As you may, or may not know… I have courses on both ClickFunnels and Kartra, plus I use both platforms across an array of businesses… so, I'm intimately familiar with both.

Which is why, on a nearly daily basis, I'm asked, “Should I use ClickFunnels or Kartra?”

It's an important question.

It's like asking, “Where should I live?”

You don't want to mess this up because it can impact your livelihood!

This post will give you my perspective on the two tools and which one is better.

Disclaimer

Let me clear the air real quick, while I'm an affiliate for both tools, I am not an employee nor do I have any undisclosed reason to choose one tool over the other.

I believe in using the least amount of tools possible in order to multiply your business with marketing automation.

Basically, I don't personally care what tool you decide to use. It makes zero difference to me and my life….

Which is why, this comparison will be truly unbiased.

I am tool agnostic.

Let's get into it.

ClickFunnels vs. Kartra

Bottom line up front:

  • Both tools are very good. Compare either tool to any other way to build a funnel, and these tools make life sooo much easier.
  • Both tools have their own quirks. Neither is perfect.
  • Both tools have a fairly steep learning curve. Expect to spend a couple weeks mastering the tool before you have a functional funnel.

Differences

I'm not going to include a full breakdown of all the features as you can go to the different products' sales pages and see what they have, but I will try and point out all of the differences.

There's no real organization here because what's important to one person might not be important to another:

  • Kartra is all-inclusive from the start. You get funnels, marketing automation, an affiliate platform, etc. with even the most basic plan ($89/mo). With ClickFunnels, you need their more expensive plan if you want all of the features ($297/mo).
  • ClickFunnels integrates with other autoresponders. You can integrate with ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, Aweber, Infusionsoft, etc. without using Zapier. With Kartra, you're “stuck” using their automation software or making connections with Zapier.
  • ClickFunnels lets you run multiple businesses out of one account. If you have a bunch of different domains and business ideas, ClickFunnels will support you. Kartra, on the other hand, only wants one business per account.
  • Kartra's page builder has pre-built sections. Instead of selecting whole page templates (which Kartra also offers), Kartra's page builder comes stacked with dozens, if not hundreds of pre-built sections that you can drag and drop onto  your page. This can help you create beautiful, custom pages in minutes.
  • Kartra offers “dynamic” OTOs. You can take people to different pages/offers based off their purchases whereas with ClickFunnels, they will see all of your OTOs no matter what they previously purchased.
  • Kartra offers Behavioral Marketing. You can show different elements to different people based on previous actions, ie. purchases. ClickFunnels doesn't offer anything like this.
  • Kartra hosts your videos and files. You get a certain amount of bandwidth with each plan, and if you go over that amount, you will pay for it. It looks to be about $0.19 per gig compared to Amazon S3, which starts at $0.09 per gig. So, it is kind of expensive, but nice to have everything in one place. With ClickFunnels, you'll need to host your videos and files elsewhere.
  • ClickFunnels offers evergreen webinar functionality. While it's not “the best” evergreen webinar technology, it's often “good enough” especially if you already have ClickFunnels and you want to run an evergreen webinar. Kartra does not have evergreen webinar functionality.
  • ClickFunnels has been around longer. They've been around since 2014 and have developed an extensive support network. There's a massive Facebook group and even entire companies that support ClickFunnels. Kartra is very new and lacks a lot of this 3rd party support.
  • Kartra has a help desk feature. No need to integrate with Zendesk or anything like that, Kartra has you covered. ClickFunnels doesn't offer anything like this.
  • Kartra's timers are better. If you like running evergreen promotions, Kartra's timer system is much better since it's connected to people's account and can be tracked more closely. ClickFunnels' timers are only tracked with cookies.

While it's not necessarily an all-inclusive list, those are some of the big differences between the two platforms.

Which Tool Is Right For Me?

The million dollar question, “Which tool is right for me?”

Again, both tools are very good. I'm a fan of both and have successful funnels running on both platforms, so there's no definitive answer here… instead, it depends on what YOU need/want to do.

There are only a few instances I would recommend one tool over the other:

  • Ecommerce: ClickFunnels
    • It offers more flexibility around your products and variations, especially when using CF Pro Tools.
    • It natively integrates with ShipStation.
    • There are 3rd party integrations like AppTrends and Orderlytics which integrate with Shopify and even AliExpress.
  • Lead Gen: ClickFunnels
    • You can have multiple domains in your account which you need when you're generating leads for different businesses.
    • It integrates with 3rd party autoresponder tools more easily than Kartra.
  • Evergreen Webinars: ClickFunnels
    • While it's not the best evergreen webinar platform available, it's often good enough and Kartra doesn't have this function.

If the above scenarios aren't relevant, it may come down to budget. Kartra's all-inclusive starter plan is only $89/mo, which is cheaper than ClickFunnels' starter plan which doesn't include marketing automation or an affiliate platform. If your budget is tight Kartra may be the better option for you.

Finally, beyond the reasons above, it really comes down to personal preference. Both tools offer trials. ClickFunnels' trial is free and Kartra's is only $1. Try both and see which feels better to you!

What Is Your Situation?

I know I did not cover every single situation or all the differences between the two platforms. If you have any specific questions for your particular needs, please post them in the comments below!