Today we are going to review Kartra vs. Kajabi.

Ever find yourself caught between Kartra and Kajabi?

Both are all-in-one online selling platforms.

But here’s the thing – they cater to very different audiences.

I have used both of these tools for the last three years, closely watching the evolution of these tools, especially in terms of marketing automation.

Let’s get started with the Kartra vs. Kajabi review.

Features	Kartra	Kajabi
Free trail	30-day	30-day
Transaction fee 💸	0%	0%
Pricing starts at 💰	$49/mo	$89/mo
Has a built-in community? 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧	No	Yes (with gamification)
Mobile app  📱	No	Has both iOS and Android apps
Is it truly white-labeled?	Yes (geared towards agencies)	No

Quick decision

👍 What do I like about Kartra over Kajabi?

• Pre-built campaign templates: Look, setting up campaigns from scratch is a pain. That’s why Kartra gives you ready-to-use templates for everything – pages, funnels, automations. Real time-saver! 🚀
• Split testing features: Want to know what really works? Test up to 4 different versions of your pages and emails. And yes, you can test both subject lines and content. Data-driven decisions, you know what I mean?
• Flexible ways to get paid: Getting money shouldn’t be complicated. That’s why Kartra gives you options – hosted checkouts, pop-ups, embeds. Use whatever works for your business!
• Perfect for agencies: Managing multiple clients? Kartra’s got your back. Handle all your client accounts from one dashboard (on higher plans). No more jumping between accounts!

Explore Kartra (use AKSHAY30 coupon)

☝ Once you click on the above link, use my coupon code “AKSHAY30” to get 30% off. Just a heads up, this discount won’t work on the Essentials plan.

👍 What do I like about Kajabi over Kartra?

• Course features that actually matter: Look, if you want serious course features, Kajabi’s got them – we’re talking detailed student tracking, progress graphs, and coaching tools that actually work.
• Community with gamification: Their community platform isn’t just for show – it’s got gamification (you know, points and badges), accountability features, and real meetups. Pretty neat!
• Clean and fast interface: No more waiting around – pages load quickly.
• Mobile apps that don’t suck: Finally, apps that actually work on both iPhone and Android. Take your business on the go! 📱
• Built-in live streaming: Want to run webinars or coaching calls? It’s all here, no need for extra tools. 🎥
• Always getting better: Here’s what I love – they’re constantly rolling out new stuff. Not just minor tweaks, but features you’ll actually use. 🚀

Explore Kajabi

Similarities

Both of these platforms share several key features after Kartra’s 7.0 update:

• They both have powerful automation engines with advanced behavioral triggers and conditions
• Their landing page builders are feature-rich, though Kajabi’s is more modern and faster
• Both platforms offer comprehensive email marketing with broadcasts and sequences, though Kartra’s split-testing capabilities are more advanced.

Upfront bottomline ⚡️

Look, both Kajabi and Kartra are solid platforms – but they shine in different ways.

Let me break it down for you.

Kartra is your go-to if you want powerful automation without breaking the bank.

Kajabi?

It’s perfect for course creators and coaches who really care about their students’ learning experience.

And if you’re big on building communities? Kajabi’s got you covered there too.

Here’s the real deal:

Kajabi is the more established platform, and it shows. You get top-notch LMS features, a seriously good website builder, and some pretty cool gamified community stuff.

Plus, their modern interface is super quick – you won’t be sitting around waiting for pages to load.

Now, Kartra has stepped up its game with the 7.0 update.

They’ve cleaned up their interface and made everything more organized. Nice move!

But here’s the thing – while Kartra can’t quite match Kajabi’s course features, it’s a beast when it comes to marketing automation.

Think of Kartra as your marketing automation powerhouse.

It’s like a souped-up ClickFunnels alternative, you know what I mean?

🥇 I typically recommend Kajabi for most users. Because of its depth of features, centeredness, superior user experience, and premium feel. It has a lot to offer.

Overview

Kartra and Kajabi are both all-in-one digital selling platforms that come with various features like email marketing, automation, course creation, and the ability to create membership sites, among others.

However they started out differently.

Kartra was established in 2018 by Mike Filsaime and Andy Jenkins. They created this platform with a sole focus on building landing pages, sales funnels, and managing your online businesses, along with a membership building feature.

On the other hand, Kajabi is an older platform, founded in 2010 by Kenny Rueter, with a sole focus on selling online courses.

Later, he expanded to include memberships, communities, podcasts, and other features.

Kajabi’s popularity shot up in May 2021 when it raised $550 million in funding with a $2 billion valuation.

On the other hand, Kartra capitalized on the trending subscription membership creation market (back at that time). 📈

However, it’s important to note that the development speed of Kartra has significantly slowed down in comparison to Kajabi, which is rolling out many features.

User interface

Now, let me review what the interface of each of these tools feels like.

When it comes to Kartra, the user interface is pretty decent, but it’s not a joy to use.

Kartra conventionally had a pretty bad rap for its clunky user interface.

But now after the recent update, the navigation is much more streamlined and organized.

But.

Here’s the thing

👉 Pages load slowly, often taking 5-8 seconds to proceed when configuring products or memberships, I suppose underlying codebase is clunky 🤔 (I’m saying this seeing the source code of websites built on Kartra)!

On the other hand, Kajabi’s interface is very neat and minimal.

It does not cause cognitive overload when first trying out the platform.

You can access all its features within three clicks.

Also, Kajabi is very easy to use and is swift.

It feels that the product interface and organizational structure were designed with scalability in mind.

🏆 Winner: Kajabi’s interface is very neat, minimal, and easy to get started. While Kartra has improved with its recent update, Kajabi’s clean, minimal design and swift performance make it significantly more user-friendly.

Online courses and memberships 📚

Content uploading and delivery

Here’s the deal with courses and memberships on these platforms.

Both Kartra and Kajabi let you create and sell them, but there’s a big difference.

Kajabi is built for serious course creators – it’s got all those fancy LMS features.

But Kartra? Not so much.

But hey, you can still sell courses through their membership feature.

Here’s how it works:

First, upload all your videos in the video section.

Then comes the fun part – when you’re setting up memberships, head to “Content”, load up the “Builder”, and start putting together your content with their building blocks.

For each membership page, you’ll create posts using these building blocks.

The final piece? Use the membership settings to control who sees what videos.

Simple as that!

Now, here’s where Kajabi really shines.

It’s got a dedicated course builder that’s actually useful! 🎓

Look, organizing your content is super simple – just set up your modules and submodules exactly how you want them.

No headaches, no confusion.

Want to mix things up?

You can create video lessons, audio content, or even throw in some assessments to keep your students engaged.

And here’s a neat feature – you can add downloadable goodies like checklists, worksheets, or templates to every lesson.

Pretty handy, right?

But wait, there’s more!

Kajabi doesn’t just stop there.

Check out these cool features:

• Assessments (includes multiple-choice questions and file uploads)
• Drip scheduling
• Certificates
• Etc.

🥇 Winner: Kajabi as it has a dedicated full-fledged course builder vs. Kartra, which is more of a membership site builder.

Frontend student experience

Kartra’s membership builder keeps things simple – you can drag and drop different content blocks right onto your front-end pages.

It looks like a classic membership website.

You know what’s cool about Kajabi?

It’s super flexible with your course design.

Let me tell you about the lesson interface – it’s clean, modern, and just works.

No tech headaches here!

Want to keep your students focused?

They can switch to full-screen mode, tweak video speed (perfect for fast learners!), adjust quality settings, and jump into discussions with other students.

The appearance of the course page on Kajabi varies depending on the theme you choose.

📊 Here’s the deal with course analytics – Kajabi shows you exactly how each student is doing and gives you those handy video retention graphs. Kartra? It keeps things basic with just views and watch time stats.

🏆 Winner: Kajabi is the clear winner for course creation and delivery. Its dedicated LMS features make it significantly more suitable for course creators compared to Kartra’s basic membership functionality.

Community

Kartra doesn’t come with a community feature,apart from the membership’s functionality. Nothing fancy. 😕

Want to build a real community?

You’ll need to look at specialist community platforms like Circle.so or Mighty Networks.

These tools can really take your community game to the next level.

Now, Kajabi?

They supercharged their community features when they bought Vibely.

Now, Kajabi’s Community feature is really comprehensive and easily matches up with even specialist platforms like Circle.so or Mighty Networks.

When you fire up a community in Kajabi, your members get access to three main tabs: Feed, Challenges, and Meetups.

Pretty intuitive, right?

These aren’t just random features – they’re carefully designed to boost community engagement, keep people accountable, and help members connect with each other.

But wait, there’s more!

• Newsfeed, chats, and DMs
• Live video calls
• Accountability tools and progress tracking
• Challenges
• Resources
• Events and RSVPs
• Admins
• Member directory and leaderboard
• Etc

And guess what?

They’ve got this cool points system where you can reward members for doing stuff in your community.

The best part?

These points and rewards work seamlessly with Kajabi’s automation system – so when someone completes a task in your community, boom! They get their points automatically.

No manual work needed!

🏆 Winner: Kajabi is the clear winner for community features. While Kartra lacks any built-in community functionality, Kajabi offers a comprehensive, gamified community platform with mobile apps, challenges, and engagement tools that rival specialized community platforms.

Design and customization

Let me tell you about Kartra first.

Kartra doesn’t come with any themes for site design.

But don’t worry!

They make up for it with some really conversion-focused page templates that’ll help you design your site pages.

You get a super handy drag-and-drop page builder that lets you design all sorts of pages – landing pages, opt-ins, upsell/downsell pages, checkout pages, and much more.

You can make the pages responsive for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

You know what’s really cool?

They’ve got templates for everything – hero sections, feature blocks, call-to-action buttons, opt-in forms, pop-ups, testimonials… you name it!

These aren’t just any templates – they’re professionally designed and save you a ton of time.

No need to start from scratch.

Here’s something cool – you can add popups to boost your conversions and grab more leads.

And get this – you’ve got two flavors to pick from: landing popups and exit popups.

Want to know the best part?

You can set these popups to show up every time someone visits, or just on their first visit.

Pretty neat, right?

Now, let me tell you about Kajabi:

When it comes to website design, Kajabi’s got you covered with over 10 different themes.

They’ve got this dedicated theme store where you can browse through all your options.

Super convenient!

You know what’s cool?

Kajabi comes with a super intuitive drag-and-drop website builder.

You can whip up all sorts of pages – your main site, store pages, sales pages, funnels, blog posts… you name it!

Here’s the deal: While Kajabi’s page builder isn’t as fancy as specialized tools like Elementor, it’s actually more streamlined and way less cluttered.

For most course creators and digital entrepreneurs, it’s got everything you need. No extra fluff.

🏆 Winner: Both are a tie. Kajabi offers a cleaner interface and is fast loading, whereas Kartra comes with a lot of features but is quite cluttered and slow.

Email marketing and automation

Let me tell you about KartraMail – it’s their built-in email tool that’s pretty handy.

You can fire off quick broadcasts or set up automated sequences.

Getting started with sequences?

Here’s the first thing you need to do – set a trigger.

This could be:

• Someone fills out your opt-in form
• You add a specific tag to someone
• Your list gets updated
• Someone visits a page (yep, Kartra tracks that!)

Once that happens, you can make Kartra do some pretty cool stuff:

• Fire off emails or SMS messages
• Add or remove tags (super handy for segmentation)
• Add or remove people from your lists
• Split your audience based on what they do
• Add wait times between actions (perfect for follow-ups)

Here’s the thing about Kartra though – unlike ConvertKit, you won’t find a single “Sequences” block where you can create all your emails at once.

Instead, you’ll need to add email blocks one by one on the canvas.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, it can get a bit messy when you’re dealing with longer sequences. 🤔

Here’s a neat trick – Kartra has this thing called Subsequence.

Instead of stuffing all your emails into one massive sequence, you can trigger smaller sequences at specific points.

It’s like having mini-campaigns within your main campaign – keeps things super organized and lets you get really targeted with your emails based on what your subscribers are doing.

👉 And when it comes to testing? Kartra’s got you covered. You can test both subject lines and email content – up to 4 different versions! Perfect for figuring out what really gets your subscribers clicking.

Now about Kajabi:

Kajabi’s email marketing is a powerful built-in feature that supports both broadcasts and sequences.

Look, Kajabi keeps it simple with their email game.

Sure, they’ve got fancy templates, but let’s be real – most of us stick to plain text emails (they just work better! 📧).

Their drag-and-drop editor makes whipping up engaging emails super easy.

Here’s where Kajabi really shines – their automation is seriously powerful.

You can set up some pretty cool workflows that trigger based on what your subscribers do.

Check these out:

• Someone opens your email? Boom! They automatically get access to that sweet bonus offer you’ve been saving
• Click a link in your sequence? They’re instantly registered for your upcoming event
• Based on how people interact with your emails, you can tag and segment them automatically (super helpful for targeting!)

Want to know the best part?

The whole email system works seamlessly with Kajabi’s funnel builder.

You can create these awesome marketing campaigns without jumping between different tools.

That means you can ditch expensive tools like ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign – we’re talking hundreds of dollars in savings every month! 💰

🏆 Winner: Kartra takes a slight edge in email marketing due to its advanced split testing capabilities, organized subsequence feature, and comprehensive automation options. While both platforms offer robust email tools, Kartra’s testing features give it the winning advantage for serious email marketers.

Sales funnels/campaigns 📶

Kartra calls its funnels as Campaigns, while Kajabi calls them as Funnels.

You can either create campaigns from scratch or use their pre-built ones, called Done For You campaigns, designed by top marketers.

Here’s what makes Kartra’s campaigns super powerful – they work seamlessly with everything else in Kartra.

You can mix and match pages, memberships, videos, and emails to create something amazing.

Just drag and drop all these pieces into your campaign builder and you’re good to go! 🎯

👉 Want to know what’s really cool? The latest update brought us this awesome visual workflow builder that makes connecting all your campaign pieces a breeze! 🚀

And, Kartra’s funnel building just got way better with their newest update.

They’ve made the funnel builder super intuitive with two killer modes:

• Builder Mode: Think of it as your funnel playground – you can visually map out your funnel by dropping in traffic sources, pages, and automation stuff. And now it’s way cleaner and easier to use! ✨
• Simulation Mode: This is the game-changer! You can actually test drive your funnel before it goes live. How cool is that? 🎮

Here’s what really gets me excited about their traffic tracking.

You can now see exactly how different traffic sources perform – like, down to the details. 📊

Say you’re getting visitors from both SEO and social media – Kartra will show you which one’s actually bringing in the people who convert.

No more guessing games! 🎯

Here’s something really cool – their simulation analytics are like a sneak peek into your funnel’s future!

You can spot problems before they happen and predict how well things will work.

Pretty neat, right?

Now, let’s discuss Kajabi:

Look, Kajabi keeps things simple with their pre-made funnel blueprints.

You can use them for all sorts of stuff – freebies, Zoom webinars, product launches, coaching campaigns… you name it!

And get this – their funnel builder is super easy to use.

You just set up your steps one at a time, and you can add all these smart triggers and actions to automate things.

In the above example, I have shown a simple product launch funnel.

🏆 Kartra edges out as the winner in funnel building due to its advanced simulation analytics, traffic source tracking, and A/B testing capabilities. While Kajabi offers a cleaner interface and pre-made blueprints, Kartra’s robust testing and analysis features make it the superior choice for data-driven marketers.

Checkout pages

Kartra has both single and multi-step checkouts.

You’ll find tons of checkout templates to play with here.

And hey, want to boost those sales?

You can add the alert bars (perfect for that FOMO effect 😉) and trust-building guarantee badges.

👉 Here’s what’s really cool: Kartra lets you set up checkouts however you want – hosted pages, pop-ups, or even embedded forms. Super flexible!

But wait, there’s more.

It also comes with “Order bumps” (you know, those last-minute add-ons that can seriously boost your revenue).

The best part?

Once someone buys, Kartra automatically handles all the backend stuff – adding them to your lists, tagging them, whatever you need.

No need to mess around with Zapier or other tools.

Pretty sweet, right? 🚀

Here’s what’s awesome about Kajabi’s checkout.

You can customize it exactly how you want using their page builder.

Want to boost those conversions?

Just drop in some killer testimonials right there.

Also, they’ve got both bump offers and upsell features built right in.

🏆 Winner: Kartra wins in checkout functionality with its diverse templates, multiple checkout options (hosted, pop-up, embed), and seamless post-purchase automation. While Kajabi offers solid customization and upsell features, Kartra’s versatility makes it the superior choice for optimizing checkout conversions.

Payment processing

Let me break down the payment options for you.

Kartra keeps it simple with four main payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and Authorize.net.

That’s all you get. Nothing fancy.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

Kajabi starts with the basics – Stripe and PayPal. Also, depending on where you’re based, you can also use 2Checkout, BitPay, Authorize.net, and several other payment processors.

Pretty flexible, right?

Here’s something cool – Kajabi just rolled out Kajabi Payments.

It’s their own payment solution that handles all the tax headaches and gets you paid faster.

Just one catch though – it’s only available in the US for now. 🇺🇸

🏆 Winner: Kajabi wins in payment processing with its wider range of payment gateways and the innovative Kajabi Payments solution for US users. While Kartra offers solid basic integrations, Kajabi’s versatility and compliance features give it the edge.

Affiliate marketing

Let me break down how commissions work in both platforms.

Kartra’s pretty flexible here – you can set commissions across your whole account or tweak them product by product.

Pretty neat, right?

With Kartra, you get some seriously powerful features:

• Set up multiple commission tiers (perfect for super-affiliates!)
• Add mandatory terms & conditions (keeps everything legit)

Now, Kajabi keeps things simpler – maybe a bit too simple.

You can only set commissions product by product, no global settings here. 🤔

• Tag affiliates automatically (saves you tons of time)
• Screen affiliates with questionnaires

🏆 Winner: Kartra is the clear winner in affiliate marketing capabilities. Its multi-tier commission structure, automated tagging, and comprehensive affiliate management tools make it superior to Kajabi’s more basic affiliate features.

Integrations

Kartra integrates well with most of the popular payment gateways, email marketing platforms, SMS gateways, membership platforms, etc.

However, Kartra’s integrations are quite limited and require technical know-how to set them up.

Also, there are also a lot of complaints regarding data inconsistency.

On the other hand, Kajabi also integrates well with the most popular platforms like Typeform, Survey Monkey, MailChimp, Drip, ConvertKit, Cloudflare, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, etc.

Kajabi supports Zapier and Webhooks integration as well.

🏆 Winner: Kajabi wins in integrations with its extensive native connections and simpler setup process. While both platforms offer essential integrations, Kajabi’s user-friendly implementation and reliable data consistency make it the superior choice for seamless third-party connections.

Mobile app 📲

Kartra doesn’t come with mobile apps

However. Kajabi supports both iOS and Android apps.

Here’s what makes Kajabi’s mobile app really awesome – it’s basically your entire course platform in your pocket!

You can check out all your courses, jump into community discussions, and even take those important assessments right from your phone.

But what I love most?

The push notifications!

They’re perfect for keeping your students coming back for more.

Let me break down what you can do with the iOS app:

• Watch all your course content on the go
• Complete those assessments whenever it’s convenient
• Stay connected with your learning community
• Get those handy push notifications to stay on track
• Buy new courses right in the app

🏆 Bottomline: Kajabi wins hands down when it comes to using the platform on your phone 📱. They’ve got these amazing iOS and Android apps that let you watch courses, take quizzes, chat with your community, and get helpful reminders. Kartra? Well… they don’t have an app at all.

Pricing 💰

Kartra offers tiered pricing starting with the Essentials plan at $49/mo for up to 500 contacts and 10,000 emails.

Want more features?

The Starter plan costs $119/month and gives you unlimited emails, webinars, memberships, AI tools, and zero transaction fees.

Need even more power? The Growth plan at $229/mo comes with 12,500 contacts, funnel simulation, helpdesk, affiliate marketing tools, and live-chat support.

Looking to save some money?

Go for the annual plan and enjoy a sweet 22% discount. 💰

👉 Quick Tip: Click on this link and use my promo code “AKSHAY30” to get 30% off. Just a heads up, this discount won’t work on the Essentials plan.

Now, let’s check out what Kajabi will cost you…

Kajabi is definitely the pricier option here.

Their basic plan starts at $149/month, and honestly? You only get 3 products and 3 funnels.

Feels a bit like they’re nudging you toward their more expensive plans.

The Basic plan skips some really important stuff.

No advanced automation, no affiliate program – none of that good stuff.

Want those features?

You’ll need to jump up to their Growth plan at $199/month.

Here’s the reality:Most folks end up going for the middle-tier Growth plan anyway, since both platforms’ basic plans are pretty limiting when it comes to contacts and products.

🏆 Winner: Kartra wins in pricing with its more flexible Starter plan at $119/month offering unlimited products. While both platforms push users toward Growth plans, Kartra provides better value compared to Kajabi’s restrictive Basic plan at $149/month with just 3 products.

Support 👋

Both platforms offer comprehensive support options. Kartra provides knowledge base articles, YouTube tutorials, support tickets, and chat support.

Kajabi offers similar resources plus live webinars, a Facebook community, and Kajabi University.

While both platforms have quick response times, priority support is only available on Kajabi’s higher-tier plans.

FAQs on Kartra vs Kajabi ❓

1. What is the difference between Kajabi and Kartra? Kajabi is specifically designed for creating courses, while Kartra is a all-in-one marketing tool used for selling digital or physical products, membership, etc.
2. What is the difference between ClickFunnels and Kajabi? ClickFunnels is a prominent platform for building sales funnels, aimed at boosting sales through complex funnels. In contrast, Kajabi is intended for creating and selling courses.
3. Does Kartra support blogging? No, Kartra does not include a built-in blogging feature. However, Kajabi does provide this feature.
4. Can I create funnels in Kajabi? Yes, Kajabi includes its own funnels known as “pipelines”. It offers several pipeline blueprints to help you get started.

Conclusion 🏆

Look, both Kajabi and Kartra are solid platforms if you’re serious about marketing. But here’s the real deal…

Kajabi? It’s got that modern vibe to it.

Plus, if you’re into course creation and building engaged communities, you’ll love their gamification features.

Now, Kartra packs a ton of marketing tools – and yes, they’ve recently given their interface a facelift.

But, still slow though.

Here’s the thing about budget: if you’re watching your wallet, Kartra might be your best bet.

Why?

Their $119/month Starter plan lets you create unlimited products.

No restrictions.

But if you’re the type who values a smooth, polished experience (you know what I mean?), Kajabi could be your pick.

Just keep in mind – their $149/month plan only gives you 3 products and 3 funnels. That’s pretty limiting.