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May 4, 2020
I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not the biggest ClickFunnels fan.
You know how you can really fall in love with a product due to excellent branding? Well, ClickFunnels’ ostentatious marketing materials did just the opposite to me.
But, of course, it isn’t just the branding that puts people off. It’s also the price, the poor customer service and the less than attractive design templates.
All of this urged me to look into ClickFunnels’ competitors to find out how they compare. In this article, you will find a number of great options, like GetResponse and Kartra, and I hope that one of them turns out to be the perfect ClickFunnels alternative for your business.
Table of Contents
For an all-in-one software, I’d go for either GetResponse and Kartra. If you’re looking for something more affordable then Builderall is a good option as it has a ton of features and even a free plan. If you’re on WordPress, check out Thrive Themes.
In order to take your business online and set up high-converting sales funnels, a ClickFunnels alternative needs to be robust and well-rounded.
It also needs to come with the following features and functionalities:
Landing page builder – so you can create a website (if you don’t already have one), plus all the landing pages you need for your campaigns. This should also allow you to use a custom domain.
Email marketing & automation – so you can send leads follow-up emails, add them to automation workflows and keep them up-to-date by sending them your newsletters.
Forms – so users can sign up to your newsletter, event, request your services, etc.
Payment processing – so you can process payments securely.
ClickFunnels is a website and sales funnel builder that promises to help businesses automate their sales process. It attracts entrepreneurs with its promise to make them millionaires and claims that its overpriced Platinum plan is worth more than a 4-year college education.
So there must be some advantages to using ClickFunnels, right?
Despite the positives listed above, many people are looking to abandon the tool or find an alternative from the get-go.
Here are some of the reasons why:
If you know anything about inbound marketing, you’ll most likely want to avoid ClickFunnels, which has adopted, and is heavily promoting, a style of marketing that feels almost coercive.
You find yourself getting trapped in one of their own sales funnels and signing up to the free-trial without having been shown any information on pricing, only to find your inbox full of emails from them – I think I was getting about 4 a week.
The types of sales funnels and marketing material they help you to build, unsurprisingly, follow this philosophy, which means that inexperienced marketers can easily fall into the trap and therefore come across as scammy or like a get rich quick venture.
GetResponse – All-in-one marketing solution with email marketing
Kartra – unlimited sales funnels
Builderall – Packed with features and affordable
Thrive Themes – For WordPress users
Ontraport – Excellent automations
Samcart – Conversion-based checkout pages
Unbounce – Beautifully designed, optimized landing pages
GetResponse is a very complete package. You can set up everything from social media campaigns to landing pages to email automations. You can even sell your products through GetResponse or integrate your account with your existing ecommerce.
GetResponse’s Conversion Funnel feature works really well because, visually, it’s very clean and helps to give a holistic view of your funnels and how well each part is working. It’s quick and easy to set up, with a good selection of modern-looking landing page and newsletter templates.
Where GetResponse beats ClickFunnels
Very complete all-in-one service! Unlike ClickFunnels, GetResponse allows you to host webinars and sell your products on its platform. You’ll also have unlimited landing pages and be able to run your social media campaigns directly from your GetResponse account.
Screenshots:
Where ClickFunnels wins
Price-wise, GetResponse is a good option if you’re starting out, however, because you pay based on your contact size, GetResponse can get very pricey as you grow. ClickFunnels’ Starter plan comes with unlimited contacts so at least you don’t need to worry about your monthly bill rising as your business gets bigger.
Plans and Pricing
Prices start from $49/month for 1,000 leads. Discounts are available on annual plans.
I really like Kartra because you have everything you need at your disposal: website and landing page builder, lead database (CRM), email marketing and automations, opt-in forms, ticketing and live chat, video hosting and checkout forms.
Kartra’s easy-to-use interface makes building sales funnels a relatively simple affair. It provides you with a handy checklist and divides everything up into manageable steps, which are all laid out in a visual workflow.
Where Kartra beats ClickFunnels
For about the same price as ClickFunnels, Kartra includes email marketing and unlimited sales funnels (ClickFunnels only includes 20).
Screenshots:
Where ClickFunnels wins
Like with GetResponse, Kartra’s pricing also depends on how many contacts you have, whereas ClickFunnels comes with unlimited contacts.
Plans and Pricing
Prices start from $99/month for 2,500 contacts. Discounts are available on annual plans.
Scrolling through Builderall’s lengthy feature list and it seems there’s nothing they don’t do. You can build your website, landing pages, all types of funnels, e-learning platforms, and much more. You also have a whole host of design tools available to you, including photo and video editing software.
All plans (even the free plan) include unlimited impressions and visitors, membership areas and subdomains. You’ll also have access to its drag and drop website builder and email marketing and automation features.
Where Builderall beats ClickFunnels
Builderall is much more affordable than ClickFunnels, and it has a free plan.
Builderall’s Premium plan, which comes with all features and unlimited subscribers is just $69.90/month.
Screenshots:
Where ClickFunnels wins
Some of Builderall’s features are a bit buggy or are missing key options, for example, there seems to be an issue showing the email and smart website templates. That said, ClickFunnels can also be a bit buggy – I think it comes with offering such a myriad of features instead of focusing on a few key ones and doing them really well.
Plans and Pricing
Builderall is the only sales funnel tool on this list to offer a forever free plan. Furthermore, once you start paying, you’ll see that its prices are very affordable and its plans very generous, feature-wise. The most complete package will cost you $69.90/month, but there are also cheaper plans available.
Thrive Themes is a solution for those using WordPress. It comes with conversion-focused themes and plugins, such as contact forms, a drag & drop website and landing page editor and quiz maker. It doesn’t come with email marketing but is compatible with most major email service providers.
Where Thrive Themes beats ClickFunnels
Thrive Themes is much more affordable than ClickFunnels, as you pay for what you need. Another advantage is that it offers over 330 modern-looking landing page templates that are in no way salesy or spammy.
Where ClickFunnels wins
Unfortunately, Thrive Themes doesn’t have a free trial, though it does come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It’s also not as complete a package as ClickFunnels and there’s no visual sales funnel builder.
Plans and Pricing
$30/month (paid quarterly) for access to all themes and plugins.
Ontraport, a California-based company, offers an all-in-one marketing software solution.
Complete with email marketing and automation, a built-in CRM, ecommerce, landing pages and membership sites, this tool is a solid ClickFunnels alternative.
Where Ontraport beats ClickFunnels
Unlike ClickFunnels, Ontraport comes with a never-ending list of free automation templates, meaning that you can get very specific and really personalize the buyer experience and the users’ journey. Automation is included on the Basic plan.
It also has a great selection of responsive landing page templates, which are easy to edit and A/B test.
Screenshots:
Where ClickFunnels wins
In order to benefit from all the features (i.e. membership sites and ecommerce), you’ll be looking at paying $147/month, which is quite a bit more expensive than ClickFunnels.
Plans and Pricing
Plans start at $79/month for 1,000 contacts and unlimited emails. The Plus plan costs $147/month for 2,500 contacts and includes ecommerce features and membership sites.
Samcart is all about checkout pages. It comes with 18 templates, which you can split test and edit using the drag & drop editor. PayPal and Stripe are used for payment processing. Samcart is great for upselling and coupons, which are often key aspects in sales funnels.
Where Samcart beats ClickFunnels
Samcart includes unlimited pages and products, even on its Launch plan ($49/month). ClickFunnels sets a limit at 100 pages and doesn’t include ecommerce or a website builder.
Screenshots:
Where ClickFunnels wins
Samcart doesn’t come with its own built-in CRM, instead, you‘ll need to integrate with a CRM software and that’s only possible on the expensive Scale plan, which costs $199/month.
Plans and Pricing
Prices start at $49/month for unlimited products and pages.
Unbounce is known for its attractive, high-converting landing pages. Though it doesn’t offer an all-in-one marketing solution, I thought it would be useful to include the tool in light of the fact that many are looking for an alternative to ClickFunnels’ unattractive landing page templates.
It also comes with pop-ups and sticky bars.
Where Unbounce beats ClickFunnels
Of course, Unbounce beats ClickFunnels when it comes to landing page designs. You’ll be able to choose between over 100 customizable, high-converting templates, and though traffic is limited, it is a generous allowance (500,000 unique visitors a month).
You can publish the landing pages straight to your own domain, and those on WordPress will find it very easy with the WP landing page plugin.
Some templates have special effects such as video backgrounds, parallax and lightboxes, which is pretty cool.
Screenshots:
Where ClickFunnels wins
For the same price, ClickFunnels will give you more in the way of features. Unbounce doesn’t include a built-in CRM or webinars, for example.
Plans and Pricing
Prices start at $99/month for 75 landing pages and 500,000 monthly unique visitors.
As you can see, there are many great ClickFunnels alternatives to choose from. Some are more complete than others, but then again, you might not need all those features.
If you need email marketing and automation then GetResponse is by far the best choice, after all, it is principally an email service provider.
If you’re on WordPress and are looking for well-designed, conversion-based landing pages then Thrive Themes could be a good option for you. If it’s just landing pages you’re after, make sure to check out these free landing page builders first.
Those looking for a low-cost solution should take a look at Builderall.
Are you using any of these ClickFunnels alternatives? Do you know of any others? Let us know in the comments below.
1 Apr 2020
