Absorb LMS vs Kajabi

Absorb LMS is a cloud learning management system from Absorb Software, headquartered in Calgary, Canada. It is used by more than 3,700 organizations to run compliance, onboarding, upskilling and external training, and was named a Leader in the 2025 Forrester Wave for learning management systems. In 2026 the company moved its web presence from absorblms.com to absorbai.com to emphasize its AI features, while the product keeps the Absorb LMS name.

The core LMS handles courses, learning paths, certifications, automated enrollment rules, with separate branded portals for employees, customers and partners. Add-on modules extend it: Absorb Create for AI-assisted course authoring, Engage for social learning and gamification, Analyze for reporting, Skills for skill mapping across 12,000+ job skills, Amplify with 20,000+ ready-made courses, and a commission-free eCommerce module for selling courses. Pricing is quote-only and based on learner volume.

Absorb fits mid-size and large organizations, including those that train frontline staff, resellers or franchisees, and want one platform with strong admin automation. Docebo is the closest enterprise rival with a heavier AI and content marketplace pitch, while TalentLMS is far cheaper and faster to launch for small teams with published pricing.

In May 2026 Absorb introduced Absorb Aura, a set of AI agents that answer learner questions, draft courses and automate admin work. When requesting a quote, ask which modules are bundled, since Create, Engage and Analyze are typically priced separately.

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for knowledge businesses, founded in 2010 and headquartered in Irvine, California. Coaches, educators and creators use it to sell online courses, coaching programs, communities, memberships, podcasts and newsletters, together with the website, funnels, email marketing and payments needed to sell them.

The product covers course hosting with quizzes and drip content, coaching with scheduling, communities with challenges and live sessions, private podcasts, and a website and landing page builder with sales funnel templates. Email marketing includes broadcasts, sequences, automations and segmentation, and checkout supports payment plans, coupons, upsells and affiliates. Kajabi charges no transaction fees on top of payment processing. Plans (Basic, Growth and Pro) are priced monthly and scale by number of products, funnels, contacts and admin users, with branded mobile apps and advanced features on higher tiers. Creator Studio AI helps repurpose videos into clips, emails and posts.

Kajabi suits established creators with revenue who want to replace four or five separate subscriptions with one system. It is expensive for beginners validating a first course, its email features trail dedicated tools, and design flexibility is lower than WordPress or Webflow. Teachable and Thinkific are cheaper course-focused options if you already use an email tool, Podia is simpler for smaller catalogs, and Skool suits community-first businesses.