Why creators move from Kajabi to Shopify
Kajabi is a capable all-in-one platform that bundles a website builder, funnels, email marketing and a course area on its own hosted domain. The trade-off is that it runs your business on a second platform, with its own checkout, member login and customer database.
Merchants already on Shopify often find that bundle redundant. They already own a store, a checkout and a customer list. Moving courses onto Shopify consolidates everything into one storefront — and one monthly app fee instead of a full second subscription.
Is there a one-click Kajabi-to-Shopify importer?
No. There is no automated tool that lifts a Kajabi course intact into Shopify. Kajabi stores content and members inside its own system, and the two platforms do not share a migration pipe. Anyone promising "one click" is overselling.
The realistic path is a manual rebuild — and it is faster than it sounds. You export your assets from Kajabi, recreate the structure in Alva's builder, and bring students over by CSV. Most creators rebuild a course in an afternoon.
Before you start: what to export from Kajabi
Gather your raw materials first so the rebuild flows. From Kajabi, download every course video, each PDF or worksheet, any audio files, and the lesson copy. Note the exact section and lesson order, prices, and your member list.
What to pull from Kajabi before you rebuild
| Asset | Where it lives in Kajabi | Where it lands in Alva Courses |
|---|---|---|
| Course videos | Lesson video on the Kajabi platform | Alva Video Hosting or a YouTube/Vimeo/VdoCipher/Loom embed |
| PDFs & worksheets | Downloads attached to a lesson | A downloadable file block (PDF, ePub, MS Office) |
| Lesson copy | Rich-text lesson body | A rich-text content block per lesson |
| Structure | Modules and lessons | Sections and lessons in the course builder |
| Students | Member list / contacts export | A CSV of emails and names, imported in the Members view |
Step 1: Install Alva Courses and start your trial
Install Alva Courses from the Shopify App Store and start the 14-day free trial. Course management appears right inside your Shopify admin — there is no separate platform to set up and no second site to design.
Pick a plan as you go. Unlimited is $9.99/mo with unlimited courses, members, progress tracking and certificates. Unlimited Pro is $14.99/mo and adds Alva Video Hosting, which matters if you are bringing large video across — more on that below.
Step 2: Rebuild your course structure
In Alva's builder, recreate each course as sections and lessons that mirror your Kajabi modules. Keeping the same order matters: returning students recognise where they were and resume without confusion.
2a Add your lesson content blocks
Each lesson is built from content blocks: rich text, images, downloadable files (PDF, ePub, MS Office), audio, native video, embeds, Zoom blocks, quizzes and buttons. Paste your lesson copy into a rich-text block and attach the files you exported.
2b Recreate quizzes and gating
If your Kajabi course used assessments, rebuild them as Alva quizzes. Add drip scheduling to release lessons by day or date, and turn on require-completion gating so students move through sequential lessons in order — the same structure many Kajabi courses rely on.
Step 3: Re-host your course video
Video is the part most likely to trip a migration. Shopify's native file hosting caps out around 1 GB and roughly 10 minutes per file — too small for most full lessons. Alva Courses solves this with Alva Video Hosting.
On the Unlimited Pro plan ($14.99/mo), Alva Video Hosting gives you 50 GB of storage with no per-video size or length limit. Upload the videos you downloaded from Kajabi straight into your lessons. Prefer to keep video where it is? Embed from YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom instead.
Step 4: Sell each course as a Shopify product
Map every course to a Shopify product and set its price. From that moment the course sells through your normal Shopify checkout — the same cart, discounts and payment methods as the rest of your store.
When an order is paid, Alva Courses delivers access automatically: a branded enrolment email, plus thank-you and order-status checkout extensions, and the course appears under "My Courses" in the buyer's Shopify customer account. If you are unsure how to set prices for the new store, see how to price an online course.
Step 5: Bring your students over by CSV
This is the heart of the migration. Existing Kajabi students did not buy through your Shopify store, so you enrol them directly with a bulk CSV member import — no order required for each one.
5a Prepare the CSV
Export your Kajabi member list, then shape it into a spreadsheet with one row per student and columns for email and name. Email is required; name keeps the member record clean. Save it as a .csv file.
5b Import in the Members view
Open the course's Members tab in Alva Courses, click Import CSV, and select your file. Map the email and name columns if prompted, review the preview to fix any flagged rows, then confirm. Alva enrols every valid student. Full steps live in the import members with CSV help guide.
5c Send the enrolment email
On import, Alva Courses can send each student a branded enrolment email — from your own domain — with a link to start learning. Customise that email first so your audience sees a clear "your course has moved" message rather than a generic notice.
Step 6: Test, then switch new sign-ups over
Run one real test purchase through your Shopify checkout to confirm the full flow: payment, enrolment email, thank-you page access, and the course playing in the storefront player. Spot-check a few imported members to confirm the cohort enrolled.
Keep Kajabi active until you are confident. Point new sign-ups to your Shopify store, watch enrolments land for a few days, and only then cancel Kajabi. A staged switch protects revenue and gives you a safety net if anything needs a second pass.
What does and does not transfer
Set expectations clearly so nothing surprises you mid-move. Content and members come across by hand; live history does not. Plan around the table below.
Migration reality check
| Item | Transfers automatically? | How you handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Course content | No | Export and rebuild in the Alva builder |
| Student list | No | Bulk CSV member import in the Members view |
| Per-lesson progress | No | Students resume from lesson one; keep the same order |
| Checkout & billing | N/A | Switches to your native Shopify checkout |
| Certificates | No | Rebuild a customizable certificate & certificate email |
Wondering whether a Shopify app is the right home at all, versus a separate platform? The trade-offs are covered in Shopify courses vs a standalone LMS.
Frequently asked questions
No. There is no one-click importer that copies a Kajabi course straight into Shopify. The realistic path with Alva Courses is manual but quick: export your videos, PDFs and lesson copy from Kajabi, rebuild the section and lesson structure in Alva's builder, attach the content, and bring students over with a bulk CSV member import. Most creators rebuild a course in an afternoon.
Export your Kajabi member list to a CSV with one row per student and columns for email and name. In Alva Courses, open the Members view for the course, click Import CSV, map the email and name columns, review the preview, and confirm. Alva enrols every valid student and can email each one a branded enrolment notice with a link to start learning in their Shopify customer account.
Per-lesson completion history does not transfer automatically, because Kajabi and Shopify are separate systems. Imported students start in Alva Courses with their progress bars at 0% and track from the first lesson. To soften the change, rebuild courses with the same section and lesson order so returning students recognise where they were and can resume quickly.
Download your videos from Kajabi, then re-host them. Alva Courses includes Alva Video Hosting on the Unlimited Pro plan ($14.99/mo) with 50 GB of storage and no per-video size or length limits, which clears Shopify's native 1 GB / 10-minute file caps. You can also embed video from YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom if you already host there.
No. Keep your Kajabi account active during the transition. Rebuild your courses in Alva Courses, import your members, run a test purchase to confirm checkout and delivery work end to end, then point new sign-ups to your Shopify store. Once your audience is enrolled and learning on Shopify and you are confident nothing is missing, cancel Kajabi.
Alva Courses has two flat monthly plans on top of your Shopify subscription: Unlimited at $9.99/mo and Unlimited Pro at $14.99/mo, which adds 50 GB of Alva Video Hosting. Both include a 14-day free trial and there is no free plan. Kajabi is priced as a higher all-in-one subscription that bundles a website, email marketing and funnels — check their current pricing for exact figures.