When it comes to critical software platforms for operating an online business, two big names stand out: ClickFunnels and AWeber. Choosing the right email marketing and sales funnel builder can make or break your ability to grow an engaged audience and drive conversions.
In this comprehensive ClickFunnels vs AWeber comparison, we evaluate how the two platforms stack up across key criteria like features and functionality, ease of use, customization, performance, customer support, and pricing models.
Selecting the email marketing platform that aligns best with your business needs and budget can position you for sustainable growth versus stagnation. Our goal is to provide unbiased insights to inform your decision between these two industry leaders.
1. Understanding the Basics
ClickFunnels was founded in 2014 by Russell Brunson. It quickly became an industry leader in the sales funnel builder and marketing automation space. ClickFunnels now has over 159,000 users as of 2022 and is a popular official Facebook group with over 150,000 members.
AWeber was founded back in 1998 by Tom Kulzer, making it one of the earlier email marketing platforms. Though not as rapidly growing as ClickFunnels, AWeber is still widely used by over 650,000 businesses worldwide as of 2022. It has an official Facebook user group with over 9,000 followers.
Both ClickFunnels and AWeber hold strong positions in their respective niches today. ClickFunnels dominates the sales funnel builder space while AWeber remains one of the top traditional email service providers. Each also has engaged social communities on Facebook for users to interact with customer support and each other.
2. Features and Functionality
Automation
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels provides robust automation for sales funnels and email marketing campaigns. The platform includes an autoresponder sequence builder to automatically send emails based on user actions.
You can set up workflows to trigger messages when someone signs up for a list, makes a purchase, clicks a link, or other events.
ClickFunnels also enables the creation of automated webinars, evergreen product launches, automated broadcasting, and SMS messaging flows. You can set up complex follow-up sequences, integrate with Zapier for further extensions, and build custom integrations using the ClickFunnels API.
Overall, ClickFunnels automation puts immense power in the hands of marketers to create personalized journeys fueled by triggers and user data.
AWeber
AWeber focuses more exclusively on email marketing automation. You can create sign-up forms, welcome series, broadcasts, RSS-to-email campaigns, and drips based on tags, segments, and user engagement.
Advanced tools like split testing and Google Analytics integration assist you in optimizing your flows.
While AWeber doesn’t extend into the breadth of sales funnel and SMS capabilities covered by ClickFunnels, it provides rock-solid foundations for running efficient campaigns, as well as email list growth and complex list segmentation. If email is your primary channel, AWeber packs a punch.
Winner: ClickFunnels
With more expansive options for automation beyond just email, ClickFunnels earns the win here as the best automation solution. Its smooth integration between email, SMS, webinars, and sales funnels enables fully customized buyer journeys not easily matched by AWeber.
For all-in-one marketing workflow automation, ClickFunnels is hard to beat.
Email Templates
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels provides beautiful pre-designed email templates covering a variety of marketing campaigns and automation. Templates are optimized for mobile and easy to customize with the built-in editor. You can tweak colors, fonts, content blocks, add images/video, and more.
While template selection is more limited compared to standalone email providers, ClickFunnels offers sufficient options for core marketing funnels like launches, broadcasts, courses, and more. As its focus is on funnels over just email, this is expected.
AWeber
With email as its sole focus, AWeber shines for its wide selection of professional email templates. Choose from hundreds of categories like welcome emails, promotions, email newsletters, holidays, and more. Granular controls let you customize templates to match your branding.
AWeber also makes it easy to code your own HTML templates from scratch if you want full creative freedom. Its sole job being email marketing gives AWeber an edge for template quality and quantity.
Winner: AWeber
The AWeber ClickFunnels comparison shows that while ClickFunnels provides solid email templating, AWeber wins this round with a wider selection and specialized focus on email-first content. For pure email marketing needs, AWeber simply can’t be beat. But ClickFunnels still stacks up nicely for integrated funnel and email campaigns.
Segmentation
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels allows segmenting your contacts based on their interactions with your funnels, email lists, and custom tags. You can create segments to target groups based on purchase history, funnel progression, custom parameters, location, and more.
Built-in integrations with platforms like Facebook and ActiveCampaign also feed advanced contact attributes into ClickFunnels for additional segmentation signals. Powerful segmentation combines with strong automation to send hyper-personalized messages.
AWeber
AWeber enables deep segmentation and targeting of your subscriber lists based on over 250 criteria. Filter by location, engagement metrics, device data, social profiles, custom fields, tags, forms, day/time, and much more. You can also integrate with apps like Zapier for even more segmentation inputs.
Granular segmentation options make it easy to divide big lists into smaller groups for tailored content. AWeber’s email-first focus has allowed it to build best-in-class segmentation capabilities over decades of specialization.
Winner: AWeber
With over 25 years of perfecting email marketing capabilities like segmentation specifically, AWeber edges out ClickFunnels due to the breadth and depth of its subscriber filtering options. ClickFunnels still provides ample segmentation, but AWeber wins with bigger lists and parameters.
Analytics
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels packs robust analytics to track key conversion and engagement metrics across your funnels, email lists, broadcasts, webinars, and more. View real-time conversion data and funnel performance insights. Integrate other analytics tools like Google Analytics for expanded reporting.
Easy-to-interpret visual reports and customizable dashboards enable digging into metrics for informed optimization. Track leads by source, monitor email and page performance, attribute sales to campaigns, identify drop-off points in the funnel, and more.
AWeber
AWeber provides specialized analytics for email marketing and list growth. Get deliverability metrics, open/click rates, unsubscribe tracking, revenue from campaigns, segmentation insights, and more automatically measured across all campaigns.
View subscriber engagement visually or export to CSV. While more focused on its core platform than ClickFunnels, AWeber has honed detailed email analytics over decades of specialization.
Winner: ClickFunnels
With bigger dashboards and seamless sales funnel data integrated with email and SMS campaign analytics, ClickFunnels better caters to all-in-one marketing analytics. But for purely email-focused reporting, AWeber excels in its niche.
Unique Features
ClickFunnels
Unique features that make ClickFunnels stand out are its robust webinar tools that allow for one-click session setup, live conferencing, pre-recorded hosting options, chat support, and seamless sales funnel integration. Simplified webinar marketing is a huge advantage.
Additionally, the platform offers ready-to-use templates for launching products, generating leads, building sales funnels, and more that save users time in email campaign creation.
The page builder is more advanced than most with customization geared specifically towards improving conversions through options like dynamically personalized content blocks and split testing capabilities that enable optimization in real-time.
Extensive integrations also allow users to easily import data from over 750 apps via Zapier and the ClickFunnels API for automation and personalization. Special funnel components like one-click upsells, downsells, order bumps, and coupon codes also simplify e-commerce functionality.
For less experienced marketers, these tools provide enterprise-level execution.
AWeber
Unique advantages of using AWeber include segment overlay lists which enable applying multiple contact filters and layers to subscriber lists for hyper-targeted groups without static segmentation, allowing for future-proof targeting flexibility.
The platform also offers RSS to email functions that simplify delivering curated, automated content campaigns based on user preferences with minimal effort for the marketer.
For larger enterprises, granular compliance controls, sensitive data masking, and dedicated deliverability experts offer serious peace of mind. These specialized tools cater directly to the advanced email marketer.
Winner: ClickFunnels
With tools consolidating webinars, pre-built funnel templates, and integrated sales, email, and automation together, ClickFunnels takes the win for the most unique features.
But for specifically email marketing capabilities, AWeber is hard to top. It comes down to all-in-one marketing consolidation versus specialized email excellence.
3. Ease of Use
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is highly user-friendly, with an intuitive drag-and-drop funnel builder that lets you map out your customer journey visually step-by-step without any coding.
Standard elements like opt-in forms, sales pages, and thank you pages make funnel building fast, while a huge selection of customizable templates allows complete beginners to edit and launch professionally designed funnels.
The platform guides you in selecting funnel types based on your goals. Step-by-step wizards add functions like products or webinar registrations. Integrations require just a few clicks rather than complex coding. Overall, ease of adoption helps users see results quickly.
AWeber
AWeber also focuses heavily on usability with streamlined subscription form creation, campaign builders, and ready-made email templates.
The visual email editor simplifies personalizing messages. New users may find the breadth of advanced functions like RSS-to-email and segment layering lists more overwhelming as they’re geared toward established email marketers.
While powerful underneath, AWeber’s learning curve is steeper than ClickFunnels for those without strong email marketing experience looking to maximize its capabilities. But core functions remain approachable.
Winner: ClickFunnels
With an intent focus on no-code, visual funnel building plus exceptionally simple integrations, ClickFunnels edges out AWeber for the easiest adoption by complete beginners or less technical users. It’s made for anyone to hit the ground running.
4. Email Deliverability
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels emails maintain good deliverability with dedicated infrastructure for managing sent mail. Automatic list cleaning, spam testing, and compliance help emails reliably reach recipient inboxes. Focus on conversions leads to fewer aggressive email practices that hurt deliverability over time.
Given its broader funnel focus beyond just email, ClickFunnels doesn’t match the deliverability infrastructure of top-tier ESPs, but gets the job done and enables building an owned, convertible audience.
AWeber
Email deliverability is AWeber’s specialty, with a 25+ year track record of tabling for user trust and inbox placement through verified sender status with major providers.
Things like IP warming, constant system monitoring, compliance advisors, and personalized deliverability consulting services push deliverability to the highest industry standard.
For serious email marketers prioritizing inbox placement over anything else, AWeber is tried and tested as a leader.
Winner: AWeber
With over two decades of experience helping mail reach subscriber inboxes across changing landscapes, AWeber earns the victory. But ClickFunnels still maintains decent mail assurance for all-in-one functionality.
5. Customer Support and Community
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels provides 24/7 live chat and email ticketing for issues from onboarding questions to troubleshooting problems in your funnels. Phone support for more urgent needs, plus an online marketing knowledge base with self-help articles round out helpful resources and previous answers.
In addition to tech support, an active community also exists on the ClickFunnels Facebook group with over 150,000 members. People share advice, give feedback, showcase funnels, and more. Valuable for inspiration and peer questions.
AWeber
Similarly, AWeber makes it easy to get help, thanks to 24/7 email support, live phone assistance, an online ticket system, and an extensive FAQ/forum database for self-service. Users can also access webinars and guides for ongoing education.
The AWeber Facebook page also has an engaged following of over 180,000 people discussing email marketing strategies, platform feedback, and best practices. Great for supplemental tips.
Winner: Tie
Both ClickFunnels and AWeber provide stellar customer support resources like round-the-clock availability across channels and robust self-help content. Large official communities also enable user discussions and ideas sharing on Facebook. For helpful assistance, they tie.
6. Integrations
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels truly excels at integrations given its focus as an all-in-one marketing automation platform.
Through its partnership with Zapier, users can connect to over 750 different applications that cover everything from email and social media marketing to site builders, analytics features, payment processing, live chat platforms, dropshipping tools, membership software, and beyond.
Pre-built integrations also exist for leading tools like ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, Stripe, and Shopify to further simplify connecting the key systems most digital marketers would leverage.
With deep integration capabilities, all the user data, campaign performance metrics, sales information, and external tools can flow freely between ClickFunnels and other systems.
This enables the creation of highly customized, automated journeys powered by real-time user behavior data from across channels. Especially for users wanting an all-in-one centralized marketing tool, the wealth of integrations is incredibly valuable to help you optimize your campaigns.
AWeber
As a more focused email marketing platform, AWeber offers over 700 native integrations with marketing, e-commerce, CRM, support, and operations tools.
This covers integrations for all core categories a serious email marketer would require from audience relationship management platforms to analytics and reporting.
Prebuilt connections with leading tools like Mailchimp, Shopify, Facebook, WordPress, Google Analytics, Constant Contact, and more allow seamlessly transferring subscriber data between AWeber lists and key systems marketers use in conjunction with their email campaigns.
For users leveraging AWeber as their primary email marketing backbone, having tight integrations with these supplemental tools ensures alignment in subscribing, metrics, and segmentation between platforms.
Similar to ClickFunnels, expanded Zapier integration enables connecting to thousands of other apps as needed.
Winner: Tie
Both ClickFunnels and AWeber offer an incredible depth of integrations natively and through Zapier partnerships.
For connectivity to all the tools a marketer would need, they deliver equally and result in a tie. The difference falls more to the types of tools each focuses on integrating more readily based on their capabilities.
7. Pricing
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels offers premium monthly subscription plans ranging from $127 up to $208 per month for access to their complete marketing features based on usage levels, funnel types, and lead volume. Addons exist for enterprise-tier features. Users own their data.
Beyond unlimited funnel hosting, the platform does take 2-3% transaction fees on all orders, membership dues, or other revenue processed through ClickFunnels. This model balances flexibility and profit sharing from the revenue gains realized using the platform.
AWeber
In contrast, AWeber has a free plan and only charges monthly subscription fees based on your subscriber list size starting at $12.50/month for just 500 subscribers and scaling to the mid-hundreds for over 100,000 email subscribers.
No additional costs exist per email sent or for using advanced features like segmentation or compliance tools. You retain data rights.
It’s perfect for small businesses, and for serious email marketers committing to AWeber as their singular ESP platform, the pricing is straightforward and competitive relative to email list value, especially at scale.
Winner: AWeber
With no variable fees based on orders/transactions made through your email funnels, AWeber wins on predictable costs for high-volume email sending focused on subscriber growth. But ClickFunnels wins on flexibility if augmenting another CRM.
8. Reviews and Reputation
ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels earns strong reviews from users for enabling technically less-skilled entrepreneurs to create high-converting funnels quickly.
Customers praise the many templates, ease of customization, and integration. Room for improvement exists in adding more niche funnel templates or packing in more advanced email functionality versus just automation and templates.
With an average rating of 4.6/5 on G2Crowd and 4.5/5 on Capterra, ClickFunnels enjoys positive feedback, especially among small business owners handling their own marketing and funnel building.
See Clickfunnels Reviews on G2
AWeber
Users overwhelmingly give AWeber strong reviews as well for its reliability and deliverability over decades in the email marketing space. Particularly catering to advanced email marketers, clients value robust segmentation tools, compliance standards, and an overall email-first focus.
Less need exists for things like landing pages or SMS. Similarly high average user ratings appear on sites like G2Crowd (4.7/5) and Capterra (4.6/5) stemming from experienced email marketers.
Winner: Tie
Both ClickFunnels and AWeber earn impressive feedback and loyalty based on solving different needs. For funnel building beyond just email, ClickFunnels wins. But for email delivery expertise, AWeber is unmatched. Each leading its niche ends in a tied reputation.
9. FAQ’s
ClickFunnels
- What types of funnels can I build in ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels enables the creation of opt-in funnels, webinar and event registration funnels, product and service sales funnels, membership sites, online course funnels, and more. Essentially any conversion journey can be built visually.
- Does ClickFunnels have email marketing features?
Yes, ClickFunnels provides email automation for sending sequences based on user actions, basic list building and management, pre-designed email templates, and integrations with all major email service providers. The email capabilities cater towards conversion-focused messaging rather than advanced general email marketing.
- Can I sell products through ClickFunnels?
Absolutely. ClickFunnels offers built-in e-commerce functionality for creating online stores, shopping carts, one-click upsells, order bumps, coupon codes, and more. It seamlessly integrates these storefront features with the related sales funnels.
AWeber FAQs
- What types of emails can I send with AWeber?
AWeber is optimized for newsletters, promotional broadcasts, warming sequences for onboarding subscribers, RSS auto-content emails, and advanced behavioral messaging leveraging detailed segmentation and workflows.
- Does AWeber offer landing pages and funnel builders?
No, AWeber focuses exclusively on email marketing capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with leading landing page and website builders but does not provide these tools itself.
- How does AWeber pricing compare?
AWeber offers exceptionally competitive rates based exclusively on your subscriber list size. Plans start at just $19/month for 500 subscribers. No extra fees exist for emails sent, tools used, or segments created. The value expands significantly at higher subscriber counts.
Final Thoughts
Choose ClickFunnels if…
You want to build complete sales funnels beyond just email marketing. With tools to map out conversion-optimized paths spanning traffic to transactions, ClickFunnels simplifies creating high-performance landing pages tied to your business goals.
Less tech-savvy entrepreneurs can easily piece together opt-ins, sales messaging flows, and automated post-purchase experiences quickly without coding skills. If focusing beyond email for e-commerce or leveraging webinars, ClickFunnels has advantages.
Choose AWeber if…
Email deliverability and complex list segmentation are your top priorities. For experienced digital marketers who live and breathe email, AWeber edges out alternatives in terms of reliability and depth of subscriber filters to enable hyper-targeted behavioral messaging.
Granular customization options for the serious email marketer along with proven deliverability for inbox placement give AWeber the win.
The most important thing is choosing the platform tailored best to your business’s specific needs and use case.