SamCart vs. ClickFunnels: Which Platform is Best for Your Shopping Cart Needs?

Launch Your Online Business in Just 7 Days

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As of 2021, on average, 79.8% of online shoppers abandoned ecommerce sites without making a purchase.


Do you know why customers drop off despite showing an initial interest?


Complex shopping carts that don’t get to the point on purchase details are why.


In this in-depth SamCart vs. Clickfunnels review, we’ll show you how these shopping cart-building tools help improve the purchase experience.


We’ll be looking at their features and pricing and, better still, offer you a perfect alternative.


Let’s dive in!

1. What is SamCart?

SamCart’s login page

SamCart’s login page

SamCart is an online shopping cart builder that aims to help you increase sales.


Scott and Brian Moran unveiled this tool in 2015.


SamCart quickly solves ecommerce problems by solidifying the buying process for customers intent on making a purchase.


Building a checkout page with SamCart is also quick and easy.


It involves:

  • Adding products
  • Integrating to a payment structure
  • Adding a payment plan
  • Integrations to other applications

2. What is ClickFunnels?

ClickFunnels’ account creation page

ClickFunnels’ account creation page

ClickFunnels is a sales funnel builder developed by Russel Brunson and Todd Dickerson in 2014.


It also helps with email and other marketing efforts.


As a marketing tool, ClickFunnels persuades prospects to become your customers.


It features templates that help you design sales funnels and optimize your landing pages to generate more sales.


With ClickFunnels, you can build:

  • Sales funnels
  • Squeeze pages
  • Landing pages
  • Membership sites
  • Webinars

3. Is SamCart better than ClickFunnels?

There are many differences between these 2 platforms in question, although both are useful tools to help you increase your online sales.


There are similarities, too, and we shall examine those in a bit.


In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek of their pros and cons before we compare their features in more detail.

3.1. SamCart’s pros and cons

Pros

  • An effective shopping cart and checkout page builder
  • Has an affiliate management system
  • Integrates with email and marketing automation applications
  • It’s cheaper than ClickFunnels — the Basic plan costs $19/month
  • Easy to use — no coding knowledge required

Cons

  • Lacks built-in email marketing features — relies heavily on integrations
  • Most features are only available on Pro and Premium versions, which are expensive
  • Lacks capacity to handle vast product varieties
  • Poor user support — only email support is available

3.2. ClickFunnels’ pros and cons

Pros

  • Comes with pre-made funnels that provide fast email sequence creation
  • Doesn’t require multiple applications as it already has built-in checkout pages and payment processors
  • Offers emailing features that don’t need integrations
  • Has 1-click upsell and downsell pages to quickly add items during the checkout process
  • Offers a 14-day trial period

Cons

  • Has less advanced shopping cart features compared to SamCart
  • Offers limited options for page design and customization
  • Most features are only available on pricier plans
  • The Basic plan allows the creation of only 20 sales funnels

4. SamCart vs. ClickFunnels: Comparing the main features

Both SamCart and ClickFunnels are built to help you sell a service or product.


However, these 2 tools achieve this objective differently.


SamCart targets the checkout page for customers that have already made a purchase decision.


Whereas ClickFunnels works best at the point where customers have shown an interest — the beginning of the funnel.


To help you win customers, ClickFunnels has many design templates.


You can build landing pages that prospects find hard to resist and well-packaged sales funnels to get your products sold.


Funnels are built to persuade customers to make the purchase.


A comparison of all the features will help you better understand which platform will suit your business best.

4.1. Page building

Landing pages have a special place in online businesses.


You use them to lead prospects to your products or services.


Most importantly, they create conversions.

4.1.1. SamCart’s page builder

SamCart’s landing page templates

SamCart’s landing page templates

SamCart features an intuitive drag-and-drop editor for customizing landing pages and other page modifications.


SamCart can also run split tests on pages you have created.


Split tests help with analyzing and comparing 2 or more web pages.


From this comparison, you choose the one that converts best.


SamCart’s page-building feature is loaded with built-in templates or you can opt to build a new page from scratch without relying on a template.

4.1.2. ClickFunnels’ page builder

ClickFunnels’ page builder

ClickFunnels’ page builder

Converting traffic into sales is not an easy task.


However, well-designed sales funnels provide value to clients resulting in increased earnings.


ClickFunnels’ landing page building feature requires no technical skills to master.


With the help of a drag-and-drop editor, pick the elements you want and place them wherever you want.


ClickFunnels offers widgets to help you design pages.


These include:

  • Headlines
  • Images
  • Text
  • Buttons
  • Input types
  • Videos

All of the landing pages that you construct use these building blocks.


Other advanced elements such as surveys, pricing tables, and FAQ blocks are also part of the page building feature.


Membership pages also have their own specialized elements — which is a nice bonus.


ClickFunnels is this section’s winner.

4.2. Sales funnels

Sales funnels

In every online business, sales funnels serve 2 critical roles — automating workflows and streamlining marketing.


Funnels help capture leads and persuade prospects to become customers.


Building a sales funnel follows a simple process.


We can summarize it in the following 3 steps:

  • Choose a funnel template
  • Add content and information
  • Add a product

How do these 2 software platforms stack up here?


ClickFunnels excels over SamCart, but there could be some surprises.


ClickFunnels shows you how to build funnels with the help of time-tested templates.


SamCart combines numerous funnel-building tasks to one page.


Let’s see what else these funnel builders have to offer.

4.2.1. SamCart’s funnel builder

SamCart’s sales funnel builder

SamCart’s sales funnel builder

SamCart features its one-page funnel tool that allows the addition of multiple payment options.

One-page checkouts give customers the simplicity they crave for.


There are less pages to browse and fewer clicks, aspects that time-conscious customers appreciate. SamCart calls this the 1-Page Sales Funnel.


This checkout page also comes with a drag-and-drop feature to use in designing your sales pages/funnels.


There are pre-designed templates available that require no coding knowledge and you can set up funnels to make sales in multiple currencies.


At the same time, SamCart provides integrated payment options, such as PayPal, Stripe, and Digital Wallets, to help streamline the checkout process.

4.2.2. ClickFunnels’ funnel builder

ClickFunnels’ sales funnel builder

ClickFunnels’ sales funnel builder

ClickFunnels offers free resources such as hackathons and time-tested templates to assist users in building sales funnels.


You choose a template you like and customize it using a drag-and-drop editor.


The result is an attractive sales funnel that draws in prospects.


ClickFunnels gives you 2 sales funnel set up options, i.e. Classic and Cookbook modes.


Cookbook mode is for beginners while the Classic option is for skilled users.


ClickFunnels outranks SamCart since it’s built for funnel building and allows you to create multi-step funnels.

4.3. Shopping carts

Shopping carts

Online shopping carts wear many hats. They are the tail-end and most important element of your ecommerce store.


They store product information, maintain product categories, and act as a gateway for placing orders.


Also, shopping carts integrate with inventory tracking software to show stocking levels in real-time.


Let’s see how shopping cart pages manifest on SamCart and ClickFunnels.

4.3.1. SamCart’s shopping cart

SamCart is a shopping cart software that helps you create checkout pages and funnels.


Naturally, you would expect it to come packed with features that make shopping carts thrive.


Its checkout pages allow you to sell in a currency of your choice. Moreover, you can set shipping options, and the pages allow digital downloads.


Sandbox mode acts as your test ground. You can test anything here before deployment.


For instance, if you want to test how Stripe payments will work, take the process to Sandbox, test, and perfect it there.


Even more pleasing is SamCart’s integration with tools like AWeber, Drip, and GetResponse.


What’s pleasant about it is that these integration options automate many tasks.


They also save you precious time and increase customer satisfaction.


SamCart also retargets shopping cart abandonment prospects to recover lost sales opportunities.


Through its Integration Engine feature, you can retarget leads by:

  • Adding prospects to email follow-up campaigns
  • Sending them text messages
  • Reaching out via Facebook Ads

4.3.2. ClickFunnels’ shopping cart

ClickFunnels has a shopping cart that’s built for fast checkout, even though its features are not as elaborate as SamCart’s.


Its shopping cart supports many payment gateways, including PayPal, Clickbank, and Stripe.


SamCart is the undisputable shopping cart champion.

4.4. Product setup

Every entrepreneur envisions a seamless product sales process.


Both SamCart and ClickFunnels provide mechanisms for listing digital and physical products.


Attractive landing page templates, product type selection, and CRM integrations are among the features you will find to help you set up and sell products online.


Let’s see what each platform has to offer when it comes to products.

4.4.1. SamCart’s product setup

Creating a product on SamCart

Creating a product on SamCart

SamCart offers pre-generated and empty templates that help you showcase products.


An empty template is like a painter’s blank canvas. With it, you can build a product setup from scratch.


On the other hand, a pre-generated template has content in it.


You are at liberty to move things around until you achieve what you desire.


Once all products are in place, customers can make their purchase by clicking a “Buy Now” button on your product pages.

4.4.2. ClickFunnels’ product setup

Creating a product on ClickFunnels

Creating a product on ClickFunnels

Since this software is already sales-focused, ClickFunnels requires no third-party integrations to sell products.


Product setup on ClickFunnels is also possible through ready-made design templates.


You can select and design a sales page in minutes with free and paid templates.


Everything is done for you, eliminating the need for linking your pages.


You can also use their editor to help personify your pages.


ClickFunnels offers 3 options built for generating sales:

  • Unboxing funnel — Used for low-priced products or services to lure customers into buying higher-priced offers
  • Sales letter or video funnel — Use this funnel to promote items that require additional explaining or marketing
  • Product launch funnel — This one comes in handy during the release of new products or services

Product information is automatically entered onto your order forms.


This ensures that you have up-to-date pricing and product descriptions.


Also, it saves you valuable time that you could have spent copy-pasting or writing product descriptions.


Using an editing tool, you can add products, set their prices, and start selling almost instantly.


ClickFunnels is designed for selling and its product-adding aspects do not disappoint.


ClickFunnels wins it for product creation and addition.

4.5. Affiliate program management

Affiliates promote your brand and earn a commission for it.


Affiliate marketing saves you money you could have spent on purchasing ad space and recruiting a team.


Affiliates also spare you time and effort since they do most of the marketing and deliver the targeted traffic for you.


Lastly, this strategy has low risks since you only pay upon confirmation of a sale.


Let’s look at how these 2 platforms handle affiliates.

4.5.1. SamCart’s affiliate management

SamCart allows you to enlist affiliates to promote your offers on their websites and blogs.


SamCart’s Affiliate Centre is the nerve center of all affiliate management activity.


It has a signup page, plus you can approve or decline an applicant’s request.


Alternatively, you can apply auto-approval settings to automatically accept every affiliate application.


A default 50% commission for affiliates is automatically applied but you can adjust it to what your business offers.


You can also apply a one-time or recurring commission structure

4.5.2. ClickFunnels’ affiliate management

ClickFunnels’ affiliate program is packed with many features that you will find useful.


It allows you to build a social media presence, enabling affiliates to network and share content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.


Besides, affiliate-generated links help you optimize for SERPs.


Moreover, their data analytics dashboard provides insights into your affiliates performance.


Here is a summary of what you can achieve with the ClickFunnels’ affiliate center features:

  • Affiliate commission — Here, you can opt for a flat-rate or percentage structure (affiliates can earn up to 40% commission)
  • Tier system — Your affiliates can use this system to recruit others
  • Sub-affiliates — This feature allows your affiliates to have a network of marketers working for them

You can do more with the ClickFunnels affiliate center, and SamCart does not even come close.


ClickFunnels wins the affiliate management features contest owing to its well-designed features.

4.6. Email marketing

In a world where over 200 billion emails are opened on mobile devices daily, email marketing has one of the highest ROIs of any digital marketing channel.


A $42 return for every $1 spent.


How do SamCart and ClickFunnels stack up on this feature? Keep reading to find out.

4.6.1. SamCart’s email marketing

SamCart’s email marketing

SamCart’s email marketing

SamCart lacks a built-in autoresponder, so you'll need to integrate with separate email marketing software to contact your customers and leads.


However, their integration with email marketing platforms is seamless.


Among the third-party providers, you can integrate with:

  • GetResponse
  • Mailchimp
  • AWeber
  • Drip

These are all email marketing platforms that assist with customer follow-up.


SamCart’s integrations allow you to personalize your emails, for example, sending customers a unique email based on what they bought.


For instance, when customers place an order, they get an email receipt.


It shows details of their purchases and links for downloading promotional content.

4.6.2. ClickFunnels’ email marketing

ClickFunnels allows the creation of automated emails through its Follow-up Funnels tool.


Follow-up Funnels helps obtain emails through opt-in and registration pages.


You can also pre-create lists or set up prompts for subscribing to visitors.


An email automation feature on ClickFunnels helps you add or remove contacts.


Also, the platform has a notification system that reveals the best performing and non-opened emails.


Regarding email marketing tools, ClickFunnels beats SamCart hands down.

4.7. Pricing

Software affordability for online entrepreneurs seeking to sell their products is a big deal.


Your budget should help you choose a paid plan.


The best part is that you can test each tool for free before upgrading to a paid version.

4.7.1. SamCart’s pricing

SamCart’s pricing plans

SamCart’s pricing plans

SamCart offers its users 3 pricing plans:

  • Launch plan at $49/month — Includes a sales report, dashboard, 1 admin user, and standard email support, among others
  • Grow plan at $99/month — Includes 3 admin users, enhanced integration and 4 Accelerator packages (Profit, Marketing, Conversion, and Insights) and all core features in the Launch plan
  • Scale plan at $199/month — Includes all perks from the first 2 plans, plus 10 admin users, and an advanced Growth package (with cart abandonment conversion, subscription saver, and more)

Also, SamCart offers a 14-day free trial period, but it comes with limited features and requires credit card details to sign up.

4.7.2. ClickFunnels’ pricing

ClickFunnels’ pricing plans

ClickFunnels’ pricing plans

ClickFunnels has 2 pricing plans to choose from:

  • Standard plan at $97/month — Includes 100 pages, 20 shareable funnels, and 3 payment gateways
  • Premium plan at $297/month — Includes unlimited pages and sales funnels

Like SamCart, ClickFunnels has a 14-day free trial which requires your credit card details to sign up.


ClickFunnels also has the Two Comma Club for $2,497/month, but this doesn’t come with more features, just a plaque. It’s also invite-only.


Regarding the pricing contest, SamCart wins because they’re cheaper than ClickFunnels.

5. Extra features

There are 2 more features we’ll be looking at: Integrations and customer support.


Both platforms integrate with wide-ranging software.


Let’s see which platform offers the most.

5.1.1. Integrations

SamCart integrations

SamCart integrations

The fact that you can integrate SamCart into payment gateways is a significant strength.


SamCart’s payment integrations include:

  • PayPal
  • Stripe
  • WordPress
  • Intercom

SamCart offers third-party integrations for mobile payments, memberships, and email marketing.


ClickFunnels integrates with up to 27 payment gateways, including:

  • Stripe
  • Twilio
  • WordPress
  • Shopify

These lists are not exhaustive. We’ve only picked a few main ones.


Overall, Clickfunnels has more integrations than SamCart and wins this round.

5.1.2. Customer support

SamCart’s user support

SamCart’s user support

SamCart’s customer support features documentation, demos, and live tutorials.


Promotional partners are also at hand to help solve user issues.


At the same time, SamCart’s Freshdesk routes your call to the right support staff, depending on your query.


However, SamCart doesn’t have chat support, but makes up for it by offering free training.

ClickFunnels’ user support

ClickFunnels’ user support

ClickFunnels customer support has 24/7 phone and chat support.


Live webinars help you understand how the platform’s features work.


Also, FAQs on the platform feature answers to common user queries.


These platforms offer equal amounts of customer support — it’s a tie.


As you contemplate which of these all-in-one platforms your business needs, we’re glad to introduce you to the best alternative.

6. speedyupdate.co — The best alternative for your online business

speedyupdate.co logo

speedyupdate.co logo

speedyupdate.co is an all-in-one platform with sales funnel and shopping cart tools to boost your selling process.


Our software works perfectly with all online business owners, from novices to pros.

6.1. speedyupdate.co’s features

 speedyupdate.co’s features

speedyupdate.co’s features

speedyupdate.co offers the following features:

  • Funnel creation — Our software offers a drag-and-drop editor for building sales funnels with customizable options
  • Automation — Create automated sales workflows that streamline your process and increase efficiency
  • Affiliate management — Manage affiliate payment structures and processes, available from our Free plan
  • Email marketing — No third-party software required and you can send unlimited emails on all plans (including the Free plan)

6.2. speedyupdate.co’s pricing

speedyupdate.co’s pricing plans

speedyupdate.co’s pricing plans

speedyupdate.co offers 4 pricing plans summarized as follows:

  • Free plan for $0/month — Offers you 3 sales funnels, 1-click upsell pages, payment gateway integrations, and round-the-clock support
  • Startup plan for $27/month — Includes 10 sales funnels and more features from the Free plan
  • Webinar plan for $47/month — Offers 50 sales funnels, 10 webinars, and more features from the previous plans
  • Unlimited plan for $97/month — Offers unlimited features

You can save 30% with annual billing compared to monthly billing. How exciting is that!

7. Conclusion

SamCart and ClickFunnels are excellent tools to improve your sales process.


SamCart is the winner for checkout pages and would be an ideal buy.


ClickFunnels packs powerful tools for developing funnels, sales landing pages, and automation.


Both platforms can complement each other for marketing physical and digital products online.


You can have ClickFunnels to build your sales funnels on the one hand and SamCart could step in to minimize cart abandonment on the other.


Both offer free trials before upgrading to a paid plan, so you can test each.


Nonetheless, we have a winner, SamCart. Its landing page-building and robust shopping cart functions are unmatchable.


If you’re looking for an even stronger tool, speedyupdate.co offers you critical features found in both platforms.


It has a robust funnel-building system and a dedicated checkout platform — among other features.


Sign up today to try it for free — for as long as you want!

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