If you’re currently a ClickFunnels Classic user, before you upgrade to the latest version, you’ll want to do some comparison shopping between ClickFunnels 2.0 or FG Funnels and find out which one is right for you.
Let me start off with a story. Over the last two weeks in my work as a Funnel Builder, I was working with a client who wanted more flexibility in their current business and planned to set up a funnel platform that would allow many steps of the customer journey to be automated. Before asking my opinion, they chose to go with ClickFunnels 2.0. After the fact, they asked for my support with the project and tech setup.
It proved to be a little bit more overwhelming than they thought, so they needed to outsource the set up, tech integrations, and design.
I was transparent and explained I had previously used ClickFunnels Classic, but I haven’t used 2.0; I was confident I could figure it out.
So just to give you a little background, I did have a course on ClickFunnels for many years, so I knew how to set up and manage a lead magnet, an upsell to the course, a cart, a dashboard, and a membership area. In other words, everything needed for a successful funnel. I’ve also used many other funnel platforms as a digital marketer, and they have a lot of similarities in terms of features and functions. It’s usually just a matter of finding out where things are.
So I was onboarded as part of the project.
And that is when I jumped into ClickFunnels 2.0. And, boy, was it a bit different. . .
If you prefer to watch, check out the video instead:
My Review of ClickFunnels 2.0
If you are familiar with other funnel software, this updated version of ClickFunnels was very similar to the High Level software as far as being an all-in-one platform and how it’s designed.
So I got started and immediately was struggling.
Glitchy
As I tried to work within the editor, to move elements such as a headline, subheadline, and paragraph, and save my work, I’d start noticing items would disappear from the screen. At first, I thought I was going crazy. Thinking, did that just really happen? So I would try again mentally telling myself ‘I’ll make sure I hit save’ even though I knew I had already done that. And, sure enough, it would disappear again. I could literally see it happening as I began to type and words and elements would be erased from the screen.
Mind you, this is a five-page funnel. So doing the same work over and over and not being able to save any progress isn’t efficient for anyone on the team.
I did find a workaround I was able to use, but the whole process took so much longer than it needed to. And that’s just to build just the sales page. There were four more pages left to go!
The following day I checked in with the Operations Manager who was working on other pieces of the course. We compared notes and I learned she was also feeling very overwhelmed with the software and didn’t know a lot about the back-end. We both agreed the software was glitchy as heck.
Confusing
If you’re familiar with funnel software, you may know as you build the funnel there is a domain connected to each product or program. She had connected the domain, and I wanted to adjust it so instead of the straight url, we would instead use the url/salespage and redirect it to the url. We could NOT get it to work.
In a world of everything-is-figueroutable, we have no problem searching for and experimenting with different solutions. Usually, when you are searching for how to get something done with a software, app, or program, there are lots of tutorial videos to be found either by the company themselves or by other content creators who are in the business of helping other entrepreneurs learn the ins and outs. ClickFunnels had a chatbot that would suggest video tutorials, which were pretty disappointing in solving problems, but now with ClickFunnels 2.0, a brand new, built-from-scratch software, quality videos that offer real solutions aren’t accessible.
The whole process was confusing. And not just for me (and I consider myself to be an experienced funnel builder having built multiple funnels across different platforms over the last five years), but I imagine somebody new, like my client, to building funnels, would be confused even more. If she needed help with funnel flow, searched for video tutorials, and found some but really didn’t get answers to her questions because it didn’t match up to what she was looking at between ClickFunnels Classic and v. 2.0, she was close to giving up.
Lack of Support
We tried to find an option for chat so we could work with support in real time to try to move forward with our project. Nada.
So we had to send in a support ticket. The Ops Manager had submitted a ticket with the domain problem. It literally took two days to get an answer from them and so that was disappointing as far as their customer service.
Price
And if you’re curious how much this glitchy, confusing software with a lack of support might cost, thinking, ‘eh, if the price is right, it might be okay because I’m trying to cut expenses and see a bigger profit margin from my revenue.’ Well, you’d be wrong there too.
It used to be $97 monthly, and the new version is now $147 a month. So, it’s $50 a month MORE for an inferior product, not a better product.
My Review of FG Funnels
So basically we regrouped. The owner of the company acknowledged that she’d heard the Operations Manager’s complaints and was aware that I thought it was awful. They were really hesitant to continue moving forward with the software if it was so glitchy and caused the team to encounter so many problems.
Since I was the Funnel Builder in the project, she asked if I had a recommendation for what they might use instead.
Hella yes, I have a recommendation!
And I introduced her to FG Funnels. FG Funnels…FG stands for Funnel Gorgeous. It’s by the ladies Julie Chenell and Cathy Olson, and they are the owners of Funnel Gorgeous. They white label a software called High Level and so what that means is the funnel software High Level allows them to license their software for a fee, customize it, and sell it under their brand name. When Julie and Cathy do something, they don’t do it small. They just go all out.
I gave my clients the tour behind the scenes and they instantly loved it.
Support
One of the first things they loved about the product was all of the ways to get support. This was the main reason why I suggested that they go with FG Funnels because I’ve worked with various clients building their funnels, and I’ve found FG Funnels offers excellent support. This is so helpful when I wrap up my part in the project and hand it off to the team, they know they are well taken care of with a way to edit or troubleshoot anything they need.
FG Funnels actually offers three ways to get support.
One, they do have five days a week Monday through Friday live tech calls So you can actually jump on a Zoom with a real person and they can help you. That in itself is amazing in itself that you actually can get help from a live person on the spot.
Secondly, they do have videos. All the tutorials are up to date. Even if something has changed because High Level updated the software; some things have improved, they’ve moved things around, there will be notes that, say, watch this video, but you know this thing that we’re pointing to now moved. If they haven’t recorded or re-recorded the video, they’re telling you this is what changed.
Also in the way of videos, you can enroll in FG University. This is a free service with different learning paths. While you are free to jump in and watch videos in any order under any heading, you can also customize your learning to your niche. So, if you are a coach, a course creator, or a service provider, there are different types of funnels you’re going to want to build, different paths you’ll want to take. And so they help you make it as easy as possible to get started.
They do have a startup section so everyone has to go through startup regardless if you’re experienced in moving things over or starting from scratch. Everyone has to go through the same startup. And then you can also pick and choose if you’re an experienced funnel builder and you’re building from scratch, fantastic.
The third way to get support from them is to just send in a ticket. Normally what I do is I create a little Loom video, about a minute long, showing what I’m trying to do and where I’m getting stuck, and then ask for help. I always get a short video back showing me how to do it. Sometimes they even do it for me! It really just depends. For example, if it’s something like changing a domain they’re just going to show you or they might point you to a video, so that has been super helpful.
Checklists
The other thing that my client liked is the checklists. ClickFunnels had no such list. Remember, checklists help us to take the anxiety about what needs to be done or what might be coming up. It allows us to see all the steps in a process so we can measure where we are, how far we’ve come, and resources we might need along the way in order to complete the tasks. Plus, crossing items off your checklist is always a great dopamine hit!
So remember, my clients, are launching a course. Within FG Funnels, they are able to access a checklist that tells them how to do it from the beginning: Check all these things off. Check the SEO. Check the domains. Check automations.
In other words, everything you need to get that funnel launched and out the door is on a checklist.
While they were already kind of sold on all the support because I know they are beginners, that’s what they needed help with. They loved, loved, loved the checklist.
Prompts
My clients also loved the prompts. So when FG Funnels built the sales page templates, they include copywriting prompts. Remember business owners are all at different stages of their business journey. Many may not be in a place where they can invest in a copywriter to write their sales page. Or maybe the copywriter they want is booked out for several weeks and there’s just a need to write out some ‘quick and dirty’ copy for the funnel to get the job done.
Within a sales funnel, there’s a typical format for the flow and information and sections needed. You’ll see the catchy headline, the FAQs, the testimonials, the buttons, the guarantee are all placed in particular places (it’s part of psychology and design, but trust me). I love that the FG Sales Page template provides the prompts so I was able to literally take what my client had, drop it into the prompted sections where it needed to be, and I left those other sections there.
With a framework and some of their copy in the appropriate places, I was able to guide my clients and ask if they wanted to add a sub-headline or particular sections where needed. The copy prompts were so helpful not only for my clients but also for anyone who is beginning with funnels or anyone who doesn’t feel in their zone of excellence with copywriting. Imagine having a guide to let you know the FAQ goes here, the features and benefits of your offer can be laid out in this section, outlines for building the funnel stack and bonuses as well as a visual. Everything allows you to fill in the blanks as needed.
Community
I’ll also mention everyone who uses FG Funnels is welcome to join the free Facebook group. Maybe you’ve been in community support groups online before, but the FG Facebook group has an entirely different vibe.
I had been in the ClickFunnels group when I was using their product, and while I wasn’t a beginner I also wasn’t as seasoned as I am now. I didn’t feel that the ClickFunnels group invited you to feel comfortable asking a beginner question. A few people were genuinely helpful, but the majority would immediately jump on you like, ‘Oh my god! You don’t know this?’ and it was very degrading. I saw that happen to group members more than once, and it really makes you hesitate to post and share. And honestly, we all started out as beginners and we all need that support, but it wasn’t that feeling in that group. So I didn’t last very long in that group.
In general, I think this speaks to the culture of ClickFunnels overall. ClickFunnels has a very masculine, bro-markety vibe. The funnels are not super attractive, and in fact part of their marketing is that ugly funnels can still be successful.
In comparison, Funnel Gorgeous is an all women owned company. By nature, the funnel templates are more feminine. But don’t misunderstand. . .It’s not only focused on women. There are plenty of men in the, FG universe that use FG Funnels.
But the vibe and the community created from the top down is apparent.
The FG Funnels Support Facebook group on the other hand, is full of super helpful people, especially in the beginning where they had some growing pains with the software and everyone was sharing workarounds and ways to work through to solutions. I remember once working on a funnel at 11 pm and rather than wait until the next morning when support opened, I was able to jump into the Facebook group, type in there, or search in the group, and sure enough someone was online ready to help. Sometimes even Julie or Cathy themselves! The whole team at FG Funnels is there offering support as well.
Integrations
Since my clients are building a course, they want to be able to offer their clients a variety of options when it comes to payments. I remember when I was using ClickFunnels Classic, there was no way to use PayPal. That had always been a sticking point for me. In order to use PayPal, you had to have CF Tools, and you had to have a separate funnel. Since this had been a problem for users for years, you’d think when they built 2.0 they’d be sure to include both Stripe and PayPal.
Still not the case.
And I’ll mention that was another disappointment when I went into ClickFunnels 2.0 and was working to connect payment options to the cart on the sales page. I found myself suggesting duplicating the funnel with one for PayPal and a second one for Stripe. Just imagine suggesting something like that to your clients in 2023.
FG Funnels, in comparison, actually, has four different types of payment processors (two of which I’ve never even heard of, but they may be geared towards international users). Here in the US, you can choose Stripe and PayPal in the same funnel. And Apple Pay and Google Pay are coming soon.
Templates
Okay, this has to be my most favorite feature of FG Funnels – after all, Cathy Olson is a seasoned, graphic designer, but they come with amazing templates
In the beginning, when Julie and Cathy first started Funnel Gorgeous, they would do funnel drops. These funnels were originally built on ClickFunnels Classic. Julie had worked for ClickFunnels for many years, but she also held the belief that funnels didn’t have to be “ugly” to perform well. She partnered with Cathy who added in her design talent, and they’d create funnel drops that integrated with the ClickFunnels software as well as Elementor and some other popular platforms.
Fast forward a few years, now these designs are all now exclusive to FG Funnels, and access to the funnels is free with your subscription. There are so many to choose from not only in terms of design but also function. You can preview the designs here. After you decide what type of funnel you need, you choose one, and can customize it with one of the five different color palettes that come with the design, or you can use your own brand colors to update it. You can preview the current template gallery right here, and they are adding new designs all the time!
My clients had a very particular aesthetic, and they also knew what they needed help with. Within FG Funnels there are different types of funnels already built in funnel templates: a lead magnet funnel, webinar funnels, sales funnels, a five-page funnel that leads from a lead magnet to a sales page, an OTO page, an order confirmation page, and a thank you page.
While my clients had originally chosen one funnel, I knew it wouldn’t work for them. We were able to get on a Zoom call and make sure that they got a five-page funnel with all of the five different steps in the funnel were all formatted in the same design.
Remember they started this project in ClickFunnels 2.0, but the company didn’t have templates built by the whole funnel. So we were trying to figure out how to hack everything so it was cohesive. We were trying to create a template, pull in a thank you page from this funnel, grab an order confirmation from this other funnel, and so on in order to get our five pages needed. And then once the funnel was built, it was going to be necessary to review it and ensure all the colors and fonts and sizes were consistent so it gave the appearance of a full, five-page funnel, all built out.
It shouldn’t have to be that much work.
FG Funnels is Born
While this business model was successful, what they realized was they were building on other people’s platforms. They decided to go all in and white label High Level to create FG Funnels.
If you had to build software like ClickFunnels did from scratch, it would cost you millions of dollars.
High Level is a very stable platform because it’s been around since 2018. At the time of this publication, Funnel Gorgeous is one of the largest investors, supporters, buyers into High Level and so they drive what features they want. They have been with High Level since 2021, and I have followed along in the beginning, even through some of the early growing pains.
But what’s brought them through it and made them better than ever is the amount of support they put into what they do. There are other companies that try to white label their software, but they do not have as much robust support, nor do they have the unique funnel templates that set them apart.
When ClickFunnels announced they were moving to a new version of their software, Julie and Cathy had the decision to make if they were going to upgrade all their designs to work with the new platform or do something different, and that’s when they chose to white label their own product.
Some Side By Side Comparisons between FG Funnels or ClickFunnels 2.0
So if you’re considering which might be the best option for you, you might want some side by side comparisons.
Price
In addition to excellent support, helpful checklists, copywriting prompts, a supportive community within the Facebook group, and beautifully designed, complete, functional funnel templates, the other thing that I just wanted to point out between Clickfunnels 2.0 or FG Funnels is the price.
Currently there are three different pricing tiers within ClickFunnels. There is a Basic for $147, a Pro for $197, and a Funnel Hacker for $297 monthly.
FG Funnels has been online since 2021, and they are strides ahead of a lot of other all-in-one funnel builders that I’ve worked with. You can see a demonstration of all the current features and capabilities here. Right now they have an unlimited special for the first 2,000 subscribers at a pricing of $119 per month. Once they reach 2,000 users, the price may increase or they may begin to limit some of the features.
What types of features may become limited? Well, domains for example. When you sign up for any funnel software, whether it’s ClickFunnels, FG Funnels, or whatever software you use, that software has a domain called the default domain. Usually, it’s really ugly, as in Clickfunnels/YourName.com or whatever. So it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. What you want is a custom domain, such as one you’d buy through Namecheap. Maybe YourAwesomeProduct.com
With ClickFunnels, you get ONE domain. And I can tell you, even if you’re a beginner, even if you think you are niched into one area and absolutely love what you’re doing, you are going to grow and you’ll want to build, so you’ll definitely use more than one domain. They are kind of like Pringles in that once you get started, you really can’t stop.
Remember ClickFunnels charges $147 each month for just one domain. The Pro version costs $197 monthly and allows only three domains. The Funnel Hacker level which costs $297 each month still limits you to 10 domains.
Comparing apples to apples, FG Funnels right now has unlimited domains.
Knowing that you’ll outgrow one domain very quickly, let’s assume you’ll join ClickFunnels at the Pro Level which is $197 versus the $119 for FG Funnels.
If you’re wondering what you might do with unlimited domains, think of an unlimited number of funnels, an unlimited number of websites you can build (yes, you can build websites on FG Funnels!), unlimited products, and unlimited contacts.
Features
Let’s look at the features between Clickfunnels 2.0 and FG Funnels.
If you are an existing business and you are moving over, FG Funnels also has a CRM. ClickFunnels 2.0 does not have a CRM, although they claim this is on their roadmap.
Since there is no estimated date as to when the CRM will be in place, on top of your, say $197 monthly investment, you’ll still need a CRM like Salesforce or Infusionsoft or something similar.
Remember, FGFunnels has unlimited contacts. ClickFunnels only allows you 10, 000 members on their basic tier and 25,000 on their Pro tier.
The other thing is with the website you get unlimited websites. I don’t know why you need multiple websites, usually, you would use multiple sales funnels, but with FG Funnels you get multiple websites (just in case!). With ClickFunnels, you only get one website.
You get unlimited funnels at FG Funnels versus the ClickFunnels basic version you get 20 funnels.
FG Funnels has integrated calendar capabilities. If you want to integrate your calendar, it’s already there, so that means you can get rid of your Acuity, your Calendly, or whatever scheduler you might be using. This could be a subscription of $15 – $30 each month you might be paying for scheduling software.
What other monthly subscriptions can FG Funnels replace? They have blogging, invoicing, pipelines, chatbot capability, AI content, native video hosting (in fairness, I’ll add ClickFunnels does also offer video hosting, but not the other five features I just listed). That was something that actually I was pleasantly surprised at because with ClickFunnels Classic they did not have native video hosting so I had my videos hosted on YouTube which was not ideal. If you know anything about video hosting normally have to invest in a platform like Vimeo so that there are no commercials (or recommended content from your competitors!).
This is especially important if you’re hosting a course and your videos are on YouTube, you certainly don’t want them to show something related, and all of a sudden they’re going to another course! So usually many course creators end up investing in Vimeo.
FG Funnels makes course hosting easy. I was really disappointed when I saw the back end of ClickFunnels 2.0 when I was attempting to support my clients sell and host a course. FG Funnels has everything set up allowing you to drag and drop your content. Fill in the blanks, change the name, and customize it however you like. In comparison, ClickFunnels 2.0, had this template that was dynamic, and it was just very confusing, and additionally there were “sites” which added to the confusion. Beginners (or even experienced users like myself) might not be savvy enough to navigate between a site versus a funnel and changing them to suit your needs. It’s definitely not intuitive.
Ready to Migrate to FG Funnels? New or Not, It Grows With Your Business
If you’re still scratching you’re head and aren’t convinced what to choose when considering Clickfunnels 2.0 or FG Funnels, I highly suggest you give FG Funnels a try before upgrading to ClickFunnels 2.0. Eventually the company will no longer support classic ClickFunnels any longer and they will start encouraging everyone to move to 2.0. Currently they are on two platforms, but it won’t be forever.
So where will you choose to migrate? To a glitchy, confusing, expensive platform that limits your growth? Or to an all-in-one platform that allows you to build unlimited funnels, websites, blogs, courses, memberships, and that integrates with calendars, invoicing, chatbots, and payment processors your clients are using? I definitely recommend looking at FG Funnels sooner rather than later. Current pricing is $119 a month, or annual of $1,097 which decreases the monthly payment to $91.
I’ll include some links below so you can watch a demo that shows a walkthrough and a walk behind the scenes.
They also made it easy for you to migrate, and they will show you the process in their series called Move to Gorgeous. (I hope you can see the gorgeous theme here: Gorgeous funnels, everything’s gorgeous, funnel gorgeous.)
I’m excited to be able to share my honest review as someone who used ClickFunnels classic for years, and someone who has worked (or tried to work) with both ClickFunnels 2.0 and FG Funnels for clients. I know that 2.0 was this big buildup teasing access, and it was supposed to be released in March 2022, but wasn’t actually released until about six months later. I really believed it would have been much more stable than it was considering they’ve had years to build it and they’re building it from scratch. Sharing my experience, I don’t mean to come across as harsh or anti-ClickFunnels, but I want to provide you with the information you need in order to save you from the heartache and expenses of making the wrong choice for you and your business.
FG Funnels is a platform that will grow with you. And there are so many capabilities just two years in. I know if you’re anything like me, you have bits and pieces of different softwares everywhere in your business: I do have my website on WordPress, I’m using Book Like a Boss for scheduling, and so on. There’s no rush.
Take it as you can or if you need help with building the funnel and migrating, you can definitely contact me. I can help you with your migration and offer personalized service with years of experience along the way.
And all the best on your migration.
Watch a demo of FG Funnels and see all its capabilities!
You can preview of all the gorgeous designs here.
Curious about migration help? Visit Move to Gorgeous.
To sign up, visit FGFunnels.com.
