Kartra Pricing: What It Actually Costs
An all-in-one marketing platform where course features are locked behind higher tiers. Know what you're paying for before you commit.
Kartra starts at $59/month, but that Essentials plan gets you 1 course, 500 contacts, and a 5% transaction fee. The Starter at $119/month removes the fee and unlocks unlimited courses — but quizzes, certificates, and webinars are locked behind the $229/month Growth plan. For course creators, the real starting price is $229.
Kartra's Plans at a Glance
All plans with monthly and annual pricing, limits, and key features.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Tx Fees | Courses | Students | Key Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $59/mo | $52/mo | 5% (on top of Stripe 2.9% + $0.30) | 1 course | 500 contacts | Only 1 course |
| StarterPopular | $119/mo | $99/mo | 0% | Unlimited courses | 2,500 contacts | No quizzes or surveys |
| Growth | $229/mo | $189/mo | 0% | Unlimited courses | 12,500 contacts | 12,500 contact cap |
| Professional | $549/mo | $429/mo | 0% | Unlimited courses | 25,000 contacts | High price for course-focused businesses |
Essentials
- 1 product/course/membership
- 5 pages
- 10,000 emails/month
- Only 1 course
- 500 contact cap
Starter
Popular- Unlimited courses/products/pages
- Unlimited email and SMS
- 0% transaction fees
- No quizzes or surveys
- No certificates
Growth
- Quizzes, surveys, and certificates
- Webinars (300 attendees)
- Advanced automations
- 12,500 contact cap
- 300 webinar attendee limit
Professional
- 25,000 contacts
- Kartra AI (500 uses)
- Webinars (1,000 attendees, 6 presenters)
- High price for course-focused businesses
- Still no community/forum features
Kartra Discounts, Coupons & Free Trial
What's actually available — and what the coupon sites won't tell you.
14-Day Free Trial
Credit card required to start trial. $1 for 14-day trial with access to all features. 30-day money-back guarantee.
~17% Annual Billing Discount
Annual billing saves approximately 17%. Starter drops from $119 to $99/month, Growth from $229 to $189/month. Periodic sales (like the March 2026 promotion) can reduce prices further — Starter was offered at $89/month and Growth at $137/month.
The Truth About Kartra Coupon Codes
Kartra runs periodic promotions with legitimate discounts (e.g., KARTRA40 for 40% off Growth). These are typically time-limited (7-14 days). Check the current pricing page for active offers.
Best deal strategy: Use the $1 trial to test the course builder and marketing automation. If you need quizzes and certificates, the minimum viable plan is Growth at $229/month ($189 annual) — not Starter. Compare this to dedicated course platforms where quizzes and certificates start at $99/month.
Ruzuku includes quizzes, certificates, discussions, live Zoom, and student tech support on all plans at $99/month with zero transaction fees. If marketing automation is your priority, pair Ruzuku with ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign for a lower combined cost than Kartra Growth.
What Kartra's Pricing Page Doesn't Make Obvious
Hidden fees, gotchas, and costs that aren't clear until you're already committed.
5% transaction fee on Essentials plan
The Essentials plan ($59/month) charges 5% on every sale, on top of Stripe's 2.9% + $0.30. A $100 course sale costs you $8.20 in total processing. At $1,000/month revenue, that's $50/month in Kartra fees alone — nearly the plan cost.
Quizzes, certificates, and surveys locked behind Growth ($229/mo)
The Essentials ($59) and Starter ($119) plans have no quizzes, no surveys, and no completion certificates. These features — standard on most dedicated course platforms — require upgrading to Growth at $229/month.
Bandwidth caps on lower plans
Essentials has a capped bandwidth (limit unspecified), and Starter is capped at 50GB. Video-heavy courses can exceed this quickly. Overage fees are reportedly steep. Unlimited bandwidth requires the Growth plan ($229/month).
No community or discussion features at any price
Kartra has no built-in community, forum, or discussion feature. Students can comment on lesson pages, but there's no structured community space. You'll need Facebook Groups, Discord, or a separate community tool.
Why Do Quizzes Cost $229/Month on Kartra?
This is the detail that surprised me most in researching Kartra: quizzes, surveys, and completion certificates — features that most course platforms include on their base plan — are locked behind the Growth tier at $229/month. The Essentials ($59) and Starter ($119) plans simply don't have them.
For a marketing platform, this makes sense — Kartra assumes you're building funnels first and adding assessments as your business scales. For a course creator who needs quizzes from day one, it means the real starting price isn't $59 or $119 — it's $229.
On Ruzuku, quizzes and certificates are included on all plans at $99/month. On Thinkific, they're available from the $49/month Basic plan. Kartra's feature-gating is the most aggressive in the market for these specific tools.
The Essentials Plan: When $59/Month Isn't Cheap
Kartra's $59/month Essentials plan looks like a bargain until you read the limits: 1 course, 500 contacts, 5 pages, and a 5% transaction fee on every sale. At $1,000/month in course revenue, that 5% costs you $50 — nearly the plan price.
I've seen this pattern across platforms: the entry plan exists to get you in the door, but the limits force an upgrade within months. With 500 contacts and 1 course, most creators outgrow Essentials before their first launch is complete.
What Kartra Users Say About Courses
"Kartra is a phenomenal marketing tool. The course side is functional but definitely an afterthought compared to the funnel builder and automation engine."
This is the consistent theme: Kartra's marketing tools are genuinely powerful. The email sequencer, funnel builder, and automation engine compete with dedicated marketing platforms. Creators who use Kartra primarily for funnels — with courses as one product in a larger sales sequence — tend to be satisfied.
"Support response times are terrible. I waited 5 days for a response on a payment issue."
Kartra's Trustpilot profile (3.4/5 from ~128 reviews) is middling. The most common complaints are technical bugs, support response times (days to weeks), and automation failures. For course creators, the support quality matters when students can't access content or payments fail.
For side-by-side pricing, see our complete pricing comparison hub. Verify current numbers at Kartra's official pricing page.
Real-World Cost Scenarios
What Kartra actually costs at three revenue levels — including fees, add-ons, and the plan you'd really need.
Solo Creator (1 Course)
$1,000/mo revenueKartra
$52/mo
Essentials ($52/mo annual): $52/mo
Annual: $624/yr
Ruzuku
$99/mo
Core ($99/mo): $99/mo
0% platform fee (standard Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Annual: $1,188/yr
What you get on Kartra
- 1 course with drip content
- Email marketing (10K/month)
- Page builder + funnel mapper
- Kartra AI (30 uses)
What you'll still need
- 5% transaction fee ($50/month on $1K revenue)
- Only 1 course and 500 contacts
- No quizzes, surveys, or certificates
- Bandwidth capped
Growing Business (Needs Quizzes)
$5,000/mo revenueKartra
$189/mo
Growth ($189/mo annual): $189/mo
Annual: $2,268/yr
Ruzuku
$99/mo
Core ($99/mo): $99/mo
0% platform fee (standard Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Annual: $1,188/yr
What you get on Kartra
- Quizzes, surveys, certificates (finally)
- Webinars (300 attendees)
- Advanced automations + affiliates
- Unlimited bandwidth
What you'll still need
- Paying $189/month for features included on $99/month course platforms
- No community features
- Student experience still basic
Agency / Multi-Presenter
$20,000/mo revenueKartra
$429/mo
Professional ($429/mo annual): $429/mo
Annual: $5,148/yr
Ruzuku
$199/mo
Pro ($199/mo): $199/mo
0% platform fee (standard Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Annual: $2,388/yr
What you get on Kartra
- 25,000 contacts + unlimited team
- Webinars with 6 presenters (1,000 attendees)
- Kartra AI (500 uses)
- Full marketing suite
What you'll still need
- Still no community/forum
- No mobile student app
- Paying for marketing capacity, not teaching quality
Kartra vs. Ruzuku: Honest Comparison
A fair, side-by-side cost comparison focused on what matters most to course creators.
| Feature | Kartra | Ruzuku |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (with quizzes) | $229/mo (Growth) | $99/mo (all plans) |
| Cheapest plan | $59/mo (Essentials, 5% fee) | $99/mo (0% fees) |
| Transaction fees | 5% on Essentials / 0% on Starter+ | 0% on all plans |
| Course certificates | Growth ($229/mo) and above | All plans |
| Quizzes and surveys | Growth ($229/mo) and above | All plans |
| Email + SMS marketing | Built-in on all plans | Not included (use external) |
| Sales funnels | Advanced funnel builder + simulator | Not included |
| Webinars | Growth+ (300-1,000 attendees) | Native Zoom integration |
| Community / discussions | Lesson comments only (no forum) | Per-lesson discussion threads |
| Student mobile experience | Web-only, no mobile app | Responsive web, all devices |
| Student tech support | Not included | Included on all paid plans |
Choose Kartra if:
Marketing automation and sales funnels are your primary tools. Kartra excels at multi-step campaigns, email/SMS sequences, and converting leads through sophisticated funnels. If courses are one revenue stream inside a larger funnel-driven business, the all-in-one integration genuinely saves time.
Choose Ruzuku if:
Your primary business is teaching. You need quizzes, certificates, and discussions without paying $229/month to unlock them. You want zero transaction fees, a student experience built for learning, and predictable pricing that doesn't gate core course features behind higher tiers.
Kartra Pricing FAQ
How much does Kartra cost per month?
Kartra has four plans: Essentials at $59/month ($52 annual), Starter at $119/month ($99 annual), Growth at $229/month ($189 annual), and Professional at $549/month ($429 annual). Periodic promotions can reduce prices — check the current pricing page.
Does Kartra charge transaction fees?
The Essentials plan ($59/month) charges a 5% Kartra transaction fee on top of standard Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30). Starter, Growth, and Professional plans have 0% Kartra transaction fees.
Does Kartra have quizzes and certificates?
Yes, but only on the Growth plan ($229/month) and above. The Essentials and Starter plans do not include quizzes, surveys, or completion certificates. This is a significant gate if your courses require assessments.
Is Kartra good for course creators?
Kartra is designed for marketers, not educators. The course builder is functional for content delivery but the student experience is basic. Quizzes, certificates, and surveys require the $229/month Growth plan. There are no community/forum features, no mobile student app, and no learning paths. Dedicated course platforms offer better teaching tools at lower prices.
Does Kartra have a free trial?
Kartra offers a $1 trial for 14 days with full access to all features. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee after the trial period.
What is Kartra AI?
Kartra AI is a built-in AI assistant that helps write marketing copy, emails, and pages. Usage is limited by plan: 30 uses on Essentials, 100 on Starter, and 500 on Professional. It is marketing-focused, not specifically designed for course content creation.