Probably the biggest sticking point for people investing in ClickFunnels is the price.
$97 a month is no small change for many small businesses.
So some turn to the competition in hopes of finding a cheaper way to build sales funnels.
In this article, we’re going to look at a popular Clickfunnels alternative called BuilderAll.
Not only is it cheaper than ClickFunnels, but it also has a lot more features as well.
However, is it actually worth making BuilderAll a part of your business? I did a deep-dive comparison into both to find out.
Here’s what I am going to cover in this ClickFunnels vs BuilderAll shootout.
- Overview of ClickFunnels
- Overview of BuilderAll
- Why You Should Pick ClickFunnels over BuilderAll
- Why You Should Pick BuilderAll over ClickFunnels
- ClickFunnels vs BuilderAll Pricing
- Final Thoughts
Overview of ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels, founded by Russell Brunson in 2014, is software-as-a-service (SaaS) that helps you quickly put together sales funnels based on proven templates and sales flows.
It can be used to sell virtually any kind of product, including physical products like books, digital products like courses and memberships, and even services like coaching or consulting.
ClickFunnels not only helps convert prospects into buyers, but it also provides a checkout system with various tools—such as upsells and bumps—to help you sell more products and drive up your average cart value.
As alluded to, it even goes as far as providing a membership portal to deliver premium content to students and even charge a recurring fee for it.
Those with deeper pockets can also benefit from the ClickFunnels Platinum plan, which includes an affiliate platform that allows you to recruit your own sales team, as well as a built-in email marketing (autoresponder) platform.
Overview of BuilderAll
BuilderAll, founded by Erick Salgado in 2011, is an all-in-one marketing platform designed to offer a unified and cohesive suite of tools for entrepreneurs to grow their online business.
The platform is made up of 30+ marketing tools, including a Canvas Funnel Builder for mapping out and creating sales funnels, a Pixel Perfect Builder for drag and drop landing page design, and MailingBoss for autoresponders and other email automation.
With so many tools, it’s hardly a surprise that BuilderAll shares many of the same features as ClickFunnels, including funnel templates, shopping cart functionality and conversion-boosting tools like one-click upsells and bump offers.
So this begs the question when it comes to building high-converting sales funnels, which of these heavyweights is the better choice for your business?
Let’s jump into the comparison.
Why You Should Pick ClickFunnels Over BuilderAll
The ClickFunnels page editor is much easier to use
A controversial start, perhaps, but the ClickFunnels landing page builder is often praised by its users, and for good reason.
When you fire up ClickFunnels to create a new funnel or landing page, you select from a number of professional templates and get to work making any necessary changes.
BuilderAll functions in much the same way, but ClickFunnels has some notable advantages when it comes to the page builder (editor) itself — regardless of whether you’re editing a template or starting from scratch.
For example:
- Templates load into the editor quickly
- New page elements appear almost instantly on the canvas
- Changes to existing elements happen in real-time
- Every element can be styled (not just fixed presets)
- Block-based editing to allow for easy alignment
- Color-coding to indicate element types on hover
And to tie all that together, the interface makes sense for even the most novice of users, which means less time figuring out the quirks and more time building a funnel that actually converts.
It’s very difficult to make the same arguments for BuilderAll.
Even with the recent 3.0 update that introduced some significant improvements to the landing builder (including the new responsive editor), it’s still rather clunky and sluggish in comparison to ClickFunnels.
The biggest drawback for me, personally, is that BuilderAll uses a “free movement” approach to page editing. This takes some serious getting used to if you prefer the more popular block-based editors.
ClickFunnels is a real contender for ‘best in class’
If you’re looking for software to build sales funnels, you’ll find ClickFunnels being recommended at the top of just about every list you can find.
While that’s partly due to a generous affiliate program, it’s no secret that many ClickFunnels affiliates are hardcore fans of the platform itself, using it to generate reliable income by selling their own products and services.
And there’s a good reason for that…
ClickFunnels was built for that exact purpose; to help you build high-converting sales funnels without the confusing tech setup and marketing know-how. It has one job, and it does it well.
There’s no question that BuilderAll can be used to build sales funnels in much the same way as ClickFunnels does, but it isn’t really a sales funnel builder.
It’s also:
- A website builder
- A blog builder
- An autoresponder
- A social media schedular
- A graphic design tool
- A live streaming tool
- A website chatbot
- And dozens more…
As a company, when you’re having to build, develop and maintain that many tools concurrently, none of them have a fighting chance to be best in class.
It’s what makes BuilderAll feel like a “jack of all trades, master of none” type product.
Meanwhile, ClickFunnels has been able to devote all their time, energy and resources into tweaking and perfecting their sales funnel builder, and it really shows when pitched against the BuilderAll equivalent.
It shows in the user interface, in the template designs, in the flexibility of the editor, in the overall speed of the product, and in the funnel-building experience as a whole, from start to finish.
ClickFunnels plays nice with many popular marketing tools
Right out of the box, ClickFunnels has everything you need to build effective sales funnels and start making money.
But if you’re anything like me, the ability to throw third-party applications is also super important. Fortunately, you can integrate a large number of other tools with ClickFunnels for exactly that purpose.
It works seamlessly with established webinar platforms like GoToWebinar, WebinarJam and EverWebinar.
It allows you to swap out the ClickFunnels delivery system with platforms like Shopify and ShipStation.
You can even integrate push notifications and ringless voicemail with integrations for PushCrew and SlyBroadcast.
And if you don’t fancy paying an extra $297 per month for the ClickFunnels’ Followup Funnels you can choose to integrate with tools like ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit and MailChimp instead.
As for BuilderAll?
Like Kartra, all-in-one platforms aren’t as focused on integrations because it goes against their very nature. After all, there’s no need for integrations if you have everything you need in one place.
It is possible to use a middle man like Zapier to bridge the gap in many cases—such as using ConvertKit in place of MailingBoss—but direct integrations will always be deeper, faster and more reliable.
ClickFunnels can natively track the performance of your links
Whether you use ClickFunnels or BuilderAll to build out your sales funnels, you can rest easy knowing that both platforms will track everything for you, including page views, opt-ins and sales.
Where these platforms differ, however, is in the affiliate-side tracking.
ClickFunnels carries the same tracking technology over to their affiliate dashboard so that affiliates can gain insights into the performance of individual links. This works using sub IDs.
By giving your affiliate links unique IDs, you can easily identify the exact traffic sources, page types and link placements that make you the most money, so you can do more of what’s actually working.
BuilderAll, unfortunately, doesn’t offer the same level of affiliate link tracking without pairing it up with a dedicated link tracking software like ClickMagick.
It’s worth pointing out that you can use the BuilderAll Redirect tool to create trackable links, but it only tracks clicks. From my experience, this is just a clunkier version of something like Bit.ly.
ClickFunnels allows for more strategic product promotions
ClickFunnels is well known for having a profitable affiliate program (more on that later), but there’s a reason so many affiliates have success promoting ClickFunnels over competing products.
That is, ClickFunnels has an established product ecosystem that opens up more strategic opportunities for promotion. In other words, you don’t always have to go straight for the big sell.
Russell Brunson calls this the Value Ladder.
You start with an easy sell; a low-risk offer. Then, you gradually up the stakes until you reach those higher ticket products, including a ClickFunnels monthly membership that generates recurring affiliate commissions.
These products have been specifically designed to complement one another so that each up-sell and cross-sell builds upon the last. It’s a natural, logical progression — and it works extremely well.
This product ecosystem includes:
- The DotCom Secrets Book
- The Expert Secrets Book
- The Traffic Secrets Book
- The ‘One Funnel Away’ Challenge
- FunnelScripts
- Funnel Builder Secrets
BuilderAll doesn’t have the same ecosystem. Instead, it tries to solve this problem with free trials and cheaper monthly plans.
While asking prospects to spend less money may overcome the occasional price objection, it overlooks the necessary education and mindset shift that’s required to sustain long-term commissions.
ClickFunnels gives you the resources to make money AND nurture your audience at the same time.
Why You Should Pick BuilderAll Over ClickFunnels
BuilderAll does not require a separate webinar solution
Reliable webinar solutions rarely come cheap, but BuilderAll still manages to include one as part of its top-tier package.
This includes live webinars to broadcast to your audience in real-time, along with additional options for screen sharing and direct streaming to social media channels such as Facebook and YouTube.
It even supports automated webinars, allowing you to record a single live webinar session and run it on a recurring basis.
BuilderAll calls these evergreen webinars and they’re commonly used by some of the top marketers in the business.
ClickFunnels does allow you to build out webinar funnels, but hosting the actual webinar experience is not something you’ll find as part of your ClickFunnels membership, even at the higher end.
Instead, you’ll need to integrate with something like WebinarJam (live webinars) or EverWebiner (automated webinars). While this isn’t particularly difficult to set up, it does add another layer of complication as well as another line item on your expenses.
Email marketing in BuilderAll is accessible in every plan
Email marketing is an important marketing channel for any online business, which is why BuilderAll includes their autoresponder module—MailingBoss—as part of every plan.
And when I say every plan, I mean every plan. All the way down the free plan which is capped at 100 subscribers per month.
MailingBoss does just about everything you’d expect from a modern marketing platform, including broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, automated sequences, and even visual workflows for conditional automation.
Granted, I had a few complaints about MailingBoss in our BuilderAll review, but it’s still a very viable option and one that is completely absent for most ClickFunnels users.
This is because you only get access to the ClickFunnels email marketing autoresponder—called Followup Funnels —on the top-tier plan, which will set you back $297 per month.
Fortunately, you can still integrate ClickFunnels with other email marketing platforms like ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, and MailChimp, so this is a moot point if you prefer to stick to a dedicated solution.
BuilderAll lets you visually map out your entire funnel
A lot changed with the release of BuilderAll 3.0, including a few shiny additions to their long list of applications.
One of those is the new Canvas Funnel Builder; a tool that allows you to plan and map out the flow of your sales funnel before you actually build it — similar to what Funnelytics does.
It works by creating a kind of flow-chart that represents the different stages of your funnel—such as squeeze pages, thank you pages, webinar pages and checkout pages—and how the behavior of your prospects influence their journey through it.
BuilderAll allows you to choose from various pre-designed funnel templates, or map out a funnel entirely from scratch.
But it goes even further than that.
Once you’re happy with how your funnel looks, you can click a button and BuilderAll will start creating and connected each of those pages in your funnel as they appear in the Canvas Funnel Builder.
ClickFunnels uses a more templated approach.
Instead of mapping out the different steps and pathways of your funnel, ClickFunnels prompts you to choose a predefined layout based on the desired goal of your funnel:
A series of pages will then be created to serve that goal, with the ability to select templates for those pages, remove steps or even add new ones.
Another key difference in this approach is how the steps are laid out. ClickFunnels displays steps in a linear fashion, which makes it more difficult to visualize different pathways in your funnel.
BuilderAll includes a slew of other marketing tools
As I alluded to earlier, BuilderAll has a huge library of 30+ tools and applications for various marketing purposes.
These tools include:
- Website Builder to create a more traditional online presence
- Presentation Studio to build Powerpoint or Keynote-like presentations
- Facebook Messenger Chatbot to create automated messenger sequences
- Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) to stay on top of your leads
- App Builder to create and publish your own apps on popular app stores
- Mockup Studio to design mockup images and animated gifs
- 3D Photo Editor Studio to touch up photos and design marketing graphics
- And way more (see our BuilderAll review)
And yes, some of these tools could be considered very niche and potentially useless for some members, but the modular nature of BuilderAll gives you the freedom and flexibility to apply these features if and when they’re needed.
As for ClickFunnels?
Well, you’re only given access to the essentials, like the funnel builder, landing page builder, cart system and membership portal.
Those who can afford to move up to the $297 per month plan will get access to a few extras, such as an affiliate portal and autoresponder platform, but this still falls short of what BuilderAll offers for a fraction of the price.
When it comes to sheer value, BuilderAll can’t be beaten.
BuilderAll’s has a slightly more attractive affiliate structure
BuilderAll has an amazing and very accessible affiliate program.
For starters, you get 100% commission for the first month from every person you refer to BuilderAll, then 30% each month for as long as that person remains a member.
And when your referrals start making other referrals themselves, the 2-tier system means you’ll get 30% of that revenue too, which allows you to exponentially scale up your affiliate earnings.
There are also retention bonuses for long-term membership referrals.
This started out as a ‘Car Bonus’ scheme similar to the ClickFunnels Dream Car bonus, giving you $500 or $1,000 per month towards a new car as long as you have 100 or 200 paying referrals, respectively.
BuilderAll has since changed this to the Lifestyle Bonus, which works the same way but without the car angle. I should also mention that this is capped at 200 paying referrals and their first month is not counted.
Of course, I’m not saying ClickFunnels has a bad affiliate program. In fact, it’s still one of the best in the business.
As of recently, however, ClickFunnels made some changes that made it slightly less attractive for those who are just getting started. Specifically, they removed tiered commissions and introduced an application process so not everyone can promote it.
ClickFunnels vs BuilderAll Pricing
ClickFunnels has 3 different pricing plans. The standard plan starts at $97 a month and lets you build 20 funnels, 100 pages and get up to 20,000 visitors. If you want to build unlimited funnels, add an email autoresponder (Followup Funnels) and Affiliate Platform (Backpack) then you can upgrade to the ClickFunnels Platinum plan for $297 a month.
Lastly, they have the ClickFunnels Collective Plan which throws in live phone support and a bunch of other extras including 4 live events a year. This is for high rollers only, as you will have to spend $1,497 per month for this.
BuilderAll has 5 different plans which you can see below. And all of them are cheaper than ClickFunnels’ standard plan.
If you’re just getting started or you want to test the waters first, you can jump on the free plan which gives you up to 100 subscribers and limited access to the library of tools.
But if you want the ability to connect your domain, collect more subscribers and access more tools—like the Canvas Funnel Builder, for example—then you can do so for as little as $19.90 per month, all the way up to $69.90 for the full package. There’s also a full 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Final Thoughts
BuilderAll has all the ingredients necessary to be a viable ClickFunnels alternative.
It’s more affordable, can actually do more things than ClickFunnels can, and its affiliate program offers some huge potential.
But the problem with BuilderAll is that it has always felt very clunky and not very intuitive to use.
Which makes it harder to do what you want to do and makes for a more frustrating experience.
And that’s why I still am using ClickFunnels myself. Sure, ClickFunnels still has it’s own quirks, but overall I find it much easier to use.
Combine that with the better community and huge ecosystem, and ClickFunnels is the platform that I will be running my business on at this point.
Take the Free 14-day ClickFunnels Trial
Take the Free 14-day BuilderAll Trial
