LearnDash and Kajabi are two of the oldest tools used in eLearning platforms. However, they are designed specifically to help certain audiences.
So, which one is the best platform for you? Let’s find out in this detailed comparison.
Before we begin, let’s quickly introduce LearnDash and Kajabi.
LearnDash vs Kajabi At a Glance
LearnDash, the brainchild of Justin and Kloé Ferrima, is an LMS plugin for WordPress websites. It debuted in 2013 and has been part of StellarWP from 2021 onwards.
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for creators to market and monetize their skills and followers through digital product sales. It was founded in 2010 and offers a suite of marketing tools in addition to a platform for course creation.
LearnDash
By StellarWP
WordPress LMS Plugin
Proprietary
Premium
Kajabi
By Kajabi
All-in-one Platform
Proprietary
Premium
Plans and Pricing
LearnDash
LearnDash’s pricing is pretty rigid. There is no free tier or lifetime license, either. You must sign up for one of the three yearly subscriptions, which start at $199 per year.
There are not many add-ons on offer since most of the features are included in the plugin itself. However, you’ll have to pay an additional $49 per year for each premium add-on you use.
| LearnDash | Pricing | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | A fully hosted website with LearnDash LMS | 1-site license Core LMS Features Free integrations and add-ons 1 year of updates and support |
| Plus | $399/year No Lifetime Package | 10-site license Core LMS Features Free integrations and add-ons 1 year of updates and support |
| Pro | $799/year No Lifetime Package | Unlimited site licenses Core LMS Features Free integrations and add-ons 1 year of updates and support |
| Cloud | $25 – $83/month | Fully hosted website with LearnDash LMS |
Kajabi
Kajabi, too, is a premium-only service that starts at $149 per month or $1788 per year. However, it offers a 14-day free trial for potential users to test the product before making the purchase.
The platform limits the number of courses or ‘products’ you can create. Even the top-of-the-line Pro subscription only allows 100 courses.
| Kajabi | Pricing | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $149/month $1788/year | 3 products 3 funnels 10,000 contacts 1,000 active customers 1 website |
| Growth | 199/month $1908/year | 100 products 100 funnels 100,000 contacts 20,000 active customers 3 websites Advanced automations Affiliate program Custom branding 24/7 Support |
| Pro | $399/month $3,828/year | 100 products 100 funnels 100,000 contacts 20,000 active customers 3 websites Advanced automations Affiliate program Custom branding 24/7 Support |
LearnDash wins this round as it offers flexible plans at more affordable prices.
Feature
Initial Setup
LearnDash’s setup wizard focuses on setting up the plugin based on your needs and requirements. It includes courses, payment, and other settings.
On the other hand, you’re directly thrown into the dashboard when you sign up for Kajabi.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Wizard | ✅ | ❌ |
Thus, LearnDash has a better onboarding process for first-time users.
Course Builder
You will find drag-and-drop course builders on both LearnDash and Kajabi. They also have course outlines.
That said, there’s a limit on the number of courses you can host with Kajani. The platform also lacks features like course preview.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Drag and Drop Builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Front-end Builder | ✅ (Premium Add-on) | ✅ |
| Unlimited Courses and Lessons | ✅ | ❌ (Max: 100 courses) |
| Course Dashboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Attachments | ✅ | ✅ |
| Download Materials | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Preview | ✅ | ❌ |
LearnDash offer more advanced feature for its courses than Kajabi.
Quiz Builder
Kajabi lets you create graded and non-graded quizzes with just 4 question types. It also lets you import quizzes from other courses. That aside, the rest of the features are underwhelming compared to LearnDash.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited Quizzes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multiple Question Types | ✅ (8, Includes Survey) | ✅ (4, Includes Survey) |
| Quizzes Import and Export | ✅ | ✅ (within your account) |
| Randomize Questions | ✅ | ❌ |
| Quiz Duration | ✅ | ❌ |
| Limit Quiz Attempts | ✅ | ❌ |
| Quiz Hints | ✅ | ❌ |
| Answer Explanation | ✅ | ❌ |
| Quiz Leaderboard | ✅ | ❌ |
| Email Notification | ✅ | ✅ |
Thus, LearnDash has a better quiz builder than Kajabi.
Built-in Order & Payment Support
Kajabi has PayPal and Strip payment out of the box. It even supports Apple Pay and Google Pay through Kajabi Payments. That said, it doesn’t support revenue-sharing for course marketplaces.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Built-in Order System | ✅ (Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay) | ✅ (PayPal, Stripe Pay, Kajabi Payments) |
| Course Subscription | ✅ | ✅ |
| Revenue Sharing | ✅ | ❌ |
Kajabi is better for individual instructors. However, LearnDash is a better option for a course marketplace.
Sales and Ecommerce Integrations
As a WordPress plugin, LearnDash offers more options for third-party e-commerce integrations than Kajabi.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | ✅ | ✅ (Via Zapier) |
| WooCommerce Subscriptions | ✅ | ✅ (Via Zapier) |
| Shopify | ✅ (Via Zapier) | ✅ |
| Stripe | ✅ (Built-in) | ✅ (Built-in) |
| PayPal | ✅ | ✅ (Built-in) |
| Razorpay Integration | ✅ | ✅ (Via Zapier) |
| Easy Digital Downloads | ✅ | ❌ |
| Paid Membership Pro | ✅ | ✅ (Via Zapier) |
| Restrict Content Pro | ✅ | ❌ |
LearnDash has more options when it comes to third-party e-commerce integration.
Certificate Builder
While LearnDash has a Gutenberg-based drop and drag certificate builder, Kajabi has an in-house builder with customizable elements.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Drop and Drag Builder | ✅ | ❌ |
| Certificate Blocks | ✅ (4 Custom Blocks) | ✅ (5+ Sections) |
| Pre-built Certificate Templates | ❌ | ❌ |
| Unlimited Certificates | ✅ | ✅ |
| Certificate Dashboard | ✅ | ✅ |
| Auto Attach Certificate to Email | ❌ | ✅ |
| QR Verification for Certificate | ❌ | ❌ |
Kajabi has user-friendly certificate builder but it doesn’t offer the same level of customization as LearnDash.
We Recommend: That said, if you want a complete certificate builder, check out Masteriyo’s drop-and-drag builder, which offers extensive customization options and features like QR verification.
Gradebook and Analytics
You can grade and evaluate your students’ performance using the respective platforms’ grade book feature. Moreover, they also offer analytics about your courses.
The latter is available as a Pro-Panel add-on on LearnDash, which costs an additional $49 per year.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Gradebook | ✅ | ✅ (Available as Assessment) |
| Course Analytics | ✅ (Available as ProPanel) | ✅ |
It’s a tie.
Live Sessions
Kajabi is a platform for online coaches. Thus, it includes live sessions and the ability to host Zoom meetings. LearnDash, on the other hand, offers Zoom, Google Meet, and GoToWebinar through Zapier.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar | ✅ (Event Calendar) | ✅ (Kajabi Scheduler) |
| Live Interaction | ✅ (Zoom, Google Meet, GoToWebinar) | ✅ (Native, Zoom) |
Though both platforms support live sessions, only LearnDash has a calendar to track them.
Course Protection and Security
Both LearnDash and Kajabi offer plenty of features to secure course content and user credentials.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Course Content/Video Protection | ✅ | ✅ |
| Password Strength Checker | ✅ | ✅ |
| Google reCAPTCHA | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email Verification | ✅ | ✅ |
Thus, it is a tie.
Student Engagement
LearnDash lets students leave a review after they complete a course. It is not available on Kajabi. On the other hand, Kajabi supports course-wide announcements, which are not possible on LearnDash.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Q&A Section | ❌ | ❌ |
| Community | ✅ (As Groups) | ✅ |
| Review System | ✅ | ❌ |
| Course-wide Announcement | ❌ | ✅ |
| Notification System | ✅ | ✅ |
There’s no clear winner here.
Course Control and Access
Features like content drip and course bundles are available on LearnDash and Kajabi. That said, LearnDash has course prerequisites and challenging exams that are not available on Kajabi.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Course Preview | ✅ | ❌ |
| Course Prerequisites | ✅ | ❌ |
| Content Drip | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Retakes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Challenging Exams | ✅ | ❌ |
| Course Bundle | ✅ | ✅ |
| Course Expiration | ✅ | ✅ |
For course control and access features, LearnDash has more features than Kajabi.
User Roles and Membership
On LearnDash, you can have multiple instructors for the same course. Likewise, you can also have an unlimited number of users. Both these features are not available on Kajabi.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited Instructors and Students | ✅ | ❌ |
| User Import and Export | ✅ | ✅ (As Contacts) |
| Bulk Course Enrollment | ✅ | ✅ |
| User Profile | ✅ | ✅ |
| Social Login | ❌ | ✅ (Google) |
| Login Session Management | ❌ | ❌ |
| QR Login | ❌ | ❌ |
| Multiple Instructor | ✅ | ❌ |
| Membership Site | ✅ | ✅ |
Thus, LearnDash has more flexible options when it comes to user roles and membership.
We Recommend: If you want more convenience, Masteriyo has QR login, social login, and login session management along with all the other features mentioned.
Design and Customization
Despite not being based on WordPress, Kajabi has a drag-and-drop builder, pre-made templates, and support for custom code and shortcodes. It even has white labeling, which LearnDash doesn’t.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Native Theme | ❌ | ✅ |
| White Label | ❌ | ✅ |
| Webhooks | ✅ (Zapier) | ✅ (Zapier) |
| Advanced Email Automation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Shortcodes | ✅ | ✅ |
Thus, Kajabi has better design and customization options than LearnDash.
We Recommend: If you want white labeling but are keen on using WordPress, check out Masteriyo, which offers it and all other LMS features.
Support and Documentation
Kajabi offers live chat for its users, which LearnDash doesn’t. That aside, the support channels are similar.
| LearnDash | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | ❌ | ✅ |
| Documentation | ✅ | ✅ |
| Video Tutorials | ✅ (YouTube, Academy) | ✅ (YouTube, Academy) |
| Live Walkthrough | ✅ | ✅ |
| Facebook Community | ✅ | ✅ |
Thus, LearnDash and Kajabi offer similar support channels.
LearnDash vs Kajabi: Which is Better as an LMS?
Here’s a summary of everything discussed so far. To give you a broader sense of the competition, we’ve also included Masteriyo in the comparison chart.
| Feature | LearnDash | Kajabi | Masteriyo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | 4⭐ | 3.5 ⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Initial Setup | 4.5 ⭐ | 3.5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Course Builder | 5⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Quiz Builder | 4.5⭐ | 3⭐ | 4.5 ⭐ |
| Certificate Builder | 4⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Live Sessions | 5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Course Protection and Security | 5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Student Engagement | 4⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Built-in Order and Payment | 4 ⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Sales and Ecommerce | 5⭐ | 4.5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Gradebook and Analytics | 4.5⭐ | 4.5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Course Control and Access | 4.5⭐ | 4.5⭐ | 4.5⭐ |
| User Roles and Membership | 5⭐ | 4⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Design and Customization | 4.5 ⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
| Support and Documentation | 5⭐ | 5⭐ | 5⭐ |
To conclude, LearnDash and Kajabi each have strengths and weaknesses. LearnDash is better as an complete LMS platform for institutions and educators. However, Kajabi all-in-one marketing tools for digital products targeted at content creators.
Before you make the ultimate decision, we suggest looking into other alternatives, as there are a lot of new promising LMS in the market. One such platform is Masteriyo, which has all LMS features and even more flexible pricing.