Kajabi vs. Teachable vs. Thinkific: Payment Fees for Course Creators
Kajabi vs Teachable fees, plus Thinkific: compare platform fees, processing, payouts, and BYO Stripe, then model your true cost at three sales levels.
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On this page 9 sections
- How Course Platforms Make Money on Your Payments
- Kajabi Payments: Rates, Payouts, and Using Your Own Stripe
- Teachable: Transaction Fees by Plan and Teachable Payments vs. a BYO Gateway
- Thinkific: Thinkific Payments, Transaction Fees, and Payout Holds
- Online Course Platform Payout Schedules: What to Ask
- Kajabi vs. Teachable Fees and Thinkific Costs at Three Revenue Levels
- Payment Plans, Upsells, and Tax Handling Compared
- Who Owns the Customer and Card Data If You Switch
- Choosing the Best Course Platform for Payments: Next Steps
Key takeaways
- Your real cost on a course platform has three parts: the plan price, any platform transaction fee, and card processing. Compare all three, not just the monthly sticker price.
- Built-in payment options are convenient, but the platform usually controls payout timing, holds and card data. Connecting your own Stripe or PayPal account gives you more control.
- A percentage platform fee costs more as you grow. Model your costs at your current and target monthly sales before you pick a plan.
- Before you commit, ask who keeps subscriber card tokens if you leave. That one answer can decide whether a future switch is easy or painful.
Comparing Kajabi vs Teachable fees, with Thinkific added in, is harder than it looks. Each platform splits your costs across plan prices, platform transaction fees and payment processing in a different way. This guide shows where each fee lives and how built-in payment options differ from connecting your own Stripe or PayPal account. It also covers how payout timing affects your cash flow and how to calculate your true cost at $5K, $25K and $100K in monthly sales.
Pricing note: Course platforms change plans, rates and payment terms often. This article doesn't quote current rates. Use it as a framework, and confirm every number on each platform's current pricing page and payments terms before you decide.
How Course Platforms Make Money on Your Payments
When a student buys your course, up to four separate charges can come out of that sale:
- Plan subscription. This is the flat monthly or annual price for the platform, and it is usually tiered by features.
- Platform transaction fee. Some platforms take a percentage of each sale on some plans and drop it on higher tiers.
- Payment processing. Every card transaction carries a percentage plus a per-transaction fee. This applies whether you use the platform's built-in processor or your own Stripe or PayPal account.
- Extras. These can include currency conversion on international sales, chargeback fees, payout fees for some methods, and add-ons such as tax or affiliate tools.
The mix matters because the fees behave differently as you grow. A flat plan fee shrinks as a share of revenue. A percentage platform fee grows in step with your sales. Processing costs also grow with sales, but you may be able to influence them if you control the merchant relationship.
Kajabi Payments: Rates, Payouts, and Using Your Own Stripe
Kajabi has built its pricing around the plan subscription rather than a per-sale platform cut. Check the current pricing page to confirm that this still holds for your tier.
For payments, Kajabi offers a built-in option called Kajabi Payments. It has also supported connecting your own Stripe and PayPal accounts. Your choice affects more than the rate.
Kajabi Payments vs. Stripe: What Changes
| Question | Built-In Platform Payments | Your Own Stripe Account |
|---|---|---|
| Who holds the processing relationship? | The platform (or its provider) | You |
| Who sets the processing rate? | The platform | Stripe's standard or negotiated terms |
| Who sets payout timing? | The platform's schedule | Your Stripe account settings and risk review |
| Where do disputes get handled? | Through the platform's dashboard | In your Stripe dashboard |
| Can you take card tokens elsewhere? | Ask; often limited | Tokens sit in your account |
What to verify with Kajabi:
- The current processing rate for Kajabi Payments compared with your Stripe rate
- Whether payment plans, upsells and order bumps work the same way under both options
- Payout frequency and any initial holding period for new accounts
- How refunds affect the fees you've already paid
Teachable: Transaction Fees by Plan and Teachable Payments vs. a BYO Gateway
Teachable has historically charged a platform transaction fee on some lower-tier plans and removed it on higher tiers. If that structure still applies, the plan you choose directly changes your per-sale cost. Confirm the current fee for each plan before you assume anything.
Teachable's built-in processor, Teachable Payments, bundles processing and payouts. On some plans it has also included certain tax handling. Teachable has also offered a custom or bring-your-own (BYO) gateway option on certain plans. Check which plans include it today and which processors it supports.
Teachable payments fees: questions to ask:
- Is there a platform transaction fee on my plan, and does it apply on top of processing?
- Does the built-in processor charge a different rate from my own gateway?
- How often are payouts sent, and is there a hold for new or fast-growing accounts?
- If I use my own gateway, do I lose any built-in features, such as tax handling or certain checkout tools?
Thinkific: Thinkific Payments, Transaction Fees, and Payout Holds
Thinkific also offers a built-in payment option, Thinkific Payments, and has supported connecting your own Stripe or PayPal account. Treat any claim about Thinkific transaction fees as something to confirm on the current plan page. Check two things separately: whether a platform fee applies on your tier, and what the built-in processing rate is.
Pay close attention to payout holds. Built-in processors on course platforms typically use a payout schedule and may hold funds for new accounts, for sudden volume spikes, or after a run of refunds. For a creator running a launch, a hold can land right when ad bills and affiliate commissions come due.
Online Course Platform Payout Schedules: What to Ask
Course revenue is often lumpy. An open-cart launch can bring in a large share of a quarter's sales in a few days. An evergreen funnel, by contrast, trickles in steadily. Processors watch for exactly this kind of spike, which is one reason digital products merchant accounts get flagged more often than creators expect.
Ask every platform, and your own processor if you use one:
- Payout frequency: daily, weekly or monthly?
- Initial delay: Is there a waiting period before your first payout?
- Rolling reserve: Can a percentage of sales be held for a set period?
- Launch notice: Can you tell them about a planned launch in advance to reduce the chance of a hold?
- Refund and chargeback impact: Do high refund rates trigger longer holds?
If you rely on Stripe directly, keep a backup plan. Our guide on what to do if Stripe closes your account walks through the warning signs.
Kajabi vs. Teachable Fees and Thinkific Costs at Three Revenue Levels
Because current rates must be confirmed with each platform, the table below uses illustrative assumptions only. It does not reflect any platform's actual pricing. Substitute real numbers from each pricing page to get your own comparison.
Illustrative assumptions:
- Average sale: $200
- Processing: 3.0% + $0.30 per transaction
- Setup A: $50/month plan with a 5% platform transaction fee
- Setup B: $200/month plan with no platform transaction fee
| Monthly Sales | Transactions | Processing | Setup A Total (Plan + 5% + Processing) | Setup B Total (Plan + Processing) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | 25 | $157.50 | $457.50 (9.2%) | $357.50 (7.2%) |
| $25,000 | 125 | $787.50 | $2,087.50 (8.4%) | $987.50 (4.0%) |
| $100,000 | 500 | $3,150.00 | $8,200.00 (8.2%) | $3,350.00 (3.4%) |
What the illustration shows:
- A percentage platform fee quickly outweighs a cheaper plan. In this example, the higher-priced plan already costs less at $5K in monthly sales, and the gap widens with every sale.
- Processing becomes the biggest line item once platform fees are gone. At $100K a month, each 0.1 percentage point of processing rate equals about $100 a month.
- Payment plans add transactions. Splitting a $600 course into three payments triples the per-transaction fees on that sale.
Add any currency conversion, chargeback fees and paid add-ons for a complete picture.
Payment Plans, Upsells, and Tax Handling Compared
The cheapest platform on paper can cost more if it lacks a checkout feature you depend on. Compare these three areas side by side.
Payment Plans and Subscriptions
High-ticket programs and coaching bundles often sell on installments, and memberships run on recurring billing. Check how each platform retries failed installments and what happens to course access when a payment fails. Also confirm whether you can send dunning emails. Our guide to online course payment plans without defaults covers how to structure them. The broader subscription payment processing guide explains how to reduce failed renewals.
Upsells and Order Bumps
One-click upsells usually depend on the stored card from the first purchase. Confirm that upsells work with whichever payment option you choose, whether built-in or your own Stripe or PayPal account. Some features may be limited to one of them.
Sales Tax and VAT
Digital course sales can be taxable in some U.S. states and many countries. Some platforms collect and remit certain taxes when you use their built-in processor, and some don't when you bring your own gateway. Find out which jurisdictions and taxes are covered. Our explainer on merchant of record vs. payment processor explains who is legally responsible in each setup. Tax rules vary by state and change over time, so confirm your obligations with a qualified tax professional.
Who Owns the Customer and Card Data If You Switch
This is the question creators most often skip, and it matters most for recurring revenue.
Customer data such as names, emails and purchase history is usually exportable. Confirm the export format and whether it includes enrollment and progress data.
Card data is different. When you use a platform's built-in processor, the stored card tokens typically sit in an account the platform controls. If you leave, you may not be able to move those tokens. Your subscribers and installment customers could then need to re-enter their cards, and some won't.
When you use your own Stripe account, the tokens sit in your account. Processors generally offer a PCI-compliant data migration process on request, but terms vary, so ask before you need it.
Before you sign up, ask:
- Can I export all customer and purchase data, including active subscriptions?
- If I leave, can stored card data be migrated to another processor, and how?
- Who handles chargebacks, and what evidence do I get access to? (Course disputes often claim "not as described." See our guide to spotting and fighting friendly fraud.)
Choosing the Best Course Platform for Payments: Next Steps
The best course platform for payments is the one whose fee structure, payout timing and data terms fit how you actually sell. That means accounting for launches or evergreen sales, one-time or installment pricing, and whether you serve U.S. or global buyers.
- Pull current pricing and payments terms from each platform.
- Plug the real rates into the three-tier table above, using your own average sale and payment plan mix.
- Get payout schedules, hold policies and card data portability terms in writing.
- Decide whether you want the convenience of built-in payments or the control of your own processor.
Many creators also sell outside a course platform, through their own site, a WooCommerce or Shopify store, or invoiced coaching packages. If you do, MannyPay provides online payment processing, payment gateways and integrations including WooCommerce. Check first whether your course platform can connect a non-Stripe gateway. To review your options, request a free quote, and a MannyPay specialist will respond within one business day.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.
