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Last Updated on 30th April 2024
Are you looking to start your online business, but are overwhelmed by which marketing software platform you should use?
Here in this Systeme.io vs ClickFunnels comparison guide, we take a look at 2 of the best options on the market.
ClickFunnels is the most popular marketing platform on the market with a ton of affiliates recommending it as the best thing since sliced bread.
It’s true, it is a good tool, but it’s expensive…
Systeme.io, on the other hand, is a more complete solution that offers more tools and even has a free-for-life plan.
So, which one do you choose?
Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of each platform.
Let’s get to it!
What Is Systeme.io?
Systeme has also been around for a while as it first launched in 2016. The founder of Systeme.io, Aurelien Amacker, is a highly successful entrepreneur who first started his online journey as a humble blogger.
After building an audience and having success as a blogger, he launched his first course, which was very successful.
From there, he decided to move into the SaaS market and create an all-in-one marketing platform that not only provides the key tools that entrepreneurs need to run their business, but also a platform that is affordable for anyone.
This is the reason why Aurelien decided to offer a free-for-life plan on the Systeme.io platform so anyone can get started as an entrepreneur online, regardless if they have any money to get started or not.
Systeme.io also has a great reputation in the marketplace with over 1,000 TrustPilot reviews at a 4.9/5 rating.
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What Is ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels was one of the first all-in-one business platforms to hit the market back in 2014. It was founded by entrepreneurs, Russell Brunson and Todd Dickerson.
ClickFunnels is best known for its funnel builder tool, which many would say is its strongest feature.
Over the years, ClickFunnels has built a cult-like following by helping entrepreneurs build successful online businesses through the use of their marketing platform, and digital training courses.
ClickFunnels is based in Idaho, United States, and currently has over 100,000 users. They also have a very active Facebook community too, with more than 380,000 followers.
Systeme.io vs ClickFunnels – What Features Does Each Platform Have?
If you’ve been in the online marketing space for more than 5 minutes, then you will already know that there are lots of competitors in the marketing software space.
Each platform has a few differences that make them stand out.
But in my honest opinion, Systeme.io and ClickFunnels are two of the best all-in-one business platforms you can choose from.
Here are the features that each platform offers:
Systeme.io Feature List
Overall, Systeme.io has more features than ClickFunnels, in fact, more than almost any other platform out there.
The Systeme.io features include:
- Sales funnel builder (drag-and-drop)
- Landing page builder
- Upsells, down sells, and order bumps
- A/B testing
- Deadline funnels
- Email marketing (autoresponder)
- Website builder
- Blogging platform
- Affiliate program management
- Business automation
- Evergreen webinars
- Online course creator and hosting (membership areas)
Systeme.io is a highly affordable all-in-one marketing platform that comes packed with all the main tools you’re going to need to run an online business.
Besides sales funnels and websites, you can also build landing pages in Systeme.io as well as create and sell online courses, run your email marketing automations, build a community, run webinars, set up an affiliate program, and even host your videos.
Yes, that last one – hosting your videos for you is something that ClickFunnels does not offer!
Systeme.io also has a free migration service for anyone who needs to migrate an existing business from another platform (for example, from ClickFunnels to Systeme, or from Kartra to Systeme, etc).
The free migration service is available for anyone who registers with the Unlimited plan at $97 per month. Alternatively, you can also get the free migration service if you opt for any paid plan on annual billing.
I was sceptical at first as to how the Systeme.io team would be able to migrate a person’s business form one platform to another, until I saw a few testimonials from customers who took this service.
You can see some of these testimonials here:
It’s also worth noting that all Systeme.io features are available on every plan, except for the webinar feature, which is only available on the Webinar plan and the unlimited plan.
The following benefits are also available to every plan user, including the Systeme.io free-for-life plan:
- Unlimited emailing
- Unlimited file storage space
- Unlimited course students
- No transaction fees
- Affiliate program management
- Online support
Systeme.io also has a decent affiliate program where you can earn a very generous 60% commission on all paying customers you refer to use the software.
ClickFunnels Feature List
ClickFunnels also has some great features, although not as many as Systeme.io.
The ClickFunnels features include:
- Sales funnel builder (drag-and-drop)
- Upsells, down sells, and order bumps
- A/B testing
- Online course creator and hosting (membership areas)
- Follow-up funnels (email autoresponder)
- Affiliate program management
- Webinars
- FunnelFlix (library of marketing training courses)
- Advanced integrations
- Lots of funnel templates
It’s important to know that not all ClickFunnels features are available on every plan.
If you want to use ClickFunnels’ email marketing feature, affiliate management feature, or webinar feature, then you’ll need to upgrade to the Platinum plan (see below).
While Systeme.io does have more features and more generous usage restrictions, ClickFunnels offers lots more funnel templates and in-built integrations.
That’s not to say that Systeme.io can’t integrate with as many third-party tools. It can. But you will also need to use Zapier to connect with some providers.
It’s also important to know that if you’re on the ClickFunnels Standard plan, then you’ll be limited to which marketing training courses you can watch in the FunnelFlix library.
Systeme.io vs ClickFunnels Service Costs
Now you have clarity on what features you can expect on each platform, let’s take a look at the price of each platform.
I’ll also highlight which features you get on each pricing plan.
Systeme.io Cost
Systeme.io is priced considerably cheaper than ClickFunnels. Systeme.io also has a free-for-life plan, which ClickFunnels simply does not offer.
If you have very little to no budget to spend on your business, then go for the Systeme.io free plan. (End of article for you – decision made!) 🙂
The Systeme.io free plan comes with all the core features of the platform. However, there are some usage limits to be aware of.
Systeme.io Free Plan Usage Limits
Here are the main usage limits on the free plan that you need to know about:
- Email contacts – 2,000
- Emails sent per month – unlimited
- Custom domains – 1
- Sales funnels – 3
- Sales funnel steps – 10
- 1-click upsells – 1
- Order bumps – 1
- A/B testing – 1
- Blogs – 1
- Blog posts – unlimited
- Courses – 1
- Students – unlimited
- File storage – unlimited
- Email campaigns – 1
- Automation rules – 1
For a full list of usage restrictions on this plan click here.
Systeme.io Startup Plan ($27 p/m) Usage Limits
Here are the main usage limits on the Startup plan that you need to know about:
- Email contacts – 5,000
- Emails sent per month – unlimited
- Custom domains – 3
- Sales funnels – 10
- 1-click upsells – 10
- Order bumps – 10
- A/B testing – 10
- Sales funnel steps – 50
- Blogs – 5
- Blog posts – unlimited
- Courses – 5
- Students – unlimited
- File storage – unlimited
- Email campaigns – 10
- Automation rules – 10
For a full list of usage restrictions on this plan click here.
Systeme.io Webinar Plan ($47 p/m) Usage Limits
Here are the main usage limits on the Webinar plan that you need to know about:
- Email contacts – 10,000
- Emails sent per month – unlimited
- Custom domains – 10
- Sales funnels – 50
- Sales funnel steps – 300
- 1-click upsells – 100
- Order bumps – 100
- A/B testing – 50
- Blogs – 20
- Blog posts – unlimited
- Courses – 20
- Students – unlimited
- File storage – unlimited
- Email campaigns – 100
- Automation rules – 100
- Webinar feature available
For a full list of usage restrictions on this plan click here.
Systeme.io Unlimited Plan ($97 p/m) Usage Limits
Here are the main usage limits on the Unlimited plan that you need to know about:
- Email contacts – unlimited
- Emails sent per month – unlimited
- Custom domains – unlimited
- Sales funnels – unlimited
- Sales funnel steps – unlimited
- A/B testing – unlimited
- 1-click upsells – unlimited
- Order bumps – unlimited
- Blogs – unlimited
- Blog posts – unlimited
- Courses – unlimited
- Students – unlimited
- File storage – unlimited
- Email campaigns – unlimited
- Automation rules – unlimited
- Webinar feature available
You can see the full pricing details for Systeme io here.
Other Important Things To Know About Systeme.io
Systeme.io 30% Discount Offer – Annual Plans
As I said earlier, you can pay for Systeme.io monthly at the prices listed above.
Howewver, if you want to save yourself 30% each year, then you can opt to buy Systeme.io on an annual plan. This will save you 30% every year.
Below, are the prices and back door links for the Systeme.io annual plans:
- Startup annaul plan ($228 per year) – sign up here
- Webinar annual plan ($396 per year) – sign up here
- Unlimited annual plan (($828 per year) – sign up here
ClickFunnels Cost
As I said earlier, ClickFunnels is quite a bit more expensive than Systeme.io. Having said that, ClickFunnels is a leading brand in the space with a cult-like following, so they can get away with charging a bit more for their services.
It’s important to know that not all, or even most of the CleakFunnels features are available on all plans. See below.
ClickFunnels Basic Plan ($97 p/m)
On the ClickFunnels Basic plan you basically get access to the funnel builder, the funnel template library, and some training courses in the FunnelFlix library.
Available features:
- Funnel builder (drag-and-drop)
- FunnelFlix (restricted access)
- Email support
Basic plan usage restrictions:
- Funnels – 20
- Funnel pages – 100
- Monthly visits – 20,000
- Contacts – unlimited
- Sub users (assistant accounts) – 1
- Custom domains – 3
- Payment gateways – 3
ClickFunnels Platinum Plan ($297 p/m)
If you upgrade to ClickFunnels Platinum, then you get access to all features.
Available features:
- Funnel builder (drag-and-drop)
- FunnelFlix (restricted access)
- Follow-up Funnels (email autoresponder)
- Backpack (affiliate management dashboard)
- Weekly hackathons
- Priority support
Platinum plan usage restrictions:
- Funnels – unlimited
- Funnel pages – unlimited
- Monthly visits – unlimited
- Contacts – unlimited
- Sub users (assistant accounts) – 3
- Custom domains – 9
- Payment gateways – 9
Other Important Things To Know About ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels also has 3 more special deals available here.
Systeme.io vs ClickFunnels – And The Winner Is…
I’ve used both Systeme.io and ClickFunnels over the years in my business, and I can say they’re both great tools.
However, after putting both of these tools to the test, weighing everything up, considering all features offered by both platforms, and considering the price of each, Systeme.io, in my opinion, is the better choice, especially for newbies.
Yes, ClickFunnels has more integrations, a nice funnel template library, and a slightly better funnel builder, but for me, this just doesn’t justify the extra cost.
So, unless you really dig Russell Brunson and want to join the ClickFunnels cult, I’d recommend using Systeme.io.
Don’t get me wrong, I do actually dig Russell myself, and I recommend many of his other digital products because they’re awesome. But when it comes to comparing the Systeme.io and ClickFunnels software side by side, I choose Systeme.io.
So, that’s just my opinion… take it or leave it, it’s up to you.
If you need more clarity, below, are the reasons why you should choose each platform.
Reasons For Choosing Systeme.io
- You need an all-in-one platform where you can do things like build a sales funnel, a website, a membership site, manage your email marketing, and run webinars
- You want a platform where you can manage everything under one roof
- You’re trying to keep your costs low, or you’re on a tight budget
Systeme.io Pros and Cons
- Free forever plan (no cc needed)
- Has all the tools you need to run a business online
- Easy to use
- Very low-cost plans
- Generous usage limits
- Excellent support
- Evolving platform
- Limited 3rd part integrations (use Zapier for a workaround)
Reasons For Choosing ClickFunnels
- You want to be a part of the ClickFunnels community
- You want to earn yourself a ClickFunnels award
- You want to access the training courses in FunnelFlix
ClickFunnels Pros and Cons
- 14 day free trial
- Easy to use
- Lots of funnel templates
- Great training courses in FunnelFlix
- Huge community
- Expensive
- Not all features available on all plans
Systeme.io vs ClickFunnels – Final Thoughts
Overall, Systemer.io is the clear winner here for someone who is looking to build an online business.
ClickFunnels is certainly the more established platform with a larger user base. It’s excellent for entrepreneurs whose primary focus is building sales funnels.
However, Systeme.io does everything ClickFunnels does and more, they have more generous usage restrictions, and are much more affordable.
If you’re new to online business, or if you’re looking to cut costs, then I highly recommend you give Systeme.io a go.
If you’re looking to transfer an existing business, then sign up with the Unlimited plan, or any plan on annual billing and the Systeme.io team will take care of everything for you.
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Steve West is the founder of entrepreneurnut.com, and has been working online since 2013. He specializes in SEO, YouTube, and affiliate marketing. Besides running his online business, he likes hiking, keeping fit, and eating cookies (which is why he needs to keep fit!)
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