FileFreightFileFreight vs Kajabi: $179+/month all-in-one vs $19/month flat
Kajabi is the all-in-one course platform: courses, email, website, and community in one dashboard, with 0% platform fees on Kajabi Payments. Basic is $179/month ($143 on annual billing), Growth is $249/month ($199 annual), Pro is $499/month ($399 annual). In January 2026 Kajabi restructured pricing upward with no grandfathering — covered by ClickFunnels and ProFunnelBuilder — which is why download sellers are re-shopping: if all you sell is ebooks, templates, and presets, you are paying course-empire prices for a download shop. FileFreight Pro is $19/month flat with 0% per-sale fees, on your own Stripe account.
What $179+ a month buys vs $19
| Per month | Annual billing | Per-sale platform fee | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kajabi Basic | $179 | $143/mo | 0% (Kajabi Payments) |
| Kajabi Growth | $249 | $199/mo | 0% (Kajabi Payments) |
| Kajabi Pro | $499 | $399/mo | 0% (Kajabi Payments) |
| FileFreight Free | $0 | $0 | 5% |
| FileFreight Pro | $19 | $19 | 0% |
The empire tax
- Basic monthly vs Pro: $179 − $19 = $160/month saved — $1,920 a year — if you do not use the courses, memberships, email, or community.
- Basic annual vs Pro: $143 − $19 = $124/month — $1,488 a year.
- The January 2026 wedge: sellers who bought Kajabi for downloads got moved to higher prices with no grandfathering. That is the moment to ask what the extra $1,488+ a year is actually buying you.
Who should stay on Kajabi
- You sell courses, memberships, or coaching — the all-in-one is the product, not overhead.
- Your email list, website, and community genuinely live in Kajabi and moving them would cost more than the fee gap.
- You want 0% platform fees on Kajabi Payments with everything under one login.
- You need pipelines, webinars, and community features FileFreight will never build.
Honest caveats about FileFreight
- No courses, email, or community. FileFreight delivers files and license keys; your newsletter and audience live elsewhere.
- No tax or merchant-of-record handling. Sales run through your own Stripe account.
- No automatic importer. The first 20 sellers get a free white-glove migration; otherwise migration is manual, a few minutes per product.
- Newer than Kajabi. No decade of uptime history to point at yet.
Frequently asked questions
Did Kajabi raise prices in 2026?
Third-party coverage reports that Kajabi restructured its pricing in January 2026 with increases and no grandfathering for existing customers — Basic moved to $179 a month, or $143 a month on annual billing.
When does FileFreight beat Kajabi?
When what you sell is downloads, not courses: ebooks, templates, presets, audio, software. If your email and site already live elsewhere, Kajabi's $179-plus a month buys an all-in-one you do not need; FileFreight Pro is $19 flat with 0% per-sale fees.
Does Kajabi take a cut of each sale?
Kajabi charges 0% platform fees on Kajabi Payments; you pay the plan plus card processing. FileFreight Pro is the same shape: $19 a month, 0% per-sale fees, processing on your own Stripe account.
Does FileFreight replace Kajabi email and community?
No. FileFreight delivers files and license keys; your newsletter and community live elsewhere. If you need courses, memberships, email, and community in one dashboard, Kajabi earns its price.
Does FileFreight handle sales tax?
FileFreight is not a merchant of record. Payments go straight to your own Stripe account, so sales-tax responsibility stays with you.
Sources
- ClickFunnels: Kajabi pricing — January 2026 restructure, no grandfathering (checked October 2026)
- ProFunnelBuilder: Kajabi review (2026 pricing coverage)
- Kourses: Kajabi vs Teachable (plan comparison)
Pricing last checked October 2026.
Ready to try FileFreight? The free plan is $0 a month with a 5% per-sale fee — no card required. Upgrade to Pro ($19/month, 0% fees) whenever the math says it pays for itself.