Kartra vs Simplero
We give Kartra a 2.2 GPA and Simplero a 2.8, out of 4.0. Simplero grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kartra
Marketing suite with funnels, email, courses and membership sites
Simplero
All-in-one platform for courses, community, email and coaching
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKartraFair | 2.8GPASimpleroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEssentials is $52 a month billed yearly, but it takes 5% of sales, $100 on $2,000, and allows 1 product. Starter at $99 takes no fee, so $99 a month is the real figure: above this category's dearer quarter ($59), short of its dearest tenth ($143). | CStarter is $59 a month billed yearly for 500 contacts, and Simplero takes no fee on sales, so $2,000 of sales costs $59 a month, at the top of this category's dearer quarter. Contacts push it up: Starter is $134 at 10,000. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. A 14-day trial of any plan is shown as a limited-time offer, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card; after that there's a 30-day money-back guarantee. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with every feature, and the listing doesn't say it needs a card. There's a full refund in the first 30 days after that. |
| Features | CPages, funnels, checkouts, courses and membership sites with video hosting, email and SMS, forms, calendars and AI copy. The gap is community: there's no discussion space for students anywhere in the listing. | BCourses with quizzes and certificates, memberships, communities with live events, 1:1 and group coaching with client portals, email with a CRM and automations, funnels, checkout with tax handling and AI. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a big suite with funnels and sequences to set up, and passing your contact limit moves you up a plan mid-cycle. | A4.85 from 1,256 App Store ratings, in the top band. Members get lessons, quizzes and the community in one app. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Braintree, Zapier, Twilio, Zoom and Google Calendar. API access is only on Professional at $429 a month, and no apps are listed. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Zoom, Zapier, Meta Pixel and Google Analytics, and an API from Scale. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | funnel-heavy course launches | coaches who want everything in one account |
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: Kartra and Simplero. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kartra starts at $52 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Simplero starts at $59 a month and scores 3.3.
Simplero scores higher, and starts $7 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, 6 score higher than Kartra for less, and none scores higher than Simplero 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
- Kartra starts at $52 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($59 monthly). Simplero starts at $59 per month, billed annually ($70 billed monthly).
- Only Simplero lists iOS and Android apps.
- Kartra also covers surveys and help desk.
- Simplero also covers community.
At a glance
| Kartra | Simplero | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $52 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($59 monthly) | $59 per month, billed annually ($70 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of any plan, shown as a limited-time offer; 30-day money-back guarantee | 14-day free trial with every feature, and a full refund in the first 30 days |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Kartra Inc. | Powerful Through Grace, Inc. dba Simplero |
| Price read from | kartra.com | simplero.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Kartra
- Marketers who want funnels, email and course hosting in one account
- Course sellers who also need a help desk and an affiliate program
- Businesses that sell several products through funnels
Simplero
- Coaches replacing separate tools for email, courses and checkout
- Course creators who want email marketing and a CRM built in
- High-ticket coaching sold through applications and sales pipelines
Worth knowing
Kartra
- Essentials takes 5% of every sale and allows only 1 product, 1 course and 5 pages; higher plans take no fee.
- Passing a plan's contact limit moves the account up a tier automatically, with a mid-cycle charge.
- Automations, affiliates and the help desk start on Growth; API access is only on Professional.
- There are no add-ons for extra domains, languages or team members; more of any means a bigger plan.
Simplero
- Prices rise with contacts: Starter covers 500, Scale 1,000 and Skyrocket 5,000. At 10,000 contacts they are $134, $224 and $324 a month, billed annually.
- Starter stops at 10 products, 10 courses and 1 site or community; API access, affiliates, the help desk and text messages start on Scale.
- AI use is capped by a monthly allowance of $5, $15 or $30 by plan, with paid top-ups; text messages are charged per segment on top.
- A branded app in the App Store and Google Play needs your own developer accounts and an extra monthly fee.
Key features
Kartra
- Pages, funnels and checkouts
- A drag-and-drop page and website builder, a funnel mapper, pre-built campaigns, and checkouts that take card and PayPal payments.
- Courses and membership sites
- Host courses and membership sites with Kartra's own video hosting. Essentials allows 1, Starter and above are unlimited.
- Email and SMS
- Broadcasts and automated sequences by email and text, unlimited from Starter. Automations that tag leads by behavior start on Growth.
- Forms, surveys and calendars
- A form builder on every plan, appointment calendars that sync with Google Calendar, Zoom and Google Meet, and surveys and quizzes on Growth.
- Affiliates and help desk
- Growth adds an affiliate program for partners and a customer support portal; Professional adds live chat to the help desk.
- Kartra AI
- Writes copy for pages, emails and texts: 30 uses on Essentials, 100 on Starter and 200 on Growth.
Simplero
- Courses and memberships
- Courses with modules, quizzes, certificates, drip schedules and completion tracking, plus membership tiers with subscription billing.
- Communities and coaching
- Built-in communities with posts, replies and live events, and 1:1 or group coaching programs with scheduling, session notes and client portals.
- Email, CRM and automations
- Broadcasts, sequences, newsletters and segmentation with unlimited sends, a CRM with a full contact timeline, and if-this-then-that automations.
- Funnels and checkout
- A page and funnel builder with upsells, downsells and order bumps, affiliate payouts, forms and surveys, and Stripe or PayPal checkout with tax handling.
- AI throughout
- AI builds pages, sales copy, funnels and email drafts, and an AI course assistant answers students from your content, within a monthly AI allowance.
- Mobile app
- Members use the Simplero app on iOS and Android for lessons, quizzes and community; a branded app costs an extra monthly fee.
Plans
Kartra
Essentials$52
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($59 monthly)
10,000 emails and texts a month, 5 pages, 1 product, 1 membership or course, 30 Kartra AI uses, 1 domain. Kartra takes 5% of each sale.
Starter$99
per month for up to 2,500 contacts, billed annually ($119 monthly)
Unlimited email and SMS, pages, products, memberships and courses, video hosting, calendars, webinars, 5 team members. No transaction fee.
Growth$189
per month for up to 12,500 contacts, billed annually ($229 monthly)
The tier for 10,000 contacts. Adds automations, affiliates, surveys and quizzes, a help desk, funnel simulation, 10 team members, 3 domains.
Professional$429
per month for up to 25,000 contacts, billed annually ($549 monthly)
Everything in Growth, plus real-time funnel analytics, help desk live chat, API access and 5 custom domains.
Simplero
Starter$59
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($70 monthly)
10 products, 10 courses, 1 site or community, unlimited email sends, 250 GB storage, $5 of AI use a month. $134 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually.
Scale$149
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($179 monthly)
Unlimited products, courses and communities, 5 domains, affiliates, help desk, upsells, certificates, texting, API. $224 a month at 10,000 contacts.
Skyrocket$249
per month for up to 5,000 contacts, billed annually ($299 monthly)
Unlimited domains and storage, sales pipelines, tasks, child accounts, split tests and paid AI bots. $324 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually.
Ways to pay less
Kartra
- Annual discount
Save up to 22% with yearly billing
Kartra's pricing page lists yearly billing at up to 22% off: Essentials $52 a month instead of $59, Starter $99 instead of $119, Growth $189 instead of $229.
Simplero
- Annual discount
Save 17% with annual billing
Pay for 10 months and get 12: Starter is $59 a month billed annually against $70 monthly, Scale $149 against $179, Skyrocket $249 against $299.
- Other savings
90 days of Skyrocket for $90
The pricing page offers the top plan for 90 days for $90 plus tax, after which you keep paying for it or move to a smaller plan.
