Most platforms that let you sell digital products or online courses take their cut before you do. Transaction fees, monthly subscriptions, or both. systeme.io is the exception. Its free plan is permanent, requires no credit card, and charges zero transaction fees, meaning everything your payment processor does not take goes directly to you.
This guide is for freelancers, translators, coaches, and trainers who want to sell an online course or a digital product without paying for five different tools. It covers what the free plan includes, what it does not, how to set it up step by step, and when upgrading makes sense.
What systeme.io is and why it solves the problem
systeme.io is an all-in-one platform that combines sales funnels, email marketing, online course hosting, and digital product sales in a single dashboard. It was built on the premise that solopreneurs and small businesses should not need to pay for a separate funnel builder, a separate email tool, and a separate course platform just to sell something online.
The platform launched in 2018 and now has over 500,000 users. It is not the most visually polished tool on the market, and its design templates look conservative compared to what you get from dedicated course platforms. But it does what it promises, at a price point nobody else comes close to matching.
What the free plan includes
Here is what you get on the free plan, with no expiry and no credit card required:
- 2,000 contacts. Your email list can grow to 2,000 subscribers before you need to upgrade.
- Unlimited email sends. No cap on how many emails you send to those contacts.
- 3 sales funnels. Each funnel can have up to 15 steps, which is enough for a simple opt-in sequence, a sales page, and a thank-you page.
- 1 online course. With unlimited students. You can create modules, add video lessons and downloadable files, and set completion rules.
- 1 digital product. Sell a single product with payment gateway integration built in.
- 1 blog. A basic content publishing tool for SEO and audience building.
- 1 custom domain. Connect your own domain so the site does not show systeme.io branding in the URL.
- 1 automation rule. Trigger a single automated action, such as enrolling a buyer in your course after purchase.
- 1 community. A basic community space for your students or subscribers.
- 0% transaction fees. systeme.io does not take a cut of your sales on any plan, including the free one. Your payment processor (Stripe or PayPal) charges its own fees; systeme.io does not add to them.
- Coupon codes. Create discount codes for your products.
- Affiliate program management. Set up an affiliate program so others can promote your products for a commission.
That list is genuinely unusual for a free plan. For comparison: ClickFunnels charges $97 per month for funnels alone. Mailchimp limits free accounts to 500 contacts with capped sends. Teachable takes 5% of every sale on its free plan. systeme.io charges nothing and takes nothing.
What the free plan does not include
Knowing the limits before you start saves you from designing a setup that hits a wall two weeks in.
- Only 1 automation rule. This is the tightest constraint. If you want a lead magnet funnel where a subscriber gets a free resource, receives a welcome sequence, and is then tagged for a specific product offer, you will use your one automation almost immediately. More complex email sequences require the Startup plan.
- No evergreen webinars. Automated webinar funnels are a Webinar plan feature. Live webinars are not natively supported on any plan.
- No advanced segmentation. You get 1 tag on the free plan. Serious list segmentation requires more.
- systeme.io branding. Some elements of your pages will show systeme.io branding on the free plan. Removing it requires upgrading to the Startup plan.
- No A/B testing. Split testing pages or emails is not available on the free plan.
- Design limitations. The page builder templates are functional but not particularly modern. You cannot import or export pages, and the customization options are narrower than dedicated tools like Webflow or Framer.
- Page load speed. systeme.io pages load more slowly than average on both desktop and mobile. If page performance is a priority for you, this is worth factoring in.
The free plan works best when your setup is simple: one product or course, one list, one straightforward sequence. The moment you need multiple automations or meaningful segmentation, the Startup plan at $17/month is the right next step.
How to set it up: a step-by-step walkthrough
This walkthrough assumes you are starting from scratch with a course or digital product to sell.
Step 1: Create your account
Sign up at systeme.io. No credit card required. You need a working email address. You will receive a confirmation link; click it and you have immediate access to the free plan dashboard.
systeme.io has an extensive library of case studies and step-by-step tutorials on YouTube.
Step 2: Connect a payment gateway
Before you can sell anything, you need to connect either Stripe or PayPal. In the dashboard, go to Settings, then Payment Gateways. Connect your account. This takes about five minutes if your Stripe or PayPal account is already set up. If it is not, you will need to create one first, which requires basic business information and a bank account.
Step 3: Connect your custom domain (recommended)
Go to Settings, then Domains, and add your domain. You will need to update your DNS settings through your domain registrar to point to systeme.io. This removes the systeme.io subdomain from your URLs and makes the whole setup look like it belongs to your business. Note: the free plan allows one custom domain, but the systeme.io branding may still appear on some page elements.
Step 4: Build your course or create your product
For a course: Go to Products, then Courses. Create a new course, add modules, and upload your lessons. Lessons can be videos (hosted directly on systeme.io or via a YouTube or Vimeo embed), text, or downloadable files. Set your completion rules and drip schedule if needed.
For a digital product: Go to Products, then Sales, and create a new product. Set the price, attach the file or access link, and configure the delivery. This works for ebooks, templates, audio files, or any downloadable.
Step 5: Build your sales funnel
Go to Funnels and create a new funnel. A basic selling funnel has three steps: a sales page, an order form, and a thank-you page. systeme.io provides templates for each. Customize the copy and design to match your offer, connect the product you created in the previous step, and set the thank-you page to redirect to your course or deliver your file.
A simpler alternative is a two-step funnel: an opt-in page where visitors submit their email, and a thank-you page where they get the product or are told to check their inbox. This is enough for a lead magnet or a simple paid download.
Step 6: Set up your email sequence
Go to Emails, then Campaigns. Create a campaign and write your welcome email or onboarding sequence. On the free plan you have one automation rule, so keep this simple: trigger an email sequence when someone opts in or purchases.
For a course, a sensible onboarding sequence might be: email 1 on day 0 with login details and what to do first, email 2 on day 2 with a tip to help them get started, email 3 on day 5 checking in. Three emails, one automation, well within the free plan limits.
Step 7: Test the whole flow end to end
Before you share your funnel link with anyone, run through it yourself. Submit the opt-in form or make a test purchase. Confirm you receive the confirmation email, that course access is granted correctly, and that the thank-you page behaves as expected.
Plan comparison: free vs. paid
Four plans, all with 0% transaction fees. Annual billing saves two months across all paid tiers.
- Free: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, 1 automation rule, unlimited email sends. systeme.io branding on pages.
- Startup ($17/month): 5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, 5 courses, 10 automation rules, 3 custom domains, no branding.
- Webinar ($47/month): 10,000 contacts, 50 funnels, 20 courses, 100 automation rules, evergreen webinar funnels.
- Unlimited ($97/month): No caps. Sub-accounts, free migration, 1-on-1 kickstart session.
The practical upgrade trigger is the automation limit. One rule is enough for a simple welcome sequence, but the moment you need behavior-triggered sequences, the Startup plan at $17/month is the right move.
Who the free plan is for
The free plan is a good fit if:
- You are a freelancer, translator, coach, or trainer launching your first online course or digital product.
- You want to validate an offer before investing in a paid platform.
- Your email list is under 2,000 people and your selling setup is straightforward: one product, one funnel, one welcome sequence.
- You want to keep costs at zero while you build momentum.
It is not the right fit if:
- You need complex automation sequences with multiple triggers and tags from the start.
- Visual design quality is a key part of your brand. systeme.io templates are functional, not beautiful.
- You need fast page load times. systeme.io pages are notably slower than average.
- You need strong design customization or want to export your pages to another platform later.
Need help setting up systeme.io?
systeme.io is designed to be self-serve and most of the setup is genuinely straightforward. The platform has a growing library of case studies from real users and a large collection of tutorials on YouTube covering every feature in the dashboard. Both are worth checking before you reach out for support.
That said, connecting a custom domain, structuring a funnel correctly for your specific offer, or integrating systeme.io with external tools via Zapier or webhooks can take longer than expected if you are doing it for the first time. If you want the setup done properly without spending a weekend figuring it out, that is something we can help with. Get in touch and we will tell you honestly whether it makes sense for your situation.
Final verdict
systeme.io's free plan is the most generous entry-level offer in its category. No trial countdown, no credit card, no transaction fees, and enough functionality to build a real selling setup from scratch.
The limitations are real: one automation rule, systeme.io branding, slower page loads, and conservative design options. But for a freelancer or course creator who needs to go from zero to selling as cheaply as possible, those trade-offs are worth accepting at the start. You can always migrate later when your revenue justifies it.
If you want to try it, you can sign up for a free systeme.io account here. No credit card required.
