Kartra Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 2 Free

Kartra alternatives: Systeme.io, MailerLite, Kajabi, Thinkific and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.

•3 min read•Website Builders & Landing Pages

Editorial illustration: Kartra Alternatives 2026: 5 Options, 2 Free

Verdict:Leave Kartra when you only use a slice of it. Its Essentials plan starts at $59 a month billed monthly, or $52 a month billed annually, and there is no free plan, only a 14-day trial on every tier. That price is worth it when you run email, pages and selling from one login and use most of it. If you mainly send email, MailerLite's free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and Systeme.io's free plan covers 2,000 contacts and 3 funnels, so you can test a list for nothing. Both make you assemble the rest yourself, and that stitching has a cost in time. If your product is a course or membership, the paid alternatives are built for that job. Kajabi starts at $143 a month billed annually, Thinkific's Start is $82 billed annually, and Podia's Mover is $42 billed annually with a 5% transaction fee. Those are narrower tools, so they are cheaper only if you do not need the rest of Kartra. Stay on Kartra if its funnels and automations already run your sales, since rebuilding them elsewhere usually costs more than the monthly fee. Check the Kartra pricing page before you decide, because prices change.

Quick comparison

ToolPricePlatformsBest forTested
Systeme.ioFree (2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, unlimited emails); paid from $17 per month, billed monthly (Startup)Web browserSmall funnels on a free planDocs only
MailerLiteFree (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month); paid from $12 per month, billed monthly (stated as starting price in the pricing FAQ)Web browserEmail-first businesses with small listsDocs only
KajabiPaid from $143 per month, billed annually (Basic; $179 billed monthly)Web browserCreators selling courses and membershipsDocs only
ThinkificPaid from $82 per month, billed annually (Start; $109 monthly)Web browserCourse sellers who want a dedicated course siteDocs only
PodiaPaid from $42 per month, billed annually (Mover; $49 monthly; 5% transaction fee)Web browserCreators selling digital products cheaplyDocs only
ClickFunnelsPaid from $81 per month, billed annually (Launch; $97 billed monthly)Web browserMarketing AutomationDocs only
ActiveCampaignSee pricing pageWeb browserEmail Marketing & AutomationDocs only

Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.

Good fit if

  • You only send email to a small list and want to pay nothing for now (MailerLite is the pick)
  • You want a free funnel plan and can wire the rest yourself (Systeme.io is the pick)
  • You sell courses and need the course site to be the core product (Kajabi is the pick)
  • You sell digital products and want a lower entry price (Podia is the pick)

Not ideal if

  • You rely on Kartra features or integrations that these tools do not replicate

Kartra today: Paid from $59 per month, billed monthly (Essentials; $52 a month billed annually) (Kartra pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

Why people look for Kartra alternatives

Kartra's Essentials plan costs $59 a month ($52 annually) but caps you at 500 contacts, 5 pages, 1 product, 1 membership or course and 1 custom domain, and takes a 5% transaction fee. Starter ($119 monthly, $99 annually) removes the fee and the page and product caps but raises contacts only to 2,500. Helpdesk arrives at Growth ($229 monthly, $189 annually) and live chat at Professional ($549, $429). Passing a plan's contact limit triggers an automatic upgrade with a mid-cycle reconciliation fee.

Systeme.io

Compared with Kartra: Free plan covers 2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels and unlimited emails, where Kartra has no free plan at all. You lose Kartra's breadth and pay $17 a month for Startup once you outgrow the free tier.

Price: Free (2,000 contacts, 3 sales funnels, unlimited emails); paid from $17 per month, billed monthly (Startup) (Systeme.io pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Small funnels on a free plan.

MailerLite

Compared with Kartra: Free plan allows 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Compared with Kartra's $59 Essentials entry price, you pay nothing until the list grows, but you give up Kartra's built-in funnel and checkout tools.

Price: Free (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails per month); paid from $12 per month, billed monthly (stated as starting price in the pricing FAQ) (MailerLite pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Email-first businesses with small lists.

Worth knowing: Yearly billing saves 10%.

Kajabi

Compared with Kartra: Basic is $143 a month billed annually against Kartra's $59 Essentials, so it costs more. Kajabi is built around selling courses and memberships, which Kartra can also do but does not center on.

Price: Paid from $143 per month, billed annually (Basic; $179 billed monthly) (Kajabi pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Creators selling courses and memberships.

Thinkific

Compared with Kartra: Start is $82 a month billed annually and includes a 30-day trial but no free plan. Thinkific fits course sellers who want course delivery first, where Kartra is a general marketing suite with courses as one part.

Price: Paid from $82 per month, billed annually (Start; $109 monthly) (Thinkific pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Course sellers who want a dedicated course site.

Podia

Compared with Kartra: Mover is $42 a month billed annually, below Kartra's $59 entry price, but it adds a 5% transaction fee on the Mover plan. You trade Kartra's wider marketing automation for a simpler creator store.

Price: Paid from $42 per month, billed annually (Mover; $49 monthly; 5% transaction fee) (Podia pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Creators selling digital products cheaply.

ClickFunnels

Compared with Kartra: Launch is $81 per month billed annually ($97 monthly), against Kartra Essentials at $59 monthly. A funnel-first builder, with a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee mentioned.

Price: Paid from $81 per month, billed annually (Launch; $97 billed monthly) (ClickFunnels pricing, checked 2026-10-23).

ActiveCampaign

Compared with Kartra: Priced by contact count with Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise plans and a 14-day trial. An email-automation product rather than a full all-in-one, with no free plan.

Price: See pricing page (ActiveCampaign pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Which one to pick

  • You only send email to a small list and want to pay nothing for now: MailerLite
  • You want a free funnel plan and can wire the rest yourself: Systeme.io
  • You sell courses and need the course site to be the core product: Kajabi
  • You sell digital products and want a lower entry price: Podia

Limits of this review

Docs-only for Systeme.io, MailerLite, Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Kartra. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.

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Sources

Kevin Fan

Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.

Methodology

Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Kartra, Systeme.io, MailerLite, Kajabi, Thinkific, Podia, ClickFunnels, ActiveCampaign. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.

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