If you’ve dreamed of opening your own e-commerce business but you have no clue how to get started, this SamCart review is a great place to begin. 

SamCart is one of the numerous e-commerce platforms currently on the market. It gives you everything you need to set up your online store and take payments from customers. 

While other e-commerce platforms such as Shopify offer more features and functions than SamCart, you may appreciate the simplicity of this service as compared to a platform with a laundry list of features. 

In a world that is oversaturated with online sales software and e-commerce platforms, here’s what SamCart has to offer.

What is SamCart?

SamCart is shopping cart software. It allows you to collect payments online when you sell physical or digital products. 

According to their website, SamCart has powered over 22,000 businesses and sold over 9.7 billion product units worth more than $2.2 billion. 

The idea behind SamCart is that you’ll have everything you need to start selling online quickly. 

The platform lets you start selling almost anything right away, including:

• Online courses
• E-books
• Coaching services
• Consulting services
• Membership plans (where you charge subscription fees)
• Physical products

Simply put, SamCart makes it easy to get your e-commerce business off the ground.

How Does SamCart Work?

With SamCart, you create a shopping cart that allows customers to purchase a digital product or a physical one from your store. 

That said, they take sales funnels to an entirely new level. A sales funnel is designed to take a goal, such as selling your latest e-book, and lead customers from the beginning of the sales cycle to the purchase. 

For example, if the goal is to sell a product, you have to “funnel” your potential customer down from the awareness phase all the way to the actual purchase step.

SamCart provides all the tools you need to create this sales funnel — even when you do not have your own website — and gets your store up and running without a bunch of add-on features you may or may not use.

SamCart gives you the necessary tools to:

• Promote your goal (such as selling a product or raising money)
• Create a fully functional checkout page
• Upsell, downsell, and add product bumps for increased revenue
• Accept multiple payment methods
• Analyze what’s working
• Realize higher conversion rates, even for mobile devices
• Follow up with your customers via email 

SamCart Features

SamCart has multiple features designed to let you hit the ground running with whatever product you need to sell or donation you need to solicit. Features include:

One-page checkout option: This feature allows you to design a checkout page where all the information is literally on one page. Your customer enters their payment and shipping details without having to go through multiple clicks. This keeps their attention and contributes to a higher chance of completing the checkout process. 

18 pre-designed templates: You don’t have to be a Picasso to create beautiful, high-converting checkout pages. SamCart provides everything you need plus the ability to make further changes to the template for a more customized look. 

One-click upsells: This is one of the features that makes SamCart so appealing. You can add a one-click button for your customers during checkout so they can add more to their cart with a simple click of the button. 

Subscription saver: If you sell a subscription service, you know that it can be a hassle to keep up with subscribers whose credit cards are about to expire or have failed. SamCart monitors this for you and sends emails before and after so that you don’t have to spend your time chasing down payments. Furthermore, if someone doesn’t pay, SamCart automatically cancels them and removes their subscription for you.

Add an affiliate program: If you want people to promote your product for you, SamCart gives you the necessary tools to set up an affiliate program. 

Accept digital wallets: You can make transactions super easy on your customers by using Apple or Google Pay and others as payment options.

Incorporate discount codes and coupons: If you want to add a discount or coupon for your products, you can easily do so. In fact, SamCart allows you to isolate a single product if you only want to offer a specific discount or coupon for one item.

Advanced analytics: SamCart provides all the insights you need to understand what is and isn’t working for your customers during the sales process. All the information is right in your dashboard. You can also track pixels with your Google and Facebook ads for a complete understanding of where your customers are coming from. 

A/B split testing available: With certain plans, you have access to split testing so you can test every aspect of your checkout page to know what’s working or what needs to be improved 

Integrations with SamCart

One of the most helpful aspects of SamCart is the number of integrations it can make with third-party companies. 

Samcart uses the magic of Zapier to give you the ability to connect a wide variety of third-party applications to your site. You can run your marketing, membership, and payment processing tools all in one spot. 

The benefit of being able to integrate applications so easily is that it allows you to operate your site without jumping in and out of multiple applications. You have everything you need at your fingertips, which cuts down on both time and frustration.

Currently, SamCart supports the following integrations:

• ActiveCampaign
• AWeber
• Constant Contact
• ConvertKit
• Digital Access Pass
• Drip
• GetResponse
• HubSpot
• iContact
• InfusionSoft
• Intercom
• Kajabi
• MailChimp
• Maropost
• MemberMouse
• MemberPress
• Ontraport
• OptimizePress
• PayPal
• Post Affiliate Pro
• Stripe
• Thinkific
• WishList Member
• Zapier

Let’s take a closer look at some of the most helpful applications.

Payment Processing Integrations

In the e-commerce world, payment processing is a big deal. Naturally, you need to figure out the easiest way to get customers to pay you and use payment processors that are accessible by the greatest number of people.

The two payment processing options offered are Stripe and PayPal. SamCart recommends you first integrate with Stripe. Then you can integrate PayPal.

FYI, SamCart currently does not offer bitcoin or cryptocurrency. Additionally, while it does offer digital wallet payments, it does not currently support Samsung Pay.

Stripe allows you to accept credit card payments and get started within minutes. You can either transfer over an existing Stripe account or easily set up a brand new account. 

Membership Integrations

SamCart seamlessly integrates with numerous membership platforms. Examples include membership courses such as Kajabi, Membermouse, MemberPress, and Thinkific. 

There are also popular options for affiliate management platforms, such as Post Affiliate Pro.

Email Marketing Integrations

Email marketing is a major part of most e-commerce businesses, and SamCart recognizes this. Many platforms are supported by SamCart, including ActiveCampaign, iContact, Hubspot, and Mailchimp. 

SamCart Support

Another unique aspect of SamCart is the variety of customer support options. Some platforms only offer one type of support, such as email, and you’re left to guess when you will receive a response. SamCart offers three options.

Help Center

Sometimes you just need a simple walkthrough or explanation to use one of SamCart’s features. SamCart puts a ton of material on its website to walk you through the various setup and integration processes. It also provides other useful information.

Each guide gives you step-by-step instructions along with images to quickly get you started.

Live Chat

When you are online, there is a live chat option. You can use it to get questions answered or point you in the right direction. 

Sometimes you will need to wait for a response. Luckily, the live chat is fairly responsive when you need them.

Email support

You can email your questions to the SamCart team, although there are specific business hours the support team operates (Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm ET).

SamCart does try to respond to all inquiries (both email and chat) within 24 hours on weekdays.

Facebook Group

Another tool in the SamCart support tool chest is the official Facebook group. There are thousands of members, and you might be able to get your question answered or search for past answers to similar questions. 

SamCart Pricing

SamCart provides many features to build your business online and accept payments. It also offers three different levels of monthly pricing. 

Before you choose what level works best for you, you can take advantage of a 14-day free trial.

$49 per Month Launch Plan

The $49 per month plan (or $39 monthly if you choose annual billing) gives you access to unlimited pages and products with no transaction or additional fees charged by SamCart. 

It also includes templates, the ability to customize the automatic emails that are sent, and lets you use custom domain names. 

You can even set up discounts and coupon codes. Better yet, the SamCart system can be set up to deliver your digital products. 

This plan does include SamCart branding, and you are limited to one admin user. 

$99 per Month Grow Plan

The $99 monthly plan (or $79 for annual billing) includes everything in the $49 option, but you can customize all your branding and your checkout fields. Plus, you can offer multiple payment methods, access to onboarding materials, and have three admin users.

$199 per Month Scale Plan

The $199 monthly plan (or $159 with annual billing) includes all the features in the other two plans, but you are able to have up to 10 admins. You also have more integration options, including CRM, and you can use the split A/B testing feature. 

Another feature to keep in mind is the 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are no longer interested after 30 days, you can request a refund.

Pros and Cons of SamCart

SamCart has plenty of amazing features, but there are a few considerations to be aware of before you jump into a monthly or yearly subscription. 

Pros

• Targets the business owner who is just starting out or has limited experience. 
• $0 transaction fees so you can keep more of your money.
• Great option for selling digital products and memberships.
• 99.9% uptime, according to SamCart. This is critically important since your business relies on this service in order to function properly.
• Free SSL certificate. This may not sound super sexy, but your customers want to know their purchases are safe on your site, and SamCart provides this verification so your customers can shop with confidence. 
• There are no coding skills required to get started.
• SamCart is a great option for beginners who might be easily overwhelmed by other e-commerce platforms with too many features. 

Cons

• You must purchase the more expensive plans to access important features like customizing the site for your brand.
• Not ideal for selling a service, but suited for selling a product or soliciting donations.
• Limited for creating landing pages.
• Does not have all the features you would need for a full-fledged online store (such as advanced shipping methods).
• Limited number of payment processors. It uses PayPal and Stripe only, which may charge their own transaction fees.

Who Should Use SamCart?

SamCart is geared towards entrepreneurs, small businesses owners, and those with digital products or a limited number of physical products. 

This doesn’t mean other types of businesses can’t benefit. It simply means these types of businesses may see the most advantages. 

If you’ve been selling products on Etsy and Amazon, SamCart offers solutions for you to add a new platform to your sales. In turn, this allows you to sell your products in more places. 

If you’ve written a book or created an online course, you can use SamCart to promote your products and lead customers to purchase. Or, if you have a small side hustle, it’s a great way to get started. 

However, entrepreneurs aren’t the only ones who could benefit from SamCart. Nonprofit organizations can benefit as well since SamCart makes it super simple to accept donations in any amount your donors choose while offering multiple payment options for convenience.

If you’re using Facebook ads to promote your digital product or fundraising event, then SamCart is a natural extension for you. You can promote the product or event with the ad and lead them to the initial stage of the sales funnel with SamCart. 

If you aren’t sure if you should be using Facebook ads for this, we can show you how the two services can work together here. 

Alternatives to SamCart

As mentioned earlier, there are many shopping cart platforms available. While SamCart offers its own unique features, you may be curious how it compares to other alternatives.

SamCart vs. Clickfunnels

Clickfunnels is another platform for e-commerce and shopping carts, but it focuses on the most seamless shopping experience and checkout options possible. It includes every step you need from the beginning of the sales process to after the checkout with the follow-up emails. 

Clickfunnels is packed with a ton of marketing features. It also integrates with more payment processors than SamCart. Landing pages and sleek checkout page options are among the numerous tools it offers. 

Pricing is one of the key differences between the two platforms. Clickfunnels is more expensive (since it offers more marketing options), and prices start at $97 per month. 

Clickfunnels has a built-in email marketing function instead of relying on third-party integrations like SamCart does. This may be a feature some prefer, while others may like using systems they are already familiar with using. 

Since it focuses on sales funnels, you may find it has many features you may not be interested in for your e-commerce business. But, if you want a service with options for every marketing and sales initiative, you may like what Clickfunnels has to offer compared to SamCart. 

SamCart vs. PayKickStart

PayKickStart is another shopping cart platform option. It lets you scale your online business by offering numerous services, such as building landing pages, sales funnels, using a page editor to create custom checkout pages, and many other features similar to SamCart.

Where PayKickStart sets itself apart from SamCart and other platforms is the number of payment processing integrations. 

PayKickStart has the option to integrate with the following:

• Apple Pay
• Authorize.net
• Braintree
• Connect
• EasyPayDirect
• Paypal
• Stripe

This is far more than what SamCart currently offers.

Pricing is another differentiating factor. PayKickStart starts at $99 per month, making it twice the cost of SamCart. 

If you don’t need a specific payment processor or Stripe and PayPal meet your payment needs, then SamCart would likely be the better option based on price and how similar the features are between these two platforms. 

SamCart vs. ThriveCart

ThriveCart is a big name when it comes to shopping platforms, and there is a reason it is so well-known. It is incredibly easy to use and packed full of features for running an e-commerce store.

Features such as the drag-and-drop page builder, numerous templates for you to plug and play, plus tons of ways to enhance the checkout experience are a few things that make this site so popular. 

As similar as the two platforms are, there are a few fundamental differences that could be enough to persuade someone either way. 

For starters, there is the price. ThriveCart is a one-time $495 flat fee. SamCart is $49 per month, so it will cost more than ThriveCart after 10 months.

Another difference is the payment processing integrations. ThriveCart offers more integrations than SamCart.

ThriveCart’s payment integrations include:

• Apple Pay
• Authorize.net
• Google Pay
• PayPal
• Stripe

While ThriveCart may offer more payment processing integrations, it does not provide as many member integrations as SamCart. If you rely on using services such as Thinkific and Kajabi, you might be disappointed with ThriveCart’s lack of options. 

The price, membership, and payment processing integration options are the main differences between ThriveCart vs. SamCart. You may also prefer SamCart’s template and shopping cart designs, so it’s worth exploring the overall look each platform offers its users. 

The Final Word on SamCart

SamCart offers many features that you might find with larger e-commerce platforms but avoids all the confusing add-ons and infinite number of options. It’s a great choice for those who have a single product to offer or are only selling digital products. 

The platform is known for being laser-focused on the checkout experience, which is why it is an awesome option for online business owners. 

If you’re an entrepreneur or raising money for a cause, SamCart may be the simple solution you’ve been looking for to get online and start selling right away.