Landing pages have one main goal and that’s to convert. Whether it’s to capture someone’s email address for your database, or sell your latest e-book, or gain sign ups for your newsletter. There are endless ideas for how to use a landing page, but the end game is to convert someone to a specific action.
Leadpages and. Instapage are two leading landing page creators. Both have a long list of features. And when your goal is to create an eye-catching, high-converting landing page, then you need a service with serious chops. After all, this is your marketing dollars you’re talking about.
Enter Leadpages and Instapage. Let’s see how these two landing page creators are similar, but what makes one better for your digital marketing goals than the other.
The basics of Leadpages vs. Instapage
Leadpages and Instapage focus exclusively on building landing pages for you, although Leadpages offers other services as well. There are multiple similarities between the two, including:
Drag and drop editor: Both use this easy-to-follow visual tool for creating a landing page. You literally drag the items and drop them where you want, and you can see your progress as you’re building your pages.
Multiple templates: If you need a little creative help, both Leadpages and Instapage offer a ton of templates for you to choose from. These templates help you create content for everything from a checkout page to promoting a product or special sale.
Testing: The ability to run split testing with your landing pages is a big deal. After all, you need to understand what message is resonating with your audience and which one ultimately converts the best. Both offer the ability to test, although with Leadpages you run the test from your dashboard, while Instapage requires you to go into the landing page editor to run the test.
Widgets: Both offer a generous number of widgets to add to your page. This includes buttons for add-ons such as videos, headlines, paragraphs, shapes, social buttons, HTML, and multiple others. Although Leadpages offers more, both offer enough widgets to help you customize your landing page further.
Integrations: Both allow you to integrate with a wide variety of third-party apps. From email services to analytics, you can sync your Leadpages or Instapage information with other apps to create a more well-rounded experience.
Lead magnets: Both options offer you the ability to create lead magnets, although the method is slightly different with each one. Both use a widget to help you track and manage your lead magnets.
Analytics: Both allow you to see the number of conversions and give you detailed information so you know what’s working (or what’s not). Both allow you to integrate with third-party tools, such as Google analytics for even more information.
Access to training: Both offer resources for training, such as articles, webinars, videos, and how-to guides in case you run into any questions. Instapage even offers a library of landing page examples so you can easily see how one works and draw your own inspiration.
Key differences between Leadpages vs. Instapage
Both Leadpages and Instapage do their jobs quite well – both walk you through and help you create landing pages that convert. But the differences between the two are what may help you decide which one is better for your online business goals.
Drag and drop editor interface
While both use a drag and drop type of editor, the method is different. Leadpages uses a “grid” system, which forces you to design your pages within columns and boxes. However, Instapage uses a free-form editor. This literally allows you complete control and freedom to design your page the way you want it.
Additional tools
Leadpages offers additional tools, including the ability to build your website if you don’t already have one. Plus you can add opt-ins and popups for your online business. You can even add a built-in checkout option and take secure payments online through Leadpages.
Templates
While both offer templates, this is where you see variations among the offerings. Instapage offers over 200 templates included in your billing for you to choose from, while Leadpages has around 130.
Instapage allows a greater number of customization options for your pages. You can also purchase additional templates through a third-party.
Analytics
Instapage has a more advanced analytics dashboard than Leadpages.
For example, Instapage offers heatmaps. These detailed insights tell you exactly how your visitors are interacting with your landing pages, so you can adjust your message or testing accordingly.
AdMap
Instapage also offers an exclusive feature called an AdMap. This allows you to sync your online ad campaigns to your landing pages, so you can then see the entire process from start to finish.
You then receive your analytics, which allows you to understand which ads are resonating the most in conjunction with your landing pages.
Collaborations
If you rely on more than one person to create and execute the landing pages, Instapage allows you to add other team members to the account (you can customize the number for greater flexibility).
Audit log
Instapage allows you to track all changes made by you, or other users, as you’re working on your pages, but Leadpages does not currently offer this option.
Pricing
By far, one of the most obvious differences between the two is the pricing. For most of us, budget is a concern, so knowing what you get for your money with Leadpages and Instapage is critical.
Both offer a 14-day free trial, but that is where the similarities end.
Leadpages Pricing
Leadpages offers a Standard Plan of $27 per month. With this plan you receive:
- One site
- Unlimited traffic and leads
- Your free custom domain and free hosting
- Templates
- Lead notifications
- Tech support
- Access to integrations
The Pro plan, which is $59 per month, gives you the Standard Plan features, plus:
- Take online sales and payments
- Unlimited split testing
- Emails trigger links
- 10 opt-in text campaigns
The Advanced Plan, which is $239 per month, offers everything above, plus you have access to a greater number of integrations, 5 sub accounts, etra op-in text campaigns, and a one-on-one quick start call.
Instapage Pricing
Instapage offers two options for pricing: $199 per month (if billed annually), or you can choose a custom plan where you add on the other features you may need.
With the $199 plan, you have access to:
- Unlimited conversions
- Multi-step forms
- Testing
- Detailed analytics, including heatmaps
- Integrations
- Google Single Sign-on (SS0)
The custom plan gives you access to a greater number of features, such as ad spend tools and a dedicated Customer Service Manager, depending on what you choose for your plan.
Should I use Leadpages or Instapage?
The answer to this question is, it depends. Ok, that sounds like we are dodging the question, but in all seriousness, choosing which one is better for you is dependent on your marketing goals, your business size, and your personal preferences.
I would choose Leadpages if I were:
- On a tight budget
- Need to create an entire website, as well as a landing page
- See a use for popups and opt-ins on your site
- You don’t need to collaborate with anyone
- Are comfortable using a grid-based editing feature to create your pages
I would choose Instapage if:
- Budget wasn’t an issue
- I have more than one person working on the landing pages
- Need to highly customize my landing pages, especially for mobile experiences
- Could use (and appreciate) the advanced analytics Instapage offers, including the heatmaps
Overall, it would appear Leadpages is geared more towards small- to medium-sized business owners, especially to those just starting out with allocating their digital spend dollars.
There’s no question Instapage can create beautiful, engaging, and high-converting landing pages too, but the features are so plentiful, it may be a better fit for larger-scale marketing budgets.
The bottom line on Leadpages vs Instapages
Once you’ve decided you need to invest in your landing pages, then it’s time to decide which of these services gives you exactly what you need for your digital marketing. Both can accomplish your goal of creating converting landing pages, but each uses a different approach to get there. Overall, it seems Leadpages is a great option for those starting out, while Instapage can take your landing pages to the next level, once you know what you’re doing.
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