ClickFunnels vs WordPress (2026): Costs, Funnels and Which to Pick
Our verdict: Pick ClickFunnels if you sell courses, coaching or digital products, want funnels, email, courses and checkout in one login, and are happy to pay $97 a month ($81 a month billed yearly) to never touch a plugin. Pick WordPress if you already have a WordPress site, sell through WooCommerce, care about blogging and SEO, or want to own your site. A WordPress funnel stack with one-click upsells costs about $350 in year one, roughly a third of ClickFunnels, but you assemble and maintain it yourself. Many businesses run both: WordPress for the main site, funnels on a subdomain.
How we compared them: the WordPress side is hands-on. On a fresh WordPress 7.1.2 test install we set up WooCommerce 11.1.2 and the free CartFlows 3.2.1 funnel plugin, ran its setup wizard, built a sales page and checkout funnel, and placed a test order. We also ran the FunnelKit setup wizard, and we reuse the WooCommerce and site-building findings from our earlier test installs. The ClickFunnels side is based on ClickFunnels’ public pricing page, feature pages and help center; we did not create an account or start a trial. All prices are in US dollars, as of October 2026.
ClickFunnels vs WordPress: Quick Facts
| ClickFunnels | WordPress + funnel plugins | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted, all-in-one funnel and marketing platform | Free, open source software on hosting you choose, plus plugins |
| Price | Launch $97/mo or $970/yr; Scale $197/mo or $1,970/yr; Optimize $297/mo or $2,970/yr; Dominate $5,997/yr | Software free. Hosting from $47.88 for year one (Hostinger Premium, 12-month term), then $10.99/mo |
| Funnel builder | Built in | CartFlows (free; Pro $199 first year) or FunnelKit (free; Plus $149.50 first year) |
| One-click upsells and order bumps | Part of the funnel builder | Paid add-on: CartFlows Pro or FunnelKit Plus |
| Email marketing | Included (10,000 contacts and 50,000 emails a month on Launch) | Plugin such as MailPoet (free up to 1,000 subscribers) or FluentCRM |
| Courses and memberships | Included (3 courses on Launch) | Plugin such as Tutor LMS (free, Pro $199/yr) |
| Free trial | 14 days, per ClickFunnels’ help center, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee | Software is free; plugins have 14 to 30 day refund windows |
| Cut of your sales | None, ClickFunnels says | None |
| Official WordPress plugin | Closed on WordPress.org since March 14, 2023 | Not needed |
| Blogging and SEO | Blog and “built-in SEO tools” inside its Site app | Best-in-class blogging, full SEO control with plugins |
| Who maintains it | ClickFunnels | You or your host |
| Best for | Course creators, coaches, info products, teams that want one tool | Existing WordPress sites, WooCommerce stores, content-led businesses, tight budgets |
The Basic Difference
ClickFunnels is a hosted platform built around sales funnels: a short series of pages (opt-in, checkout, one-click upsells, thank you) that walk a visitor to a purchase. Email, courses, a CRM and a store live in the same account. The vendor says it has 100,000+ users.
WordPress is a general website builder that, according to W3Techs, runs 40.2% of all websites. Plugins add the funnel parts: WooCommerce for products and payments, CartFlows or FunnelKit for sales pages, checkout and upsells, plus email and course plugins. So the real choice is one subscription that does it all, or a cheaper kit of parts you own and maintain.
ClickFunnels in 2026: Plans and Prices
ClickFunnels’ public pricing page with annual billing selected, October 2026.
The product once called ClickFunnels 2.0 is now just ClickFunnels. The old Basic ($97) and Platinum ($297) plans from our 2020 article are gone. Here is the current lineup:
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Workspaces | Team members | Contacts | Emails a month | Courses | Custom domains |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | $97 | $970 ($81/mo) | 1 | 2 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 3 | 5 |
| Scale | $197 | $1,970 ($164/mo) | 5 | 5 | 75,000 | 300,000 | 6 | Unlimited |
| Optimize | $297 | $2,970 ($248/mo) | 10 | 10 | 150,000 | 750,000 | 10 | Unlimited |
| Dominate | n/a | $5,997 | 20 | 20 | 400,000 | 1.2 million | 20 | Unlimited |
Prices from clickfunnels.com/pricing and the ClickFunnels help center, October 2026.
Details worth knowing:
- Unlimited funnels is marked “Limited Time” on every plan. Visitors are unlimited on all plans.
- Higher plans add tools, not just limits. Scale adds priority and live chat support, a custom code editor, and webhooks and API access. Launch gets standard support.
- Trial and refunds. ClickFunnels’ help center says all plans include a 14-day free trial, and the pricing page offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can change plans during or after the trial.
- No cut of sales. The pricing FAQ says ClickFunnels does not take a percentage of your sales. You still pay your payment processor’s card fees.
- Hosting is included, with a free yourname.myclickfunnels.com address and SSL on connected domains.
- Pausing costs money. The help center says a paused account costs $17 a month and keeps your pages but lets you build nothing.
What is included
The ClickFunnels funnel builder feature page, with funnel steps such as Opt In, Order Form and OTO (one-time offer) pages, October 2026.
The plans bundle the funnel builder and drag-and-drop editor, Smart Checkout, A/B testing, landing pages, a website and blog (the Site app), a store, courses, a community, email marketing, automations (called Workflows), a CRM, appointments, analytics and discounts. The help center lists a few extras, such as Countdown Funnels and the Affiliate Center, only on higher plans. The sales funnels page describes expanding a funnel “with upsells, cross-sells and follow-up sequences”.
That bundle is ClickFunnels’ biggest strength. On WordPress, each piece is a separate plugin with its own updates and upgrade prompts.
Is There Still a ClickFunnels WordPress Plugin?
The ClickFunnels plugin page on WordPress.org, October 2026: closed since March 14, 2023.
No. The official ClickFunnels plugin, which let ClickFunnels Classic users show funnel pages on a WordPress domain, was closed on WordPress.org on March 14, 2023. The listing gives the reason as “Security Issue” and says it is not available for download. Its last version was 3.1.3.
On ClickFunnels’ own feedback board, a request for a WordPress plugin “similar to the one that used to exist for classic” is marked open, with 127 votes when we checked. Several commenters say they only discovered this after signing up or coming back to ClickFunnels.
What still works:
- Use a subdomain. Keep WordPress on yourdomain.com and connect a subdomain such as offers.yourdomain.com to ClickFunnels (its help center covers the DNS setup). Then link to your funnels from WordPress menus and buttons.
- Connect the data. Automation tools can pass leads or orders between the two, and ClickFunnels offers webhooks and API access from the Scale plan.
If you want funnel pages that are actually part of your WordPress site, use a WordPress funnel plugin instead.
Building a Funnel in WordPress: Our CartFlows Test
Our finished test funnel in CartFlows 3.2.1 (free) on WordPress 7.1.2, with a sales page and checkout step, October 2026.
CartFlows is the most installed WordPress funnel builder: 200,000+ active installations and a 4.8 out of 5 rating on WordPress.org, with version 3.2.1 released September 23, 2026. Its WordPress.org page pitches it directly against ClickFunnels. We installed the free version on a WooCommerce test store and built a funnel for a $49 video course.
The setup wizard
The wizard has six screens:
- Welcome.
- Page builder. Block Builder, Elementor, Bricks, Beaver Builder or Other. Picking Block Builder installed and activated the Spectra blocks plugin.
- “Required plugins.” Five plugins, all ticked by default: Cart Abandonment Recovery, Modern Cart, Power Coupons, WooPayments and Spectra. Installing them took about 15 seconds. Counting Spectra from the previous screen, our test site went from two active plugins to seven.
- Store checkout design. We picked the recommended “Instant Checkout” layout, which imported in about a second.
- Email reports. It asks for your name and email for weekly reports and marketing emails, with a “share usage data” box already ticked. We skipped it.
- Done. The final screen says upsells, downsells and order bumps are “ready to maximize your average order value,” even though those need a paid plan.
The “required plugins” step of the CartFlows setup wizard on our test install, October 2026. Everything is installed unless you untick it.
Only WooCommerce is truly required. The rest are add-ons from the same company, each with its own menu and its own upgrade path. The next time we opened CartFlows, Cart Abandonment Recovery launched its own onboarding screen, and a “How likely are you to recommend CartFlows?” survey popped up.
Building the funnel
The block editor template library listed 27 templates, four of them store checkouts, and 12 were marked PRO. We imported the free “SEO Foundation E-book” template, which has three steps: a sales landing page, a checkout and a thank-you page. The import took about 9 seconds.
Next we opened the checkout step’s settings, searched for our “Home Baking Masterclass” product and added it. That is all it takes to connect a WooCommerce product to the funnel.
Templates are a starting point, not a finished page. We changed the headline, subtitle and button text to match our course, but the e-book cover image, sample review badges and placeholder Latin text were still there. Replacing those is the real work, on either platform.
Where the free version stops
Trying to add an Upsell step in the free version of CartFlows on our test install, October 2026.
When we chose “Upsell” as a new step, CartFlows showed an “Upgrade Required” dialog. Order bumps, downsells, A/B testing and per-step views, conversions and revenue are also locked. On the funnel screen alone we counted six upgrade prompts: a top banner, an “Upgrade to Pro” tab, a green “Get CartFlows Pro” menu item, a step-analytics banner, crown icons on the stats, and an order bump panel.
CartFlows’ pricing page confirms that the cheapest paid plan, Starter ($99 for the first year, then $149, one site), does not include order bumps, upsells or A/B testing. For those you need CartFlows Pro: $199 for the first year, then $299 a year, for three sites.
The free version still gives you unlimited funnels with sales pages, opt-in pages, a custom checkout and a thank-you page, which covers a simple funnel.
The test order, and two snags
The funnel’s checkout step on our test install, October 2026. The phone field says “optional” but was required.
As a logged-out visitor, we went from the sales page to checkout, paid by cash on delivery, and landed on the funnel’s thank-you page. The $49 order appeared in WooCommerce as “Processing,” and the CartFlows dashboard showed one order and $49 in revenue.
Two things went wrong first:
- The “Buy Now” button reloaded the sales page. Our test install was still on WordPress’s plain permalink setting (web addresses like ?p=123). The button’s link pointed back to the same page. After switching to “Post name” permalinks under Settings > Permalinks, it went to checkout. Most hosts set this up for you, but check it before you launch.
- The checkout labeled the phone field “optional” but refused the order with “Billing Phone is a required field” until we filled it in. WooCommerce’s own phone setting was optional, so this came from the funnel’s checkout form. Fix the field in CartFlows’ Field Editor before real buyers hit it.
Neither was hard to fix, but on a hosted platform like ClickFunnels, checkout plumbing like this is the vendor’s job.
FunnelKit, the main alternative
FunnelKit Funnel Builder (30,000+ active installs, rated 5 out of 5 on WordPress.org, version 3.16.0.5) does the same job. Its setup wizard on our test site had three steps: an offer to install FunnelKit Automations, FunnelKit Cart and Stripe (we skipped it) and a request for your email. Its diagnostic-tracking box was unticked by default, a nice contrast with CartFlows.
FunnelKit’s Basic plan ($99.50 for the first year, one site) improves the checkout but has no sales funnels. Plus ($149.50 for the first year, two sites) adds unlimited funnels, one-click upsells, order bumps and A/B testing. FunnelKit says renewals are at full price, which for Plus is $299 a year.
What the rest of the setup looks like
Our earlier test installs fill in the other pieces. In our Shopify vs WordPress comparison, the WooCommerce setup wizard was four screens with ten pre-ticked add-on extensions, and getting from plugin install to a finished test order took about 20 minutes. In our WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace overview, building a basic business site with the free Kadence theme took about 30 steps and 35 minutes. Add email and a course plugin and a WordPress funnel business is an afternoon of setup, not ten minutes.
Year 1 Cost for a Small Online Business
Take a typical small business: one $49 course, a sales page with an order bump and a one-click upsell, an email list under 2,500 contacts, and the course delivered on the same site. Card processing fees are left out because they depend on your payment processor and apply on both platforms.
| Setup | Year 1 | Year 2 | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClickFunnels Launch, billed yearly | $970 | $970 | Everything in one account: funnels, upsells, email, 3 courses, hosting |
| ClickFunnels Launch, billed monthly | $1,164 | $1,164 | Same, $97 a month |
| WordPress, free plugins only | $47.88 | About $152 | Hostinger Premium (free domain in year one), WooCommerce, CartFlows free, MailPoet free, Tutor LMS free. No order bumps or upsells |
| WordPress with CartFlows Pro and FluentCRM Pro | $349.88 | About $580 | Adds upsells, order bumps, A/B tests ($199, then $299) and email automation ($103, then $129) |
| Same plus Tutor LMS Pro | $548.88 | About $779 | Adds premium course features ($199 a year) |
Year 2 assumes Hostinger Premium renews at $10.99 a month ($131.88) and about $20 for a .com renewal. Prices as of October 2026 from each vendor’s pricing page.
A few notes on the WordPress column:
- Hosting. Hostinger’s Premium plan is $3.99 a month on a 12-month term, with ecommerce support and a free domain for a year. Our Hostinger review covers the renewal price. A busy store will want stronger hosting.
- Email. MailPoet is free up to 1,000 subscribers, including its sending service. FluentCRM’s free plugin has unlimited contacts and campaigns, but it sends through your site’s email setup, so you will want an email sending service, a separate cost we did not price. FluentCRM Pro’s one-site plan is $103 for the first year with the current discount, then $129.
- Courses. Tutor LMS’s free version allows unlimited courses and lessons. If you would rather pay once for a course plugin, see our WP Courseware review.
- Checkout tools. If you mainly need a strong hosted checkout with upsells, a dedicated cart tool like ThriveCart is another route.
Even the full premium WordPress stack costs a little over half of ClickFunnels Launch billed yearly. What you pay instead is time: setup, updates for six or more plugins, and fixing snags like the two we hit.
Website Building, Blogging and SEO
ClickFunnels has grown beyond funnels. Its Site app builds full websites, and its blog feature page promises “built-in SEO tools and mobile optimization.” Our 2020 point that ClickFunnels was awkward for homepages and about pages matters less now that it has a dedicated Site app.
WordPress is still the stronger content platform, with thousands of themes, including multipurpose themes like Divi, and the page builders in our best page builder guide. SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO and Rank Math add title and description controls, schema and sitemaps. If search is how customers find you, WordPress gives you more control.
If you are weighing WordPress against other all-in-one builders too, our Wix vs WordPress guide and Webflow vs WordPress comparison cover those, and our Squarespace vs Wix comparison puts the two biggest builders head to head.
Ownership, Maintenance and Support
ClickFunnels handles hosting, security and updates. Launch includes standard support; Scale and up add priority and live chat support. The help center also points to email support and an official Facebook group. The trade-off is lock-in: your funnels live on ClickFunnels’ servers, and we found no tool in its help center for exporting pages to WordPress, so plan on rebuilding them if you leave.
WordPress is free software you own. You can move hosts or swap any plugin. You also maintain it: our funnel test site ended up with seven active plugins to keep updated, from a setup that started with two. Support comes from your host, each plugin vendor, and the WordPress.org forums.
Which Should You Choose?
- Course creator or coach who wants one tool: ClickFunnels. Funnels, upsells, email, courses and a community in one login, and nothing to update. Start on Launch.
- You already have a WordPress site or blog: WordPress plus CartFlows or FunnelKit. Your funnels stay on your domain and your content keeps working for SEO. If you already pay for ClickFunnels, put it on a subdomain and link to it.
- WooCommerce store owner: CartFlows Pro or FunnelKit Plus. Both plug straight into your existing products, orders and payment setup.
- Tight budget, just starting: WordPress with free plugins. A sales page, checkout and thank-you page cost nothing beyond hosting. Add upsells later when sales justify it.
- Agency running many client funnels: depends on the client. ClickFunnels Scale gives five workspaces for $197 a month. On WordPress, CartFlows Pro covers three sites and CartFlows Suite 30 sites ($299 for the first year, then $449). If you also build the client’s main site, our marketing agency theme picks are a good place to start.
FAQ
Can I use ClickFunnels with WordPress?
Yes, but not through an official plugin. It was closed on WordPress.org on March 14, 2023 for a security issue. The common setup is WordPress on your main domain and ClickFunnels on a subdomain, with links between them.
How much does ClickFunnels cost in 2026?
As of October 2026, Launch is $97 a month or $970 a year, Scale is $197 a month or $1,970 a year, Optimize is $297 a month or $2,970 a year, and Dominate is $5,997 a year. ClickFunnels’ help center says each plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
Is WordPress cheaper than ClickFunnels?
Usually, yes. A WordPress funnel setup with one-click upsells and email automation costs about $350 in year one and about $580 in year two, compared with $970 a year for ClickFunnels Launch billed yearly. The catch is setup time and plugin upkeep.
Can WordPress do one-click upsells like ClickFunnels?
Yes, with a paid funnel plugin. On our test install, the free version of CartFlows blocked upsell steps with an “Upgrade Required” dialog. CartFlows Pro ($199 for the first year) or FunnelKit Plus ($149.50 for the first year) add one-click upsells and order bumps to WooCommerce.
Is ClickFunnels good for SEO?
It covers the basics, and ClickFunnels says its blog has built-in SEO tools. WordPress gives you much more control through plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Math, so content-led businesses usually keep their blog on WordPress.
Is there a free version of ClickFunnels?
No. There is a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, then a paid plan. The closest free option is WordPress with WooCommerce and free CartFlows, where you only pay for hosting.