Over the years, more and more people have become interested in taking online courses. This interest has allowed many creators to spread their wings and jump into the online learning world.
Two major players in the online course platform space are Mighty Networks and Kajabi. Both platforms believe in the value of online learning, but approach it in vastly different ways. This can make it hard to know which platform is the best fit for what you’re trying to build.
Ahead, we’ll explore what each of these online course platforms are all about. We’ll compare Mighty Networks vs. Kajabi to see which is best for you.
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In this article...
1. Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks: Who are they?
Kajabi
Kajabi is an online course platform that heavily emphasizes the marketing and selling of online courses. They believe that creators should be able to deliver high-quality online courses and that they should be given the tools to market them as well. This translates into Kajabi focusing a lot of resources on their email, landing page, and sales features that creators can use to get more eyes on their work.
Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks is an all-in-one online community platform that harnesses the power of cultural software, giving creators a platform where they can build vibrant communities, teach courses, and charge for membership. Mighty uses Spaces that let you bring together content the 4 Cs: content, courses, commerce, and community. You can use Mighty to sell memberships, communities, events, and courses or bundles of any and all of these.
2. Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks: Different approaches to “all-in-one” platform
All-in-one platform features | Mighty Networks | Kajabi |
|---|---|---|
Paid memberships |  | |
Custom domain | | |
Community analytics | |  |
Pre-Recorded Courses | | |
Live Cohort Courses | | |
Native Live Streaming | | |
Built-In Events | | |
White Label Apps | | |
Spaces | | |
Sell Events | | |
Token-Gating | | |
Starts From | $33/mo | $149/mo |
Both Mighty Networks and Kajabi are presented as “all-in-one” solutions for creators looking to build online courses. Here's how to two compare:
Kajabi
Kajabi’s strength is in its delivery of paid content online courses. Their platform is effective in offering creators aggressive marketing tactics to sell online courses and memberships and it does it extremely well.
When you build an online course on Kajabi, you’ll be able to design your content on the platform, creating awesome landing pages, sales pages, email drip campaigns, and more.
When Kajabi talks about its “all-in-one” platform, though, its focus is largely on sales and marketing of your online courses. It’s not “all-in-one” when it comes to other community-building features. It’s missing a lot of features Mighty Networks has. And even those some that it does have – like a community engine – were added as an afterthought and don’t work well.
Mighty Networks
“All-in-one” with a Mighty Network means that you can build custom Spaces that can hold any combination of courses, community, events, and more. At the heart of each Space you’ll build on Mighty is the thing that we’re most proud of – our intuitive and powerful community engine. Community makes courses better. And that’s why a Mighty Network can deliver either a pre-recorded asynchronous course within a vibrant community OR you can live stream and teach a cohort-based course using the native live stream PLUS the built-in event functions. And yes, you can absolutely turn the recording of your cohort course into a pre-recorded course once it’s done.
But do you know what one of the biggest differences between Mighty and Kajabi is? Mighty Networks isn’t JUST a course platform. As we said above, you get unlimited Spaces with each Mighty Network, and each one can be dedicated to things like events, live streaming, and/or a dedicated subgroup. Because Mighty Networks isn’t just a course all-in-one. It’s a community all-in-one that gives you everything you could need for a thriving community business.
The best part of a Mighty Network? It’s instantly available to your members or students on every platform—web, iOS, and Android. And when you’re ready, you can upgrade to offer your entire package of courses, community, and memberships on your native mobile apps available directly in the Apple App and Google Play Stores.
While a Mighty Network doesn’t have the same level of complex marketing flows as Kajabi, the power of the community and native mobile apps drive better results, faster growth, and deeper engagement. They more than make up for what’s lost with Kajabi’s more aggressive marketing tactics.
The bottom line: Kajabi and Mighty Networks take different approaches to what “all-in-one” can be. But when it comes to the number of features and experiences one can create on these two platforms Mighty Networks edges out Kajabi. Creators can build great online courses in addition to online communities, paid subscriptions, and virtual events, all done with native features instead of integrations.
3. Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks: Pricing and monetization
The next feature we’ll look at in our comparison of Mighty Networks vs. Kajabi is how each platform navigates pricing and monetization. Let’s dive in.
Kajabi
A big aspect of any creator’s decision between Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks should be the pricing and monetization options that they allow. Kajabi offers a great range of tools for creators to sell and market their content, but it comes at a hefty price tag.
Kajabi’s cheapest plan starts at $149/month and is severely limited in terms of what you can do. Their most popular plan is the “Growth” tier which is $199/month and gives creators access to unlimited landing pages, marketing emails, Kajabi University (a resource center filled with articles and guides), 1 website, and more.
But if you’d like more one-on-one help to bring your online course to the next level, you may end up spending an additional $100/month on Kajabi Access to work with a representative. That’s a lot of money, especially if you’re starting from scratch. On top of these costs, you'll also need to pay for the integrations you intend to use to supplement Kajabi's features.
In terms of monetization, Kajabi offers a robust assortment of options to creators who are looking to charge for their content. Online courses can be sold at a one-time, monthly, or annual fee or completely free. They also provide creators options for recurring payments in the form of subscription models.
Mighty Networks
We believe that offering an exceptional “all-in-one” platform also means that it’s priced at a point where many people have access to it. When it comes to Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks, there is a stark difference in perspective on how the platforms approach their pricing.
And once you’ve decided it’s right for the online courses you’re interested in running, our Business plan starts at only $99/month. You’ll get all of the awesome tools to use in making a thriving community space in addition to online courses, analytics, member data, and more.
In addition to offering creators a wide range of ways to create content (courses, events, and communities) they can also charge for these things. Creators can monetize using other currencies than the U.S. dollar – including their home currencies or selling token-gated communities.
All of these options give creators numerous ways to monetize their business. But there is more to it than that. When you have different monetization options it also gives your members more agency with how they interact with your content. That’s huge.
The bottom line: When comparing pricing Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks it’s pretty clear that creators get a better deal with Mighty Networks. You will pay significantly less for a Mighty Network and you get more features to work with. Both platforms offer a range of options for monetization, but with the variety of experiences you can offer on a Mighty Network, you will have more ways to appeal to different groups in your monetization plans.
4. Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks: Onboarding and user experience
Lastly, let’s take a look at how Kajabi and Mighty Networks each approach onboarding and user experience (UX).
Kajabi
Kajabi is a much more challenging platform to get started on. While they offer great tools and features for course creators to sell and market their courses, it all comes packaged within a pretty complicated experience. That’s because a lot of the features that are native in a Mighty Network require workarounds in Kajabi. Want a community? Many Kajabi teachers find that the built-in community is way too limited, and end up trying to find a third-party option or using Facebook groups. Want to live stream? You’ll need to hook up a YouTube account and live stream from there, sharing the link to your community. The lack of native features takes away from the UX. That said, the email integrations work well with Kajabi and once you’ve got things set up they can run pretty fluidly.
Kajabi comes with decent apps for all devices. The app does courses well, which is – of course – what Kajabi was made for. It doesn’t do live events, which is a building block Kajabi recently added to its desktop platform.
Finally, if you’re interested in more in-depth resources and help for the online course you build on Kajabi, you’ll need to join their premium Kajabi Access service which is more money on top of your monthly subscription.
Mighty Networks
One of the most important factors for choosing an online course platform is choosing software that is easy to use yet powerful in functionality.
Comparing Mighty Networks vs. Kajabi on this front it becomes apparent that Mighty Networks is leagues ahead. Creators can easily get started building an online course from scratch in a few simple steps when they start a Mighty Network – or, you can schedule and sell the course and teach it live. This lets you bring in income before recording anything. The platform has user-friendly tools for building online courses as you go. And, ultimately, Mighty has a powerful and comprehensive events platform, which Kajabi doesn't.
Last but not least, APPS! The Mighty Network apps are awesome, giving you every element of your Spaces in a mobile version: courses, events, community, messaging, and more. It’s available free in the App Store and Google Play store. But Mighty also has a totally custom, white-building app team called Mighty Pro. If you want to build and sell your course on your own white-label app under your own brand, we’ll help you do it! Schedule a call with us to find out more.
The bottom line: In terms of onboarding and user experience between Mighty Networks vs. Kajabi, it’s pretty clear that Mighty Networks is a much simpler platform to get started on and provides more resources for creators interested in learning the platform at a much lower cost. It has a better app, and the option to create your own, white-label app for your brand.
5. Pairing Kajabi with Mighty Networks
If you can’t decide between Kajabi vs. Mighty Networks, there is another option you can consider. We have seen many successful big-name creators utilize both platforms and create a powerhouse business.
This approach uses Kajabi to create an online course and then adds a Mighty Network community for $33/mo. On your Mighty Network, even on the Community Plan, you can host virtual events, live stream, create a paid membership site, connect your online course students, and much more. These are all experiences that will heighten the foundation you’ve built on Kajabi and bring your business to new heights.
Examples of Mighty Networks paired with Kajabi
Commune + WeCommune
Commune is a premier media company for personal and societal well-being and has focused on providing robust online courses powered by Kajabi. Their online courses cover a variety of topics relating to global wellness, personal growth, mental health, and more. In addition to offering a wide assortment of courses with teachers like Marianne Williamson, Russell Brand, Deepak Chopra, and more.
In addition to their online courses, Commune has a bustling online community with over 100k members on a Mighty Network called “Commune Community.” On their private social network members can connect over course material, share insights from their own lives, pose questions, offer advice, and more.
The Business Class + The Lounge
Sophia Amoruso is a successful entrepreneur, New York Times Bestselling Author, and the founder of Girlboss and Nasty Gal. With years of experience starting multimillion-dollar business ventures, Amoruso offers an online course through Kajabi called “Business Class.” Over 8 weeks, members learn skills to develop their brand, marketing, and legal knowledge, leadership skills, and more.
Additionally, Amoruso has a thriving online community on Mighty Networks called “The Lounge” which she’s paired with her online course. In The Lounge, members can network with other entrepreneurs taking the course, ask questions, build connections, and offer advice.
In other words, if you are committed to building an online course via a platform like Kajabi, there’s still room to use a Mighty Network to bring your course members together before, during, or after your course.
6. Mighty Networks is the best place to build an online course
We’ve covered a lot today, but when it comes down to Mighty Networks vs. Kajabi, Mighty Networks is the clear winner. On our platform, creators can create Spaces that bring together courses, content, commerce, and community.
Here are just a few of the many things you can do with Mighty:
- Offer paid memberships
- Create unlimited spaces
- You can post live and recorded videos, images, and audio clips
- Native live streaming and video storage for your Mighty Network
- Sell in your home currency or token-gating
- Create polls, discussion boards, quizzes, and Q&As
- Host and sell access to virtual events.
And our platform is constantly evolving with new and exciting features for creators to use in their businesses. Your Mighty Network is available across the web, iOS, and Android. So, you get more customization, flexibility, and mobility than what you can get on other platforms. Sounds pretty great, right?
Let’s get started!
