Course platform fee calculator: what you really pay

At $1,000/month in sales (20 sales at $50) the cheapest course platform is systeme.io Free at $35/month (you keep $965); at $10,000/month in sales (200 sales at $50) it is systeme.io Startup at $367/month. Fees decide it: Teachable Starter takes 7.5%, Podia Mover 5%, Payhip Free 5% and Skool Hobby 10% of every sale, while the bigger plans charge only card processing.

Last checked 2026-10-18 on the official pages.

Plan price + platform fee + card processing for Teachable, Thinkific, Kajabi, Podia, LearnWorlds, Skool, systeme.io and Payhip. Enter your sales and see the cheapest plan on each platform and what you keep.

Course platform fee calculator

Platform and cheapest fitting plan	Plan	Platform fee	Card processing	Total / month	You keep	% of sales

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Monthly cost = plan price + platform transaction fee + card processing on every sale, at the US card rate each platform states (international cards, currency conversion, sales tax tools and payment plans cost extra on most platforms). Student and contact caps (systeme.io, Kajabi, Thinkific) are checked against the students/contacts you enter. monthly price = the platform does not publish an annual price as a number, so the monthly price is used. Ties are broken by name. Affiliate status is never used.

Cheapest platform by monthly sales

At $50 per sale, monthly billing, 1 course. All sales levels.

Sales	Cheapest	Second
$500/month in sales (10 sales at $50)	systeme.io Free at $17.50/month	Payhip Free Forever at $42.50/month
$1,000/month in sales (20 sales at $50)	systeme.io Free at $35/month	Payhip Plus at $84/month
$2,500/month in sales (50 sales at $50)	systeme.io Startup at $104.50/month	Thinkific Basic at $141.50/month
$5,000/month in sales (100 sales at $50)	systeme.io Startup at $192/month	Thinkific Basic at $229/month
$10,000/month in sales (200 sales at $50)	systeme.io Startup at $367/month	Thinkific Basic at $404/month
$25,000/month in sales (500 sales at $50)	systeme.io Webinar at $922/month	Thinkific Basic at $929/month

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Disclosure: Links marked “affiliate link” (systeme.io, Skool) earn CourseCost a commission if you sign up, at no cost to you. Prices, totals and rankings are calculated the same way for every platform and never depend on affiliate status.

Try systeme.io ↗ (affiliate link)

Platforms

Teachable

From $39/mo · 7-day free trial, 30-day guarantee

Thinkific

From $54/mo · 30-day free trial

Kajabi

From $179/mo · free trial, 30-day money-back guarantee

Podia

From $49/mo · 14-day free trial, no card

LearnWorlds

From $29/mo · 30-day free trial

Skool

From $9/mo · 14-day free trial

systeme.io

From $0/mo · free plan, no card

Payhip

From $0/mo · free forever plan

Popular comparisons

Teachable vs Thinkific · Kajabi vs Teachable · Kajabi vs Thinkific · Podia vs Teachable · Podia vs Thinkific · Kajabi vs Podia · Kajabi vs Skool · Skool vs Teachable · all

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest online course platform?

It depends on your sales. With no sales, systeme.io Free and Payhip Free cost $0 a month. At $1,000/month in sales (20 sales at $50): systeme.io Free at $35/month, then Payhip Plus at $84/month. At $10,000/month in sales (200 sales at $50): systeme.io Startup at $367/month.

Which course platforms charge a transaction fee?

Teachable Starter 7.5%, Podia Mover 5%, Payhip Free 5% and Plus 2%, LearnWorlds Starter $5 per paid enrollment, and Skool (10% + 30¢ on Hobby, 2.9% + 30¢ on Pro, card processing included). Teachable Builder and up, Thinkific, Kajabi, Podia Shaker and up, LearnWorlds Pro Trainer and up and systeme.io charge no platform fee; card processing still applies.

Are payment processing fees included?

Yes. Every total adds card processing per sale at the US rate the platform states (mostly 2.9% + 30¢; Kajabi Growth 2.8%, Pro 2.7%). Skool's fee already includes processing.