Sales funnels are one of the most game-changing aspects to an online business. Using effective funnel strategies is the difference between consistently creating profitable campaigns, and being afraid of spending too much money on advertising.
It is truly an engineering approach to marketing. Sales funnels bring in a huge respect for data, experimentation, and profit above all.
So in these reviews, I'll be breaking down the absolute best sales funnel softwares available in 2022.
But why should you trust me at all?
- Before becoming a full-time digital marketer, I ran the supply chain and kaizen division of Toyota - focusing on data above all to improve manufacturing processes.
- My wife and I have earned over $3 million online through data-driven sales funnels
- And we actually do this, spending well over $1,000 per day in our own paid traffic driving eyeballs into our high-converting sales funnels.
So while I enjoy testing new software, our actual livelihood and profits depend on us doing it well.
So these reviews will be based on personal experience, practical business owner needs, as well as:
- Which sales funnel software is best for small business?
- Best bang for the buck - the value choice for funnels
- Software as a service vs WordPress-based solutions
If you want to skip ahead to the good stuff, here are the best sales funnel softwares in 2022:
- Thrivecart
- Kartra
- WooFunnels
- Go High Level
- Studiocart
- Cartflows
- Clickfunnels
What is the best sales funnel software in 2022?
Because every business has different needs, it's difficult to say what is the single best solution for all users.
Your business is unique, and the right tool for you may not be the right one for the next business owner.
But throughout this review, we will break down each software thinking of all the different use cases a business may have.
We will specifically be considering:
- Physical Product Sellers (E-commerce)
- Online Courses
- Digital Products (ebooks, pdfs, templates, etc)
- Coaches
- Consultants
- Membership Site owners
Here are my picks for the best sales funnel software platforms to try this year:
1. Thrivecart
The best overall sales funnel software for digital product sellers, online course creators, and budget-conscious business owners
John's Take
Full disclosure, I am currently using Thrivecart for my main business, which makes over $80,000 per month selling online courses and small digital products. So we have the absolute most experience with Thrivecart and know all its pro's and con's which I'll share with you.
Thrivecart is a simple, reliable, and budget-friendly sales funnel builder that integrates easily fits into any business that focuses on digital products.
Best Thrivecart Features
Thrivecart has completely changed the game for my online business, so it will be difficult to go into every feature that it offers to help you sell more products, easier.
Here are just a bit of the impressive features that Thrivecart can add to your business (don't worry, we'll cover the main ones in greater detail):
As you can see, there is no shortage of ways that Thrivecart can help you make more money from every customer that comes across your brand.
Here is a quick breakdown of all the features I use inside Thrivecart to build a profitable business:
- Long form sales page templates
- Two-step order forms
- Embeddable order forms for your own site
- Pop Up order forms
- Solid affiliate management platform
- Sell subscriptions (monthly, quarterly, etc)
- "Pay what you want" pricing
- One Click upsells
- Downsells
- Complete Online Course / Membership platform built in
- Automatic Secure Site through SSL
- Custom domain to keep your website on brand
- Automatically calculate sales tax
- Integrate seamlessly for EU VAT tax
- Split Pay Options (3 payments of $47 as an example)
- Allow customers to manage, pause, and cancel their own subscriptions
- Set up team members to manage orders, customer support, refunds, etc without compromising system access
- Set up special clients & assistant roles with custom access
- Easy to read reporting
- Simple & Strong A/B testing engine to allow you to optimize profitability
- Deep integration with Google analytics and Facebook Conversion API so you get accurate reporting in all your dashboards
I could go on and on since I use this tool personally after testing everything under the sun, but I'll save you from my own drooling!
Instead, let me give you a concise breakdown of the main pros AND cons of this platform, because as we all know there is no such thing as a perfect platform.
Thrivecart Pricing Plans
Thrivecart's lifetime deal is really exciting, because you get features that are normally reserved for $99 per month and above software.
At the time of this writing, here are the pricing options of Thrivecart. Click to expand each pricing plan to see what is included:
Everything from Thrivecart Standard PLUS:
Thrivecart Learn is a complete online course platform that lives inside Thrivecart - so it's actually part of the platform! With the standard version of Learn, you get:
The basic Learn package is great if you are just starting your journey. But if you already have a list of students that you'd like to migrate to the new platform, you'd want to take a look at Learn Plus:
Learn Plus is an optional upgrade that unlocks the full power of Thrivecart Learn, including:
Thrivecart Review - Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
ConClusion
Thrivecart is simply an easy, powerful, and affordable way to launch your next course, membership, book, or service. Because I believe so much in the product and use it myself, I put together a super helpful bonus package for you that you get automatically when you make your purchase!
2. Kartra
The best all-in-one sales and marketing system for digital product sellers.
John's Take
Kartra was the first all-in-one platform that truly delivered on its promise of being the only system you need to run your business online. While it can suffer from being a "jack of all trades," it is definitely a powerful platform that can grow with you for years to come.
Kartra is an all-in-one platform that allows you to log into a single place and run your entire business. I've used the platform for years, and it's an incredibly comprehensive toolset.
Even with their basic plan, you get access to every single Kartra feature, including:
- Payment Processing & Checkout Pages
- Landing Pages
- Lead capture forms & popups
- Campaigns - complete marketing blueprints
- Email Marketing
- Email Automation
- Online Course & membership portals
- Surveys & Quizzes
- Video hosting & automation
- Customer support helpdesks
- Calendar booking
- Integrated affiliate platform
- Agency-focused features
- A complete marketplace where you can sell your products and gain affiliates
- Integrations & API to connect to your other tools
That's a long list, which means that there can be a long learning curve when diving into Kartra.
That's one of the reasons why I offer exclusive support for anyone who purchases through links on this site. Learn more about my complete Kartra bonus offer here.
Kartra also has really intuitive "Done For You Campaigns" built right into the platform:
This functionality allows anyone to instantly import some of the best marketing strategies for any industry into their account with a single click. And this isn't just simple page design like other platforms allow. Kartra Done-for-you campaigns can include everything:
- Page designs
- Email sequences
- Product designs
- Membership areas
- Even help desk systems
They truly left nothing out of their platform. If you have the patience to work through a significant learning curve (or leverage my bonus offer to get through the curve!), then Kartra can be the single business software you need for your essential tasks online.
Kartra Pricing
Kartra has 4 pricing tiers, mainly differentiated by how many contacts you have in your database.
Here is the breakdown of Kartra's Pricing Plans:
- Starter: $99 per month for up to 2,500 contacts
- Silver: $199 per month for up to 12,500 contacts
- Gold: $299 per month for up to 25,000 contacts
- Platinum: $499 per month for up to 50,000 contacts
There are other benefits as you increase the plans, but I believe the silver plan is the best plan for most businesses. Once you upgrade to the silver plan you unlock:
- Unlimited email sending
- Unlimited bandwidth (for video hosting)
- Unlimited Pages
- Unlimited videos
- Unlimited products
- Unlimited membership sites
- Unlimited team members
- Unlimited help desks
- Agency features
The agency features allow you to manage as many client accounts from within your single dashboard, so you can seamlessly create an entire agency offering from Kartra alone!
Kartra Review - Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
ConClusion
Kartra is a solid option for building an online course for any course creator, coach, consultatnt, agency owner, author, etc. The toolset it offers is very comprehensive, and each individual tool is good enough in its own right. If you don't already have a set of tools that are integral to your business, you could save a lot of headache by migrating to an all in one platform like Kartra.
Don't forget to claim all your bonuses by using my Kartra affiliate link below!
3. FunnelKit
The best sales funnel builder designed for WordPress & WooCommerce
John's Take
If you sell Physical products, or just love the WordPress Ecosystem, then FunnelKit (formerly WooFunnels) is definitely worth a look! FunnelKit provides an incredible combination of flexibility, feature set, and templates that allow any WordPress user to create best-in-class funnels.
FunnelKit is an extremely ambitious project that turns your everyday WooCommerce website into a high-powered sales machine.
Drawing much of its functionality and design aesthetic from well-known companies like Clickfunnels, FunnelKit delivers a very seamless experience that allows you to craft unique user journeys, dynamic upsell paths, and helpful e-commerce features right into your WordPress dashboard.
And because this runs inside your own website, you can get started for about the price of a single month's cost of some software competitors...
But before you jump all in to FunnelKit, there are important considerations to make. Because it sits on top of WooCommerce, you will likely need additional WooCommerce extensions to allow your site to do everything you want.
For example, if you'd like to match similar features as Thrivecart, you'd also need to add (at a minimum):
- WooCommerce Subscriptions
- WooCommerce Memberships
- AffiliateWP
- Some VAT and Tax plugins
The additional cost of these subscriptions can quickly take you from under $200 per month to over $1,000 per month. However, this may be completely worth it to you, because FunnelKit brings in a ton of functionality that is truly unique to the WordPress ecosystem.
Key Features:
FunnelKit Pricing Plans
FunnelKit is a powerful funnel on its own, but its power truly shines when integrated with its own email platform called FunnelKit Automations (formerly Autonami). Because of this, I recommend starting with the Funnel Builder + FunnelKit Automations plan for $249/yr.
With that plan, you can cancel subscriptions to your email platform like Convertkit, Activecampaign, and more.
It's a very budget friendly option that has a lot of benefits for strong WordPress users.
A word of warning: You will save money using a solution like FunnelKit, but you will pay in time. WordPress solutions tend to be more complicated that simpler SAAS platforms like Thrivecart, so be ready to spend more time figuring things out and talking to support than you would with a simpler solution.
FunnelKit Review - Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
ConClusion
FunnelKit is an incredibly powerful WordPress based solution for building effective sales funnels on your own website. While I love the prospect of "owning your own data," it also can keep a lot of business owners stuck in "tech heck" instead of focusing on growing their revenue.
For that reason, I generally recommend Thrivecart or Kartra more
4. GoHighLevel
The best sales funnel platform for agencies
John's Take
Go High Level was a software I wish I knew about when I started my agency in 2018. It allows you to serve unlimited businesses with a single monthly subscription, which is ideal for agencies. What's even cooler is that you can create your own custom library of "snapshots" which allow you to duplicate an entire business's strategy in a single click!
Go High Level is an all-in-one sales & marketing platform designed specifically for marketing agencies. They have some crazy useful features that allow freelancers and agency owners to be incredibly efficient when working with many clients.
Some of my favorite agency features are:
Go High Level is really a completely different category of product, as it focuses more on the big picture business tasks and does so in a holistic approach.
Go High Level Pricing
Go High Level normally has a 14 day free trial, but I've worked personally with them and am happy to offer you an extended 30 day free trial to help you kick the tires!
Once your free trial is over, there are a few pricing plans to choose from:
Agency Starter Account: $97/mo
Agency Unlimited Account: $297/mo
SaaS Mode: $497/mo
The Starter account allows you to have 2 businesses setup: one for your own business, and one for a client.
Upgrading to the Unlimited accounts allows you to have as many clients as you want for a single price. It's 100% worth it!
And I'm confident that with a few hours of learning the platform and talking to businesses, you'll easily be able to get $297+ per month from a single client before you even get close to the end of the free trial.
What I like / dislike about Go High Level
This platform a a TON to offer marketing agencies who are looking for an easier way to scale and communicate with clients.
LIKE
Cons
ConClusion
After running an agency for a few years, if I could turn back time I would have 100% used Go High Level for everything we do. The feature set is killer, and the price is definitely right as soon as you get your first client. It's an easy recommendation.
5. Studiocart
An easy, lightweight WordPress Funnel Solution
John's Take
Studiocart is a very barebones and minimal sales funnel solution built for WordPress. While it lacks many of the bells and whistles of fuller solutions like Thrivecart or Kartra, it is a fairly easy platform to get set up with and launch your first funnel
What is Studiocart?
Studiocart is a plugin that allows you to sell digital products, online courses, or services directly from your WordPress dashboard without the bloat of a big complicated plugin like WooCommerce
Studiocart key features:
User Experience:
For strong WordPress users, Studiocart will feel right at home. That's because Studiocart uses a very standard WordPress user interface to toggle through all the options of setting up your products.
It feels a bit bare bones and minimalist, and I find myself redundantly double checking every setting quite often. But it definitely accomplishes the goal!
Pricing:
Studiocart offers 3 pricing options to fit the size of your business:
- Basic (1 website): $19/month or $149/year
- Plus (3 websites): $29/month or $199/year
- Premium (10 websites): $39/month or $349/year
Each plan also includes support and updates for the duration of your subscription.
What I Like / Dislike About Studiocart:
LIKE
Cons
ConClusion
Studiocart is a very decent WordPress sales funnel builder if you are just getting start and have a shoestring budget. It allows you to accept payments and unlock online courses or membership areas directly on your site. If you want to keep your entire business on WordPress but avoid the complexity of tools like WooCommerce, then Studiocart is a great option!
6. Cartflows
A solid WordPress funnel builder
John's Take
Cartflows is a direct competitor to WooFunnels, in that it is a WordPress based sales funnel builder that relies on the foundation of WooCommerce. However, Cartflows falls short of WooFunnels as it is less intuitive, has fewer features, and has given me more troubles over the years.
What is Cartflows?
Cartflows is the first WordPress based sales funnel solution that I used, and for that I'll always have fond memories of it. It allows you to build your sales funnels directly on your website, and works tightly with WooCommerce to power your website.
However, with the recent rise of WooFunnels, Cartflows has fallen out of favor as it simply doesn't do as much, or as well, and it costs just as much.
Cartflows key features:
User Experience:
Cartflows has a fairly intuitive interface. It allows you to create multiple "flow steps" and drag and drop to arrange them in your desired order.
You design your pages using your favorite page builder like Elementor or Gutenberg, and configure all your sales settings in WooCommerce.
Cartflows has also released a "canvas mode" that allows you to visualize the funnel in a unique way, although there are still a few refinements needed before I'd consider it usable.
So you are bouncing a bit back and forth between parts of your website to configure everything, which can be a little disorienting.
Cartflows Pricing:
Cartflows offers a very simple (though strange) pricing table:
- Annual License (30 websites): $239/year
- Lifetime License (30 websites): $999 one time
What I find strange about Cartflow's pricing model is that they only offer a 30 website plan.
Many business owners have asked for single site license options, but that is not currently an option, which I find strange.
What I Like / Dislike About Cartflows:
LIKE
Cons
ConClusion
Cartflows isn't my favorite funnel builder. I was a fan until WooFunnels gathered steam, and I feel that they have simply left Cartflows in their dust. It's not a bad system, but I simply can't recommend in good faith because there is a better alternative available. But if you'd like, feel free to give Cartflows a try for yourself and see!
Sales Funnel FAQ
What is a sales funnel used for?
Sales funnels are used to guide your prospects through a series of products (or offers) in order to increase desire, revenue, and results.
What is the most secure sales funnel platform?
Software as a Service platforms like Thrivecart can reduce the risk of hacking and other issues that tend to plague WordPress-based solutions.
Sales Funnel Comparison (Summary)
When choosing a platform to build your online business on, it's important to consider several factors.
- Will you be selling physical products and track inventory?
- Will you need to integrate with online course platforms?
- Do you want an all in one solution?
- Do rely heavily on WordPress for your business?
- Are you building for your own business, or do you plan on offering done-for-you agency services?
- Do you prefer monthly payments, lifetime deals, or annual plugin pricing?
In general, my overall recommendation is Thrivecart:
- It currently offers a limited lifetime license where you pay once and can use the platform forever (with lifetime support as well)
- A very simple platform to use, but with pro-level features
- Their new "Learn" platform allows you to offer your own membership / online course right in the same platform.
I believe in the platform so much that I put together my own bonus package for Thrivecart that includes:
- 6 complete online courses with specific deep-dive trainings for Thrivecart
- My personal "Funnel Vault" where you can import and deploy professionally designed funnels in minutes, not weeks
- Personal access to me to help you build out your funnel
Please let me know in the comment section which platform is your personal favorite, or if I missed out on one that I should have included!