Kajabi vs Stan Store: Which Platform Is Right for You?

Let's talk Kajabi vs Stan Store.

Both are built to help you sell. But there's a big difference between a platform that you get off the ground and one that can actually hold a real coaching business: your programmes, your memberships, your 1:1 clients, all of it.

Because as you scale toward 6 and 7 figures, your systems either grow with you... or they start to crack under.

Starting fast is smart. But scaling? That's a different game. Here's how Kajabi and Stan Store stack up when you're ready to take your business to the next level.

The core model

Before we compare features side by side, it helps to know what each platform was truly built to be. Both share the same goal: getting you paid while delivering real value to your clients, but they start from very different places.

Stan Store

Stan is a link-in-bio storefront. One page, one link, tap to buy. Perfect for content creators and social media influencers turning their Instagram or TikTok bio into a mini shop.

Here's what you get:

• Digital products, courses, memberships, coaching calls, and webinars with calendar booking built in

• A community space, included on every plan

• Email marketing and automated Email Flows (Pro plan only)

• Funnels for upsells and downsells

• Referrals, analytics, and third-party integrations

• Set up in minutes, zero coding required

Ultimately, Stan is built to turn social media attention into frictionless, immediate sales. But as your business model scales, you may find yourself hitting its limits.

Kajabi

Kajabi is a connected system designed for coaches and knowledge businesses where your website, content, community, and marketing all exist in one place.

Here's what you get:

• Courses, coaching, and communities as their own dedicated products

• A full website builder with a blog, custom domain, and SEO tools

• Email marketing with broadcasts, automated sequences, and A/B testing

• Funnels that connect landing pages, email, and checkout into one journey

• A branded mobile app for your community (Pro plan only)

• Drip content, quizzes, and progress tracking, so your curriculum builds and tracks the way you want it to

Instead of just being a single page, Kajabi serves as the complete digital storefront and backend engine to run your entire business. Head over to our guide on Kajabi features for coaches to see what the platform can do for you.

Coaching & client delivery

If coaching is the actual offer, not just a digital add-on, this is the section to pay attention to. Here's how each platform handles the real work: booking, delivering, and keeping clients on track.

Stan Store

Stan gives you a Coaching Call product and a course builder, both solid for the basics of booking and delivering. If you're running 1:1 calls or a straightforward course, it covers what you need to get paid and get started.

• Coaching calls sync straight to Google Calendar or Zoom.

• Group calls supported with a max attendee limit

• Confirmation emails and reminders are sent automatically

• Add reviews, order bumps, affiliate share, and community access to any coaching product

• Courses are video-based, built in modules and lessons, with optional drip release

• Lesson videos can't be downloaded, but supporting materials like PDFs and templates can

Stan's coaching tools are genuinely solid for simple, call-based coaching with calendar sync, reminders, group calls, and drip content. However, each offer stands alone rather than connecting to a bigger client experience.

Kajabi

For Kajabi, coaching isn't seen as a side feature. It is the business. If your programme has moving parts, materials, progress, real touchpoints, this is where it lives.

• 1:1 and Group Coaching are dedicated product types, built for structured programmes

• Built-in Live Video, or connect Zoom, Google Meet, Calendly, or Acuity

• Kajabi Scheduler lets clients book directly based on your availability

• Organise agendas, attach materials, and track progress right in the product

• Clients log into their own Library to find meeting links, agendas, resources, and notes

• Courses connect to coaching too, with drip content, live rooms, quizzes, certificates, and an embedded Community channel

Stan is great for booking a quick call, but Kajabi is designed to nurture the entire coaching relationship. By giving your clients their own portal for notes, resources, and progress tracking, you elevate a simple calendar invite into a premium, high-touch experience.

Community & engagement

The bigger you get, the more community matters. It's how you stay connected to people you can't call individually anymore. Choose a platform that makes this easy.

Stan Store

Stan's Community is easy to set up and gets people talking. If you just want somewhere for your audience to connect and ask questions without adding another tool to your stack, it does the job.

• Members can post, access their purchases, join webinars, and message you directly

• Customisable branding: cover photo, About section, helpful links, resources tab

• One community only, no tiers, no drip content, no live-streaming, no DMs, and no mobile app yet (members bookmark the link as a workaround)

Kajabi

Kajabi treats community like its own product, built with the tools to keep members engaged long after the initial excitement wears off. If retention matters to you (and at this stage, it should!), that's the difference between a space people check once and forget, and one they keep coming back to.

• Access Groups let you organise free vs. paid tiers, unlimited on current plans

• Members get a newsfeed, group chats, and DMs, something Stan doesn't offer

• Live video calls with a searchable recording library

• Built-in accountability tools and progress tracking

• Challenges, events, a member directory, and a leaderboard for gamification

• Ambassador roles to help you manage the community as it grows

So really, it's simple over strategic. Stan gets you a simple space to connect with your people. Kajabi's built to keep that space alive and growing, long after the initial excitement of launch day wears off. For a deeper dive into what launching your Kajabi Community actually looks like in practice, check out my guide How to launch your Kajabi community.

The buying experience

It's easy to think a sale is a sale. But how your future clients get from browsing to buying, one tap versus a guided path, shapes the experience just as much as what you're selling.

Stan Store

Stan is built around a fast, frictionless buying experience. One page, one tap, done.

When you want to convert casual social media followers into paying clients instantly (think a quick digital download or a strategy session), that speed is a huge plus. It removes every barrier between your audience and your expertise, though it might feel a bit too fast if you prefer a longer, more nurtured sales sequence for your high-ticket signature programmes.

• "1-Tap Checkout" built specifically to reduce friction and boost conversion

• Structure your online store with high, medium, and low-ticket products (think coaching calls, courses, digital downloads) all on one simple product menu

• Funnels add entry offers, upsells, and downsells on top, but the whole system still runs on speed

• Sales funnels are only available on the Creator Pro plan

Kajabi

If you’re a coach selling high-ticket programmes, signature online courses, or premium services, you know that building trust is key. Kajabi understands this, which is why it doesn't chase the impulse buy.

Instead, it takes a slower, more deliberate approach designed to warm up your potential clients, establish your authority, and build a real relationship before you ever ask for the sale.

• Funnels link landing pages, email, and your offer into one journey, built with coaches and educators in mind

• Multi-step paths built to move someone from first click to purchase

• Countdown timers add urgency, though they're tied to a fixed date, not personalised per visitor

• Pre-built templates help you get set up faster

Neither path is wrong. It really depends on your audience and how they prefer to buy. Stan goes for quick conversions, while Kajabi builds relationships. The best online coaching platform is one that matches your needs. And with coaching, building that connection is the whole point, right?

Website & email

This is where the gap between the two really starts to show. One's built to be a page in your bio. The other's built to be your business's home base. Here's what that means for you.

Stan Store

Stan keeps things simple: one page, customisable, built fast. If you're not ready to think about a full website yet, or you just want something up and selling today, that simplicity is actually a win. You personalise what you need, skip what you don't, and you're live.

• Customise theme, colours, fonts, and profile info, all through one Edit Design tab

• Built to launch in under 30 minutes as a single page, not a multi-page website

• Email Flows (Creator Pro only): automated sequences triggered by purchase, date, or cart abandonment

• Email Broadcasts available for one-off sends

Kajabi

Kajabi's built for coaches who are ready to look like a real business, not just a link in a bio. Your website, your blog, your emails, all under one roof, all working together to build trust before someone even books a call. As your online business grows, this is the kind of infrastructure that grows right along with it.

• Website builder uses blocks and sections to design pages your way, with standard pages built-in

• Two email types: Broadcasts for one-off sends & Sequences for automated, behaviour-triggered emails

• A/B testing built in for both Landing Pages and Email Broadcasts

• 20+ HTML templates, plus 15+ customisable visual-editor templates

So do Stan's Email Flows offer legit automation beyond basic email management? Yes. But they're limited to purchase, date, or cart triggers, sit behind the Pro plan, and skip A/B testing entirely. Kajabi goes further on both fronts with deeper segmentation and email testing, plus a real multi-page website to actually send that traffic to.

Kajabi vs Stan Store: pick your platform

Choose Stan Store if you:

• Are just starting to monetise and want to launch fast, straight from social media

• Sell your offers individually, calls, courses, digital content, rather than as one structured, ongoing programme

• Don't need a multi-page website, deep client management, or an actively engaged community space yet

• Want the lowest possible barrier to entry while you test what sells

Choose Kajabi if you:

• Run (or are building) a structured coaching practice, multiple courses, or a membership

• Want delivery, marketing, community, website, and checkout in one connected system

• Are scaling fast and need infrastructure that grows with you

• Want a branded, professional experience for your clients, not a link-in-bio page

I'll say this: Stan's a genuinely strong starting point, fast, affordable, and upfront about what it is. 

But you're not just starting out, you're scaling. And what got you your first few sales isn't necessarily what's going to hold a full roster of clients, a growing community, and a business that runs without you in every corner of it.

That's why I point my clients toward Kajabi at this stage. It's got the client experience, the community depth, and the infrastructure built to scale alongside your biggest, boldest vision for your business.

Ready to make it real?

Now that the Kajabi vs Stan Store picture is crystal clear, there's only one thing left to do: actually build it. But let’s be honest, with a scaling business to run, you don't have the time (or the patience) to spend figuring out Kajabi.

Premium prices demand a premium experience, full stop. That means sales pages that convert, onboarding that runs on autopilot, and a client portal that feels just as high-end as your price tag.

That's exactly what my Kajabi Done-For-You service is for.

We map out your programme, gather what we need from you (minimal homework, promise), and then I build the whole thing in the background while you keep running the show and calling the shots. Everything is built, tested, and ready to duplicate for every future launch. Then, we'll wrap up with a walkthrough, plus two weeks of me on hand for questions.

If you’re ready to stop winging it and get it built right, let's talk it through.

Book a Disco Call today!