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by Karl

Kartra vs ClickFunnels 2023 (Decide in 5 Minutes or Less)

Home / Learning / Kartra vs ClickFunnels 2023 (Decide in 5 Minutes or Less)

Kartra vs ClickFunnels 2023 (Decide in 5 Minutes or Less)

Home / Learning / Kartra vs ClickFunnels 2023 (Decide in 5 Minutes or Less)
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Welcome to my Kartra vs. ClickFunnels review.

I got started using and promoting ClickFunnels after reading DotCom secrets back in 2015 – it was life changing stuff.

Since then, I’ve moved on to different online business models like coaching, SEO courses, consulting packages, and membership sites – all with Kartra’s unique all-in-one platform.

I’ve used both of these tools for my own online business as well as for clients. In this review, I’ll cover what each tool does well, pros and cons, who each is for, and when to get one or the other.

Then, I’ll give you a peek inside the most important features, so you can see firsthand how they work. If you're already leaning towards one or the other, you can check out my full Clickfunnels review or the in-depth Kartra guide here.

Don’t worry, making the Kartra vs. ClickFunnels choice is super easy. You just need to know what each tool is for and when to get it.

Ready? Let’s get to it.

Kartra vs. ClickFunnels: Quick Overview

What is Kartra?

The leading all-in-one platform for businesses. Kartra offers marketing, web pages, shopping cart, affiliate management, video hosting, CRM, and analytics for low price

  • Save Time and Money: Everything in one place. No need for multiple tools, subscriptions, or support teams
  • Beginner-friendly: Web page, email templates, and sales funnel templates. Plus done-for-you campaigns, training, drag-and-drop builder, simple membership site features
  • Affordable: Every tool your business needs starting from $99

What is ClickFunnels?

The world’s leading sales funnel builder and marketing automation tool, and a great choice for online entrepreneurs who want the best marketing education

  • #1 Funnel Builder: The best sales funnels templates, features, and training – all from the best minds in the marketing world
  • Better for Sales: Great funnels, customizations, add-ons, webinars, and upsells for increasing sales 100% hands off
  • Generous Affiliate Program: Up to 40% recurring commissions for referrals

What’s the Difference Between Kartra and ClickFunnels?

Kartra is an all-in-one marketing software that combines everything an online business needs under one roof. Including:

  • Shopping cart
  • Landing, checkout, and sales pages
  • Forms
  • Customer relationship management
  • Email marketing
  • Visual builder for email sequences
  • Marketing funnels
  • Helpdesk
  • Videos
  • Split testing

It was founded with the goal of eliminating all the headaches of running online businesses and to bring everything into one interconnected ecosystem. It eliminates all of your payment plans, 3rd-party integrations, and separate tools and replaces them with one platform that does everything.

It’s the world’s most convenient, beginner-friendly, and simple way to start, grow, and manage a digital product or service business.

ClickFunnels is the world’s most popular sales funnel creator. Think of it like a profit accelerator that increases sales through automated funnels, advanced marketing training, and a thriving community of like minded entrepreneurs.

It also includes (you may need 3rd-party tools):

  • Payments
  • Email marketing
  • Affiliates
  • Membership sites
  • Automations
  • Page editor 

Is that making sense? One is a business management platform with everything you need in one place, and the other is primarily complete sales funnel software.

Who is Kartra For?

Kartra is for any digital product or service business that wants an easy, affordable, and all-in-one solution with all the features for one low price. It’s especially valuable for:

  • Course sellers
  • Consultants
  • Coaches
  • Gyms and other membership ventures
  • Customers on a budget
  • Info product businesses
  • Small business with 2,500 leads or less

You get everything you need to start, grow, and manage a business for $99 per month. ClickFunnels costs $297 per month for similar functionality (and has big jumps between pricing plans).

Who is ClickFunnels For?

ClickFunnels is for eCommerce companies, advanced marketers, or any other business that wants to create high-converting sales funnels and is happy with their current “stack”.

If you’ve already got a thriving business of your own, no need to move everything to Kartra. Just make anything from advanced to simple sales funnels with ClickFunnels and count your riches.

What Does Karta Do Better Than ClickFunnels?

Both Kartra and ClickFunnels do similar things… but Kartra does everything that ClickFunnels does, and a whole lot more that ClickFunnels can’t do. 

Kartra is a business platform with a sales funnel builder. ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder that tried to become a business management platform and kinda got lost along the way. 

That doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just not the same type of tool. The good news is that making the choice between Kartra vs. ClickFunnels is really easy when you see what each does well compared to the other.

1. Kartra Runs Your Business on the Cheap

Kartra’s main goal is to simplify everything and make running your business stress-free. And it’s pretty damn good at it. Everything you need to make your first sale is available under one roof and comes in every package.

ClickFunnels hides a few key features – for example, affiliates – in their Platinum plan ($297 per month).

So that’s almost $200 MORE just to get THE SAME features. Behold, the vicious cycle of solopreneuring: you can’t make many sales without upgrading, but you can’t upgrade because you aren’t making many sales.

2. Kartra Lets You Science the S*** Out of Your Website

Kartra Lets You Science the shit out of your website

Kartra’s built-in analytics and split testing makes it way easier to record, analyze, and understand data, then make actionable changes directly within your ecosystem to improve profitability.

Unlike ClickFunnels, which requires 3rd-party integrations, Kartra’s native analytics records every click, sign up, sale, employee, video, email, and interaction automatically without extra plugins. Then, it visualizes them in easy-to-understand metrics. If you understand something, you can fix it – or destroy it if need be.

You’ll know which emails convert the best at which times. Which videos resonate with the right audience. Which ads, sales pages, and pop ups convert best right down to formatting and time. That way, you can double down on what works and save money on what doesn’t.

3. Most of Kartra’s Features Are Just Better

Want to guess where the nickname GlitchFunnels comes from?

ClickFunnels is a tool for sales funnels built by sales funnel experts. 

Their brain trust cares about two things: killer sales funnels and growing their cult brand via their affiliate network (way more on that below). They don’t put nearly as much brain juice (sounds disgusting) into other things.

That means any non-sales funnel features like email, page builder, membership sites, and all that jazz just work better. 

For example, Kartra’s page templates are better and the builder actually loads fast WITHOUT elements flying across the page or disappearing into the Bermuda Triangle. So you can create landing pages easily without slamming your laptop.

And you can’t even track member progress with your membership site (s). That basically defeats the purpose of even having one.

I know someone who outright used a 3rd-party membership plugin that he had to duct tape with Zapier just to quit using it.

No bueno.

4. Kartra Improves Customer Service and Efficiency

Kartra’s native HelpDesks eliminates FreshDesks, Support Ninja, or ZenDesk. It does pretty much all the same things those platforms do WITHOUT an extra subscription or integration. 

And it’s connected directly to your analytics, so you can see rep performance or busy times. 50 negative reviews for “Illya” in Kiev? Sorry, you’re fired.

So you could have a team on watch 24/7, which has proven to reduce returns and increase repeat customers. Again – your business. One roof. All there.  

With ClickFunnels, you’d have to integrate ZenDesk ($49 – $99 per month) and break out the duct tape.

What Does ClickFunnels Do Better Than Kartra?

What does ClickFunnels do well?

IT SELLS.

It’s the world’s most popular funnel builder for a reason. If you want a complete sales funnel only, choose ClickFunnels.

Kartra is like your entire business in one HQ… 

ClickFunnels is like having the world’s best sales team working around the clock 24/7, 365 without you ever having to check in to see if they’re goofing off on social media. 

1. It Opens You up to More Customers

ClickFunnels Shopping Cart opens up a whole new world of possibilities compared to Kartra. Kartra limits you to pretty much Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net.

ClickFunnels integrates with Stripe and PayPal, PLUS:

  • Apple/Android Pay
  • EasyPayDirect
  • Keap
  • NMI
  • Recurly

And 3rd-party friends like ClickBank and WarriorPlus, which makes it super easy to sell a product from that network (and make more money).

2. High-Converting Funnels in 10 Minutes or Less

ClickFunnels - Choose goal

ClickFunnels is the funnel builder to end all sales funnel builders. Imagine if the creator of the sales funnel concept gave you all his knowledge and tools – that’s what ClickFunnels is. What I’m saying is that every other funnel builder out there is a second hand copy of ClickFunnels.

They have more templates, automations, and options than anyone, yet it’s so easy you can make a profitable funnel in 10 minutes or less. Just choose your goal (see above), then choose a type:

ClickFunnels - Choose type

And then choose a Brunson brainchild template for each step of the funnel:

ClickFunnels - choose a Brunson brainchild template for each step of the funnel

Boom, that’s it. Seriously, you’re done. When you add in the upsells, downsells, cross sells, automations, webinars, and more payment options in the shopping cart, this is a clear win for ClickFunnels.

3. Webinars 

Webinars are a huge conversion booster, and one of the main reasons my consulting business took off. I just talk about SEO mistakes for an hour, record it, and people hand over their emails for free advice. 

ClickFunnels built-in webinars are a big advantage over Kartra. With Kartra, you can still host videos, which in essence could be webinars. But ClickFunnels has the webinar function built in with funnel templates, webinar templates, and pre-recorded webinar scheduling at your fingertips naturally.

4. You Can Get Rich off Selling ClickFunnels to Others (the Affiliate Program)

The #1 rule of ClickFunnels is you do talk about ClickFunnels” – Tyler Durden after leaving Fight Club to join ClickFunnels

The ClickFunnels affiliate program is a cult-like, borderline religious army of ravenous ClickFunnelers all chasing their dream car. The company encourages users to recruit others and pays up to 40% MONTHLY recurring commissions – a stark raving mad percentage in today’s world. Plus, you can earn $100 every time someone signs up for a core offer like the One Funnel Away challenge.

Theoretically, all you have to do is signup for ClickFunnels, and you can make money selling ClickFunnels to others rather than actually using it (sounds like an MLM – it’s not).

If you’re a good marketer that wants to open new, high-earning revenue streams, ClickFunnels is 100% for you. I know people making 20%-30% of their income or more just from bringing in new recruits.

Here are some quick details…

All affiliates can earn up to 40% monthly commission on front-end deals, including:

  • DotCom Secrets
  • Expert Secrets
  • Traffic Secrets

You can also earn $100 per sale of:

  • One Funnel Away (a personal challenge where you build a profitable funnel in 30 days)
  • 30 Days (a book about entrepreneurs achieving dreams – not my bowl of oats with protein powder)

Then, you get up to 40% monthly commission on new signups for ClickFunnels Subscriptions (up to $118/mo for Platinum Plan).

ClickFunnels vs. Kartra: Pricing

Both ClickFunnels and Kartra have fair pricing, but let me give you the bottom line right now:

Kartra does everything ClickFunnels AND MORE for 3x LESS.

You have to pay $297 per month to get the same features that Kartra offers for $99. If you’re on a budget, choose Kartra.

Kartra Silver ($199 per month) is PLENTY for most businesses and services online, and it’s $100 per month less than ClickFunnels. Plus it comes with HelpDesks, Calendar, video hosting, and built-in analytics. 

It’s also scalable as hell. As you grow, Kartra grows with you. You can start at $99, then when you get more leads and sales, scale up gently to $199, then $299, etc. ClickFunnels is basically like “oh, you’ve outgrown our $297 plan? Cool, PAY $2,500”.

So, like I said before, ClickFunnels is better if you want to create sales funnels, and Kartra is better if you want to create a business.

Kartra Pricing

Kartra offers 4 pricing tiers:

Starter ($99):

  • 12,500 leads
  • 1 custom domain
  • 15,000 emails
  • 50 GB bandwidth
  • 100 pages
  • 2 membership sites
  • 1 helpdesk

Silver ($199)

  • 12,500 leads
  • 3 custom domains
  • Unlimited everything: emails, bandwidth, pages, memberships, etc
  • Kartra Agency (see features breakdown)

Gold ($299):

  • 25,000 leads
  • 5 custom domains
  • Unlimited everything
  • Kartra Agency

Platinum ($499):

  • 50,000 leads
  • 10 custom domains
  • Unlimited everything
  • Kartra agency

You can click here for a 14-day trial, too.

ClickFunnels Pricing

ClickFunnels pricing is a bit like my first bowl of Thai boat noodles with pig’s blood: tough to swallow.

It tastes nice at the beginning…until reality sets in. All the sudden your eyes are red and you regret being there in the first place.

Look:

ClickFunnels’ $97 plan looks nice and all, but just like that 5-alarm pig’s blood noodle – it does nothing but leave a bad taste in your mouth. 

The main reason is you don’t get follow-up funnels (previously Actionetics). This name REEKS of online marketing doublespeak if you ask me. What they really mean by follow-up funnels is “email marketing”. They just don’t want to say they don’t offer email marketing on their entry-level plan.

For $97, you can build an email list, but you can’t market anything to that list on the back-end unless you pay $297. So what’s the point of even building the list in the first place?

So, if you’re serious about your biz, you’ll need to pay $297 per month. Not fun.

Click Funnels Basic ($97)

  • Funnel sharing 
  • 20 funnels
  • 100 pages
  • 1 sub user
  • 3 payment gateways
  • 3 domains
  • Basic support
  • Basic FunnelFlix (training)

Platinum ($297)

  • Funnel sharing
  • Unlimited funnels
  • Unlimited pages
  • 3 sub users
  • 9 payment gateways
  • 9 domains
  • Priority support
  • Additional FunnelFlix

Two Comma Club ($2,497)

Everything in Platinum plus:

  • 10 sub users
  • 27 payment gateways
  • 27 domains
  • VIP phone support
  • Tons of extra training

Kartra vs. ClickFunnels: Features Breakdown

Common Features of Kartra and ClickFunnels

Page Builder 

Seriously, y’all are so lucky going into business in 2021. Back in 2011, I duct taped my WordPress site to MailChimp and god knows what else to sell products.

Now, pretty much every tool lets you build a stunning page in minutes with zero coding experience.

They are pretty much the same here with a few slight differences.

You can use both Kartra and ClickFunnels to build a:

  • Sales page
  • Landing page
  • Login page
  • Marketing pages
  • Registration pages

They just work a bit differently. As you’ll see.

Kartra Pages

Smooth, simple, just the right mix of “does enough without being overwhelming” -Kartra Pages is a beginner-friendly, drag-and-drop page builder.

It’s got everything you need like templates, sections, forms, pop ups, and pre-built sections like testimonials or pricing tables.

It’s not as good as other builders, but it makes up for that in simplicity, speed, and UX.

Just select the columns (section) on the left and edit the component (text, embed video links, button, accordion, etc.).

Personally, I like how simple it is. If I want to add a video (I love Kartra’s video hosting by the way), just select a placeholder video from the left menu, drag it onto the page, and click the pencil to edit. Then I just upload the video and VOILA.

ClickFunnels Etison Editor

Good ole Russ’ page editor actually offers more customization options than Kartra’s, and it offers more templates to build corresponding landing pages for funnels – even down to the industry/page goal level.

Unlike Kartra’s very simple “add from the left” style, ClickFunnels uses a task-based approach. Like this:

 ClickFunnels uses a task-based approach - step 1

Then you edit the section by clicking on settings:

 ClickFunnels uses a task-based approach - step 2

Then, you can basically do whatever you want: add columns, borders, elements, text, etc. See images below:

 ClickFunnels uses a task-based approach - step 3

Here are some elements:

Some elements of ClickFunnels Etison Editor

Eventually, you can mold that blank landing page into something stunning. You can actually do more than Kartra, but the extra options do slow it down a tad and result in a few glitches.

Verdict

Both builders are simple, have great templates, and require 0 coding knowledge. It’s almost a wash, but I have to give a slight nod to Kartra. 

I’ve been GlitchFunneled too many times in my life. As Russell and Co. have doubled down on their affiliate program and FunnelFlix training, a few features are getting neglected – Edison Editor is one of them.

Sales Funnels and Campaigns

ClickFunnels's Sales Funnel

ClickFunnels talks a big game about their sales funnels. They’ve even got funnels in the name. But are their funnels really that much better? After all, this is the bread and butter of all online marketing.

Here’s what you get with both:

  • Drag-and-drop editor
  • Templates
  • Email marketing (more on that later)
  • Importing online marketing funnel campaigns from a marketplace

Let’s see the differences:

Kartra Funnels and Campaigns

Kartra’s dead simple funnel builder is very straightforward: drag-and-drop, if -> then logic (if someone abandons cart, send THIS email), and simple “done-for-you” campaigns.

You just choose a campaign, tweak it to fit your branding and business, and you’ve got a high converting funnel ready to go. And every once in a while they come out with some goal-specific campaigns. Need to sell something with a video? Just choose the video campaign and tweak each step to fit your biz. 

Some of my favorites are:

  • Tripwire
  • Squeeze page
  • VSL
  • Sales letter campaign
  • Essential elements like pages, emails, thank you pages, etc.
ClickFunnels Funnel Builder
ClickFunnels's Funnel Builder

ClickFunnels funnel builder is truly next level. They have high-converting templates based on business goals and industry. They even have a ClickFunnels Cookbook where they guide you step-by-step through creating a done-for-you funnel.

Choose your industry, type of funnel, and goal, and you’ll be given template suggestions (both free and paid). You can also import an existing sales funnel from ClickFunnel’s elite marketplace. Why build your own when you can have a pre-made one that’s proven to work?

ClickFunnels Cookbook

It really doesn’t get any easier than this.

And it’s also logical, with everything done in real-world sequential order. You start with the opt-in page and end with the thank you page.

There are tons of templates to choose from and everything looks like it was organized by the German government on Ritalin. Things look nice.

BONUS – ClickFunnels also has a webinar funnel built right in, so hosting an evergreen webinar is super easy. With Kartra, you’d need to integrate WebinarJam.

Verdict

Kartra’s campaign builder is solid, but ClickFunnels takes the funnel cake here. Better templates and simpler funnel building are just too hard to compete with.

Membership Sites

Kartra's Membership Sites

If you’re thinking about making a membership site, there’s no competition here.

Get Kartra.

Kartra Memberships is built directly into the platform, which gives you a ton more features that all work seamlessly in one ecosystem. 

ClickFunnels takes a more “eh, IDK. You figure it out” approach.

Both platforms come with standard features like:

  • Membership tiers
  • Drip content
  • Drag-and-drop builder
  • Restricting content
  • Membership site pages
  • Automated member management

But this round is a total knockout for Kartra. 

Here’s what you get built directly into Karta that you can’t get with ClickFunnels:

  • Tracking user progress
  • Comment moderation
  • Self-hosting videos (with ClickFunnels, you’d need Vimeo)
  • Quizzes and surveys
  • Analytics (user drop off, retention, average progression)
  • Run multiple membership sites from one dash

Just go to My Memberships, create levels, add content, and you’re halfway there.

In ClickFunnels, there’s no separate feature for it. You basically have to just duct tape one together and get extra plugins for videos and analytics. That includes making a membership funnel (they do have one though!), making pages, and configuring options separately.

Verdict

No contest here. You can’t even track member progress with ClickFunnels. That almost defeats the purpose of a membership site.

Email Marketing

You know the drill by now. Lets see what they both share:

  • Email personalization
  • Sequence building
  • Templates
  • Tracking 
  • Segmentation
  • Lead scoring
  • SMS

Both platforms let you hit warm leads with the right message at the right time based on personal data that may or may not have been obtained in a questionable manner (I plead the 5th…).

The difference is that one does it better than the other and at a more reasonable price.

Kartra Mail

Same old song and dance here: Kartra Mail is a simple, intuitive mail tool that’s built right into the platform and connected to the Kartra ecosystem for better functionality and analytics.

Everything works off lists and tags, and you build out simple (or complex if need be) “if-then” automations to send automated follow ups based on user information and behavior.

When you capture a lead, they’re automatically added to a predetermined list, or you can add them manually to a list if you’re feeling frisky. Just enter in all the fields you see above.

From there, the actions you can take with those lists are broadcasts, sequences, and automations. 

This is where Kartra starts throwing some HAYMAKERS. The visual sequence builder is straight out of a super expensive email tool like Aweber:

I’m a very visual thinker/learner. So, it’s awesome to be able to just drag elements on the screen and see where they fit visually. You can build anything from super simple sequences to sequences with subsequences linked to other sequences (in sequential order).

For me, I have a few different simple sequences. For example, when someone signs up via an opt in form or when they purchase a consulting package.

Kartra makes this super easy. You just choose your starting point:

Then you can set your rules. Like “did they buy my package”:

If they did, it splits down the true road. If not, false.

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels Actionetics, now called follow-up funnels, is also a super powerful marketing tool. 

It lets you send unlimited newsletters, broadcasts, follow ups, and any other kind of email imaginable, and it’s all based on Smart Lists (segments) and tags.

One key difference is that ClickFunnels integrates smoothly with 40+ other email tools – which actually could be a bad thing if you aren’t a fan of duct tape, monthly subscriptions, and all the other integration headaches that come with it. It could also be a superpower if you have a massive list and know what you’re doing.

Verdict

Kartra wins again here for a few key reasons:

  • Visual builder: Sequences have never been easier than with this builder. You really can’t screw it up.
  • Behavior-based automations: Kartra digs a level deeper than ClickFunnels with behavioral tagging. Say, someone hasn’t opened my email, I can send them a specific “hey this offer is even better!” email. Or, if they don’t open anything in a year, they’re automatically unsubscribed. The future is here.
  • Pricing: Kartra Mail is included in the $99 per month plan. ClickFunnels email costs $297. That's too much for a small list.

Shopping Cart

Above, I gave the slight edge to ClickFunnels for a few reasons. Let me elaborate a bit on that here.

Personally, I prefer Kartra since it’s a lot simpler and connected to every other part of my business. However, I see why ClickFunnels is the better shopping cart tool.

Here are the key differences:

Kartra Checkout

Kartra Checkout gives you everything you need to sell online in one place, including:

  • Payment processing: Stripe, PayPal, BrainTree, Authorize.net
  • Page templates
  • Upsells
  • One-click payments for returning customers
  • Auto tax calculation

And all this comes with behavioral adaptive marketing, so you can show different elements to different customers depending on their previous interactions with your site. Say a customer has already bought a product, I can hit them with a different upsell or an add-on to that upsell. Or you can hide sections if someone is already subscribed to a list to make checkout easier.

Pretty cool stuff.

And it’s all tied into your analytics system:

This lets you track revenue, rebills, active subscriptions, customer lifetime value, and average retention. That way, you can better tweak your checkout layout, upsells, and designs for lower bounce rate.

ClickFunnels Shopping Cart
ClickFunnels's Shopping Cart

ClickFunnels does everything that Kartra does (except behavioral adaptive marketing) plus it offers a ton of different integrations with 3rd-party payment providers. You only get 9 on the Platinum plan, however. 

Integrating with Easy Pay, Apple Pay, and ClickBank is a huge advantage. I hope Kartra gets the memo soon, because I’m missing Apple Pay big time.

You also get one-time offers, upsells, downsells, and bumps:

ClickFunnels's One Time Offer

As well as templates, a simple editor, and multiple design elements.

Again, same old song and dance here: ClickFunnels connects with more tools to let you do more – Kartra does less but it’s way easier and all interconnected.

Verdict

Kartra’s behavioral adaptive marketing and UX are awesome, but the 3rd-party integrations give ClickFunnels the edge here. They accept a ton of common payment options that Kartra doesn’t, and in the end it’s all about the money.

Affiliate Management

No, I don’t mean the affiliate program for the tool itself (as in selling the platform to others).

I’m talking about recruiting, managing, and monitoring affiliates for your products. 

Kartra Affiliates

Kartra gives you a complete overview of your entire affiliate army and an easy way to track, pay, and analyze everything they’re doing. That way, you can reward the good ones, and cut the hands off anyone who isn’t earning their keep (laziness is not tolerated).

A few key features I use daily are:

  • PayPal instant favorites
  • Affiliate-only mailing list
  • Commission tiers
  • Flex commissions
  • Affiliate profiles

And the analytics are spot on:

Kartra's Affiliates Analytics

You’ve got conversion rates, rebills, percentage of total revenue, and even earnings per click.

I have it set up so that, as soon as a sale is made, most of my minions are paid immediately by PayPal. I do nothing (I tolerate my own laziness sometimes).

ClickFunnels Backpack
ClickFunnels's Backpack

Backpack does a lot of what Kartra Affiliate does. I didn’t notice much of a difference at all.

You can manage affiliates, create commission plans, do audits on each affiliate, and even make mass payments. 

The biggest difference here is ClickFunnel’s sticky cookie, which further incentivizes your minions. They can make money on future earnings after selling a product so long as they have that cookie. It’s just an extra incentive to get them working hard for you.

Verdict

ClickFunnel’s sticky cookie is nice, but Kartra’s affiliate program comes with their basic plan ($99). Backpack is only available on Platinum. New solopreneurs usually don’t have the capital to invest in ads or SEO, so affiliates will be the best way to grow initially.

ClickFunnels makes that way more expensive than it should be.

A/B Testing 

Kartra vs ClickFunnels - A/B Testing

Both platforms make it easy to run a split test to see which version of a page performs better.

This is such a cut and dry decision that I don’t even want to mention what ClickFunnels does.

When it comes to running a split test, Kartra lets you test emails and subject lines, as well as pages super easily with a native A/B testing feature. ClickFunnels also makes it easy, but you can pretty much only test pages within your funnel unless you want to start working some black magic.

WINNER: Kartra.

Key Kartra Features

Kartra has way more built directly into the platform, so I want to put a few things under the microscope here to show you what the extras you get (for a lot less…).

HelpDesks

Kartra's HelpDesks

An absolute lifesaver of a feature that empowers you to leave no customer behind. HelpDesks lets you offer 24/7 ticket, chat, and live support, replacing ZenDesk, your inbox, or, if you’re the old Karl, your Facebook inbox.

It makes customer service so much easier for customers. They don’t have to log into another portal. Instead, support is delivered directly to their email. No log-in credentials or separate site needed. Happy customers. Happy life.

This all included in your subscription:

  • Offline support
  • Ticket support
  • Live chat
  • Chat logs
  • HelpDesk agent analytics

THANK YOU KARTRA.

NOTE: You can still offer support with ClickFunnels, but you’ll need a plugin like ZenDesk. Enjoy the headaches :).

Kartra Analytics

Kartra’s Borg-like command center records everything at all times, visualizing key data like sales, revenue, clicks, email ROI, heat maps, and coffees needed to get through the day – all in one place automatically. No plugins needed.

Every click, email open, customer data point, affiliate sale, page bounce, sale, refund, and tax invoice – all of it processed round the clock by some evil beyond my comprehension. All I know is Kartra tells me how every arm of my business is performing down to the granular detail at all times.

This is the key benefit to keeping everything under one roof. Kartra’s native analytics has direct access to all the data from features it intuitively understands. With ClickFunnels, you’ll need 3rd-party analytics which leads to missed data points, bugs, errors, data migration issues, and red wine before 2pm.

You get analytics for:

  • Email
  • Products
  • Subscriptions
  • Members
  • Affiliates
  • Heat maps
  • A/B testing

Kartra Calendar

Kartra's Calendar

Kartra continues on its quest to make your life easier with this Little-Engine-That-Could feature. Having a branded calendar directly within my dash and one click away is nice. All my clients can see my free times, and I’m automatically notified.

They’ve even got different calendars for gyms, coaches, classes, and live events.

A light jab to ClickFunnel’s midsection, but a jab nonetheless.

Kartra Agency

Kartra's Agency

I’ve never used this feature personally, but it’s just another one that ClickFunnels can’t compete with. Kartra Agency lets you manage all client accounts from one dashboard with your personal branding. Everything is at a glance: analytics, reports, billing, and account information.

You can be either the owner or service provider. If you’re the owner, you can buy accounts in bulk at a 40% discount and charge whatever you want as a fee. If you want an account and design their entire marketing campaign, you could charge $5,000 plus a retainer – anything you want.

ClickFunnels Key Feature

FunnelFlix

FunnelFlix is the Netflix of marketing, featuring some seriously kicka** training on:

  • Funnel hacking
  • Copywriting
  • Sales
  • Self development
  • Business strategy
  • Offer development
  • Success stories

It answers pretty much every business you could ever have. They claim it’s worth ten thousands of dollars… I’m not quite sure I agree, but it’s definitely worth way more than the $297 Platinum plan price.

Got a funnel that’s not converting? 

There’s a video on everything you need to check, how to fix it, and how to avoid it in the future. 

Can’t put down Instagram and lack motivation? Tony Robbins literally comes to your house and kicks your behind into gear and locks your phone…kidding, but he’s got an awesome time management course in FunnelFlix.

Kartra does offer a free training program as well, but it’s not even close. FunnelFlix really is world class marketing advice from the best minds in the business.

Kartra vs. ClickFunnels: Pros and Cons

Kartra

Pros

  • Everything in one place
  • Extra features in every subscription
  • Much cheaper to run your business
  • Beautiful templates
  • Done-for-you campaigns
  • Few glitches
  • Very intuitive
  • Gentle pricing increases

Cons

  • No elite features
  • Lacking customizability at times
  • No organic marketing

ClickFunnels

Pros

  • Excellent funnel templates
  • World-class FunnelFlix training
  • Tons of integrations for payment processing
  • The best affiliate program in the business
  • Thriving Facebook group and community

Cons

  • Non-funnel features are buggy
  • Requires extra subscriptions
  • 3rd-party plugins required for tons of features
  • Not the best customer support
  • Feels like an MLM sometimes (it’s not though)
  • Minimum of $297 to run a business

Conclusion: Which One Should I Get? Kartra or Clickfunnels?

I think my verdict has been clear the whole time:

ClickFunnels is better at building sales funnels. Kartra is better for building a business.

If you’re a thriving business with an email list and ecosystem of its own, get ClickFunnels for their sales funnels, automations, and world-class training. While you’re at it, try to earn your dream car by selling ClickFunnels to your email list. If you have an audience already, you can actually get rich just from selling ClickFunnels to them.

Everyone else looking to start or grow a business should get Kartra. That includes:

  • New entrepreneurs
  • Solopreneurs
  • Consultants
  • Coaches
  • Course creators
  • Entrepreneurs on a budget
  • SaaS subscription services
  • Membership content sites (EX: weekly recipe sites)

I also highly recommend Kartra for physical business relying on subscriptions or calendars like:

  • Gyms
  • Spas
  • Hair salons
  • Physical product subscription business (EX: healthy meal delivery)

And anyone who wants to take on the agency model as a service provider should 100% get Kartra.

Click here for your 14-day Kartra trial!

Thanks for reading, everyone. Neither ClickFunnels nor Kartra were harmed in the writing of this article (I hope…)

F.A.Q

Q: Is Kartra better than ClickFunnels?

A: Yes, Kartra is better than ClickFunnels at certain things. It’s easier, cheaper, and better for managing a business, but it’s not better at building sales funnels. When it comes to answering the question of Kartra vs. ClickFunnels, you need to ask yourself “do I want to build sales funnels or do I want to build an entire business?” It’s not fair to compare Kartra to ClickFunnels directly anyway since they’re both for different purposes.

Q: Does ClickFunnels integrate with Karta?

A: Yes, ClickFunnels integrates with Kartra via Zapier. With Zapier, you can send information between both online business tools with 0 coding knowledge.

Q: What is better than ClickFunnels?

A: What is better than ClickFunnels? That depends on what you need. Video hosting? Affiliate management? Landing pages? A sales funnel builder? Opt-in forms? A complete online business? Kartra and ClickFunnels are both similar, but Kartra users definitely enjoy features for landing pages, split testing, marketing tools, video marketing, and email marketing tools. And it has multiple pricing plans at multiple price points. ClickFunnels’ plans jump from $97 to $2,000+ quickly.

Q: Is ClickFunnels a platform?

A: Yes, ClickFunnels is an online marketing platform for running marketing campaigns, email marketing automation, building web pages, landing pages, split testing, and running the entire sales process from start to finish. Plus you can use it to manage sales. It even allows you to create membership sites, and features a web form creator, custom subscription forms, page builder, checkout pages, membership pages, and affiliate management tools. Plus integration with Google Analytics and software for running a split test.

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