ClickFunnels Alternatives: Comparing ClickFunnels to Competitors

Are you looking for a ClickFunnels alternative for your online course or membership site?

Read our in-depth overview, comparisons of popular competitors, native software feature pros and cons, and pricing.

Click Funnels logo

Before we dive into our ClickFunnels comparison

We’re always curious about who writes reviews for products online, so we’re giving you the full disclosure.

We are the creators of the AccessAlly LMS plugin for WordPress, and we are affiliates for some of the tools that we compare here, which means that we may earn a commission if you buy from our recommendations.

We never let an affiliate incentive sway us in our reviews, but this makes it possible for us to research, test, and provide our in-depth and hands-on experience with a lot of the course and membership tools you might be comparing and considering. 

Now let’s see how ClickFunnels compares, and why its current users might start looking for a ClickFunnels alternative in the first place.

Why people choose ClickFunnels

Before we get into our list of ClickFunnels alternatives, let’s look at why you might consider implementing ClickFunnels for your online course or membership site.

  • Easy to get started: The ClickFunnels membership site builder is easy to use and makes your membership setup a breeze. While it’s convenient, that doesn’t always mean it’s ideal. For most online course creators and membership site owners, it usually doesn’t check all of the boxes. It’s one of the most bare-bones membership platforms we’ve reviewed.
  • All-in-one platform: With ClickFunnels there’s no need to worry about getting a bunch of different solutions to work together. You can start putting online courses or memberships up for sale in a relatively short amount of time. From your opt-in page to your sales and thank you pages, and your membership site content, everything is included in the platform, with the exception of e-mail marketing. When it comes to ClickFunnels vs WordPress, the former is definitely easier but less flexible.
  • You want to simplify: For some business owners, the technical maintenance required for their systems can become a burden. With ClickFunnels, you can easily train a team member on the platform as it’s fairly intuitive, so they can help manage your click funnels and membership site content.
ClickFunnels pricing

Why people recommend ClickFunnels

You might have posted in a Facebook group asking people what they use for their membership site or to sell their online courses, and received a lot of “ClickFunnels” answers. Why is that?

  • ClickFunnels has a great affiliate program: If you see people recommending that you choose ClickFunnels, or that you contact them about their experience with ClickFunnels it might be because they want to earn a commission from their recommendation.

    ClickFunnels has an army of affiliates, so we recommend just taking a moment to pause and decide if they are recommending it for all of the right reasons, or if it’s because something is in it for them. Many ClickFunnels customers can earn a nice income from recommending it to others.

  • ClickFunnels has been around for a long time: If you see people recommending that you choose ClickFunnels, it’s likely because they’ve used it or seen it as a student on someone’s website. It’s a popular tool for digital marketers but isn’t always the right tool for online course creators and membership site owners. If someone is recommending a ClickFunnels competitor, they may not have as much confidence that the company is going to be around for the long term.
  • It’s a good funnel builder and easy for users setting up their first course: ClickFunnels makes it easy for you to set up your membership site flow with the click of a button. Your opt-in page, sales page, welcome page for 1-click upsells, thank you page, and membership site area will all be created at once so you can simply add your content to each page. The flow is predetermined for you and takes the guesswork out of what to include or exclude from your funnel to maximize conversions. 

    You can even install the ClickFunnels plugin to install it on a WordPress site and load your pages alongside your blog posts or other WordPress pages.

Why people look for ClickFunnels alternatives

If you’re here, you’ve likely tried ClickFunnels and found its membership features limiting, or you’ve heard from others who may have outgrown the ClickFunnels system and want to learn more.

While ClickFunnels has some great things going for them it’s usually not the right membership platform or online course builder for most. If you already use ClickFunnels in your business and need an easy-to-use system to test your “proof of concept” it gets the job done, but it’s not a long-term solution unless you plan to offer a very basic membership to your customers.

If you want to build a more customized and engaging learning environment, ClickFunnels won’t be the right fit for you; here are some of the other common reasons why people look for ClickFunnels substitutes.

  • Lack of design flexibility: ClickFunnels’ design options are very limited because you just add your content within the ClickFunnels framework. Their sales page builder and opt-in page templates have a little more flexibility, but the membership design is very limited.

    So, if you’re anything like us and value custom design and want to be able to customize your course layout and have some flexibility in how you deliver your membership site experience, then ClickFunnels isn’t for you.

  • Membership site experience isn’t mobile-friendly: One of the biggest complaints ClickFunnels users have about the membership features is the mobile experience. If you only offer a few lessons or modules of content, then you’ll be fine. However, ClickFunnels does not provide a way to customize the navigation or send users directly to a single lesson or module within your course.

    In turn, the mobile experience can be incredibly frustrating as more content is added over time. Users have to scroll and scroll to find and access new content.

  • No learning management system: Because ClickFunnels focuses on a more simple course setup or basic membership site, you will not be able to build learning reinforcements into your membership or online course.

    This means you won’t be able to check comprehension using quizzes or accept homework submissions. You’re also not able to create credit systems, member directories, or track user progress to keep your members motivated and connected.

  • Extensibility: Because the ClickFunnels system is closed, you can’t easily extend it by installing add-ons and plugins to enhance the learning experience or create a more engaging membership. Aside from integrating with your e-mail marketing system, there isn’t much functionality you can bolt onto the existing functionality beyond that.
  • No gamification features: A powerful feature many membership site owners and online course creators are looking for in their membership site plugins and learning management systems is gamification.

    The use of gamification will not only help you increase retention for your membership site long-term and not to mention your users’ comprehension, but it can also set you apart from your competition based on the user experience you create.

    There’s no way to award badges within the membership site flow and ClickFunnels lacks the functionality you would need if you wanted to create a credits or points system to reward users for their participation.

  • There’s no way to manage VAT, multiple languages, or multiple currencies: If your business operates internationally or serves a global market it helps to be able to have localized payment and language options. In ClickFunnels, you can’t add country taxes to collect VAT, or easily handle multiple languages or currencies.

One client's story about finding a ClickFunnels Alternative

Michael Killen Testimonials Image

"You guys, here at AccessAlly,

might be one of the smartest and hardest working platforms out there.

AccessAlly is so so so good. It’s literally at the core of my business!

It really is a pleasure being a customer of AccessAlly.”

-Michael Killen, sellyourservice.co.uk

Compare ClickFunnels Competitors' Pricing

ClickFunnels’ pricing is pretty straightforward.

They offer a $97/month plan, but you are limited to 20 funnels, 100 pages, as well as a few other things such as the number of domain names, admin users, and payment gateways that you can integrate with.

Their $297/month plan allows you to build as many funnels and pages as you’d like and can be associated with 9 different domains. You also have more options when it comes to payment processor integrations, and follow up funnels. This plan also gives you access to priority support and weekly live “hackathons” where you get support on building your funnels start to finish.

You can even join the Two Comma Club for $2,497/month if you are a large agency, or have a large team. You’ll also receive additional training and mentorship from the ClickFunnels team if you invest at this level.

While cost is not the only thing to look at when you’re considering what membership software or LMS to choose, it does factor into the equation.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that you will also need to pay for your email marketing service or CRM on top of your ClickFunnels monthly investment.

Here is the cost breakdown for some of the most commonly compared ClickFunnels substitutes:

Kajabi $1490/year
Includes only 3 products, and limit of 10,000 contacts
$3990/year
100 Products, 100,000 contacts, limited email sending
Thinkific $490/year
Unlimited courses and students
$4990/year
Additional features and groups
Teachable $390/year
Plus 5% transaction fee
$4990/year
No transaction fees, includes bulk student enrollment
Podia $390/year
No memberships or affiliate functionality
$790/year
Includes 3rd party code and embedded checkout forms
Mighty Networks $280/year
Community forums only, no online courses, plus 3% transaction fee
$980/year
Includes online courses, plus 2% transaction fee
MemberPress + LearnDash $448/year
No course or student limits, basic functionality
$918/year
Includes group licensing, affiliate functionality
LifterLMS $299/year
Ecommerce and CRM addons included
$999/year
Quizzes, groups, and social learning
AccessAlly $990/year
Unlimited courses and students, affiliate, and bulk courses
$1290/year
All LMS functionality

Want more in-depth ClickFunnels Replacement Comparisons?

Now that we’ve looked at all of the reasons why someone might choose ClickFunnels, or switch from ClickFunnels to another LMS solution, it’s time to compare ClickFunnels alternatives!

In these in-depth comparison pages, you’ll see where each tool shines and where it falls short so you can make the best decision for your particular business and online teaching needs.

ClickFunnels might be right for you if...

  • You only need a simple content delivery system to make your content available to your customers.
  • You’re not picky about the look-and-feel of your course
  • You’re already using ClickFunnels as your funnel builder and don’t need any learning management system features such as progress tracking, quizzes, gamification, or member directories.

Researching course platforms on your own is great, but if you want to talk to someone, we're here to help!

If you’re wondering whether you’re on the right track or not, we can help you sort out all of the different options.

We’ll let you know if AccessAlly is a good fit or not, too. 

Book a free discovery call