Free funnel builders compared: which one actually works?
Everyone says you need ClickFunnels ($97/month) or Kajabi ($149/month) to build a funnel. You don’t. There are free funnel builders that do 90% of what the paid ones do.
I tested the most popular ones. Here’s what actually works — and what doesn’t.
The comparison
| Builder | Free Plan Limits | Best For | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Systeme.io | 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, unlimited emails | Beginners, all-in-one | Best overall |
| Carrd | 3 sites, no custom domain | One-page landing pages | Best for simplicity |
| MailerLite | 1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/mo | Email-first funnels | Best for newsletters |
| ConvertKit | 1,000 subscribers, 1 visual automation | Creators, bloggers | Best for content creators |
| GoHighLevel | 14-day trial only | Agencies | Best if you have clients |
Systeme.io — the one I’d pick
Systeme.io is the only free plan that includes everything: funnels, email marketing, courses, communities, and automation. All on the free tier. No credit card required. No expiration.
What you get for free:
- 2,000 contacts
- 3 sales funnels
- 1 blog
- 1 online course
- 1 affiliate program
- Unlimited emails
- Full automation and tagging
- 1 custom domain
What that means: You can build a complete funnel — landing page, email sequence, checkout page, course delivery — without paying anything. ClickFunnels charges $97/month for the same thing.
How to build your first funnel (15 minutes)
- Sign up at Systeme.io (free, no card)
- Click “Funnels” → “Create”
- Choose “Build an audience” template
- Edit the landing page (drag and drop, no code)
- Set up an email sequence (3-5 emails)
- Connect your domain or use their subdomain
- Publish
That’s it. You have a working funnel with email capture and automated follow-ups.
The catch
The free plan is genuinely free and genuinely functional. But there are limits:
- Only 3 funnels (enough for most people starting out)
- Only 1 course (fine for most creators)
- Only 2,000 contacts (you’ll hit this eventually)
- No webinar feature on free plan
- Templates are functional but not beautiful (you’ll need to customize)
If you outgrow the free plan, paid plans start at $27/month. Still way cheaper than ClickFunnels.
Carrd — the minimalist option
Carrd is the opposite of Systeme.io. It does one thing: one-page websites. No email, no automation, no courses. Just a beautiful landing page.
Free plan: 3 sites, carrd.co subdomain, basic features.
Best for: Simple opt-in pages, portfolio sites, link-in-bio pages. If you just need a landing page to collect emails (and use Mailchimp or ConvertKit for the email part), Carrd is perfect.
The catch: No built-in email. No funnels. No automation. You need to connect it to another tool.
MailerLite — email-first approach
MailerLite gives you 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month for free. It also has landing pages and basic automation.
Best for: People who primarily want email marketing with a landing page on the side. Great for newsletters.
The catch: The free plan doesn’t include templates, automations are limited, and the landing page builder is basic.
ConvertKit — creator-focused
ConvertKit (now Kit) is built for creators and bloggers. Free plan includes 1,000 subscribers and 1 visual automation.
Best for: Content creators, bloggers, podcasters. The automation visual builder is excellent.
The catch: Only 1 automation on free plan. No landing pages on free plan. You need a paid plan ($15/mo) to unlock the useful features.
What I’d actually do
If you’re starting from zero and want to build an audience:
- Sign up for Systeme.io — it handles everything
- Build a simple funnel: landing page → email sequence → offer
- Create a free lead magnet (PDF, checklist, template) to give away on the landing page
- Write 5 emails that deliver value and eventually make an offer
- Drive traffic through social media, blog posts, or paid ads
That’s the whole funnel. Landing page + emails + offer. Systeme.io handles all three for free.
The honest truth
None of these tools will make you money by themselves. A funnel is just infrastructure. What makes money is the thing you’re selling and the traffic you send to it.
But if you need infrastructure, Systeme.io’s free plan is the best deal in the market right now. You get more on the free tier than most tools offer on their paid plans.
The funnel builders charging $97-297/month are selling you features you don’t need yet. Start free. Upgrade when you’ve outgrown it. Most people never outgrow it.
Coming soon:
- Voice AI: what GPT-5 can actually do now (coming June 14) — voice agents explained
- The ChatGPT education study that got retracted (coming June 15) — what went wrong
- AI orchestrators: one model controlling all the others (coming May 24) — the next layer
Some links in this post may be affiliate links. If you sign up through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I’ve actually tested.