9 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives for 2022

Search for the top email marketing solutions, and ActiveCampaign will be among the most recommended providers. It’s robust, it’s feature-rich, and it can get extremely expensive as your email list grows.

If you like ActiveCampaign’s functionality but need a more affordable tool, there are a lot of alternatives you can choose from. In this post, we’ll compare top ActiveCampaign competitors to help you pick the best one to switch to.

What ActiveCampaign Offers

ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one marketing automation solution. The platform covers tools for email marketing, sales pipeline management, multichannel marketing, and customer relationship management. Here are the pros and cons of the software:

• ActiveCampaign prices grow with the size of your email list. The cheapest plan starts at $9/month for 500 contacts, but the price triples and then grows steadily as you exceed the limit.
• The platform only offers a 14-day free trial.
• The CRM toolkit allows sales and marketing teams to automatically qualify leads.
• There’s a mobile app where customer data, performance reports, and to-do lists can be managed directly.
• Users can create iPad forms to collect contact information in person even when there’s no internet connection (for in-store purchases).
• 600+ pre-built automation workflows can be used to build sequences of any complexity.
• ActiveCampaign can be connected to over 870 apps, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and WordPress.
• ActiveCampaign doesn’t provide a transactional email server.

ActiveCampaign pricing

Here’s how ActiveCampaign’s prices (billed monthly) increase depending on the number of contact credits.

Number of contacts	Lite Plan	Plus Plan	Professional Plan
500	$15	$70	$187
1,000	$30	$70	$187
2,500	$61	$125	$187
5,000	$99	$186	$262
25,000	$286	$474	$686
50,000	$424	Custom price	Custom price
100,000	$687	Custom price	Custom price

9 ActiveCampaign Competitors and Alternatives

Not sure whether ActiveCampaign is suitable for you? There are plenty of alternative solutions in the market.

Solution/Alternative	Best for	Free plan	Paid plans start at
ActiveCampaign	B2B, B2C, ecommerce	14-day free trial	$9/month, 500 contacts
Sendinblue	Small businesses, startups, SaaS	Up to 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts	$25/20,000 emails/month + Unlimited contact storage
Mailchimp	Small businesses, freelancers	Up to 10,000 emails/month forever	$11/5,000 emails/month, 500 contacts
Klaviyo	Ecommerce	Up to 250 contacts	$20/month, 500 contacts
ConvertKit	Creators	Up to 300 contacts	$9/month, up to 300 contacts
AWeber	Creators, ecommerce, smbs	Up to 500 contacts	$16.15/month, 500 contacts
Drip	Ecommerce	14-day free trial	$19/month, 500 contacts
MailerLite	Creators, small businesses	Up to 1,000 contacts, 12,000 emails/month	$9/month, 1,000 contacts
GetResponse	Ecommerce, small businesses	Up to 500 contacts, unlimited newsletters +30-day free trial with premium features	$15.58//month, 1,000 contacts, Unlimited emails
Campaign Monitor	Digital marketing agencies, mid-sized businesses	Free trial, 5 contacts	$9/2,500 emails/month, 500 contacts

1. Sendinblue

Sendinblue is a more cost-effective ActiveCampaign alternative – especially if you send bulk emails. The marketing automation software offers all email features and even more:

• Drag and drop email builder;
• Landing page builder;
• A/B testing functionality;
• Detailed real-time reporting;
• Easy-to-use workflow editor; 
• Collection of pre-built automation workflows;
• Advanced segmentation;
• Email & SMS personalization;
• Free CRM;
• Transactional email service;
• Omnichannel marketing features (SMS marketing, Facebook advertising, etc.);
• GDPR-compliant forms.

Why Sendinblue is better than ActiveCampaign

• Pricing plans: Sendinblue doesn’t charge for the size of your contact list. For $25/month, you access 20,000 email credits and unlimited contact storage.
• Free access: In a forever-free plan, users can send up to 300 emails/day and store an unlimited number of contacts.
• CRM: Sendinblue’s Sales CRM is available in all plans. ActiveCampaign includes the sales automation features only in the Plus plan.
• Live chat: ActiveCampaign Conversations is a paid add-on ($19/seat per month) that should be purchased to enable the live chat feature. Sendinblue lets you install a chat widget for free.
• SMS marketing: All Sendinblue users can send transactional SMS and bulk SMS marketing campaigns. ActiveCampaign offers the SMS marketing feature only for users of the Plus plan (starting at $49/month). 
• Transactional email: Email API and SMTP relays are accessible in all Sendinblue plans. ActiveCampaign doesn’t provide an SMTP service.
• Facebook advertising: Sendinblue users can create and run Facebook Ads directly from their Sendinblue accounts.

2. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a world-famous marketing automation platform. It combines a wide range of features in one *not overly intuitive* interface. If you’re looking to build your mailing list and create simple email campaigns, MailChimp is a more convenient solution than ActiveCampaign. 

• The main difference between Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign is that Mailchimp offers a free plan. You can add up to 2,000 contacts and access limited features for free forever.
• However, the Mailchimp interface isn’t as user-friendly as ActiveCampaign’s one. The layout differs from other popular email marketing platforms, and it takes time before users learn to navigate the tool.
• Mailchimp’s Customer Journey builder allows you to create simple customer journey-based automations.
• Mailchimp users can send transactional emails if they purchase a paid add-on.
• Mailchimp is a good option for small businesses that are just getting started with email marketing and aren’t planning to dig too deep.

3. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is an email and SMS marketing automation tool. Users choose it for advanced automation workflows and ecommerce-specific features.

• Similar to ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo gets expensive quite fast as your mailing list grows. The platform is free for up to 250 contacts, but once you exceed the limit, you’ll start paying $20/month or more. 
• On the bright side, Klaviyo offers more powerful features for ecommerce, such as advanced segmentation rules, dynamic contact profiles, dynamic coupons for Shopify and Magento platforms, etc.
• Klaviyo’s performance reports display not only open and click rates but also revenue by attributed channel.
• Free and paid users are allowed to send SMS messages to customers within the US. 50 SMS contacts and 150 SMS sends are included in all plans. You can buy extra credits if you exceed the limit.

4. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is the ActiveCampaign alternative for creators. Bloggers and YouTubers use it to build their mailing lists, run newsletters, and monetize their content.

• ConvertKit starts at $9/month for a mailing list of 300 subscribers. 
• There’s a free plan available for users that don’t store more than 1,000 contacts. The free tier doesn’t include automated email sequences, lead scoring, advanced reporting functionality.
• Integrations with affiliate management tools, webinar services, and educational platforms allow creators to successfully run promotional campaigns with ConvertKit.
• ConvertKit offers integrated payment processing (powered by Stripe) with low transaction fees (3.5%+30c per transaction).

5. AWeber

AWeber is email marketing software with robust ecommerce features for small businesses. 

• In a forever-free plan, AWeber users can store up to 500 contacts, send 3,000 emails/month, tag and segment subscribers, set up automated flows, and use ecommerce-specific features.
• AWeber starts at $16.15/month for up to 500 subscribers. The good news is that the tool doesn’t have a range of pricing tiers, and users access all the features in the only plan, regardless of the number of credits they pay for. 
• Unlimited landing page and email templates, a drag and drop editor, split testing functionality, AMP emails, behavioral automation, and advanced analytics are included in AWeber’s paid plan.
• Both AWeber and ActiveCampaign integrate directly with PayPal.
• AWeber fully integrates with Canva – users can design visual elements for their email marketing campaigns without leaving the AWeber interface.
• AWeber offers assistance with developing customizable email or landing page templates for an additional fee.

6. Drip

Drip is a good ActiveCampaign alternative for Shopify merchants.

• Drip isn’t the cheapest alternative to ActiveCampaign. It begins at $19/month for only 500 contacts. Users will pay more to add contact credits and/or include SMS notifications in their packages. For instance, a package with 501-2,000 contacts and 250 SMS sends will cost $33/month. 
• Drip doesn’t offer a free plan. To test it, you can start a 14-day free trial.
• Similar to AWeber, Drip has only one paid plan – starting at $19/month, users access all the advanced features, including pre-built workflow templates, custom automations, dynamic segmentation, and A/B testing.
• Both Drip and ActiveCampaign provide integrations with Facebook Custom Audiences.
• Close integrations with a variety of ecommerce platforms make Drip one of the best ActiveCampaign alternatives for ecommerce brands.

7. MailerLite

MailerLite is a viable option for individual creators and small businesses looking for a combination of email marketing tools and an affordable CMS solution.

• MailerLite is probably the cheapest ActiveCampaign alternative. Unlimited monthly emails and 1,000 contacts will cost you $9/month.
• A free plan allows for 12,000 monthly emails, 1,000 subscribers, 1 user seat, up to 10 landing pages, and unlimited embedded sign-up forms and pop-ups.
• CMS users can create custom domains, build unlimited landing pages, and see click map reports in both Growing Business ($9/month) and Advanced ($19/month) plans.
• To help creators monetize their content, MailerLite provides the Stripe integration.
• Ecommerce brands can connect their online stores, set up behavior-triggered campaigns, and track sales performance in any paid plan.

8. GetResponse

If you need an ultimate marketing automation solution that won’t cost a fortune, GetResponse is the answer.

• The Basic plan with 1,000 contacts costs $15.58/month. 
• In the Basic plan, users access autoresponders, unlimited landing pages, basic segmentation, A/B testing, SPAM check, ecommerce tools, and paid ads.
• Features, like webinar creation, lead scoring, and advanced email marketing automation workflows, are available only in higher-tier plans.
• Users are allowed to reach up to 500 contacts in a forever-free plan.
• SMS marketing and transactional email sending aren’t included unless you go for a custom enterprise-level plan.

9. Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor is very similar to ActiveCampaign except for a few distinct features.

• The pricing packages of Campaign Monitor and ActiveCampaign are pretty much the same – Campaign Monitor’s pricing also starts at $9/month and follows a similar model for increasing credit limits.
• Similar to ActiveCampaign, Campaign Monitor doesn’t have a free plan.
• Campaign Monitor’s features include a drag and drop email editor, HTML editor, marketing automation, advanced segmentation, split testing, multi-user access, and real-time reporting analytics.
• Campaign Monitor has a unique feature, called Link Review — the tool identifies broken links in current emails before you click the ‘Send’ button.
• One of the advantages of Campaign Monitor over ActiveCampaign is the transactional email service that’s included in all plans.
• To help users address any email deliverability issues, Campaign Monitor offers a dedicated customer support team.
• Overall, if you don’t want to go further than the cheapest plan, Campaign Monitor is a more cost-effective option since it offers more features in the Basic plan than ActiveCampaign does in the Lite plan.

Looking for the ActiveCampaign alternative?

ActiveCampaign works well for email marketing pros that have the time and budget to set up complex workflows. For a small business, it’s better to choose a more affordable and easy-to-use alternative.

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