Kajabi vs OptimizePress in short
Kajabi is an all-in-one hosted platform for selling courses, memberships and funnels, with monthly plans. OptimizePress is a WordPress page builder you run on your own hosting, with yearly plans. Kajabi costs a lot more per year. OptimizePress needs your own WordPress site.
| Check on 3 November 2026 | Kajabi | OptimizePress |
|---|---|---|
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Yearly renewal |
| Entry plan | $179/month ($143/month billed annually) | $129/year (1 site) |
| Hosting | Kajabi hosts everything | Your own WordPress hosting |
What is Kajabi? Kajabi has been one of the most hyped about launches in the recent days. But there are quite a few people who are still wondering, what is Kajabi?What is Kajabi?
Kajabi is a push-button marketing software that can make creating launch pages, membership sites, squeeze pages etc. a matter of a few button clicks. Almost all of the latest launches by the Internet marketing GURUS were done on Kajabi.The launch of Kajabi was much hyped and it was supposed to be the next best thing in Internet marketing after affiliate Marketing. How justified was this hype?A smart and quick review of the software showed that it was not something that any internet marketer could afford. You can see that in the video below.
Then what is the solution and why should one be so desperate to buy something like Kajabi? Is it the “Powered by Kajabi” factor?What is Kajabi alternative?
I wanted something like Kajabi to smoothen the process of creating squeeze pages and launch pages and also to run my membership sites. What is Kajabi alternative? As I searched the internet for an alternative I stumbled upon what is called the “Optimizepress” wordpress theme.Optimizepress is the alternative to Kajabi. Optimizepress can do everything that Kajabi does and has an added advantage to Kajabi.- While Kajabi requires a monthly subscription, Optimizepress is a one-time payment (this was true when I first wrote this in 2010; see the update below).
- Kajabi hosts everything on their servers and has a bandwidth limitation whereas Optimizepress is a wordpress theme and is hosted on your own servers. Your server bandwidth is all available for you.
- You get limited accounts with Kajabi whereas you can use Optimizepress on unlimited accounts (the 2010 licence; today the plan you pick sets the number of sites).
- Kajabi is not affordable whereas Optimizepress is affordable.
Pricing update (November 2026)
Both products have changed since I wrote this. Kajabi lists three plans on its pricing page: Basic at $179/month ($143/month billed annually), Growth at $249/month ($199/month annually) and Pro at $499/month ($399/month annually). It also says it takes no revenue share, though card processing fees apply. OptimizePress is no longer a one-time payment. Its plans renew yearly: Launch at $129/year for 1 site, Scale at $199/year for 5 sites and Elevate at $249/year for 25 sites. Prices exclude tax and can change, so check each pricing page before you buy. For more on the page builder side, read my OptimizePress vs Thrive Themes comparison.
What is Kajabi used for?
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for expert businesses. It combines marketing emails, landing pages, funnels, a website, community access groups and checkout in one hosted product.
Is OptimizePress a one-time payment?
Not any more. OptimizePress currently sells yearly plans, from $129/year for one site. When I first wrote this post in 2010 it was a one-time purchase.
Does Kajabi take a cut of my sales?
Kajabi says it takes no revenue share, so you keep what you earn. Card processing fees still apply.
If you are building a site to sell with affiliate links, my guide to setting up a WordPress blog for affiliate marketing covers the hosting side.
well.. superb review.. and it makes one very tempting to purchase the optimize press.. however.. the final nail in the coffin would be a similar video with optimize press enabled sales page/squeeze page and other such benefits.. mark my words.. I will buy it!
Hey, thanks for the comment. I will be uploading a video on creating a squeeze page with Optimize press soon.
nice article..!!!
For me I like Optimise Press better. Works for me.
This has been a great information for me! And what do you think about Optimise Press? I came accross it at google…
Optimize press is an excellent product and is far better and useful that Kajabi. I will be launching my new product on this theme and so far I am loving Optimize Press.
That is something that I too share with you.
Dilip,
Here’s a very popular “dream team” for creating terrific-looking membership sites that can drip content, do affiliate programs, etc – a bit more than what you can do with Kajabi, but instead using WordPress and having it all on your own web site in your own control…
1) Self-hosted WordPress Site
2) OptimizePress theme
3) DigitalAccessPass.com (DAP) Membership Plugin for WordPress
4) EasyVideoPlayer or S3MediaVault
Regardless of which components above you choose (or ignore), just make sure you build it all on top of WordPress.
– Ravi Jayagopal
Disclosure: I’m the founder/co-developer of DAP.
Hey Ravi,
Thanks for visiting. That group indeed in a dream team. Kajabi was never in my scheme of things though the launch had excited me to buying it. But its prices pushed me back. Then OPtimizepress came my way and I thank myself that I did not buy Kajabi.