The number in big type on a pricing page is rarely the number that leaves your bank account. Six things to check before you pay.
The billing toggle
Most pages open with annual billing selected. The price shown is the monthly equivalent, and you pay twelve months up front.
Kajabi’s page shows $143 a month for its Basic plan. That is the annual price. Month to month it is $179. Flip the toggle before you compare anything.
Transaction fees
Some plans take a cut of every sale on top of the subscription. Teachable’s Starter plan charges 7.5 percent. Skool’s Hobby plan charges 10 percent plus 30 cents.
A $39 plan with a 7.5 percent fee costs more than a $69 plan with none once you sell about $400 a month. Work out where that line is for your numbers.
Contact caps
Email tools and all-in-one platforms price by contacts, which means your bill rises as your list grows even if you never upgrade a feature.
Check the cap on the plan you are considering and the price of the next tier up. That next tier is your real price in a year.
The word unlimited
“Unlimited” usually has a footnote. Unlimited funnels with a limit on contacts. Unlimited students with a limit on courses. Unlimited emails with a sending limit per day.
Find the footnote before you rely on the word.
Free trial versus free plan
A trial ends and starts charging. A free plan does not.
systeme.io’s free plan has no time limit and no card. It caps you at 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, and 1 course. That is a real free plan. A 14-day trial that asks for a card on day one is a different thing, and the pricing page will not always make the difference obvious.
Add-ons
Webinars, affiliate programs, extra domains, and priority support are often add-ons or higher tiers. If you need one of them, price the tier that includes it, not the tier on the left.
The short version
Set the toggle to monthly, add the transaction fee at your sales volume, find the contact cap and the next tier’s price, read the footnote on unlimited, check whether free means trial, and price the tier that has the feature you need. That number is what the tool costs.