Most coaches do not need more software. They need fewer moving parts and a platform that matches how they actually sell. In May 2026, the gap between the major platforms is pretty clear. Kajabi is priced like an all-in-one revenue machine. Circle is built around community first. Mighty Networks leans hard into paid memberships and branded community experiences. Thinkific stays strongest on structured courses and commerce. The wrong pick usually does not fail on features. It fails on fit, fees, and operational drag. All pricing and feature references below come from the vendors' current pricing pages as checked on May 7, 2026. Kajabi, Circle, Mighty Networks, Thinkific.
Start with your business model, not the feature checklist
If you sell high-ticket 1:1 or group coaching and want landing pages, email, funnels, checkout, and community in one place, Kajabi is the cleanest all-in-one play. Its current plans run from $89/month for Starter to $499/month for Pro on monthly billing, with higher contact and product limits as you move up. Kajabi also discloses different platform fees depending on payment method, including 5 percent on third-party providers on Starter, 2 percent on Basic, 1 percent on Growth, and 0.5 percent on Pro, while Kajabi Payments in the US shows processing rates from 2.9 percent plus $0.30 down to 2.7 percent plus $0.30 on higher tiers. Kajabi pricing
If your offer is community-led first, meaning cohorts, discussion, events, member networking, and content inside one member hub, Circle is better aligned. Circle's public pricing shows Professional at $89/month and Business at $199/month, with unlimited members on both tiers, 20 spaces on Professional, 30 on Business, and platform transaction fees of 2 percent and 1 percent respectively. API access, workflows, and removing Circle branding sit on the Business tier, which matters if you want automation and a cleaner premium brand. Circle pricing
If your model depends on memberships as the product, Mighty Networks deserves a serious look. Its pricing page currently shows Launch at $79/month, Scale at $179/month, and Growth at $354/month, with transaction fees listed at 2 percent, 1 percent, and 0.5 percent across those tiers. Mighty also states on its pricing page that hosts on the platform sell monthly memberships at an average of $48 per month with 25 members, and one-time courses at over $500 on average. That does not prove every coach will hit those numbers, but it does show the platform is optimized around monetized communities, not just course hosting. Mighty Networks pricing
If your business is course-heavy and you want stronger academic structure, Thinkific is still one of the clearest fits. Its pricing page shows Start at $99/month, Grow at $199/month, and Expand at $499/month on monthly billing. Thinkific also highlights current student capacity of 10,000 on Start, Grow, and Expand, with Unlimited on Plus, plus unlimited published courses across plans. It explicitly says customers using Thinkific Payments do not incur a third-party payment gateway fee, which matters if you care about margin and cleaner checkout ops. Thinkific pricing
The real tradeoff is operating complexity
Here is the blunt version. Kajabi costs more than Circle at the entry level, but it also replaces more tools. Circle starts cheaper for community businesses, but several high-leverage items are either capped or pushed into Business or paid add-ons, including branded email notifications, customizable profile fields, extra admins, and Email Hub. That means the sticker price can understate the real monthly cost if you want a polished client experience. Kajabi pricing, Circle pricing
Mighty Networks sits in an interesting middle lane. It is cheaper than Kajabi at entry, but its platform fees can matter fast if your revenue scales and you stay on lower tiers. Thinkific is similar in a different way. It is not trying to be the best community platform. It is trying to be a strong commerce and learning platform. If your coaching delivery looks more like a curriculum with milestones, modules, and student progress, that focus is a strength, not a weakness. Mighty Networks pricing, Thinkific pricing
My practical ranking for coaches
Pick Kajabi if you want the fewest tools and you already know your offer sells. It is the best fit for coaches selling premium programs who want pages, email, checkout, community, and automations in one system. Kajabi pricing
Pick Circle if retention depends on member interaction. It is the best fit for masterminds, peer communities, and group coaching where conversations are the product. Circle pricing
Pick Mighty Networks if you are building a paid membership business with community at the center and want lower entry pricing than Kajabi plus a platform that clearly thinks in membership economics. Mighty Networks pricing
Pick Thinkific if you sell transformation through structured learning, not constant conversation. It is the best fit for coaches who package frameworks, lessons, certifications, or cohort-based curriculum. Thinkific pricing
The smartest move for most solo coaches
Do not optimize for the platform you might need at 1,000 members. Optimize for the platform that lets you sell and deliver cleanly in the next 90 days. If you are under $10K/month and still proving your offer, the winner is usually the platform that removes the most operational friction, not the one with the longest feature table. For most solo coaches, that means Kajabi if you want an all-in-one stack, Circle if community is the offer, or Thinkific if education is the offer. Mighty Networks is strongest when paid membership is the core business model, not just an add-on. All four can work. Only one will match how you make money. Kajabi pricing, Circle pricing, Mighty Networks pricing, Thinkific pricing
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