CartFlows Review (2024): Are WordPress Funnels Worth It With This Tool?

WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce platform in the world, but its default checkout process leaves a lot to be desired. It’s basic, boring, and lacks the post-purchase features needed to upsell complementary products.

Eventually, if you want to maximize your conversions, you’re going to want to optimize your checkout flow—and that’s where CartFlows comes in.

In this in-depth CartFlows review, we’ll be telling you everything you need to know about this revolutionary WordPress sales funnel builder plugin and how you can use it to sell more products.

We’ll look at what you can do with CartFlows, review all the key features, reveal its pros and cons, and share our take on whether or not it’s worth the cost.

Ready? Let’s get started!

CartFlows Overview

CartFlows is essentially ClickFunnels for WordPress. 

It’s marketed as the ‘number one sales funnel builder for WordPress and WooCommerce,’ and that claim rings true.

Since it was founded by Adam Preiser and Sujay Pawar back in 2018, it’s been used on over 223,000 websites, which is no small feat.

It’s so popular because it makes it super easy for anyone to create any kind of sales funnel in minutes without any prior knowledge or skills, and you can do it all from within the WordPress dashboard.

In case you don’t already know, sales funnels are the steps customers take on their way to making a purchase.

For example, a traditional WooCommerce sales funnel looks something like this: Homepage > Shop page > Product page > Add to cart > View Cart > Checkout > Thank You Page.

With CartFlows, you can edit and customize each step in that flow so that you have full control over how the checkout process looks.

For example, you might choose to add an upsell page after your checkout page so that you can recommend additional products to your customers and drive more sales. 

Or you might want to streamline the whole checkout process.

You could set up a single conversion-focused landing page for one particular product and have that page take your customers directly to the checkout page when they click buy to eliminate all the unnecessary steps.

You get the idea.

What Kind of Funnels Can You Create With CartFlows?

Aside from the kind of simple sales funnel we talked about above, you can also create a ton of different types of funnels with CartFlows.

For example, you can build:

• Webinar registration funnels
• Lead magnet funnels
• Product launch funnels
• Two-step tripwire funnels
• Membership funnels
• Free consultation funnels
• Live demo funnels
• Client application funnels

And many, many more. The possibilities are pretty much limitless, especially if you combine CartFlows with other third-party plugins.

CartFlows Pros

• Complete ownership. Because CartFlows integrates with WordPress, the pages you build are hosted on your own domain, which means you have complete ownership. This isn’t the case with pages built through competitors like ClickFunnels, where you don’t really own anything as pages are hosted elsewhere.
• Flexibility. CartFlows is built on WordPress and WooCommerce, which are both open-source software solutions. As such, it’s a very flexible sales funnel solution. Anything you can’t change from within the plugin, you can change by modifying your website code.
• Endlessly extensible. There are thousands of third-party plugins available on WordPress. You can use some of these plugins to increase the things you can do with CartFlows.
• Better page builders. A lot of sales funnel builders (like ClickFunnels) have clunky, rigid built-in page builders that aren’t easy to use. CartFlows is designed to work inside WordPress, and as such, it plays well with popular WordPress page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, etc. You can choose the page builder you most enjoy working with.
• Familiar interface. Everything you do with CartFlows takes place in the WordPress dashboard, which you’re probably already very familiar with. You don’t need to waste time learning how to navigate new software.
• Awesome templates. CartFlows provides ready-made funnel templates designed by professionals, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
• Drives more sales. Conversion optimization features like A/B testing and post-purchase recommendations like order bumps and one-click upsell and downsells can help you to make more sales.

CartFlows Cons

• Requires WordPress and WooCommerce. Obviously, the biggest drawback to CartFlows is that it’s exclusively for WordPress websites. If you’ve built your site on another CMS like Shopify, Wix, etc., you’ll need to look for a different solution.
• Lengthy setup process. If you’re building your website from the ground up and don’t already have an existing WooCommerce store, it can take a while to get everything set up. You’ll need to purchase hosting, install WordPress, install and activate WooCommerce, etc. With other platforms like ClickFunnels, you just need to sign up and can immediately start building your funnels.
• Advanced features are only available on Pro Plans. In the free version of CartFlows, you don’t get access to advanced features like Order Bumps, Upsells, Downsells, and A/B testing. That being said, the Pro version is still substantially cheaper than ClickFunnels.

How To Get Started With CartFlows

Before you can start using CartFlows, you need to take a few preliminary steps.

First off, you’re going to need to have both WooCommerce and a page builder plugin on your WordPress website.

CartFlows will prompt you to install and activate both during the setup process.

First, install and activate CartFlows from your plugin dashboard. Once you’ve done that, you should see a notification inviting you to start the setup wizard.

The setup wizard is super simple. It’ll prompt you to choose a page builder and then invite you to install and activate WooCommerce.

Click Yes, and it’ll add both WooCommerce and the WooCommerce Cart Abandonment Recovery plugin to your site.

Once you’ve completed the setup wizard, you can start creating your first ‘flow’ (i.e. funnel).

However, before you do that, you’re going to want to make sure you have at least one product, as checkout pages must be linked to a product in order to work correctly.

You can add a new product from the Products tab in your dashboard:

You’ll need to add a product name, description, image, and price, then hit Publish.

CartFlows Ease of Use

CartFlows is very easy to use, even for complete beginners.

The interface is really simple: you can do pretty much everything from the Flows tab, which looks like this:

The basic process of setting up a funnel is very straightforward.

You just choose a funnel and import it, rearrange the steps in your flow, edit each page in your page building software, link your checkout page with a product, and edit your checkout form fields.

If you want to, you can also add upsells/downsells and order bumps, and run A/B tests in a few clicks.

If you feel like you need more guidance on how to use CartFlows, you can also take advantage of the free training course, which you’re offered during the setup process:

CartFlows: Key Features

Now that we’ve covered the basic premise of what CartFlows is and how it works let’s dive into specific features.

There’s a lot you can do with CartFlows, and we’ve reviewed the most important features below.

Ready to Use Templates (Free and Pro)

CartFlows makes the funnel-building process easy by providing you with pre-made funnel templates.

When you click Add New on the Flows tab, you’ll be taken to the template catalog.

Here, there are currently 15 templates in total to choose from (8 of which are available for free), but CartFlows regularly adds new ones.

Paid templates are marked with a ‘Pro’ label in the upper-right corner.

There are templates for different types of funnels, including webinars, online courses, products, ebooks, etc., and each includes a sequence of landing pages that make up the flow.

For example, the Evergreen Product 01 template includes a landing page, checkout page, and thank you page.

Once you’ve selected a template you like the look of, you can import it in one click by clicking Import Flow.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to view all the steps in the flow in your dashboard.

You can drag and drop them to rearrange them, duplicate them, or add a new step. 

Clicking Add New Step will bring up another template library with individual page templates.

As you can see in the image above, our checkout page currently says ‘No Product Assigned.’ To link a product, we can click Edit > Products > Add New Product.

If you’re using the Pro version, you can also do things like add coupons and product variations from this page. 

Our one gripe with CartFlows’ templates is that there simply aren’t enough of them.

Fifteen isn’t a lot to choose from (ClickFunnels has more), and there aren’t templates for every type of flow.

If you need to create a different type of funnel from what’s available, you’ll have to start from scratch.

Compatible with WordPress Page Builders (Free and Pro)

CartFlows can be used with all the most popular WordPress page builders, including Elementor, Beaver Builder, Divi, Gutenberg, and Thrive Architect.

You can open up your funnel page templates in your preferred landing page builder from the Flow tab by clicking Edit next to the step.

Here’s what a CartFlow checkout page template looks like when opened up in Elementor:

From here, you can customize the page any way you see fit. You can change the content and copy, pull in blocks and widgets from the left-hand sidebar, change global settings, tweak the design or layout, and more. 

Elements on the page can be dragged and dropped to move them around in the real-time preview window, but as with all WordPress page builders, you can only move them into set rows and columns.

This is different than with some dedicated, non-WordPress landing page builders like Instapage, which allow you to move elements around freely and with precision.

CartFlows is compatible with the free version of most page builder plugins, so you don’t necessarily need to pay for your page builder separately unless you want to upgrade. 

Checkout Custom Fields (Pro Only)

If you sign up for the Pro version of CartFlows, you also get the option to customize your checkout fields. 

This is a really useful feature as it allows you to delete, rearrange, or add additional form fields (like a newsletter opt-in, age, gender, or other fields) in order to get everything set up the way you want it.

To customize your checkout fields, just open up your checkout page in the editor and click Checkout Fields.

Next, toggle Enable Custom Field Editor to on, and you’ll be able to edit the Billing and Shipping Checkout Fields.

Now, you can reorder fields and determine which are required and which are optional. You can also modify the labels, change the width of each field, and add new custom fields.  

Global Checkout (Free and Pro)

If you want to replace the boring default WooCommerce checkout page with your CartFlows checkout page, you can do that too.

That way, every time someone buys a product on your website, they’ll go to your custom checkout page (even if they don’t get there via your sales funnel). 

Here’s how to set up your global custom checkout:

First, create a new flow via the CartFlows Flows tab. Start from scratch and make the first step your checkout page.

Make sure you don’t assign a product to it and name it something you’ll recognize (i.e. ‘global checkout’).

After that, add your upsells, downsells, order bumps, and thank you page as necessary as extra steps after the checkout.

Once you’ve finished that, head to the settings page (from your dashboard, click CartFlows > Settings), you should see a dropdown box labeled Global Checkout.

Click that and select the flow you just made, then save your changes.

Now, whenever a site visitor makes a purchase, they’ll automatically enter your checkout flow and see the custom checkout page and subsequent pages you made.

Easy-to-Add Order Bumps (Pro Only)

Order bumps is another cool feature that premium users get access to.

Order bumps let you recommend additional offers (like discounted related products) to your customers during the checkout process in order to ‘bump up’ their total order value.

It might appear on the checkout page as an optional extra, like this:

You can add order bumps before the checkout or after the order, billing details, or checkout. You can also change the design to match your brand by modifying the background, text color, and border. 

One-Click Upsells/Downsells (Pro Only)

One of the standout features of CartFlows is the upsells and downsells options.

Upsells and Downsells allow you to add extra steps into your checkout flows to offer different products to customers at the final stage before they make a purchase. 

With Upsells, you can offer them a product that is higher in value than the one they’re about to purchase. 

With Downsells, you offer them an alternative to the upsell offered that is at a lower price point and therefore may be more desirable. 

For example, if you’re selling an e-book, your upsell might be a pack featuring the e-book they’re purchasing and another two e-books written by the same author.

If they skip the upsell, you can then offer them a cheaper guide by the author that they can buy in addition to the e-book they’ve chosen. 

Getting upselling and down selling right can be a tricky business, as you don’t want to put the customer off by flooding them with offers right at the last minute.

However, when done right, it can really help to increase your average order value. 

Thankfully, CartFlows provides a selection of templates to ensure that your upsell and Downsell pages are tactful and optimized for conversions.

However, you don’t have to use the template; you can also import your own upsell and Downsell pages. 

Creating an upsell or Downsell page is really easy. All you have to do is click on Edit Flow > Add New Step.

You’ll then be presented with templates for the pages you wish to create. If you don’t want to use a template, simply click on Create Your Own.

It’s worth noting that upsells and downsells are a Pro-only feature, so be sure to purchase a pro license if you want to utilize this feature.

Cart Abandonment (Free and Pro)

Cart Abandonment is a big problem for online stores. According to studies, online stores’ average cart abandonment rate sits at just under 70%.

That’s a lot of people leaving your site without making a purchase, so it’s important to do what you can to prevent them from leaving before the sale is complete. 

CartFlows can help you to reduce your cart abandonment rates with the help of their CRM and email integrations.

Essentially, CartFlows can integrate directly with your chosen CRM or email solution and trigger an email whenever a customer leaves a cart without checking out.

Cart abandonment emails are a great way to reengage customers that have already shown interest in your product. 

You can use cart abandonment emails simply to remind shopper about their cart, or you can use it as an opportunity to offer deals, discounts, and upsells.

CartFlows integrates with a range of popular tools, including ActiveCampaign and MailChimp. 

Custom Script Support (Free and Pro)

Another interesting feature that’s included in both the free and pro versions of CartFlows is custom script support.

You can easily customize your funnels with elements like live chat, custom pixels, bots, and more using this feature.

All you have to do is add the custom script, and you’re good to go. 

Adding a custom script to your flows is fairly straightforward.

Simply navigate to the Edit a step/page tab in the CartFlows section of your WordPress dashboard.

Then switch to the Settings tab and click on Custom Script. All that’s left to do now is grab your code, paste it into the text box, and you’re all set.

CartFlows Insights 

CartFlows also offers an Insights feature that will allow you to analyze your funnels and create an in-depth picture of how users are interacting with your sales pages.

The Insights tool displays key metrics, including: 

• Total visits
• Conversions
• Conversions rate
• Revenue at each step of flow
• Average order value
• Gross sales
• Revenue from order bumps

What’s great about these insights is that you can use them to calculate ROI easily, as it shows you exactly how much revenue is generated from CartFlows specific features like bumps and upsells.

You can also make use of CartFlows A/B testing features in order to further optimize your flows.

In addition to the insights features, you also have the option to generate custom reports, which is great if you are working with clients or managing a large team of people and need to share important analytics with them.

CartFlows Customer Support

CartFlows offers a selection of useful support options if you need an extra helping hand when using the plugin. Both Free and Pro customers can request ticket support. 

However, Pro plan customers get priority support, which means faster response times during busy periods.

Carflows also offers an extensive knowledge base with guides on everything from Installation and Updates to troubleshooting and code snippets.

You can also find a selection of video tutorials and other resources on their website. 

In addition to their support team, CartFlows also has an active community of users that you can ask for help and guidance. 

The CartFlows Inner Circle Facebook group was created by the plugin development team, and has around 7K members, and receives around 4+ posts per day.

You can also find information about CartFlows on Reddit’s r/WordPress and r/WooCommerce. 

Whether you’re a Free or Pro customer, getting support from CartFlows is very quick and easy.

CartFlows Pricing

CartFlows’ pricing model is super simplistic.

They offer a free plugin that is available on the WordPress plugin directory and a paid Pro plan.

The free plan includes: 

• Custom Thank You Page  
• Two Column Checkout  
• Cart Abandonment  
• Dynamic Links  
• Facebook Pixel Integration

With the free plan, you also get access to a limited range of templates, including landing page templates, checkout templates, thank you templates, upsell templates. 

With the Pro plan, you can choose between two different licenses: 

• Yearly License – Starts from $299/month 
• Lifetime License – Starts from $999. You can pay for the lifetime license in one payment or split it over 4 monthly installments. 

Both Pro licenses include the full range of Carflows features, including: 

• Up to 30 websites
• Unlimited funnel building 
• Premium templates 
• Conversion Optimized Checkout
• Checkout Offers
• One-Click Order Bump
• One-Click Upsell and Downsell
• Cart Abandonment 
• Dynamic Offers 
• Canvas Mode 
• Top-notch support 
• Amazing user community 
• Great documentation and video tutorials

CartFlows Free vs Pro: Which Version Should You Choose?

As you can see, there is quite a difference between the free and paid plans. With the free version, you have all the tools you need to create a simplistic funnel for an eCommerce site. 

However, if you want to take advantage of some of the key features that are unique to Carflows, such as order bumps, one-click upsells and downsells, and advanced analytics and reporting, then you’ll need to choose the paid option.

CartFlows Pro will allow you to build more advanced ‘flows’ and track them and optimize them using analytics tools.

The good news is that the yearly license works out at just under $20 per month.

Compared to other paid funnel-building tools, this is extremely cheap. Monthly subscriptions to major CartFlows alternatives like Clickfunnels will set you back $97/month or more.

CartFlows: Final Verdict

Overall, we were impressed with CartFlows. It’s a powerful funnel builder that’s ideal for eCommerce sites built on WordPress and WooCommerce.

It’s full-featured, affordable, and offers unparalleled flexibility and control.

Plus, there’s a free version of CartFlows, which makes it a good free alternative for businesses that aren’t yet ready to invest in paid tools.

If you have an already established WordPress site and you’re looking to make improvements to your conversion rates and customer journey, then CartFlows is probably the right funnel builder solution for you. 

It’s easy to install and works seamlessly with plugins like WooCommerce, as well as popular page builders like Elementor and Beaver Builder.

All of this and more make it the perfect funnel-building tool for WordPress users.

However, if you’re building your site from the ground up and you’d prefer to keep the setup process as quick, easy, and straightforward as possible, you may be better off using a standalone funnel builder.

It will cost more, and you’ll be sacrificing some ownership and control, but you won’t have to worry about the technical side of things, like hosting and installing/managing WordPress.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still want to learn more about what CarfFlows has to offer?

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about CartFlows.

Does CartFlows work with Thrive Architect?

Yes. Thrive Architect is a great page-building tool to use with CartFlows as it has a range of marketing-related features that compliment CartFlows’ sales funnel features.

Also, CartFlows offers a selection of page templates that can be used with Thrive Architect. 

Does CartFlows Have a Lifetime Deal?

Yes, CartFlows offers two different Pro licenses; A yearly license and a lifetime license. The Lifetime license is $999, which you can choose to pay in one single payment or 4 monthly installments.

Can I use CartFlows Without WooCommerce?

No. Although you may still be able to access some CartFlows functions without WooCommerce installed, you need to install WooCommerce to make use of the majority of CartFlows features.

You can easily install WooCommerce on your WordPress site for free, and you’ll be prompted to do this when you set up CartFlows.

Whats is CartFlows Refund Policy?

CartFlows offers a 30-day refund policy. If you’re not satisfied or have an issue with CartFlows that can’t be resolved within the first 30 days after purchase, you can get a full refund on the product. After that, there are no refund offers available.

CartFlows Alternatives

CartFlows is a great tool, but it’s not the only funnel builder out there. Here’s an overview of some of the best alternatives to CartFlows.

ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is one of the most popular funnel-building tools on the market. It has a huge following, and many people prefer it to WordPress plugins like CartFlows. 

However, there is one big and crucial difference between CartFlows and Clickfunnels; The price. Clickfunnels prices start from $97/month, whereas CartFlows is available for free, and you can get a full-featured yearly Pro license for as little as $239.

Another key difference between ClickFunnels and CartFlows is the page-building aspect. CartFlows works alongside popular WordPress page builders like Divi, Beaver Builder, and Elementor.

ClickFunnels, however, has its own page builder, which is a little less intuitive and user-friendly. 

Also, ClickFunnels hosts funnel pages on their own hosting than your own, which can be a little risky. CartFlows, however, works inside WordPress, which is better for security and marketing. 

All of these factors make CartFlows an ideal choice for WordPress users over ClickFunnels.

For more details on ClickFunnels, read our review.

ThriveCart

ThriveCart is a useful tool that can help you to optimize your checkout pages.

Like CartFlows, you can use ThriveCart to add exclusive offers and bumps to your checkout pages to drive more sales.

ThriveCart focuses mainly on your checkout pages, whilst CartFlows can be used to organize and optimize your whole funnel. 

Check out more ThriveCart feature details in our review.

The main difference between ThriveCart and CartFlows is that CartFlows is a WordPress plugin, and ThriveCart is a separate tool. If you want to manage your funnel from inside your WordPress dashboard, then CartFlows is the only tool for this.

However, ThriveCart is slightly cheaper than CartFlows Pro, and you can get a lifetime license for as little as $690. 

SamCart

SamCart is an all-in-one eCommerce tool that shares many features with CartFlows.

You can use it to optimize your funnel with upsells and cart bumps, and it also includes a wide range of useful page templates, just like CartFlows.

It also has essential features like A/B testing, smart pixel tracking, and advanced reporting. For more feature details, read our SamCart review. 

When it comes to price, SamCart is quite an affordable option and comparable in price to CartFlows. Plans start from as little as $39/month.

However, if you want to take advantage of all of SamCart’s features, you’ll need the Scale Plan, which starts from $159/month.

Systeme.io

Systeme.io is an all-in-one marketing platform that offers several tools rolled into one.

In addition to a sales funnel builder, it also comes with a built-in page editor, email marketing tools, course creation tools, affiliate management portal, blogging platform, A/B testing, contact management, and much more.

It’s a good alternative to CartFlows for users that are looking for a broader feature set, but it doesn’t integrate with WordPress (or pretty much anything else, for that matter).

We also found the page editor to be clunkier than some WP page builders. Read our full Systeme.io review.

AliDropship

AliDropship is a WordPress plugin built specifically for dropshipping businesses. Unlike CartFlows, it can’t be used to manage your sales funnels.

However, it can be used to automate your dropshipping business’s sales processes. 

Like CartFlows, you can use AliDropship alongside your WordPress page builder to help you build optimized sales pages.

It’s also fully compatible with WooCommerce. AliDropShip has both free and premium options available. The premium plugin is $89 for a lifetime license.