The ClickFunnels alternative for paid ads
ClickFunnels bundles pages, email, courses and a store for people building an online business. ElasticFunnels is built for teams buying traffic: split tests under one URL, checkout across your MIDs, and every sale tied back to the ad. Here is how the two compare, sourced from ClickFunnels' public pages.
Comparing more options? See other ClickFunnels alternatives, ranked.
| At a glance | ClickFunnels | ElasticFunnels |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $97 a month (Launch) | $97 a month (Starter) |
| Free trial | 14 days, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. | 14 days. |
| Split tests | One variant per funnel step. Only the first step shares the funnel URL. | Up to 5 variants under one URL, on every step. |
| Merchant accounts | Rule-based gateway routing in Payments AI. Retry on another MID not publicly stated. | Weighted across your NMI MIDs, filtered by card brand, product and amount, with daily/monthly caps. |
| Verdict | Pick ClickFunnels for email, courses and community in one bundle. | Pick ElasticFunnels to scale paid traffic without resetting ad learning. |
Test every step without touching the ad
On ClickFunnels, only the first funnel step keeps its URL during a test. On ElasticFunnels, every page does.
ClickFunnels' help center is clear about how A/B tests work: "Each funnel step can accommodate a maximum of one variant page." The first step's variants are served at the funnel's root URL, and later steps use separate page paths.
ElasticFunnels rotates variants server-side under one URL, on any page. Test the presell, the VSL, the checkout and the upsell at the same time, with as many variants as you like. The ad keeps pointing at the same address, so Meta, Google and TikTok never go back into learning.
The winner is picked on sales, and the sale posts back to the ad platform server-side. See how it works on the split testing page.
ClickFunnels vs ElasticFunnels side by side
Where ClickFunnels does not publicly state a capability, we say so.
| ClickFunnels | ElasticFunnels | |
|---|---|---|
| A/B split tests | Yes. "Each funnel step can accommodate a maximum of one variant page." The first step is served at the funnel's root URL, later steps at separate page paths. | YesVariants rotate server-side under one URL, so Meta, Google and TikTok keep their learning. Winners are picked on sales. |
| Routing by UTM, country or device | Not publicly stated | YesRoute visitors by UTM, country, device, affiliate or any query parameter, on the same URL. |
| Page and funnel builder | Yes. Drag-and-drop editor, funnels built from steps, plus stores and a blog. | YesPages, funnels, quizzes and popups, with reusable components and pages as code. |
| AI page builder | Yes. The AI funnel builder "generates the funnel layout including copy, pages, and flow". | YesBuilds any page you describe, from VSLs and advertorials to quizzes and checkouts. Or paste a URL and the AI clones it into an editable page. |
| Order bumps | Yes. An Order Bump component inside the Checkout element. | YesOrder bumps on the checkout, then one-click upsells and downsells after it. |
| One-click upsells and downsells | Yes. Smart Checkout's one-time-offer state skips re-entering the card. | YesOne-click upsells and downsells charge the saved card, with no second form. |
| Subscriptions and dunning | Yes. Payments AI retries failed payments by rule, and workflows have an Exit Dunning step. | YesSubscriptions and rebills live on the same customer record as the first order. |
| Payment gateways | Its own gateway, Stripe, PayPal, NMI, Coinbase and Klarna through Payments AI. | YesStripe, NMI, PayPal, Klarna and Authorize.net, plus Shop Pay. Connect as many merchant accounts as you run. |
| Routing across merchant accounts | Partial. Payments AI routes by "customer location, currency, product, or transaction amount". Retrying a declined charge on another merchant account is not publicly stated. | YesWeighted across your NMI MIDs, filtered by card brand, product and amount, with daily/monthly caps. The load balancing report breaks out sales, revenue and refunds per MID. |
| CRM | Contacts, plus an Opportunities pipeline: 1 on Scale, 10 on Optimize, 20 on Dominate. Custom objects not publicly stated. | YesCustom entities, fields, pipelines and stages, not just a contact list. |
| Email marketing | Yes, built in. Contacts and sends are capped per plan. | PartialOrder emails are built in. Campaigns run through Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp and the other email integrations. |
| Affiliate program | Yes. Affiliate Center, on Optimize and Dominate only. | YesRun your own affiliate program, and take BuyGoods, ClickBank and Digistore24 orders by postback. |
| Call center | Partial. Admins can create an order and enter a card by hand. An agent queue is not publicly stated. | YesAgent queue, screen pop, dispositions, do-not-call list and agent commissions, with phone orders on the customer record. On every plan. |
| Server-side conversions | Partial. Meta Conversions API. Google and TikTok server-side not publicly stated. | YesThe sale posts back server-side to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit and more. |
| Sale-level attribution | Not publicly stated | YesEvery order is tied to its ad, UTM and page variant. Build dashboards from 80+ card types. |
| API and developer access | Yes. REST API and webhooks on Scale, Optimize and Dominate. | YesREST API, the ef CLI, server-side scripts on any page and an MCP server for AI agents. |
| AI coding agents and CLI | Yes, in beta. An official MCP server lets Claude and ChatGPT read and edit funnels and pages. A CLI is not publicly stated. | YesClaude Code or Codex can build pages, launch split tests and read the results through the ef CLI. ef mcp connects Claude Desktop. |
| Courses and community | Yes. Courses capped at 3, 6, 10 or 20 by plan, plus Community. | YesCourse and membership areas, on every plan. |
How we source this. Every ClickFunnels cell is taken from their own public site or documentation, last checked on 25 September 2026 at clickfunnels.com and support.myclickfunnels.com. Where they do not publicly state a capability we say so, rather than claiming they lack it. If anything here is out of date, email [email protected] and we will correct it. ClickFunnels is a trademark of Etison LLC. ElasticFunnels is not affiliated with it.
ClickFunnels pricing vs ElasticFunnels pricing
ClickFunnels prices by team size, contacts and courses. ElasticFunnels prices by traffic.
ClickFunnels
Metered on contacts, team members and courses
- Launch$97 a month, 2 team members, 10K contacts
- Scale$197 a month, 5 team members, 75K contacts
- Optimize$297 a month, 10 team members, 150K contacts
- Dominate$5,997 a year, annual only
- Annual billing$81, $164 and $248 a month
- Payments AI fee2.9% + $0.30 standard base fee
- Free trial14 days
ElasticFunnels
Metered on page views
- Starter$97 a month, 50,000 page views, 3 brands
- Growth$197 a month, 250,000 page views, 10 brands
- Scale$497 a month, 500,000 page views, unlimited brands
- EnterpriseCustom
- Checkout fee0.5% on EF-run gateways only
- Free trial14 days
Same entry price, different meter. Both start at the same monthly price. ClickFunnels caps contacts, team members and courses by plan (our full ClickFunnels pricing breakdown lists every tier and fee). ElasticFunnels caps page views and brands, and charges 0.5% only on orders taken through an EF-run gateway. Orders from BuyGoods, ClickBank or any external cart cost nothing extra. See every plan on the pricing page.
Where ClickFunnels wins
ClickFunnels does things ElasticFunnels does not try to do. If these matter most, it is the better buy.
Email, courses and community in one bill
Every plan includes email sends, courses, a community and a store. ElasticFunnels hands email campaigns to Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign.
A built-in affiliate center
Optimize and Dominate include Affiliate Center, with single-tier and two-tier commissions.
Many gateways in Payments AI
Its own gateway, Stripe, PayPal, NMI, Coinbase and Klarna, with rule-based routing and subscription dunning.
Which one is for you
Two different jobs. Take the tool built for yours.
Pick ClickFunnels if
You are building an online business around one offer and want pages, email, courses and a community under one login. You rarely run paid traffic, so a test that changes the URL costs you nothing.
Pick ElasticFunnels if
You buy traffic and every test counts. Split test any step under one URL, route the checkout across your MIDs, run a call center on the same customer record, and send the verified sale to Meta, Google and TikTok. Start with the 14-day free trial.
How to switch from ClickFunnels
Most teams move one funnel first, then the rest.
Clone the pages you already run.
Paste each ClickFunnels page URL into the AI builder. It comes back as an editable ElasticFunnels page.
Connect your gateways.
Add Stripe, NMI, PayPal, Klarna and Authorize.net and rebuild bumps and upsells on the new checkout. MID routing rules run on NMI.
Point one ad at the new funnel.
Split test it against the old one on sales, then move the rest when the numbers say so.
Bring the funnel you run on ClickFunnels.
Book a demo and bring the funnel you run on ClickFunnels today, with the ads behind it. We will walk through how the same funnel runs on ElasticFunnels: split tests under one URL, routing across your MIDs, and the sale posted back to the ad.
ClickFunnels alternative FAQ
Is ElasticFunnels a ClickFunnels alternative?
Yes. Both build funnels and take orders. ElasticFunnels adds split tests on any step under one URL, routing across merchant accounts, a call center on the customer record and server-side conversions to the ad platforms.
How much does ClickFunnels cost?
ClickFunnels starts at $97 a month on Launch, then Scale and Optimize, with Dominate sold yearly. Annual billing lowers each monthly price. ElasticFunnels starts at $97 a month.
Can ClickFunnels split test without changing the URL?
Only on the first step. ClickFunnels serves the first step's variants at the funnel's root URL and later steps at separate page paths, with one variant per step. ElasticFunnels keeps one URL on every page.
Does ClickFunnels route payments across merchant accounts?
Payments AI routes by location, currency, product or amount. Retrying a declined charge on another merchant account is not publicly stated. ElasticFunnels routes orders by weight across your NMI MIDs.
How do I move my funnels from ClickFunnels?
Paste each page URL into the ElasticFunnels AI builder to clone it, connect your gateways, then split test the new funnel against the old one before you move all your traffic.
Other comparisons
Every comparison is sourced from the vendor's own pages and dated.
Comparing more options? Every tool on the list, and who each one suits.
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Kartra alternative
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Systeme.io alternative
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SamCart alternative
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All comparisons
Every ElasticFunnels comparison, sourced, dated and corrected when a vendor ships something new.