Thinkific vs Teachable vs Kajabi: Best Course Platform for Home Services & Trades
Choosing the right online platform to teach your trade skills—whether it's advanced plumbing, detailed electrical work, or starting a handyman business—directly affects your profits, how well your students learn, and your ongoing costs. Thinkific, Teachable, and Kajabi each take a different cut, and that difference can cost you thousands yearly, especially as your online courses for home services professionals or DIY homeowners grow.
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The Quick Answer
Choose Thinkific if you want to teach skills like 'Advanced Drywall Finishing' or 'Basic Electrical Safety' without paying transaction fees, and you want a simple, clear online classroom for your students. It's a solid choice without the higher cost of Kajabi. Choose Teachable if you need to set up a 'How to Fix Common Leaks' or 'DIY Appliance Repair' course fast and are okay with small transaction fees until your course takes off. Choose Kajabi if you're building a full 'Master Electrician Academy' or a 'Contractor Business Growth' ecosystem with courses, email campaigns, and a student community, and you're ready to pay for that all-in-one power.
Side-by-Side Breakdown
Thinkific: Free to $199/month. You keep 100% of the money from courses like 'HVAC Troubleshooting Basics' or 'Deck Building Fundamentals' because there are 0% transaction fees on all plans. It has a robust builder for your modules and lessons, but you'll need another tool for sending marketing emails to your student list. Teachable: $0 to $299/month. Charges a 5% transaction fee on the free plan (0% on paid plans). It has an excellent page builder to promote your 'Start Your Own Handyman Business' course and strong student analytics to see how well your 'Blueprint Reading' lessons are performing. Kajabi: $69 to $399/month. Comes with 0% transaction fees. This platform includes everything in one place: email marketing for your 'Seasonal Home Maintenance Tips' courses, sales funnels for 'Remodeling Project Management' leads, a community for your 'Master Painter' students, and even a website for your online trade school.
When to Choose Thinkific
You are launching your first course, maybe 'Introduction to Basic Plumbing Repairs' or 'Understanding Residential HVAC Systems,' and want predictable costs without surprise transaction fees. You already use an email tool like Mailchimp or your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to manage contacts for your trade business. You want a clean, professional learning experience for your students, whether they are new hires learning 'Tool Maintenance' or homeowners taking 'Bathroom Remodel Basics.' You expect to grow your course library over time, adding more specialized modules.
When to Choose Teachable
You want the simplest possible setup for your first online course, like 'DIY Tile Installation' or 'Painting Pro Secrets'—Teachable's course creation flow is the most beginner-friendly for tradespeople. You're running promotions for a course like 'Winterizing Your Home' and need a polished sales page that looks professional without hiring a designer. You are fine paying transaction fees in the short term while you test the market for your 'Basic Appliance Repair' course before upgrading to a paid plan once you see consistent sales.
When to Choose Kajabi
You are building a full online trade education business, not just selling one 'Handyman Basics' course. You want email sequences for marketing new 'Advanced Electrical Diagnostics' modules, landing pages for 'Contractor Business Scaling' webinars, a community forum for 'Master Carpenters,' and course delivery all in one tool without juggling multiple subscriptions. You are generating consistent revenue from your courses, maybe $3,000-$5,000/month, and the $149-$399/month cost is justified by eliminating the need for 3-4 other tools like separate email marketing, website, and funnel builders.
The Verdict
For first-time course creators in home services, like a handyman teaching 'Deck Building Fundamentals,' Thinkific's free plan with 0% fees is the lowest-risk starting point. For tradespeople who want the fastest setup and professional sales page quality for courses like 'Homeowner HVAC Filter Changes,' Teachable is a solid choice. For established contractors or trade educators building a full 'Apprenticeship Program Online' or an 'Electrical Code Mastery' business ecosystem, Kajabi's all-in-one model can pay for itself by streamlining operations. Do not pay for Kajabi until you have validated that your specific trade course sells and you're ready to scale your entire online presence.
How to Get Started
Thinkific: Sign up for the free plan, create your first course modules for 'Basic Roofing Repairs,' and connect your payment processing (like Stripe). You can launch your course and start earning before needing to upgrade to a paid plan. Teachable: Use the free plan to build out your 'Introduction to Residential Plumbing' course. Once you have your first few sales, upgrade to the Basic plan ($59/month) to remove those transaction fees and keep more of your earnings. Kajabi: Start a 14-day free trial. Use one of their pipeline templates to quickly set up a launch funnel for your 'Launching Your Own HVAC Business' course, and connect your existing client email list to start promoting.
RECOMMENDED TOOLS
Thinkific
Launch your first course free — 0% transaction fees
Kajabi
All-in-one creator platform
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I migrate courses between platforms?
Video content can be re-uploaded, but student enrollment records, progress data, and completion certificates do not transfer cleanly. Migrating 100+ students is a manual process. Choose carefully before you have a large student base.
Does Kajabi replace ConvertKit?
Kajabi's email is capable for most creators, but ConvertKit has stronger automation tagging, deliverability, and creator-specific features. Some creators use both — Kajabi for courses, ConvertKit for email — though that adds cost.
What transaction fees does Teachable charge?
On the free plan, Teachable takes 10% plus payment processor fees. On the Basic plan ($59/month) the fee drops to 5%. On Professional ($159/month) and above, there are no transaction fees.