Circle and. Kajabi: Which Is Best for You? |

Oct 8, 2024

Circle was created in the year 2020 from some Teachable employees who realized the need for a web-based community platform to supplement Teachable's online courses. In time, it introduced an online course platform of its own. Kajabi launched a decade earlier in the year 2010. Kenny Rueter wanted an online selling platform for a lawn sprinkler he'd constructed, and as time passed it morphed into an incredibly popular course platform.

Both Circle as well as Kajabi make up an enormous amount of real estate within the creation economy. So if you're looking for the perfect location for your business You may be asking what is the best fit.


In this piece, we'll compare Circle as well as Kajabi. Because there's a lot of similarity in the products they offer, we'll explore the two on the basis:


 

  • Courses        
  • Communities and Memberships        
  • Business and Marketing Tools        
  • Apps        


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Circle in comparison to. Kajabi: Comparison Chart


Circle

Kajabi

Asynchronous Course Platform

Live-streamed Courses

By mixing two platforms

Native Livestreaming

Advanced Marketing Features

Integrated Funnels

Page Building

Course + Community Together?

Support via email

Zapier Only

Built-In

Applications for all devices

Yes (2 distinct apps for courses and community)

Branded Apps

Basic

Branded Apps

Additional Cost

Additional Cost

Pricing From...

$29/mo + $5/course sale

$69/mo





What is the best way to determine


It is important to recognize that these are platforms designed for different things: classes vs. communities. They all work better with what it was designed to be. This means that the first issue will always be the type of building you're building


 

  • Circle is a more efficient platform for community and members.        
  • Kajabi is a more efficient platform for online courses as well as marketing.      


But if you're walking the line between these two, read on for an in-depth analysis of where they compare in terms of the different attributes.


Circle in contrast to. Kajabi


Courses


Kajabi


Kajabi is a well-known course building as well as the LMS provides you with a variety to work with. It is compatible with various types of content including audio, video and text, as well as survey, quizzes as well as downloads. Table of Contents format works well and allows users to view lessons prior to launching. The LMS provides choices for drip content, as well as adding questions and evaluations.


Kajabi app


Kajabi is also a good choice (sort of) for live courses however there are some limitations. Livestreaming isn't a native feature of the Kajabi course platform, so you'd have to use a third-party software such as YouTube. But, Kajabi does have a separate application-Kajabi 2.0-that includes livestreaming as well as live-streamed meetings (we'll discuss it in the following section). This makes it possible to add a livestreaming option to a course (it is opened in a separate browser) as well as the recorded version can be pinned onto your course's page. As Kajabi has email incorporated, members can get alerted when livestreams are beginning and they can sign up.


Last but not least, Kajabi was an early adopter of a few AI tools that generate the content. You can use it to generate:


 

  • Lesson Content        
  • The Course Outlines        
  • Sales Email Copy        
  • Landing Page Copy        
  • Media Content Media Content        
  • Sales Video Script        


Kajabi AI tools


But, they don't integrate in the platform. This means they are visible to everyone (which is awesome), but they don't offer anything you couldn't accomplish with the ChatGPT account. ChatGPT account.


Another standout feature of Kajabi is the course pages-which Circle doesn't have. The ability to personalize courses pages by dragging and dropping by adding sections, and then creating courses under your own brand. It's a little like creating a website that your course can live within (Circle utilizes course Spaces instead). This is what we'll discuss in the next section.


Circle


circle Courses


In Circle the process of delivering courses is done by opening the course area. The experience of the course is built by constructing a table of contents (an Model of an LMS), and can be linked to other spaces in the community. The course platform can support audio text, video, and downloadable content to offer content for various types of learning. Instructors can create asynchronous course material and preview it before it goes live.


In addition, Circle can handle live lessons with its livestreaming built-in and community function (more details below). This allows a variety of functionality for synchronous experiences and things like live classes, office hours as well as Q&As.


Which one is more effective?


For course-related platforms as platforms for teaching, both Circle and Kajabi have advantages and disadvantages. The one you choose for the specific purpose is dependent on the kind of course you're looking to teach.


Kajabi is a better choice in the case of... course creators that want to design simple courses (asynchronous) featuring included marketing pages, as well as web designing flexibility. The platform isn't as robust for live courses and experiences because of the disconnect between the course and community options (which we'll cover in a subsequent ).


Circle is better to... course instructors who want live courses in a group or online courses that offer live experience. Basically, if you want to conduct live events with your students, Circle offers a more seamless integration of live features with the courses than Kajabi. If you're looking for a community, then Circle is even more powerful.


But one thing to note is that Circle offers more restrictions on storage as well as additional charges. Because courses count towards the limits mentioned above, you could have to pay more for big course libraries.


Community & Memberships


Kajabi


Kajabi community - Circles


Kajabi has communities as well as memberships, however they aren't the most effective features. for a while the community function of Kajabi was limited to a forum that lives on Kajabi's platform for courses. It was extremely basic however, it could be used to include a basic discussion forum to the course.


However, Kajabi recently acquired a company named Vibely to give it important community-related features.


Kajabi live rooms


The benefit:


 

  • This adds an upgraded chat feature to Kajabi plus a number of synchronous and non-synchronous tools for connecting. The newsfeeds included events, newsfeeds as well as chat, DM as well as live rooms. Links to your community is possible to add on the landing page of a course.      
  • Kajabi has a space-function to organize content. They refer to as circles (not to be mistaken for Circle.so). Circles are distinct areas that are able to hold various types of information.      
  • Kajabi 2.0 provides more member directories that are customized with profiles showing member interests and achievements.        


The negative


 

  • It's still a different platform (not an integral part of Kajabi). Kajabi 2.0 has a distinct sign-in and distinct app. Yes, users need two different apps to access the course as well as the community.      


Circle


Circle Livestreaming


Circle's communities revolve around a feature called Spaces. The course was discussed in Space above. Creators on Circle can also create an event space as well as community, post and chat Spaces. You can post content like audio, video, podcasts as well as files and other information from other platforms using Circle's embed capabilities. Every community-generated content is searchable.


Circle Spaces


Contrary to Kajabi, Circle has embedded AI writing tools into the platform for courses, which means that it can improve communication and writing. Circle comes with member profiles which can be toggled on or off; the member list can be used either for the entire community or just a certain area.


Then, the Circle community includes a personalized home feed and automatic weekly digests to let the members know what's going on in the community. In addition, Circle has moderation and administration tools that aid in the growth of a community.


Which one is more effective?


Circle is a more community-oriented platform. It was designed for communities as well as memberships. Kajabi is trying to catch up with these features, but having two apps for the same thing that Circle can do with just one app is a dealbreaker for most developers.


Marketing & Business


Kajabi


Kajabi has some great marketing features for hosting courses and making sales. It includes a page builder that supports drag-and-drop construction (we mentioned in the previous paragraphs) and pages that can be used for various purposes: opt-in pages download pages, sales pages for example.


Kajabi integrated marketing


Kajabi is also able to integrate marketing and emails for selling courses, including already-designed sales funnels. The funnels are linked to an email system that handles audience segmentation, automations as well as subscriber management. As a sales platform, Kajabi offers bundles, free trials, coupons, and subscriptions, with tools to boost revenue, such as the possibility of upselling, abandon cart recovery, as well as multi-currency assistance.


Circle


Circle doesn't have a ton of built-in marketing tools, and isn't as strong like Kajabi is. There is the possibility of adding an online landing page for the course, with some modification of both the layout and content as well as a preview of the class. But Circle does not intend to build a basic site like Kajabi's.


When a user is in the community, Circle has some integrated digests and email notifications that keeps people informed of what's going on within the community. These messages can be white-labeled on some of Circle's higher tiers. In addition, Circle doesn't have a built-in email software, therefore you'll need to integrate with the email program by using Zapier.


Similar to Kajabi, Circle can manage bundles and payments in different currencies. It is easy to connect courses and community (end activities) to sell.


Price


    Kajabi Price


 

  • $69/mo - Kickstarter (1 product, 1 funnel + 250 contacts)        
  • $149/mo - Basis (3 products 3, 3 funnels, and 10,000 people)        
  • $199/mo - Growth (15 products, 15 funnels, + 25,000 contacts)        
  • $399/mo - Pro (100 products, 100 funnels + 100,000 contacts)        


    Circle


 

  • $49/mo + 4transaction charges - Basis Plans (Community Only)        
  • $99/mo + 2percent fees Pro Plan (add Livestreaming, courses as well as branding)        
  • $219/mo + 1% fees Business Plan (add workflows, custom fields, email white-labels and AI assister)        
  • 399 per month plus .5 per cent fees for Enterprise (add SSO and analytics, 10 admin as well as 100 mods)        


Which is the best?


Kajabi is undoubtedly superior when it comes to course features. It comes with integrated funnels for marketing which are set up for various purposes. The platform has basic email software embedded that lets you tag the subscribers you market to in a way you can't use Circle. And it has more selling features integrated into the platform, to help creators earn.


But, Kajabi is also more expensive. If you're planning to spend money on it, make sure you'll need the options it has to offer.


Apps


Kajabi


Kajabi is actually home to two main apps. The Course app, and The Community app. It also needs another app to provide community analytics. These are the apps available:


Courses: This is Kajabi's main app which contains the course's infrastructure that includes video, text, as well as the LMS. Additionally, it has the old Kajabi community feature in it. It works well for asynchronous course.


Kajabi main app


Community: It was the Vibely app. It's changed to Kajabi 2.0. It offers the community tools such as chat, conferencing and real-time engagement.


Kajabi 2.0 - app screens


Kajabi Creator  The app software is for running a Kajabi business. It provides statistics and analytics to let you know what's happening in a business and admin.


Kajabi Branded Apps The feature is a new feature for Kajabi which offers apps with a branded logo on the App Store and Google Play Store. These include branded push notifications. It's also important to note that these apps with branding are the only way to access courses and community all in one place.


Circle


Circle has been running an iOS application for a couple of years. However, their Android application was launched in 2023. That said, it's well-rated (4.5 stars in Google Play and 4.9 on the App Store). And unlike Kajabi Circle, all of the content in Circle is in one app (courses and communities ).


Circle App -


Circle has recently also launched the option of branded apps for its app that allows you to purchase the app with your own name. This is Circle's courses and communities all in one location. Circle Plus comes with branded push notifications. There's still time to test and it's not yet available, however Circle has developed an app for Exit Five (a B2B marketing community ).


Which one is superior?


Both have good apps. The fact that Kajabi requires a number of apps to do what Circle does with one is a snub. If you just wanted asynchronous course, Kajabi's app could be a good choice. However, if you're interested in classes and a community, Circle is probably a superior choice. In Kajabi users, they would need to install two separate apps. This could be detrimental to participation.


In the case of the app with a brand name, Circle gets the slight advantage too. They've got a better experience (Kajabi was just launched). Plus, Kajabi makes you pay for an app that is branded to get your courses and community together-which is something Circle does anyway.


The verdict


Let's go back to the place we left off. Which one is superior, Circle vs. Kajabi? Both platforms have strong points. But both platforms also contain some significant weaknesses.


 

  • Kajabi is a great asynchronous course delivery, and strong marketing skills, however it requires the live experience via a completely distinct platform and application. So what you get for the sale, you forfeit in engagement. Kajabi's AI features aren't anything to describe- it's basically white labeled ChatGPT.    
  • Circle: It doesn't have the same marketing or course power as Kajabi, but offers a simpler community feature. However, it is still Circle needs to host communities as well as courses within separate areas (AKA different sections of your community). Users must navigate to locate the appropriate locations.    


Want a better option?





is the most highly rated social network on G2's list of community platforms. It hosts communities and courses featuring celebrities and brands such as Tony Robbins, Mel Robbins, Jim Kwik, Marie Forleo, Matthew Hussey, TED Nuun, as well as Mindbody.


This is what sets Mighty apart from both Circle as well as Kajabi.


streamlined experiences


Both Kajabi as well as Circle both have a disjointed UX between courses and community. Kajabi since these are in different apps and platforms. Additionally, Circle as they are held within different spaces-members must click around to find the appropriate event or Space for a course.


With Mighty Spaces, spaces are created to hold any type of content that you would like. By turning off functions like Activity Feed chat, Table of Contents (traditional LMS), People Explorer (Members), Recurring Events, one-time events Pages (an article), or Highlighted Hashtags.


This is how it is:


MN - 2024 - Graphics - Space Templates


It's all happening all in one location. Classes and events. Chat, community and events.


This leads to better engagement and UX, with members who don't have to search around to find what they're looking for.


 - Graphics - 2024 - Livestreaming GIF


Software that is designed to be used for engagement


Last year, we discovered we could determine with a 93% accuracy which communities would be successful and which failed.


The whole thing came down members. Do they meet each other? Are they in contact with one another?


Member connection is a better predictor of success than the host's content they create.


So, we designed our software to boost the connections of members.


This is the result:


 

  • An HTML0 People Explorer that helps members find others who share similar interests and background and even live in the same city.        
  • A welcome checklist as well as profile assist function to help users get started right.        
  • The feature is a "Show Similarities" feature that uses AI to display what you have in common with your fellow users. It can even start a conversation with a click.      


MN - Graphics - 2024 - Profiile + similarities


Helping hosts improve their home
The features of engagement aren't only focused on members.


Mighty also has software that can help hosts increase participation, such as the...


 

  • Infinite Question Generator produces discussion questions, and then automatically posts approved ones. The engagement continues even when you're offline.    
  • "Activity Assist" to display members that have disappeared and automatically re-engage by clicking.      


MN - Graphics - 2024 - Animation Conversation-Starter


Another awesome community and course features


 

  • Quick community development. Type a few words into the Mighty Co-Host(tm) and instantly have a Big Idea and a basic branding identity and your very own Space. (Try for free)    
  • Prompts for writing and enhancements using"make it better "make-it-better" text editor.        
  • Course outline in a flash and hashtag suggestions.        
  • A native ConvertKit integration for community/courses + email, and 2,000+ integration embeds.        


The top branded apps


MN - Graphics - 2024 - Apps


You can also get your classes and communities on your own personalized apps, which are under your name in the App Store as well as Google Play Store. Mighty Pro has built 400plus branded apps for some of the world's top makers and brands.


You can get branded notifications as well as livestreaming support for design, and proactive upgrades by the top-ranked branded app team for communities: Learn more here .


If you're ready to launch courses and/or community with Mighty It, give it a go! The trial is absolutely free for 14 days (no need for credit cards). ).