Online course creators may not be very tech-savvy, so they turn to simple solutions to help run their business.
- All-in-one solution
- Excellent marketing tools
- 24/7 customer support
- More detailed information
- Tailored plans
- Great customer support
- Simple, yet powerful
- More detailed information
Main Differences Between Kajabi and Simplero
Kajabi and Simplero are actually very similar and have a lot of the same features and functions. The main difference between the two is that Kajabi includes more marketing tools, most notably the pipeline sales funnel builder. Kajabi also has a more straightforward pricing structure and more site customization options.
Pricing Comparison
Kajabi offers 3 pricing plan tiers:
- Basic: $149/mo
- Growth: $199/mo
- Pro: $399/mo
The plans scale nicely and each higher tier unlocks a wider application of included tools.
Kajabi is a bit more expensive than other online course platforms out there, but there are no hidden fees, you don’t need to shell out for add-ons and plug-ins, and there are 0 transaction fees on any purchase made on your website. You can also save 20% on subscription costs by opting for annual instead of monthly billing. So Kajabi is not actually as expensive as it seems.
Simplero also offers 3 basic pricing tiers:
- Build: $29/mo
- Launch: $99/mo
- Rule: $149/mo
These are starting prices. The actual price can be higher if you select more contacts. For instance, the Build plan costs $29/mo for up to 1,000 contacts.
You can up that number to 2,500 contacts by paying $49/mo. It’s kind of a weird pricing structure, but it gives you more options. You can also sign up for annual billing to save 20%.
Marketing Tools
The marketing tools of both platforms are good. However, Kajabi ultimately has more flexibility and has more powerful tools.
The main thing that Kajabi has that sets it apart is the pipeline builder, the platform’s take on sales funnels.
The pipeline builder gives you a visual representation of your sales funnel that you can edit with the drag-and-drop editor. Pipelines are a great way to set up a functioning and efficient sales funnel.
Add that with Kajabi’s awesome assortment of email marketing automations and email templates, and you can run some really thorough marketing campaigns.
Simplero has some decent email marketing functionality, such as broadcasts and autoresponder messages.
You can also make sales and landing pages for your products.
One good thing about Simplero is you can import custom templates if you already have some designs created.
Simplero is lacking in some advanced marketing features though, such as complex automations and the templates are relatively limited compared to Kajabi.
Website Building Comparison
Website building is another strong aspect of each platform.
Kajabi uses a simple drag-and-drop editor with mobile-responsive designs.
Arranging your page is as simple as dragging icons and elements where you want on the page.
Kajabi also includes hosting and domains with your subscription so you don’t have to look elsewhere.
Similarly, Simplero utilizes a block-based drag-and-drop editor.
Like Kajabi, Sinplero pages are easy to build from scratch or from templates.
One criticism of Simplero is the different templates are fairly basic and not very unique.
However, they are clean, modern, and look good.
Overall though, Kajabi’s web building tools are easier to use and offer more flexibility in design choice. Simplero has a good web builder, but there is less ability to make unique designs.
Theme Comparison
Both Kajabi and Simplero are based on a theme design. You can set general themes that determine the general look and feel of your page.
Kajabi used to offer 11 themes, but they have changed focus to developing the Premier Theme into a highly customizable and flexible theme that can work for every website.
You can choose between 6 layout presets that contain pre built templates and elements, and modify them how you want.
Kajabi also lets you select different themes for individual products, so separate pages can have separate feels.
Simplero also works with themes. You can change the colors, background, text, buttons, header, footer, and sidebar from the theme dashboard.
Simplero gives the user access to the code editor too which opens up more customization options. Simplero themes are built on the programming language Liquid, so you’ll have to know a thing or two about the language to get use out of the code editor.
This is a hard comparison because both platforms handle themes selection and customization well.
However, we say that Kajabi ultimately has the better theme selection due to the flexibility of the Premier Theme.
Course Creation & Student Engagement Comparison
Course creation is a major aspect of both platforms. Both platforms handle all course hosting and you can upload materials, and both platforms have membership site capabilities.
Kajabi takes a logical and straightforward approach to course creation.
You first sketch out the outline of the course, then fill out the course material with the drag-and-drop editor.
Making a course is similar to making a blog post in WordPress. Once you have your course uploaded and set, you can set pricing/offerings and publish the course to your website.
A functioning course can be put together in just a few hours. You also get access to student engagement tools like quizzes and assessments.
Simplero uses a similar course builder in which individual lessons are split into modules. Simplero also handles hosting but you only get 100GB of storage.
So you don’t have to pay for course hosting but you get finite space. You can also hide course materials behind a password gate.
Simplero also gives the option to create quizzes for lessons.
Integrations
Kajabi offers 10 built-in integrations including popular services like MailChimp, ConvertKit, Clickfunnels, Google Analytics, and Aweber.
Kajabi also has the Zapier integration which lets you set up custom integrations with non-native third-party apps.
Zapier ensures that the platform can integrate into whatever service you need.
We cannot find a clear and reliable list of all integrations offered by Simplero, but it has integrations with LeadPages in WebinarJam.
Simplero also has a Zapier integration so just like with Kajabi, you can set up custom API integrations with non-native third-party apps.
Kajabi offers more integrations and has an easier set up for them. As such, it wins this comparison between integrations from Kajabi and Simplero.
Customer Support Comparison
Customer support is a strong aspect of Kajabi. Kajabi users get access to 24/7 live chat customer support and access to Kajabi University, a large online library of training and educational resources.
The Kajabi devs host regular live training sessions and webinars too, so you always have some resources if you run into a problem.
Simplero takes a support ticket approach to customer service. So for basic issues, you have to send a request and wait for a response.
They do have the Empower Hour which is a live video conference where you can ask questions, and Simoplero offers “concierge” services where professionals can help set up your site and troubleshoot issues.
Both Kajabi and Simplero have strong customer support, though Simplero’s model is harmed by the outdated support ticket system. Otherwise, though, customer support for both platforms is a strong aspect.
Conclusions: Kajabi or Simplero?
It’s a tough choice, but ultimately we say Kajabi is the superior platform.
The one area Simplero beats out Kajabi is pricing, but considering how the two platforms scale their plans, Kajabi quickly becomes the more economical option.
The platforms have very similar tools and a similar focus, but Kajabi just brings more to the table (including that awesome pipeline editor).
So if you are struggling for a decision between Kajabi vs Simplero, our bid goes to Kajabi.
