How to Sell a Course on the Systeme.io Free Plan

You can sell an online course on the Systeme.io free plan. The free plan lets you host one course, build a sales funnel, take payments through your own Stripe or PayPal account, and email your buyers, all without a monthly fee. The main tradeoff is limits on how much you can build, not on how much you can earn.

Bottom line

• The free plan covers what a first course needs: a course area, a sales page, a checkout, and email.
• Systeme.io takes no transaction fee. Stripe or PayPal still charges its normal processing fee.
• Upgrade when you need a second course, more funnels, or more contacts. You don’t need to upgrade to make your first sale.

What the Systeme.io free plan includes for course sellers

The Systeme.io free plan is enough to launch and sell one course end to end. Systeme.io’s pricing page lists limits on contacts, funnels, and courses for the free tier. Those limits change from time to time, so check the current pricing page before you plan around a specific number.

Here’s how the free plan compares with the paid tiers for course selling:

For a full list of the limits, see our breakdown of the Systeme.io free plan.

Step 1: Create your account and connect payments

Start by creating a free account. Next, connect a payment processor, because Systeme.io doesn’t hold your money. Payments go straight to your Stripe or PayPal account.

Create your free Systeme.io account

Once you’re in:

1. Open your profile settings and find the payment gateways section.
2. Connect Stripe, PayPal, or both. Stripe handles card payments. PayPal helps with buyers who’d rather not enter a card.
3. Fill in your sender email and business address in the email settings. US anti-spam rules (the CAN-SPAM Act) require a physical mailing address in marketing emails.

A payment gateway is the service that charges the buyer’s card and sends the money to your bank. Stripe’s standard US card fee is a percentage plus a fixed amount per charge, and you can see current rates on Stripe’s pricing page.

Step 2: Build the course itself

Build the course before the sales page. Once the lessons exist, it’s much easier to describe what buyers get.

In the Courses section, create a new course and add:

• Modules. These are the big sections, like “Foundations,” “Building the System,” and “Launch.”
• Lessons. Each lesson can hold a video, text, and downloadable files.
• Drip settings (optional). Drip releases lessons on a schedule after enrollment instead of all at once.

Hosting your videos

You can upload video directly, or embed it from a host like Vimeo or YouTube (set to unlisted). Embedding keeps the course page light. A paid Vimeo plan also gives you domain-level privacy settings.

How long should a first course be?

A first course should solve one specific problem in the fewest lessons that get the job done. Ten focused lessons beat forty loose ones. Buyers pay for a result, not for hours of footage, and a shorter course is easier to finish and update.

If you’re still choosing what to teach, our guide on how to start selling online courses covers picking a topic and validating demand.

Step 3: Build a sales funnel for the course

A sales funnel is a short sequence of pages that turns a visitor into a buyer. On Systeme.io, a basic course funnel has three steps: a sales page, an order form, and a thank-you page.

To set it up:

1. Go to Funnels and create a new funnel. Choose the “Sell a product” goal so Systeme.io adds the right page types.
2. Pick a template for each page. Edit the headline, bullets, and images in the drag-and-drop editor.
3. Keep the default URL on your Systeme.io subdomain, or connect your own domain if the free plan allows it on your account.

What to put on the sales page

A course sales page needs five things, in this order:

1. A headline that states the outcome. For example, “Design and sell your first Notion template in two weekends.”
2. Who it’s for, and who it isn’t for.
3. What’s inside, module by module.
4. The price and what’s included.
5. A clear button that goes to the order form.

Skip testimonials if you don’t have real ones yet. Inventing them can get you in trouble with the FTC and with your readers. Use a money-back guarantee instead to lower the risk for early buyers.

For a deeper walkthrough of funnel pages, upsells, and follow-up, see how to build a sales funnel with Systeme.io.

Step 4: Set the price and connect it to course access

This step makes sure a buyer is enrolled automatically after paying. In Systeme.io, the price lives on the order form page. You connect that price to the course so enrollment happens on its own.

On the order form step:

1. Open the step’s settings and create a new price plan (an “offer”). Choose a one-time payment, a payment plan, or a subscription.
2. In the offer’s resources, add your course. That’s what grants access after payment.
3. Choose your currency and set the price.

How to price a first course

Most first courses are priced as one-time purchases, often between $49 and $299, depending on the result they promise. A payment plan (for example, three monthly payments) can lift conversions on higher prices. Start where you can confidently explain the value, then adjust based on real sales, not guesses.

Step 5: Set up emails that sell and deliver

Systeme.io includes email marketing on the free plan, so you don’t need a separate newsletter tool to start. You need two kinds of emails: one that delivers the course and a few that sell it.

Delivery email. Systeme.io sends course access details when someone enrolls. Open the template, put your own voice in it, and make sure the login link is easy to find.

Sales emails. If you collect leads with a free download or waitlist first, send a short sequence:

1. Day 0: Deliver the freebie and introduce the problem the course solves.
2. Day 2: Teach one useful idea from the course.
3. Day 4: Present the course and link to the sales page.
4. Day 6: Answer common objections and remind them of the guarantee.

Automation rules and workflows let you tag buyers and stop sales emails once someone has purchased. Check which automation features your plan includes. For more on the email side, read our guide to Systeme.io email marketing.

Step 6: Test the full purchase before you launch

Run one real purchase from start to finish before you share the link. A broken checkout or a missing enrollment will cost you more than any design flaw.

A simple way to test:

1. Create a temporary low-price offer, or a coupon that brings the price down, if your plan supports coupons.
2. Buy the course from a private browser window with a second email address.
3. Confirm the payment shows up in Stripe or PayPal.
4. Confirm the access email arrives and the login works.
5. Refund the test charge and delete the test offer.

Test on your phone too. Most social and Pinterest traffic is mobile, and a sales page that looks fine on a laptop can break on a small screen.

Step 7: Drive traffic to the sales page

A finished funnel without traffic doesn’t sell anything. Pick one or two channels and stay with them for a few months rather than spreading yourself thin.

Good starting channels for course creators:

• Pinterest. Pins keep sending traffic for months, which works well for evergreen course topics. See Pinterest marketing for digital products.
• An email list. Offer a free checklist or mini-lesson that leads into the course.
• Short-form video. Teach one small win, then point viewers to the freebie.
• Search. Write useful articles on a blog. Systeme.io includes a blog builder, so you can keep everything in one account.

When to upgrade from the free plan

Upgrade when the limits block a specific next step, not before. The free plan exists so you can confirm people will buy before you take on a monthly cost.

Common reasons to move to a paid tier:

• You want to launch a second course or a bundle.
• You’ve hit the contact limit because your list is growing.
• You need more funnels for separate offers, webinars, or lead magnets.
• You want to remove Systeme.io branding for a more polished look.

Paid plans start around $27/month. Check the current pricing page for exact limits by tier. If you’re comparing Systeme.io with dedicated course platforms before you commit, our Teachable vs Systeme.io comparison breaks down the differences.

Who should sell a course on the Systeme.io free plan

The free plan fits creators who want to test one paid course without adding a monthly bill.

It’s a strong fit if you:

• Are launching your first course and want to validate demand.
• Want your course, sales page, checkout, and email list in one account.
• Are comfortable with a drag-and-drop editor and templates.

It’s a weaker fit if you:

• Already have several courses and need a full catalog right away.
• Need advanced course features like graded quizzes, SCORM files, or deep learner analytics. A dedicated LMS may suit you better. See our roundup of the best online course platforms.
• Want a highly custom design that templates can’t produce.

FAQ

Can you really sell a course on Systeme.io for free?

Yes. The Systeme.io free plan lets you host one course, build a funnel, and take payments with no monthly fee and no Systeme.io transaction fee. You still pay your payment processor’s standard fees, such as Stripe’s per-charge rate.

Does Systeme.io take a cut of course sales?

No. Systeme.io doesn’t charge transaction fees on any plan, including the free plan. Money goes straight to your connected Stripe or PayPal account, minus that processor’s fees.

Do students need a Systeme.io account to access my course?

Students get a login to your course area when they enroll, and access details are sent by email. They don’t need to sign up for a Systeme.io plan or pay Systeme.io anything.

Can I move my course off Systeme.io later?

You can, but expect to rebuild the lessons and pages on the new platform by hand. Keep your original video files and lesson text stored outside Systeme.io, so a future move is mostly re-uploading rather than recreating.

Start selling your first course

The fastest way to learn whether your course idea sells is to put it in front of buyers. The Systeme.io free plan removes the monthly cost that holds many creators back. You can build the course, the sales page, the checkout, and the follow-up emails in one place, then upgrade only once sales justify it.

Start your free Systeme.io account and build your course