Substack vs Kajabi
Side-by-side comparison of Substack and Kajabi.
Newsletter publishing and monetization in one place
All-in-one platform for selling knowledge online
What they are
Substack
Substack is a publishing platform where writers host email newsletters and charge subscribers a recurring fee. Independent journalists, essayists, and niche experts use it to build direct audiences without relying on ad revenue. The platform handles payments, delivery, and a basic website automatically. Substack takes a 10% cut of paid subscription revenue on top of stripe fees, which becomes a real cost as an audience grows.
Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform where creators build and sell online courses, membership sites, coaching programs, and digital products. It combines a website builder, email marketing, checkout, and basic analytics under one subscription. Solo creators and small teams use it to avoid stitching together multiple tools. The trade-off is that each individual feature tends to be shallower than a dedicated specialist tool.
if you need hosting and monetization. It has a usable free tier to start with.
- +Free to start with no upfront cost
- +Built-in payment processing removes the need for a separate tool
- +Readers can comment and respond, creating light community features
if you need course platforms and email marketing. Starts at 72/mo.
- +Single subscription replaces course platform, email tool, and basic website builder
- +Built-in affiliate program management
- +Checkout and payment processing included out of the box
Which to choose
Substack and Kajabi both cover email marketing, so this is a real either-or for some teams. The right pick depends on which one's wider feature set and pricing fit how you work.
Read the full reviews for Substack and Kajabi.
Pricing checked 3 Jun 2026.