The End of an Era: Why Zenler's Free Plan Changes Actually Signal Better Things Ahead

This only affects current FREE Plan Users NOT Pro or Premium Members for you nothing changes.

You know that feeling when you hear news that makes your stomach drop a little?, That's probably what many Zenler users felt when they heard about the upcoming changes to the free plan. After six years of offering what was honestly one of the most generous free plans in the online course industry, Zenler is making some big moves. But here's the thing – after diving deep into what's actually happening, I think this might be the best thing that could happen to serious course creators.

Let me walk you through what's really going on, why these changes are happening, and – most importantly – why this could be exactly what you need to finally stop planning and start earning.

Message from the Founder of Zenler Rakesh

FREE Users: Mark July 1st on Your Calendar!

July 1st is an important date for FREE users - we're launching a special opportunity to help you establish your business foundation!

Here's what you need to do:

Visit Register for the Accelerator Program, specifically designed for free users like you
On July 1st, watch for a popup in your free account admin dashboard
Sign up through that popup to unlock 60 days of FREE access to all pro features

This is your chance to kickstart your journey to success! Check out our preview video to see exactly what you can expect from this exclusive opportunity.

Don't miss out - this limited-time offer is designed to give you the tools and features you need to take your business to the next level.

Your Path to Success in 3 Simple Steps:

Step 1: Register for the Accelerator Program
Step 2: July 1st - Unlock 60 days of Pro access use popup in your admin dashboard (cancel anytime - no commitment)
Step 3: Achieve Your Success Goals!

It's that straightforward - three easy steps to transform your business and reach your potential.

Register for the Accelerator Program for your Live Journey to success

The Uncomfortable Truth About Free Plans

Let's start with something most platforms won't tell you: free plans often do more harm than good. I know, I know – that sounds counterintuitive. But stick with me here.

Zenler's team discovered something fascinating (and slightly heartbreaking) when they analyzed their user data. Most free plan users weren't actually selling courses. They were stuck in what they call "preparation mode" – endlessly uploading content, organizing materials, tweaking designs, but never actually launching anything.

Sound familiar?

It's like having a gym membership you never use, or buying all the ingredients for a recipe but never actually cooking the meal. When everything is free, there's no urgency, no commitment, and frankly, no real consequence for procrastination.

The psychology behind this is pretty simple: without any skin in the game, it's easy to keep pushing that launch date further and further into the future. "I'll just upload one more video," becomes "I need to reorganize everything," which turns into "Maybe I should completely redo my course structure."

Meanwhile, Zenler was hemorrhaging money on infrastructure costs – storage, bandwidth, maintenance – for users who weren't building actual businesses.

What Was Actually Wrong with the Free Plan?

Here's where it gets interesting. Zenler's free plan wasn't just limiting features – it was actively preventing users from building professional, scalable businesses. Think about it:

The 10% transaction fee alone was a killer. Every time you made a sale, Zenler took a cut. That might not seem like much when you're making your first $100, but when you're trying to scale to thousands in monthly revenue, that 10% becomes a serious chunk of change.

No custom domains meant your courses looked like hobby projects. Nothing screams "amateur hour" like a course URL with someone else's branding all over it. First impressions matter, especially when you're asking people to invest in your expertise.

Marketing was practically impossible with only 100 emails per month. That's barely enough to send a welcome sequence, let alone run proper nurture campaigns or promote launches.

No access to community features, live classes, or webinars meant you couldn't create the kind of engaging, interactive experiences that actually keep students coming back and referring others.

The brutal reality? The free plan was designed to get you started, not to help you succeed long-term. It was like giving someone a bicycle and expecting them to compete in Formula 1.

The New Reality: 60 Days to Prove Yourself

Starting July 1st, new users won't get a limited free plan – they'll get something much better. A full 60-day pro trial with zero restrictions, to be reduced to 14 or 30 day when we hit final price its not been fully decided yet.

Think about that for a second. Two full months with access to everything: custom domains, unlimited marketing emails, live classes, webinars, community features, professional branding – all the tools you actually need to build a real business.

This isn't just generous; it's smart. Instead of hobbling along with limited features, new users can experience what it's really like to run a professional online course business from day one.

Why This Change Makes Perfect Sense

I've been watching the online course space for years, and this move feels inevitable. The whole "freemium" model works great for software that scales infinitely (like email apps or note-taking tools), but it's terrible for resource-intensive platforms like course creators.

Every free user costs Zenler real money – server space, bandwidth, customer support. When most of those users aren't generating revenue (either for themselves or for Zenler through transaction fees), the math simply doesn't work.

But here's what I find fascinating: Zenler could have just quietly killed the free plan or made it completely useless. Instead, they're giving new users something better – full access to pro features for two months. That's confidence in their product.

The Timeline: What's Happening When

Before we dive deeper, let's get crystal clear on the timeline because timing is everything here:

From now till August 31st - Free Users can still use FREE

When we hit 31st August FREE users will have the chance to upgrade or decline, where there account will either be upgraded or deleted.

July 1st, 2025 - The New User Experience Begins

All new users get a 60-day Pro trial (not a limited free plan)
Full access to everything: communities, live classes, webinars, custom domains, unlimited marketing emails
Some restrictions during the trial period to stop abuse
This is when the "founding member" pricing officially ends for new users

August 31st, 2025 - Current Free Plans End

Existing free users have until this date to upgrade or lose access
Three full months of grace period from the announcement
Last chance to lock in current pricing before increases
All free plan features remain unchanged until this date

Right Now Through August 31st - The Lock-In Window

Current users can upgrade and secure "founding member" pricing permanently
Pro and Premium users remain completely unaffected
Price increases are coming for everyone who waits

Beyond August 31st - The New Reality

No more free plans, period
New pricing structure takes full effect
60-day trials become the only way to test the platform

September 1 - Pro plan price increases last chance to lock in grandfathering

October 1 - Final grandfathering deadline

What This Means for Current Free Users

If you're currently on Zenler's free plan, you've got until August 31st – three full months – to decide what you want to do. That's not a cash grab; that's a genuinely generous transition period.

Here's my advice: use this time wisely. Don't spend the next three months continuing to "prepare." Set a launch date and stick to it. Use the urgency of this deadline to finally stop procrastinating and start earning.

And here's something worth considering: if you upgrade now, you lock in the current "founding member" pricing before it increases. That's potentially hundreds of dollars in savings over the coming years.

The Bigger Picture: A Platform Getting Serious

What I really appreciate about this announcement is the transparency. The Zenler team could have dressed this up in corporate speak about "exciting new opportunities" and "enhanced user experiences." Instead, they laid out the honest economics: free plans were costing them money and preventing users from building real businesses.

This kind of honesty is rare in the tech world, and it tells me something important about where Zenler is headed. They're transitioning from being a platform that accommodates hobbyists to one that exclusively serves serious course creators.

That's not a bad thing – it's evolution.

Why Partners and Affiliates Should Be Excited

If you're promoting Zenler as an affiliate or partner, this change actually makes your job easier. Instead of trying to convince people to upgrade from a limited free plan (which was always a tough sell), you can now offer them 60 days of full pro access.

That's a much easier conversation: "Try everything for free for two months, and if it doesn't work for you, walk away with no hard feelings."

The conversion rates on this are going to be much higher because people will experience the full value proposition upfront, not a watered-down version that leaves them wondering what they're missing.

The Real Question: Are You Serious About This?

This change forces a fundamental question that every course creator needs to answer: Are you serious about building a business, or is this just a hobby?

If you're serious, then investing in proper tools isn't just smart – it's essential. You wouldn't try to run a restaurant with a hot plate and a card table, so why try to build a course business with amateur tools?

The 60-day trial gives you enough time to build, launch, and start generating revenue. If you can't make back the cost of a pro plan within two months of having access to professional tools, then maybe course creation isn't the right business model for you right now.

And that's okay. It's better to find that out sooner rather than later.

What Competitors Are Doing

Zenler's 60-day pro trial is genuinely unprecedented in this space. They're giving users more time to evaluate the platform than anyone else, with full access to all features.

That level of confidence in their product should tell you something.

So Now is the time to upgrade and reap the rewards!

My Take: This Is Long Overdue

Having watched dozens of course creators struggle with limited tools and wonder why they can't scale, I think this change is long overdue. The old free plan was creating a false economy – it felt free, but it was actually costing users money in lost opportunities and credibility.

The new model is more honest: pay for professional tools and build a professional business, or don't. There's no middle ground of pseudo-professionalism that ultimately serves no one well.

Action Steps for Different User Types

If you're currently on the free plan: Set a launch date before August 31st. Use the deadline as motivation to finally stop preparing and start earning. Consider upgrading now to lock in current pricing.

If you're thinking about starting: Wait until July 1st and take advantage of the 60-day pro trial. Use those two months to build and launch your first course. Don't waste time – treat it like the business opportunity it is.

If you're already on a paid plan: Relax. Nothing changes for you. You're locked in at your current pricing forever, and you'll continue getting new features as they're released.

The Bottom Line

Change is never comfortable, especially when it affects something you've been getting for free. But sometimes change is exactly what we need to stop settling for "good enough" and start building something remarkable.

Zenler's free plan changes aren't just about economics (though that's part of it). They're about creating an environment where serious course creators can thrive, where professional tools are available from day one, and where the platform's incentives align with helping users build successful businesses.

Will some people be upset about losing the free plan? Absolutely. But for course creators who are serious about building sustainable businesses, this change removes barriers and provides better tools from the start.

The question isn't whether these changes are good or bad – it's whether you're ready to take your course creation business seriously. If you are, then Zenler just gave you the best opportunity in the industry to prove it to yourself.

Sixty days with full pro features. No limitations. No excuses.

What will you build?

🚀 FREE USERS: YOUR SUCCESS STARTS JULY 1ST!

REGISTER NOW FOR THE ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

👆 CLICK HERE TO SECURE YOUR SPOT 👆

What Happens Next:
✅ July 1st: Special popup appears in your dashboard
✅ One click unlocks 60 days of Pro features FREE use Popup on the 1st July
✅ Start your journey to business success immediately

⏰ LIMITED TIME - DON'T WAIT!

REGISTER NOW!

Your business breakthrough is just one click away. July 1st is YOUR day!

ACT NOW - SPOTS ARE LIMITED!

The transition begins July 1st for new users, with current free plan users having until August 31st to make their decision. This represents one of the most significant shifts in the online course platform space in recent years, and it's worth paying attention to – whether you're a Zenler user or not.

Categories: : Zenler Feature Releases