9 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives For 2024 [Features & Pricing]
ActiveCampaign may be a popular email automation tool, but it’s not without its drawbacks. Users have pointed out several issues that could disrupt your workflow.
Firstly, the software can be pricey compared to similar email marketing tools. Additionally, there’s a learning curve when it comes to mastering its advanced features, and, lastly, customer support can sometimes be slow to respond.
If you’re experiencing problems and want to change your software, then you’ve come to the right place. In this post we’ll analyze the best ActiveCampaign alternatives, favoring ease-of-use and affordability to get your email marketing strategy back on track.
Disclaimer: The information below is accurate as of April, 2024.
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Switch to MoosendWhy You Should Consider an ActiveCampaign Competitor
ActiveCampaign isn’t for everyone. Here are the main reasons that make users change the software:
- Limited integrations on basic plans: The entry-level Lite plan has very few integrations, preventing users from connecting with other tools and platforms they’re already using.
- Basic template designs: The email templates are too simple, which might not meet the needs of users seeking more visually appealing designs to engage their audience and save time.
- Automation complexity: The automation features have a learning curve and may be overwhelming even for experienced users.
- Limited basic plan: The Lite plan starts at $39/month and misses key features, such as eCommerce platform integrations and forms that are available only on higher-tier plans.
- Expensive advanced features: ActiveCampaign’s competitors offer the same or more advanced automation features and CRM integrations at a lower price.
- Poor user experience: The platform doesn’t have the most user-friendly interface or the most responsive customer support, hindering usability and productivity.
- Limited free trial: The 14-day free trial has a limit of only 100 contacts and 100 emails, which may not be sufficient to fully evaluate the platform’s capabilities.
Alternatives to ActiveCampaign by Use Case
Before we take a thorough look at them, here are each tool’s best use cases:
- Moosend – Best for advanced and easy-to-set-up automated workflows.
- HubSpot Email Marketing – Best for customer relationship management.
- Constant Contact – Best for event management and RSVPs.
- Mailchimp – Best for creating complex customer journeys.
- Klaviyo – Best for personalized email marketing campaigns.
- Brevo – Best for email automation and SMS messages.
- GetResponse -Best for webinar hosting alongside email automation.
- AWeber – Best for simple automation and premade campaigns.
- Drip – Best for advanced segmentation based on customer data.
Top Competitors to ActiveCampaign: Comparison Table
Below, you’ll find a comparison table with the best email marketing solutions we’ll see today:
Key features | Pricing | Free Plan/Trial | |
ActiveCampaign | Powerful automated workflows | $19/month | 14-day trial |
Moosend | Advanced and easy-to-set-up automated workflows | $9/month | 30-day trial |
HubSpot Email Marketing | Advanced CRM tool | $20/month | Yes (very limited) |
Constant Contact | Event invitations management | $12/month | 14-day trial |
Mailchimp | Complex customer journeys | $20/month | Yes (very limited) |
Klaviyo | Advanced customer profiles | $20/month | Yes (very limited) |
Brevo | SMS marketing tool | $9/month | Yes (very limited) |
GetResponse | Built-in conversion funnel | $19/month | 30-day trial |
AWeber | Cross-device email testing | $15/month | Yes (very limited) |
Drip | Advanced segmentation | $39/month | 14-day trial |
Let’s explore each ActiveCampaign alternative in more detail.
1. Moosend
Pricing: Paid plans start at $9/month, 30-day free trial (Sign up here)
Best for: eCommerce, SaaS, SMEs, Publishers, Bloggers, Agencies
Best feature: Advanced and easy-to-set-up automated workflows
Moosend is an all-in-one email marketing and marketing automation solution you can use to get your marketing back on track.
Apart from the AI-powered drag-and-drop email builder and responsive email templates, Moosend will equip you with sophisticated automated workflows. The automation features are straightforward to set up and manage, which can be an advantage for users who require simple yet effective automation workflows.
Among others, you can set up welcome, cart abandonment, and re-engagement series and set up campaigns to be triggered when visitors take specific actions. Also, beginners can benefit from the pre-made recipes to save time and effort. The simplicity of the editor will minimize friction and let you focus on streamlining your operations rather than spending time learning how to do it.
The advanced segmentation tool will allow you to deliver highly personalized emails that’ll amp your conversions while the CRM workflows will keep your lists clean and organized. Moreover, you can leverage Moosend’s forms and landing pages to keep expanding your subscriber base.
Lastly, the flexible email API will let you connect directly to the infrastructure and run various tasks, from creating email lists to retrieving important data more effectively.
Best features
- Drag-and-drop email builder with email newsletter templates
- User-friendly workflow builder with pre-made recipes
- Email list segmentation and personalization
- Ecommerce AI features (product recommendations, etc.)
- 24/7 responsive customer support through email and live chat
- Generative AI tool for email copy authoring
- Integration with CRM, eCommerce platforms, lead generation tools, WordPress, etc.
Pros
- Better ease of use
- Advanced and flexible automations
- High email deliverability
- More affordable pricing
Cons
- No free plan
- Not fully customizable form builder
- No SMS marketing feature
Pricing
Moosend’s pricing plans start at $9/month with the Pro plan for 500 subscribers, unlimited emails, and all the key features, including a landing page builder, online forms, and transactional emails (SMTP server).
You can try all the features by registering for the 30-day free trial (no credit card needed).
2. HubSpot Email Marketing
Pricing: Paid plans start at $20/month, free plan
Best for: SMEs, Agencies
Best feature: Advanced CRM tool
HubSpot is another great solution, particularly for businesses looking to integrate their marketing, sales, and service activities into a single platform.
More specifically, it offers an equally powerful CRM system, sales pipeline management, and customer service tools, making it a great solution for managing customer interactions across various touchpoints. What makes it a good ActiveCampaign alternative is the reporting tools that let you create custom reports with specific metrics around things like event analysis, page performance, contacts, and more.
Regarding marketing automation, HubSpot lets users build automated workflows that can be customized to suit a variety of marketing needs, like email marketing, lead scoring and nurturing, and customer segmentation. The automation tools are user-friendly, offering visual editors that help users create complex workflows without technical knowledge.
Moreover, the email marketing software will equip you with a drag-and-drop editor and pre-made newsletter templates to support your drip campaigns and save time.
Overall, HubSpot is great when you want a little more than just email campaigns and don’t need to focus solely on automation. Nevertheless, the price might not be ideal for small businesses with tight budgets.
Best features
- Customizable email newsletter templates
- Drag-and-drop editor and template builder
- A/B Testing to detect the winning variation
- Contact management features for better list management
- Landing page builder tool to boost lead generation
Pros
- Free plan
- Powerful, built-in CRM tool
- Vast number of integrations
Cons
- Automation only available in higher tiers
- Steep pricing model
- Can be overwhelming for beginners
Pricing
The software offers various paid plans starting at $20/month for the core features. To get access to more advanced marketing automation, though, you will need to upgrade to the Marketing Hub Professional plan starting at $890/month for 2,000 contacts.
There’s also a free plan that allows you to send 2,000 emails/month and create 30 email lists.
If you want HubSpot’s functionality but you’re on a tight budget, you can check out its popular competitors.
3. Constant Contact
Pricing: Paid plans start at $12/month, 14-day free trial
Best for: Event Organizers, SMEs
Best feature: Event invitations management
Constant Contact is an ActiveCampaign alternative that’s earned a reputation for its event invitations management, a feature that not every platform has. But what about its marketing automation features?
First, Constant Contact’s automation features are more on the basic side. This means that they are great if you’re just learning the ropes, or you got overwhelmed by ActiveCampaign’s complex automation.
The software will give you access to autoresponders and A/B testing to help you keep in touch with your customers and discover what they like most. To manage your contacts, this software offers a CRM system and pipeline management through its partnership with SharpSpring. However, it has a high price tag of $449/month, which may not be ideal for businesses with tighter budgets.
In a nutshell, it’s a great tool for small businesses and marketing teams looking for a simpler solution. Nevertheless, it misses some features, such as email copy A/B testing, unlike some other great Constant Contact alternatives out there.
Best features
- Advanced event invitations management tool
- Subscription forms to increase your lead generation
- Autoresponders and contact triggers
- Resend to non-openers feature to boost click-throughs (CTR)
- Email tracking to monitor your campaign
- Integrations, including social media
Pros
- Great deliverability
- Advanced segmentation
- Event management tools
Cons
- Limited automation options
- Clunky user interface (UI)
- Basic forms
Pricing
The marketing automation software offers two paid plans starting at $12/month for 500 contacts with the Lite plan. This option offers only automated welcome emails. For more, you need to get the Standard plan at $35/month or the Premium plan at $80.
A 14-day trial is available to try the software.
Read full Constant Contact review
4. Mailchimp
Pricing: Paid plans start at $20/month, limited free plan
Best for: eCommerce, Publishers
Best feature: Complex customer journeys
Mailchimp is a popular alternative to ActiveCampaign, offering many tools for crafting compelling, effective email campaigns and customer journeys. While it has similar features to ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp is easier to use and has a smaller learning curve.
When it comes to marketing automation, behavioral tagging is one of Mailchimp’s advantages, allowing you to create more focused email campaigns for your subscribers. Furthermore, the tool offers some great sales automation features to send targeted follow-up emails. However, more complex automation based on user activity might be a little difficult to set up.
The customer journey builder is also data-driven, helping you create more targeted sequences for your customers to increase customer retention. Pre-built journeys are also available, such as cart recovery, to quickly implement and launch your new automation series.
Overall, Mailchimp is a good option if you want simpler automation features and a variety of integrations to streamline your marketing efforts. However, if you’re looking for scalability, then you should opt for a more affordable Mailchimp alternative instead.
Best features
- Advanced segmentation and behavioral targeting
- Landing pages mobile app to create on the go
- Multi-step custom workflows
- Cross-device email testing
- Social media integrations and more
Pros
- Multivariate A/B testing
- Beginner-friendly
- Detailed customer journeys
Cons
- Very limited free plan
- Charges for duplicate contacts
- Multi-step automations available only in higher tiers
Pricing
While Mailchimp has a free plan, it’s only for 500 contacts and doesn’t include the automated customer journey tools. To get access, you will need a paid subscription plan starting at $20/month, where you’ll get 6,000 monthly email sends and up to 200 journey points.
5. Klaviyo
Pricing: Paid plans start at $20/month, limited free plan
Best for: eCommerce, SMBs, Enterprise
Best feature: Advanced customer profiles
Klaviyo is among the best eCommerce-oriented email marketing platforms you can use to create advanced automated workflows for your audience.
This ActiveCampaign alternative will help you keep customers engaged through targeted campaigns and automatically triggered flows for more personalized and timely communications.
The automated workflows are also versatile, integrating email, SMS, and push notifications for different stages of the customer journey, including welcome messages, cart abandonment, cross-sells, and more. Moreover, the platform has pre-built flow templates to speed up campaign creation and features online forms to expand your list and customer data collection.
Another advantage is its built-in CRM capabilities. With Klaviyo’s Profiles, you can see each customer’s interactions, including purchase history, email engagement, and website activity. It also offers predictive analytics to help you target customers more proactively.
Lastly, this ActiveCampaign alternative has launched various AI-powered tools, including Segments, SMS, Email, and Reviews to help you create descriptions and whole campaigns that will streamline your workflow.
Best features
- Advanced customer profiles
- Versatile automated workflows
- Advanced A/B testing tool
- Data-driven segmentation
- Integration with eCommerce tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, and more
Pros
- Powerful segmentation
- 60+ premade workflows
- Built-in CDP and CRM system
Cons
- Setup and ease of use
- Slow customer support
- Steep pricing structure
Pricing
Pricing starts at $20/month with the Email plan for 500 contacts. If you want SMS, you can get the Email and SMS plan starting at $35.
Klaviyo also has a free plan for 250 contacts, 500 monthly emails and 150 SMS/MMS credits.
6. Brevo
Pricing: Paid plans start at $9/month, limited free plan
Best for: eCommerce, Publishers, Agencies
Best feature: SMS marketing tool
Brevo (ex Sendinblue) bills itself as a digital marketing toolbox that’s designed to scale with your business. Based on individual customer reviews, the email automation platform wins as an ActiveCampaign alternative due to its great customer support.
When it comes to creating your email campaigns, the tool offers a user-friendly email editor and HTML templates. Moreover, email automation is also something that Brevo takes very seriously.
The tool allows you to segment your audience based on specific criteria like demographics to boost your email list management. Along with its email marketing capabilities, the platform also has a landing page builder, and powerful SMS marketing features to target mobile users with mobile messaging.
Overall, Brevo has all the necessary email automation features to help small business owners and eCommerce stores target their audiences more effectively. Plus, they’re more user-friendly and intuitive than ActiveCampaign’s.
Best features
- SMS marketing options, including autoresponders
- Landing pages
- A/B testing to see which elements convert better
- Contact lists and details to keep your lists organized
- Send transactional emails and SMS sending
Pros
- Easy-to-use email and form builders
- SMS marketing options
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Very limited free plan
- Additional fee to remove branding
- Extra cost to build landing pages
Pricing
Paid plans start at $9/month with the Starter plan for up to 5K emails/month and 500 contacts. You’ll need to pay an extra $12/month to remove the Brevo branding. This means you’ll need a total of $21/month.
The tool also offers a free plan to send 9,000 emails/month (300 emails/day) for unlimited subscribers; however, it’s very limited and misses core features.
7. GetResponse
Pricing: Paid plans start at $19/month, free plan
Best for: Publishers, Event organizers
Best feature: Built-in conversion funnel
GetResponse is an ActiveCampaign alternative with great email deliverability and powerful email automation features.
Unlike ActiveCampaign which requires integrations to deliver webinars, GetResponse allows you to create them through its platform. This can come in handy if you’re a frequent event organizer and save time setting up integrations.
Moreover, this competitor offers complex automation scenarios based on data. For example, you can set up a flow based on a customer’s behavior and act on specific conditions and filters to enhance your targeting. You can create them from scratch or use the prebuilt workflows for specific campaigns to save time.
While this is a great alternative to ActiveCampaign, it might be difficult for beginners since it’s geared toward more experienced users who need robust email marketing software.
Best features
- Email testing tools
- Landing page A/B Testing and analytics
- Email autoresponders
- Built-in webinar creation functionality
- AI email generator
Pros
- Built-in conversion funnels
- Great lead management tool
- Spam and design testing features
Cons
- Automation only available in higher plans
- Not great deliverability rates
- Learning curve
Pricing
GetResponse’s pricing plans begin at $19/month for 1,000 subscribers with all the essential features to get started with email marketing. However, to use the email automation features, you need to get the Marketing Automation plan starting at $59/month.
A 30-day trial (and a free plan after that) is available to try the platform.
8. AWeber
Pricing: Paid plans start at $15/month, limited free plan
Best for: Advertisers, Marketers, Online Media
Best feature: Cross-device email testing
AWeber is one of the oldest ActiveCampaign alternatives on the market. As a result, it’s got a few distinct advantages that only really come with age.
Among others, it sports one of the largest email template libraries available, where you can choose from 600+ unique designs plus a stock photo library of 600 images to get started. Moreover, this alternative offers an online form builder tool, with prebuilt templates that are easy to customize even if you’re not tech-savvy.
AWeber will also give you access to email automation. The drag-and-drop workflow builder is very simple and easy-to-use. Moreover, you can take advantage of behavioral automation to set up flows based on subscriber interactions.
Overall, AWeber will give you various automation features and useful cross-device testing options to deliver your messages to your subscribers and ensure everything is running smoothly.
Best features
- Cross-device email testing tools
- Newsletter signup forms and form templates
- List segmentation based on specific criteria
- Various integrations to boost productivity
- Dedicated customer support through email
Pros
- Responsive customer support
- Huge template library for emails and landing pages
- Sales integrations
Cons
- Charges for unsubscribed contacts
- Not great deliverability rates
- Limited automation options
Pricing
The platform’s pricing starts at $15/month for unlimited subscribers and 3 automations.
It also has a limited free plan for 500 subscribers and one automation, landing page and email list.
9. Drip
Pricing: Paid plans start at $39/month, 14-day trial
Best for: eCommerce, SMBs
Best feature: Advanced segmentation
Drip is an eCommerce-oriented email marketing and marketing automation tool that’ll equip you with advanced features to automate your task.
Its automation allows marketers to set up complex, yet intuitive email sequences that target customer behaviors dynamically. This means that this alternative can send targeted emails based on specific actions, such as visiting a webpage or abandoning a cart.
Furthermore, the segmentation option is quite robust, allowing users to group their audience into highly specific segments based on a variety of criteria including purchase history, engagement level, and demographics. This alternative can pull data from sales platforms to enhance your efforts, resulting in more personalized campaigns.
Overall, the platform is a great alternative to ActiveCampaign for those who require detailed segmentation and more flexible email automation.
Best features
- Advanced audience segmentation
- Dynamic content
- Lead nurturing
- Online behavior tracking
- Automated email responses
Pros
- Shopify integration
- Real-time reporting and analytics
- Powerful automated workflows
Cons
- Expensive compared to other tools
- Limited support options
- Steep learning curve
Pricing
Drip offers a single plan starting at $39/month for up to 2,500. The pricing range changes based on the number of contacts you have.
Email support is available on all plans; however, live chat is offered to users with more than 5,000 contacts.
How We Selected The Tools
All of the tools in this list have been tested by our team to provide an unbiased description of its features and capabilities.
We spent hours setting up new accounts and trying each software to provide an accurate experience and show users exactly what they will come across when they sign up. Find more information about our software selection methodology on how we choose tools to feature on the Moosend Blog.
Additional Resources
If you’re looking for resources to make an informed decision, check out the following posts:
- GetResponse alternatives
- Klaviyo alternatives
- Best email marketing services
- Best email automation software
Also, for more information on how to change your email software and what process to follow, check out our software evaluation post.
Looking for a Better ActiveCampaign Alternative?
While ActiveCampaign may be a well-known email marketing automation platform, it’s far from the only one.
The list has something for everyone, from more affordable, intuitive platforms with drag-and-drop editors to more advanced email marketing solutions. So, look at the above email service providers, compare their features, and pros and cons, and leverage the free trials, or register for a free plan to make a data-driven decision for the future.
If you’re ready to start trying some of the above tools, why not start with Moosend? You only need to sign up for an account and explore its advanced features and capabilities through the 30-day free trial.
FAQs
Below, you’ll find some frequent questions and their answers regarding ActiveCampaign’s alternatives.
1. What should you consider when choosing an ActiveCampaign alternative?
A great ActiveCampaign alternative should offer robust email automation, ease-of-use, seamless integrations with other third-party apps, comprehensive reporting and analytics, usable pre-made assets, a scalable pricing structure, and responsive customer support.
2. Which ActiveCampaign competitors are best for eCommerce?
Klaviyo, Drip, and Moosend are the best ActiveCampaign competitors for eCommerce businesses, offering advanced automation, segmentation, and personalization options, alongside integrations with popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
3. Is there a more affordable competitor to ActiveCampaign?
Moosend is a budget-friendly alternative that offers many essential features and advanced options similar to ActiveCampaign’s, but at a lower cost. MailerLite is also an affordable option but has more basic automation capabilities.
4. Are there any free ActiveCampaign alternatives?
Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, and Brevo offer a free plan; however, they’re limited in terms of email sending, features, and functionality. A good alternative is to choose tools offering free trials, such as Moosend or Constant Contact. This will let you explore the full capabilities of the software, providing a more in-depth test drive of their advanced features.
5. What is the best all-in-one alternative to ActiveCampaign?
HubSpot’s suite offers a wide range of tools that cover not just email marketing but also sales, CRM, and customer service. However, it has very steep pricing, reaching up to $890/month. If you want an all-in-one marketing platform at a more reasonable price tag, you should consider tools like Moosend or Constant Contact.