Note: This is a dramatized first-person account, written to feel like a real walkthrough.
Quick story time
I ran two very different projects. Same laptop. Same coffee. Two tools.
- Project A: fast pay-per-click landing pages for a summer kids’ soccer camp. Tight ad budget. Speed mattered. I used Instapage.
- Project B: a small digital course called “Phone Photo 101.” I needed a checkout, an order bump, and a one-click upsell. I used ClickFunnels.
If you’d prefer a data-driven, vendor-supplied breakdown, Instapage publishes an in-depth Instapage vs ClickFunnels feature comparison that’s worth skimming before you choose.
Both jobs had pressure. Different pressure, though. One needed clean clicks and high sign-ups. The other needed smooth sales and a higher cart value. Here’s how it went. If you’re curious about every tiny difference between the two, you can read my deeper, first-hand Instapage vs ClickFunnels comparison.
Instapage: Clean, fast, and picky in a good way
I opened Instapage and felt calm. The editor let me place stuff exactly where I wanted—text, buttons, forms—without fighting the layout. I dragged a “Sign Up” form above the fold, added a big photo of kids playing soccer, and set the headline to match my Google Ads keyword. That match matters more than folks think. People need to see the same words they just searched.
I ran heatmaps to see where people stopped scrolling. Guess what? Most didn’t reach the coach bio section. So I moved the camp dates higher and trimmed fluff. Simple fix. Better results.
Then I ran an A/B test. Page A had a blue button; Page B used bright orange. Page B won. I didn’t expect it. I never do with colors.
For speed, Instapage just felt quick. I didn’t touch code. I still saw faster loads than my usual WordPress stack. That helped my Google Ads score and lowered my cost per click. Tiny gains add up.
A few bits that helped:
- Dynamic text swap: my headline changed based on the ad group. “Summer Soccer Camp” for one ad. “Girls Soccer Camp” for another.
- Instablocks: I saved a “trust bar” with camp logos and reused it on four pages.
- Easy hooks: I pushed form sign-ups to Mailchimp and sent a ping to Slack through Zapier. No drama.
But here’s the rub. Instapage is not a full sales machine. I needed a clean landing page and a thank-you page. Perfect. When I wanted a fancy checkout or an upsell? I hit a wall. You can stitch Stripe in with extra steps, but it’s not its sweet spot.
ClickFunnels: Sell, sell, sell (even if the editor nags you)
When it was time to sell the “Phone Photo 101” course, I switched to ClickFunnels. The funnel template gave me four parts: landing, checkout, one-click upsell, and thank-you. I added an order bump for “Mobile Presets Pack.” One checkbox on the checkout page. Easy.
I connected Stripe for payments. I set a timer on the upsell page for a little nudge. I don’t love fake hype, so I kept it honest: “Save $20 if you add it now.” That’s it.
The page editor? It did the job, but spacing felt fussy. I’d nudge a headline, something else would jump. Not a dealbreaker—just a sigh and a sip of coffee. Mobile tweaks took an extra pass.
Still, the money stuff worked. My average order jumped. The $29 course turned into $41 on average once the order bump and upsell kicked in. Not every buyer clicked, of course. Enough did.
ClickFunnels also handled email follow-ups. I tagged buyers, sent a welcome note, and queued a tips series. Not fancy, but it worked. If you're weighing ClickFunnels against an email-focused option like GetResponse, my no-BS comparison might save you hours of tinkering.
What slowed me down:
- Styling feels boxy. Getting pixel-perfect layouts took extra time.
- Pages loaded fine, but not “zippy.” My ad pages felt snappier on Instapage.
- Reports were okay. Good for funnel steps. Less deep for granular page study.
Real moments that stuck with me
- Soccer camp ads: I matched the ad text to the Instapage headline and moved the sign-up form higher. Warm weather hit, and sign-ups spiked. The coach teased me about my “giant orange button.” Hey, it worked.
- Photo course launch: I used a “behind-the-scenes” video on the ClickFunnels page. People loved it. The order bump for presets surprised me. I thought it would be a tiny add-on. It became a steady chunk of revenue.
- Black Friday: I cloned my ClickFunnels funnel in a snap, swapped the headline, and ran a 48-hour sale. The timer helped. I kept the copy short and clear. No shouting, just “Here’s the deal.”
- Shelton massage studio: While building a quick Instapage page for a friend’s boutique spa in Connecticut, I researched what locals were already saying about similar businesses and stumbled on the ultra-niche review directory—the detailed Rubmaps Shelton guide—which surfaced the exact services, opening hours, and price points customers raved about; mining those candid insights let me mirror the language in our ads and headline, boosting relevance and conversions right out of the gate.
Where each one tripped me up
Instapage downsides:
- Cost feels high if you only need a page or two.
- Not built for a full store. Checkouts and upsells feel patched.
- You’ll use other tools for emails and memberships.
ClickFunnels downsides:
- Editor can feel clunky. Design finesse takes patience.
- Load times can lag on heavy pages.
- Reports and heatmaps aren’t as deep. I missed Instapage heatmaps.
How I choose now
Here’s the thing: they’re different on purpose. If you’re still on the fence, it helps to scroll through real-user ratings—G2’s crowdsourced ClickFunnels vs Instapage comparison page surfaces pros, cons, and satisfaction scores from hundreds of marketers.
- If I’m running paid ads and every second counts, I reach for Instapage. Clean design. Speed. Easy tests. Great for agencies and campaigns.
- If I’m selling a product or course and want bumps, one-click upsells, and a simple membership area, I use ClickFunnels. It’s a sales stack in a box.
Think of it like this:
- Instapage = sharp landing page knife.
- ClickFunnels = full kitchen set. A little messy, but you can cook the whole meal.
And for anyone eyeing Kartra as another all-in-one rival, I’ve documented every win and gap in this ClickFunnels vs Kartra field report.
If you’d like to see how these two stack up against dozens of other landing page and funnel platforms, my go-to comparison cheat sheet lives on WebsiteBuilderTools.net.
Small setup notes I wish someone told me
- Domains and SSL: connect early. Don’t wait until launch day.
- Tracking: both tools let you drop in pixels. I ran Meta Pixel and GA4 without a fight. Just test events with a friend’s phone too.
- Email: Instapage plays nice with Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and others. ClickFunnels can send emails itself or pass leads to your tool of choice.
- Teams: Instapage comments on page drafts kept feedback clean. ClickFunnels “share funnel” let me clone a setup for a partner fast.
One unusual but surprisingly effective trick: when I'm stuck on copy, I hop into a niche chat room to get raw, unfiltered reactions from real humans—in particular, many of my most candid brainstorming sessions happen in the welcoming LGBTQ space over at InstantChat's gay chat room. You’ll find a lively community there 24/7, and spending five minutes sharing a draft headline can return brutally honest (and often brilliant) feedback you can apply to your landing page immediately.
Final call
- Go Instapage if you live on Google Ads or Facebook Ads and want fast pages, clean tests, and tight message match. It shines when you need sign-ups right now, without the full store baggage.
- Go ClickFunnels if you’re selling, plain and simple—course, coaching, or a small digital product—and you want bumps, upsells, and a smooth checkout in one place.
You know what? I still use both. Different jobs. Different tools. That’s not a cop-out; it’s the truth. Use the knife when you need a slice. Use the kitchen when you’re serving dinner.