ClickFunnels vs Shopify: What You Need To Know About The Two eCommerce Platforms

If you’re thinking of starting an eCommerce business, the platform you choose can make or break your success.

That’s why it’s important to compare and contrast the best options available, such as ClickFunnels vs Shopify.

As a beginner, the decision-making process can be daunting but fear not.

In this article, we will provide you with an in-depth comparison of these two eCommerce giants, so you can make an informed choice.

Feature Comparison

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is ideal for beginners who just need a simple yet powerful platform where they can set up their store and marketing funnel on the go. Here are some of the features available on ClickFunnels:

• Ready-made sales funnels: ClickFunnels gives you a ready-made sales funnel for all kinds of products, from physical products to online services. Templates for different pages (such as opt-in, sales, checkout, and thank you pages) are readily available. All you have to do is customize them to your taste.
• Website building tool: If you don’t want to use the ready-made sales funnel templates, you can use the website building tool to build your own sales funnel from scratch.  You will be able to add pretty much anything you’d need for a sales funnel: opt-in forms, checkout carts, and payment integration among others. This is for experts, though. It is advisable to stick to the readily available templates if you are just starting out.
• Payment integrations: ClickFunnels is integrated with Paypal, EasyPayDirect, Stripe, and other industry-standard payment processors. This enables you to collect your payments at a single point for easy revenue management.
• Customer Relation Management (CRM) System: eCommerce businesses are data-driven. The more detailed information you have about your customers, the better you can tailor your products to their needs. The CRM tool gives you access to customer data that enables you to customize your marketing campaigns to the different categories of customers. You can have access to their social profiles, their spending patterns and habits, and their geographical location—among other important information.
• Action Funnels: You can use the action funnels to combine your sales funnels with your email campaigns to create an automated marketing strategy. You can set up an If This Then That (IFTTT) function so that certain actions are triggered by consumer behavior on your site. For example, automatically add a customer to the return customer mailing list and send a thank you email if they make a purchase.
• An Affiliate Marketing System: The platform allows you to create affiliate marketing programs for your products. Other people will be able to earn commissions from any converted lead for your products through the link provided to them. This enables you to increase your sales by making everyone a potential champion for your brand.
• Email Marketing Tool: Marketing is an important aspect of any business. Email marketing is a proven digital marketing strategy that is bound to get you results. ClickFunnels comes with an email marketing tool that enables you to send customized email marketing campaigns to different categories of customers.

Shopify

Shopify is more suitable for expert business people with advanced knowledge of how to integrate various marketing software into the store, create funnels, and turn leads into sales. Here are some of the best features of Shopify:

• Online Store Builder: You will have access to a wide array of themes for building your store. You have also the freedom to customize every element of the themes. Develop the website to your tastes. The website is guaranteed to be mobile-responsive and you can even use its content management system to create blog posts on your website.
• Analytics Dashboard: Shopify provides Google Analytics integration so you can monitor the performance of different aspects of the business. This can be useful in making business decisions. You can also see how each product is performing so that it is a lot easier to manage inventory.
• Customer Management System: Just like ClickFunnels, Shopify lets you have detailed information about your customers so that you can tailor the products to their needs. It gives you the option of allowing your customers to shop as a guest or create an account to become repeat customers. Additionally, you can group the customers into different categories, and easily process refunds.
• Inventory Management System: As a business, you need to keep track of new and current inventories. Shopify’s Inventory Management System makes this easy. After adding a product and creating different variants of it, Shopify will automatically track the sales so that you can know when to restock.
• Payment Integration: Shopify is integrated with Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, and many other payment options. It also handles the taxation aspect of your business. You can give offers such as free shipping and coupon codes to clients. They have even partnered with major couriers that offer low shipping rates. And Shopify works with Orbelo for businesses that want to drop ship without stocking their own inventory.
• Social Media Sales Channels: When you use Shopify, your customers can make use of social media platforms to make purchases. They don’t have to leave those sites and visit yours to make a purchase. All you have to do is integrate your store with these platforms. Set up a store inside Facebook, Pinterest, eBay, and Amazon among others and you are ready to go.
• App Store: You can access amazing integrations and plugins from the Shopify app store. Create landing pages and opt-in forms with the numerous apps available in the store. You can also use them to get additional analytics and come up with engaging email marketing campaigns among other functionalities.
• Mobile App: The platform has a mobile app on both Android and iPhone devices so that you can run your business even when on the move.

Pricing Comparison

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels has two plans with the starter plan costing $97 per month. The more enhanced Etison suite plan goes for $297 per month.

The starter plan gets you limited features such as 20,000 visitors, 20 funnels, 100 pages, 1 SMTP integration, 3 custom domains, and A/B split testing among others. However, you won’t enjoy additional features such as the ability to send emails based on location or social media, 1-click easy setup, unlimited affiliates, and commission plans. ClickFunnels offers a 14-day free trial for both plans. This is a big part of our ClickFunnels vs Shopify review.

Shopify

Just like ClickFunnels, Shopify also gives a 14-day trial window. It, however, has three main plans, with two extra plans also available. The three main plans are Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. They come in at $29, $79, and $299 per month respectively. The number of staff accounts allowed on the different plans is 2, 5 and 15 respectively. You can only enjoy third-party calculated shipping rates on the Advanced Shopify plan.  The two extra plans are Shopify Plus (for large businesses) and Shopify Lite.

The Pros And Cons

ClickFunnels

The Pros

• Building a funnel is easy and doesn’t take long.
• You’ll have access to prebuilt funnels that are designed for maximum conversions. You don’t need prior marketing experience to be able to sell.
• You’ll have all the tools you need for your business with ClickFunnels so you won’t have to pay for external services.

The Cons

• Their plans are more expensive compared to Shopify.
• It’s primarily designed for single or small batches of products. Not a full eCommerce store.
• You have to be on a desktop as it doesn’t have a mobile app.

Shopify

The Pros

• You can sell several products at a go.
• Their delivery partners ensure that your clients enjoy low shipping rates.
• Their mobile app allows you to run your business on the go.

The Cons

• Shopify is mostly for payment processing. The marketing bit is on you.
• Integration with other services drives up business costs.
• It takes a lot of time and effort to set up a store. You also need to be knowledgeable about the technical aspects of marketing.

Final Verdict: ClickFunnels vs Shopify

So now we have had a look at ClickFunnels vs Shopify. Shopify provides excellent product management and delivery features. However, it needs a high level of expertise to be able to hack. It is more suitable for marketing professionals who are planning to run their online stores full-time.

ClickFunnels, on the other hand, is best for small product launches, especially if you are just starting out as a marketer. It is made with the beginner in mind. We hope this ClickFunnels vs Shopify article has cleared things up for you. 

ClickFunnels VS Shopify. Starting and maintaining a profitable online business in today’s marketing era is not easy.  You might have had success in the past, but there’s no guarantee that you will be successful this time. We all can understand this feeling, and it happens to all of us.

Quick Product Look

ClickFunnels

Setting the benchmark for sales funnel builders with its training, ease of use, and community, ClickFunnels takes the win, although it can get pricey if you’re just starting out.

• Easy to use
• Great community support
• Everything you need to sell

Shopify

Shopify is perfect for multiple products, however, it doesn’t have the testing ability that ClickFunnels has. It’s just ‘good enough’

• Lots of plugins
• Support and a mobile app
• Cheap pricing to get started

You need to understand that the e-commerce space is always evolving and there are always new things to test out and new strategies to implement.

And this brings us to two widely popular platforms, ClickFunnels, and Shopify.

Lately, there has been a debate going on among Internet marketers on which platform is better for e-commerce, Shopify or ClickFunnels.

Both of them have a solid reputation among internet marketers and drop shippers, respectively. But if you are asked to choose one of them, which one will you choose?

I can understand it can be confusing. After all, both of them offer a unique set of features, which makes them widely popular in their respective areas. Undoubtedly, both of these platforms have helped countless marketers and online businesses generate millions in revenue.

All e-commerce businesses are clouded by uncertainties. Whether you are starting a new business from scratch or maintaining an existing one, there is always this fear of doubt that everything you have built with such hard work and investment will fall in place.

This feeling is natural and mutual. Every entrepreneur, regardless of how successful they are have experienced it at one stage of their life.

There are many factors that can be attributed to a successful online business, such as market competitiveness, prospects, investment, customer satisfaction and support, platform, etc.

Among all these factors, there is only one that you can control and manage, and that is the platform.

Now there are dozens of platforms that allow marketers and entrepreneurs to start their online businesses, but unfortunately, only a handful of them are reliable — two of them being ClickFunnels and Shopify.

I understand that arriving at a favorable decision on whether you should choose ClickFunnels or Shopify can be a little confusing, especially if you are new to the world of e-commerce platforms.

It is beyond doubt that both platforms have assisted many entrepreneurs in generating millions of dollars over the years and that it is never too late for anyone to enjoy the benefits of either of these tools to succeed just as well.

So, let’s get down to the discussion about which is a better platform for drop shipping. Is it ClickFunnels or Shopify?

Why Dropshipping?

Dropshipping is undoubtedly an excellent business model, easy to follow, and intelligible. It is easy to start, requires no or low investment, is less risky than other business models, and can be easily automated using various extensions and platforms. Unfortunately, if you are new to it, there is an awful lot of information you need to grasp, and choosing the right platform to power your online business is one of them.

What Is ClickFunnels?

In case you have never promoted or marketed any product or service in your life, then, in that case, ClickFunnels is a platform with which I will advise you to choose to promote and sell your first product online.

Why is that so?

Because the ClickFunnels come loaded with dozens of professionally built, conversion-optimized, mobile responsive, and user-friendly sales funnels, the platform is packed with pre-built funnels that are designed for a variety of niches and gives you access to additional features such as the ability to start a subscription, host webinars, sell e-books, teach courses, and more.

By using ClickFunnels, an individual can not only create a comprehensive online store to sell their own services and products but can also use this platform to build their mailing list using their powerful email marketing automation tools.

Although the online stores you create with ClickFunnels are not as feature-rich as Shopify’s, the features provided are adequate to let anyone create a fully functional online store. In addition, with ClickFunnels, you can be assured that you’ll never have to pay a penny for another funnel application or email marketing platform ever again.

ClickFunnels is a powerful online sales funnel builder, which helps you generate conversion-optimized funnels for your business.

Created by Russell Brunson, today this $100 million company is helping thousands of Internet marketers, professional bloggers, and businesses generate leads without worrying about search engine optimization.

What makes ClickFunnels really unique is its ability to integrate with multiple other applications. For example, it can integrate with Twilio, which helps you to automate text messaging from within your dashboard (obviously you will need to have a subscription with Twilio).

Similarly, you can integrate it with PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, WordPress, and many other applications.

No matter what type of business you are in, if you want to sell it online, ClickFunnels can help you. Let’s look deeper into ClickFunnels VS Shopify.

What Is Shopify?

You have great products, and you want to sell them online. Unfortunately, you have no idea how to create a website that has integrated support for multiple payment systems, has SSL encryption, is fast, and is optimized to offer better usability. Now, you are worried that your dream will never come true.

Well, that’s not true!

Welcome to Shopify. It’s a cloud-based e-commerce platform that empowers you with world-class infrastructure, speed, and conversion-optimized e-commerce templates, integrated support for multiple payment systems, a robust content management system, and an easy-to-use inventory system to help you manage your products.

It really doesn’t matter whether you are a full-stack web developer or a newbie who doesn’t even know what apache is; Shopify is built for everyone.  As of now, Shopify can integrate with more than 70 payment gateways ( Worldwide) And has in buildability to present your content in 50 different languages.

What really makes Shopify stand out among other e-commerce platforms is its flexibility. You can extend its functionality with various add-ons and extensions. You can build your own custom designs and install them on your Shopify store, and the list goes on.

If you are interested in creating a full-fledged e-commerce website loaded with distinct products, images, and textual content and loaded with capabilities such as an integrated review system, multiple payment options, inbuilt inventory management, etc. then Shopify is definitely an excellent option for you.

In addition to dozens of powerful, customizable, and mobile models, you also have access to an inventory management system that allows you to integrate popular logistics companies such as DHL, and USPS, amongst many others. What’s more, you can even integrate multiple payment options, including PayPal, credit card, debit card, Internet banking, and also the cash-on-delivery option to make it easier for your customers to make payments on their purchases.

What Are The Differences?

I’m going to compare both of these platforms on five essential features which I think are essential for any online business and see what separates ClickFunnels VS Shopify.

A/B split test

A/B  split test is essential for every online business as it helps the webmaster to understand user activity on the website. With appropriate information, you can now redesign various elements of your site to improve click and conversion rates.

A/B testing is an integral part of ClickFunnels but is something you only be able to find in Shopify.

Prebuilt designs

not everyone is a programmer or a designer, so it’s quite useful and user-friendly if platforms provide pre-built templates.

Both platforms come with dozens of free and easy-to-customize designs. Browse through the inventory of templates and choose the one which satisfies your needs.

Now, simply click on various elements of the template to customize them and matches your branding. Once you’re satisfied with your redesign, you can save it and apply it to your live website.

Payment gateway integration

Both platforms support multiple different payment gateways. As of now, Shopify supports 70 payment processors, while ClickFunnels supports all major gateways, including stripe, PayPal, authorize, etc. (A total of 13).

Remember to add support for any payment gateway on your site you must first have a verified account with them.

Automation

Automation in online marketing refers to automated email responses, text messages, funnels, etc.

Although Shopify doesn’t have any integrated support for automation, you can always use a third-party extension to implement it. For example, you can install the free MailChimp app from the app store to add an email subscription form to your site.

Now whenever any user or visitor subscribes to your mailing list, they will automatically receive a discount coupon code ( If you choose to do so). Similarly, if any of your subscribers, unsubscribes from your list they will receive an email with a custom message.

Automation is something that is the core of ClickFunnels. ClickFunnels has inbuilt support for an automated responses via text messages and emails. The whole funnel management is on their own completely automated.

ClickFunnels VS Shopify Pricing

Both Shopify and ClickFunnels offer a 14-day free trial. The trial period gives you complete access to all the features of the platform. If after 14 days you feel that the platform is suitable for you, you can choose to upgrade to any of the premium subscription plans.

One of the vital differences between ClickFunnels VS Shopify pricing plans is that Shopify charges transaction fees on every sale in addition to their monthly charges. ClickFunnels has no such fees on the platform.

Currently, Shopify offers three monthly subscription plans. The first plan is the basic, and it starts at $29 per month. If you choose to subscribe to this plan, you will have to pay 2% transaction fees on every sale you make.

The second plan is “regular” which is suitable for businesses that are noticing growth. If you subscribe to this plan, you will have to pay a 1% transaction fee.

The third plan is called “advanced” and has a transaction fee of 0.5%. It’s the only plan which supports third-party calculated shipping rates.

Coming to ClickFunnels, offer two premium plans to which you can subscribe monthly or yearly.

The first plan is called “ClickFunnels”, and its monthly fee is $97. The next plan is called “Etison suite”, and its monthly payment is $297.

One key difference between both these plans is that with the Etison suite you get access to “Actionetics” and “backpack” while with the basic plan, you don’t have access to them.

Actionetics is ClickFunnel’s in-house email automation service which empowers you with every feature you will ever need to create a successful email marketing campaign. It gives you access to various advanced features such as autoresponders, the ability to send emails based on locations, the ability to track open and click rates, and much more.

The backpack is also an in-house service that lets marketers start their affiliate program.

ClickFunnels Vs. Shopify – Features Rundown

Essential Features of Shopify Platform

1. Store Builder

Shopify offers all its customers an excellent selection of professionally built and designed templates (both free and premium) that you can install, customize and even modify (requires programming skills) to create your own personalized, feature-rich online store. One of the unique features that Shopify offers is a powerful integrated drag-and-drop page builder that allows you to dynamically populate your site with distinct components (like images, galleries, products, text widgets, video, maps, etc.) without needing you to have any programming skills.

You can drag these components from the sidebar and place them on your store’s layout. After you have saved your modifications, Shopify will automatically populate those customized areas with appropriate components. Furthermore, you can also perform styling such as changing color, changing fonts, modifying navigation, adding a custom logo, favicon, etc.

In addition, Shopify also provides you with the ability to create a full-fledged blog where you can post articles or updates related to your store or brand.

2. Powerful analytics

Regardless of how big or small your business is, analytics is super crucial for you as it allows you to monitor your business’ performance and provides you with essential data that you can use to make appropriate changes to improve your business and profit margin further.

Though, Shopify provides you with the ability to integrate third-party analytics such as google analytics, etc. it also provides you with integrated analytics that allows you to track important activities on your website such as purchases, sales, user interactivity, etc. What I really like about Shopify’s analytics is the fact that it’s super easy to understand, then Google analytics. Shopify lists all its data in a beautiful graphical format, and you can access it by logging into your dashboard.

With its help, you can see from which country your customers usually arrive, how they interact with your website, and the time they spend, and you can even track the performance of every individual product listed on your store.

3. Inventory management

Shopify provides its customers with a full-fledged inventory management system that allows them to monitor their product stocks. Apart from monitoring, store owners can even add new items, add variants such as color, size, etc. and assign the number of items you have any stock. Shopify will automatically keep track of each sale and will notify you when your stock is low.

4. Extensions

Like many other content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc. Shopify also has its own dedicated app store (mainly an extension store) where you can find extensions or apps for various purposes and install them on your site with a single click of a button. Now it is essential for you to understand that the app store has both free extensions and premium extensions and in order to use premium extensions, you will have to pay a monthly, annual, or one-time fee.

Although with Shopify, you can be assured that you will have access to all the essential features that are necessary to manage a fully-fledged online store. However, some specialty stores require specialized features that are unfortunately not provided by Shopify by default. In such a case, they can browse the app store to find an appropriate extension to enable that specialized functionality on their site.

In addition to these essential functionalities, Shopify has many other useful features such as the customer management system, the sales channel, payment integration, a dedicated mobile application, sipping and delivery, etc.

Essential Features of ClickFunnels

1. Prebuilt templates

Just like Shopify, ClickFunnels comes loaded with dozens of professionally built templates designed specifically for sales pages, thank you pages, etc.

2. Multiple Payment Options

ClickFunnels offers its customers multiple billing integration support, but it’s only available on Etison suite which will cost you $297 a month. If you are subscribed to $97 a month plan, then you will have access to only one billing integration, and that is PayPal.

3. Affiliate Marketing

One of the best ways to get free promotion for your brand or store is to start your own affiliate program. In this way, bloggers and marketers will have a reason to promote your product or services on their website or websites, and you will only be paying them when they generate a sale. Thus, it is easy to understand that you will not have to waste money on promotional campaigns that do not yield any profit or customers.

Unfortunately, this feature is also available only for users who have subscribed to Etison suite.

4. Email Marketing Tools

Though ClickFunnels allows its customers to create opt-in forms and funnels, they get access to essential features such as email builder, the ability to manage email lists, autoresponder, etc. when they are subscribed to Etison suite.

Conclusion

Looking at the features that these two platforms offer, it is easy to understand that Shopify is more oriented toward e-commerce while ClickFunnels is principally intended for marketing.

So, you have the answer. If you plan to start an e-commerce business or enter the dropshipping business model, then you would want a platform that offers features that are well-suited for e-commerce. Although email marketing and funnels are essential, there are many other platforms that provide these two features at a much lower price.

Overall, I suggest you opt for Shopify if you are interested in creating a search engine-friendly, mobile-optimized, feature-rich e-commerce site.