Systeme.io vs Kajabi (Nov 2026): free plan vs free trial, contact limits, course and product caps, and what you pay as your list grows

What this comparison covers

This page is for a coach, course creator, or small business owner choosing one platform for courses, funnels, and email. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice; the owner of the business checks every checkout, refund rule, and student email before launch.

Systeme.io facts come from its pricing page and Kajabi facts from its pricing page, both read on 2 November 2026. We did not run a launch on either platform, so test with your own course and list.

The biggest difference is price at each list size. Systeme.io lets you start free and stays under $100 a month on every self-serve plan. Kajabi costs more at every tier and positions itself on design, support, and its AI tools, which you should judge in the trial rather than from the pricing page.

Ground rules: keep a copy of your contact list and course files outside either tool; check email consent rules before importing a list; the owner signs off on prices and refund terms. This comparison is not a ranking.

Major features (with how someone uses them)

Examples at a glance: each feature has a concrete example from a real job plus a short Try this you can run this week.

1. Price both at next year's list size

What it is: Systeme.io prices by contacts: 2,000 free, 5,000 on Startup, 10,000 on Webinar, unlimited on Unlimited (pricing page). Kajabi lists 2,500 contacts on Basic, 25,000 on Growth, and 100,000 on Pro (pricing page).

The plan you need today is rarely the one you need in a year. A list that grows past a limit moves you up a tier on either tool.

Concrete example (solo career coach with 1,800 email subscribers) She expects about 6,000 subscribers in a year. On Systeme.io that means the Webinar plan at $47 a month; on Kajabi it means Growth at $199 a month billed annually. She writes both yearly totals down before looking at features.

Try this

Price both at two list sizes:

Write down your contact count today and what you expect in twelve months, then find the plan each tool would put you on at both numbers and write the yearly cost of each next to it before you start a trial.

2. Count courses, funnels, and products

What it is: Systeme.io caps courses (1 free, 5 Startup, 20 Webinar, unlimited on Unlimited) and funnels (3, 10, 50, unlimited) (pricing page). Kajabi caps products at 5 on Basic and 50 on Growth, unlimited on Pro (pricing page).

Contacts are not the only limit. A coach with many small offers can hit a product cap before a contact cap.

Concrete example (fitness coach selling 8 short programs) Kajabi Basic allows 5 products, so his 8 programs would need Growth. On Systeme.io, 8 courses fit on Webinar. He lists every offer he sells, then checks which plan holds all of them.

Try this

List every offer you sell:

List every course, program, membership, and digital download you sell or plan to sell this year, then check each plan's course, funnel, and product caps against the list.

3. Test the checkout as a buyer

What it is: Systeme.io says every plan has 0% transaction fees (pricing page). Kajabi says no hidden fees and no revenue sharing (pricing page). Your payment processor still charges its own fees on both.

Buyers judge the checkout, not the plan name. A confusing page or a missing tax setting costs sales and creates refund work.

Concrete example (course creator moving from a marketplace) She builds the same $49 checkout on the free Systeme.io plan and in the Kajabi trial, buys it herself with a real card, and refunds it. She notes which receipt, login email, and refund step her students would see.

Try this

Buy your own product:

Build one real checkout on each tool, buy it yourself with a real card, then refund it, and write down what the buyer sees at each step.

4. Check email sending and list import

What it is: Systeme.io lists unlimited email sends on all plans and caps automation rules and campaigns on the free plan (pricing page). Kajabi lists email and automations in its core features by plan (pricing page).

Moving a list is where people lose subscribers. Consent records, tags, and unsubscribes have to come across correctly.

Concrete example (small business owner with a 4,000-person newsletter) He imports a 200-contact sample with tags and two unsubscribed addresses into each tool, then checks the tags landed and the unsubscribed people stayed off the send list.

Try this

Import a small sample first:

Import 200 contacts, including a few with tags and a few who have unsubscribed, then check the tags are right and the unsubscribed contacts cannot be emailed.

5. Judge the AI tools in the trial

What it is: Kajabi lists AI credits by plan (0 on Basic, 500 on Growth, 1,000 on Pro) and a paid top-up of 500 credits for $15 a month (pricing page). Systeme.io's pricing page focuses on contact and feature limits.

AI help with course outlines or emails is useful only if someone edits it. Count the credits you would actually use, not the headline.

Concrete example (solo consultant writing a first course) She uses the AI tools in the Kajabi trial to draft one module outline and two emails, then times how much rewriting each took compared with drafting in her usual chat assistant.

Try this

Time one AI draft:

Draft one course module outline and two launch emails with each tool's AI features during the trial, and time how long your edits take before they are ready to publish.

6. Decide monthly or annual after one launch

What it is: Systeme.io lists annual billing as 2 months free (pricing page). Kajabi lists annual as saving 20%, for example Basic at $143 a month instead of $179 (pricing page).

Annual billing saves money only if the platform stays. Run one launch on monthly billing before committing for a year.

Concrete example (membership owner with 300 paying members) He runs one full launch on monthly billing, checks failed payments and support tickets, and only then switches to annual on the tool he kept.

Try this

Run one launch first:

Stay on monthly billing through one full launch or one month of sales, list every problem buyers hit, and only then decide on annual billing.

Pricing context (November 2026)

Systeme.io (pricing page, read 2 Nov 2026): Free $0 with 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, and 1 course; Startup $17 a month with 5,000 contacts; Webinar $47 a month with 10,000 contacts and evergreen webinars; Unlimited $97 a month with unlimited contacts. Annual billing is listed as 2 months free. A team plan is by call.

Kajabi (pricing page, read 2 Nov 2026): Basic $179 monthly or $143 a month billed annually with 5 products and 2,500 contacts; Growth $249 monthly or $199 billed annually with 50 products and 25,000 contacts; Pro $499 monthly or $399 billed annually with unlimited products and 100,000 contacts. A free trial is offered.

At 6,000 contacts, that is about $564 a year on Systeme.io Webinar ($47 x 12) and about $2,388 a year on Kajabi Growth billed annually ($199 x 12), before payment processor fees.

Uncertainty: Both pages show plan limits that change, and Kajabi marks some AI features as coming soon with limits still to be set. Payment processor fees and sales tax are separate on both. Check the live pricing page on the day you buy.

When it’s useful (honest take)

Systeme.io fits when cost matters most, your list is small or growing, and you are happy with a simpler builder. Kajabi fits when you want a more polished all-in-one platform, will use its community and AI tools, and the price is small next to your course revenue.

Either is a poor fit if you have no offer to sell yet. Start with the free plan or the trial and one real product before paying for a big tier.

Related options (educational)

FAQ

Is Systeme.io cheaper than Kajabi?

Yes, at every tier on the 2 Nov 2026 pricing pages. Systeme.io has a free plan and paid plans of $17, $47, and $97 a month. Kajabi starts at $143 a month billed annually or $179 monthly.

Does Systeme.io have a free plan?

Yes. Systeme.io's free plan includes 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, 1 course, and unlimited email sends, with no credit card required.

Does Kajabi have a free plan?

Kajabi offers a free trial rather than a free plan. Paid plans are Basic, Growth, and Pro.

Do Systeme.io or Kajabi take a cut of sales?

Systeme.io lists 0% transaction fees on all plans and Kajabi says it takes no revenue share. Your payment processor still charges its own fees.

How many contacts does each plan allow?

Systeme.io: 2,000 free, 5,000 Startup, 10,000 Webinar, unlimited on Unlimited. Kajabi: 2,500 Basic, 25,000 Growth, 100,000 Pro.

Optional next step (if seats overlap)

If you pay for a course platform plus separate email, funnel, or AI writing tools, check what overlaps before the next renewal. Map the overlap with the $19 AI toolkit audit or the $9 AI toolkit spreadsheet. Email Audit $19 or Toolkit spreadsheet $9.

Checkout is live via Stripe. After you pay, we email delivery (spreadsheet) or intake next steps (audit).

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