Contacts, tags, and email sequences transfer from Kajabi to GoHighLevel.
Course content does not transfer automatically. Every video, lesson, PDF, and quiz must be manually rebuilt inside GHL's membership module. This is the most time-consuming part of a Kajabi migration and cannot be shortcut. The trade-off is worth it when you need GHL's SMS, AI, booking, and CRM capabilities. A straightforward migration with 1 to 2 courses and a small contact list takes 2 to 3 weeks. A complex migration with 5+ courses, a community, and active email sequences takes 4 to 7 weeks.
1. Why Course Creators and Coaches Migrate from Kajabi to GoHighLevel
Kajabi was built for knowledge businesses: people who earn revenue primarily by selling courses and memberships. It does that job well. The migration to GHL almost always happens at a specific growth stage: when a course creator or coach starts offering done-for-you services, group programs with high-touch follow-up, or agency-level client management alongside their course business. At that point, Kajabi's gaps become operational problems rather than minor inconveniences.
| What Kajabi provides | What makes coaches and agencies move to GHL |
|---|---|
| Excellent course and membership delivery → Yes | Yes functional, less polished UX |
| Built-in email marketing and automations → Yes | Yes plus SMS and voice |
| Kajabi Communities for student engagement → Yes strong | GHL Communities (launched 2024) |
| Native 2-way SMS and AI Voice Agent → Not available | Yes |
| Booking calendar for coaching calls → Not available | Yes replaces Calendly |
| Multi-client sub-account architecture → Not available | Yes for agencies |
| Full CRM pipeline for coaching sales → Limited | Full CRM |
| White-label branding for agency clients → Not available | Yes |
| Monthly cost → $69 to $399/mo | $97 to $297/mo |
Kajabi's course player, community features, and membership experience are genuinely among the best available for knowledge businesses. GHL's membership module is functional but less polished than Kajabi's student-facing experience. If your business is purely course-first and you do not need SMS, pipeline CRM, or AI automation, evaluate carefully before switching. If you need GHL's operational capabilities and course delivery is one part of a larger business, the migration is almost always the right call.
2. What Transfers from Kajabi to GoHighLevel and What Must Be Rebuilt?
The key distinction: data transfers, content does not. Your contacts, tags, and email history move via CSV. Your actual course content every video, text lesson, PDF download, and quiz must be manually re-uploaded and rebuilt inside GHL's membership module. There is no automated import tool for Kajabi course content.
| Kajabi Asset | What Happens | Action Required |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts and students | Transfers via CSV export and import | Export from Kajabi, clean CSV, import into GHL with field mapping |
| Tags and segments | Transfers via CSV as tag column | Create matching tags in GHL before import |
| Email automation sequences | Does NOT transfer | Full email sequence rebuild in GHL workflow builder |
| Course content (videos, text, PDFs, quizzes) | Does NOT transfer no import tool | Manually rebuild every lesson, module, and quiz in GHL membership module |
| Drip schedule and lesson release timing | Does NOT transfer | Rebuild drip logic in GHL membership settings per course |
| Member access and enrollment records | Does NOT transfer directly | Re-invite existing students to GHL membership portal via email |
| Kajabi offers and pricing plans | Does NOT transfer | Recreate in GHL order forms connected to Stripe |
| Kajabi Communities | Does NOT transfer | Move to GHL Communities (launched 2024) or external platform |
| Affiliate program data | Does NOT transfer | Recreate in GHL affiliate manager |
| Landing pages and sales funnels | Does NOT transfer | Rebuild in GHL funnel builder |
Course content migration is always manual. Budget approximately 2 to 6 hours per course depending on the number of modules and lessons. A 5-module course with 30 video lessons, PDFs, and quizzes typically takes 4 to 8 hours to rebuild inside GHL. This is the honest timeline. Agencies that tell you this can be done in an afternoon are not telling you the full story.
3. How to Migrate from Kajabi to GoHighLevel (Step-by-Step)
Audit your Kajabi account before exporting anything
List every active course with its module count, lesson count, and content types. List every active email automation with its trigger and purpose. Identify which students are currently active versus which have completed their access period. This audit becomes your migration checklist.
Export contacts, students, and purchase history
In Kajabi, go to People and export your full contact list as a CSV. Export your student and purchase data separately. Clean the CSV before import: remove duplicates, standardise email formats, and flag any students whose access has expired.
Build your GHL infrastructure before rebuilding any content
Create custom fields. Configure email domain with DKIM and SPF. Set up Stripe connection. Create pipeline stages. Build booking calendar. Complete A2P 10DLC SMS registration. These foundations must exist before you layer course content and automation on top.
Rebuild courses manually in GHL's membership module
Create a new membership for each Kajabi product. Recreate module and lesson structure exactly. Upload videos and PDFs. Rebuild quizzes. Configure drip scheduling. Set access control. Test the student login experience before re-enrolling students.
Rebuild email automations as GHL workflows
For each active Kajabi email sequence, recreate it as a GHL workflow. Set the trigger to match. Recreate each email action with the same copy and timing. Extend every sequence to include SMS, voice, and booking actions. Start with your post-purchase onboarding sequence first.
→ Need help with workflows? GoHighLevel Workflow Automation Guide →
Re-enrol existing students and run parallel
Send a personalised email to existing Kajabi students inviting them to create their GHL member portal account. Keep Kajabi active for 2 to 4 weeks while students transition. Do not cancel Kajabi until all active students have confirmed access in GHL.
4. How Does GoHighLevel's Membership Module Compare to Kajabi?
This is the question every Kajabi migrator asks before committing. Here is the honest, specific answer.
| Feature | Kajabi | GoHighLevel |
|---|---|---|
| Course structure (modules and lessons) | Yes polished, intuitive builder | Yes functional, less polished UX |
| Video hosting | Native video hosting included | Video upload supported; many use Vimeo or Wistia |
| Drip content scheduling | Yes per-lesson release timing | Yes per-lesson drip available in membership settings |
| Student progress tracking | Yes detailed analytics | Basic completion tracking less granular than Kajabi |
| Quizzes and assessments | Yes built in | Yes quiz builder available |
| Community features | Kajabi Communities strong and native | GHL Communities (launched 2024) improving, not yet at Kajabi polish |
| Branded member portal | Yes clean student-facing experience | Yes branded on your domain |
| Affiliate management | Yes built in | Yes GHL affiliate manager |
| Native SMS | No email only | Yes full 2-way SMS throughout |
| AI Voice Agent | No | Yes answers calls, qualifies leads, books appointments |
| CRM and pipeline | Limited course-focused | Full CRM unlimited contacts and pipelines |
| Booking calendar | No | Yes replaces Calendly |
| Multi-client sub-accounts | No | Yes agency dashboard with unlimited sub-accounts |
| Monthly cost | $69 to $399/mo | $97 to $297/mo (more capability per dollar) |
5. Common Kajabi Migration Mistakes to Avoid
Underestimating the course content rebuild time
Fix: Audit your content in full before scoping the timeline. Budget 2 to 6 hours per course for a realistic estimate, then add 20% contingency for content that is harder to rebuild than expected.
Re-enrolling students before the portal is tested
Fix: Test the full student experience: create a test account, purchase access, go through every lesson, confirm drip releases work, and verify the mobile experience before a single real student is re-enrolled.
Cancelling Kajabi before students have confirmed access in GHL
Fix: Keep Kajabi active until every active student has logged into the GHL member portal and confirmed their content is accessible. Monitor login rates for 2 to 4 weeks after the transition announcement.
Rebuilding Kajabi automations exactly instead of improving them
Fix: Kajabi automations are email-only. When you rebuild them in GHL, add SMS, voice, and booking steps that Kajabi could never support. Improve as you rebuild do not just copy.
GHL Scale Up manages complete Kajabi to GoHighLevel migrations: contact export and cleaning, course content rebuild in GHL membership, drip schedule rebuild, email sequence migration to GHL workflows, student re-enrolment, and post-migration support.
Book a free migration assessment at ghlscaleup.com/contact-us→ See our full Kajabi to GoHighLevel migration service →
6. Frequently Asked Questions
Can GoHighLevel import Kajabi course content automatically?
No. GoHighLevel does not have an automated import tool for Kajabi course content. Every video, text lesson, PDF download, and quiz must be manually rebuilt inside GHL's membership module. This is the most time-consuming phase of a Kajabi migration. Budget 2 to 6 hours per course depending on module and lesson count. Contacts, tags, and email history transfer via CSV export and import only the course content itself requires manual rebuilding.
How long does a Kajabi to GoHighLevel migration take?
A simple migration with 1 to 2 courses, a small contact list, and basic email sequences takes 2 to 3 weeks. A standard migration with 3 to 5 courses, active community, and 5 to 10 email automations takes 3 to 5 weeks. A complex migration with 6 or more courses, large student database, affiliate program, and extensive automation takes 5 to 8 weeks. The course content rebuild is what drives the timeline not the contact import.
Can GoHighLevel replace Kajabi for course creators?
For course creators who also run coaching businesses, service businesses, or agencies, yes. GoHighLevel's membership module covers the core course delivery features: video lessons, drip scheduling, quizzes, branded member portal, and subscription access via Stripe. What GHL adds is the full operational stack Kajabi lacks: native SMS, AI Voice Agent, booking calendar, CRM pipeline, and multi-client sub-account management. Kajabi remains the stronger choice for pure course-first businesses where the student experience and community are the primary product.
What happens to my existing Kajabi students during the migration?
Existing students are re-enrolled in the GHL member portal via an email invitation that explains the platform transition. They create a new login, access the same content in the new portal, and continue their progress. We recommend keeping Kajabi active for 2 to 4 weeks after the GHL portal launches so students can transition at their own pace and any access issues can be resolved before Kajabi is cancelled. Active student access is never disrupted during the parallel period.
Does GoHighLevel have a community feature like Kajabi Communities?
Yes. GoHighLevel launched GHL Communities in 2024. It includes a social feed, direct messaging, and group discussion layer that integrates with the membership and course module. As of 2026, GHL Communities covers the core use case of a student and client community. Kajabi Communities is more mature and has a more polished student-facing experience, but GHL Communities is functional and improving with each platform update.
How much does a Kajabi to GoHighLevel migration cost?
Migration project fees depend on the number of courses, student volume, and automation complexity. Contact GHL Scale Up for a fixed-fee quote after a free migration assessment. Most course creators find that within 3 to 6 months of switching, the cost savings from replacing Kajabi, Calendly, and a separate SMS platform with GHL's $97 to $297 per month flat rate recover the migration investment entirely.
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