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LMS · head to head

Kajabi vs Totara

Kajabi logo

Kajabi

LMS

All-in-one platform for knowledge entrepreneurs

From
$143/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Totara logo

Totara

LMS

Open source learning, performance and collaboration platform derived from Moodle and sold through partners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kajabi starter plan limited to 1 product, 1 community, and 1 website; requires upgrade for scaling; Totara you cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • They diverge on capability: Kajabi covers Course builder, Totara covers Organisational hierarchies.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kajabi and Totara actually diverge.

Attributes where Kajabi and Totara differ
AttributeKajabiTotara
Starting price$143/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Kajabi

  • Course builder
  • Website builder
  • Email marketing
  • Sales funnels
  • Memberships
  • Communities
  • Mobile app
  • Analytics

Only in Totara

  • Organisational hierarchies
  • Compliance and certification
  • Totara Perform
  • Totara Engage
  • Self-hosting
  • Programs and learning plans

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kajabi

  • Solo creators launching single digital products or coursesnot Totara
  • Small coaching businesses with course, community, and email marketing needsnot Totara
  • Multi-product creators requiring customisation and white-label optionsnot Totara

Totara

  • Health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchynot Kajabi
  • Organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructurenot Kajabi
  • Moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carrynot Kajabi
  • Buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendornot Kajabi

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kajabi

  • Starter plan limited to 1 product, 1 community, and 1 website; requires upgrade for scaling
  • Starter and Basic tiers support only 1 community each; Growth tier caps at 1 community (Pro tier reaches 3)
  • Payment processing fees 2.9%–2.7% (Kajabi Payments) plus 5%–0.5% for third-party providers, tiered by plan
  • Admin user allowances escalate significantly: Starter (default 1), Basic (2), Growth (11), Pro (26)

Totara

  • You cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • Open source does not mean cheap. Subscription plus partner hosting plus implementation and version upgrade services commonly lands near commercial system cost, and the saving is in control and exit rights rather than in the invoice.
  • The administrative interface carries its Moodle lineage and is dense, so administrator training is a real project cost rather than an afterthought.
  • Major version upgrades are projects, especially where a partner has customised the deployment, and organisations that customise heavily find upgrades slower and dearer over time.
  • The learner facing experience is functional rather than engaging, and organisations wanting a consumer grade learning experience usually front it with something else.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kajabi

$143/month
  • Basic$179/month
    • 5 products
    • 1 community
    • 2,500 contacts
  • Growth$249/month
    • 50 products
    • 1 community
    • 25,000 contacts
  • Pro$499/month
    • Unlimited products
    • 3 communities
    • 100,000 contacts

Totara

On request
  • Totara subscription via partner$undefined/year
    • Sold only through distribution partners
    • Partner sets hosting, implementation and support pricing
    • Source available under the GPL, but subscription required for supported releases

Which should you pick?

Choose Kajabi if

  • You need course builder.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want website builder.
Kajabi review

Choose Totara if

  • You need organisational hierarchies.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want compliance and certification.
Totara review

Questions people ask

Is Kajabi or Totara better?
Neither clearly leads. Kajabi starts at $143/month and Totara at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kajabi or Totara?
Kajabi starts at $143/month and Totara at On request.
Does Kajabi or Totara run on more platforms?
Kajabi runs on Web, iOS, Android. Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
What is Kajabi best used for?
Kajabi is most often used for solo creators launching single digital products or courses, small coaching businesses with course, community, and email marketing needs, multi-product creators requiring customisation and white-label options. Of those, solo creators launching single digital products or courses and small coaching businesses with course, community, and email marketing needs are not what Totara is typically brought in for.
What can Kajabi do that Totara cannot?
Kajabi covers Course builder, Website builder, Email marketing, Sales funnels. Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kajabi: How much does Kajabi cost?

Kajabi offers three subscription plans: Basic at $179/month (or $143/month annual), Growth at $249/month (or $199/month annual), and Pro at $499/month (or $399/month annual). A 30-day free trial is available.

Source
Totara: Is Totara free because it is open source?

No. The source is available under the GPL, but supported releases require a subscription, and it is sold through partners who add hosting, implementation and support costs.

Kajabi: What are the payment processing fees on Kajabi?

Kajabi charges payment processing fees through Kajabi Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic plan, 2.8% + $0.30 on Growth plan, and 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro plan. Third-party providers charge lower rates (2%, 1%, and 0.5% respectively, excluding PayPal).

Source
Totara: How is it different from Moodle?

Moodle is built around courses and academic delivery. Totara adds organisational hierarchies, role based automatic assignment, recurring certification and appraisal, which is what workplace compliance reporting needs.

Kajabi: How many contacts can I store on each Kajabi plan?

Basic plan supports 2,500 contacts, Growth plan supports 25,000 contacts, and Pro plan supports 100,000 contacts with unlimited products and 3 communities.

Source
Totara: Can we host it ourselves?

Yes. Self hosting is a genuine option and is one of the main reasons regulated and public sector buyers choose it over a hosted only competitor.

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