systeme.io Free plan for a newsletter (2026): what you get and the limits
Facts checked 22 October 2026 on systeme.io's pricing and help pages · source keys at the bottom
Disclosure: links to systeme.io and beehiiv on this page are affiliate links; if you sign up for a paid plan through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you (systeme.io pays affiliates a recurring share). Kit links are plain links. Commissions never change the facts below. Details.
systeme.io is an all-in-one tool (funnels, courses, a blog and email) rather than a newsletter-only platform, but its Free plan includes email marketing with unlimited sends to up to 2,000 contacts. Here is exactly what a newsletter writer gets for $0, and where the limits are.
The Free plan, line by line
| Item | systeme.io Free |
|---|---|
| Price | $0; the Free plan never expires and needs no credit card [sy] |
| Contacts | Up to 2,000 [sy] |
| Emails sent | Unlimited [sy] |
| Email campaigns (automated sequences) | 1 [sy] |
| Automation rules | 1 [sy] |
| Sales funnels | 3 [sy] |
| Blog | 1 [sy] |
| Online course | 1 (up to 500 students) [sy] |
| Custom domain | 1 [sy] |
| Your own affiliate program | 1 [sy] |
| Transaction fees | 0% systeme.io fee on sales (Stripe or PayPal fees still apply) [sy] |
| Sub-accounts | Unlimited, each with the same limits as your plan [sy] |
| Next plan | Startup $17/month: 5,000 contacts, 10 sales funnels, 5 courses [sy] |
Checked 22 October 2026 from the pricing page's FAQ text ("Last updated: April 2026" on the page). The interactive comparison table on that page did not load its values in our capture, so we used the FAQ wording. Prices in USD.
Newsletters vs campaigns: why "1 email campaign" matters
systeme.io separates two kinds of email [sye] [sya]:
- Newsletters: one-time or scheduled broadcasts you write and send to contacts, which you can target or exclude by tag. This is your regular issue, and sends are unlimited on Free [sy].
- Email campaigns: automated sequences of emails sent with delays you set, such as a welcome series. The Free plan includes 1 [sy].
- Automation rules: event-triggered automations (systeme.io's help describes automated emails triggered by events such as a new sale or sign-up [sya]). The Free plan includes 1 [sy].
In practice, a single welcome sequence plus regular broadcasts fits within the Free plan. If you want several sequences (one per lead magnet, for example), you will hit the limit of 1 campaign.
How it compares with beehiiv Free and Kit Free
| systeme.io Free | beehiiv Free | Kit Free | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscriber/contact cap | 2,000 contacts [sy] | 2,500 subscribers [bh] | 10,000 subscribers [kh] |
| Sending | Unlimited emails [sy] | Unlimited sends [bh] | Unlimited broadcasts [kh] |
| Automated sequence | 1 email campaign + 1 automation rule [sy] | Welcome email; automations need Lite [bh] | Sequences and visual automations need a paid plan [kh] |
| Beyond email | 3 funnels, 1 blog, 1 course, 1 custom domain [sy] | Website with 1 custom page [bh] | Unlimited forms and landing pages [kh] |
| First paid step | Startup $17/month [sy] | Lite $49/mo billed yearly or $59 month-to-month [bh] | Creator $33/mo billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers [kp] |
systeme.io facts checked 22 October 2026; beehiiv and Kit facts checked 21 October 2026 (see our beehiiv Free vs Kit Free page for the full list and sources).
Who it suits, and who it doesn't
- Good fit: you want a newsletter and something to sell (a course, a digital product or a simple funnel) on one free account, and a single welcome sequence is enough to start.
- Less good: you expect your list to pass 2,000 contacts soon (Kit Free goes to 10,000), or you want a newsletter-first website with a path to paid subscriptions and an ad network (beehiiv). Compare all three in our three-way comparison.
- Upgrade path: Startup is $17/month for 5,000 contacts; Webinar is $47/month for 10,000; Unlimited is $97/month. If you cancel a paid plan, the account goes back to the Free plan at the next billing date, according to the pricing FAQ [sy].
Before you send issue #1
- Verify your sender email address: systeme.io's help page says you must do this before you can receive test emails [sye].
- For commercial email, the US CAN-SPAM Act requires a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out in every message [ftc]. Check what your footer shows before the first send.
- Not stated on the pages we read: whether Free-plan emails carry systeme.io branding, and any deliverability figures. We don't guess; check in your own account.
New to newsletters? Start with our step-by-step guide to starting a newsletter for free, and see when you will outgrow a free plan.
What we use ourselves: ClearLine Digital has a systeme.io Free account (since 17 October 2026), but we publish NewsletterBench Weekly on beehiiv and have not sent a newsletter from systeme.io, so this page compares published limits only. We make no claims about deliverability or support.
How this page was made: facts come from each platform's own pricing and help pages, read on 22 October 2026 (sources numbered in every row). We have not yet run a newsletter on each of these platforms, so we make no claims about deliverability or ease of use. We plan to run our own newsletter on a free plan and will report what we actually observe, with dates.
Source keys: [sy] systeme.io · [sye] help.systeme.io/1335-how-to-use-the-email-editor · [sya] help.systeme.io/628-is-it-possible-to-integrate-systeme-io-with-an-external-autoresponder · [bh] www.beehiiv.com · [kh] help.kit.com/16627071-the-kit-free-plan · [kp] kit.com · [ftc] www.ftc.gov
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