Choosing between ThriveCart and ClickFunnels can be tricky for affiliate marketers looking to boost conversions.
Both platforms promise high-converting checkout pages, powerful upsell and downsell funnels, and built-in affiliate tracking software.
We spent months testing both tools side by side. We ran split tests, built upsell sequences, and managed affiliate programmes on each.
In 2026, both platforms have evolved with fresh features. So which one truly delivers better one-click upsells, smarter A/B split testing tools, and a stronger affiliate management system? Let us break it all down for you.
ThriveCart Explained: The One-Time Fee Checkout Platform
ThriveCart is a high-converting checkout platform built for creators, coaches and affiliate marketers.
It focuses on one thing and does it well: getting people to complete a purchase. Over 75,000 businesses use ThriveCart and it has processed more than $8 billion in sales.
The platform gives you checkout page optimization, one-click upsells, bump offers, A/B testing and a powerful built-in affiliate management system.
What stands out most is the pricing model. You pay a one-time fee of $495 for a lifetime licence . No monthly bills. No surprise charges. For marketers watching every penny, that is a massive deal.
We used ThriveCart on three separate product launches. Every time, the setup was quick and the checkout pages performed well right away.
🏷️ Maven Recommendation: If your main goal is selling digital products with optimised checkouts and you want to keep costs low, ThriveCart is a smart starting point.
Inside ClickFunnels: Full Marketing Funnels Under One Roof
ClickFunnels is a full-featured sales funnel builder used by over 100,000 entrepreneurs worldwide.
It goes beyond checkout pages. You get landing pages, email marketing, CRM, courses, community tools and a complete online sales funnel system.
Over 1 million funnels have been created on the platform. ClickFunnels works best when you need an all-in-one marketing platform to build multi-step campaigns from scratch.
We used ClickFunnels for a lead generation campaign and a product launch funnel. Building pages was straightforward with templates. But the monthly costs added up quickly.
The trade-off? It starts at $97 per month and goes up to $297 per month. Over three years, that totals $3,492 or more. That is a lot of cash that could go towards ad spend or content creation.
Cost Comparison: Where Does Your Money Go?
Pricing can make or break a tool for affiliate marketers. Here is what each platform charges right now.
| Feature | ThriveCart Standard | ThriveCart Pro+ | ClickFunnels Launch | ClickFunnels Optimize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $0 (one-time $495) | $0 first year ($495 + $295/yr) | $97/month | $297/month |
| Year 1 Cost | $495 | $790 | $1,164 | $3,564 |
| Year 3 Cost | $495 | $1,380 | $3,492 | $10,692 |
| Upsells & Bumps | ✅ Unlimited | ✅ Unlimited | ✅ Basic | ✅ Full |
| A/B Testing | ✅ Full | ✅ Full | ❌ Limited | ✅ Full |
| Affiliate Management | ❌ Not included | ✅ Full | ❌ Not included | ✅ Included |
| Transaction Fees | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Funnel Builder | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Email Marketing | ❌ (integrations) | ❌ (integrations) | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in |
| LMS / Course Hosting | ✅ ThriveCart Learn | ✅ ThriveCart Learn | ✅ (3 courses) | ✅ (10 courses) |
| CRM | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Support | 24/7, 365 days | 24/7, 365 days | Standard | Priority + Live Chat |
Over three years, ClickFunnels can cost over $10,000 on the top plan. ThriveCart Standard stays at $495 forever. That saving alone is a game-changer for budget-conscious affiliate marketers.
🏆 Winner: ThriveCart. Significantly cheaper with zero recurring fees on Standard and more included features at every tier.
Upsells and Order Bumps: Which Platform Sells More?
Upsells can double or triple your average order value. We tested both platforms on real campaigns to see which handles one-click upsell funnels better.
ThriveCart Upsell Features
ThriveCart gives you one-click upsells and downsells right out of the box on every plan.
You can add multiple order bumps to a single checkout page. Each bump can have its own pricing, description and display rules. The conditional offer paths feature on Pro+ lets you show different upsells based on what a customer just bought.
So if someone buys Course A, you can offer Course B as an upsell and Course C as a downsell. It all happens without the buyer re-entering payment details.
We noticed higher conversion rates on upsells because the checkout flow stays smooth and fast. Customers do not leave the page to complete an upsell purchase.
ClickFunnels Upsell Features
ClickFunnels also supports one-click upsells, one-time offers and order form bumps.
The difference is how they fit into your funnel. ClickFunnels treats upsells as separate funnel steps. You build an upsell page, connect it after the order page, and the buyer moves through each step in the sequence.
It works well for multi-step sales funnels where you want full control over each page design and copy. The drag-and-drop builder gives you creative freedom.
However, the upsell pages load slower compared to ThriveCart . And you need to build each page from scratch unless you pick a pre-built template.
🏆 Winner: ThriveCart — Built-in profit-maximising upsell tools with faster load times and better conversion rates on checkout.
Which Platform Offers Smarter A/B Split Testing Tools?
Split testing for conversions is non-negotiable if you want to grow revenue. Here is how each platform handles it.
ThriveCart A/B Testing Capabilities
ThriveCart offers built-in A/B split testing on all plans, including the Standard $495 licence.
You can test almost everything on the checkout page:
The platform also supports full-funnel A/B tests where the entire customer journey is split tested from landing page to thank-you page.
Results show up in real time on your dashboard. You see conversion rates, revenue per visitor and statistical confidence levels.
We ran a test on pricing options and found that adding a payment plan alongside a one-time fee increased conversions by over 15%.
ClickFunnels A/B Testing Capabilities
ClickFunnels supports A/B testing on funnel pages. But the approach is different.
You duplicate a page within your funnel, make changes, and split traffic between the two versions. You can test headlines, images, copy and page layouts.
One issue we found is that A/B testing on ClickFunnels is mainly available on higher-tier plans . If you are on the basic Launch plan at $97 per month, your testing options are limited.
That is a real drawback for affiliate marketers who rely on data to optimise every campaign.
🏆 Winner: ThriveCart — More granular checkout page split testing options with no plan restrictions whatsoever.
For affiliate marketers, the affiliate tracking and management tools can be the deciding factor. We ran affiliate programmes on both platforms for 90 days. Here is what we found.
ThriveCart Affiliate Management
ThriveCart Pro+ includes a built-in affiliate management platform trusted by over 900,000 affiliates worldwide .
You can set up custom commission structures for each product. Want to pay 50% on a digital course but 20% on a physical product? Done in minutes. The JV contracts feature allows multi-partner revenue sharing, so multiple affiliates can earn from one sale.
Payouts can be instant or delayed. Everything is automated through PayPal or Stripe. No manual calculations needed.
Here is what really impressed us during testing:
The affiliate dashboard is clean and easy for partners to use. Top affiliates see clicks, conversions and earnings in real time.
ClickFunnels Affiliate Centre
ClickFunnels includes an Affiliate Centre feature. But it sits behind the higher-tier plans.
On the Scale plan ($197/month) and above, you get access to create and manage affiliates. You can set commission types, track referrals and manage payouts from inside the dashboard.
ClickFunnels also runs its own affiliate programme offering a 30% recurring commission. That is separate from the in-app affiliate management tools you use for your own products.
The built-in affiliate tools are functional but not as flexible as ThriveCart. You cannot set up JV contracts or product-level commissions as easily.
Real-World Affiliate Programme Results
We ran a 90-day affiliate campaign selling a digital course on both platforms. ThriveCart gave us better tracking, easier affiliate onboarding and faster payouts. ClickFunnels worked fine but required a $197/month plan just to access affiliate features.
🏆 Winner: ThriveCart — Superior affiliate programme management tools with more flexibility, better analytics and lower cost.
🏷️ Maven Recommendation: If you run an affiliate marketing programme, ThriveCart Pro+ gives you professional-grade management tools without monthly fees eating into your commissions. The JV contracts alone are worth upgrading for.
Sales Funnel Building: Page Builder Comparison 🛠️
Both platforms let you build sales funnels, but the depth varies greatly.
👉 ThriveCart gives you a simple drag-and-drop page builder for checkout pages, landing pages, and funnel pages. It is functional and fast. You can launch a complete funnel in under 20 minutes.
👉 ClickFunnels is a full landing page and funnel builder with hundreds of templates, advanced design options, and custom code support. If you need highly branded, multi-step funnels with blogs, membership areas, and community spaces, ClickFunnels has the edge.
We found ThriveCart adequate for simple sales funnels. But for complex multi-step marketing funnels with lead magnets, webinar registrations, and email sequences, ClickFunnels is the better fit.
🏆 Winner: ClickFunnels — More templates, deeper customisation, and a true drag-and-drop funnel builder make it the superior choice for funnel creation.
Checkout Pages and Payment Options
The checkout experience directly affects your conversion rate optimization. A clunky checkout page kills sales.
ThriveCart Checkout Experience
ThriveCart accepts over 100 payment methods . That includes Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Authorise.net and even USDC crypto payments.
You can create embeddable, single-step, two-step or modal cart checkouts. The cart abandonment recovery emails are built in and activate automatically .
Tax-inclusive pricing has been shown to boost conversions by 22% . The Buy Now Pay Later option lifts cart sizes by up to 14%. Pages load fast on both desktop and mobile, keeping drop-off rates low.
ClickFunnels Checkout Experience
ClickFunnels supports Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay on checkout pages.
The checkout is tied to your funnel pages. You design an order form page, add payment fields and connect your gateway. Customisation options are more limited compared to ThriveCart .
🏆 Winner: ThriveCart — More payment options, faster pages and built-in cart abandonment recovery on every plan.
Integrations and Ease of Use
Both platforms connect with popular marketing tools. But the experience differs quite a bit.
ThriveCart offers 40+ direct integrations including ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Zapier, Kajabi, ConvertKit, Klaviyo and many more . Setting up an integration takes minutes.
ClickFunnels integrates with email tools, CRMs and webinar platforms. It also has a built-in email system, CRM, community builder and course platform. The learning curve is steeper because there is simply more to learn.
We found ThriveCart easier to learn and faster to launch. ClickFunnels took more time to set up but offered more features once you got comfortable.
🏆 Winner: ClickFunnels — More built-in marketing automation tools for those who want an all-in-one solution without third-party apps.
ThriveCart vs. ClickFunnels: Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | ThriveCart | ClickFunnels |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $495 one-time (Standard); $690 one-time (Pro) | $97–$297/month |
| One-Click Upsells | ✅ Yes, with order bumps | ✅ Yes, with OTOs |
| Downsells | ✅ Unlimited | ✅ Unlimited |
| Order Bumps | ✅ Multiple per checkout | ✅ Single per order form |
| A/B Split Testing | ✅ Basic, per product | ✅ Advanced, per funnel step |
| Centralised Test Dashboard | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Affiliate Management | ✅ Built-in (Pro plan) | ✅ Optimize plan only ($297/mo) |
| JV Contracts | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Two-Tier Commissions | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Auto PayPal Commission Splits | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Page Builder | Basic drag-and-drop | Advanced drag-and-drop |
| Email Marketing | ❌ Needs integration | ✅ Built-in |
| CRM | ❌ Needs integration | ✅ Built-in |
| Course Hosting (LMS) | ✅ ThriveCart Learn (unlimited) | ✅ Built-in (3–10 courses) |
| Payment Methods | 100+ including crypto | Standard gateways |
Reporting and Analytics: Tracking What Matters
Good data drives good decisions. We compared the analytics dashboards side by side.
Where ThriveCart pulls ahead is affiliate performance tracking and revenue attribution. You can see exactly which affiliate, campaign, or traffic source is driving revenue and adjust commissions accordingly.
🏆 Winner: ThriveCart — Deeper revenue attribution, affiliate tracking and reporting, and cohort-level insights.
When ThriveCart Is the Smarter Pick for You?
ThriveCart is the smarter pick if you:
Who Should Choose ClickFunnels?
ClickFunnels is the better choice if you:
Maven Verdict: ThriveCart vs. ClickFunnels for Affiliate Marketers
After months of using both tools on live campaigns, ThriveCart wins for affiliate marketers who care about upsells, A/B testing and affiliate programme management.
It offers better checkout conversion optimization, more flexible split testing and a far more powerful affiliate platform. And it does all of that for a one-time payment instead of monthly fees that pile up year after year.
ClickFunnels is still a solid tool if you need a full marketing funnel ecosystem with email, CRM and community features built in. It shines for complex funnel builds and lead generation.
But for pure selling power and affiliate programme management, ThriveCart delivers more value at a fraction of the cost.
👉 Our pick at AffMaven: ThriveCart Pro+ for affiliate marketers who want results without the recurring bill.
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Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain some affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you purchase something that we recommend at no additional cost for you (none whatsoever!)
Again, Clickfunnels is a hosted service. You do not host it yourself and it is not a plugin. Whatever you have will be separate from click funnels.
If you want something that you host on your own site the look into “Thrivethemes” or “Optimizepress” .