ChatGPT answers, unedited

Yes. If your goal is paid newsletter + courses + subscriber-only video, I’d look at these three first:

My pick: Kajabi

For what you're describing, Kajabi is probably the closest match. It now combines newsletters, paid subscriptions, courses, memberships, communities, payments and marketing automation in one system. Kajabi Kajabi Kajabi

You could structure it roughly as:

• Free newsletter → audience growth
• Paid newsletter subscription → premium written content
• Member tier → subscriber-only videos and ongoing content
• Courses → higher-priced educational products
• Upsells/bundles → e.g. paid newsletter + course
• Community → discussion around the courses/content

Kajabi specifically supports paid newsletter access and premium/paywalled content, alongside its course and membership products. Kajabi Kajabi

Podia is the one I'd compare against it

Podia is especially attractive if you want something less elaborate. It combines email/newsletters, courses, memberships, community, digital products and checkout, so you can keep your newsletter and educational content under the same customer account. Podia Podia

Its email system can also segment subscribers based on purchases and memberships, which is useful for sending different newsletters to free vs. paying members. Podia Help Center Podia Help Center

My rule of thumb:

• Kajabi → you want to build a serious education/membership business around the newsletter.
• Podia → you want the same basic architecture with less complexity.
• Circle → your primary product is the community, with courses/newsletters supporting it. Circle's current positioning explicitly combines email, courses, community, events and payments. Circle

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have and what you charge per month, I can compare the economics of Kajabi vs. Podia vs. keeping your existing newsletter platform and adding a course platform.

Yes. If your goal is “paid newsletter + subscriber-only videos + courses” in one platform, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Kajabi

For what you're describing, Kajabi is probably the cleanest migration path. It combines newsletters, paid subscriptions, courses, communities, and digital products rather than treating courses as an add-on. help.kajabi.comcircle.so

That means you could structure your business roughly like:

Free newsletter → Paid newsletter → Premium video library → Courses → Higher-priced programs

And subscribers can use the same account rather than bouncing between your newsletter platform, Teachable, Vimeo, etc.

One important alternative: Circle

If your vision is less “newsletter + courses” and more “paid members' club with content, discussion, courses, and video,” I'd seriously consider Circle. It specifically combines email, community, courses, events, and payments. circle.so

Where Ghost fits

If you love your existing newsletter and primarily want to add a course/video library, Ghost is attractive because its paid memberships and tiered content access are excellent. It can even be used to build subscription-based courses. docs.ghost.org

But Ghost isn't really a polished LMS/video-course platform in the way Kajabi is. You'd likely be building more of the course experience yourself or using integrations.

So, in one sentence:

• Kajabi → best if courses become a major revenue stream
• Circle → best if community/membership becomes the product
• Ghost → best if the newsletter remains the heart of the business
• beehiiv → best if you're primarily building a media/newsletter business

If you tell me what platform your newsletter is currently on (Substack, beehiiv, ConvertKit, Ghost, etc.) and roughly how many paid subscribers you have, I can narrow this down to the best 1–2 options and compare the migration/pricing tradeoffs.

Yes. If you already run a paid newsletter and want to add structured courses + subscriber-only video, I’d look at these three first:

• kajabi.com — best all-in-one fit. It combines paid newsletters, recurring memberships, courses, video/course content, email automation, checkout, and community. You can make a subscriber’s recurring payment unlock a course library and other premium content. Kajabi Kajabi Kajabi
• circle.so — best if community is important. It combines email/newsletters, paid memberships, courses, events, community, and payments in one branded environment. Circle
• ghost.org — best if the newsletter/publication is the core business. Ghost has excellent built-in paid subscriptions and can organize subscription-based courses, but it's less of a purpose-built LMS than Kajabi. Ghost Ghost

What I'd choose for your use case

If your model is roughly:

Paid newsletter → subscriber gets premium videos → subscriber gets a course library → potentially add higher-priced courses later

I'd pick Kajabi.

It lets you have one customer account/payment relationship across the newsletter, membership, and courses, and you can use subscriptions, one-time payments, or payment plans. Kajabi Kajabi

If instead the newsletter itself is the product and the courses/videos are an extension of it, Ghost is particularly attractive. Its paid subscription infrastructure is native, and it currently advertises 0% platform payment fees (with Stripe processing separately). Ghost Ghost

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have and what you charge per month, I can compare Kajabi vs Ghost vs Circle on cost, video/course experience, migration, and fees and tell you which one I'd use.

Yes. If you already run a paid newsletter and want to add courses + subscriber-only video, I’d look at these three:

My pick: Circle

For what you're describing, Circle is probably the closest fit. It combines paid memberships/subscriptions, courses, video, email, and community in one place. You can create different membership tiers and gate specific courses, videos, and spaces behind them. circle.so

That makes a model like this straightforward:

Free newsletter → paid newsletter → premium membership → courses → subscriber-only video library

Circle also lets you upload video directly into courses/content rather than making YouTube/Vimeo your primary content-management layer. circle.sowww.podia.com

When I'd choose Kajabi instead

Choose Kajabi if your newsletter is really the front end of a larger education business—especially if you expect to sell expensive courses, coaching, or multiple products. It has courses, memberships, communities, email marketing, payments and sales funnels integrated together. www.kajabi.com

The tradeoff is that Kajabi tends to make more sense once you're generating substantial revenue; it's a more elaborate platform than you need if your main goal is simply "paid newsletter + courses + exclusive videos."

Podia

Podia is worth considering if you want something simpler. It combines courses, memberships, digital products, email marketing, website/landing pages, and community, and lets you bundle those products together. www.podia.com

My ranking for your use case:

1. Circle — best if subscriber community + exclusive video + courses are central.
2. Kajabi — best if you're building a serious course/education business with funnels and multiple products.
3. Podia — best if you want inexpensive, straightforward all-in-one functionality.

One important question is where your newsletter currently lives. If you tell me whether you're on Substack, beehiiv, Ghost, ConvertKit, or something else, I can tell you which of these would involve the least painful migration and how I'd structure the paid tiers.

Yes. If your goal is “paid newsletter + subscriber-only videos + courses, all under one login/paywall,” I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Kajabi

For what you're describing, Kajabi is probably the cleanest all-in-one fit. It now combines newsletters, paid subscriptions, courses, communities, and other digital products in one platform. www.kajabi.com

That lets you structure your business something like:

$15/month newsletter
→ weekly premium newsletter
→ subscriber-only videos
→ archive of premium content

$199 course
→ available as a separate purchase or bundled with membership

$30/month premium membership
→ newsletter + all videos + selected/all courses

The big advantage is that you don't have to make your newsletter live in one system, your course in another, and your video membership somewhere else.

Podia is the value-oriented alternative

Podia is particularly attractive if you want something simpler. It has built-in email/newsletters, courses, community, website, checkout, and digital products. www.podia.com

I'd choose Podia over Kajabi if you're primarily a newsletter creator who is adding courses, rather than building a sophisticated marketing funnel/education business.

Ghost is worth considering if the newsletter is the core

Ghost is arguably the nicest fit if you think of yourself primarily as a publisher. It has native paid memberships and lets you restrict posts/content to paid tiers. ghost.org

Ghost can also be used to create subscription-based courses, but it's less of a traditional course-hosting platform than Kajabi or Podia. ghost.org

So my ranking for your use case:

1. Kajabi — best all-in-one if courses will become a significant revenue stream.
2. Podia — best if you want simplicity and good value.
3. Ghost — best if your paid newsletter remains the main product.
4. Circle — best if you want to turn the newsletter into a community/membership business. Circle currently combines email, courses, community, events, and payments. circle.so

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have now and what you charge per month, I can narrow this down to the best 1–2 options and compare the economics.

Yes. If you want one platform to handle a paid newsletter + courses + subscriber-only video, I’d narrow it to three:

My pick: Kajabi

Kajabi is probably the closest match to what you're describing. It explicitly combines newsletters, paid subscriptions, courses, memberships, video/content delivery, payments, and marketing automation in one system. www.kajabi.com

The model could look like:

Free newsletter → paid newsletter → premium video library → flagship course → all-access membership

That means you can sell a recurring subscription and use the same subscriber/account to control access to your courses and premium videos.

Circle is worth a serious look

Circle is especially attractive if you want the paid content to feel like a membership community, rather than simply a course portal. It supports paid subscriptions/memberships, courses, video, events, discussions, and gated spaces. circle.so

I'd choose Circle over Kajabi if your vision is something like:

"Subscribers get the newsletter, a private video library, courses, discussions, and live Q&As."

I'd choose Kajabi if the priority is:

"I want one system for selling and delivering my newsletter, courses, memberships, and marketing funnels."

One important alternative: keep your newsletter platform

If you're already happy with your newsletter platform, don't automatically migrate it. For example, Kit is particularly strong for newsletter-first creators who also sell courses/digital products, while beehiiv is particularly strong for newsletter growth and paid subscriptions. tiergauge.com

If you tell me which platform your newsletter is currently on (Substack, beehiiv, Ghost, Kit, etc.) and roughly how many paid subscribers you have, I can tell you the best setup—and whether it's worth migrating or just adding a course/membership platform.

For a paid newsletter that you want to expand into courses + subscriber-only videos, you’ll usually want a platform that handles:

• recurring subscriptions
• gated video/course content
• member management
• email/newsletter delivery
• payments and tiers

The best fits depend on how much you want the newsletter to remain the “center” of the business:

My shortlist:

If your newsletter is the main product → Kit + Circle

Good for:

• free newsletter → paid newsletter → premium community/course funnel
• keeping your email list as the core asset
• adding courses without rebuilding everything kit.comcircle.so

If you want one all-in-one system → Kajabi

Good for:

• “Netflix for my subscribers” style libraries
• multiple courses
• recurring memberships
• automated sales funnels

If you want the easiest migration from a newsletter business → Ghost or Kit

Good if you already have:

• paying readers
• a strong email audience
• occasional premium videos/courses rather than a full academy

If you want a creator membership hub → Circle

Circle is especially strong if your paid subscribers should interact with each other, attend events, and access courses in one member space. kit.comcircle.so

A common setup for newsletter creators is:

Newsletter: Ghost / Kit / beehiiv
→ Courses + community: Circle / Kajabi
→ Video hosting: Vimeo, Wistia, or the platform’s built-in hosting

If you tell me:

1. your current newsletter platform (Substack, beehiiv, Ghost, Mailchimp, etc.),
2. subscriber count, and
3. whether courses are included in the subscription or sold separately,

I can narrow it to the best 2–3 options.

Yes. If you already run a paid newsletter and want to add courses + subscriber-only video, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Kajabi

If the business is evolving from newsletter → education business, Kajabi is probably the cleanest fit. It combines courses, memberships, video, email marketing, payments, landing pages and automations rather than making you bolt a course platform onto your newsletter. Current comparisons also consistently put Kajabi in the course/membership all-in-one category. www.beehiiv.com

Kajabi

But there's an important distinction

If your newsletter is the main product and courses/videos are add-ons, I'd consider keeping the newsletter platform and adding a course/community layer. For example, Circle is particularly strong if you want subscribers to have a member area where they can watch lessons, discuss them, and interact with each other. kompozy.io

Circle

If you tell me what you're using for the newsletter now (Substack, beehiiv, Ghost, ConvertKit, etc.) and roughly how many paid subscribers you have, I can tell you whether I'd migrate everything to one platform or keep your newsletter where it is and add courses/video alongside it.

Yes. If your starting point is a paid newsletter and you want to add courses + subscriber-only video, I’d look at these three first:

My pick: Circle

For your particular use case, Circle is probably the strongest fit. It combines paid memberships/subscriptions with courses, video, community, email, and one-time purchases. You can make a subscription tier that unlocks particular courses or private content, rather than maintaining separate subscriber and course systems. circle.socircle.so

Its current Professional plan is listed at $89/month, with courses, paid memberships, live streams, website building, and unlimited members; Business is $199/month and adds more automation/customization. circle.so

Example setup:

• Free newsletter → public content
• $10/month → newsletter + subscriber-only videos
• $25/month → everything above + Course A
• $50/month → everything + all courses/community/live sessions

That model is very natural in Circle because access can be gated by membership and payments. circle.socircle.so

When I'd choose something else

Podia is attractive if you don't really need a community. It's more of a straightforward creator-business platform: website + email + courses + digital products + community. university.podia.com

Kit is worth considering if your newsletter is the core business and the courses are an extension. It has paid subscriptions, digital products, customer billing, and automation around subscriber/customer tags. tiergauge.com

Ghost is another strong option if you care about owning your publishing platform and having a very newsletter-centric experience. It has native memberships, subscriptions, payments and newsletters, but it's less of a turnkey course/community platform than Circle. ghost.org

Bottom line: If you want to turn your newsletter into a membership business with courses and a Netflix-like library of exclusive videos, I'd shortlist Circle first, Podia second, and Kit third.

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have and what you charge per month, I can compare the actual economics of those three for your business.

Yes. If you already run a paid newsletter and want to add structured courses + subscriber-only video, there are three strong options:

My pick: Kajabi

Kajabi

Kajabi is probably the closest match to what you're describing. It combines newsletters, paid subscriptions/memberships, courses, gated content, video, payments, and marketing automation in one system. Its membership product uses the same course-style modules/lessons, so you can make a paid subscription that unlocks an ongoing library rather than selling each course separately. www.kajabi.com

I'd choose Kajabi if your plan is something like:

$15/month newsletter → $30/month newsletter + video library → $200 course

That gives you room to build a proper education/membership business around the newsletter.

If you want the least disruption: Substack

Substack

Substack has become considerably more capable for video. You can now upload/record native video, paywall it for paid subscribers, offer free previews, and run subscriber-only live video. support.substack.com

The catch is courses. Substack is excellent for a sequence of paid articles/videos, but it isn't really a dedicated course-learning environment with the structured curriculum/progress experience you'd get from Kajabi.

Ghost is the middle ground

Ghost

Ghost is excellent if your newsletter/publication is the core business. It has paid tiers, newsletters, memberships and protected content, with 0% transaction fees on subscriptions. ghost.org

You can even build subscription-based courses in Ghost, but you'll be doing considerably more of the course architecture yourself; Ghost itself describes one-off course sales as something that generally requires an integration. ghost.org

Bottom line:

• Newsletter is the main product, courses are an add-on → Substack
• Courses/membership are becoming a major revenue stream → Kajabi
• You want maximum control over your own publication/site → Ghost

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have and what you charge per month, I can narrow this down to the best option financially and tell you whether it's worth migrating from your current newsletter platform.

Yes. For your use case—paid newsletter + courses + subscriber-only video—I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Kajabi

Kajabi is particularly well suited if you want to turn your newsletter into a membership business rather than just bolt a course onto your existing publication. It supports paid newsletters, recurring memberships, courses, communities, and video/content products in one system. You can also bundle multiple products into a single subscription and revoke access when someone cancels. www.kajabi.com

For example, you could have:

$15/month — Newsletter

• Weekly premium newsletter
• Subscriber-only video archive

$30/month — Premium

• Everything above
• Course 1
• Monthly live session

$300 — Standalone course

• Course access without the ongoing newsletter subscription

Kajabi also supports drip/rolling content, which could work well if you want new course modules or videos released over time. help.kajabi.com

Podia is the one I'd investigate if cost/simplicity matters

Podia combines email, courses, video, community, memberships, and a storefront, so it's unusually close to what you're describing. Its courses support video, audio, text, downloads, quizzes, and drip content. www.podia.com

Its current pricing page lists plans from $42/month when billed annually, with higher tiers offering more products/videos and removing Podia's transaction fee. www.podia.com

Bottom line: If you're already running a successful paid newsletter and want to build a larger education/membership business around it, I'd lean Kajabi. If you want something more straightforward and less expensive, Podia is probably the strongest alternative.

If you tell me what platform your newsletter is currently on (Substack, Beehiiv, Ghost, ConvertKit, etc.) and roughly how many paid subscribers you have, I can compare the best migration path and actual costs for your situation.

Yes. If you want one platform to handle your paid newsletter + courses + subscriber-only videos, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Kajabi

Kajabi is probably the closest match to what you're describing. It combines paid newsletters/subscriptions, courses, memberships, communities, and video-based content in one system. Kajabi specifically supports paywalled newsletter content and native membership products, while its course builder handles structured lessons. www.kajabi.com

The big advantage is that you can structure your business something like:

Free newsletter → Paid newsletter → Video library → Courses → Premium membership

and use the same customer/account/payment infrastructure rather than stitching together your newsletter platform, course platform, and video membership separately.

Podia is the simpler alternative

Podia is worth a serious look if you don't need Kajabi's heavier marketing automation. It has email/newsletters, courses, community, website, and digital products integrated together. www.podia.com

I'd choose Podia if your priority is "I want this to be easy to run" rather than building a sophisticated marketing funnel.

Ghost makes sense if the newsletter is the core business

Ghost is excellent for paid publications: it has native memberships, paid subscriptions, multiple tiers, and newsletters. docs.ghost.org

But I'd put it behind Kajabi/Podia for your particular use case because courses aren't really Ghost's native strength. Ghost itself describes subscription-based courses as something you can build using its content/membership system, rather than a dedicated course product. ghost.org

Bottom line:

• Kajabi → best if courses and video memberships are going to become a significant part of the business.
• Podia → best value/simplicity.
• Ghost → best if you're fundamentally a newsletter publisher who is adding some educational content.

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have now and what you charge per month, I can compare the current pricing/transaction costs of Kajabi vs Podia vs Ghost and tell you which would likely be cheapest for your business.

Yes. If you already run a paid newsletter and want to add courses + subscriber-only video, I’d shortlist these:

My pick for your situation: Ghost

If the newsletter is the core business, Ghost is probably the cleanest transition. It has native paid subscriptions, newsletters, member accounts, and tier-based access control. You can make individual posts/pages available only to paying subscribers. docs.ghost.org

Ghost also explicitly supports selling courses through recurring memberships. You can organize course material into a library and restrict it to particular membership tiers. ghost.org

For video, you can publish video content as members-only posts and embed/host the video through your preferred video provider. So it's more of a membership + publishing platform that can deliver courses, rather than a traditional LMS.

When I'd choose Kajabi instead

If your plan is:

newsletter → flagship courses → video library → memberships → upsells

I'd lean toward Kajabi. It was built around selling knowledge products and natively combines courses, memberships, newsletters, email marketing, websites, payments and analytics. help.kajabi.com

It's the stronger choice if the course becomes the main product rather than an extension of the newsletter.

Podia is the middle ground

Podia is worth considering if you want something easier than Kajabi but more course-oriented than Ghost. It combines courses, memberships, digital products, website, email marketing, bundles and multimedia products in one system. www.podia.com

My rule of thumb:

• 80% newsletter / 20% courses & video → Ghost
• 40% newsletter / 60% courses & video → Kajabi
• Want simple all-in-one without Kajabi's complexity → Podia

If you tell me roughly how many paid subscribers you have and what you charge per month/year, I can compare the actual economics of Ghost vs Kajabi vs Podia for your business.

Yes. For your use case, I’d shortlist Circle and Kajabi—both combine recurring subscriptions, gated content, courses, and video hosting.

My pick: Circle

Circle is particularly good if your newsletter is evolving into a paid membership/community.

• Paid monthly/annual subscriptions and tiered paywalls
• Host courses with video, audio, text, and files
• Put courses and individual content spaces behind different paywalls
• Member discussions, live streams, events, messaging, etc.
• Subscription access can automatically be revoked when payment ends
• Current Professional plan is listed at $89/month; Business is $199/month. circle.so

That makes it a strong fit for something like: newsletter → premium membership → subscriber-only videos → structured courses → community.

Kajabi is the better alternative if you're building a course business

Kajabi is more of an all-in-one creator-business platform. It combines courses, memberships, email/newsletters, websites, payments, marketing automation, and analytics. help.kajabi.com

Its courses support video/audio lessons, quizzes, drip content, paywalls, and community integration. help.kajabi.com

I'd choose:

One important consideration: if you're already running the newsletter on Substack, Beehiiv, Ghost, etc., I wouldn't automatically migrate the newsletter itself. You can potentially keep your newsletter where it is and use Circle/Kajabi as the paid-content layer, depending on how you want subscriber access synchronized.

If you tell me which newsletter platform you're currently using and roughly how many paid subscribers you have, I can recommend the cleanest setup (and the likely monthly cost) rather than just picking a platform generically.