Payfunnels Alternatives
If you’re running (or just starting) a small business whose business model will be based on recurring payments/billing, Payfunnels is one of the pieces of software you can use to simplify this whole process, and while a good choice for some, there may be better options out there depending on the type of subscription billing business you run or plan to run.
In this post, we’ll look at five tools that may be a good alternative to Payfunnels:
- Stripe Billing
- ChargeKeep
- MoonClerk
- Payhere
- WP Simple Pay
Let’s start with Stripe Billing…
Stripe Billing
Since Payfunnels uses Stripe (its own payment gateway) to process online payments (you need a Stripe account in order to use it), the obvious place to start when looking for an alternative would be Stripe itself and its recurring payments product called Stripe Billing.
Stripe Billing is built into the Stripe dashboard and you can start using it to accept payments right out of the gate if you have a Stripe account. You can create one-time or recurring payment products, payments links for those products, and manage payments, refunds, and subscriptions.
If you’re looking for a simple way to do the above, using Stripe itself may not be the right solution for you. The Stripe dashboard is difficult to navigate (it’s been built with a wide range of e-commerce businesses in mind) and while simple tasks such as refunding a customer are relatively easy to do, more involved tasks such as switching customers between subscriptions are much more difficult.
Other features require coding so all in all Stripe Billing is really only a good solution for more experienced, larger e-commerce businesses, and those with technical know-how. It’s not one of the best alternatives to Payfunnels.
Top 3 Pros
- Customer portal
- Payment links
- Dunning
Top 3 Cons
- Many features require coding
- Limited email notifications
- Fees for one-time payments
Pricing
Stripe charges a 0.5% transaction fee, on top of the regular 2.9% credit card fee (in the U.S.), to use Stripe Billing.
For one-time online payments, Stripe includes 25 invoices per month and then charges 0.4% – 0.5% depending on the package you choose for any additional payments.
ChargeKeep
Stripe Billing is certainly an option if you have some time and skills to integrate it well, but if you don’t, an easier alternative is to use a product like ChargeKeep.
ChargeKeep makes what you would do in Stripe much easier and builds on top of the existing Stripe functionality to provide users with even more functionality.
Like Payfunnels, you get started by creating a payment form or link. This payment form allows you to collect one-time or recurring payments (via credit card or ACH). You have the option to create a host of different types of forms, so regardless of what types of business you mean run – a coaching, consulting, membership, or any other type of subscription-based business – you can be confident that the payment forms allow enough flexibility to support your business model.
For example, if you want to create a payment form that includes a one-time set up free or free trial, you can do that easily by simply turning on those options.
Adding a setup fee to a payment form
Adding a trial period to a recurring payment form
Another big advantage to using an all-in-one tool like ChargeKeep over a simpler tool like Payfunnels is that once your business is up and running and you’re collecting online payments and setting up subscriptions, ChargeKeep allows you to easily manage those payments, payers, and subscriptions right from the platform. No need to go back into the confusing Stripe dashboard to do anything.
You can process refunds, manage and change the details of any subscription, and through the customer portal offer your customers and clients a way to make their own updates.
Manage subscriptions
Customer Portal
I have used PayPal and a few other tools… I love how simple and clean ChargeKeeep is, with the styling ability with CSS (and it looks great on Android). Everything out there is so big and feature-packed when I think there are a lot of people who want that simple recurring model with a way to update cards. – MARROW MARKETING
Want to skip ahead?
…and just give ChargeKeep a try? If you’re liking this blog post, you’ll probably love ChargeKeep too.
Top 3 Pros
- Subscription management
- Customer portal
- No transaction fees
Top 3 Cons
- No API / webhooks
- Not suitable for some businesses (e.g. subscription boxes)
- Stripe is the only payment processor integration
Pricing
ChargeKeep has one $29/month plan that includes all features and up to 100 active subscriptions. There are no added transaction fees.
MoonClerk
MoonClerk is an alternative to Payfunnels that’s a bit more full-featured. The company has been around for 10+ years, so they’ve had plenty of time to iterate on their product and add features.
It works similarly to both Payfunnels and ChargeKeep in that you start by creating a one-time or recurring payment form and sending that link to your customer (or embedding the form in your website) to collect payment.
Like ChargeKeep, MoonClerk has a customer portal, good subscription management, and failed payment features, all of which are important features when running a recurring billing business. Payfunnels has none of these features.
Top 3 Pros
- Customer portal
- A good set of features
- Some failed payment (dunning)
Top 3 Cons
- Expensive
- Stripe only
- Outdated interface
Pricing
MoonClerk’s pricing starts at $18/month and goes up to $550/month, depending on your monthly payment volume. The 2.9% Stripe payment processing fee goes on top of any monthly charges.
Here’s how a recent reviewer on Capterra put it:
Payhere
Payhere is a bare-bones alternative to Payfunnels. You can quickly get set up to collect one-time or recurring payments, but once you collect those payments there are very few features to actually manage those payments and subscriptions. Unlike ChargeKeep, you can’t cancel or pause subscriptions, switch your customers between subscriptions, or even schedule a subscription for a future date. If you’re looking for a more full-featured recurring billing software, one of the other four products in this comparison may be a better fit.
Payhere does have a customer portal, a Zapier integration, and an API, so those are all pluses, but overall the product caters to those just starting out.
Top 3 Pros
- API
- Customer portal
- Zapier integration
Top 3 Cons
- 3% transaction fee
- No dunning
- No subscription management
Pricing
Payhere charges a 3% transaction fee, which is in addition to the Stripe payment processing fee of 2.9% (or more, if you’re outside the U.S.).
WP Simple Pay
WP Simple Pay is a well-established WordPress plugin and is a good option for those who host their website on WordPress and need a simple plug to collect both one-time and recurring online payments.
The plugin allows you to set up an embedded or overlay payment form (or use the hosted Stripe checkout), use different currencies and payment methods, and integrate with an affiliate program using an AffiliateWP integration.
But like Payhere, there are no payment or subscription management features. Once someone pays you, you’ll have to do everything else in the Stripe dashboard itself which, as we talked about above, can be a challenge due to its myriad options.
Top 3 Pros
- Easy to use
- Well-supported
- Update frequently
Top 3 Cons
- WordPress only
- No subscription management
- No dunning
Pricing
Like most WordPress plugins, WP Simple Pay is a one-time fee of $99-$299. Some features, such as subscriptions, are only available on the $299 plan.
This will be what you’ll pay in the first year only. Any subsequent years will be billed at $100-$300 more.
Still with us?
ChargeKeep is a super simple way to collect one-time and subscription payments. If you liked this blog post, you’ll probably love ChargeKeep too.