaction fee of 2% on Professional, 1% on Business and Scale, and 0.5% on Circle Plus.
Kajabi states it takes no revenue share as a platform, but payments cost 2.9% plus $0.30 through Kajabi Payments on Basic, and a third-party processor adds 2%, 1% or 0.5% depending on plan.
Can Circle replace Kajabi for selling courses?
Not for a catalogue of structured courses. Circle's drip logic, assessment and reporting stay shallow, and it is a poor fit for courses needing assessment and certificates. It can replace Kajabi when the course is mainly a reason to join a community.
Does Circle include email marketing like Kajabi?
Partly. Circle's Email Hub provides broadcasts, automations, forms and segmentation, is free for fewer than 100 contacts and is otherwise a paid add-on listed from $99 a month for 10,000 contacts.
Kajabi includes unlimited marketing emails in every plan, with contact limits starting at 2,500 on Basic.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- Circle pricing page: Circle plan prices, transaction fees, member, space and admin limits, Email Hub add-on price.
- Circle Email Hub page: Email Hub features and free use below 100 contacts.
- Kajabi pricing page: Kajabi plan prices, limits, included funnels and emails, payment and third-party fees.