Creating an online business is difficult. Though there are more than four billion people using the internet in 2020, there are also hundreds of thousands of retailers trying to get their products sold. There is great potential online, but also a massive amount of competition.
That is where sales and marketing software platforms come in. These programs help businesses create and maintain successful online retail businesses.
ClickFunnels is one of the most recognizable of these programs, but it’s not right for everyone. Are you looking for an alternative to ClickFunnels for your startup or small business? Read on for seven amazing options to choose from!
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What Is ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is a powerful website building tool. It has a wide range of tools designed to help you connect with consumers and make sales.
With ClickFunnels, businesses can build a high-quality landing page intended to maximize sales. The software also has multiple customer contact options and proven upselling tools.
What’s so Good About ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is one of the first sales funnels programs to come on the market, and it does have a lot of powerful tools. Let’s take a look at a few:
Easy Drag-and-Drop Website Builder
The page builder on ClickFunnels is easy to use and requires no knowledge of coding on your part. This allows you to get your website up and running quickly, with the pages that you need to start selling.
Top-Notch Marketing Funnels
One of the biggest benefits of ClickFunnels is its array of marketing funnel tools. Here are just a few big ones:
- Opt-in Funnels: Collect email addresses from site visitors
- Webinar Funnels: Easily register people for your webinar
- Sales Funnels: Channel visitors into buying your product
Actionetics
Actionetics is actually a built-in “follow-up funnel” within ClickFunnels. With options for simple or “smart” lists, Actionetics lets you build groups of customers that need follow-up contact. Then you can choose to send them an email, text, or direct mail. All of this can be smoothly automated.
Built-In Affiliate Program – Backpack
Affiliate web traffic is the most effective traffic there is for your business. ClickFunnels has a tool that allows you to easily add affiliate programs to your site, driving the right traffic to your pages.
Customizable Forms
Need to collect particular information from your clients? You can customize forms to gather the inputs that you need. This allows you to get the right information without having to sift through things you don’t need.
Customer Contact Tools
ClickFunnels offers powerful tools to stay connected with your customers. You can use email, text message, direct mail, and more.
ClickFunnels Sounds Good, Why Use Something Different?
It does sound good, but there are some definite cons to using ClickFunnels.
First, it is expensive. After a 14-day free trial, pricing starts at $97 a month, and that’s not even for the full package. That can cost up to $297 a month!
Also, the software is more powerful than many companies need. Small or single-proprietor businesses won’t be poised to make use of many of the tools that the software has. Many business owners without a dedicated marketer will feel overwhelmed by all of the options ClickFunnels offers.
There are some other limitations as well. ClickFunnels limits you on the number of funnels you can create. Also, it does not have a robust or 24-hour client support department.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you will lose all the data you’ve collected when you close your ClickFunnels account. Though you can export some client information, ClickFunnels keeps the rest—and if you reactivate, it’s possible you won’t be able to access it all again.
With these downsides, it is worth checking out some alternatives to ClickFunnels. Though many other pieces of software may work, we’ve collected the seven top alternatives.
Your 7 Best Options for an Alternative to ClickFunnels
Creating a website is one of the most important aspects of your small business. It can be hard to find the right tools though.
You can’t go far on the internet without finding a software platform that claims to outperform ClickFunnels. We’ve reviewed many of them and come up with this list of seven alternatives that might be the right option for your business.
1. Ontraport
Ontraport is actually one of the software platforms geared towards serving larger firms. Its selling point is a high degree of automation, which might be overwhelming for smaller firms who can’t monitor everything as it should be. However, Ontraport is also proven to help online businesses succeed.
Ontraport does offer many handy tools, such as those for launching campaigns, to ones that analyze sales and help you stay on top of finances. It is meant to take over the whole show and make it as automated as possible.
Ontraport also offers four pricing plans. These range from the Basic plan at $79 a month to the Enterprise option of $497 a month. You can also opt for a custom pricing plan, so you’re getting just the tools that your business needs.
Why it’s a great option: If your larger firm needs a one-stop-shop, Ontraport might be the choice for you.
2. Samcart
Samcart is a close competitor of ClickFunnels for a few reasons, but mainly because it serves smaller businesses with right-sized tools. It is both heavy on templates but versatile enough to customize to your needs.
One thing you’re not going to get is a deal. The basic Samcart price point is $99 a month, though its full version is cheaper than ChickFunnel, at $199 a month.
Samcart does offer a sales funnel option for your products page. It works best for smaller sellers since it is only one page. If you’re looking for a catalog-style selling funnel, you probably want to skip Samcart.
An excellent facet of Samcart is its seamless integration with other platforms. It has an easy interface with shopping cart and payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, and credit card companies. It also integrates with management tools like Zapier, HubSpot, Drip and more.
In addition, Samcart’s gateway with WordPress is beyond compare. Since many small businesses use this website template, it is a great choice for your sales pages.
Finally, Samcart offers membership sites where you can manage subscriptions and membership dues.
Why it’s a great option: Samcart offers all the tools that small businesses need without being overwhelming.
3. Instapage
This powerful software option provides some interesting and unique features that put it near the top of our list. Instapage is geared towards firms that want a more sophisticated landing page but who don’t want to build it from scratch. Its user interface is touted as being versatile and easy to use.
Instapage also offers its Heatmap tool, which allows you to track users’ activity when they are on your page. This helps you respond to actual user data in order to make your landing page the best it can be.
Instapage claims a 22% conversion rate for its users, which is fairly good. It also allows members to create sales funnels and receive up to 200,000 page visits per month.
The drag-and-drop page editor has 200 templates and 5,000 different fonts to choose from, ensuring your page will be unique without having to be coded.
Finally, Instapage has three tiers of pricing which start at $69 a month and go up to $203 a month for full access.
Why it’s a great option: Instapage provides beautiful landing pages with most features that users need in an easy-to-use platform.
4. Keap
Keap, formerly InfusionSoft, is geared towards mid-size companies that might want more features than smaller businesses.
Keap offers an intuitive landing page builder that you can customize to your needs. This lets you design the pages that will best showcase your products.
Two things that really set Keap apart from the other ClickFunnels alternatives are its customer relationship management tools and email marketing automation. These robust features let you gather and maintain customer data, both for creating better sales pitches and reaching out for marketing. These tools also provide sales pipeline management that can’t be beaten.
While Keap’s price tag can rise a little higher than ClickFunnels, it does allow you to maintain mailing lists of up to 10,000 entries and 50,000 emails. The software is aiming at companies that have some money and time to spend on their marketing software.
Why it’s a great option: For mid-size companies and above, Keap provides a one-stop solution for sales and marketing.
5. Simvoly
Simvoly’s claim to fame is the option that it offers companies to act as their white-label site. If you choose this option, your pages will be hosted on Simvoly’s pages with all of your branding and products. This is a great timesaver for many companies.
This software platform also offers free website hosting and a template-based page builder. You can create funnels and commerce pages with no transaction fees.
Like ClickFunnels, Simvoly also allows you to employ upsell and down-sell options that can help boost sales, as well as a one-click checkout option to reduce sales friction.
One amazing thing about Simvoly is its price point. For small companies that only need one website, the service costs $12 a month. You’ll pay more for extra features, but the highest price is $59 a month for full access.
Why it’s a great option: Simvoly provides an excellent, cost-effective way to host your consumer site, even if you’re a little guy.
6. LeadPages
LeadPages presents more of a site-building tool than a sales funnel software solution. You can create sales funnels using LeadPages, but it might be a little more labor-intensive than on ClickFunnels. However, their page-building tools are among the best, offering templates as well as a fully customizable option.
Another unique aspect of LeadPages is its webinar hosting function. It allows users to broadcast webinars which will hopefully convert your visitors into buyers. The often-advertised webinars on Facebook are one example of this kind of sales tool.
Like most other sales pipeline software platforms, LeadPages integrates with payment processing sites, shopping carts, and email providers. You can also sign up for the 14-day trial in order to test out its features.
Unfortunately, the A/B testing option and online sales tools only come with the full-price plan at $79 a month. It still compares well with ClickFunnel’s price point, but for smaller businesses, that might still be out of reach.
Why it’s a great option: LeadPages allows you to easily create some of the most elegant and effective landing pages around.
7. Unbounce
If you’re looking to create beautiful landing pages quickly, Unbounce is your best bet. With 100 fully customizable templates, this software focuses on making your pages look their best.
While the platform is focused on creating pages, it also does offer some helpful sales tools. Its Convertables tools allow you to optimize your pages for the right targets. Unbounce also provides unlimited A/B testing and tools for increasing your conversion rate.
As with many other platforms, Unbounce integrates with your email provider. Additionally, you can interface with analytics tools including Zapier and HubSpot.
While Unbounce starts at $99 a month, its most powerful package, Enterprise level, starts at $499. One amazing selling point is Unbounce’s Launch Specialist and Success Manager features.
Why it’s a great option: With Unbounce, you’re getting some of the top pros in the business.
How to Choose the Right Platform
With so many options to choose from, and hundreds of dollars to spend, how can you make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck? Which alternative to ClickFunnels is right for you?
We can help. Check out the resources on my page for guidance on getting started in your online business. From digital marketing to kick-starting sales, there’s all you need to get started!
