Squarespace is a website builder that added courses — starting at $39/month with a 1% transaction fee. Kajabi is a course platform that includes a website — starting at $143/month with zero transaction fees (Kajabi Payments). Short answer: Squarespace has the better website. Kajabi has dramatically better course tools. If courses are your business, Kajabi (or a dedicated course platform) is worth the premium. If courses are one small part of a beautiful website, Squarespace works.
What Does Each Platform Cost for Courses?
| Squarespace | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended plan | Plus: $39/mo | Basic: $143/mo (annual) |
| Transaction fee | 1% (Plus) / 5-7% (lower plans) | 0% (Kajabi Payments) |
| Processing fee | 2.7% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe) |
| Quizzes | No | Yes |
| Certificates | No | Yes |
| Community | No | Yes |
| Email marketing | Basic campaigns | Full automation |
| Enrollment drip | Calendar-date only | Enrollment-based |
| Student tracking | Basic progress bar only | Detailed analytics |
| Website design | Industry-leading | Functional templates |
See our Kajabi pricing breakdown for full plan details.
Squarespace's transaction fees change the math
At $5,000/month course revenue on Squarespace Plus ($39/month):
- 1% transaction fee: $50/month
- Processing fees (2.7% + $0.30): ~$135/month
- Total: ~$224/month
Kajabi Basic ($143/month) with Kajabi Payments charges 0% transaction fees — only Stripe processing. At $5,000/month revenue, Kajabi is actually cheaper than Squarespace Plus once you include Squarespace's fees. On lower Squarespace plans (5-7% transaction fees), the math is even worse.
Where Does Squarespace Win?
Website design is in a different league
Squarespace's templates and design tools are industry-leading. If your brand identity, portfolio, and visual presentation matter — if you're a photographer, designer, artist, or lifestyle brand — Squarespace creates a more polished web presence than Kajabi. The website is the primary product; courses are a complement.
Lower base price
$39/month (Plus) vs $143/month is a significant gap. If your courses are simple (video-only, no quizzes, no community) and you primarily need a website with courses as a secondary offering, Squarespace costs less — as long as your revenue stays modest enough that transaction fees don't close the gap.
Courses live on your existing site
If you already have a Squarespace website, adding courses doesn't require a separate platform or subdomain. Your courses inherit your site's design, navigation, and domain. With Kajabi, your courses live on Kajabi's platform — which may look different from your existing website.
Where Does Kajabi Win?
Course features are dramatically deeper
Kajabi includes quizzes, graded assessments, drip content (enrollment-based), cohort scheduling (Growth plan), video transcription, student progress analytics, and community with gamification. Squarespace has none of these. Squarespace courses are video lessons in chapters with a basic progress bar. If your students need to be tested, certified, tracked, or supported, Kajabi is in a fundamentally different category.
No transaction fees with Kajabi Payments
Kajabi charges 0% platform fees using Kajabi Payments. Squarespace charges 1-7% on top of processing fees. At $5,000/month revenue, this saves $50-350/month depending on Squarespace plan. As revenue grows, the fee gap widens in Kajabi's favor.
Built-in email marketing and funnels
Kajabi includes email automation, broadcast emails, sales funnels, and landing pages. Squarespace has basic email campaigns (separate from the website builder) with limited automation. If email-driven course launches are part of your business, Kajabi is significantly more capable.
What Both Miss
Who Should Consider Squarespace?
- Creators with beautiful existing Squarespace sites. Adding courses to your current site is simpler than migrating to Kajabi and losing your design.
- Simple video courses with no interaction. If your courses are watch-only content with no quizzes, community, or tracking needed, Squarespace handles it.
- Design-forward brands. Photographers, artists, and lifestyle brands where the website aesthetic is as important as the course content.
- Testing the waters. $39/month is a low-risk way to see if courses generate revenue before committing to a dedicated platform.
Who Should Consider Kajabi?
- Course-first businesses. If courses are your primary revenue source, not a supplement, Kajabi's tools are worth the price difference.
- Creators who need student interaction. Quizzes, assessments, community, cohort scheduling — Kajabi has them. Squarespace doesn't.
- High-revenue creators. At $5,000+/month, Kajabi's zero transaction fees make it cheaper than Squarespace Plus.
- Creators who need email automation. Launch sequences, drip campaigns, and automated follow-ups are Kajabi's marketing strength.
The Teaching-First Alternative
Kajabi is powerful but expensive. Squarespace is beautiful but lacks course depth. If you want real course features without Kajabi's price or Squarespace's limitations, Ruzuku starts at $99/month with unlimited courses, quizzes, certificates, per-lesson discussions, native Zoom, and student tech support. Zero transaction fees. You can start free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you sell courses on Squarespace?
Yes — video-based courses organized into chapters on all plans. But no quizzes, no certificates, no community, and no enrollment-based drip content. It's a website builder with basic courses, not a course platform.
Does Squarespace charge transaction fees on courses?
Yes: 7% (Basic), 5% (Core), 1% (Plus), 0% (Advanced at $99/month). Plus processing fees of 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction.
Is Squarespace cheaper than Kajabi?
At base price, yes ($39 vs $143). But at $5,000/month revenue, Squarespace Plus costs ~$224/month with fees. Kajabi Basic costs $143/month with zero platform fees. Kajabi is actually cheaper at that revenue level.
Does Squarespace have quizzes or certificates?
No. No quizzes, no assessments, no certificates on any plan.
Which has a better website builder?
Squarespace, by a wide margin. Its design tools and templates are industry-leading. Kajabi has a functional website builder, but the design quality doesn't compare.