New Zenler vs Kajabi vs Thinkific: What Creators Should Compare in 2026

David Zenler Author

Aug 22, 2026 |

Compare New Zenler, Kajabi and Thinkific in 2026 across pricing, courses, funnels, email, communities, live sessions, AI, limits and growth fit.

Quick answer: New Zenler, Kajabi and Thinkific can all sell online courses, but they are not positioned the same way. New Zenler is strongest for creators who want courses, funnels, email, communities, live sessions, blogs, payments and automations in one platform with no transaction fees on the current listed plans. Kajabi is a premium all-in-one platform for expert businesses with strong marketing and product delivery. Thinkific is a learning-commerce platform with strong course, community and B2B learning features.

Currentness note: Platform pricing and plan limits change. This comparison was checked against the official pricing pages for New Zenler, Kajabi and Thinkific on 22 August 2026. Always check each platform’s current pricing page before buying.

What to Compare First

Do not compare platforms only by the monthly price. The better question is: what will you need to pay for once your course business is actually running?

Compare:

• Courses and product limits
• Students, people or contact limits
• Transaction fees and payment-processing fees
• Funnels, landing pages and checkout
• Email marketing and automation
• Communities, memberships and bundles
• Live sessions, webinars or coaching
• Websites, blogs and custom domains
• AI features and support
• How much the platform costs as you scale

New Zenler at a Glance

New Zenler is built as an all-in-one platform for creators who want to create, market, sell and deliver online courses from one place.

The current New Zenler pricing page lists Starter, Pro and Premium plans. It shows no transaction fees on the listed plans, with courses, communities, emails, marketing funnels, live sessions, coupons, quizzes, blogs and automations included across the plan structure. Pro and Premium expand scale with more sites, communities, emails, funnels, live sessions, custom domains and team roles.

The current New Zenler features page positions the platform around courses, memberships, live classes, webinars, coaching, downloads, site building, payments, blogs, analytics, community, quizzes, surveys, automations and broadcasts.

New Zenler is a strong fit when you want one connected system for:

• Online courses
• Sales funnels and landing pages
• Email broadcasts and automations
• Communities and memberships
• Live classes, webinars and coaching
• Blogs and SEO content
• Coupons, payments and checkout
• AI Agents on Pro and Premium

For feature detail, see the official pages for online courses, sales funnels and selling online.

Kajabi at a Glance

Kajabi is a premium all-in-one platform for experts, coaches, educators, creators and service professionals who want to build a business around knowledge products.

On the official Kajabi pricing page checked on 22 August 2026, annual pricing showed Basic, Growth and Pro tiers, with Basic listing 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 1 website, 1 community and 2 admin users. Growth listed 50 products and 25,000 contacts. Pro listed unlimited products, 100,000 contacts, 3 websites and 3 communities. Kajabi’s page also says there is no revenue sharing, while processing fees still apply.

Kajabi is a strong fit when you want a polished premium platform for:

• Courses and coaching programs
• Digital products and memberships
• Landing pages and funnels
• Email marketing
• Communities
• A premium expert-business brand experience

The main thing creators should compare carefully is scale: product limits, contact limits, websites, communities and the plan level needed for the business they expect to run.

Thinkific at a Glance

Thinkific describes itself as an online learning commerce platform for businesses that create and sell courses, communities, memberships, digital downloads, coaching, webinars and other learning products.

On the official Thinkific pricing page checked on 22 August 2026, the page showed Basic, Start, Grow and Plus. In the UK/EU view available during checking, Basic was listed for publishing a first course and building an audience, with unlimited courses, 1 community, up to 5 digital products, checkout, coupon codes, abandoned-cart emails, dashboards and custom domain support. Start added live cohorts and coaching, certificates, assignments, quizzes, bundles, upsells, payment plans, memberships, subscriptions and HTML/CSS editing. Grow added deeper selling and analytics features, more communities, B2B/group order tools, invoicing, priority support, API access and webhooks. Plus is positioned for higher-growth custom needs.

Thinkific is a strong fit when you want:

• A course-first learning commerce platform
• Communities and memberships
• Digital downloads
• Coaching, webinars and live learning features
• B2B or group learning features on higher tiers
• Custom learning infrastructure through Thinkific Plus

Thinkific can be especially worth comparing if your business is more learning-platform-led than funnel-led.

Comparison Table

When New Zenler May Be the Better Fit

New Zenler may be the better fit if you want to reduce the number of tools in your business.

It is especially relevant if you want your course platform to also handle pages, funnels, email, automations, payments, communities, blogs, live sessions, webinars and analytics.

That matters because many creators do not struggle only with course hosting. They struggle with the whole launch system: lead magnet, sales page, checkout, email follow-up, delivery, community, live support and ongoing content.

If that is your situation, read the broader guide to the best all-in-one online course platform and the practical guide on creating your first course with New Zenler.

When Kajabi May Be the Better Fit

Kajabi may be a better fit if your priority is a premium expert-business experience, polished marketing, high-value offers and a mature all-in-one ecosystem.

Creators comparing Kajabi should pay close attention to product limits, contact limits, community limits and the plan level needed as their business grows.

When Thinkific May Be the Better Fit

Thinkific may be a better fit if your business is primarily learning-commerce focused, especially if structured learning, communities, digital downloads, B2B learning, live cohorts, certificates, assignments, and higher-tier learning operations matter more than having a broad creator-marketing stack in one place.

Creators comparing Thinkific should pay close attention to the plan level needed for memberships, bundles, payment plans, analytics, API access, community scale and B2B workflows.

Decision Checklist

• If you want one platform for courses, funnels, email, communities, live sessions, blogs and automations, compare New Zenler first.
• If you want a premium expert-business platform with strong marketing polish, compare Kajabi carefully.
• If you want a learning-commerce platform with strong course, community and B2B learning options, compare Thinkific carefully.
• If your audience is price-sensitive, compare transaction fees, payment options and the plan where your required features unlock.
• If you plan to scale, compare student/contact limits, email limits, product limits, communities, admin roles and custom domains.
• If SEO content is part of your strategy, check blog support and public URL flexibility.

Related reading: compare broader platform value in New Zenler as a Teachable alternative, plan your offer with How to Price an Online Course, and turn expertise into a product with How to Turn a Coaching Framework Into a Sellable Online Course.

Conclusion

New Zenler, Kajabi and Thinkific are all serious course platforms, but they solve the problem from different angles.

New Zenler is compelling for creators who want more of the course business in one place. Kajabi is strong for premium expert businesses that want a polished all-in-one system. Thinkific is strong for structured learning commerce and education-led businesses.

The best choice is the one that fits your next 12 months of real use: what you will build, sell, automate, support and measure.

FAQ

Is New Zenler cheaper than Kajabi and Thinkific?

It depends on the plan and billing option. On the pricing pages checked on 22 August 2026, New Zenler listed Starter, Pro and Premium with no transaction fees on listed plans. Kajabi and Thinkific use different plan structures, limits and feature unlocks, so compare the plan that includes the features you actually need.

Which platform is best for funnels and email?

New Zenler and Kajabi are both strong all-in-one options for funnels and email. Thinkific includes marketing and sales tools too, but creators should compare whether its funnel workflow matches their launch strategy.

Which platform is best for communities?

All three platforms support communities, but the number of communities, spaces and community-related features vary by plan. Check current plan limits before deciding.

Which platform should a beginner choose?

A beginner should choose the platform that matches the business they are building, not just the cheapest monthly price. New Zenler is strong for an all-in-one course business workflow, Kajabi for premium expert-business positioning, and Thinkific for learning-commerce depth.

Categories: : Platform Comparisons