The best funnel builder for most affiliate marketers starting out is Systeme.io, because its free plan already covers opt-in pages, email and a few funnels. ClickFunnels is the better fit once you sell your own products at volume and need checkouts, upsells and A/B tests in one place. GoHighLevel is built for agencies. And if your funnel is mostly about capturing leads for a small business, a page builder with forms, such as Onepage or Leadpages, is often simpler, and cheaper than ClickFunnels or GoHighLevel.
On my own niche sites, the funnel has always had one job: growing an email list. So this guide starts with what you actually need, then compares the tools. Prices come from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked on 1 October 2026.
What a funnel builder does (and when you need one)
A funnel is a sequence of pages that moves a visitor towards one action: an opt-in page, a thank-you page, an offer, a checkout, maybe an upsell. A funnel builder lets you create those pages, connect them in order and track how many people drop off at each step.
You need a real funnel builder when you sell your own product or course and want the checkout, upsells and emails in one tool. You probably do not need one if you are an affiliate promoting other people’s products, or a local business that only wants calls and form requests. In those cases, a landing page plus an email tool does the job. My guide on how to create a landing page with AI explains how to build that single page well.
What affiliate marketers need from a funnel
Most affiliate funnels are simple: a page that offers something free (a checklist, a mini course, a comparison), an email sequence that builds trust, and links to the products you recommend. That means three things matter more than anything else:
- A fast opt-in page that works on mobile.
- Email automation, either built in or through a solid integration with your autoresponder. I compare those in my list of the best autoresponders for affiliate marketing.
- Low fixed costs, because affiliate income takes months to grow.
Checkouts, order bumps and upsells only matter once you sell something of your own. If you want the long-term version of this, where the funnel runs on autopilot for months, read my guide to the evergreen funnel.
Funnel builders compared
| Tool | Entry price | Free plan or trial | Checkout and upsells | A/B tests | Email built in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io | Startup, $17/month | Free plan: 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels | Yes, one-click upsells and order bumps | Yes, 1 on Free, 10 on Startup | Yes |
| ClickFunnels | Launch, $97/month or $81 yearly | Free trial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GoHighLevel | Starter, $97/month | 14-day trial | Yes | Not listed on its pricing page | Yes, email and SMS (usage-based) |
| Kartra | Essentials, $59/month or $52 yearly | 14-day trial | Yes (5% fee on Essentials) | Yes | Yes |
| Onepage | Essential, $199/year + Forms and Funnels add-on (free tier, paid from $399/year) | Free plan | Not found on its site | Not found on its site | Autoresponder from Advanced plan |
| Leadpages | Pro, $23/month yearly or $29 monthly | 7-day trial (card needed) | Stripe integration | Manual A/B from Grow ($79/month yearly) | No, integrations |
| Carrd | Pro Standard, $19/year | Free plan | Stripe and PayPal embeds | No | No |
The best no-code funnel builders
1. Systeme.io
Systeme.io is where I would start an affiliate funnel today. The free plan includes 2,000 contacts and 3 funnels, with email, and paid plans start at $17 a month. It has one-click upsells, order bumps, Stripe and PayPal, and it takes 0% commission on sales. It also offers an MCP server so you can connect AI assistants to your account.
Its AI page building is still limited: today the prompt tool produces HTML that you paste in, and they list a native AI builder as coming soon. One thing to check before you buy: the Startup plan card says “up to 10 funnels” while the FAQ on the same page says unlimited funnels.
2. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is the best-known funnel builder for a reason. Launch costs $97 a month ($81 a month on yearly billing) and includes A/B testing, its Smart Checkout, email (50,000 emails a month on Launch) and AI writing tools. The FAQ says they do not take a percentage of your sales.
It makes sense if you sell courses, coaching or digital products and want everything in one dashboard. For an affiliate who only needs an opt-in page and emails, it is a lot of money every month.
3. GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel is a funnel builder, CRM and email and SMS tool with AI built in, designed for agencies that resell it to clients. Starter is $97 a month with a 14-day trial. Its AI covers conversations, voice, content, funnels and reviews.
Note the asterisk on its pricing page: usage-based charges apply to AI, email, SMS and calls. Great for an agency with several local clients; overkill for one affiliate site.
4. Kartra
Kartra bundles checkouts, split testing, a funnel mapper and email. Essentials costs $59 a month ($52 yearly) and includes 30 uses of Kartra AI for copy. The catch on the entry plan is a 5% fee per sale, plus limits of 5 pages and 500 contacts, so most real businesses will look at Starter ($119) or higher.
5. Onepage
Onepage is a German website, landing page and funnel builder for small businesses and agencies. Its AI generates whole sites, landing pages and multi-step funnels from a short description, and you finish them in a visual editor. The Forms and Funnels add-on adds multi-step forms and quizzes with conditional logic, a funnel analytics dashboard, UTM capture and email and phone verification.
For a small business that sells a service, that is often the whole funnel: an ad or search result, a landing page, a qualifying form and a lead in the CRM, which is included on every plan. It connects to Zapier, Make and HubSpot, and webhooks are available from the Essential plan. Hosting is in Germany, which matters for European businesses dealing with GDPR.
Where it is weaker for affiliate marketers: I could not find A/B testing or a built-in checkout on its site, and the email autoresponder starts on the Advanced plan. Use it for lead-generation funnels, not for selling digital products with upsells.
6. Leadpages
Leadpages focuses on landing pages, with AI page creation and Smart Traffic, an AI feature that routes visitors to the best-performing variant, on its higher plans. Pro costs $23 a month on yearly billing ($29 month to month), with a 7-day trial that asks for a card. It integrates with Stripe and email tools rather than running email itself. A good middle ground if you need many campaign pages but not a full funnel platform.
7. Carrd
Carrd is the budget option, and I mean budget: Pro Standard costs $19 a year and adds your own domain, forms and Stripe or PayPal embeds. It builds one-page sites only, with no funnels, A/B tests or email. For an affiliate testing a lead magnet idea before paying for anything bigger, it is hard to beat.
How to choose your funnel builder
Ask yourself three questions:
- Do I sell my own product? If not, skip the expensive all-in-one tools and use a landing page plus an autoresponder.
- How many contacts will I have in a year? Free plans with contact limits are fine until they are not, so check the price of the next tier.
- Will I really run A/B tests? Testing only works with steady traffic. If you get a few hundred visitors a month, a clear page and good emails matter more.
My short version: Systeme.io for affiliates on a budget, ClickFunnels for creators selling their own products, GoHighLevel for agencies, and Onepage or Leadpages for small businesses whose funnel ends in a lead rather than a sale. If you still need the website around the funnel, see my comparison of the best AI website builders.
Funnel builders: FAQ
Is there a free sales funnel builder available?
Yes. Systeme.io has a free plan with 3 funnels and 2,000 contacts, and Onepage and Carrd have free plans for simple pages. Free plans usually limit contacts, funnels or custom domains.
What is better than ClickFunnels?
It depends on the job. For affiliates and beginners, Systeme.io does most of what ClickFunnels does at a fraction of the price. For agencies, GoHighLevel adds a CRM and SMS. For lead-generation pages, a builder like Onepage or Leadpages is simpler.
Which is better, ClickFunnels or GoHighLevel?
ClickFunnels is better for one business selling its own products. GoHighLevel is better for agencies managing many clients, with a CRM, SMS and white-label options, but watch the usage-based charges.
How can I create my own sales funnel?
Start with one offer and one audience. Build an opt-in or landing page, connect it to an email sequence, send traffic from one channel, and measure how many people move from each step to the next before adding more pages.
