As an SEO expert for a major agency and the mastermind behind SerpFocus, I'm pretty well versed in the realities of helping people establish successful digital marketing strategies. I've experienced and witnessed the pitfalls, been privy to the rigorous and necessary planning, monitoring, and scaling, and celebrated the sweet successes.
Digital marketing is a multi-faceted undertaking with a whole lot of moving parts, and you've got to have the vision, determination, and courage to really put yourself in the driver's seat and hang on for the ride if you're going to succeed. Along the way, you'll want a reliable guide and a knowledgeable, innovative, and supportive team around you.
You know what else you'll want? Top-notch software.
Digital marketing software platforms are forever evolving, and new products are constantly coming to market. Nothing stagnates for long in this industry! With this reality in mind, it's not surprising that some of the most frequent questions I field from clients are about which software solutions are really worth investing in.
In particular, I am often asked about the comparative benefits of GoHighLevel vs. ClickFunnels.
So, here it is—my comprehensive comparison of the two platforms. I'll walk you through an overview of both programs taking their pricing, features, ease of use, customer support, and target audience into consideration.
I'll also give you a clear verdict on which one I think is the much superior option. (Hint: It starts with a G, not a C.)
Take note that, overall, ClickFunnels puts limits on almost everything, while GoHighLevel offers unlimited growth potential and scalability. Just saying.
Though I'm a pretty big fan of GoHighLevel, no program is perfect. Let's dig in and see how it really measures up when the rubber hits the road:
When it comes to building websites, both programs offer a great selection of design templates, options for drag and drop building, and mobile-friendly layouts. That being said, you probably won't be too surprised to hear that GoHighLevel offers more flexibility and opportunities for customization than ClickFunnels.
ClickFunnels is literally designed around funnel-building, so it's no surprise that it excels in this realm. That being said, I think GoHighLevel also shines.
Membership sites are a strength for ClickFunnels. As with its website and funnel builders, it offers ready-to-go membership site templates that can rapidly begin generating leads and converting them to paying members. GoHighLevel offers no such equivalent feature.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is the heartbeat of effective sales and marketing. And, wow, GoHighLevel definitely knows it! While it may be a little unfair to compare a comprehensive marketing tool geared toward agencies (GoHighLevel) with a more specialized program like ClickFunnels in this regard, I think it's fair to say that GoHighLevel's CRM is in an entirely different universe than ClickFunnels'.
Without analytics, it's pretty tough to gauge your successes, challenges, and next steps as a business. Both GoHighLevel and ClickFunnels offer analytics features, but GoHighLevel's are far superior.
Both GoHighLevel and ClickFunnels include email marketing in all their plans, but neither provides in-house SMTP (though they can both integrate nicely with external programs like Mailgun or Sendinblue). This is an added expense you'll need to factor into your marketing strategy, if you haven't already.
While GoHighLevel blows ClickFunnels out of the water when it comes to CRM, ClickFunnels does have a robust suite of e-commerce features, while GoHighLevel doesn't. But in GoHighLevel's defense, it’s never really tried to brand itself as an e-commerce solution.
GoHighLevel is, at its core, a marketing automation platform. ClickFunnels isn't. Need I say more?
Some features just can't be compared directly because they only exist in one program or the other. Here are a few examples:
White Labeling (SaaS) - Resell GoHighLevel as your own rebranded white-labeled product (Saas mode) and charge different price points for different feature levels.
Reputation Management - Track, monitor, and generate reviews. Response management is a key element in tending to both positive and negative reviews and GoHighLevel provides all the tools you'll require.
ClickFunnels is a marketing platform designed around the integration of website and sales funnel-building. Because of its straightforward and effective sales funnel templates, ClickFunnels has quickly become a giant in the e-commerce niche. It’s also well respected as a membership site builder and includes some integrated features such as email marketing and CRM (add-ons, in some cases).
GoHighLevel is a comprehensive digital marketing platform that replaces the need for about 12 other software solutions (and that's being conservative). It aims to encompass all the tools required for agencies to manage their clients' leads, websites, funnels, calendars, and much more.
Yes. GoHighLevel is the ClickFunnels alternative I'd personally recommend (surprise, surprise). But if you're looking for something cheaper, Simvoly can help you to quickly build landing pages, sales funnels, and e-commerce sites at very affordable rates ($12 per month and up). You could also check out Kartra, Instapage, Leadpages, SamCart, or OptimizePress.
Yes. ClickFunnels is a legitimate platform. As with any tool, there's no guarantee it will increase your revenue. But many businesses have found it helpful in lead generation and conversion.
Wow, are you still with me? That was a lot of information.
Overall, to me, it's clear that GoHighLevel is superior to ClickFunnels in almost every regard. In fairness, though, I'm looking through my own lens as an agency developer and software expert. I'm not phased by a complex, powerful platform and am excited by GoHighLevel's infinite flexibility, customization, automation, and scalability.
In a limited number of circumstances, ClickFunnels might be the right choice (e-commerce, membership site building). In general, though, with GoHighLevel's lower price point, I'd say it's well worth the investment, even if you don't use (or even understand) all of its tools and features to their maximum potential.
Ultimately, of course, the choice is yours. At SerpFocus, I’m here to guide you along your digital marketing journey. Reach out to me with any feedback or further questions you may have!
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