ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels: Which Sales Funnel Builder is Better?

Sales funnels are one of the most important software these days for entrepreneurs and online businesses.

But which sales funnel builder is better – the infamous ClickFunnels or the up-and-coming ThriveCart? 

As with most questions, there’s no simple yes or no answer. Both have their pros and cons, though in many cases, it’s more about personal preference than declaring an outright “winner.” 

Rather than take sides prematurely, we’ll get to know their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes and see if any green flags or red flags could help determine which one might be the better match for your specific business needs. 

By the end, I hope we walk away with a better understanding of the dynamic sales funnel duo and maybe discover your soul funnel mate along the way.

The choice is yours – shall we start with ClickFunnels or ThriveCart?

Brief Overview: ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels

First, I’ll give you a quick overview of ThriveCart and ClickFunnels:

ThriveCart

ThriveCart is a robust shopping cart platform that allows you to create high-converting checkout pages. It’s designed to maximize your sales and reduce cart abandonment, making it an ideal solution for businesses looking to boost their online revenue.

Key Selling Points:

• One-time payment model
• Customizable, high-converting checkout pages
• Built-in affiliate program management system
• Advanced upsell and bump offer options
• Comprehensive analytics and A/B testing
• Extensive integrations with other tools

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is an all-in-one funnel builder that simplifies the process of creating sales funnels. Known for its drag-and-drop editor, it enables entrepreneurs to build entire sales systems, including landing pages, email marketing, and payment gateways, fostering a seamless user experience.

Key Selling Points:

• Intuitive drag-and-drop funnel builder
• Wide range of pre-designed funnel templates
• Integrated email marketing and automation
• Ability to create membership sites and webinars
• Built-in analytics for tracking funnel performance
• Strong community and educational resources

Quick Verdict: ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels

ThriveCart’s unique selling proposition is its focus on conversion optimization. It’s designed to minimize cart abandonment and maximize your sales, making it the ideal choice for businesses seeking to boost their online revenue.

ThriveCart offers high-converting checkout pages that are easy to set up and customize. It also includes one-click bump offers and upsells, which can significantly increase your average order value. Its detailed analytics and tracking help you understand your customers better and optimize your sales process accordingly.

ClickFunnels stands out for its comprehensive approach to sales funnels. It’s not just about checkout pages; it’s about guiding your customers through the entire sales process, from awareness to purchase.

If your goal is to manage every aspect of your sales funnel under one roof, ClickFunnels is the superior choice. This platform isn’t just about creating sales pages; it’s a comprehensive system that covers everything.

This includes a drag-and-drop funnel builder, pre-built funnel templates for various industries, and A/B testing for optimization. It also offers email automation and follow-ups, helping you stay connected with your customers and encourage repeat purchases.

With its wide array of templates and intuitive design tools, ClickFunnels is ideal for those who want to quickly set up complete sales systems without dealing with multiple software integrations.

Product Overview: ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels

What is it?

ThriveCart is a comprehensive shopping cart platform designed to optimize online sales processes. It allows you to create a high-converting sales page, manage affiliate programs, and implement upsell strategies efficiently to boost your online sales revenue.

ClickFunnels is an all-in-one sales funnel builder that simplifies creating and managing sales funnels. It enables you to design, automate, and track the entire sales process, from landing page creation to payment processing, helping you nurture leads and convert them into customers.

Who is it for?

ThriveCart is perfect for online businesses, especially those in the e-commerce sector, looking to increase their conversion rates. It’s designed to help these businesses optimize their checkout process and maximize revenue from each visitor.

ClickFunnels is suited for businesses of all sizes that want to streamline their digital marketing efforts. It’s particularly beneficial for those who want a single platform to manage their entire sales funnel, from lead generation to conversion and customer retention.

What makes it special?

What sets ThriveCart apart is its specialization in conversion optimization. It offers a high-converting sales page, one-click bump offers, upsells, and detailed analytics to maximize your sales and minimize cart abandonment.

ClickFunnels stands out with its comprehensive approach to sales funnels. Unlike many other platforms, it provides a full suite of tools for every stage of the sales process, including a drag-and-drop funnel builder, pre-built templates, A/B testing, and email automation.

What does it do?

ThriveCart simplifies the checkout process for your customers, making it easy for them to complete their purchases. It also provides you with valuable insights into your sales, helping you identify opportunities for improvement and growth.

ClickFunnels guides your customers through the entire sales journey, from the first point of contact to the final purchase. It helps you design and implement effective sales funnels, optimize them based on performance data, and automate follow-up communications to encourage repeat purchases.

Quick Comparison: ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels

Key Features	ThriveCart	ClickFunnels
#1) Pricing		Winner
#2) Free Plan		Winner
#3) Design & Functionality	Tie	Tie
#4) Sales Funnels		Winner
#5) Checkout Pages	Winner
#6) Email Marketing Tools		Winner
#7) Membership Sites	Winner
#8) Affiliate Program Management System	Winner
#9) Landing Pages		Winner
#10) AI & Automation		Winner
#11)  Integration		Winner
#12) Customer Support		Winner
Overall		Winner

Feature Comparison: ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels

Let’s compare the features of these sales funnel builders, so you can make the right decision for you and your business.

#1) Pricing

ThriveCart offers a one-time lifetime deal for $495, with an optional Pro upgrade for an extra $195. Sounds steep? It all depends on how long you plan to be in the game. If you’re serious about building a long-term sales empire, ThriveCart’s upfront cost could pay off quickly.

ClickFunnels takes a different approach, offering monthly plans starting at $147. It also has Pro and Funnel Hacker options for more features and higher limits. Consider it renting your funnel tools – affordable to start, but the payments stack up over time.

While ThriveCart’s one-time fee can be more economical in the long term, ClickFunnels’ lower initial cost and tiered plans offer more flexibility and accessibility, especially for new or smaller businesses.

Verdict:  ClickFunnels takes the prize on pricing, especially for beginners or those with shorter-term goals.

#2) Free Plan

ThriveCart doesn’t provide a free plan. However, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try out their platform risk-free for a month. This will enable you to test out all its features before making a long-term commitment.

On the other hand, ClickFunnels offers a 14-day free trial. During this period, you have complete access to all the features that ClickFunnels offers. It’s an excellent opportunity to understand how ClickFunnels can fit into your business without any financial obligation.

When it comes to choosing between the two based on a free plan or trial, ClickFunnels takes the lead. Their 14-day free trial is a more direct way to experience the platform than ThriveCart’s refund policy.

Verdict: For the free plan, ClickFunnels is the better choice.

#3) Design & Functionality

ThriveCart is known for its quality design options and functionality. It offers a variety of cart and checkout design templates to enhance your sales pages. With its Checkout design editor, you can add various elements such as text, video, HTML, and more, creating a highly customized and conversion-optimized sales funnel. Also, ThriveCart allows you to easily share or import another cart or page design, making it flexible and user-friendly. 

ClickFunnels, on the other hand, is well-regarded for its drag-and-drop design functionality, making it very easy to create and customize your sales funnels. It also offers a broad range of pre-made templates, which can be helpful if you’re looking to get up and running quickly. Plus, ClickFunnels’ design options are highly intuitive, allowing you to create professional-looking pages without requiring any technical expertise.

Both ThriveCart and ClickFunnels have strong design capabilities and functionalities. Your choice should depend on your specific needs and preferences, whether you want more design options or prefer simplicity and ease of use.

Verdict: For design and functionality, it’s a tie, my friend! Both excel in their respective domains. 

#4) Sales Funnels

While not specifically a full-fledged funnel builder, ThriveCart packs a punch when it comes to checkout-centric funnels. It offers one-click upsells, order bumps, abandoned cart recovery, and pre-built funnel templates for common scenarios. Think of it as a streamlined, conversion-optimized tunnel directly to your cash register.

This is where ClickFunnels truly shines. Drag-and-drop landing pages, pre-built funnels for every type of goal, A/B testing, and membership site functionality – you get the tools to build intricate, multi-step journeys that guide your audience toward that “Buy Now” button.

If you’re looking for a tool that simplifies and optimizes the checkout process, ThriveCart would be your go-to choice. However, if you need a more comprehensive solution for creating and managing entire sales funnels, ClickFunnels would be the better fit.

Verdict: For sales funnels, ClickFunnels stands out as the better choice, especially if your strategy involves creating intricate, multi-layered funnels that guide visitors through various stages of engagement and offer multiple upselling opportunities.

#5) Checkout Pages

ThriveCart prides itself on creating beautiful, high-converting checkout, upsell, and success pages. With a variety of cart and checkout design templates at your disposal, you can take your sales pages to the next level. 

Additionally, ThriveCart’s Checkout design editor enables you to customize existing section blocks, enhancing the look and feel of your checkout process. An added feature is the ability to add terms and conditions to your checkout pages, which customers need to accept before their order can be processed.

On the other hand, ClickFunnels features also allow you to design checkout pages as part of its comprehensive sales funnel builder. With its drag-and-drop editor, you can easily customize your checkout pages to match your brand. However, it may not offer as many specific features for checkout optimization as ThriveCart does.

ThriveCart provides more specialized tools and features specifically for optimizing checkout pages. While ClickFunnels offers a checkout page design, it focuses more on the overall sales funnel creation.

Verdict: For checkout pages, ThriveCart is the better choice.

#6) Email Marketing Tools

ThriveCart offers built-in email marketing tools for basic sequences and automation. These are perfect for simple follow-up emails, abandoned cart triggers, and basic customer communication. However, you’ll likely need to integrate with a third-party email service provider (ESP) for more complex marketing campaigns and drip sequences.

ClickFunnels has built-in email marketing functionality through its Follow-Up Funnels feature. This allows you to set up email sequences, track opens and clicks, and segment your audience—all within the same platform. If you already use another email service, ClickFunnels also offers integrations with many popular email marketing tools.

ClickFunnels takes the email crown, hands down. Its comprehensive email marketing tools offer everything you need to launch effective campaigns and nurture your leads through the sales funnel. If you prioritize email as your primary communication channel, ClickFunnels is your knight in shining armor.

Verdict: ClickFunnels is the superior choice for email marketing campaigns, offering a more comprehensive and integrated set of tools to effectively enhance your email marketing strategies.

#7) Membership Sites

ThriveCart: It wouldn’t be the checkout champion without tackling memberships, too. ThriveCart lets you create tiered membership levels, drip content, manage member access, and even integrate with community tools. It’s a solid, straightforward solution for membership site needs, especially for digital product bundles or gated content communities.

ClickFunnels offers dedicated “Membership Funnels” alongside all its other funnel-building goodness. You can design landing pages, automate content delivery, manage access levels, and integrate with various tools. 

It’s a close call! For simplicity and focus on digital product membership sites, ThriveCart shines. Its clear structure and dedicated features make setting up and managing your member kingdom easy. ClickFunnels requires more tinkering and customization compared to ThriveCart’s focused approach.

Verdict: For membership site creation, ThriveCart is the preferable choice due to its effective integration with a variety of popular membership platforms, offering flexibility and seamless sales functionality for your membership-based business.

#8) Affiliate Management System 

ThriveCart lets you set custom commissions, track performance, automate payouts, and even offer tiered affiliate levels. Its focus is laser-sharp: empowering you to build and manage a thriving affiliate program for your digital products.

ClickFunnels also offers an affiliate management tool known as Backpack. While it integrates well within the ClickFunnels ecosystem, its features are generally considered less extensive than ThriveCart’s. Backpack allows for basic affiliate program setup and tracking, but it might lack some of the advanced customization options that ThriveCart offers.

While ClickFunnels offers basic affiliate management features within its funnels, it’s not its main focus. You can create affiliate links, track clicks and conversions, and even automate payouts. However, the features are more limited than ThriveCart’s dedicated system, and integrating with external affiliate management tools might be necessary for more complex programs.

Verdict: For an affiliate program system, ThriveCart is recommended, offering a more flexible and feature-rich environment for managing and optimizing your affiliate marketing efforts.

#9) Landing Pages

ThriveCart is primarily a checkout cart solution, but it does offer the ability to create high-converting landing pages for your products. These sales pages are optimized for conversions and can be customized to match your brand. However, the customization options are somewhat limited compared to other dedicated landing page builders.

On the flip side, ClickFunnels excels in this area. It offers a robust landing page builder with a wide variety of pre-designed templates. You can fully customize these templates or build your own from scratch using the drag-and-drop editor. Furthermore, ClickFunnels’ landing pages are designed to guide visitors through your sales funnel, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

When it comes to building landing pages, ClickFunnels is the clear leader. Its dedicated tools and integrated approach make it easy for you to create and optimize landing pages that effectively convert visitors into leads and customers.

Verdict: For landing pages, ClickFunnels stands out. Its sheer variety, customization options, and A/B testing tools equip you to craft captivating landing pages that grab attention and drive conversions. 

#10) AI & Automation

ThriveCart offers some automation in its platform. For instance, you can set up rules for specific triggers and actions, such as automatically sending a follow-up email after a customer makes a purchase. However, while ThriveCart does offer integrations with various email marketing platforms for further automation, it doesn’t have a built-in AI system to optimize your funnels.

ClickFunnels has a “Follow-Up Funnels” feature that allows you to automate your email marketing. You can create personalized messages within your funnels based on your customers’ actions. While ClickFunnels doesn’t have a specific AI feature, its automation capabilities are more extensive than ThriveCart’s.

Considering AI and automation, ClickFunnels has the upper hand with its more advanced automation features. While ThriveCart offers basic automation and integration with other platforms, ClickFunnels provides more comprehensive in-platform automation capabilities.

Verdict: ClickFunnels is the superior option for AI and automation.

#11) Integration

ThriveCart integrates with numerous third-party apps and services. It supports a variety of payment gateways, email marketing tools, membership platforms, and webinar systems. This means you can easily connect ThriveCart to your existing tools, making it a versatile choice for those relying heavily on integrations.

On the other hand, ClickFunnels also boasts an impressive array of integration options. It integrates with various third-party tools, from payment processors to email autoresponders. Plus, with its in-built Zapier integration, you can connect ClickFunnels with hundreds of other apps, further expanding its integration capabilities.

Both ThriveCart and ClickFunnels excel in integration capabilities. They both offer a wide range of integration options, allowing you to connect with various third-party tools and services. However, ClickFunnels’ built-in Zapier integration gives it a slight edge by enabling connections with an even broader range of apps.

Verdict: For integration capabilities, ClickFunnels edges out ThriveCart.

#12) Customer Support

ThriveCart provides customer support primarily through its support ticket system. You can submit a ticket with your query or issue, and the support team will get back to you. They also offer a comprehensive knowledge base filled with tutorials and guides to help you navigate the platform.

ClickFunnels, on the other hand, offers several channels for customer support. They have a live chat feature that’s available 24/7, providing instant responses to your queries. In addition to this, they have a vast library of helpful articles, video tutorials, and a vibrant community forum where you can get additional assistance.

When it comes to customer support, ClickFunnels takes the lead. While ThriveCart does offer reliable support, the availability of live chat support from ClickFunnels provides an immediate solution to any issues you encounter, which can be critical in running your online business smoothly.

Verdict: For customer support, ClickFunnels is the better choice.

Final Thoughts on ThriveCart vs ClickFunnels

ThriveCart and ClickFunnels are powerful tools, but ClickFunnels wins the crown for most aspiring funnel builders. Here’s why:

ClickFunnels is your one-stop shop: Drag-and-drop landing pages, pre-built funnels, the platform’s email marketing feature, and membership sites – it’s everything you need to build complex, multi-stage funnels from scratch. It’s like having a Swiss Army Knife for your sales empire.

ThriveCart excels at laser-focused checkout optimization: One-click upsells, abandoned cart recovery, and streamlined checkouts make it a conversion champion for digital product sales. But its focus on checkouts comes at the cost of broader funnel-building features.

However, when considering the overall functionality, flexibility, and integration of various marketing tools, ClickFunnels is the better choice. Its comprehensive approach to sales funnel creation, effective landing page builder, and extensive automation features make it a one-stop solution for anyone looking to create sales funnels. 

The added advantage of integrated email marketing and membership site creation tools positions ClickFunnels as a versatile platform suitable for a wide range of marketing and sales activities.

Drawing on my experience and thorough analysis, I strongly recommend ClickFunnels to anyone looking to build and manage effective sales funnels. It’s especially well-suited for businesses and entrepreneurs who need an all-encompassing tool that simplifies the funnel creation process and enhances every stage of the customer journey.

Trust me when I say that investing in ClickFunnels can potentially transform how you automate your business and take your sales to the next level. So why wait? Start your journey with ClickFunnels today.