Short answer: different layers, not direct rivals. AWeber is an email marketing platform built around your subscriber list. ClickFunnels is a sales-funnel and page builder built around conversion pages, checkout, courses and a CRM. Choose AWeber for email depth; choose ClickFunnels if building high-converting funnels is the core need. Many businesses run ClickFunnels for the funnel and AWeber for the email list.
Independent analysis. This page may contain affiliate links.
What each one is actually for
AWeber is an email platform: subscriber management, broadcasts, email automation and lightweight landing pages. ClickFunnels is a funnel platform: drag-and-drop sales funnels, checkout pages, A/B testing, courses, community, a store and a CRM (all advertised on the vendor’s site). One is a communication channel; the other is a conversion machine.
Criteria comparison
| What matters | AWeber | ClickFunnels |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Email marketing & automation | Sales funnels, pages & checkout |
| Email sending depth | Core product; deliverability focus | Email is included but not the origin |
| Funnel building | Basic landing pages | Core product; drag-and-drop funnels |
| Checkout & A/B testing | Not the focus | Built in |
| Courses / community | No | Yes (vendor-stated) |
| Free option | Free plan to 500 subscribers | Free trial (check current terms) |
Where AWeber wins
If your priority is the relationship with your list — clean segmentation, strong deliverability, mature email automation and a free tier that costs nothing to start — AWeber is the more focused tool. It is also simpler and cheaper to run when you do not need a full funnel suite.
Where ClickFunnels wins
If your business model is built on launches, upsells and order bumps, ClickFunnels is purpose-built for that: the funnel, checkout and testing live in one place. AWeber can host a landing page, but it is not trying to be a funnel builder, and stretching it to do so will frustrate you.
Using both together
The pragmatic stack: build the funnel in ClickFunnels, capture the email, and run the long-term nurture in AWeber. Funnels convert on the visit; email converts over months. Keeping the list in the email specialist and the pages in the funnel specialist plays each to its strength.
Cost logic (check each vendor live)
AWeber prices on subscriber count; ClickFunnels prices on its own plan tiers and usage. Different meters, different upgrades. Because both vendors reprice and run promotions, treat any specific figure as indicative and confirm on their own pricing pages.
A quick decision path
- You lose money because your list is under-used → AWeber.
- You lose money because your pages do not convert → ClickFunnels.
- You lose money because you have neither a list nor a funnel → start with whichever matches your next launch, and add the other later.
A combined stack, concretely
Picture a course launch. The registration page and checkout live in ClickFunnels, where A/B testing and order bumps do their work. Everyone who registers is added to AWeber, where a nurture sequence warms them up over the following weeks and a re-engagement sequence catches the people who watched the first lesson but never returned. The funnel converts the visit; the email list converts the relationship over time. Splitting the work this way means each tool does what it is built for, rather than both doing a mediocre job of everything.
Which one to learn first
If you are new to both, learn the tool that addresses the way you currently make money. Service businesses usually make money from conversations, so a list and follow-up matter first. Product businesses making money from a launch page should learn the funnel builder first. In both cases, the second tool is an addition, not a replacement — and neither has to be bought before the first has proved useful.
Try AWeber free — email marketing, automation and landing pages in one account. Start free — this link does not change the price you pay.
Bottom line
Decide by your centre of gravity: if email is the engine of your business, AWeber is the better primary tool; if funnels are, ClickFunnels is. If both matter, run them side by side rather than forcing one to do the other’s job.
Read our full AWeber review for the complete verdict, comparison and pricing breakdown.
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