Kajabi, the video and web hosting platform for content creators to sell online courses, announced on Thursday the official launch of its no-code branded mobile app offering, allowing users to build their own customized native app via can host the App Store and Google Play.
Kajabi already has a mobile app for hosting online courses. However, with this new product, developers can control the user experience and interact with customers in new ways. Creators can customize their app’s icon, login screen, layout, and content, including the splash screen, explore page, push notifications, custom links, online course carousels, other in-app purchases like bundle offers, and more. There is also a separate AI chat assistant that can be trained to answer questions and integrated into the app.
“Our main focus has always been to increase commerce for creators,” Sean Kim, chief product officer of Kajabi and former head of product at TikTok, told TechCrunch. “Whether we’re helping you make your first dollar, achieve profitability, or achieve financial freedom, all of our resources are focused on that goal. The branded mobile app is the latest product we offer that helps our customers increase commerce and reach their businesses.”
Branded apps have been in high demand among developers, and according to Kajabi user data, 62% of developers believe a branded app is critical to their business. 55 percent said they would be willing to pay up to $100 per month for a custom-branded app.
Kajabi has tested the product with over 800 beta users. Starting today, it is available to all Kajabi users.
Photo credit: Kajabi
Compared to the traditional app development process, which can take six months and cost over $60,000, Kajabi argues that its offering is a cost-effective solution. Kajabi already develops ready-made apps that can go live within weeks, saving developers time and money. This is a reassuring offer for developers who have previously invested in app development that did not meet their expectations.
One Kajabi customer, nutritionist Raquel Britzke, told us she spent $10,000 developing an app that ultimately didn’t perform as well as she hoped.
“I tried to create my own app before, but I wasn’t successful. It’s so much work and I’ve invested so much time and money to create the app… I have thousands of people using it [my] “So we need to make sure the app works for a large number of people,” she said. Now Britzke can quickly bring existing customers to an app that’s powered by Kajabi and optimized to handle all of their instructional videos, she explained.
Although creating a branded app with Kajabi is more cost-effective than the standard app development process, it is still an investment. Only creators with existing courses on the platform can purchase the add-on, which costs between $89 and $199 per month. The more expensive plan includes a community feature where customers can interact with creators in live video calls and chats, participate in meetups, and complete challenges.
Kajabi offers three subscriptions: Basic ($149/month), Growth ($199/month), and Pro ($399/month).
Currently, Kajabi only supports selling courses as one-time purchases, not as subscriptions. The company will soon offer community and coaching products as in-app purchases. (It’s also important to note that Apple and Google charge 30% for all in-app purchases.)
Additionally, the company says it will continue to make improvements and new features and all apps will be updated automatically. Although Kajabi does not support coding customizations, there are plans to add customizable widgets that can be integrated into the app. Other features of the works include offline viewing, interactive quizzes and personalized experiences.
The company joins many other competitors in the no-code app creation space, including Wix, which charges $200 per month for its branded app, Bubble (fees between $29 and $529 per month), Vidapp ($389) and Passion.io ($297). ) and Thinkific ($199), among others.