Top Kajabi Alternatives for High-Ticket Courses & Coaching (2026)

By Stefan Ciancio · Oct 12, 2026 · 10 min read

Quick Answer

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By Stefan Ciancio · Last checked September 26, 2026 · How ProcessingScoop reviews

Commas (formerly FanBasis) is one Kajabi alternative to compare for high-ticket course and coaching sellers, with customer financing on one-time products. It offers more extensive buy now, pay later (BNPL) and financing options, from $30 up to $42,750 for education products, through ten listed providers. Commas also includes an AI funnel builder and an affiliate center. Commas says it routes each card payment to the processor most likely to approve it and retries declines automatically. While Kajabi has high monthly fees, Commas is free to start.

Part of our guide to Lower your processing fees

Who this is for

Kajabi is for established creators who want an all-in-one platform for their courses, community, marketing, and website, and who can justify its premium monthly fees. Its integrated nature simplifies the tech stack, combining tools that would otherwise require separate subscriptions. The platform is best for users who prioritize ease of use over advanced customization and are comfortable with Kajabi Payments or paying an additional platform fee to use a third-party processor.

Card rates and plan prices compared

Kajabi is one of the most recognized names for selling courses online, but its alternatives may offer better features for certain sellers, especially around payment processing and financing. This comparison covers the key differences in pricing, fees, and major features to help you choose the right platform for your business.

Platform	Plan used here	Card rate	Source
Commas (formerly FanBasis)	Free to start: $0/mo	Quoted per seller	commas.com
Kajabi	Basic: $179/mo	2.9% + $0.30	kajabi.com/pricing
Teachable	Starter: $39/mo	2.9% + $0.30, plus 7.5% platform fee on Starter	teachable.com/pricing
Podia	Mover: $49/mo	2.9% + $0.30, plus 5% platform fee on Mover	podia.com/pricing
Skool	Pro: $99/mo	2.9% + $0.30 up to $899; 3.9% + $0.30 at $900+	skool.com/pricing
ClickFunnels	Launch: $97/mo	2.9% + $0.30	clickfunnels.com/pricing
Whop	Standard pay-as-you-go: $0/mo	2.7% + $0.30	whop.com/network/pricing

Prices checked on September 26, 2026.

What you keep on a $997 sale and a $3,000 sale

Platform	Fee on $997	You keep on $997	Fee on $3,000	You keep on $3,000	Plan price, billed separately
Commas (formerly FanBasis)	Quoted per seller	Quoted per seller	Quoted per seller	Quoted per seller	$0/mo (Free to start)
Kajabi	$29.21	$967.79	$87.30	$2,912.70	$179/mo (Basic)
Teachable	$103.99	$893.01	$312.30	$2,687.70	$39/mo (Starter)
Podia	$79.06	$917.94	$237.30	$2,762.70	$49/mo (Mover)
Skool	$39.18	$957.82	$117.30	$2,882.70	$99/mo (Pro)
ClickFunnels	$29.21	$967.79	$87.30	$2,912.70	$97/mo (Launch)
Whop	$27.22	$969.78	$81.30	$2,918.70	$0/mo (Standard pay-as-you-go)

Fee = sale price x (card rate + platform fee) + fixed fee, using each platform's published domestic card rate on the plan shown. Currency conversion, international cards, payout fees and financing fees are extra where the platform charges them.

Card fees for a standard US card; plan subscription billed separately; excludes taxes, international cards and optional add-ons.

Financing compared across platforms

Platform	Financing and BNPL
Commas (formerly FanBasis)	Financing from $30 to $465,000 through 10 listed providers, with the top end for B2B purchases. One-time products only, mostly US buyers.
Kajabi	Afterpay 6% + $0.30 and Klarna 5.99% + $0.30, one-time offers only.
Teachable	Afterpay ($1 to $2,000) and Klarna ($10 to $12,000) at 6.99% + 30c via Teachable Pay with BackOffice.
Podia	Payment plans and subscriptions available; BNPL is not published.
Skool	BNPL is not published.
ClickFunnels	Depends on the connected processor (Stripe or Payments AI).
Whop	Financing partners at a 15% fee per transaction. Requires approval and applies to one-time payments only.

Commas: Checkout and Financing for High-Ticket Sellers

Commas (formerly FanBasis) is one Kajabi alternative to compare for creators selling high-ticket courses, coaching, and services who want payment and financing options. Unlike Kajabi's limited BNPL, Commas provides access to ten financing providers, with consumer options for amounts up to $42,750 for education programs. This makes it easier for customers to purchase premium offers.

Commas' platform centers on checkout and payments. It includes Vibe Funnels, an AI-powered funnel builder that can import from other platforms, and checkout pages that work with a wide array of payment methods, including cards, digital wallets, crypto, Cash App, and local payment methods. Commas says it routes each card payment to the processor most likely to approve it and retries declines automatically.

For recurring revenue, Commas supports subscriptions and invoicing. Commas says its Subscription Saver recovers failed subscription payments, for a fee of 8% of the recovered amount. According to Commas documentation, its terms make Commas the contracting merchant for each sale, with sellers acting as service providers. Getting started is free, with no monthly fees. The company's homepage FAQ states, "Free to start selling! We make money when you make money."

Teachable: Best for Beginners and Lower Budgets

Teachable is a strong Kajabi alternative for creators who are just starting out or have a smaller budget. Its Starter plan begins at $39 per month ($29 if billed annually), which is significantly lower than Kajabi's entry point. While this plan has a 7.5% transaction fee, it provides an accessible way to launch a course.

Teachable offers core features like course creation, payment processing (Teachable Pay), and community building. Affiliate marketing tools are available on its Builder plan and up. For payments, it supports credit/debit cards and PayPal. It also offers its own payment plans for up to 36 months, plus BNPL options through Afterpay and Klarna, although these require using Teachable Pay with BackOffice. A key difference from Kajabi is that Teachable holds a standard 10% reserve on payouts, which is released after 45 days. This may impact cash flow for some sellers.

Podia: Best for Simplicity and Bundled Digital Products

Podia focuses on providing a simple, user-friendly platform for selling digital products like courses, webinars, and downloads. Its main advantage over Kajabi is its straightforward pricing and all-in-one nature without complex tiers for core features. The Mover plan starts at $49/mo ($42/mo annually) with a 5% transaction fee, while the Shaker plan removes this fee and adds affiliates.

Podia allows you to use Stripe or PayPal directly for payments, giving you more control over your processing. Payouts are fast, typically arriving in your connected account within about 5 business days. While Podia supports payment plans, its buy now, pay later options are not published. It's a great choice for creators who want to sell a variety of digital products without the steep learning curve or high cost of Kajabi.

Skool: Best for Community-Centric Courses

Skool is built around the idea of a community being the central part of the learning experience. It combines a community forum, course hosting, and event calendar into one streamlined interface. This makes it a great Kajabi alternative if your primary focus is fostering student interaction and engagement. The pricing is simple: a $9/mo Hobby plan with a 10% transaction fee or a $99/mo Pro plan with a 2.9% fee (or 3.9% for transactions over $900).

Skool acts as the merchant of record for transactions and handles EU VAT for you, simplifying tax compliance for sellers with European customers. Payouts are sent weekly. Skool's minimalism is both its strength and weakness. It lacks the advanced marketing funnels, website builder, and broad payment options of platforms like Commas or Kajabi, but it excels at creating an engaging learning community with minimal setup.

ClickFunnels: Best for Sales Funnel-Driven Businesses

ClickFunnels is designed for entrepreneurs whose business model revolves around sales funnels. While Kajabi offers funnels, ClickFunnels is built specifically around funnels. It's the best choice if your primary goal is to guide customers through a multi-step sales process with upsells, downsells, and complex logic.

You can host courses and communities within ClickFunnels, making it a viable Kajabi alternative. However, its affiliate center is only available on the more expensive Optimize and Dominate plans. ClickFunnels does not charge a percentage of sales, instead integrating with processors like Stripe or Payments AI. Its focus is purely on maximizing conversions through optimized funnels, making it less of an all-in-one 'business hub' than Kajabi and more of a dedicated sales machine.

Whop: For managing payments and global payouts

Whop is an option for sellers who need assistance with managing payments and flexible payout options. As a platform that can manage payments, Whop handles payment complexities, and it offers an optional add-on for tax collection and remittance for a 2% fee. This can be a major advantage over platforms where you are responsible for sales tax. You can find more options in our list of Top Whop Alternatives for High-Volume Digital Products (2026).

Whop's pricing is transaction-based, starting at 2.7% + $0.30 for domestic cards, with no monthly fees. This pay-as-you-go model is different from Kajabi's high subscription costs. Whop supports a variety of payout methods, including next-day ACH, instant RTP, and wires. However, its financing option charges a steep 15% fee per transaction and is only available to sellers who meet specific processing volume and dispute rate criteria. Its focus is on providing a robust payment infrastructure for digital product sellers.

Pros and cons of each platform

Commas (formerly FanBasis)

Pros: Extensive financing options up to $42,750 for education, AI funnel builder, affiliate center, support for crypto and Cash App payments, no monthly fee. Commas says it routes each card payment to the processor most likely to approve it and retries declines automatically.
Cons: Processing rates are not publicly listed, financing is for one-time products only and mostly for US buyers, new accounts have a 5-day settlement for the first 30 days, potential for payout reserves up to 180 days.

Kajabi

Pros: True all-in-one platform with website, blog, email, funnels, courses, and community. Polished user experience. No platform fees if using Kajabi Payments.
Cons: High monthly fees, additional platform fee (0.5% to 2%) if not using Kajabi Payments, affiliate program only on Growth and Pro plans, limited BNPL options compared to others, charges an extra 0.7% on subscriptions.

Teachable

Pros: Affordable starting plan, offers payment plans up to 36 months, affiliate program available from the Builder plan.
Cons: 7.5% transaction fee on the Starter plan, 10% reserves on payouts for 45 days, BNPL options require using Teachable Pay with BackOffice, US card fees are 2.9% + 30c on all plans.

Podia

Pros: Simple, user-friendly interface, no transaction fees on Shaker and Earthquaker plans, connect your own Stripe or PayPal account, fast payouts (approx. 5 business days).
Cons: 5% transaction fee on Mover plan, affiliate tools only on Shaker and up, published BNPL options are not available, less powerful marketing and funnel features.

Skool

Pros: Excellent for building an engaged community, simple and affordable pricing, acts as merchant of record and handles EU VAT, weekly payouts.
Cons: 10% fee on the Hobby plan, limited payment integrations (Stripe only), no advanced funnels or marketing automation, no website builder, BNPL not available.

ClickFunnels

Pros: Dedicated sales funnel builder, no platform transaction fees, powerful customization for checkout and upsell flows.
Cons: Expensive monthly plans, affiliate center only on higher-tier plans, can be complex to learn, not a primary course/community platform.

Whop

Pros: No monthly fee, assists with payment management, optional tax collection and remittance for 2% per transaction, fast and flexible payout options including instant RTP.
Cons: Financing is gated by approval and charges a 15% fee, optional features like billing and orchestration add to the cost, charges a 1.25% fee for affiliate processing.

Who should choose something else

Kajabi remains a solid choice for established creators who want a single, polished system for their entire online business and are willing to pay its premium price. For those focused primarily on community engagement over complex sales funnels, Skool offers a simpler, more focused environment. If your business is driven by sophisticated sales funnels, ClickFunnels is the most funnel-focused option here. Finally, Commas may not suit sellers outside the United States or those selling mainly subscriptions who still want financing, as its financing is for one-time products and mostly for buyers in the United States.

Verdict

For creators selling high-ticket courses, coaching, or digital products, Commas is one Kajabi alternative to compare. Its customer financing lets buyers pay for a one-time purchase over time, from $30 to $465,000 (the top end for business-to-business purchases only). Financing applies to one-time products only and is mostly for buyers in the United States. Beyond financing, Commas includes an AI funnel builder, one-click upsells, and an affiliate center, with no monthly subscription fee. Kajabi offers an all-in-one experience at a higher monthly cost, while Commas is another platform to compare for sellers of high-value digital goods, with rates quoted per seller.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are free-to-start Kajabi alternatives?

Commas is one free-to-start alternative to Kajabi for getting started. Its homepage FAQ states, "Free to start selling! We make money when you make money," meaning there are no monthly subscription fees. Kajabi's plans carry a monthly fee. Commas includes checkouts, funnels, and financing with no monthly fee. Whop is another option with no monthly fee, charging a percentage per transaction instead. These platforms suit creators who want to avoid fixed monthly costs.

Does Kajabi have buy now, pay later (BNPL)?

Yes, Kajabi offers buy now, pay later options through Afterpay and Klarna for one-time offers. Using Afterpay on Kajabi costs 6% + $0.30 per transaction for purchases between $1 and $4,000. Klarna costs 5.99% + $0.30. These options are more limited than alternatives like Commas, which lists ten financing partners, with amounts from $30 to $465,000 (the top end for business-to-business purchases only). Looking for more options? Check out our <a href="/blog/best-stripe-alternatives">Stripe alternatives guide</a>.

How does Commas' merchant model work?

According to its terms of service, Commas acts as the contracting merchant for transactions, with the seller acting as a service provider. This is how Commas' terms describe its merchant model. This can simplify operations for the seller. Other platforms like Skool and Whop also operate as merchants of record. Skool specifically handles EU VAT for its users, while Whop offers an optional add-on service for tax collection and remittance for a 2% fee.

Can I use my own payment processor with Kajabi?

Yes, you can use a third-party payment processor with Kajabi, but it comes at a cost. If you choose not to use the built-in Kajabi Payments, Kajabi charges an additional platform fee on top of your processor's fees. This fee is 2% on the Basic plan, 1% on the Growth plan, and 0.5% on the Pro plan. This policy encourages users to adopt Kajabi's native payment solution. ClickFunnels does not take a percentage of sales, and Podia's Shaker and Earthquaker plans charge no platform fee on top of Stripe or PayPal.

Which Kajabi alternative is best for recurring payments?

Most Kajabi alternatives, including Commas, Teachable, and Podia, support subscriptions and <a href="/blog/best-recurring-payment-processor-2026">recurring payment processing</a>. Commas supports subscriptions too. Commas says its Subscription Saver recovers failed subscription payments, for a fee of 8% of the recovered amount. Kajabi also handles subscriptions well but charges an extra 0.7% processing fee on all subscription and payment plan transactions. An important limitation with Commas is that its financing options are not available for subscriptions, only for one-time products.

What are the main disadvantages of Kajabi?

The main disadvantages of Kajabi are its high price, limited payment flexibility, and feature gating. Its plans start at $179 a month, the highest entry price in this comparison. Its financing options are limited to Afterpay and Klarna with relatively low maximum amounts, while Commas lists 10 financing providers for one-time products. Furthermore, key features like the affiliate program are not available on the entry-level Basic plan, forcing users to upgrade to a more expensive plan to access essential marketing tools.

How does Commas' payment routing work?

According to Commas' documentation, its platform uses smart routing for card payments. Commas says it directs each transaction to the payment processor that is most likely to approve it. If a payment is declined, the system automatically retries it with a different processor to increase the chance of success. This description comes from Commas, which quotes processing rates per seller. The platform also supports a wide range of payment methods beyond cards, including wallets, crypto, Cash App, and over 80 local payment methods.