What the free plan includes
The Systeme.io free plan is a permanent account with no expiration date and no credit card required to start. The limits are on volume and features, not on time.
| Feature | Free plan limit |
|---|---|
| Contacts (email list) | 2,000 |
| Funnels | 3 |
| Funnel steps (pages per funnel) | 10 |
| Email campaigns | Unlimited |
| Email sends | Unlimited |
| Online courses | 1 |
| Course students | Unlimited |
| Automation rules | 1 |
| Workflows | 1 |
| Blog | Unlimited posts |
| Affiliate program | Included |
| Custom domain | 1 |
| Storage | Unlimited |
What those limits actually mean in practice
3 funnels
For a beginner, 3 funnels is more than enough. A complete lead generation setup typically uses two: one opt-in funnel to capture leads, and one sales funnel to convert them. The third gives you room to test a variation or build something separate. The 3-funnel limit will not stop you from getting started.
2,000 contacts
Two thousand contacts sounds like a ceiling, but for most beginners it's a number they won't reach for months. Most people building their first funnel struggle to get to 500 contacts, not 2,000. By the time you hit this limit, you're generating enough activity that paying for the next plan is a straightforward business decision, not a burden.
1 automation rule and 1 workflow
This is the most meaningful limitation. With one automation rule and one workflow, your email sequences are more manual than automated. You can set up a welcome email, but complex conditional sequences, "if they clicked this link, send this email; if not, send that one", require an upgrade. For a basic follow-up sequence that sends emails in order, the free plan is sufficient.
1 online course
If your business model involves selling a course, one slot is limiting. If your primary goal is lead generation and affiliate marketing, you probably don't need this at all.
The realistic assessment: for someone building their first lead funnel and email follow-up sequence, the free plan does everything you need. The limitations become relevant when you're running multiple offers simultaneously or need complex automation logic, both of which are problems worth having, because they mean you're generating real activity.
What you cannot do on the free plan
Being clear about the gaps:
- You cannot run multiple independent automation sequences simultaneously without upgrading
- You cannot use A/B split testing on pages
- You cannot run webinars (this requires the Webinar plan at *$47/month)
- You cannot remove Systeme.io branding from your pages
- You cannot use more than one custom domain
When it makes sense to upgrade
The Startup plan at *$27/month removes most of the meaningful limitations: 10 funnels, 5,000 contacts, 10 automation rules, 5 workflows. For most growing businesses, this is the plan that makes sense once you're generating consistent leads and have validated your first offer.
The jump from $0 to *$27 is easy to justify once your funnel is producing results. The harder question is whether to use Systeme.io at all versus ClickFunnels - which is a different and more involved decision. That comparison is covered in detail in the ClickFunnels vs. Systeme.io article.
The free plan is real and functional. For a first funnel with a basic email sequence, it handles everything you need. Start there, validate your funnel, then upgrade when the limits actually become a constraint. Create your free Systeme.io account here.
Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
*Verify the source carefully, as the pricing information may be outdated.