ClickFunnels Review 2024 – Is It Worth ALL That Money?

ClickFunnels Can Do a Lot, But It’s Expensive

Going into this review, I didn’t know what to expect. Sure, ClickFunnels is a big name, but it’s not the first email marketing tool that comes to mind.

As its name suggests, ClickFunnels specializes in creating effective funnels with the goal of generating more leads, nurturing them, and slowly guiding them toward a purchase. I spent most of my time building pages – and I think that’s how most marketers use ClickFunnels.

The platform comes with pre-designed sales funnels and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor, but it’s a shame the extra features that set it apart from the competition are locked behind the expensive Platinum plan.

It also integrates with many popular email marketing platforms, such as ActiveCampaign, AWeber, GetResponse, and Mailchimp. And at this point, I should mention that ClickFunnels is NOT an email marketing platform. You can use it to send out emails to your contacts, but you first need to integrate with a third-party SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and you also need to have purchased the expensive Platinum plan.

To test out all of ClickFunnels’ features (and learn more about the limitations of the basic plan), I created two trial accounts: one with access to basic features and one with access to most premium features.

My overall impression was that if you’re not a seasoned marketer, chances are ClickFunnels will overwhelm you with its options. And it’ll charge you handsomely for it.

For comparison, a free website builder, such as Wix, can help you create beautiful and versatile landing pages in just a few minutes. Or if you’re looking to create highly converting email campaigns and beautiful landing pages, any of the top email marketing services (EMS) will get the job done for much, much less.

GetResponse, for example, will let you build funnels1, design landing pages, and send emails for $0 per month. Compare that to ClickFunnels’ starting price of $97.00 – or $297.00 if you want to access any email marketing tools…

ClickFunnels Is Versatile, But It Can Overwhelm New Users

ClickFunnels packs many features – that is, if you’re on the Platinum plan. If you’re on the basic plan, you’re essentially paying $97.00 a month for a website builder and some useful (but relatively simple) funnel plans.

The problem is that, as a page builder, ClickFunnels isn’t exceptional by any means. Its templates are tacky and simplistic, and although its editor is easy to use, it’s not worth a hundred bucks. Other website builders, such as Wix, offer more for much less.

As mentioned, things do get interesting for Platinum users, since this plan unlocks follow-up funnels and email marketing integrations. There’s value in being able to create lead-generating funnels by successfully nurturing your prospects from day one.

But to make the most of ClickFunnels, you first need to know where to start and how to use all its tools effectively – and there’s a lot to learn. And once you get a rough idea of how funnels work (and how to create one), you might want to take that knowledge with you and abandon ClickFunnels altogether.

Is ClickFunnels worth it? It all depends on whether you believe $300 is a fair price for what is essentially a glorified website builder with added funnel planning and tracking capabilities.

Funnels

The whole idea behind ClickFunnels is its ability to create personalized funnels based on your needs and requirements, helping you reach your target goals faster and more efficiently.

But what’s a funnel, exactly? You can think of marketing funnels as the steps a customer goes through as they become aware of your brand and product, hopefully leading to a future sale. This process is visualized as a funnel because not everyone who learns about your product will convert.

At the top of the funnel, you have plenty of people who know about you. Maybe they heard about your business through a friend or by reading one of your posts on social media.

As you move further down the funnel, the numbers dwindle. More and more prospects lose interest, but those that stick are more likely to be interested in what you’re offering. A funnel always ends with an action, which in most cases is usually a sale.

A great funnel will take as many prospects as possible through that journey. ClickFunnels claims it can help you create more effective funnels by creating personalized plans of action.

There are dozens of ready-made funnels available, and they all come with different steps and pages. You can pick a funnel from the available types, or browse tried-and-tested funnels specifically designed for your industry (e-commerce, B2B, or retail, for example).

When you first click on the Build Funnel button, ClickFunnels will ask some questions and attempt to pick a plan that makes sense for you:

• If you click on the Collect Emails goal, two steps are automatically added to your plan. The first step involves creating a landing page, and the second step is a thank you/download page. This process outlines the oldest and most basic lead generation tactic: You offer something for free (e.g., an ebook, a video) in exchange for your prospect’s name and email address.
• If you click on the Sell a Product goal, Clickfunnels will add different steps based on whether you want to create a classic sales funnel with a squeeze page, organize a product launch, or sell content/services through a membership.
• There’s also an option to create a plan through a webinar sign-up landing page. ClickFunnels can host both live and recorded webinars, which is a nice touch.

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There’s even a funnel marketplace with dozens of ready-made funnels created by expert coaches and consultants.

The real question – a question I’ll keep coming back to – is: does ClickFunnels offer enough value to justify its costly plans?

I also found myself asking whether it does enough to set itself apart from other website builders and marketing platforms. Or is this automated funnel feature a clever way of getting users to spend more money?

In other words, who is ClickFunnels really for? New marketers can easily create lead-generating landing pages and link them to simple “thank you” pages with any free website builder. On the other hand, veteran marketers know enough about digital marketing to create effective funnels without relying on pre-set plans.

Landing Pages

All great lead generation plans start with a well-crafted landing page. With plenty of templates to choose from, ClickFunnels claims it can help you reach your target goals.

From opt-in pages to sales pages, webinars, and clickpops, ClickFunnels comes with hundreds of landing page templates. They’re not terrible, but they’re definitely not the best I’ve seen, either.

Because ClickFunnels centers around aggressive marketing, bold promises, and big buttons, most templates are a bit too salesy for my liking, lacking in beauty and aesthetics. Some templates appear more than once on the list with minor changes in font and color.

Even though I was disappointed with the template selection, ClickFunnels’ page editor almost makes up for it. It’s incredibly easy to use, and I managed to create several simple pages in just a few hours. Even if you’ve never worked with a website builder before, you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

You can easily add rows, elements, and sections with the click of a button, and everything you see on the page can be customized to suit your needs. There are plenty of fonts to choose from, and you can even add your own CSS.

Things are also straightforward when it comes to adding social sharing buttons and pop-ups, images, videos, forms, and countdowns. Custom Javascript (and HTML code) is also available for those who want a bit more control and customization over their page.

This means that even if none of the templates do it for you, you can still edit your way to perfection. Once you get used to the interface, building pages that both look good and get the job done is just a matter of getting familiar with the tool.

Unfortunately, right-to-left (RTL) languages aren’t supported natively. If you want to create pages in Hebrew, Arabic, or any other language written from right to left, you’ll have to use custom code. If RTL support is important to you, other website builders, such as Wix and SITE123, offer better functionality.

At any point during the page creation process, you’re able to check how everything comes together on both desktop and mobile by clicking on the respective preview buttons at the top-left corner of your screen.

If you have plenty of ideas in mind but don’t know which page would work best with your funnel, ClickFunnels comes equipped with a handy A/B testing tool. You design two identical (or not-so-identical) pages but only keep the one that drives the most traffic or generates more leads.

Integrations

Currently, ClickFunnels integrates with about 40 services, including email marketing tools, marketing platforms, and payment gateways. If you want to make the most of your funnels, you need to make sure all your marketing tools are connected and ready to go.

ClickFunnels integrates smoothly with popular email marketing platforms, such as AWeber, Constant Contact, GetResponse, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign. Popular payment gateways, such as Stripe and PayPal, are also supported.

I had no trouble integrating apps with ClickFunnels. You can quickly access the integrations menu by navigating to your account settings, clicking on Integrations, and pressing the big Add New Integration button on the top-right side of the screen.

Emails, Templates, and Personalization

Note that to access ClickFunnels’ email builder, you need to both integrate with a third party email marketing platform and be on the Platinum plan, which starts at $297.00/month.

Although ClickFunnels isn’t an email marketing platform, there are quite a few things you can do once you integrate with an SMTP. You can send broadcasts to your imported mailing lists, set up automations, or even keep your subscribers engaged with the platform’s “follow-up funnel” email messenger. That said, figuring things out can take a while.

To send one-off messages to a specified list, simply navigate to Broadcasts under the Follow-Up Funnels tab. Remember that these emails will be sent using the email service provider you’ve integrated – you’re not sending anything via ClickFunnels, you’re just crafting your message with their visual email builder.

You can send your message to a specific group and even use filter rules to only include contacts who meet particular requirements. For example, you can filter contacts based on their personal information (such as age, country, or city), whether they’ve opened previous broadcasts, whether they’re part of a specific list, when they last engaged, where they currently are in the funnel process, and the list goes on.

You then pick a subject line and a pre-header and move on to the template selection section. Unfortunately, ClickFunnels only offers 12 email templates, and even those few are incredibly tacky and simplistic.

It’s clear that the platform wasn’t created with email design in mind. For comparison, Constant Contact offers 240 email templates1, and AWeber exceeds 700 templates1.

With such a poor selection, it would help to have an option to fully customize your messages. But I wasn’t too surprised when I found out I couldn’t add custom HTML code, something which most top competitors (such as GetResponse1) offer. The good news is that the available templates are at least mobile-responsive.

ClickFunnels’ drag-and-drop email editor is basic at best, but it gets the job done. I had no trouble moving blocks around or changing their size and color. You can easily remove or add additional elements, such as images, buttons, and social media links. The text editing tools are pretty standard, with a handful of supported fonts.

There’s also a preview tool that shows what desktop viewers will see, but there’s no option to view the mobile version of the page. There’s also no option to add a countdown timer, either, and other advanced elements are missing, too.

For instance, there’s no stock image library or right-to-left (RTL) language support, both of which are available with other popular email marketing platforms. AWeber offers a stock image library and RTL language support1 as standard.

And while ClickFunnels does have personalization, it’s limited to specific merge tags in your subject lines and main email body. Some of these are first and last name, city, state, and country. Adding personalization tags only makes sense if you have already imported contacts and have the relevant data. Unfortunately, ClickFunnels doesn’t support custom fields/tags.

Another missing personalization feature is dynamic content. Some platforms allow users to show or hide specific content blocks based on who’s viewing your email. Mailchimp, for example, allows you to personalize your campaigns with dynamic content blocks.

I could go on about ClickFunnels’ lack of email features – such as A/B testing – but that wouldn’t be entirely fair. I realize that very few marketers actually use ClickFunnels to design emails. Remember, the basic plan doesn’t offer access to the email builder, and you still need to integrate with a third-party EMS to send non-automated emails.

ClickFunnels seems to acknowledge the importance of email marketing, but it doesn’t offer a complete email marketing solution. You can use ClickFunnels to boost the performance of your sales funnels, but you shouldn’t use it as your primary email marketing tool.

If you’re looking for a robust EMS, I recommend you take a look at ActiveCampaign1. If you appreciate the added sales funnel functionality, you should check out GetResponse’s Plus plan1, which costs $15.58/month and offers five sales funnels.

Buyers, Contacts, and Email Lists

If you’re on the basic plan and you want to import whole lists to ClickFunnels, you’re out of luck. The option to import contacts is only available with the Platinum plan. Still, remember that ClickFunnels isn’t an email marketing platform. There’s no reason why you’d want to have all your email lists right there with your registered users and buyers.

What ClickFunnels does do well is help you add contacts and buyers to existing lists hosted by third parties. Once users have made it into your funnel, you can quickly transfer their data over to your favorite email marketing platform and use it to launch all kinds of campaigns.

For example, if you want to add buyers to an email list, all you have to do is head to the purchase step in a funnel, click on a product, and trigger a follow-up action. Similar cross-platform actions are available through the Automation tab.

Automation

Once you’ve set up your funnel and integrated with your favorite email marketing platform, you can automate actions and processes to save time and increase productivity.

Connecting autoresponders with your funnel steps is easy. Find the Settings dropdown menu within the landing page editor and click on Integrations. Select the autoresponder you want to use (or you can also use ClickFunnels’ Internal automation system, Actionetics), and choose an action.

Alternatively, you can set up trigger actions and events through the Automation tab under Steps.

Pressing the Add New Action button will bring up several available conditions depending on the funnel step. You can, for example, target all visitors who purchased or just those who saw your page but didn’t convert. If the condition is met, the tool can add/remove contacts from lists, add/remove tags, and even send you email notifications through your integrated SMTP. It’s easy to create an abandoned cart list using the same tools.

You can also set up ClickFunnels to send emails to your subscribers when set conditions are met. For example, if you want to reach prospects who saw your landing page but didn’t buy anything, you can offer a limited-time discount through an automatic promotional email.

If you’re on the basic plan, you’ll be limited to ClickFunnels’ basic editor. If you’re a Platinum user, you can create more elaborate emails by taking advantage of ClickFunnels’ email editor (Actionetics) and templates.

Additional Features

ClickFunnels comes with some pretty neat features that set it apart from the competition.

If you’re a Platinum user, then you’ll have access to ClickFunnels’ own affiliate management system, known as Backpack. You can access your Backpack through the main menu, easily monitoring and keeping track of your affiliate programs for any created funnel.

ClickFunnels can help you add new affiliates, customize commission plans, and track affiliate pages with the press of a button. The Affiliate Dashboard contains all the information you need to know to track your statistics and manage your programs.

Let’s say you’ve been using ClickFunnels for a few months, and you’ve come up with a fantastic funnel that converts like crazy. You can easily share your entire funnel with another user in just a few seconds.

Generated funnel links include everything that comes with your funnel, including customized pages, tracking codes, and even any automated emails you may have set up.

There’s also FunnelFlix, ClickFunnels’ huge streaming platform filled with courses and educational videos on marketing, sales, funnel building, personal development, and more. Basic accounts have limited access, Platinum accounts can access most content, and Two Comma Club Users have full access.

Yes, most available resources feature founder Russell Brunson, and at times, the ClickFunnels community does resemble a cult. That said, Brunson is a very successful entrepreneur, and there’s value in his teachings.

A Note on Deliverability

Does ClickFunnels send emails? Not really.

If you’re planning to use ClickFunnels, you’ll want to make sure your autoresponders work and that the automated emails you create reach your targets. ClickFunnels can help you create emails, but the sending is done via your specified EMS.

For example, if I’ve integrated ClickFunnels with AWeber, any automated emails I send will count toward my total allowance of monthly email sends on AWeber. Now, whether those emails reach my subscribers or not has mainly to do with how well I’ve configured my AWeber account.

Deliverability rates have little to do with arbitrary percentages. Some things you should keep in mind are:

• DKIM authentication: Helps email service providers (such as Gmail) tell you’re the one who’s sending emails in your name.
• Spam policy: Platforms that don’t tolerate spam tend to enjoy higher deliverability rates.
• Affiliate marketing policy: Affiliate links are usually okay, but promoting products unrelated to your business or service can be seen as spam.
• Dedicated IP: Not having to share your IP with other users can significantly boost your deliverability rate.

Learn more about what you can actually do to boost your deliverability rate.

Clickfunnels Does a Lot, and It Can Get Confusing

When I first logged into my ClickFunnels account, nothing stood out visually. Other popular website builders and email marketing platforms feature fancy graphics and beautiful designs that grab your attention right away.

But ClickFunnels doesn’t promise pretty. It promises an easy-to-use funnel builder that can help you market your products and make you a lot of money.

If you’re just starting out, juggling funnel planning, landing pages, sales tracking, and affiliate marketing management might be a bit too much. But all these features work great, are easy to use, and they come together nicely. ClickFunnels helps you set goals and find funnels that make sense for your business.

With templates broken down by types and industries, finding the right look isn’t too difficult, either. The landing page builder is quite robust and versatile, even if it’s not as customizable as the ones offered by other competitors, such as GoDaddy. Integrating with popular EMS is quick, and you can set up simple automations in a matter of minutes.

ClickFunnels does all of these things well, and it’s a convenient tool for marketers looking to create well-planned pages that will help prospects convert – but it can get confusing, especially if you’re new to online marketing.

It seems to me that ClickFunnels’ solutions are a bit too cookie-cutter, and for what it offers, the whole system seems unnecessarily complicated. If you’re willing to learn, though, the platform does an excellent job at teaching you how things work, so I’ll give it that.

There’s No Shortage of Reports Here

Statistics make the marketing world go round, and ClickFunnels knows that. Right from your main dashboard, you can quickly see how much money you’ve made from your funnel sales, as well as track your affiliate earnings. There’s even a small window that contains more information about recent sales transactions.

If you want to know more about your funnels’ performance (and why wouldn’t you?) simply click on the Stats tab that shows up under every created funnel. Add any specific filters, and ClickFunnels will generate a report with all your page views, opt-ins, and calculated opt-in rate for each page.

All funnels show page views and opt-in rates, but sales funnels come with more statistics about your earnings, rates, and sales/earnings statistics. Your average earnings per click, gross sales, and average cart value are also displayed on top of the page.

All the information you need is there, and you can use the data to take action by editing your existing funnels or creating new ones.

If you navigate to Email Integrations under Account Settings, you’ll also be able to track the stats of your transactional emails. These include unique opens, unique clicks, bounces, and spam reports. If you have any issues with your email sending, they should show here.

If you want to track non-automated, non-transactional emails sent through the Broadcasts feature, you’ll have to click on a broadcast through the Follow-up Funnels tab. The stats displayed include deliverability rate, opens, clicks, and the number of people who unsubscribed.

These stats are basic at best, so if you do send non-automated emails through ClickFunnels, you should probably remember to take a look at the analytics tab of your integrated EMS, too.

ClickFunnels doesn’t do emails justice, so for bigger email marketing campaigns, make sure to use the builder and reporting tool of your integrated EMS. Top email marketing platforms that integrate with ClickFunnels include AWeber and Sendinblue (through LeadsBridge) – and they both offer some of the best free plans as well.

Slight Communication Issues

ClickFunnels may market itself as an easy-to-use landing page miracle worker, but it’s not the easiest or most intuitive tool to navigate for absolute beginners. As complicated software, it should come with impeccable customer support.

If you’re looking for answers to basic questions about settings and integrations, the online knowledge base should be able to help. If you get stuck, you can also click on the Support button at the bottom right side of the screen, where you can chat with a bot.

Live Chat

That’s all great, but what about real human interaction? I asked whether ClickFunnels supports RTL languages, and surprisingly enough, the bot answered. I tried a few other basic questions, and the bot’s input was spot on every single time.

I had to think of something that the bot wouldn’t know, so I tried: Is it true that you can extend the trial period?

It was just a rumor I heard while browsing the Internet. An automated message informed me I had to wait at least four minutes, even though I was first in the queue. I waited, but nothing happened.

Five minutes later, another automated message informed me that they were experiencing a higher than average volume of requests, even though the system said I was still first in the queue.

Ten minutes later, I figured no one was coming, so I ended the chat and tried contacting email support by submitting a ticket.

Email

When I contacted support via email, a representative got back to me within a few minutes. They told me they could extend my trial, but only if I joined an onboarding call – fair enough.

Then things got a little complicated. At the same time, another representative reached out to me, apologizing for making me wait in the chat. This representative, however, went on to tell me they only offer a one-time 14-day trial to test-run the platform – oops!

So which one is it, ClickFunnels? Do you or do you not offer a free trial extension?

Phone Support

Phone support is technically available for members of the Two Comma Club, and I assume it works fine – they are paying $2497.00/month, after all. Anyway, the club is currently full, which means that even if I was willing (hint: I’m not) to spend $2.5k on ClickFunnels, I still wouldn’t be able to test phone support.

Not the Cheapest Marketing Tool Around

Let me start by saying that ClickFunnels isn’t the most affordable software on the market. Not even close. There are two main plans, plus an exclusive, super expensive VIP plan.

The basic plan will set you back $97.00/month, and it comes with quite a few limitations. You have access to the primary funnel and page creating tools, but you’re limited to a maximum of 20 funnels and 100 pages. Competitor Leadpages offers a similar plan for just $27/month1.

You’re also limited to one user, three payment gateways, and three domains. You won’t have access to email marketing features, and if you want to copy lists from your EMS, you’ll have to add your contacts manually, one by one. Yeah, doesn’t sound like too much fun, does it?

The basic plan does include access to FunnelFlix, but most advanced training sessions and courses won’t be available to you.

Platinum, the next available plan, costs $297.00/month – quite a significant jump in price. If you’re a Platinum user, all funnel and page limitations are lifted, meaning you can use Clickfunnels to create as many funnels and pages as you like.

You can also have up to three team members working on your account simultaneously, and you’re allowed nine payment getaways and nine domains. More importantly, you’ll be able to access ClickFunnels’ Follow-up Funnels and Backpack features.

With Follow-up Funnels, you have the capability to establish and maintain connections with your customers post-purchase. You can send out individual messages at your convenience through your chosen EMS or configure intricate automations for creating new lists and initiating fresh campaigns.

Platinum users also enjoy priority support, and they can join ClickFunnels’ weekly live virtual hackathons. Plus you’ll be able to access extra content and useful guides on Funnelflix.

Finally, there’s the Two Comma Club X. This is ClickFunnels’ most exclusive plan, and it’s set at $2497.00/month. Yeah, you read that right.

For this price, you can add up to 10 team members, connect 27 payment getaways, and have 27 domains. ClickFunnels also promises VIP phone support, club cruises, over-the-shoulder guidance by founder Russell Brunson, exclusive secret scaling strategies, and other experiences and bold statements that I’m not sure how to decipher.

According to the official website, the plan’s total value is estimated at $101,549 (?!?), but you can enjoy all these benefits for a measly $2497.00. Unfortunately (or rather, fortunately), the Two Comma Club is currently full, so if you want to sign up you’ll have to join a waitlist.

What’s next? $1,000,000 to be adopted into Brunson’s family? I now understand why so many people have described ClickFunnels as a cult with an elaborate affiliate marketing program and high commission rates that skew ratings and ruin reviews.

The good news is that if you want to try out ClickFunnels, you can take advantage of the 14-day trial, which is available for both the basic and the Platinum plan. Given the cost, I highly recommend you spend as much time as possible testing out the platform before committing to one of the plans.

You can also save quite a bit by purchasing an annual plan.