Kajabi vs systeme.io
We give Kajabi a 2.0 GPA and systeme.io a 2.8, out of 4.0. Kajabi grades higher on features. systeme.io grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kajabi
All-in-one platform for selling courses, coaching and communities
systeme.io
All-in-one marketing suite with funnels, email, courses and community
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAKajabiFair | 2.8GPAsysteme.ioGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DBasic is $143 a month billed yearly, and Kajabi takes no share of sales through Kajabi Payments, whose 2.9% + 30 cents is card processing. So $2,000 of sales a month costs $143, right where this category's dearest tenth starts. Use another processor and Basic adds 2%, another $40. | ANo plan takes a fee on sales. One course sells on the free plan, and Startup, with 5 courses, is $17 a month or about $14 billed yearly with 2 months free. So $2,000 of sales costs $0 on Free or about $14 a month on Startup, under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter ($29). |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. The 14-day trial covers the whole platform, but it rolls into Growth at $249 a month unless you cancel, so it's the kind that bills you at the end. | BA free plan with no card and no end date: 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, 3 funnels and 1 course for 500 students. One person selling one course could live on it; 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign is where it pinches. |
| Features | BCourses with drip, assessments and cohorts, coaching, a community, unlimited emails, funnels and landing pages, upsells, affiliates, tax and paid newsletters. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job; Basic just stops at 5 products and 2,500 contacts. | CFunnels with upsells, email automations, courses, a community, an affiliate program, a store, bookings, a CRM and webinars. A lot. The course side is the gap: video, PDFs, drip and locking, with no quizzes or certificates in the listing. |
| Ease of use | C4.34 from about 7,400 App Store ratings, mid-table for this category. And you're setting up a site, emails, funnels and a checkout before anything sells. | CNo App Store rating on record. Templates help, but it's a funnel builder first, so you're building pages, emails and automations before the course sells. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and a public API. No desktop app, which an A needs. An app in your own name is on Pro, or $199 a month extra. | BWeb only, with Stripe, PayPal, Zoom, Google Meet, Sheets and Calendar, ActiveCampaign and Twilio, plus a public API. No phone or desktop apps listed. |
| Best for | running a whole course business from one account | selling a first course without paying anything |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Kajabi and systeme.io. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kajabi starts at $143 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. systeme.io starts at $17 a month and scores 2.3.
Kajabi scores higher, and starts $126 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 3 score higher than Kajabi for less, and none scores higher than systeme.io for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Kajabi starts at $143 per month, billed annually ($179 billed monthly). systeme.io starts at $17 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly.
- systeme.io has a free plan. Kajabi does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Kajabi lists iOS and Android apps.
- Kajabi also covers paid newsletters.
- systeme.io also covers booking links and sales pipeline.
At a glance
| Kajabi | systeme.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $143 per month, billed annually ($179 billed monthly) | $17 per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 2,000 contacts, unlimited emails, 3 funnels, 1 course with 500 students, 1 community, 1 blog, 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign. No card needed. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the full platform; it rolls into the Growth monthly plan at $249 unless cancelled | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Kajabi | systeme.io |
| Price read from | kajabi.com | systeme.io |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Kajabi
- Coaches and educators who want site, email, checkout and courses in one account
- Experts selling several kinds of product to the same audience
- Businesses that want their own branded app in the app stores
systeme.io
- New creators who want funnels, email and a course without paying yet
- Sellers who want no transaction fee on any plan
- Agencies or owners of several brands, using unlimited sub-accounts
Worth knowing
Kajabi
- No revenue share, but Kajabi Payments charges 2.7% to 2.9% plus $0.30 a sale in the US; using another processor (not PayPal) adds 0.5% to 2%.
- Basic stops at 5 products, 2,500 contacts and 2 admin users. Extra contacts cost $125 a month per block of 25,000.
- There is no free plan. The branded mobile app is only in Pro unless bought for $199 a month.
- Basic has no AI credits; Growth gets 500 and Pro 1,000, and 500 more cost $15 a month.
systeme.io
- The free plan stops at 2,000 contacts, 1 course with 500 students, 1 automation rule and 1 email campaign.
- Evergreen webinars start on the Webinar plan at $47 a month.
- No plan charges a transaction fee; Stripe, PayPal and other processors still charge their own.
Key features
Kajabi
- Courses and coaching
- Courses with drip release, progress tracking, assessments and cohorts, plus coaching programs, memberships, podcasts and digital downloads.
- Communities
- Topic-based spaces with threaded posts, activity feeds and announcements, tied to product purchases. Basic and Growth include 1 community, Pro 3.
- Email, funnels and landing pages
- Unlimited marketing emails, landing pages and funnels on every plan, with broadcasts, sequences and automations triggered by what students do.
- Checkout and payments
- One-time prices, subscriptions and payment plans, coupons, order bumps, upsells, affiliate programs and automated tax calculation.
- Newsletters with paywalls
- Publish a newsletter from the same account and charge for it with paid subscriptions, premium issues or paywalled posts.
- Branded and Creator apps
- A mobile app with your own branding, included on Pro or $199 a month on other plans. A separate Creator app shows sales and contacts on a phone.
systeme.io
- Sales funnels
- A drag-and-drop funnel builder with templates, A/B tests, one-click upsells, order bumps, countdown timers and evergreen webinars.
- Email marketing and automations
- Unlimited email sends on every plan, with broadcasts, sequences, tags, segments and automation rules triggered by purchases or sign-ups.
- Online courses
- Video lessons, PDF downloads, drip schedules, module locking and student progress, sold through your funnels.
- Communities
- Free or paid members-only spaces with posts and comments, tied to courses and funnels: 1 on the free plan, 5 on Startup.
- Affiliate program
- Run your own affiliate program with custom commissions, referral tracking and payouts, on every plan including Free.
- Store, bookings and CRM
- Sell digital and physical products, take bookings with deposits through a built-in calendar, and track leads in CRM pipelines.
Plans
Kajabi
Basic$143
per month for up to 2,500 contacts, billed annually ($179 monthly)
5 products, 1 website, 1 community, 2 admin users, no AI credits. Kajabi Payments at 2.9% + $0.30 a sale; other processors add a 2% fee.
Growth$199
per month for up to 25,000 contacts, billed annually ($249 monthly)
50 products, 1 website, 1 community, 11 admin users, 500 AI credits. Kajabi Payments at 2.8% + $0.30; other processors add a 1% fee.
Pro$399
per month for up to 100,000 contacts, billed annually ($499 monthly)
Unlimited products, 3 websites, 3 communities, 26 admin users, 1,000 AI credits and the branded mobile app. Other processors add a 0.5% fee.
systeme.io
Free$0
2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course for up to 500 students, 1 community, 1 website, 1 custom domain, 1 automation rule.
Startup$17
per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed monthly
10 funnels, 5 courses with unlimited students, 5 communities, 5 websites, 10 automation rules, 10 email campaigns, 3 custom domains.
Webinar$47
per month for up to 10,000 contacts, billed monthly
Adds 10 evergreen webinars, 50 funnels, 20 courses and communities, 100 automation rules and 10 custom domains. The plan for 10,000 contacts.
Unlimited$97
per month for unlimited contacts, billed monthly
Unlimited contacts, funnels, courses, communities, automation rules and custom domains, plus early access to new features.
Ways to pay less
Kajabi
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Kajabi's pricing page lists 20% off for annual billing: Basic $143 a month instead of $179, Growth $199 instead of $249, Pro $399 instead of $499.
systeme.io
- Annual discount
2 months free with annual billing
systeme.io's pricing page has a monthly and annual switch and says annual billing gives 2 months free on paid plans.
