Just like a carpenter couldn’t build a house without a framer, a digital marketer or conversion rate optimization (CRO) specialist couldn’t optimize campaign conversions without a landing page builder.
Landing page builders provide the necessary infrastructure for designing, publishing, testing, and scaling campaign creative with speed. You can’t run proper CRO campaigns without one, just like you can’t build a house without walls.
Good news: As a PPC agency that specializes in landing page design and CRO, we’ve experimented with dozens of different landing page builders over the years. Only a few stick out as worthy.
In this article, we’re going to explore nine great landing page builders, along with a thorough analysis of each.
From the best all-around and user-friendly to the most affordable and best for eCommerce, we’ve got a best-in-class landing page builder for everyone.
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A landing page builder is a SaaS tool that makes creating, editing, publishing, and testing landing pages easier, faster, and more effective.
How?
By offering a suite of features like template libraries, drag-and-drop visual editors, one-click publishing, and A/B split testing, all in one comprehensive tool.
Without a landing page builder, you’ll never find the speed or scalability you need to launch and optimize landing pages for your marketing campaigns. It takes too much time, skill, and resources to create and test custom landing pages without a tool.
With a landing page builder, every marketer's life gets much easier:
Code-free designing: Anyone can build and publish a landing page, not just web developers. Even you, non-designer/non-tech marketer.
Drag-and-drop builder: Landing page builders make web design easier than ever with drag-and-drop editors. No more complicated design tools (ahem, Photoshop); just design within the editor. Fonts, colors, layouts... it’s all customizable with a page builder.
A/B split testing: Running a split test using hard-coded web pages makes CRO impossible. The best landing page software includes built-in A/B testing tools that let you test different variants with a click of a button.
One-click publishing: Once you connect your landing page builder to your domain, you don’t need any support to publish pages. Just click “publish” within the page builder and it will go live on your website.
Landing page template libraries: Cut down on the time it takes to design a landing page by using one of the hundreds of pre-made templates, from webinar registration to opt-in pages, and everything in between.
Analytics tools: Easily measure conversions within one seamless dashboard instead of just tracking goals inside Google Analytics.
Landing page builders come in all shapes and varieties.
Though a few stand out from the crowd, dozens of landing page tools exist for different needs and business models.
To make life easier, we narrowed our list down to nine best-in-class landing page builders, each for a different use case.
- Unbounce: Best all-around landing page software
- LeadPages: Most affordable all-around landing page software
- Instapage: Easiest to use landing page software
- Shogun: Best all-around landing page software for eCommerce
- ClickFunnels: Best landing page builder for sales funnels
- Swipe Pages: Best landing page software for low budgets
- Kajabi: Best landing page software for knowledge businesses
- ShortStack: Best landing page software for contests
- Hubspot: Best FREE landing page builder
Let’s explore each!
The oldest kid on the block. Unbounce got its start in 2009 and has never relinquished its position as the best all-around landing page software. Today, what separates Unbounce from the rest is their suite of machine learning, are their AI-powered features that bring a healthy dose of conversion science to landing page design.
What we love: Smart Copy.
Smart Copy is Unbounce’s AI-powered text generator. Not only does it offer 30+ copy templates to kickstart your landing page messaging, but by adjusting a few parameters, it will help you expand ideas, write headlines, test calls-to-action (CTAs), remix old content, and even generate copy from scratch for you.
What needs improvement: mobile responsiveness and global editing.
Unbounce is the gold standard, but it’s missing a few key features you would expect it to have. Nothing mission-critical, but useful nonetheless.
First, mobile responsiveness. Unbounce calls their platform “mobile responsive,” but they only give you two breakpoints to design within: desktop and mobile. That’s it. This severely limits design capabilities unless you add custom code. The third breakpoint for tablets would help a lot as well as a fourth breakpoint for wide desktop viewports.
Second, global editing. Though you’re not supposed to use a landing page builder to build a website (unless it has a website building component to it), it’s not uncommon to have dozens of landers with the same headers or footers. Unbounce doesn’t make it easy to update global headers and footers (i.e. update one and they all get updated); instead, you need to edit each one individually. Super tedious.
Proprietary features:
- SmartBuilder: Powered by 1.5 billion past conversions, SmartBuilder uses AI to offer on-the-go recommendations for better design and copy.
- SmartTraffic: SmartTraffic tracks conversion patterns and automatically serves different variants of your landing page that it thinks will convert higher based on traffic type (geography, demographics, device, etc.).
- Unbounce Apps: An entire suite of integrations that will bring your favorite marketing and conversion apps and widgets to any Unbounce landing page.
Bonus features:
- Template library
- A/B split testing
- Integrations
- Dynamic content (change copy depending on traffic source)
- Drag and drop editor
- Direct domain publishing
- HTML/CSS custom code
- AMP support
- On-page SEO
- Agency features (duplicate across clients, sub accounts, client alerts, and permissions)
- Mobile responsive (mobile, desktop breakpoints)
- SSL certificate
- Analytics
Pricing: $90-$225 annually; $81-$203 monthly
LeadPages started out as an affiliate marketing page builder but has since grown into a powerful, reliable landing page creator for all use cases. The best part: LeadPages is the most affordable landing page software in the “all-around” top three.
What we love: Checkouts.
Unlike most landing page builders, LeadPages includes customizable checkout pages that integrate with a payment processor like Stripe. Not only can you design a beautiful lander, but you can sell products directly from them too.
If you sell digital downloads, subscriptions, courses, or event tickets, use LeadPages checkouts to close the loop from ad to visit to purchase.
What needs improvement: design editor.
LeadPages’ design editor has come a long way over the last 8+ years, but it’s still not as intuitive or flexible as Unbounce or Instapage.
Proprietary features:
- Website builder: Build a full-blown website using LeadPages, complete with global headers/footers, customizable sections, and high-converting templates.
- Lead magnet hosting/delivery: Automatically email digital downloads like guides or lead magnets when a visitor opts in on a landing page or pop-up.
- Pop-ups and alert bars: LeadPages was the first page builder to include pop-up lead boxes for any page on your website. With pop-ups and alert bars, you can nudge traffic to convert from any page on your website using a small snippet of code.
- LeadMeter: Improve conversion with real-time recommendations regarding page layout, calls-to-action, readability, and forms.
Bonus features:
- Global headers/footers (edit once and all headers/footers change)
- Template library
- Thank you pages/confirmation pages
- A/B split testing
- Integrations
- On-page SEO
- Dynamic content (change copy depending on traffic source)
- Drag and drop editor
- Direct domain publishing
- HTML/CSS custom code
- SSL certificate
- Mobile responsive
- Analytics
Pricing: $37-$74 annually; $49-$99 monthly
Instapage is the second oldest kid on the block (circa 2012), and though not as powerful as Unbounce, it offers a suite of tools that make it one of the easiest and most scalable landing page builders you’ll ever use.
What we love: Instablocks
Instablocks allows you to create and save custom design blocks that you can reuse across any landing page. Not only can you reuse custom blocks, but you can edit them globally (edit once and all pages that use them change too) and kickstart design from a library of pre-made blocks. Bottom line: Instablocks makes Instapage one of the easiest editors to use.
What needs improvement: cancellation support, pricing.
While you can easily cancel your free trial plan from within the Instapage user dashboard, if you wish to terminate a paid plan, you need to email Instapage (and many have had less than satisfying experiences doing so).
Also, Instapage doesn’t offer flexible pricing. You can pay $199/month (annually) or $299/month (monthly), which prices out small businesses and startups with tight budgets.
Proprietary features:
- Built-in collaboration: Easily communicate with colleagues and clients about landing page design, directly within Instapage.
- AdMap/PostClick score: Import your Google ad campaigns and Instapage will score your landing page relevance in relation to your ads.
- Thor Render Engine: Load pages super-fast using their proprietary rendering engine.
- Heatmap: Instapage is the only landing page with its own heat map that lets you see where visitors spend most of their time on your page.
Bonus features:
- Template library
- A/B split testing
- Integrations
- Dynamic content (change copy depending on traffic source)
- Drag and drop editor
- Direct domain publishing
- HTML/CSS custom code
- AMP support
- On-page SEO
- Agency features (duplicate across clients, sub accounts, client alerts and permissions)
- Mobile responsive landing pages
- SSL certificate
- Global editing (headers/footers)
- Analytics
Pricing: $199 annually; $299 monthly; custom pricing
If you run an eCommerce store on Shopify or BigCommerce, then you already know how frustrating it can be to build a custom landing page for your campaigns, as neither platform offers a landing page builder.
*Shogun enters the chat.*
Shogun turns your eCommerce website into a drag-and-drop visual builder, making landing page design easy for everything from discount pages and coming soon pages to bundle pages and seasonal pages.
What we love: Page Builder.
With Shogun’s Page Builder, you can easily build landing pages from scratch or edit existing Shopify, BigCommerce, or Salesforce Commerce Cloud pages. Borrow from a library of eCommerce elements like product boxes, product inventory, product price and add to cart.
What needs improvement: pricing.
While Shogun has updated their pricing to include lower-cost plans with fewer features if you want to get the full Shogun experience, expect to pay $299/month minimum.
Proprietary features:
- Elements library: Choose from a library of eCommerce-specific elements that you can drag and drop onto a page.
- Frontend: Shogun’s headless commerce page builder. Headless commerce refers to decoupling the front end (design) of your eCommerce website with the back end (payment processing, inventory, database, etc.) so you can get the most out of both.
Bonus features:
- Template library
- A/B split testing
- Integrations
- Dynamic content (change copy depending on traffic source)
- Drag and drop editor
- Direct domain publishing
- HTML/CSS custom code
- On-page SEO
- Various design breakpoints (wide, desktop, tablet, mobile)
- User permissions
- Analytics
Pricing plans: $0-$999/month
ClickFunnels is an all-in-one platform for creating high-converting sales funnels, from landing page design to email drip campaigns and beyond.
What we love: end-to-end.
ClickFunnels doesn’t have the best template library or customizable landing page editor. Far from it. But they make up for it by offering an end-to-end sales funnel platform. No other landing page software includes email autoresponders, checkout pages, membership sites, upsell pages, SMS texting, and opt-in pages, all integrated into one software.
What needs improvement: design and website.
Like I mentioned, the ClickFunnel visual design editor has its limitations, and the template library is filled with poorly designed landers. But ClickFunnels didn’t build their marketing platform to compete against the best landing page builders; they built it to be the best sales funnel tool with a landing page builder.
Second, the ClickFunnels website is so overwhelming it’s hard to figure out how the product works. Each page is a long, drawn-out sales page with little cohesion. It reminds me of web 2.0 sales pages that we all came to despise (and distrust).
Proprietary features:
- Click Funnels: Design a sales funnel using a drag-and-drop editor. Simply shuffle or reshuffle different landing pages in a sequence until you get the funnel you desire.
- Follow-up Funnels: Create secondary funnels for people who opt-in to your offer so you can upsell them on additional offers.
- BackPack: BackPack helps you build and run an affiliate program. With it, you can easily add an affiliate program to your campaigns.
Bonus features:
- Email autoresponders
- Checkout pages
- One-click upsells
- Template library
- Membership sites
- Order forms
- A/B testing
- Analytics
Pricing: $97-$297/month
Swipe Pages packs the punch of an Unbounce or LeadPages, but for an even lower price.
What we love: pricing.
You’re not going to get AI, machine learning, or advanced features like the Thor Render Engine or SmartTraffic, but for $29/month, you can get everything you need to create and publish beautiful landing pages.
What needs improvement: differentiators.
Honestly, this is a pretty damn good tool, especially for the price, but it’s lacking any mission-critical differentiating features. As of now (2022), think of Swipe Pages like a low-cost clone of Unbounce, LeadPages, or Instapage.
Proprietary features:
- Mobile slides: Create a seamless user experience for mobile visitors by turning your mobile landers into an app-like experience using slides.
Bonus features:
- Template library
- Unlimited landing pages at every price point
- Pre-built blocks
- Global editing
- A/B split testing
- Integrations
- On-page SEO
- Dynamic content (change copy depending on traffic source)
- Drag and drop editor
- Direct domain publishing
- HTML/CSS custom code
- AMP support
- SSL certificate
- Mobile responsive
- Analytics
Pricing: $29-$119/month (annually); $39-$199/month (monthly)
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform for business content creators who sell courses, consulting, coaching programs, educational guides, memberships, and more. Aside from a landing page builder, Kajabi offers full websites, payment processing, email, automation, and analytics.
What we love: full integration.
With Kajabi, landing pages integrate seamlessly with email marketing, automation, payments, and downloads. No other apps are needed to drive traffic, convert visitors, or deliver digital products and services.
What needs improvement: functionality.
Because Kajabi is an all-in-one platform with a landing page builder, the actual page builder lacks some critical functionality like A/B split testing, dynamic copy, or AMP support. However, for content creators who sell knowledge products as a business, you probably only need the bare essentials.
Proprietary features:
- Pipelines: Pipelines are like pre-made funnels to sell your knowledge products, complete with landing pages, email automation sequences, and sales pages.
- Websites: Not only can you easily design landing pages, but you can easily design an entire website with global headers and footers.
- Kajabi University: Massive library of educational tutorials to help you launch landing pages and sell products using Kajabi.
Bonus features:
- Template library
- Integrations
- Drag and drop editor
- Direct domain publishing
- HTML/CSS custom code
- On-page SEO
- Mobile responsive (mobile, desktop breakpoints)
- SSL certificate
- Analytics
Pricing: $119-$319/month (annually); $149-$399/month (monthly)
What we love: landing page contests.
With ShortStack, you can run giveaways, photo contests, voting contests, invite-only contests, social media contests, and more—all from one landing page.
What needs improvement: design.
What they make up for in functionality (easy contest campaigns), they lack in design. The visual editor needs some work: it’s not easy to craft a well-designed landing page.
Proprietary features:
- Coupon codes: Instantly deliver coupons codes to visitors who complete a contest from a landing page.
- Games: Create games within your landing pages, like personality quizzes, virtual slot machines, or knowledge quizzes.
Bonus features:
- Drag and drop editor
- Template library
- Agency white-labeling
- Pop-ups
- Custom domains
- Contest management (backend)
Pricing: $79-$399/month (annually); $99-$499/month (monthly)
You’ve likely heard of HubSpot before. What started as a marketing automation platform many years ago has morphed into a full-blown customer relationship management (CRM) platform. They offer a suite of sales and marketing tools, including marketing automation, customer relationships management software (CRM), help desk, and landing page builder.
What we love: free (duh).
Any free landing page builder is bound to be awful, right?
Not exactly.
While it certainly doesn’t include features like A/B testing, AI, dynamic content, content blocks, global editing, or custom HTML/CSS, Hubspot’s free builder does include templates with a clean drag-and-drop visual editor. For $0, you can design and publish a landing page, even if you don’t have your own website domain (great for beginners).
Bonus features:
- Template library
- Content modules
- On-page SEO
- Free landing page hosting
- Direct domain publishing
Pricing: Free plan (upgrade for pro features)
The following landing page builders didn’t make the top of our list, but they deserve some love nonetheless. It’s worth giving each a gander:
- Landingi
- ConvertFlow
- ConvertKit (creator platform with landing page builder)
- Elementor (for native WordPress landing pages)
- GetResponse
- Carrd.co
- Editor X (for Wix)
- KickOffLabs (for giveaway contests)
- MailChimp (for email marketing landers)
- Wishpond
While Unbounce, LeadPages, and Instapage offer the best all-around landing page builders, choosing the right software for your business comes down to your needs.
Whether you’re looking to sell memberships, improve lead generation, grow your email list, convert more Facebook ads, sell more physical products, or something else entirely, your best-in-class builder will vary.
Whichever landing page software you choose, landing page builders will help you increase conversions, reduce cost per acquisition, and increase the ROI of your marketing campaigns—as long as you’re building it right.
