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Prices and features checked against official pages: October 2026.
Quick Answer
Choose Systeme.io if you have not sold anything yet and want to start at $0; choose Kajabi if you are ready to pay for a larger plan from day one. Systeme.io’s free plan lists 2,000 contacts, 1 course, 3 sales funnels and unlimited emails sent, with no transaction fees. Kajabi has no free plan, and its Basic plan costs $179 per month, or $143 per month billed annually. Kajabi’s own pricing FAQ points people who have not sold anything yet to Basic, so the comparison below uses the free plan from Systeme.io and Basic from Kajabi as the starting points.
Start with Systeme.io’s free plan
The pricing page lists a free plan and says no credit card is required.
Who Is This Comparison For?
It is for a solo creator who wants to sell a first course or digital product and would rather use one tool for the course, the emails and the sales pages than connect several. You have not sold anything yet, so the main question is how much to pay before the first sale and which limits you will hit first. This page does not rank the two tools; it shows what each official pricing page confirms, so you can match it to your own plan. If you are leaning toward Systeme.io, our guide to automating an online course funnel without juggling separate tools walks through the funnel setup.
How Much Do Systeme.io and Kajabi Cost?
Systeme.io starts at $0 and Kajabi starts at $179 per month. According to both companies’ pricing pages:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io Free | $0 | $0 | 2,000 |
| Systeme.io Startup | $17 per month | $170 per year | 5,000 |
| Systeme.io Webinar | $47 per month | $470 per year | 10,000 |
| Systeme.io Unlimited | $97 per month | $970 per year | Unlimited |
| Kajabi Basic | $179 per month | $143 per month, billed annually | 2,500 |
| Kajabi Growth | $249 per month | $199 per month, billed annually | 25,000 |
| Kajabi Pro | $499 per month | $399 per month, billed annually | 100,000 |
Both tools reward yearly billing. Systeme.io’s pricing page advertises 2 months free on yearly billing, and Kajabi’s page shows a saving of $432 per year on Basic. If your list outgrows a Kajabi plan, contacts are added in blocks of 25,000 for $125 per month. Systeme.io’s Unlimited plan has no contact cap. Systeme.io also lists a For teams option with custom pricing, which this comparison leaves aside.
What Can You Build on Systeme.io Free and on Kajabi Basic?
Systeme.io’s free plan sets small caps on courses, funnels and automations, while Kajabi Basic sets higher caps on products and funnels but leaves out some features. The table uses each pricing page’s comparison table.
| What you need | Systeme.io Free (Startup in brackets) | Kajabi Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Courses or products | 1 course (Startup: 5) | 5 products |
| Students | 500 (Startup and above: unlimited) | No student limit is listed on the pricing page. Not confirmed. |
| Sales funnels | 3 (Startup: 10) | Unlimited |
| Emails | Unlimited emails sent, 1 email campaign (Startup: 10) | Unlimited marketing emails |
| Automations | 1 automation rule and 1 workflow (Startup: 10 rules and 5 workflows) | Advanced Automations are not included on Basic; they start on Growth. |
| Websites | 1 (Startup: 5) | 1 |
| Community | 1 community | 1 community |
| Running your own affiliate program | Listed on every plan | Not on Basic; listed on Growth and Pro |
| Webhooks | Not confirmed on the pricing page | Not on Basic; listed on Growth and Pro |
| Cohort courses | Not listed on the pricing page | Not on Basic; listed on Growth and Pro |
| AI credits per month | Not listed on the pricing page | 0 on Basic (500 on Growth) |
| Admin users | Assistant accounts are unlimited on every plan | 2 |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, no credit card required | No free plan. A promotional banner mentions a 14-day trial; check the sign-up screen for the terms. |
| Money-back guarantee | Not listed on the pricing page | 30 days on every plan |
How Do the Fees on Your Sales Differ?
Systeme.io charges no transaction fee on any plan, while Kajabi takes no revenue share but adds a payment fee that depends on how you collect payments. Neither platform changes what your payment provider charges on top.
- Systeme.io: The comparison table lists 0% transaction fees on every plan. Stripe and PayPal still charge their own fees.
- Kajabi Payments: On Basic the listed card processing rate is 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, falling to 2.8% on Growth and 2.7% on Pro. The page notes that the rates shown are for US entities and vary by country.
- Another payment provider on Kajabi: The page lists an extra 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro for any third-party provider, excluding PayPal and Kajabi Payments, on top of the provider’s own fees. The FAQ says this extra fee applies where Kajabi Payments is offered and you choose a third-party processor, and does not apply where Kajabi Payments is not offered. Check your country in the trial before you decide.
For a first course, a $1,000 month of sales on Basic with a third-party provider would add $20 of Kajabi’s extra fee, plus the provider’s fees. On Systeme.io the same sales add no platform fee.
Which One Should a Creator With No Sales Yet Choose?
Choose by how much you want to pay before the first sale and how much room you need in your first month. The lists below follow the tables above.
Choose Systeme.io if:
- You want to build and test your first offer at $0 a month, using 1 course, up to 500 students and 3 funnels.
- Your list will stay under 2,000 contacts for now, and you can work with 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign until the first sales arrive.
- You want to run your own affiliate program, which is listed on every plan, without moving to a higher tier.
- You prefer a platform fee of 0% on sales and a low step-up price: Startup is $17 per month.
Choose Kajabi if:
- You can pay $179 per month, or $143 per month billed annually, before your first sale, and want 5 products and unlimited funnels from the start.
- You want a 30-day money-back guarantee on the plan you pick, which Kajabi lists on every plan.
- You expect to move to Growth for advanced automations, webhooks, cohort courses, an affiliate program and 500 AI credits, and want to stay on one platform.
- You are comfortable with Kajabi’s payment fees and have checked which fee applies in your country.
Where Does Each Tool Fall Short?
Systeme.io’s free plan caps courses, funnels and automations, and Kajabi has no free plan and leaves several features to higher tiers. Based on the official pricing pages:
- Systeme.io: The free plan allows 1 course, 3 funnels, 1 automation rule, 1 workflow and 1 email campaign, and caps students at 500. The step to Startup lifts these to 5 courses, 10 funnels and 10 rules for $17 per month. The FAQ at the bottom of the pricing page describes some limits differently from the comparison table, for example funnels on Startup, so this article uses the comparison table. The pricing page does not list AI credits or a money-back guarantee.
- Kajabi: The entry price is $179 per month for 2,500 contacts, with no free plan. Basic leaves out advanced automations, webhooks, cohort courses, an affiliate program and AI credits. Payment fees add 2.9% plus $0.30 on Kajabi Payments, or an extra 2% on some third-party providers, depending on your country.
FAQ
Short answers to the questions creators ask when they compare the two, based on the official pricing pages.
Does Systeme.io have a free plan, and what are its limits?
Yes. The free plan lists 2,000 contacts, 1 course with up to 500 students, 3 sales funnels, 1 website, 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign, with unlimited emails sent. The pricing page says no credit card is required.
Does Kajabi have a free plan?
No. Kajabi lists three paid plans, and the page shows a Start Free Trial button. A promotional banner mentions a 14-day trial, so check the sign-up screen for the current terms and whether a card is requested. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Which Kajabi plan do I need to run my own affiliate program?
Growth or Pro. The comparison table lists Affiliate Programs on Growth and Pro, and not on Basic.
Do Systeme.io and Kajabi take a cut of my sales?
Systeme.io lists 0% transaction fees on every plan. Kajabi states it takes no revenue share, but Kajabi Payments charges a processing fee, and some third-party payment providers add an extra fee that depends on your plan and country.
Is yearly billing cheaper on both tools?
Yes. Systeme.io lists 2 months free on yearly billing, for example $170 per year for Startup against $17 per month. Kajabi Basic is $143 per month when billed annually, against $179 per month when billed monthly.
Summary
Systeme.io and Kajabi suit different starting points. Systeme.io lets you build a first course at $0 with 3 funnels and unlimited emails, and its Startup plan costs $17 per month when you outgrow the free caps. Kajabi starts at $179 per month with 5 products and unlimited funnels, and keeps advanced automations, webhooks and an affiliate program for Growth. If you have not sold anything yet, start with the plan you can run for a few months without a sale, and move up when your numbers call for it.
Next step: Start with Systeme.io’s free plan and build your first funnel before you decide whether you need a larger plan.
Product features, plan limits, and prices change over time. Always confirm current details on the official Systeme.io and Kajabi websites before making a purchase decision.
