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Kartra Vs Clickfunnels 2023 Review
Looking for a straightforward, side-by-side comparison of Kartra vs Clickfunnels so you can choose the platform that’s best for growing your online business?
Kartra and Clickfunnels are competitors in the marketing software industry, both platforms offering powerful email marketing and business management tools.
Kartra is the upstart looking to assert its dominance in the digital marketing game, while Clickfunnels has been around for a while and has earned its place as an industry leader.
The rivals share certain tools but also have key features that are exclusive to their respective platforms, they are by no means the same product.
In the following article, we will discuss the differences and similarities found within each product. A quick summary on the winner in each section can be found below.
By the end of this guide, you’ll be better equipped to figure out the right tools to use to build your online business.
Both platforms offer a 14-day trial, the Clickfunnels trial is free and Kartra’s trial will cost $1.
Table of Contents
Kartra Vs Clickfunnels 2020 Review
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Software Overview
Kartra was started by marketers Andy Jenkins and Mike Filsaime in 2018 and is increasingly gaining popularity amongst small business owners and entrepreneurs due to its functionality and price point. Kartra is also backed by the legendary direct response marketer Mike Kern.
Clickfunnels is the older of the two and was started in 2014 by marketing wiz Russel Brunson and currently has over 100k active users utilizing the platform. They have been an industry leader in marketing software over the past 6 years, and they’re one of the most popular Kartra alternatives.
Webpage Builder/ Editor
One of the most valuable things you will find in the arsenal of tools available to you is the webpage builder. You no longer need to hire a developer or designer in order to build a professional, functional website.
Both platforms use a drag and drop style builder eliminating the need to know code and have many templates from which to choose, from sales funnels to landing pages.
Kartra
Building a webpage in Kartra is a simple process-simply choose a template from the page editor and begin building.
The editor has two modes: column and component. In the column mode, you are able to select a column (section) and customize it any way you choose. The component mode, on the other hand, allows you to change the content within the columns.
Another handy feature is the ability to add pre-built sections like testimonials, download boxes and pricing tables.
Clickfunnels
The Clickfunnels builder has a more task-orientated and optimized approach. You are given the options to choose the type of industry, the type of funnel and what your end goal is and from there you choose a template to work with.
The layout of the editor is similar to Kartra’s with a few small differences. With Clickfunnels you have color-coded rows, columns and elements (content) which you simply click on to select and customize.
Winner
Both builders are fairly straightforward and easy to use given the visual styling and drag and drop functionality. The page editors also work in very much the same way making this a close one. The winner, however, is going to be Kartra because of how well the funnel builder works in tandem with Kartra’s sales/checkout system and email automation.
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Email Automation
Both Kartra and Clickfunnels possess incredibly powerful email automation that targets your customers based on their actions bringing you more sales
Kartra
Kartra’s email tool, Kartra mail, uses behavior-based automation and personalization features to customize the types of emails that will be sent to your clients. Every click, send and open is tracked giving you an idea of how well your email marketing is working.
An “if” and “then” automation system automatically follows up with your customers based on the parameters you set. Perhaps the most powerful tool at your disposal is the automated marketing campaign which will do all your marketing for you-sends, follow-ups, subscriptions, analytics, and a whole host of other actions.
Clickfunnels
Clickfunnels uses automation software called actionetics, which takes personalized email marketing to a new level. Actionetics uses your client’s email address to gather their information-social profiles, interests, address and even income to enable you to market directly to their preferences. This is possible because actionetics integrates with services like Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
Like Kartra mail, your customer’s interactions are tracked but to a greater degree.
One of the stand-out features is an algorithm that grades people in your follow-up funnel and gives them a rating based on how much they will be worth to your online business.
Winner
This round goes to Kartra. Actionetics is not available on the lower pricing plans while automation is available on all of Kartra’s pricing options.
Membership Sites
Membership sites are a great way to generate a passive income. All you need to do is create the content, upload and get paid monthly for access.
Kartra
Building a membership site in Kartra allows you to easily upload video, audio, text, and downloadable documents all of which can be hosted directly on the Kartra servers. Login pages, usernames, and passwords are generated automatically so your only focus is the content.
Content can be delivered by time or membership access level, you also have the ability to create bronze, silver, gold or Diamond tiers.
A big plus is that Kartra offers built-in video and audio hosting which is great for those entrepreneurs interested in course creation. 3rd party hosting, customer tagging, and progress tracking are also available.
Clickfunnels
Clickfunnels membership sites are easy to set up because just like with your funnels you have access to templates. You do not have the same level of customizability, but this is true for Kartra as well. Member access and registration pages are available as part of the builder.
One of the stand-out features is that the membership site and the existing sales funnel can be integrated making things more streamlined. Existing membership sites can be replicated and reused elsewhere using the share funnel feature.
Disappointingly, built-in video/audio hosting and progress tracking are not available so you will have to go with a 3rd party.
Winner
Kartra comes out on top again, the features available in the creation of membership sites and the built-in audio/video hosting make this the better option.
A/B Testing
Using split tests is a crucial aspect of running a business and even more so as the business grows-the tests let you know how well your sales pages are performing.
Both platforms give you the option to perform split tests on a number of different page types.
Kartra
Kartra lets you do a split test with sales pages made within the platform or from an external URL, you are also able to set what percentage of visitors are sent to either page and can test up to 4 pages at once.
The goal of the split test can be defined so that you can choose to see how options on each page perform against each other for example.
A winner can be chosen by you or can be automatically selected when a milestone like 1000 visitors is reached. You can then tag the visitors to see who took part in the split test.
The data of the test is available on a fairly detailed stats graph so you can see the specifics of how well each page has performed.
One of the stats found on the graph is the percent of certainty, in which the system calculates how much better one page is doing when compared to the other.
Clickfunnels
Split-testing in Clickfunnels lets you choose to either duplicate your current page or choose a page from one of the many templates. Traffic percentages can also be adjusted just like in Kartra.
The winner of the test is chosen by you based on how the pages have performed with the losing page being automatically archived. Each page is given a confidence score that is calculated over the period of the test, the one with the highest score being the one you should choose.
There is a stats page for analysis, but it gives you minimal information when compared to Kartra’s.
Winner
The features and tools provided with Kartra’s split-testing allow you to collect a lot more data and make more informed decisions making them the winner.
Shopping Cart
Your checkout page is the last stop before a sale is made. With an abandonment rate of 60-80%, you best make sure the checkout experience is a good one.
Kartra
As with most of the pages in your funnel, the checkout page can be customized to your liking with many templates to choose from and can be branded to match your site.
Kartra’s checkout system has built-in automation to recover abandoned shopping carts, it also integrates with all of Kartra’s other tools.
Checkout allows you to manage sales, payment plans, subscriptions, special offers, trails, and coupons. Up-sells, down-sells, and bumps can also easily be added.
The supported payment gateways are Authorize.net, Braintree, PayPal, and Stripe.
Clickfunnels
The Clickfunnels checkout system is similar to Kartra’s, allowing you to add templates and manage sales, subscriptions and other functionality. The one difference they do have is the support for 3rd party products and payment gateways. Clickfunnels integrates with many more products, giving you a lot more options.
Api gateways-
- Apple/Android Pay
- net
- EasyPayDirect
- Keap
- NMI
- Recurly
- Stripe
Third-party products-
- Clickbank
- JVZoo
- PayPal
- Warrior Plus
Winner
The winner on this one is Clickfunnels because of the superior 3rd party support.
Affiliate Management
Both platforms offer affiliate management tools to help generate leads and grow your business. You also have the option on either platform to become an affiliate yourself earning a generous 40% commission from the sales you make.
Kartra
With Karta’s affiliate management program you can manage your affiliates on all your products with the global-setting. Here you can set up Paypal instant payment to instantly pay your commissions when the sale is made. There is also the option to send out a questionnaire and terms and conditions to prospective affiliates.
For specific products, there is the product-setting. This setting lets you add an affiliate program on checkout, tag affiliates for payment schedules and add commission tiers.
Clickfunnels
The Clickfunnels affiliate management software (backpack) lets you add an affiliate program to any funnel. Backpack tracks all of the clicks and sales on your products and lets you know what you owe your affiliates based on their sales.
A stand-out feature of this program is the sticky cookie incentive which incentivizes affiliates by letting them earn commission not only on the product they are selling but from any future purchases made by that customer.
The big drawback with backpack is that it is an upgrade and is only available on the much more expensive pricing plan.
Winner
Kartra takes this one. Having an affiliate program is a big part of growing your online business and with Kartra it comes with the base package.
Customer Support
Working with technology can sometimes have its pitfalls, having decent customer support is a must.
Kartra
Kartra’s customer support has been really good from the start and many users report that the response times are fast. In addition to having a live chat to help with any inquiries, Kartra has a free training program to assist in learning how to use the platform.
There is also a Facebook group where users can discuss various topics.
Clickfunnels
Clickfunnels had a hard time with customer support in the past, particularly with regard to response times. They have stepped up their game, but users are still reporting slow responses at times.
There are many online tutorials to answer specific questions you may have and a Facebook group is also available.
Winner
Kartra definitely has better support and the consistency they have shown is a sign that their customer support is a priority to them. Kartra takes this round.
Differences Between Software
We have seen what the two platforms have in common now let’s take a look at what makes each of them unique.
Calender Function
Kartra comes with a built-in calendar app sporting four different models- the consultant, the recurrent, the gym, and the live event. Each model works differently and is made with a particular workflow in mind.
Clickfunnels, on the other hand, does not have a calendar.
Analytics Heatmap
Heatmap analytics gives you a deeper awareness of what is engaging your visitors( and what is not). Clickfunnels requires you to integrate 3rd party heatmap software in order to use this function.
Kartra comes with heatmap analytics built-in.
Webinars
Webinars are a great tool for engaging with your audience so that they get to know you and see what you are up to. Clickfunnels comes with an auto-webinar function (releasing a pre-recorded video at a certain date and time) as well as a live webinar function.
To do webinars with Kartra you will need to integrate webinar jam and ever webinar with your webinar page.
Video Hosting
Video hosting can be done within Kartra using Kartra video, but be aware that it does count against your bandwidth capability. However, using other services like Youtube or Vimeo will not count against your bandwidth.
Clickfunnels does not do video hosting so your only option will be to use a 3rd party service.
Helpdesk
Customer support can be a nightmare to handle particularly if you or your agents are using email to respond. Kartra helpdesk addresses this issue with a ticketing system that can be set up for multiple departments.
The customer’s complete history with your online business can be viewed giving you a better understanding of their needs.
Clickfunnels does not have a helpdesk feature that you can implement into your site.
Pricing
Kartra has four pricing options-Starter, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The big draw with this pricing plan is that you get all of Kartra’s features on every tier, even the starter. The catch is that you are limited in other areas like the number of leads, bandwidth, products and a few other areas. Find more info in our kartra pricing article.
Clickfunnels has two pricing options -Clickfunnels (basic plan) and Clickfunnels Platinum.
The platinum plan is substantially more expensive but is packed with features and gives you unlimited funnels, pages, visitors, contacts, custom domains, and members.
There are also some helpful marketing and business training videos included with Clickfunnels Platinum.
The basic plan is limited to a certain number of funnels, pages, and visitors and does not include the Actionetics and Backpack features.
Learn more in our Clickfunnels pricing guide.
Which Platform Is Right For You?
Kartra and Clickfunnels are amazing platforms with incredibly powerful tools to help you build, run and market your business and while they do have a lot in common, they have enough of their own unique features to distinguish themselves in the marketplace.
The big question is which platform will work best for you and your business?
Kartra has not been around very long but is making waves with its functionality and pricing. It makes all of its features available from the get-go giving new entrepreneurs and business owners a comprehensive package with which to build their business.
The primary strength of this software lies in its ability to be an all-in-one business management tool. The helpdesk, and calendar were created to keep your clients at the forefront and help you run a tight ship giving your business a great reputation and repeat business.
The split testing, heatmap, and behavior-based automation are invaluable tools that aid in giving you a complete understanding of what your clients are thinking, leading to more sales. The scope and ability of these features are second to none.
Kartra is a great fit for entrepreneurs and business owners who need a single place from which to run their entire business and need access to data on many fronts to understand how the business is performing.
Clickfunnels has been around for a long time and has established itself as a leader in the marketing game. It is a good option for those who already have an established business and may want to migrate over to the platform to make use of its powerful features.
The focus and strength of this software are in marketing and sales, in this regard the platform takes the gold.
Most of the features found within the software are set up to focus on creating targeted awareness and driving sales, with the funnel builder and actionetics features being particularly strong in this area.
The number of funnel types and the capabilities of the funnel builder are any marketer’s ideal. These high converting sales funnels are optimized to ensure a minimal loss in sales, guiding customers from the landing page to the thank you page.
The Actionetics software does a great job of gathering information on your consumers to understand what they mean to your business in monetary terms. It also helps you understand which marketing campaigns will work on certain segments of your customer base.
Clickfunnels is for those entrepreneurs and business owners with a focus on marketing products and services to expand their reach and make sales.
Choose Kartra if:
- You need a cheap but comprehensive pricing plan ( Clickfunnels is very limited on the base plan)
- You want to run your entire business on one platform
- You need access to detailed data pertaining to your business
Choose Clickfunnels if:
- Marketing and sales are your primary concern
- You are focused on building optimized funnels
- You are focused on creating product/service awareness