Kartra review: what $59 a month buys, on a June 2026 check
Kartra puts courses, email, funnels, memberships and checkout behind one flat-rate subscription, which pays off for a creator replacing four tools and overcharges one selling a single course. Our last check, on 15 June 2026, recorded Essentials at $59 a month, Starter at $119, Growth at $229 and Professional at $549. That evidence is four months old.
The short answer
Buy Kartra if you already pay separately for a course platform, an email tool, a funnel builder and a checkout, and you want one bill instead of four. Essentials was $59 a month, or $52 billed annually, when we checked kartra.com on 15 June 2026. Read that figure as four months old.
Skip it if you sell one course and do your marketing by hand. Teachery charges $49 a month for unlimited courses with no transaction fee, recorded 15 June 2026, and most of what you would pay Kartra for is the automation side you would not switch on.
Where Kartra fits
Kartra fits the creator whose problem is the number of subscriptions rather than the quality of any one of them. Courses, memberships, email, funnels and checkout sit in the same product, so there is one login and one renewal date. That is the job it does better than the cheaper course platforms, which deliver lessons well and leave the marketing to whatever you bolt on.
The pricing is flat-rate, and our 15 June 2026 check recorded no extra charges for storage or email sends on any tier. That matters because the usual way a bundled platform becomes expensive is metering: a send allowance, a storage cap, a contact band. Kartra's recorded model does none of that, so the monthly figure is the monthly figure.
Essentials at $59 a month is the entry. Paid monthly that is $708 across a year. The annual rate recorded on the same check was $52 a month, which totals $624 across a year, so prepaying saved $84. The snapshot describes the annual discount as 15 to 20% depending on the tier, which is in line with that arithmetic.
Above that, Starter was $119 a month, or $99 billed annually, and Growth was $229 a month, or $189 billed annually. Across a year those are $1,428 against $1,188 on Starter, a saving of $240, and $2,748 against $2,268 on Growth, a saving of $480. The step from Essentials to Starter is $60 a month, and Starter to Growth is another $110.
Professional at $549 a month, or $429 billed annually, is $6,588 against $5,148 across a year, a saving of $1,440. That tier is a business expense rather than a creator expense, and the gap from Growth is $320 a month, so it wants a clear reason behind it before anyone signs for it.
What our snapshot does not record is where each tier stops. It names the four prices, the annual discount and the flat-rate model, and it does not record contact limits, list caps, membership counts or admin seats. Those caps are what forces an upgrade regardless of how the business is going, so read them off Kartra's own pricing page rather than off this one.
Against the rest of the category, Kartra sits in the middle on price and above most on breadth. Kajabi starts at $179 a month on Basic and Teachable at $39 a month on Starter, both verified 1 October 2026, while Teachery is $49 a month on its single plan, recorded 15 June 2026. Our Kartra figures are from 15 June 2026 and have not been re-verified, so treat them as several months old and check the current card. The course and membership platforms category holds the full field.
Kartra pricing
Kartra charges a flat monthly or annual subscription per account, with nothing taken per sale on the tiers our snapshot records. Every figure below comes from our check of kartra.com on 15 June 2026 and has not been re-verified since, so confirm it before you buy. The Kartra pricing breakdown carries the longer version.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $59/mo | $52/mo billed annually, $624 a year against $708 paid monthly. Courses, email, funnels and memberships included |
| Starter | $119/mo | $99/mo billed annually, $1,188 a year against $1,428 paid monthly. Raises the account limits |
| Growth | $229/mo | $189/mo billed annually, $2,268 a year against $2,748 paid monthly |
| Professional | $549/mo | $429/mo billed annually, $5,148 a year against $6,588 paid monthly. The highest limits |
There is no usage meter in the recorded model, so the subscription is close to the whole cost. Four things decide which number you pay:
- Which account limits you meet. Our 15 June 2026 snapshot names four tiers without recording the contact, list or membership caps that separate them, so the cap that forces your upgrade has to be read off Kartra's pricing page.
- Billing period, which is the only discount recorded. Annual billing saved $84 on Essentials, $240 on Starter, $480 on Growth and $1,440 on Professional across a year on our check.
- How much of the bundle you would use in practice. The price buys courses, email, funnels, memberships and checkout together, so it only beats a stack of single-purpose tools if most of those parts replace something you pay for now.
- Whether you prepay. Essentials billed annually hands over $624 up front, which is a different commitment from $59 a month you can stop, and the trial is 14 days.
- The age of this evidence. These are June 2026 figures, and a tier rename or a price move in four months would change the whole calculation.
Kartra pricing against the course platforms
Kartra's entry price sits between the simple platforms and the bundled ones. Teachable is $39 a month on Starter and Thinkific is $54 a month on Basic, both verified 1 October 2026, which is where a first course gets validated cheaply. Kajabi is the nearest bundled rival at $179 a month on Basic, also verified 1 October 2026, so Kartra Essentials at $59 is the cheaper way into an all-in-one. Note that those three dates are more recent than Kartra's 15 June 2026 check, so this is not a like-for-like comparison.
Kartra billing terms worth knowing
Two facts settle most Kartra pricing questions: the rate is flat, and the trial costs a dollar.
- Trial
- $1 for 14 days on our 15 June 2026 check, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Essentials
- $59 per month, or $52 per month billed annually. $708 or $624 across a year.
- Starter
- $119 per month, or $99 per month billed annually. $1,428 or $1,188 across a year.
- Growth
- $229 per month, or $189 per month billed annually. $2,748 or $2,268 across a year.
- Professional
- $549 per month, or $429 per month billed annually. $6,588 or $5,148 across a year.
- Extra fees
- None recorded for storage or email sends on any tier, as of 15 June 2026.
- Check date
- 15 June 2026. Four months old and not re-verified, so confirm before buying.
Kartra offers four tiers: Essentials ($59/month), Starter ($119/month), Growth ($229/month), and Professional ($549/month). Annual billing saves 15-20%. All plans are flat-rate with no extra fees for storage or email sends. A $1 trial is available for 14 days, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
If a Kartra invoice is higher than the figures above, the likely explanations are the tier, the billing period or a price change since June 2026. Our snapshot does not record the per-tier caps, so this page lists no limit figures rather than guessing at them. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a year of Kartra against the separate tools it would replace once you have today's rates.
What Kartra gives up
Nothing in the bundle is the best version of itself. The course builder is competent rather than deep, the email tool is adequate rather than a match for a dedicated platform, and the funnel builder is good without being the strongest on the market. You are buying the fact that they are joined up, and that is a real thing to buy, but it is not the same as buying five good tools.
The learning curve is the hidden cost of breadth. A product that does five jobs has five sets of settings, and the first week or two goes on working out where things live rather than on selling. A single-purpose platform gets you publishing faster, which matters most when the course has not proved itself yet.
The bundle only saves money if you use most of it. A creator who already has an email platform they like is paying twice for that part. List what Kartra would replace, total what you pay for those tools now, and set it against $59 a month on Essentials before deciding the bundle is cheaper.
Our snapshot does not record the per-tier caps, which is the part of this pricing the page cannot settle. Contact or list limits are the usual reason an all-in-one platform pushes you from a $59 plan to a $119 one, and a $60 a month step arriving unannounced is unpleasant. Read those numbers off the vendor's page before you commit.
Annual billing is worth real money and it removes your exit. The saving on Essentials was $84 across a year on our check, which is not large enough to justify prepaying $624 before you know the platform suits you. Run two or three months monthly first.
Design is template-led, so a storefront that has to look like nobody else's will fight the system. That is the usual trade in a bundled platform, and it is more noticeable here than on a dedicated course host where the page builder is the main event.
The pricing evidence on this page is from 15 June 2026, which is the weakest part of it. Four months is long enough for a tier to be renamed, a price to move or the annual discount to change, and we would rather say so plainly than present old figures as current ones.
How Kartra compares
The four platforms below are the ones weighed against Kartra, and the axis is breadth of bundle against depth in any one part. Prices are each vendor's published rates with the date we checked them, and those dates differ by up to four months, so read them with that in mind. The wider field sits in the course and membership platforms category.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kartra | Replacing four subscriptions with one flat-rate account | $59/mo Essentials (June 2026) | Per-tier caps unrecorded here; each part is competent rather than best |
| Kajabi | An established course business wanting one bundled bill | $179/mo Basic | No free plan and the dearest entry point in the category |
| Teachable | Getting a first paid course live at a low monthly rate | $39/mo Starter | No built-in email marketing, so the stack grows around it |
| Teachery | One simple price for unlimited courses | $49/mo or $470/year | No quizzes, certificates, community or email tooling |
What to test in the Kartra trial
Our 15 June 2026 check recorded a $1 trial lasting 14 days, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Confirm both before you start, because those terms are four months old, and spend the fortnight building one real thing rather than touring the dashboard.
- Check the current tier prices and the trial terms on kartra.com. Our figures are from June 2026 and this is the one step you should not take on trust.
- Read the contact, list and membership caps off the vendor's pricing page and match them to what you plan to publish this year. Our snapshot does not record them and they are what forces an upgrade.
- Build one complete product end to end: a course, a sales page, an email sequence and a working checkout. If the joins hold, the bundle argument is real.
- Send a test email from Kartra's email tool and judge it against the platform you pay for now. If you would keep the other one, subtract its cost from the saving.
- Total what Kartra would replace in your current stack. Essentials at $59 a month is $708 across a year, so the bundle only wins if the tools it retires cost about that or more.
- Choose monthly billing for the first two or three months. The annual saving on Essentials was $84 across a year on our check, and that is not worth prepaying $624 before the platform has proved itself.
- Price the alternatives at the same time. Teachable is $39 a month on Starter and Kajabi is $179 on Basic, both verified 1 October 2026, and the cost calculators will total a year of each once you have current rates.
Kartra questions buyers ask
How much does Kartra cost per month?
Kartra offers four plans: Essentials at $59/month ($52 annually), Starter at $119/month ($99 annually), Growth at $229/month ($189 annually), and Professional at $549/month ($429 annually). All plans are flat-rate with no extra fees for email sends or storage.
Does Kartra have a free trial?
Kartra offers a $1 trial for 14 days, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. This gives you up to 44 days to test the platform with minimal risk. The trial includes full access to features: build real funnels and send real emails during the trial period.
Who is Kartra best for?
Kartra is best for course creators, coaches, and online business owners who sell through multi-step funnels and need email marketing, automation, checkout, and course delivery in one tool. It's most useful when you'd otherwise need 3+ separate tools. It's overkill for creators who only need course hosting.
Kartra vs Kajabi: which is better?
Kajabi has a more modern interface, stronger community features, and a better course builder. Kartra has more powerful funnel building and behavioral automation. Both are all-in-one platforms. Choose Kajabi if community and courses are the priority; choose Kartra if funnels and automation drive your business model.
Kartra vs ClickFunnels: which is better?
ClickFunnels is a more powerful funnel builder with a larger template marketplace. Kartra includes courses, email, and memberships that ClickFunnels doesn't handle natively. Choose ClickFunnels if funnels are your primary need; choose Kartra if you need funnels plus courses plus email in one platform.
Does Kartra include email marketing?
Yes. Kartra includes email marketing with automation, segmentation, behavioral triggers, and unlimited sends on paid plans. The email tools are solid: not as advanced as Kit or ActiveCampaign for pure email marketing, but well-integrated with the rest of the platform. No need for a separate email service.
Can I build courses on Kartra?
Yes. Kartra includes a course builder with video hosting, drip content, and progress tracking. The course features are functional but not as deep as dedicated platforms like Teachable or LearnDash: no advanced quizzing, no certificates, and limited student analytics. For simple to moderate courses, Kartra works. For complex educational programs, a dedicated LMS is better.
Does Kartra have community features?
Limited. Kartra offers membership sites but lacks built-in community tools like discussion forums, group chat, or engagement mechanics. For community features, you'd need to integrate a separate platform (Circle, Discord). If community is essential, Kajabi or Mighty Networks include community natively.
Is Kartra worth the money?
If you currently pay $150+/month for separate email, funnel, course, and checkout tools, Kartra at $59-119/month consolidates everything at a lower total cost. If you only need one function (just courses or just email), you're overpaying for features you won't use. The value equation depends on how many of Kartra's features you actually use.
Can I cancel Kartra anytime?
Yes. Monthly plans can be canceled anytime, effective at the end of the billing period. Annual plans are non-refundable for remaining months but won't auto-renew. The 30-day money-back guarantee applies to new subscribers. You can get a full refund within 30 days if the platform doesn't work for you.