Systeme.io vs Kajabi: which is better for selling courses?

This is the comparison people ask me about most, because both tools sell online courses but they sit at opposite ends of the price range. I sell and use Systeme.io every day, and I have looked closely at Kajabi. Here is my honest read, with the numbers checked against both pricing pages.

Short version: Kajabi is the premium, purpose-built platform for course and membership businesses. Systeme.io is the all-in-one that does courses well for a fraction of the price. Which is right for you depends on whether courses are your whole business or one part of it.

Read my full Systeme.io review

The price gap is the first thing to understand

Kajabi's cheapest plan, Basic, is $179/month, or $143/month if you pay yearly. Its Growth plan is $249/month and Pro is $499/month.

Systeme.io's cheapest paid plan is $17/month, and its top Unlimited plan is $97/month. So Systeme.io's most expensive plan still costs less than Kajabi's cheapest one. There is also a permanent free plan on Systeme.io, while Kajabi has no free plan and starts at $179.

That does not automatically make Kajabi overpriced. It makes it a different kind of product, aimed at a different buyer. Let's look at what the extra money is actually for.

Where Kajabi is the better choice

I want to be straight about this, because a comparison that never lets the competitor win is not worth reading.

Kajabi is built from the ground up as a knowledge-commerce platform. Everything in it is oriented around selling courses, coaching, and memberships to an audience, and that focus shows in how polished the creator and student side feels. If courses are not just something you sell but the entire business, that dedicated focus is what you are paying for.

The higher Kajabi tiers are also built for bigger operations. Pro carries up to 100,000 contacts and 26 admin users, which suits a company with a real team running the course business. Systeme.io does not break contacts and admin seats out the same way at the top end.

Two parts of that focus stand out on the student side, and I'll credit them the way Kajabi documents them rather than as my own testing. First, Kajabi offers a mobile app for members, including a branded version under your own name, so people reach your content and community from their phone. Second, community is built in around the courses: a member portal tracks each student's progress and a community feed carries the discussion, keeping the learning and the audience in one place. If a polished, app-based student experience is central to what you sell, that is part of what the higher price buys.

So if you are a full-time course creator, your audience expects a premium learning experience, and the monthly cost is not your main worry, Kajabi is a reasonable choice. It is a mature platform doing one thing on purpose.

Where Systeme.io wins

Now the other side, and this is where most people I talk to actually land.

Systeme.io includes real course tools inside plans that cost a small fraction of Kajabi. I have built courses on it with drip content, quizzes, course bundles, video hosting, a student dashboard, scheduled access by date, and comment sections under lectures. For most creators, that covers what a course actually needs.

The course limits are generous for the price too. The free plan hosts one course, Startup ($17) hosts five, and you get unlimited courses from the $47 Webinar plan. On Kajabi, unlimited products only arrive on the $499 Pro plan.

There is also the fee question. On any platform you pay your payment processor (Stripe or PayPal) their standard rate. What differs is whether the platform adds its own cut on top. Kajabi adds a transaction fee when you use an outside processor: 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, 0.5% on Pro. Systeme.io does not add a platform transaction fee. On a business doing real sales volume, that difference is money you keep.

Systeme.io vs Kajabi: side by side

Figures from systeme.io/pricing and kajabi.com/pricing, checked on 1 September 2026.

How each one scales as you grow

Entry prices are one thing, but it is worth seeing how the two behave once the business gets bigger, because that is where they diverge.

Kajabi scales through three tiers. Basic holds 2,500 contacts and 2 admin users, Growth holds 25,000 contacts and 11 admin users, and Pro holds 100,000 contacts and 26 admin users. Products go from 5 on Basic to 50 on Growth to unlimited on Pro. So Kajabi is clearly built to grow with a team, and the extra admin seats at the higher tiers are a real advantage if several people run the course business.

Systeme.io scales differently. Startup covers 5,000 contacts, the Webinar plan covers 10,000, and the $97 Unlimited plan covers unlimited contacts. To reach 100,000 contacts on Kajabi you are on the $499 Pro plan; on Systeme.io, unlimited contacts sits on the $97 plan. If your list is your main growth axis and you do not need a large team of admins, Systeme.io gets you there for much less.

The honest read: pay for Kajabi's higher tiers when you need the admin seats and the premium course setup for a growing team. Stay on Systeme.io when your main constraint is list size and budget rather than the number of people logging in.

The all-in-one factor

There is one more thing that tilts this for a lot of small businesses. Systeme.io is not only a course tool. The same plan also gives you sales funnels, unlimited email marketing, a blog, and an affiliate program you can run for your own products. So you are not paying separately for a funnel builder and an email tool on top of your course platform.

Kajabi also bundles funnels, email, and landing pages, so it is genuinely all-in-one as well. The difference is the price you pay for that bundle, and whether you need the premium course layer that Kajabi is built around.

Frequently asked questions

Is Kajabi worth the extra money over Systeme.io?

It can be, if courses and memberships are your entire business and you want the most polished dedicated course platform. If courses are one part of a lean business, Systeme.io covers the core course features for far less.

Can Systeme.io really host and sell courses properly?

Yes. It supports video hosting, drip content, quizzes, course bundles, scheduled access, a student dashboard, and comments. It is a capable course tool, not a token add-on.

Does Kajabi charge transaction fees?

Kajabi adds a platform transaction fee when you use a third-party payment processor: 2% on Basic, 1% on Growth, and 0.5% on Pro. Systeme.io does not add a platform transaction fee, though you still pay your payment processor's standard rate on any platform.

How many courses can I sell on each?

Systeme.io allows 1 course on the free plan, 5 on Startup, and unlimited from the $47 Webinar plan. Kajabi allows 5 products on Basic, 50 on Growth, and unlimited on the $499 Pro plan.

Which has a free plan?

Systeme.io has a permanent free plan at $0. Kajabi does not; its pricing starts at $179/month.

Can I move my course from Kajabi to Systeme.io?

Yes. Course content does not transfer automatically between platforms, so you rebuild it, but Systeme.io offers a free migration service on its Unlimited plan and a guide for coming from Kajabi.

Verdict: who should pick which

Pick Kajabi if you are a full-time course or membership creator, the learning experience for your students is a top priority, and the higher monthly cost is not the deciding factor. It is a premium platform built specifically for that job.

Pick Systeme.io if you want solid course tools without paying premium prices, if courses are one part of a broader business, or if you are still building your audience and want to start free. For most people selling courses on a normal budget, this is the one I recommend, and it is what I use.

You can try Systeme.io free here and test the course builder on the free plan before paying anything.

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