So, I kinda went down the rabbit hole comparing Kajabi and Squarespace — not because I wanted to, but because I got stuck halfway trying to build something and thought, “Wait… am I even using the right tool?” I don’t have a fancy, airtight review here, just the main features that stood out to me while fumbling through both platforms. If you’ve been wondering which one might actually fit what you’re doing, maybe this messy little breakdown helps.
| Kajabi | Squarespace |
|---|---|
| Purpose-built for courses, memberships, coaching, podcasts, and communities. | Strong for general website building, with integrations for engagement add-ons. |
A) Course Creation: Kajabi takes the lead
Kajabi is basically built with course creators in mind. Its course builder lets you set up Modules (think of them as folders) and fill them with Lessons — which can be videos, text, assessments, downloads, or a mix of everything.
On top of that, the AI Creator Hub can help map out course outlines or even generate lesson content. Once your course is ready, you can control how learners get access: unlock everything at once, or drip-feed lessons over weeks.
Squarespace has stepped into this space too with its Courses feature. You can create structured lessons with progress tracking, and if you don’t want to build it yourself, a Squarespace Circle member can set it up for you. That said, Kajabi still feels smoother if courses are your main business.
B) Membership Sites: Kajabi is smoother, Squarespace feels limited
Kajabi has membership features baked in — you can build member-only areas, control access levels, and even set up automations like welcome emails or lesson unlocks. The Subscriptions dashboard shows payments, member names, and activity in one place. Plus, with Analytics, you can see exactly how far your members are progressing.
Squarespace does offer membership sites. You can charge for access, drip out content, and manage payments. But here’s a big drawback: resources like PDFs or images aren’t well-protected. A paying member could share a file link, and it might even show up in search results. For sensitive or premium content, you’d probably want an extra tool.
(If you want a deeper dive, I also covered this here: Kajabi vs Squarespace.)
C) Communities: Kajabi has it in-house, Squarespace leans on integrations
Kajabi lets you create communities with forums, feeds, DMs, and even live video Q&As or workshops. You can run challenges, track member engagement, and host events directly inside Kajabi. It feels like a mini social network under your brand.
Squarespace? Not so much. There’s no real built-in community engine. You’d need integrations to mimic what Kajabi does natively. For things like student quizzes, group interaction, or member discussions, you’ll find yourself piecing together third-party tools.
Verdict: Kajabi edges out Squarespace
Squarespace is great if you mainly need a beautiful website and are okay stitching on extras for courses or memberships. But if your business revolves around teaching, coaching, or building a community, Kajabi wins. It’s more expensive, yes, but the features are already there — no patchwork required.
After trying both, I can’t say there’s a perfect winner. Kajabi feels like it wants me to build an empire with courses and funnels, while Squarespace just makes me feel like, “ahh, at least my site looks clean.” I still trip up on the details, and I probably will again, but at least now I see the trade-offs a little clearer. Hopefully, this saves you from staring at the screen like I did, wondering if you picked the wrong platform.