Kartra: 4 Great Alternatives in 2021
If you run an online business or are renovating your current sales funnels, you’ve probably heard of Kartra at some point.
On a basic level, Kartra is simply an all-in-one platform for building websites and landing pages. It is also pretty useful for managing one’s email marketing endeavors.
This program can be really helpful-- however, it also has some notable downfalls that may turn some prospective users away.
Namely, the price is generally considered to be outrageous.
If you have considered Kartra but have been turned off by the price, what’s the best alternative?
How many alternatives are out there? What are their specific features and use cases?
In this guide, we’re going to break down why Systeme.io (and a few other platforms) are great Kartra alternatives, as well as what the main features of Kartra and its alternatives are.
First, let’s briefly explain what Kartra is and what features that platform offers.
1. What is Kartra?
Kartra logo
We’ve reviewed Kartra in the past, but here’s a quick overview of what this program does.
Kartra is essentially a type of page building software, as well as a sales funnel builder and email marketing platform for e-commerce companies.
Kartra is particularly useful for business owners who want to sell their brand’s services or products via the internet.
Kartra can also be considered an all-in-one platform because it offers numerous features through one dashboard, from an email system to landing page building to online course creation.
There’s no need to bounce back and forth between different platforms with Kartra. The platform also has a fairly large Facebook group and development community.
This platform has some hefty testimonials, just to showcase a few:
“Officially canceling all my other business tools subscription today to make way for Kartra. It’s such a liberating feeling. Thank you Kartra.” - Ajoke
“Kartra funnels work! We cleared $30,000 in one day using a funnel we built in Kartra in less than a week! #KartraRocks! Never underestimate the value of your list, good partnerships and a team of loyal people helping you reach your goals” - Jonathan
“I’ve been working with Kartra for (only) about two weeks now… It’s SO easy and so fast to implement things that took quite some time (using Wordpress and shopping carts and cludging together a membership site) … and connecting it all. I’ve created 52 pages, three membership portals, and a full help center… WITH an opt-in and a shopping cart. I love everything about Kartra.” - Marc
It’s worth noting that these rave reviews come from screenshots on Kartra’s own website.
Despite the hype, there are indeed some downfalls to Kartra.
The start, if you’re brand new to the world of marketing and don’t really have an established email list, it’ll be difficult to use Kartra to monetize.
Just as well, Kartra has a pretty steep learning curve and does not provide a lot of training to new users.
For sales-focused services, Kartra does not really have the essential tools in place since it is just a business management tool.
It’s also a relatively new company, so there aren’t a lot of performance metrics to look into yet. Plus, the lack of third-party integrations is a little bit of a pain.
Reviewers across the internet have noted that Kartra is difficult to use for linking up sales pages with landing pages, and also is somewhat overpriced for what you get.
The cost is probably the biggest downfall of Kartra.
Packages start at $79 per month and peaks at a whopping $399 per month.
Their free trial isn’t free either-- it costs $1 to demo the platform for two weeks.
1.1. Kartra key features
Kartra is notable for having a significant volume of features:
- Kartra Funnel Builder
- Email marketing
- Landing page builder
- Payments and products
- Courses and memberships
- Extensive user support
- (Nearly) unlimited customization options
- Affiliate marketplace
- Multiple pricing packages
Now that’s we’ve broken down the good and the bad about Kartra, it’s time to look at some alternatives.
We’ve put together the best contenders as it currently stands-- Systeme.io, Clickfunnels, Convertkit, and Kajabi.
2. What is Systeme.io?
Systeme.io logo
Systeme.io is an all-in-one marketing platform designed to help new entrepreneurs, as well as established business owners, launch their online business, website, or marketing campaigns.
This platform is fantastic for beginners and pros in the e-commerce world.
It’s also great for coaches, businesses that sell any kind of physical product, brands that want to focus on subscription offers, and membership sites.
The company itself also uses its own platform to build its blog, sales funnels, and other pages.
The drag-and-drop editing style also takes away the need for intensive technical knowledge or established development teams.
For schools or tutors, Systeme.io is also a great solution for building custom enrollment landing pages.
You can also have a custom domain connected to your account and a full contacts database, all under one sing platform and dashboard.
Systeme.io has three different pricing plans.
The first is the Startup plan, available for $27 per month, which offers 5,000 email subscribers and unlimited emails and funnels.
The second is the Webinar plan, available for $47 per month, which offers 10,000 email subscribers and all the other features of Systeme.io plus webinar creation.
The enterprise plan, available for $97 per month, offers 15,000 email subscribers and everything included in the Webinar plan plus one-on-one coaching sessions with a Systeme.io professional.
The reviews also don’t lie when it comes to this platform’s use cases.
“Systeme.io allows you to build out automated email campaigns with tagged leads that you segment into groups. This means that your leads are receiving personalized emails that relate to them.” - Vinay at Techprevue
“[...] Systeme.io is an excellent alternative to the renowned ClickFunnels and something you should go for, especially if you are on a tighter budget. For as little as $27 a month, you will be able to build a strong network between you and your potential prospects and buyers.” - Web Market Kings
2.1. Systeme.io key features
Systeme.io's dashboard
As an all-in-one platform, Systeme.io has a wide range of great features:
- Sales funnel building, including squeeze pages, sales pages, and payment pages.
- Email marketing capabilities for sending followup emails and newsletters.
- Online course creation and course editor.
- Physical product page and advertisement builder.
- Blog launching and website design.
- Evergreen webinar builder and manager.
- Calendar, contact, and customer management.
- External integrations for third-party tools.
- Lead management and scoring.
- Adequate A/B testing.
- Affiliate program creator, tracker, and manager. Systeme.io’s affiliate program builder makes it possible to gain over $70,000 sales per month.
- Full business automation for emails and marketing.
3. What is Kajabi?
Kajabi logo
Kajabi is an all-in-one business platform for online companies.
This platform makes it possible to build online courses, launch campaigns, and build landing pages.
Kajabi is popular because you don’t need to find hosting or deal with complex web design in order to use the platform.
Unfortunately, Kajabi is quite expensive when compared to similar platforms like Kartra or Systeme.io.
The cheapest possible monthly plan costs $103 and only if paid per year, upfront.
The premium plan is a whopping $719 per month, but that plan is also designed for large mega enterprises.
3.1. Kajabi key features
Kajabi has a handful of fairly useful features:
- A webpage and website builder with themes, hosting, and blogging capabilities.
- Email marketing with customization and in-email editing.
- Upsell integration for encouraging customers to buy more after checking out, which can be useful for conversions.
- Automated marketing capabilities.
- Personalized checkout options for e-commerce platforms.
4. What is Clickfunnels?
Clickfunnels logo
Clickfunnels, like Kartra, is a massively popular option for marketing and sales funnel building.
This product is a sales funnel builder that helps companies integrate automation into their sales process from beginning to end.
You can create large websites, landing pages, membership sites, courses, and other things with Clickfunnels.
Essentially, Clickfunnels is a “non-traditional” way to build and promote sales funnels and landing pages.
Clickfunnels only has two pricing plans, starting at $97 per month and ending at $297 per month.
This platform is quite expensive and may not be ideal for entrepreneurs just getting into the online space.
There are also limits in place on the number of pages and funnels, as well as visitors, when using the startup plan.
Clickfunnels is also notoriously overwhelming for beginners and has a tendency to pack in as many features as possible, many of which have very few use cases.
4.1. Clickfunnels key features
Clickfunnels is known for having quite a few subsidiary products and overall features:
- Out-of-box sales funnel templates for a variety of niches and styles.
- A drag and drop editor.
- Funnel sharing capabilities along with A/B testing.
- Payment gateway builder.
- Email automation and tracking.
5. What is Convertkit?
Convertkit logo
Convertkit is a type of email service or platform designed for bloggers or podcasters (or really anybody that needs to build an audience.)
Its main purpose is to turn email lists into genuine drivers of revenue, and also to manage email marketing more closely.
Since Convertkit is very much focused on audience-building, there aren’t a lot of uses for this platform for e-commerce companies with low-key branding.
There aren’t many actions available for more advanced automation and A/B testing is very minimal. The customization options also tend to lack a little bit.
Convertkit doesn’t have very many features when compared to Kartra, but it’s an okay alternative nonetheless.
Convertkit has a serious amount of payment options, but that’s because they base their pricing on the volume of a blogger’s subscription list.
For example, bloggers with 1,000 or fewer subscribers will pay $29 per month and bloggers with around 95,000 subscribers will pay $619 per month, which can be quite hefty.
5.1. Convertkit key features
Convertkit has some decent basic features:
- Customizable opt-in forms with email content editing.
- Reporting and analytics, though it’s a bit on the minimal side.
- Visual automation.
- Subscriber management.
- Email and RSS feed broadcasting.
6. Where does Systeme.io pick up Kartra’s slack?
When it comes down to it, Systeme.io is one of the best possible alternatives to Kartra.
Systeme.io offers many of the same features as Kartra, from email marketing to landing page building to webinar creation. Systeme.io is also a fully integrated platform.
So what makes Systeme.io so much better?
To begin with, Systeme.io’s pricing plans are superior and start at $27 per month for a startup plan.
Just as well, Systeme.io is designed with newbies in mind, and thus has a very small learning curve and there is no need to have any technical knowledge to use the platform.
It’s also relatively easier to use than many similar platforms or all-in-one software out there.
Plus, Systeme.io also supports mobile devices, which is crucial in this current mobile-first digital landscape.
The software is also available in French in addition to English, which could be beneficial for international countries.
Who wants hidden fees?
Systeme.io is still going through updates, but no hidden fees or costs will pop up.
Systeme.io also offers an actual free trial for two weeks as well.
7. Get your free trial of Systeme.io today!
Systeme.io's home page
At Systeme.io, we built this platform with busy business owners and marketers in mind.
It’s rough managing a website and a whole marketing campaign, especially if you need to bounce between different tools to commit to certain necessary tasks.
We’re so excited to offer Systeme.io’s multi-level software for all of your marketing and website-building needs.
We also understand that the best way to pick the right all-in-one software is to run a demo first.
That’s why we’re offering a free trial with absolutely no credit card needed.
How else will you really know how well Systeme.io works?
Sign up today to get your demo!
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