Want to decide between Podia and Systeme in under 10 minutes of your time? Read on because I’ve tried both so you don’t have to.

Over the years, I have created a variety of online systems and courses myself. For selling courses and products online, Podia has proven to be a powerful yet affordable platform.

Then Systeme came along, offering premium features for free, including unlimited file storage, and up to 2,000 contacts for free.

So, like me, you may be wondering; is Systeme better than Podia?

Is there a catch here?

In this post, we’ll share the key differences between Podia and Systeme (and whether Systeme really is free) so you can decide for yourself.

Overview

Podia and Systeme both claim to be all-in-one online business platforms. You can use them to create, market, and sell digital products, such as courses, downloads and more. Here’s more.

What is Podia?

Podia provides a single platform to create, market, and sell courses, one-on-one coaching sessions, and consultations online.

In my experience, Podia can help you create custom websites, communities, memberships, and other engagement forums without requiring third-party integrations or separate subscriptions.

You can refer my complete review on Podia for more information on my personal experience using the platform.

What is Systeme?

Systeme provides a complete online platform for creating, marketing, and selling your physical and digital products.

I was particularly intrigued by Systeme’s free features that in other platforms would cost tens or hundreds of dollars per month. More on that below.

Quick decision

What I like about Podia over Systeme? 👍

• Sell digital downloads: Like a digital version of Etsy, Podia enables you to host, promote, and sell digital downloads, such as ebooks, spreadsheets, workshops, and audio files in a similar way to Gumroad.
• Podia Email 2.0: Trigger email automations based on factors such as email subscriptions, product purchases, and more. Segment emails based on multiple factors, such as tags, memberships, type of product purchased, etc.
• Supports coaching: You can offer 1-on-1 coaching sessions to students who want a more personalized learning experience.
• Create assessments and quizzes: Help your learners gain maximum value from your course with engaging tests.
• Course certificates: Encourage learners to complete courses and coaching programs 100% in order to receive a certificate they can share anywhere.
• On-page messaging: You can start conversations on any website page using the on-page messaging widget. Visitors are not required to log in to chat.
• Embed checkout pages: Allow your site visitors to purchase knowledge products from any device, at any time, and on any platform. No redirects to separate sales pages are required.

Explore Podia

What I like about Systeme over Podia? 👍

• User-friendly workflows: I like that Systeme doesn’t have a steep learning curve or anything fancy. You can also access all the features you need in a click or two.
• Get premium features for free: The free plan includes a ton of value, such as unlimited students, blog posts, file storage, and community members. Send unlimited emails, set up a custom domain, get your list up to 2,000 contacts, and manage an elaborate affiliate program for free. This combo costs $$$/month elsewhere (including Podia).
• Robust funnels feature: Systeme has better funnels functionality with a more advanced page builder and automation rules than that of Podia. It is comparable to Kajabi!
• Split testing: Test engagement, conversion, and retention strategies to see which work best. One of my favorite Systeme features, for sure.
• Unlimited contacts: Podia’s email marketing add-on costs $50/month for 10,000 subscribers. Systeme offers unlimited emails on its $97/m plan, which can save you money as your list grows.

Explore Systeme

Upfront bottom line

In general, Podia is more suited to course-centric coaches who want to sell digital products, integrate 1-on-1 sessions into their courses or offer paid consultations.

Its intuitive interface, course certificates, and assessment features make it ideal if you’re a purely course creator.

Systeme shines as a comprehensive marketing automation platform that’ll enable you to establish your business from scratch and grow it at your own pace without the need for price precommitment – unlike premium platforms like Kajabi and ClickFunnels.

The free plan gives you breathing room to experiment and validate your business model before scaling up.

Now, we’ll cover the key areas that can make a major difference in your decision between Podia and Systeme.

Online course creation (Podia wins)

It is quite simple to create a course on Systeme or Podia.

Both offer easy-to-digest formats for organizing content/curriculum.

For example, Podia supports sections and lessons.

Along with that it also supports various other content types notably quizzes and coaching.

👍 For course funnels, adding coaching lessons right inside of your course helps a lot on maximizing on your one-to-one calls and even group coaching which is really a BIG profit maximizer.

And also, did I tell you it also supports course completion certificates?

Now:

Systeme lets you add course modules in just a few clicks, too.

It also lets you include different content types on the same page, such as a video and text. Podia doesn’t.

Podia offers several features that Systeme doesn’t have:

• Coaching sessions in curriculum: Add 1-on-1 coaching sessions directly within your course content, allowing students to book paid sessions while learning.
• Course certificates: Reward course completion with professional certificates students can share.
• Quizzes and assessments: Create interactive tests to engage students and reinforce learning.

These features make Podia particularly powerful.

Community (Podia wins)

System and Podia support community building; invite/add members, organize posts into topics, allow students to leave likes and comments, handle content moderation, etc.

Here’s how Podia’s community looks like:

In your community, you can organize content by various topics, and inside which your community members can create various posts.

Now, when it comes to granting access:

You can create various plans (unique feature) for your community and grant them access to products or bundles in those plans.

Systeme also comes with a community feature.

Currently, you can only make your communities public or private.

Alternatively, you can send personal invitations to members via email. You can also just add them to a select community.

👎 The major downside here is you can’t create multiple plans for your community, whereas in Podia you can create tired paid memberships that are integrated with certain products or a bundle.

Funnel building (Systeme wins)

Podia doesn’t offer a true funnel builder, but rather functions more as a storefront builder.

With Podia, you can build separate pages and link them together, but you won’t find features like visual funnel mapping, conversion tracking between funnel steps, or advanced automation rules.

The website builder lets you create decent-looking pages with their block-based editor, but there’s no way to visualize or optimize the customer journey from awareness to purchase.

You may need to still use WordPress or ClickFunnels for landing page needs along with Podia.

Now.

Systeme, on the other hand, lets you build up to 3 free sales funnels for different products, each containing 15 steps.

You can build both simple and sophisticated campaigns, regardless of whether you sell a digital or physical product.

Also, besides customizing Systeme’s funnel steps, you can also do A/B testing and set deadlines for offers. Handy!

👍 When it comes to gluing all the features and automation rules, Systeme definitely has a BIG leg up and is even comparable to other platforms like Kajabi or even ClickFunnels.

Emails (it’s power vs. beauty)

You can create one-time newsletters and automated email sequences (campaigns) with either Podia or Systeme.

You can also customize your emails in real-time with the drag-and-drop builder.

However, Systeme went for a simple look and feel, with just a few merge fields.

Keeping it simple is great, but if you want to brand your emails to match your website, it’s so simple!

Podia’s new email builder offers more vibrant templates (10!) you can further customize to suit the look and feel you are going for.

Yet, it is still as easy to compose an email on Podia as it is on Systeme. See if you agree here:

Where Systeme blows Podia out of the water is email marketing automation.

Yes, Podia has added a variety of new automation triggers to its Campaigns email feature.

Consider this:

But, I really like how you can create full-blown, automated email sequences with Systeme’s Rules and Workflows (up to 15 steps).

This means you can more easily segment your learners and send more targeted emails without needing to use third-party tools like Zapier. And, I also like that Systeme will let me send unlimited emails to unlimited students with a 2,000-strong contact list for free.

Systeme has better checkouts

When it comes to checkout functionality, both platforms offer robust options, but with some key differences that might impact your decision.

Let’s start with Podia.

You get a clean, straightforward checkout experience that supports:

• Flexible payment options: Accept payments via PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit/debit cards, iDEAL (Dutch customers only), and direct deposits
• Versatile selling tools: Easily set up upsells, one-time payments, free giveaways, monthly payment plans, coupon codes, and course bundles
• Tax management: Automatically handle global tax calculations to keep you compliant

What’s particularly handy with Podia is their integrated chat feature.

Your visitors can land on any page, view your offers, message you directly through the widget, and complete their purchase without ever leaving the page. No redirects needed!

You can also control who can message you:

Systeme, on the other hand, takes things up a notch with even more payment options and selling features:

• More payment gateways: Accept payments through RazorPay, PayPal, Stripe, Mercado Pago, GoCardless, Mollie, and FlutterWave
• Advanced selling tools: Create order bumps, payment plans, upsells, coupons/discounts (in % or $), 1-click upsells, and cross-sells
• Physical product support: Unlike Podia, Systeme lets customers specify shipping details, tax compliance info, and even product variations like color and size

Now, see this:

One really good thing about Systeme is that it includes deadline features to implement scarcity marketing in your funnel.

Integrations (Podia has more)

Systeme comes with powerful automation features.

For example, using the automation editor, you can create complex workflows like this.

With features like this, you don’t need to rely on integrating other tools.

But.

With Systeme, there aren’t many native integrations. However, you can still connect ActiveCampaign and SendInBlue directly via API. Or, you can use Zapier to connect many more apps at your own pace.

Meanwhile, Podia lets you connect Zoom for webinars, up to 7+ email platforms via API, and even more tools through Zapier.

Podia wins here.

Pricing (Systeme, hands down)

Podia and Systeme strike me as two of the best value for money options for creators who do not want to sacrifice capabilities and future growth potential.

Now, picture this:

Compare Podia’s pricing with Systeme’s plans.

Systeme’s free plan offers much more value with unlimited emails, students, file storage, community members, and blog posts.

It clearly offers better value, especially at the free tier level, allowing you to start your business with no upfront costs and upgrade only when needed.

👉 And also Systeme’s $97/month plan supports unlimited contacts and unlimited emails, whereas with Podia, you need to get their Podia email add-on that costs $50/month for 10,000 subscribers (however, deliverability matters!).

Verdict

The best platform for creating online courses and selling digital products will depend on your unique requirements.

Based on my experience, I recommend Systeme for those looking for more funnel-centric all-in-one platform, still refining their online business ideas, are on a tight budget, and want to upgrade to more advanced capabilities gradually.

Podia is a great option if you’re a course creator. It is also particularly great if you want to offer 1-on-1 coaching sessions and digital downloads without breaking the bank.

Over to you.