1 course, unlimited students, 0% fees — and the single tag that shapes how you build the whole thing
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Quick verdict
Yes. The Systeme.io free plan lets you build and sell 1 online course, to unlimited students, with 0% transaction fees — permanently, without a credit card. You keep 100% of the sale price minus whatever your payment processor charges.
On this page
That makes it, as far as I can find, the only free plan in this category where you can host a course, take the payment and email the buyer without paying for anything or connecting a second tool.
There are real constraints, and one of them will affect how you build. Details below.
All limits checked on Systeme.io’s official documentation on 21 July 2026.
What “sell a course for free” actually includes
| What you get | Free plan |
|---|---|
| Online courses | 1 |
| Students enrolled | Unlimited |
| Transaction fee taken by Systeme.io | 0% |
| Sales funnels to sell it through | 3 (15 steps total) |
| Contacts | 2,000 |
| Emails to your buyers | Unlimited |
| Custom domain | 1 |
| Affiliate program (others sell for you) | 1 |
| Monthly cost | $0, no card, never expires |
The 0% figure is the one to pay attention to. Most platforms that let you sell on a free tier take a cut — Kit’s free plan allows selling but charges per transaction. Systeme.io takes nothing at any tier, free or paid. You still pay your payment processor’s standard rate, which is normal and unavoidable everywhere.
The one constraint that shapes how you build
The free plan allows 1 automation rule, 1 workflow, 1 tag and 1 email campaign.
For selling a course, that matters in a specific way: you cannot easily run different email sequences for people who bought and people who did not. One tag means one meaningful distinction across your whole account.
The practical workaround is to decide, before you build anything, which distinction is worth your single tag. For most people selling a first course, the answer is “bought” — because that lets you deliver access automatically and keeps buyers out of your sales emails.
Then use unlimited broadcasts for everything else. Newsletters are not capped, so you can still email your whole list as often as you like; you just cannot automate different journeys for different segments.
How to actually set it up
The sequence that works within the free plan’s limits:
- Build the course. One course, as many lessons and modules as you want — the limit is on courses, not content.
- Create a sales funnel. You have 3 funnels and 15 steps. A typical course funnel is sales page → checkout → thank you = 3 steps. That leaves plenty spare.
- Connect a payment processor. This is on you, not Systeme.io — you will need an account with a processor it supports.
- Set your single automation: payment received → tag as buyer → grant course access.
- Point your custom domain at it so the checkout lives on your own domain. Free plans elsewhere usually charge for this.
- Email your list with broadcasts to launch. Unlimited, so launch as loudly as you like.
Nothing in that list requires a paid plan.
The honest limitations
I earn a commission if you sign up through my link, so this is the section that matters.
- One course only. A second course requires the $17/month Startup plan, which allows 5. If you plan a course series, budget for that from the start.
- No advanced buyer segmentation. With one tag, “bought course A but not the upsell” is out of reach.
- No automated abandoned-cart sequence. That would be a second automation. On the free plan, your one automation is better spent on delivering access.
- Course player is functional, not beautiful. If you have seen Teachable or Kajabi, Systeme.io’s is plainer. It works; it does not impress.
- Light Systeme.io branding on free-plan pages. Your emails are unbranded, but your pages carry a small mark.
- 2,000 contact ceiling. Rarely the first wall you hit, but it exists.
Who this is genuinely right for
It fits if:
- You have one course idea and want to find out whether anyone will pay for it
- You have no budget and refuse to pay before earning
- You want the list, the sales page, the checkout and the course in one login
- Your margins matter — 0% platform fees on a $99 course is $99 you keep on every sale
Look elsewhere if:
- You are launching several courses at once → Startup plan or a dedicated course platform
- Course experience and design are your differentiator → Teachable, Kajabi or Podia
- You need sophisticated buyer automation from day one → a dedicated email platform plus separate course hosting
Why 0% fees matters more than it sounds
Run the numbers on a $99 course.
| Sales | Revenue | Kept at 0% platform fee | Kept at a 5% platform fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $990 | $990 | $940 |
| 50 | $4,950 | $4,950 | $4,702 |
| 100 | $9,900 | $9,900 | $9,405 |
Payment processor fees apply on top in both columns and are not included here.
At 100 sales, a 5% platform fee costs you roughly five times the annual price of the Startup plan. For anyone actually selling, the fee structure matters more than the monthly price — which is exactly the calculation most “best course platform” posts skip.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really sell a course without paying anything?
Yes. One course, unlimited students, 0% platform fees, on a plan that never expires and needs no card. You will need a payment processor account, and that processor charges its own standard rate.
How many students can enrol on the free plan?
Unlimited. The cap that applies is 2,000 contacts on your list overall.
Does Systeme.io take a cut of my sales?
No — 0% on every plan including free. Your payment processor’s fees are separate and unavoidable on any platform.
Can I sell more than one course on the free plan?
No. One course. The $17/month Startup plan allows 5.
Can I drip-feed lessons?
Scheduling content release is a course feature rather than an automation, but plan around your single automation rule and workflow — anything that depends on triggered emails competes for that one allowance.
What happens to my course if I stop paying later?
If you upgrade and then downgrade back to free, you return to free-plan limits. Your data is not deleted, but you cannot exceed one course on the free tier.
Is there a better free option for selling courses?
Not that I have found. Kit’s free plan allows selling digital products but takes a per-transaction cut and is not built for course hosting. beehiiv, GetResponse and MailerLite all require a paid plan to sell at all.
The bottom line
If you want to test whether a course idea has buyers, Systeme.io’s free plan removes every excuse: no monthly cost, no platform cut, unlimited students, and the funnel, checkout and email in one place.
Build it around the single-tag constraint — spend that tag on “bought” — and the plan will take you from idea to first paying customer without a bill. If it sells, $17/month for room to grow is an easy decision to make later, funded by the sales themselves.
Start on the Systeme.io free plan →
How I test, and why you can trust this
- I pay for what I can. I bought the Hostinger Premium plan myself and this site runs on it. I use a real Systeme.io account, and the screenshots here come from it.
- Every number is checked and dated. Prices and plan limits come from the official pricing page or help documentation, and I state the date I checked them. SaaS pricing changes — a dated figure is an honest one.
- I do not invent experience. Where I have not used a tool myself, I say so and review it on verified features and pricing only.
- I say when a competitor wins. If a tool I earn nothing from is the better choice for you, that is what the post says.
- Affiliate links never change your price. They are marked, and they cost you nothing extra.
Last updated: 21 July 2026
What changed: First published. Course limits, transaction fees and automation caps verified against official documentation.
SaaS pricing and plan limits change often. Every figure in this post carries the date it was checked, and this section records what changed and when.