Quick answer
Yes — for the part of Kajabi covered on this page, Lessonforge is a one-time-purchase alternative. It costs $49 once, while Kajabi lists from $149/mo. Self-hosted LMS with modules, quizzes, progress tracking and PDF certificates — payments run through your own Stripe. It is not a 1:1 replacement for everything Kajabi does — the honest limits are spelled out below.
The verdict
Switch to Lessonforge if the slice of Kajabi you actually pay for is the slice Lessonforge covers — and a $49 one-time price beats from $149/mo for as long as you use it.
Stay with Kajabi if this sounds like you — Kajabi bundles email marketing, funnels, landing pages, a website builder and payments in one hosted platform. Lessonforge is courses only; the marketing machine around them is yours to build.
Head to head
| Lessonforge | Kajabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 once | from $149/mo |
| Where it runs | Your own server (self-hosted) | Vendor cloud (hosted service) |
| Renewal | None — the license never expires | Recurring — access ends when you stop paying |
| 5-year cost | $49 | ~$8,940 |
About Kajabi: Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for courses, communities and marketing funnels. Basic plans list from $149/mo (about $1,788/yr).
Where Kajabi still wins
Kajabi bundles email marketing, funnels, landing pages, a website builder and payments in one hosted platform. Lessonforge is courses only; the marketing machine around them is yours to build.
Where Lessonforge wins
Lessonforge replaces Kajabi's course layer: self-hosted courses with modules and lessons, quizzes per module, progress tracking and PDF certificates, with enrollment through your own Stripe. $49 once versus $149 every month — the LMS stops being your biggest fixed cost.
- Price, permanently. $49 once versus from $149/mo for as long as you use it. There is no renewal, no seat count and no tier gate.
- Courses, modules, lessons. Video via YouTube/Vimeo embed or self-hosted upload up to 500MB, rich-text lessons, downloadable attachments, reorder everything.
- Three enrollment paths. Add a student manually, let them self-serve with a per-course access code, or take paid enrollment via your own Stripe Checkout.
The math
Kajabi lists from $149/mo. Lessonforge is $49, paid once:
- After 1 year: Lessonforge has cost you $49 total — Kajabi has cost ~$1,788.
- After 3 years: Lessonforge is still $49 — the subscription is at ~$5,364.
- After 5 years: Lessonforge is still $49 — the subscription is at ~$8,940.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — Lessonforge is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/course-builder-lms-mvp. The $49 buys the packaged installer and 1-click setup; building from source is free.
Where does my course data live?
In a SQLite file plus an uploads folder on your own server or machine. Nothing is uploaded to us.
Do you take a cut of my sales?
No. Payments go through your own Stripe account at Stripe's standard rates, and Lessonforge takes 0%. It's $49 once, no renewal.
Try Lessonforge — $49, one time
Or get Lessonforge plus every other app in the suite: the OneTimeSuite bundle is currently $97, one time.