How to create an online course for free

On this page

1. Step 1: Plan before you record
2. Step 2: Create the course
3. Step 3: Add modules and lectures
4. Step 4: Choose how students get access
5. Step 5: Record without overspending
6. Step 6: Sell the course
7. Step 7: Get your first students
8. Course limits by plan
9. Questions

Course platforms often charge a monthly fee before you have sold a single seat. Systeme.io's free plan includes one course, and the paid plans raise that to 5, 20, or unlimited courses. For a first course, the free plan lets you build, host, and sell it at no monthly cost.

Step 1: Plan before you record

Most unfinished courses fail at the outline, not the camera. Spend an hour here.

1. One audience, one result. "Homeowners who want to repaint a room themselves in a weekend" is a course. "Everything about painting" is not.
2. List the steps a beginner needs to reach that result, in order.
3. Group the steps into modules of three to six short lessons each.
4. Give each lesson one job. If a lesson teaches two things, split it.
5. Decide the format per lesson: a short video, a written page, a worksheet, or a mix.

A small course that gets finished is worth more to your students than a big one they abandon.

Step 2: Create the course

1. In Systeme.io, open Courses (Systeme.io's help center places it under Assets in the menu) and click Add a new course.
2. Enter the name and choose the domain it should live on.

Step 3: Add modules and lectures

1. Click Add module, name it, and save.
2. Inside the module, click Add lecture. Enter the lecture name, choose whether to allow comments, set an optional delay, and pick a page template.
3. Open each lecture and add your video, text, and downloads.

Systeme.io's help center points out that new lectures are saved as drafts. You must activate each lecture (and the course) or students will see a "No lectures yet" message.

Step 4: Choose how students get access

According to Systeme.io's help center, there are four access types:

Drip works well for courses with a natural pace, like a 30-day program. Full access suits reference courses people dip into.

Step 5: Record without overspending

• Audio matters more than video. A basic clip-on microphone and a quiet room beat an expensive camera.
• Use natural light from a window in front of you.
• Keep lessons short. Five to ten minutes is easier to watch and easier to re-record.
• Screen recordings work well for software or computer-based skills.

Step 6: Sell the course

1. Connect Stripe or PayPal under Settings → Payment gateways.
2. Create a Sell funnel. On the order form, choose Digital product, create a product, and add the course as its resource.
3. Create a price plan.
4. Test the purchase as a student: buy it, confirm you are enrolled, and check that the welcome email explains how to log in.

You can also give the course away free in exchange for an email address, which is a strong lead magnet for a service business.

Step 7: Get your first students

• Offer it first to people who already know you: past clients, your email list, your social followers.
• Ask early students for honest feedback and fix the confusing parts.
• Only publish testimonials that real students gave you permission to use.

Course limits by plan

Source: Systeme.io pricing FAQ, last updated April 2026.

Questions

Sources

Checked October 27, 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm on the provider's site.

• Systeme.io pricing and plan FAQ
• Systeme.io help: Create a course
• Systeme.io help: Course access types
• Systeme.io help: Fix "No lectures yet"
• Systeme.io help: Sell an online course
• Systeme.io online courses