The Whole Shelf, One Yardstick
True Cost Comparison
Every tool in this directory, on one yardstick: what it costs to start each month, the one job it covers, and whether it quietly takes a percentage of your sales. Figures checked against each company's own pricing page in October 2026.
ALL IN ONE PLATFORMS
| Tool | Monthly starting cost | What it covers | Percentage of sales it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io | Free to start, $0 (first paid plan $17 a month) | Funnels, email, courses and a blog in one account | None, 0 percent on every plan |
| GoHighLevel | $97 a month | Client management, funnels, email and texting, built for agencies | None, but texts, emails and phone use are billed on top |
| Kajabi | $179 a month | Courses, website, community and email in one platform | None through Kajabi Payments; using another payment provider adds 2 percent on Basic |
| Kartra | $59 a month | Pages, email, memberships and checkout in one account | 5 percent on the $59 Essentials plan; none from $119 a month up |
FUNNEL AND PAGE BUILDERS
| Tool | Monthly starting cost | What it covers | Percentage of sales it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClickFunnels | $97 a month | Sales funnels and pages | None |
| Leadpages | $29 a month | Landing pages, pop ups and alert bars | None |
| Wix | Free to start, $0 (selling starts at $29 a month) | Websites | None |
| Squarespace | $25 a month | Websites and online stores | 2 percent of store sales on Basic, and 7 percent of digital content and membership sales on Basic |
EMAIL SERVICES
| Tool | Monthly starting cost | What it covers | Percentage of sales it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GetResponse | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $19 a month) | Email marketing and automation | None |
| AWeber | $15 a month (no free plan; a 14 day free trial instead) | Email marketing | 1 percent of product sales on Lite, 0.6 percent on Plus |
| Kit | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $39 a month) | Email marketing for creators | 3.5 percent plus 30 cents on sales made through Kit |
| Mailchimp | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $13 a month) | Email marketing | None |
| MailerLite | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $12 a month) | Email marketing | None |
| ActiveCampaign | $15 a month (billed annually) | Email automation | None |
| Constant Contact | $12 a month | Email marketing | None |
| Brevo | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $9 a month) | Email marketing | None |
| Flodesk | $25 a month (a free plan exists, but it cannot send email) | Email marketing with design first templates | None |
| beehiiv | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $49 a month) | Newsletters | None |
COURSE AND COMMUNITY TOOLS
| Tool | Monthly starting cost | What it covers | Percentage of sales it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skool | $9 a month | Community and courses | 10 percent of every sale on the $9 plan; 2.9 percent on the $99 plan |
| Teachable | $39 a month | Online courses | 7.5 percent of every sale on the $39 plan; removed at $89 a month |
| Thinkific | $54 a month | Online courses | None with Thinkific Payments; using your own Stripe adds 5 percent on Basic |
| Podia | $49 a month | Courses, community, website and email | 5 percent of every sale on the $49 plan; removed at $99 a month |
| Stan Store | $29 a month | A link in bio store | None |
| Circle | $89 a month (billed annually) | Community | 2 percent of paywall payments |
| Gumroad | $0 a month, no subscription | Selling digital products | 10 percent plus 50 cents on every direct sale; 30 percent on sales through its Discover marketplace |
| Whop | $0 a month, no subscription | Selling digital products and memberships | No platform fee; 2.7 percent plus 30 cents on each US card sale |
DESIGN AND VIDEO TOOLS
| Tool | Monthly starting cost | What it covers | Percentage of sales it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | Free to start, $0 (Pro $18 a month) | Design | None |
| CapCut | Free to start, $0 (Pro $19.99 a month) | Video editing | None |
| Descript | Free to start, $0 (paid plans from $24 a month) | Video and audio editing by text | None |
| DaVinci Resolve | Free, $0 (Studio is $295 one time) | Professional video editing | None |
| Adobe Express | Free to start, $0 (Premium $9.99 a month) | Quick design and social posts | None |
AI AND WRITING TOOLS
| Tool | Monthly starting cost | What it covers | Percentage of sales it takes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free to start, $0 (Plus $20 a month) | AI writing and questions | None |
| Claude | Free to start, $0 (Pro $20 a month billed monthly) | AI writing and questions | None |
| Gemini | Free to start, $0 (Google AI Pro $19.99 a month) | AI writing and questions | None |
| Muse | Free to start, $0 | A personal AI assistant | None |
For Comparison
Home Business Academy. Every job in this chart in one place: the builder, the email service, courses and memberships, webinars, traffic tools and writing help. $35 a month to start and $160 a month all in, under one login and one bill.
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