The SamCart alternative for paid ads
SamCart is a checkout for digital products. ElasticFunnels wraps the checkout in the whole funnel: presells tested under one URL, MID routing, sales tied to the ad.
Comparing more options? See other SamCart alternatives, ranked.
| At a glance | SamCart | ElasticFunnels |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | SamCart Core: $79 a month | ElasticFunnels Starter: $97 a month |
| Free trial | 7 days | 14 days. |
| Bumps, upsells, A/B tests | SamCart Pro plan and up. | Every plan. |
| Merchant accounts | SamCart's Payment Routing assigns products to processors on Pro. Automatic retry on another MID not publicly stated. | Weighted across your NMI MIDs, filtered by card brand, product and amount, with a daily cap per MID. |
| Verdict | Built as a polished checkout for digital products, with courses. | Pick ElasticFunnels to test and scale the whole funnel on paid ads and affiliate traffic. |
The whole funnel around the checkout
SamCart tests the checkout. ElasticFunnels tests every page before and after it.
SamCart's split tests rotate checkout page variants, each one "essentially creating a new product with its own settings". They are a Pro feature, and the help article says it applies to the legacy content builder. Payment Routing assigns products to processors, with upsells and bumps on the primary product's processor.
ElasticFunnels tests the presell, the VSL, the checkout and the upsells under one URL, and picks the winner on sales. Orders spread by weight across your NMI MIDs.
Every order is tied to its ad and page variant and posted back server-side to Meta, Google Ads and TikTok. See checkout and MID routing.
SamCart vs ElasticFunnels side by side
Where SamCart does not publicly state a capability, we say so.
| SamCart | ElasticFunnels | |
|---|---|---|
| A/B split tests | SamCart Pro. Checkout variants rotate on the same URL, each one a new product. Upsell funnels can be tested, single upsells cannot. | 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 builder | Yes. Sales pages, microsites, link-in-bios and opt-ins, built with Pages AI. | YesPages, funnels, quizzes and popups, with reusable components and pages as code. |
| AI page builder | Yes. "Describe the page you want and get a full landing or sales page built". | 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 | SamCart Pro. Single-checkbox bumps, and global bumps across the catalog. | YesOrder bumps on the checkout, then one-click upsells and downsells after it. |
| One-click upsells and downsells | SamCart Pro. Multi-step upsell and downsell funnels on the same payment method. | YesOne-click upsells and downsells charge the saved card, with no second form. |
| Subscriptions and dunning | Yes. SamCart's Subscription Saver retries failed cards, on Pro. | YesSubscriptions and rebills live on the same customer record as the first order. |
| Payment processors | SamCart takes SamPay, Stripe and PayPal, plus Braintree, Authorize.net and Easy Pay Direct on Pro. | YesStripe, NMI, PayPal, Klarna and Authorize.net, plus Shop Pay. Connect as many merchant accounts as you run. |
| Routing across merchant accounts | Partial. Payment Routing assigns products to processors and can rotate merchant accounts. Automatic retry on a decline not publicly stated. | YesWeighted across your NMI MIDs, filtered by card brand, product and amount, with a daily cap per MID. The load balancing report breaks out sales, revenue and refunds per MID. On every plan, with no routing fee. |
| CRM | Partial. Customer records with order history, tags and notes. | YesCustom entities, fields, pipelines and stages, not just a contact list. |
| Email marketing | Cart abandonment and transactional emails. Campaigns through integrations. | YesEmails start from your order data: a customer enters or leaves a saved audience (bought X but not Y, refunded, top spenders) or matches a live audience on your page. First time only or at most once per gap you set, with an optional holdout. Sent through your own SMTP, Amazon SES, Postmark, SendGrid, Mailgun, Brevo, Resend or Mailrelay, with unsubscribes handled. Newsletters go out from Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp, kept in step with your audiences. |
| Affiliate program | Yes, on SamCart Pro. Multi-tier on Enterprise. | YesRun your own affiliate program, and take BuyGoods, ClickBank and Digistore24 orders by postback. |
| Call center | Partial. Add To Order charges the card on file. New phone orders 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 | Partial. UTM tracking and a referral report. | YesEvery order is tied to its ad, UTM and page variant. Build dashboards from 80+ card types. |
| API and developer access | Yes, on SamCart Pro. API and webhooks. | YesREST API, the ef CLI, server-side scripts on any page and an MCP server for AI agents. |
| AI coding agents and CLI | Not publicly stated. The API covers orders, customers and subscriptions, not pages. | 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 members area | Yes, on every SamCart plan. | YesCourse and membership areas, on every plan. |
How we source this. Every SamCart cell is taken from their own public site or documentation, last checked on 19 October 2026 at samcart.com and help.samcart.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. SamCart is a trademark of SamCart Inc. ElasticFunnels is not affiliated with it.
Two ways to send orders to Shopify
SamCart's side is taken from its help center, checked 11 October 2026.
SamCart
As its Shopify help article documents it
- WhenAn "Order Completed" trigger runs "Create Order in Shopify"
- ProductsEach mapped to a Shopify product
- UpsellsNot stated whether they join the order
ElasticFunnels
Order sync, built in
- WhenAfter a few quiet minutes with no purchase, or at your maximum wait
- ProductsMatched by SKU, no catalog mapping
- UpsellsMerged into the main order when you turn merging on
The difference comes after the first sale. Both tools put a paid order where your fulfillment can see it. ElasticFunnels keeps collecting the upsells and downsells from that funnel session into the same Shopify order, so one buyer means one order to pack. See how ElasticFunnels syncs to Shopify.
SamCart pricing vs ElasticFunnels pricing
SamCart keeps bumps, upsells and tests for Pro. ElasticFunnels puts them on every plan and prices by traffic.
SamCart
Metered on plan features and team seats
- SamCart Core$79 a month, 1 team seat
- SamCart Pro$199 a month, 10 team seats
- SamCart EnterpriseCustom
- SamCart annual billing$711 and $1,791 a year
- SamCart SamPay rate2.9% + 30c, no added platform fee
- SamCart trial7 days
ElasticFunnels
Metered on page views
- ElasticFunnels Starter$97 a month, 50,000 page views, 3 brands
- ElasticFunnels Growth$197 a month, 250,000 page views, 10 brands
- ElasticFunnels Scale$497 a month, 500,000 page views, unlimited brands
- ElasticFunnels EnterpriseCustom terms, on request
- Checkout fee0.5% on EF-run gateways only
- Free trial14 days
The checkout tools are the upgrade. On SamCart, order bumps, upsells, split tests, dunning and the API start on Pro. On ElasticFunnels they are on every plan; the price climbs with page views and brands, plus 0.5% on orders through an EF-run gateway. See every plan on the pricing page.
Why sellers look past SamCart
Where SamCart's own plan pages draw the line, next to what changes on ElasticFunnels.
| What users report | SamCart today | On ElasticFunnels |
|---|---|---|
| The funnel tools cost $199 a month | Order bumps, upsells, A/B tests and Subscription Saver are Pro features. Core, at $79, has none of them, and its checkouts carry SamCart branding. Source: SamCart's help center, checked 12 Oct 2026 | Bumps, one-click upsells, split tests and dunning are on every plan. Orders through an EF-run gateway carry a 0.5% fee. |
| Tests stop at the checkout | Checkout variants rotate on one URL, each one set up as a separate product, on Pro. Source: SamCart's help center, checked 12 Oct 2026 | The presell, the VSL, the checkout and each upsell can be tested under one URL and compared on sales. |
| No API without Pro | API access and webhooks start on Pro. Source: SamCart's pricing page, checked 12 Oct 2026 | The REST API key sits in Settings on every plan, and the ef CLI reads stats and pushes pages from a terminal. |
What SamCart is built for
SamCart is made for creators selling digital products from one checkout.
A built-in AI suite
AI tools for pages, sales copy, documents and marketing assets.
Courses and done-for-you migration
A members area on every plan, and a team that migrates your products, pages, subscriptions and customers.
ElasticFunnels builds the funnel around the checkout: presells and VSLs tested under one URL, then the order, routed across your MIDs and tied to the ad that sold it.
Which one is for you
A checkout converts better behind pages you've tested.
SamCart is built for
Digital products sold from one checkout, with courses and AI page tools in the same account.
Pick ElasticFunnels if
You run paid traffic into presells and VSLs. Test every page under one URL, route orders across your MIDs, run a call center on the customer record and see which ad made each sale. Start with the 14-day free trial.
How to switch from SamCart
Most teams move one product first.
Clone the pages you sell with.
Paste each SamCart page URL into the AI builder and get an editable ElasticFunnels page back.
Rebuild products, bumps and upsells.
Connect Stripe, NMI, PayPal, Klarna and Authorize.net and add the products. MID routing rules run on NMI.
Split test the new funnel.
Point one ad at it and compare on sales. Subscribers you already have keep billing in SamCart, and new ones sign up on the ElasticFunnels checkout.
Bring the checkout you run on SamCart.
Book a demo and bring the funnel you run on SamCart 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.
SamCart alternative FAQ
Is ElasticFunnels a SamCart alternative?
Yes. Both take orders with bumps, upsells and subscriptions. ElasticFunnels adds the pages before the checkout, split tests under one URL on every page, routing across merchant accounts and server-side conversions.
How much does SamCart cost?
SamCart Core is $79 a month and Pro is $199 a month, with Enterprise on request. Order bumps, upsells, split tests and dunning are on Pro. ElasticFunnels starts at $97 a month.
Can SamCart split test on the same URL?
SamCart rotates checkout page variants on the same URL, on Pro, and each variant is a separate product. ElasticFunnels tests any page, not only the checkout, under one URL.
Does SamCart route payments across merchant accounts?
SamCart Payment Routing assigns products to processors and can rotate merchant accounts. Retrying a declined charge on another account is not publicly stated. ElasticFunnels routes orders by weight across your NMI MIDs.
How do I move from SamCart?
Clone your pages with the AI builder, import products from a CSV, rebuild bumps and upsells on the new checkout, then split test the new funnel against the old one. Subscriptions are not imported: existing subscribers keep billing in SamCart, and new buyers subscribe on the ElasticFunnels checkout.
Is SamCart worth $199 a month?
Only if you need what Pro adds. SamCart Core, at $79 a month, has no order bumps, upsells, A/B tests or Subscription Saver. All four start on Pro at $199. ElasticFunnels has every one of them on every plan from $97 a month, plus 0.5% on orders through an EF-run gateway.
Does SamCart charge transaction fees?
SamPay charges 2.9% + 30c with no added platform fee, and SamCart's tax collection costs half a percent of the sale on Core and 0.35% on Pro. ElasticFunnels charges 0.5% on orders through an EF-run gateway and nothing on ClickBank, BuyGoods, Digistore24 or Shopify Checkout orders.
Is ThriveCart better than SamCart?
Both are carts for creators. ThriveCart sells a lifetime license and keeps its business tools in a yearly Pro+ upgrade, while SamCart bills monthly and keeps its funnel tools on Pro. If you buy traffic, ElasticFunnels tests every page in front of the cart under one URL and splits first sales across your NMI MIDs.
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.
ThriveCart alternative
A one-time-fee cart, against the funnel, the MIDs and the attribution around it.
ClickFunnels alternative
The page builder with courses and email, against the funnel built for paid traffic.
Kajabi alternative
Course hosting and community, against funnels that sell the course on paid ads.
Checkout Champ alternative
A DR cart and CRM, against a funnel builder with the same MID routing.
ClickFunnels vs SamCartA funnel builder and a checkout, head to head.
All comparisons
Every ElasticFunnels comparison, sourced, dated and corrected when a vendor ships something new.