Final verdict
Carrd and Unbounce offer distinct advantages for users with different needs, with Unbounce slightly leading in the overall score.
-
Carrd (Overall Grade: 6.1/10)
excels in simplicity and affordability, making it an ideal choice for individuals and small businesses looking to create single-page websites quickly and efficiently. Its user-friendly interface and straightforward design capabilities cater well to those without extensive web development skills. However, it falls short in areas like ecommerce and advanced marketing features, which are crucial for users looking to scale their online presence. -
Unbounce (Overall Grade: 6.4/10)
stands out for its focus on optimizing conversion rates, offering a robust set of tools for creating, testing, and customizing landing pages. It’s particularly suited for marketers and businesses focused on lead generation and sales conversions. Despite its higher price point, Unbounce provides more comprehensive features for larger-scale operations, including advanced user management and AI capabilities.
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Design functionalities & templates |
7.5 |
7.8 |
|
Ease of use |
9.0 |
8.2 |
|
Ecommerce |
3.5 |
4.8 |
|
Website Editors |
7.0 |
7.5 |
|
Product testing options |
6.0 |
6.6 |
|
Price |
8.9 |
7.0 |
|
Hosting quality |
5.0 |
3.9 |
|
Website speed optimization |
8.2 |
5.6 |
|
Plugins and integrations |
5.8 |
6.8 |
|
Marketing features |
5.8 |
7.4 |
|
Customer support |
6.2 |
7.7 |
|
Security |
7.6 |
8.4 |
|
AI capabilities |
0.0 |
7.5 |
|
User Management |
4.3 |
7.2 |
| Overall |
6.1 |
6.4 |
Best for ecommerce
3.5
4.8
Verdict
: For users focused on ecommerce, Unbounce slightly edges out Carrd due to its superior capabilities in creating and testing highly targeted ecommerce landing pages, despite both platforms having limitations for full-scale ecommerce operations.
-
Carrd
: Offers basic ecommerce functionalities suitable for simple, single-page websites. It’s ideal for individuals or small businesses that need to sell a few products or services online with minimal setup. Carrd’s integration with PayPal and Stripe for payment processing is straightforward, catering to users looking for an easy way to start selling online. -
Unbounce
: Stands out for its ability to optimize conversion rates on ecommerce landing pages. While not a traditional ecommerce platform, Unbounce’s strength lies in its landing page optimization, making it a better choice for businesses that rely heavily on marketing campaigns and lead conversions for their ecommerce activities.
Best for informational & business websites
7.9
5.9
Verdict
: Carrd is better suited for creating simple, effective informational websites, especially for individuals and small businesses. Unbounce, while powerful for conversion-focused landing pages, may not be as well-rounded for broader informational website needs.
-
Carrd
: Excelling with a score of 7.9, Carrd is ideal for users looking for a straightforward platform to create single-page, responsive websites. Its focus on simplicity, combined with a variety of templates and customization options, makes it a great choice for personal profiles, portfolios, and small business websites that require a clean, professional online presence without the complexity. -
Unbounce
: With a score of 5.9, Unbounce is a specialized tool designed for marketers and businesses focused on optimizing conversion rates through landing pages, popups, and sticky bars. While it offers robust design functionalities and templates geared towards conversions, it might not be the first choice for those needing a comprehensive informational or multi-page business website.
Detailed comparison
Design functionalities & templates
Design FunctionalitiesRepresents how well each platform allows for creative design and customization of websites.Score Components:
- Template Variety (30%): Range and quality of design templates.
- Customization (30%): Flexibility and options for design alterations.
- User Interface (20%): Ease and intuitiveness of the design process.
- Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Innovation (10%): Unique design features and tools.
7.5
7.8
🏆
Winner: Unbounce.
Unbounce edges out Carrd with a slightly higher score, offering a more comprehensive set of design functionalities and templates.
Carrd is a versatile platform that offers a wide variety of templates and designs, catering to different needs and preferences. Users can choose from a broad selection of themes, ranging from simple and minimalist to complex and dynamic layouts.
On the other hand, Unbounce provides a gallery of over 100 high-converting templates for landing pages, popups, and sticky bars. These templates are designed with conversion in mind, incorporating knowledge and insights gained from Unbounce’s experience in optimizing landing pages.
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Ease of use
Ease of useReflects the platform’s overall user-friendliness.Score
Components:
- Learning curve (40%): Quickness and ease of getting started.
- Interface design (30%): Simplicity and intuitiveness of layout.
- User guidance (20%): Quality of tutorials and support.
- Flexibility (10%): Adaptability to various user skills.
9.0
8.2
🏆 Winner: Carrd
. Scoring a solid 9.0, Carrd stands out for its simplicity and straightforward approach to website building, making it ideal for beginners and small businesses. Unbounce, with a score of 8.2, offers a robust platform but with a steeper learning curve, especially for those new to digital marketing. If ease of use is a priority, Carrd is the clear winner in this category.
Learning Resources
🏆 Winner: Unbounce
. While both platforms offer solid learning resources, Unbounce goes a step further with its comprehensive Help Centre, the Unprompted Podcast for marketing insights, and a Video Library for visual learning.
For ecommerce
EcommerceMeasures the platform’s effectiveness in supporting online business activities.Score Components:
- Ecommerce themes and templates (20%): Variety and design of templates.
- Product management (25%): Ease of managing and organizing products.
- Payment options (25%): Variety and convenience of payment methods.
- Ecommerce features (20%): Features for managing an ecommerce store.
- Integration (10%): Compatibility with external e-commerce tools and services.
3.5
4.8
When it comes to ecommerce, both Carrd and Unbounce have limited offerings compared to more comprehensive ecommerce platforms. Carrd, primarily designed for building one-page websites, does not inherently offer robust ecommerce features. Users looking to incorporate ecommerce functionalities would need to integrate third-party services or use external links to platforms like Etsy or Shopify. Unbounce, on the other hand, stands out for its ability to create, test, and customize highly targeted ecommerce landing pages. However, it lacks comprehensive ecommerce tools and requires integration with other ecommerce solutions.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Ecommerce themes and templates |
4.5 |
2.0 |
|
Product page customization |
3.0 |
3.0 |
|
Payment processing and commissions |
5.0 |
6.5 |
|
POS capabilities |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Payment gateways |
5.5 |
7.0 |
|
Product numbers |
2.0 |
0.0 |
|
Additional ecommerce features |
3.5 |
4.5 |
Carrd ecommerce features:
- Paypal and Stripe Integration
- External Widgets integrations
- Basic Product Listing options
Unbounce ecommerce features:
- Shopify, Ecwid, or and other ecommerce solutions integration
Ecommerce themes & templates
Carrd provides a selection of 14 ecommerce templates aimed at users looking to quickly launch online stores for products ranging from e-books to physical goods. These templates are crafted with a focus on simplicity and conversion optimization. Unbounce, however, primarily focuses on building landing pages and does not have ecommerce specific templates.
Product page customization
Carrd offers a streamlined approach to ecommerce product page customization, primarily through integrations with third-party platforms such as Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, and Gumroad. Users can create product pages within Carrd by adding product details like name, description, image, and price, and then integrate a checkout button using Carrd’s Widget element for platforms like Stripe. Unbounce does not offer the possibility to create or customize product pages, it’s primarily focused on building landing pages, with the possibility to integrate with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify or Ecwid.
Payment processing
Carrd allows for payment-enabled forms for Pro Plus users or higher, integrating with Stripe Checkout for payment processing. This setup enables creating forms for various transactions like order forms or paid email lists. The process requires setting up the payment through Stripe, either via a preconfigured price or a custom price, and entering Stripe API keys. For payment gateways, it specifically supports Stripe and Paypal. Unbounce supports payment processing through an integration with Stripe, allowing users to create landing pages that can handle transactions directly, with Stripe facilitating global payments in over 135 currencies. Unbounce itself does not mention charging additional fees for transactions, implying that fees are subject to Stripe’s own pricing structure.
Website Editors
Website EditorsEvaluates the platforms’ website building and editing capabilities.Score Components:
- Customization tools (40%): Range and power of editing features.
- Editor usability (30%): User experience within the editor.
- Design flexibility (20%): Freedom in layout and design changes.
- Update and maintenance ease (10%): Simplicity of updating and maintaining the site.
7.0
7.5
🏆
Winner: Unbounce
. Unbounce, with a score of 7.5, is a powerful, user-friendly website builder specifically designed for creating custom landing pages, popups, and sticky bars. It offers a variety of templates, widgets, and elements such as forms and buttons, alongside options for integrating custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for advanced customization. The platform supports responsive design, ensuring landing pages perform well across all devices, and includes features for A/B testing and dynamic text replacement to optimize conversion rates.
Carrd, scoring 7.0, is a simple, yet powerful platform for building fully responsive, single-page websites. It offers a user-friendly interface that allows for easy drag-and-drop functionality, enabling users to add, customize, and position elements such as text, images, buttons, and forms with minimal effort. The editor also provides a range of pre-designed templates and responsive design options, ensuring that websites look professional and work seamlessly across various devices.
Mobile editor/app
5.5
0
🏆
Winner: Carrd
. Neither Carrd nor Unbounce offer a dedicated mobile editor app. However, Carrd allows users to edit their websites on a mobile browser, providing some level of mobile editing capability. Unbounce, on the other hand, does not provide any mobile editing features.
Carrd is the clear winner in this category, despite its mobile editor score of 5.5 indicating that there is room for improvement.
Product testing options
Product Testing OptionsAssesses the options for trying out platform features before commitment.Score Components:
- Trial quality (40%): Extent and usefulness of the trial or free version.
- Feature accessibility (30%): How many features are available to test.
- Trial duration (20%): Length of the trial period.
- Ease of transition (10%): Smoothness of moving from trial to paid plans.
6.0
6.6
Overall Result
:
Unbounce Wins
. Unbounce scores 6.6 in product testing options, slightly higher than Carrd’s 6.0. Both Carrd and Unbounce do not offer a free version, but Unbounce provides a longer trial period of 14 days compared to Carrd’s 7 days. Additionally, Unbounce allows users to test premium features during the trial period, but requires billing information for free trial users. Neither Carrd nor Unbounce offers a money-back guarantee.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Free Plan |
No | No |
|
Trial Duration |
7 days |
14 days |
|
Testing Premium Features |
Yes, during free trial |
Yes, during free trial (billing info required) |
|
Money Back Guarantee |
No | No |
Price
PriceLooks at the cost-effectiveness and value for money of each platform.Score Components:
- Plan value (40%): What each pricing tier offers.
- Transparency and clarity (30%): Clearness of pricing structures.
- Flexibility of plans (20%): Range of options to suit different budgets.
- Hidden costs (10%): Additional expenses not included in the plan.
8.9
7.0
Carrd offers more affordable plans, but Unbounce provides more comprehensive features, especially for larger-scale operations.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
$0-$1 |
Pro Lite ($0.75/month): Basic features suitable for simple, personal websites. Up to 3 1-page websites. Value for price: 6.0 |
No offering at this amount. |
|
$1-$3 |
Pro Standard ($1.58/month): Offers more features and flexibility, ideal for professional profiles and small projects. Up to 10 1-page websites. Value for price: 7.5 |
No offering at this amount. |
|
$3-$10 |
Pro Plus ($4.08/month): Enhanced features for more complex sites, including additional customization options. Up to 25 1-page websites. Value for price: 8.5 |
No offering at this amount. |
|
$90-$100 |
No offering at this amount. |
Build ($99.00/month): Provides tools for building and launching high-converting landing pages, unlimited pages, popups, sticky bars, a form builder, free hosting, AI copywriting, custom scripts, 1,000+ integrations, support for 1 root domain with unlimited subdomains, catering up to 20,000 monthly unique visitors. Value for price: 6.5 |
|
$100-$200 |
No offering at this amount. |
Experiment ($149.00/month): Includes everything in the Build plan plus unlimited A/B tests, advanced reporting, dynamic text replacement, support for 2 root domains, and up to 30,000 monthly unique visitors. Value for price: 7.5 |
|
$200-$300 |
No offering at this amount. |
Optimize ($249.00/month): Adds to the Experiment plan with AI traffic optimization, visitor behavior insights, advanced targeting, supports 3 root domains, and caters to up to 50,000 monthly unique visitors. Value for price: 8.0 |
|
$600+ |
No offering at this amount. |
Concierge (Starting at $649/month): Offers everything in the Optimize plan plus dedicated support, implementation services, client and user management, flexible add-on plans for scaling, starting with 5 root domains and 100,000 monthly unique visitors, with options to scale. Value for price: 8.5 |
location. As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their
websites.
Hosting quality
Hosting
qualityExamines the reliability and performance of the hosting solutions.Score Components:
- Uptime (40%): Consistency and reliability of website availability.
- Speed (30%): Loading times and performance.
- Bandwidth and storage (20%): Sufficiency of resources provided.
- Data centers (10%): Quality and distribution of hosting infrastructure.
5.0
3.9
🏆
Winner: Unbounce
Despite both platforms offering hosting, Unbounce edges out with a disclosed uptime of 99.96%. Carrd, while offering shared hosting, does not provide specific information on uptime, bandwidth, storage limitations, or data center locations. Unbounce’s transparency and higher uptime earn it a slightly higher rating.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Do they offer hosting? |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Data Centers: |
Not disclosed |
Not disclosed |
|
Type of hosting: |
Shared Hosting |
Not specified |
|
Uptime: |
Not specified |
99.96% |
|
Uptime Guarantee: |
No |
No |
Website Speed Optimization
Website Speed OptimizationEvaluates optimization of website loading timesScore Components:
- PageSpeed Score (30%): Google’s score indicating performance optimization.
- Loading Time (30%): The average time until a website is fully interactive.
- Mobile Optimization (15%): Optimization effectiveness for mobile devices.
- Resource Optimization (15%): Optimizing images, scripts, and other heavy resources.
- CDN Usage (10%): Use of CDN to enhance speed across geolocations.
8.2
5.6
🏆 Winner: Carrd
Both Carrd and Unbounce have strategies in place for website speed optimization, but Carrd’s focus on mobile responsive design, caching, and Cloudflare CDN gives it an edge over Unbounce.
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
Focus |
Mobile responsive design, Caching, Cloudflare CDN |
Image optimization, Caching, Speed Booster |
|
Performance Tools |
Not specified |
Not specified |
|
Key Strategies |
Mobile responsive design, Caching, Cloudflare CDN |
Image optimization, Caching, Speed Booster |
|
Load Times |
Minimal due to simplicity of websites |
Varies depending on optimization and website complexity |
|
Page Speed Scores Range |
High due to simplicity of websites |
Varies depending on optimization and website complexity |
|
Core Web Vitals Improvement |
Not disclosed |
Not disclosed |
Carrd, a platform for building fully responsive, single-page websites, focuses on mobile responsive design, caching, and Cloudflare CDN for speed optimization. Given the simplicity of websites built with Carrd, load times are expected to be minimal, and page speed scores are expected to be high. However, Carrd does not disclose any information related to Core Web Vitals improvements.
Unbounce, a website builder specifically designed for creating custom landing pages, popups, and sticky bars, uses image optimization, caching, and Speed Booster for speed optimization. Load times and PageSpeed scores vary depending on optimization and website complexity. Unbounce does not provide any information on their Core Web Vitals improvements.
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Plugins and integrations
Plugins and integrationsMeasures the range and effectiveness of additional plugins and integrations.Score Components:
- Variety of options (40%): Range of available add-ons.
- Integration smoothness (30%): Ease of integrating plugins into the site.
- Quality of plugins (20%): Functionality and reliability of the options.
- Custom integration capabilities (10%): Support for custom or third-party integrations.
5.8
6.8
🏆 Winner: Unbounce.
Unbounce scores 6.8, offering a wide array of free apps and integrations to enhance the functionality of landing pages. Carrd, with a score of 5.8, also offers a range of plugins and extensions, but Unbounce’s focus on conversion optimization gives it the edge.
It’s worth noting that while Unbounce excels in creating and managing landing pages, it’s not ideally suited for building entire websites, especially for larger projects requiring comprehensive site functionalities. On the other hand, Carrd’s plugins and extensions enable functionalities beyond its base features, offering a more engaging, dynamic, and tailored user experience.
Marketing Features
Design FunctionalitiesRepresents how well each platform allows for creative design and customization of websites.Score Components:
- Template Variety (30%): Range and quality of design templates.
- Customization (30%): Flexibility and options for design alterations.
- User Interface (20%): Ease and intuitiveness of the design process.
- Responsiveness (10%): Adaptability to different devices and screen sizes.
- Innovation (10%): Unique design features and tools.
5.8
7.4
🏆
Overall Winner: Unbounce
. Unbounce stands out for its strong focus on conversion optimization, offering a wide range of tools for creating high-converting landing pages, popups, and sticky bars. Carrd, while offering a simple and easy-to-use platform for building single-page websites, lacks some of the advanced marketing features found in Unbounce.
| Marketing Features |
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
SEO Tools |
|
|
|
Email Marketing |
✓ (through third-party integrations) |
✓ (with integration of third-party services) |
|
Blogging |
|
|
|
Social Media Integration |
|
|
|
Analytics and Reporting |
✓ (allows integration with Google Analytics) |
|
|
Ads and Promotions |
✓ (through third-party integrations) |
✓ (landing pages can be used for ad campaigns) |
Customer Support
Customer supportEvaluates the quality and availability of support options.Score Components:
- Response time (40%): Speed of support responses.
- Support quality (30%): Effectiveness and helpfulness of the support.
- Availability (20%): Range of support channels (phone, chat, email).
- Resource richness (10%): Quality of self-help and educational materials.
6.2
7.7
🏆 Winner: Unbounce
. Unbounce takes the lead in this category with a customer support score of 7.7, compared to Carrd’s 6.2. Unbounce offers a variety of customer support options, including live chat, email, and phone, which are available Monday to Friday, from 6 AM to 6 PM PST. In addition, 24/7 support can be accessed through their Help Centre, Community, and Chat Bot. This ensures that users have continuous access to assistance whenever needed.
On the other hand, Carrd provides 24/7 support via email which typically replies within 24 hours. However, Carrd does not provide enterprise support as they don’t have an enterprise plan. In contrast, Unbounce offers a dedicated customer support aimed at optimizing campaign performance for enterprise-level users. This includes a team of conversion experts who provide personalized training and optimization sessions.
Security
SecurityLooks at the platforms’ security measures and data protection.Score Components:
- Data protection (40%): Safeguards for user and customer data.
- SSL and encryption (30%): Implementation of secure connections.
- Compliance (20%): Adherence to industry security standards.
- Regular updates (10%): Frequency of security updates and patches.
7.6
8.4
🏆
Winner: Unbounce
. Unbounce takes a comprehensive approach to security, with a robust framework that includes a defense-oriented architecture, network safety measures, and strict firewall policies. It also emphasizes compliance with key regulations, including PCI Level 4 Merchant status and GDPR. Unbounce’s commitment to maintaining a secure platform is evident in its regular external security audits and disaster recovery strategies.
Although Carrd, while offering a simpler platform, does not compromise on security. It automatically enables SSL for all sites, extending this to custom domains and subdomains. Carrd also implements measures to protect personal information both online and offline. However, it falls slightly short of Unbounce’s more comprehensive security measures.
AI Capabilities
AI capabilitiesMeasures the effectiveness of AI-driven features and tools.Score Components:
- Automation efficiency (40%): Impact of AI on streamlining processes.
- Personalization (30%): AI-driven customization for users or customers.
- AI-Assisted design (20%): Role of AI in website design and functionality.
- Data analysis (10%): Use of AI in interpreting user data and analytics.
0.0
7.5
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
AI Builder |
|
Unbounce’s Smart Builder offers personalized templates, copy and design recommendations |
|
AI Ecommerce features |
|
|
|
AI content generation |
|
Unbounce’s Smart Copy tool generates various types of content for marketing and landing pages |
|
Additional AI features |
|
Unbounce’s Smart Traffic directs visitors to the most appropriate landing page variant, and Conversion Intelligence Insights offers practical advice and recommendations to boost conversion rates |
🏆 Winner: Unbounce
. Unbounce, with a score of 7.5, utilizes AI to optimize landing page creation, content generation, and visitor direction, giving it a clear advantage in this category. Carrd, on the other hand, does not have any AI capabilities.
User Management
User ManagementAssesses the platforms’ capabilities in managing user roles, permissions, and accessibility.Score Components:
- Role Customization (40%): Flexibility in creating and defining user roles and
permissions. - Ease of Management (30%): User interface and tools for managing users.
- Access Control (20%): Effectiveness of access control measures for different user
levels. - Scalability (10%): Ability to manage a growing number of users efficiently.
4.3
7.2
🏆 Winner: Unbounce
. Unbounce offers more flexibility in user management compared to Carrd.
- Carrd is primarily designed for individual use or small teams, with each account managing its own sites. The platform introduced a Team feature to allow multiple users to collaborate, but traditionally, Carrd sites are managed by a single account holder with full control. The specifics of access levels and permissions for collaborators, if available, are less detailed but generally include editing capabilities.
- Unbounce offers one staff account on its basic plan, with the option to expand up to 15 accounts on the premium plan. It also provides customizable permissions, enabling you to restrict or grant access based on roles such as viewer, author, and administrator.
Unbounce User Roles and Access Levels:
| Role | Description | Access Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Viewers | Members of your team who want to view and approve pages, popups, or sticky bars before publication. | Can access pages, popups, sticky bars, stats, and leads. Cannot edit/manage pages or access account management, billing details, domains, or add users. |
| Authors | Designers or copywriters invited to edit landing pages. | Can edit, manage, publish/unpublish pages, popups, sticky bars. Have access to viewing leads and stats. Cannot access account management, billing details, domains, or add users. |
| Administrators | Manage the Unbounce account, including billing details. | Can edit, manage, publish/unpublish pages, popups, sticky bars. Can access account management, billing details, domains, and add users. Cannot delete leads or remove other Admins. |
Additional Features
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
SSL Certificate |
|
|
|
Custom Domain |
|
|
|
Free Custom Domain Included |
|
|
|
International Domains |
|
|
|
Mobile Responsive |
|
|
|
Page Speed |
|
|
|
Website Builder Mobile App |
|
|
|
Convert a Website To An App |
|
|
|
Website Analytics |
|
|
|
Multilingual Sites |
|
|
|
Multiple Users |
|
|
User Feedback
Carrd users overwhelmingly praise the platform for its user-friendly interface, excellent customer support, and attractive templates, which make website creation effortless and enjoyable. The drag-and-drop builder, affordability, and mobile-friendly designs are highlighted as significant benefits. However, some users express limitations, such as the inability to create multi-page websites or a desire for more design options. Overall, Carrd is praised for its affordability, ease of use, and suitability for creating quick, simple webpages.
Unbounce, on the other hand, receives mixed reviews from its users. Many appreciate its user-friendly, drag-and-drop page builder, which facilitates the quick creation and editing of landing pages without the need for technical expertise. Users find it beneficial for A/B testing, integrating with CRMs, and swiftly turning around marketing content. However, there are notable concerns, particularly with a case of unexpected switch to an annual plan without consent and refusal to refund, indicating potential issues with customer service and billing practices. Additionally, some users mention technical limitations, such as responsiveness issues and the absence of global elements for content updates across multiple pages, which can hinder efficiency.
The making of this blog
We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.
FAQ
Which platform is better for creating landing pages, Carrd or Unbounce?
Can I use Carrd for ecommerce?
Is Unbounce worth the higher price compared to Carrd?
Which platform offers better customer support, Carrd or Unbounce?
How do Carrd and Unbounce compare in terms of website speed and optimization?
Are there any AI capabilities in Carrd or Unbounce?
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