Kajabi has always been one of the top contenders for hosting digital products, courses or membership sites, But in real life which is best? In the battle of Searchie Vs Kajabi, is Kajabi really the best platform? We think not! This article will explain why we no longer use it and found Searchie a far superior Kajabi alternative.
First off, a quick disclaimer: We are affiliates for Searchie – its founder, Stu McLaren, is one of our business mentors. But, to be clear, that does not affect what we share below in any way; we are big fans of Searchie and use it daily in our business. It does mean that if you purchase Searchie through our link, we’ll get a small commission – in return, we are here to answer any questions you have.
We switched our membership from Kajabi to Searchie.
As the owners of a large membership, it was essential for us to have a professional hosting site for the member's hub. We also have several digital courses and online products and wanted to provide the best digital experience for students.
So, following all the rave reviews about Kajabi, we moved everything to the platform from MemberPress in late 2020. Turned out, switching to Kajabi was a terrible idea! Six months later, we were no longer using Kajabi at all.
Instead, we have moved everything onto Searchie.io and have never looked back.
What is Searchie.io?
Searchie is a web-based software platform that allows you to create, manage, and sell your content all in one place. Designed with content creators in mind, Searchie is really easy-to-use to deliver your digital course or membership.
Created by our business mentor, Stu McLaren, who also previously founded WishList Member, Searchie.io has everything an online business owner needs to host video, audio and written content.
Searchie is the world’s first search engine for video content, and that feature alone creates an incredible user experience for your customers. There are so many reasons to use Searchie, even if you don't have a course or membership site.
Kajabi Vs Searchie Round 1: Simplicity of use
Winner – Searchie!
We are not web developers! We have minimal design skills and no interest in spending hours of valuable time making a membership site look good.
Having worked in MemberPress, Searchie and Kajabi, we found Searchie the most simple to use and easiest to adapt.
Even with our minimal tech skills, we created a beautiful membership site that functions just as well on mobile as on desktop, with no need for coding. Searchie has a Canva integration that makes it super quick and simple to add images and graphics to your site.
Searchie Hubs:
The speed at which you can build a course or secure a member’s area in a Searchie Hub is one of the main reasons we switched to Searchie from Kajabi.
Kajabi was clunky and required a lot of tech know-how to make your course or membership look good and function well for your customer. In Searchie, you can quickly create playlists from your video library to create a slick course or membership site in a matter of minutes.
Uploaded video and audio content to your Searchie account is quick and simple & the integrations with Zoom, Facebook, YouTube and more mean you can even automate this process!
Each section of a Searchie hub can be protected only to be shown to specific people in your audience. So you can easily hide materials from people who don’t qualify for them.
But, Searchie is brilliant for more than just memberships and courses. A public Searchie Hub is the perfect solution when you don’t want to hide your content. For example, create a Searchie podcast hub to get more podcast listeners.
Watch me create a membership site in less than 14 minutes using Searchie
This video is hosted in Searchie & embedded in this site using the HTML code – tap the magnifying glass icon to search for any keyword in the video to see how the search function works.
Kajabi Vs Searchie Round 2: User Experience
Winner – Searchie!
With so much choice in the online learning industry, user experience is even more important than ever.
The video search functionality in Searchie has dramatically improved the learning experience for our students and members. Students can easily search the course content for any keywords or phrases in your video content. This function helps students quickly refer back to group coaching calls, masterclasses, and other content to find the necessary information without watching the whole video again.
This unique search function adds true value to our courses and membership by making the learning experience far superior to any other platform. If you, like us, want to make your content easy to consume then Searchie is the winner.
Searchie does integrate with Kajabi should you wish to make Kajabi content searchable. But, in our opinion, you'd be paying for two systems when you really only need one.
Kajabi Vs Searchie Round 3: Accessible Course Content
Winner – Searchie!
As a business owner, it is your responsibility to do everything you can to make sure your content is accessible to everyone regardless of accessibility needs and caters for different learning styles.
Searchie automatically adds closed captions to all video and audio content, making your video and audio content accessible to everyone, regardless of someone's ability to hear. Searchie also creates a downloadable transcription to allow people to read the content if they prefer (this is a function you can disable should you wish).
If your customers prefer to learn on the move, Searchie automatically creates an audio file for students to download, and you can create a private podcast feed from any file or playlist to provide even more learning options for your students.
Every hub has the option to disable downloads should you prefer to protect your content.
Kajabi Vs Searchie Round 4: Searchie Analytics
Winner – Searchie!
With Searchie analytics, you can quickly see how often videos have been watched, where people are dropping off and discover the keywords people are searching for in your hubs.
This valuable information means you can create more relevant content based on those keywords for your customers and also make informed changes to your video titles to help users find the information they are looking for more easily.
We also use Searchie analytics to inform our free content. Search queries from our paying customers can provide valuable insight we can use for podcast and blog content.
Kajabi V Searchie Round 5: Pricing
Winner – Searchie!
On price, Searchie wins hands down. Here's the breakdown on pricing [Nov 2022)
Cost for hosting 1 x digital product
- Searchie – $29/m
- Kajabi – Not Available
Cost for hosting 1 x digital product
- Searchie – $83/m
- Kajabi – $119/m
Cost for hosting 1 x digital product
- Searchie – $166
- Kajabi – $159
Of course, Kajabi's prices include website hosting and email marketing. But, even with this in mind, you might still be better off financially using a combination of Searchie, Mailerlite and WordPress or Showit.
In conclusion
If you want an all-in-one solution then Kajabi is still a strong contender. But if your priority is simplicity, ease of use and user experience, then Searchie wins on all counts.
Now you know why we think Searchie is a better solution than Kajabi (or MemberPress) you might want to try it for yourself. If you’d like to hear more about Searchie and whether it might be right for you, don’t hesitate to reach out. Laura Moore loves to geek out over Searchie, so feel free to DM her for a chat about Searchie anytime!
