Shopify vs ClickFunnels®: E-Commerce vs Funnels
Store-first platform vs funnel-first approach — and why the transaction-fee comparison almost everyone makes is wrong.
QUICK VERDICT
Choose Shopify if: you're selling physical products, need inventory management, and want a full e-commerce store. Basic is $39/mo and includes marketing automations.
Choose ClickFunnels® if: you're selling digital products, courses, or services and need multi-step funnels with upsells. Launch is $97/mo but has no automations.
The 0% That Isn't Free
ClickFunnels advertises 0% transaction fees. Shopify publishes 2.9% + 30¢. Read those side by side and the conclusion looks obvious: Shopify takes 2.9% of every sale and ClickFunnels takes nothing.
That conclusion is wrong, because the two numbers describe different things.
Shopify's 2.9% + 30¢ is the card processing rate — the money that goes to Visa, Mastercard and the acquiring bank. You pay a rate like that on any platform that accepts cards, because someone has to move the money. ClickFunnels does not process payments itself; it connects to an external gateway, and that gateway charges its own rate. ClickFunnels' 0% means ClickFunnels adds no markup on top of your processor. It does not mean card payments are free.
Shopify does have a platform surcharge — it just isn't the 2.9%. It's the third-party transaction fee, charged only if you use a gateway other than Shopify Payments: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, 0.2% on Plus. Use Shopify Payments and that fee is zero. So the surcharge everyone attributes to Shopify is both smaller than advertised and entirely avoidable.
Shopify
- Basic $39/mo — card 2.9% + 30¢
- Grow $105/mo — card 2.7% + 30¢
- Advanced $399/mo — card 2.5% + 30¢
- Platform fee 0% on Shopify Payments
- 2% / 1% / 0.6% if you use another gateway
ClickFunnels
- Launch $97/mo — 10K contacts, no automations
- Scale $197/mo — 75K contacts, automations included
- Optimize $297/mo — 150K contacts
- 0% ClickFunnels markup on every plan
- Your gateway still charges its own rate
Once you take the percentage off the table, the comparison is just subscription against subscription — and there a second surprise turns up. Shopify Basic at $39 includes marketing automations and abandoned checkout recovery. ClickFunnels Launch at $97 does not include automations at all. Automation begins on ClickFunnels at Scale, $197. The cheaper plan automates; the plan costing two and a half times more doesn't.
That does not make Shopify the better buy. It makes the honest comparison $39 against $197 if automation matters to you, and it means the thing you are actually paying ClickFunnels for is the funnel structure — multi-step flows, order bumps, one-click upsells — not the payment terms. Decide on that, because that is the real difference. If you are selling a catalogue of physical products, Shopify. If your offer needs a sequence of pages that escalate the sale, ClickFunnels, and budget for Scale.
Pricing verified against shopify.com/pricing and clickfunnels.com/pricing on July 20, 2026. Monthly billing shown; annual billing reduces Shopify to $29/$79/$299 and ClickFunnels to $81/$164/$248. Shopify offers 3 days free then $1/mo for 3 months; ClickFunnels offers a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Card rates are US online standard rates and vary by region, card type and sales channel. Verify current rates before purchasing.
Pricing Comparison
| Tier | Shopify | ClickFunnels® |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Basic — $39/mo ($29 annual) • Unlimited products & contacts • Marketing automations included • Abandoned checkout recovery • Card 2.9% + 30¢, 2% third-party fee | Launch — $97/mo ($81 annual) • 10,000 contacts • No automations • No API, no appointments • 1 CRM pipeline |
| Mid | Grow — $105/mo ($79 annual) • 5 staff accounts • Card 2.7% + 30¢ • 1% third-party fee | Scale — $197/mo ($164 annual) • 75,000 contacts • Automations included • API, appointments, unlimited pipelines |
| Top | Advanced — $399/mo ($299 annual) • 15 staff accounts • Card 2.5% + 30¢ • 0.6% third-party fee | Optimize — $297/mo ($248 annual) • 150,000 contacts • Everything in Scale |
| Trial | 3 days free Then $1/mo for 3 months | 14 days free 30-day money-back guarantee |
Which Platform Fits Your Situation?
Shopify if you have a catalogue — multiple products, stock to track, things to ship. The automations included at $39 cover abandoned carts and follow-up email, which is most of what a store needs.
ClickFunnels® if you have one offer and want to maximise its value per buyer through a sequence — bump, upsell, downsell. Budget for Scale at $197 rather than Launch at $97, since Launch cannot automate follow-up.
Neither on the strength of transaction fees. The percentages are close to a wash once you account for what each number actually covers.