Kajabi contact limits: when a $25 add-on beats the next plan
Kajabi Basic includes 2,500 contacts at $179 a month. Growth includes 25,000 at $249, and another 5,000 contacts costs $25 (kajabi.com/pricing). AXL Starter is $49 and includes 5,000 contacts. Extra contacts cost $0.002 each, so capacity grows one contact at a time.
- •Kajabi Basic includes 2,500 contacts at $179 a month. Growth includes 25,000 at $249, according to kajabi.com/pricing.
- •Each extra 5,000-contact block costs $25 a month, so crossing a plan limit does not automatically force the next tier.
- •AXL Starter includes 5,000 contacts at $49, then charges $0.002 per additional contact instead of selling capacity in blocks.
- •Kajabi Pro includes 100,000 contacts at $499 a month, while Basic and Growth can add contacts in 5,000-contact blocks.
- •A flat plan still suits some businesses; the honest case for it is at the end of this article.
What the current Kajabi plans include
Basic is $179 a month, or $143 a month billed annually. It includes 2,500 contacts, five products, one website, one community and two admin users.
Growth is $249 a month ($199 annually) with 25,000 contacts and 50 products. Pro is $499 ($399 annually) with 100,000 contacts, unlimited products and three websites. If a plan only needs more contact capacity, Kajabi also sells another 5,000 contacts for $25 a month.
Source for every Kajabi figure in this section: kajabi.com/pricing.
The arithmetic at four list sizes
Method: take a contact count, find the lowest-cost Kajabi plan plus any $25 contact blocks that can hold it, then compare it with the lowest AXL plan total when every other usage input is zero. Real AXL bills can differ because storage, email, messages, viewing, admins and AI also have allowances and overage.
| Contacts stored | Kajabi option that fits | Monthly list price | Lowest AXL total, contacts only |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 | Basic | $179 ($143 annual) | Starter includes 5,000 = $49 |
| 7,500 | Basic + one 5,000-contact block | $179 + $25 = $204 | $49 + 2,500 x $0.002 = $54 |
| 15,000 | Growth, cheaper than Basic plus three blocks | $249 | $49 + 10,000 x $0.002 = $69 |
| 65,000 | Growth + eight 5,000-contact blocks | $249 + $200 = $449 | $49 + 60,000 x $0.002 = $169 |
The AXL column is a contacts-only scenario, not a full bill. Other usage can make Growth, Scale or Pro the lower total. Use the calculator with your complete month before comparing platforms.
Why a contact cap taxes your best marketing
A contact cap measures the size of the stored list, not its activity. Lead magnet downloads, quiz completions, and webinar registrations all add records, including people who never buy and addresses that later go cold. A growing funnel can therefore trigger a higher plan before the new leads produce revenue.
That is the structural complaint about contact-based pricing generally, not a defect unique to one vendor: the meter correlates with effort, not with income. A revenue share rises when you earn more; a usage meter rises when you use more; a contact cap rises when you collect more, including the 40% of any old list that no longer opens anything.
Weighing the two platforms line by line (prices, fees, features, and migration) is its own page: see the full AXL vs Kajabi comparison.
Three ways people respond, and what each really costs
Prune the list
Deleting cold subscribers keeps you under the cap and costs nothing on the invoice. What it actually costs is the asset: those addresses were paid for with content, ads or a launch, and a winback campaign cannot be sent to a list you deleted. Pruning is good hygiene at the margins and a bad habit as a billing strategy.
Add capacity or upgrade
Basic includes 2,500 contacts. One extra 5,000-contact block takes it to 7,500 for $204 a month. At 15,000 contacts, Growth at $249 is cheaper than Basic plus three blocks at $254. Price the plan and the contact blocks together instead of assuming every threshold forces an upgrade.
Migrate
Moving platforms is the most expensive option in the short term, whatever anyone’s marketing says. Pages and courses are rebuilt, videos re-upload, historical analytics stay behind, and a sending domain has to re-earn its reputation. It only pays back if the pricing model, not just the price, was the problem. Do the table above with your own numbers before deciding which side of it you are on.
What to check instead of the sticker price
Five lines to read on any platform’s pricing page before the headline number means anything. They apply to every vendor in this category, ours included.
- The contact cap, including what counts as a contact: subscribers only, or every lead a form ever captured.
- The product cap: a low product allowance can decide your catalogue structure before you do.
- Admin seats: two seats is a solo operation; the price of the third tells you what scaling the team costs.
- Fees on your payment setup: platform fees often differ depending on whose gateway processes the sale. Read the row that matches how you would actually take money.
- Metered add-ons: anything billed per send, per minute or per call sits outside the plan price and shows up in month two.
How AXL prices the same list
AXL has four plans. Starter is $49 and includes 5,000 contacts; Growth includes 15,000, Scale 50,000 and Pro 150,000. Contacts above any plan allowance cost $0.002 each. The calculator checks every plan because a larger allowance can sometimes cost less than a smaller plan plus overage. Contact stock is charged day by day, so contacts you remove stop adding charges the next day. Estimate your bill at your own numbers.
Contacts are only one line. Each plan also includes storage, platform email, messages, video viewing, webinar viewing, admins and AI credits. Heavy senders and media businesses should enter those numbers too. A contact-only comparison can be useful, but it cannot tell you the complete monthly cost.
What people ask about the contact limit
2,500, at $179 a month or $143 a month billed annually, alongside five products, one website and one community. Kajabi also sells another 5,000 contacts for $25 a month. Read from kajabi.com/pricing.
You can add another 5,000 contacts for $25 a month or move from Basic to Growth at $249. One add-on is cheaper for up to 7,500 contacts. At 15,000 contacts, Growth costs $249 while Basic plus three add-on blocks costs $254.
AXL Starter includes 5,000 contacts at $49 per month. Growth includes 15,000, Scale 50,000 and Pro 150,000. Every extra contact above the selected plan allowance costs $0.002.
It can be the better deal when your list stays below the next threshold and the bundled tools fit your workflow. AXL uses included allowances plus overage, so compare the complete bill across contacts, storage, email, messages, viewing, admins and AI.
Run the table above on your own list.
Import your contacts and see the bill at your volume. AXL overage grows one contact at a time instead of a 5,000-contact block.
Plans start at $49/month with included usage and published overage
Choosing between the two platforms rather than leaving one? AXL vs Kajabi, line by line