Systeme.io vs Kajabi 2026: Costs, Courses & Limits

Compare Systeme.io and Kajabi by courses, contacts, annual cost and payment fees. Understand free-plan restrictions and when each plan stops fitting.

About this guide

Published by StackOnSale. Publisher: Emmanuel Grenier. Guide updated: 2026-10-24.

Research based on official vendor pages, not a hands-on review.

StackOnSale may earn a commission through disclosed affiliate links on the site. This does not decide which tool fits your needs.

The offer we list

US dollars, before tax and payment fees. We list no Kajabi offer.

Sources reviewed 2026-09-23. These are dated plan details, not a live checkout quote. Confirm current pricing and eligibility on the official pages.

Some vendor links on offer pages are disclosed affiliate links; this is not a paid ranking.

Plans recorded in this guide, with billing and important limits
Plan	Recorded price	Billing and limits	Before choosing
Systeme.io Startup	$170/year	Billed annually; $17 billed monthly	5 courses, 5,000 contacts and 10 sales funnels in the comparison table.

Official source for Systeme.io Startup

The short answer

Systeme.io costs less than Kajabi at every size we priced. Its Free plan is $0 for 1 course and 2,000 contacts, and its paid plans run from $17 to $97 a month, or $170 to $970 a year billed annually. Kajabi has no free plan on its pricing page. Its entry plan, Basic, is $179 a month, or $143 a month billed annually.

Kajabi's plans allow more per tier in some places: Basic includes 5 products and 2,500 contacts, and Growth includes 50 products and 25,000 contacts. Systeme.io caps courses at 1, 5 and 20 on its first three plans.

Both vendors advertise no revenue share, but payment processing fees still apply. Kajabi may also add a third-party processor fee depending on your country and processor; PayPal is excluded from that additional fee. See the payment section before comparing total costs.

Prices were read in a browser on systeme.io/pricing and kajabi.com/pricing on September 23, 2026, in US dollars. StackOnSale has not tested either product.

Price per plan, side by side

Systeme.io shows a yearly total under annual billing. Kajabi shows a monthly price billed annually, labelled "Save 20%", and the yearly saving for each plan.

Systeme.io and Kajabi, published prices and limits
Item	Systeme.io	Kajabi
Free	$0: 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course, 500 students	No free plan. Free trial
Entry plan, billed monthly	Startup, $17 a month: 5,000 contacts, 10 sales funnels, 5 courses	Basic, $179 a month: 5 products, 2,500 contacts, 2 admin users
Entry plan, annual billing	Startup, $170 for the year	Basic, $143 a month billed annually, "Save $432/year"
Second plan, billed monthly	Webinar, $47 a month: 10,000 contacts, 50 sales funnels, 20 courses	Growth, $249 a month: 50 products, 25,000 contacts, 11 admin users
Second plan, annual billing	Webinar, $470 for the year	Growth, $199 a month billed annually, "Save $600/year"
Third plan, billed monthly	Unlimited, $97 a month: unlimited contacts, funnels and courses	Pro, $499 a month: unlimited products, 100,000 contacts, 3 websites
Third plan, annual billing	Unlimited, $970 for the year	Pro, $399 a month billed annually, "Save $1200/year"
Marketing emails	Unlimited on every plan	Unlimited on every plan
Sales funnels	3 on Free, 10 on Startup, 50 on Webinar, unlimited on Unlimited	Unlimited on every plan

Read in a browser on systeme.io/pricing (monthly and annual billing, comparison table) and kajabi.com/pricing (Annual and Monthly options, feature comparison), September 23, 2026.

Payment fees

Systeme.io's pricing page lists 0% transaction fees on every plan. That is Systeme.io's own fee: the payment processor you connect charges its own fees, which we did not verify.

Kajabi says it does not take a revenue share. Its card processing fee through Kajabi Payments, for US entities, is 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, 2.8% + $0.30 on Growth and 2.7% + $0.30 on Pro. If Kajabi Payments is offered in your region and you use another processor instead, Kajabi adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth and 0.5% on Pro, on top of that processor's own fees. Kajabi's page excludes PayPal from that surcharge.

Kajabi also states that the extra third-party-provider surcharge does not apply where Kajabi Payments is unavailable. Its displayed card rates are for US entities, not a quote for every country. These eligibility details were rechecked October 23, 2026.

For US businesses using Kajabi Payments, subscriptions and payment plans add 0.7% to every recurring transaction, including the first, on top of the base processing rate. This is separate from the third-party processor surcharge above. Other fees can apply; use the fee schedule for your registered country. Recurring-fee scope checked October 24, 2026; the subscription-price tables keep their earlier evidence dates.

Year-one cost for three course creators

For monthly billing, the yearly totals are twelve times the monthly price. For annual billing, Systeme.io totals use its published yearly amount; Kajabi totals use twelve times its monthly equivalent for annual billing. All figures exclude payment fees. Kajabi's annual figures match the savings it states: $432 a year on Basic and $600 on Growth.

Year one, three course creators
Creator	Systeme.io	Kajabi
1 course, under 2,000 contacts, 500 students or fewer; subject to the USD 10,000 lifetime sales limit	Free: $0	Basic: $2,148 billed monthly (12 x $179), or $1,716 billed annually (12 x $143)
5 courses, under 2,500 contacts	Startup: $204 billed monthly (12 x $17), or $170 billed annually	Basic: $2,148 billed monthly, or $1,716 billed annually
20 courses, 10,000 contacts	Webinar: $564 billed monthly (12 x $47), or $470 billed annually	Growth: $2,988 billed monthly (12 x $249), or $2,388 billed annually (12 x $199)

StackOnSale arithmetic on the prices above, before payment fees. We count each course as one Kajabi product; the plan cards do not define a product. The Free sales limit excludes affiliate commissions.

What each price includes

Systeme.io, every plan: unlimited email sends, 0% transaction fees, sales funnels, a blog and an affiliate program for your own products, according to its pricing page. Courses and funnels are capped by plan.

Kajabi, every plan: unlimited funnels, landing pages and marketing emails. Products, contacts, websites and admin users are capped by plan. Its comparison table lists AI credits at 0 on Basic, 500 on Growth and 1,000 on Pro. Kajabi's FAQ states a 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan.

What we could not verify

Kajabi's trial length, which the plan cards do not state. What Kajabi counts as a product. The processor fees you would pay on Systeme.io. One inconsistency on Systeme.io's page: its comparison table lists 500 students on Free, while its "All plans include" section advertises unlimited students; we use the comparison table. On September 23 the FAQ also gave Startup unlimited funnels against 10 in the table; re-read on October 20, 2026, the FAQ gives Startup 10 sales funnels and the Free plan 500 students, in line with the table. Whether either annual price holds at renewal.

StackOnSale earns a commission if you buy Systeme.io through our link. We have no affiliate relationship with Kajabi.

Update scope, October 23, 2026: the current Systeme.io FAQ still confirms 10 Startup funnels and 500 Free students. We also re-read its free-plan revenue restriction and Kajabi's payment-fee exceptions. The price tables retain their September 23 evidence date; Systeme.io annual prices were not reverified.

Choose from your required limits

Begin with the course and contact capacity you need, then check automation rules, payment fees and administrative access. A Kajabi product and a Systeme.io course are different billing units; this guide's cost scenarios assume one course uses one Kajabi product. Confirm that assumption against your own setup before choosing a plan.

Questions

Is Systeme.io cheaper than Kajabi?

Yes, at every size we priced. Systeme.io Startup is $170 a year billed annually. Kajabi Basic is $143 a month billed annually, which is $1,716 a year. Read September 23, 2026.

Does Kajabi have a free plan?

Not on its pricing page. It offers a free trial and states a 30-day money-back guarantee. Systeme.io has a free plan with 1 course and 2,000 contacts.

Does either one take a cut of sales?

Systeme.io lists 0% platform transaction fees; processor fees still apply. Kajabi advertises no revenue share, but processing fees apply. For US businesses, Kajabi Payments starts at 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, with an extra 0.7% on every subscription or payment-plan transaction, including the first. If you choose a third-party card processor instead, a plan-based surcharge can apply in countries where Kajabi Payments is available; PayPal is excluded from that surcharge. Check the country-specific fee schedule.

How many courses can I sell?

Systeme.io: 1 on Free, 5 on Startup, 20 on Webinar and unlimited on Unlimited. Kajabi: 5 products on Basic, 50 on Growth and unlimited on Pro.

Related offers

Systeme.io Startup, two months free on yearly billing

Buying guides and next steps

Systeme.io pricing: Free limits and annual costs

Sources

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