9 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives (Free & Paid)

A quick overview of ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform that provides solutions for creating and automating personalized subscriber experiences for businesses. That includes email marketing, dynamic content, segmentation, templates, automated workflows, and CRM (customer relationship management).

Pricing and features

ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial, after which you can choose from four pricing tiers:

• Starter — starts at $15/month (billed annually)
  Includes email marketing, marketing automation, limited segmentation, standard CRM and ecommerce integrations, and 5 actions per automation. Supports 1 user.
• Plus — starts at $49/month (billed annually)
  Includes everything in Starter, plus landing pages, standard segmentation, and unlimited automation actions. Supports 1 user.
• Pro — starts at $79/month (billed annually)
  Adds advanced segmentation, predictive and conditional content, attribution and conversion tracking, and premium ecommerce integrations. Supports 3 users.
• Enterprise — starts at $145/month (billed annually)
  Includes premium segmentation, custom objects, single sign-on (SSO), a dedicated account team, and advanced CRM features. Supports 5 users.

Automation

ActiveCampaign provides the Automation section where users create workflows in a drag-and-drop builder. They set the marketing events like submitting forms, reading emails, and so on — then, they set the flow with yes/no forks which lead to different branches.

The automation maps can be complicated to let businesses delegate most of their daily marketing routine to ActiveCampaign and focus on what’s best to do now. Here’s a workflow example that can be difficult to navigate.

You can create new marketing workflows from scratch or choose one of the templates ActiveCampaign provides, like “Frequently Abandoned Cart Notification”, “Request for Review After Purchase”, “Special Offer Split Date Based”, “E-commerce Subscription and Welcome”, etc.

Customized email campaigns

ActiveCampaign lets you choose the type of email marketing campaign to provide the best flow for your needs.

Once you’ve chosen the marketing campaign type that fits you best, you’ll be taken to a standard campaign editor. The pre-designed email templates for different campaign types, including triggered emails, are available as well.

Deals CRM

ActiveCampaign offers an in-built CRM (customer relationship management) system. It lets you create pipelines for different kinds of deals. With a drag-and-drop editor, you can set the stages of your deal and enter the details for each stage.

Pros and cons

ActiveCampaign is an affordable marketing solution that lets businesses automate loads of workflows. It integrates with 1,000+ tools. Automation split tests are a 100% pro: this feature lets you test entire sequences, not just individual emails. There also are features based on machine learning like predictive sending and predictive content.

Still, there are several cons you should consider:

• The reporting is quite crowded and can be difficult to navigate.
• You might need a lot of time to learn the tool.
• The CRM is not the best.
• The dashboard customization has room for improvement.
• The complicated contact detail view is not intuitive.
• There’s no free plan available.

Why look for ActiveCampaign alternatives

Though ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive marketing tool, the listed disadvantages can be quite sound for businesses. Here are some cases when you may consider opting for an ActiveCampaign alternative:

• Your top priority is intuitive reporting or a customizable dashboard.
• You’re a beginner in email marketing — ActiveCampaign is not particularly novice-friendly. Also, it offers many complicated features, and trying to get through all of these can be time-consuming and frustrating.
• You’re outside the US — ActiveCampaign’s support doesn’t work 24/7, and there’s an issue with support outside the US time zones. Working hours are inconvenient for customers who don’t reside in the US. Since the software is complicated and business might need lots of help in the beginning, not being able to access support at convenient hours can be a hindrance. 
• You’re already using another CRM — in this case, you may look at the solutions with other strong sides like email marketing. 
• You’re a solopreneur, freelancer, or small business owner — ActiveCampaign’s pricing targets middle-sized businesses, and there are more affordable solutions on the market.

9 best ActiveCampaign alternatives to consider

We browsed the best ActiveCampaign alternatives to help you find the best fit for your business. Try out some of these if you’re looking to achieve your marketing goals with a different tool.

Selzy

Selzy is an email marketing platform with a clean user interface convenient for beginners. There are many nice templates, an email automation builder similar to the ActiveCampaign automated workflows, and even a Telegram chatbot builder.

Here’s how it compares to ActiveCampaign:

• Clear and easy-to-read reporting. The analytics in Selzy are clear, digestible, and easy to understand. Basic metrics aside, Selzy provides a click map to discover which parts of your email get more attention.

Selzy also creates aggregated reports to let you see the general overview of email campaign performance.

• Beginner-friendliness. Selzy is generally easier for beginners in marketing — its UI allows you to build, set up, and send your first email campaign relatively quickly — you can, and send your first-ever email campaign in 15 minutes. 
• Affordable pricing. Compared to ActiveCampaign, Selzy is more affordable, which can be an advantage for small businesses. It also offers a free plan with all the basic features available so you can at least test the waters before paying.
• Trustworthiness. Recognized by many SaaS marketplaces. Selzy is listed on many SaaS platforms as a verified seller that you can trust, such as Tekpon.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the best-known marketing platforms. It has a free website builder, online stores, appointment scheduling, domains, landing pages, social media ads, and even a full mailing service for postcards.

Here’s how it’s a better alternative to ActiveCampaign:

• There is a free plan, although less generous than Selzy’s.
• Mailchimp feels a lot simpler than ActiveCampaign, especially for beginners in marketing. 
• The reports in Mailchimp are more comprehensive — look below: a digestible overview of all metrics, including financial, instead of a bunch of diagrams crammed into the screen space.

• The pricing is a better fit for small businesses, however, once you start scaling up and gaining more subscribers, Mailchimp may get pricey.

GetResponse

GetResponse is one of the best platforms for marketing workflow automation. Here are some of the workflow templates the software provides — as you can see, there is a wide choice for many niche use cases.

GetResponse also provides seamless integrations with many CRM systems — so, if you’re already using one, check out this tool for emails.

Unlike ActiveCampaign, GetResponse offers you a much smoother onboarding. Starting your first campaign is a piece of cake —  the platform gives you advice and guidance at every step as you create your first campaign. That makes GetResponse a great alternative to ActiveCampaign.

Moosend

Moosend is a simple yet powerful email marketing automation platform that offers all you’d expect from an ESP — from the classic no-code email builder with dozens of great templates to analytics.

One fun quirk about Moosend is that its segmentation flow can create very niche groups for laser-targeted email campaigns. For example, if you enable Audience discovery, the platform automatically assigns tags to contacts based on the calculated purchase probability and interest in your products. Then, you can use these tags to filter segments and send highly converting sales emails.

Here’s how Moosend is a better alternative to ActiveCampaign:

• Better tracking and reporting. The tool offers real-time reports on all the campaign and subscriber data. For deeper insights, you can connect Moosend to your website and get even more intel on marketing campaigns. Finally, you can share a clickable link to a report with your colleagues — very convenient for teamwork!
• Better learning curve. Many sources appreciate how beginner-friendly Moosend is, despite its advanced set of features like the sophisticated list segmentation options we mentioned.

HubSpot

HubSpot is an all-in-one inbound marketing, sales, service, and email automation platform. It is known for its intuitive interface. However, due to the number of tools available, both the platform’s structure and pricing plans can be a bit confusing.

HubSpot’s in-built CRM system lets you easily organize and segment your contacts, track their interactions with your business, and gain insights into the behavior and preferences of your prospects. It can also automatically track your website visitors and turn them into leads.

Here’s why HubSpot is a better alternative to ActiveCampaign:

• Great contact management. The contact records feature with custom properties and automated data enrichment with data like website behavior will not just keep your list tidy. It will also allow you to store lots of subscribers’ data for targeted emails.
• Free email marketing toolkit. HubSpot is, first things first, a CRM. However, it comes with a free toolkit for email marketing — so, you get two B2B SaaS tools for the price of one.

SendGrid

SendGrid is the best choice when you’ve already outgrown small-business tools. This email marketing platform is for professionals and enterprise organizations. SendGrid offers one of the best transactional APIs, templates with dynamic content blocks, and an in-built email validation tool that will protect your deliverability and sender reputation.

SendGrid also sells Email API plans separately, with different pricing and features.

Here’s how SendGrid is a better alternative to ActiveCampaign:

• AMP support. SendGrid supports AMP blocks, which is the tool for interactive emails. ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer this feature, so you won’t be able to send an email with an in-built survey or a game — and that’s a huge missed opportunity!
• Email testing. SendGrid is one of the tools that offer inbox rendering. Before sending a campaign, you’ll see what your email looks like on different devices and in different email clients.
• Free plan. SendGrid’s free plan offers even unique features like delivery optimization — although the daily sending limits may seem restrictive for some users.

Salesforce

Salesforce is the best choice if your priority is a powerful CRM system. It helps in generating leads, increases customer retention, and streamlines business processes. 

Aside from CRM and marketing automation, Salesforce an all-in-one platform with extensive functionality. Customer service, sales performance management, e-commerce solutions, and all that is AI-powered — the platform, divided into several clouds, has everything a business could dream of. The downside is, the pricing system is convoluted and the tool itself is complicated and hard to implement.

Here’s how Salesforce is a better alternative to ActiveCampaign:

• More integrations. ActiveCampaign offers a lot of integrations — but Salesforce offers even more. The tool offers tons of free and paid add-ons for any business task or process.
• Better analytics. Salesforce offers a custom dashboard with all the metrics you need, visualized beautifully.

Brevo

Brevo is an email marketing platform with additional features like SMS marketing capabilities. Brevo’s email builder is very clear and user-friendly. It also includes a plain text option, which can be a great choice for transactional emails.

Brevo also provides marketing workflow automation. You can use the pre-built sequences or create your own from scratch.

Unfortunately, Brevo gives detailed analytics only on the Business plan. And what’s even more important, Brevo’s email deliverability has room for improvement.

Here’s how Brevo is a better alternative to ActiveCampaign:

• A functional free plan. The free account on Brevo lets one send up to 300 emails daily. Given the unlimited contacts, this plan can cover the needs of a very small business or an aspiring solopreneur.
• A better learning curve. According to user reviews, Brevo is more beginner-friendly compared to ActiveCampaign.

MailerLite

MailerLite is the best ActiveCampaign alternative for content producers’ marketing. It lets them sell digital products like online courses, books, and so on. The Stripe integration makes it possible to receive payments in 135+ currencies.

The marketing platform provides customizable email templates. MailerLite allows users to create regular, A/B tests, RSS-triggered, or auto-resend campaigns for subscribers.

Here’s how MailerLite is a better alternative to ActiveCampaign: 

• A very generous free plan. Up to 1,000 contacts and 12,000 monthly emails is a steal, especially for beginners in content creation. The paid plans are also more affordable for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Many creator-focused features. With MailerLite, you can sell digital products and even create a paid newsletter. If you’re a content creator, it’s a much better option for you than ActiveCampaign.

Final thoughts

There are loads of marketing tools for any need on the market. If you are still looking for something that fits you better than the current solution, check out our list of the best ActiveCampaign alternatives.

Let’s go through the cons of choosing ActiveCampaign again and check the best alternatives:

• The reporting is difficult to navigate — a better alternative is Selzy, SendGrid, or Moosend.
• It takes time to learn the tool — a more beginner-friendly alternative could be Selzy, GetResponse, or MailerLite.
• CRM is not as good as you need — opt for CRM-first alternative tools like Salesforce or HubSpot.
• Little to no dashboard customization — decent alternative options include Brevo and Salesforce.
• Complicated contact details view and management — a much better alternative is HubSpot.
• No free plan — alternative options for you are Selzy, Mailchimp, Brevo, or MailerLite.

FAQ about ActiveCampaign alternatives

What is the best ActiveCampaign alternative?

The best alternative depends on your needs. If you’re looking for a beginner-friendly and affordable option, tools like Selzy or MailerLite can be a good fit. If you need advanced CRM capabilities, HubSpot or Salesforce may be better choices.

Why do people look for ActiveCampaign alternatives?

Some users find ActiveCampaign difficult to learn, especially if they are new to email marketing. Others look for alternatives because of pricing, reporting complexity, or the lack of a free plan.

Is there a free alternative to ActiveCampaign?

Yes, several tools in this list offer free plans. For example, Selzy, Mailchimp, Brevo, and MailerLite provide free versions with basic functionality, although they come with limitations on contacts or email sends.

Which ActiveCampaign alternative is easiest to use?

Platforms like Selzy, Mailchimp, and MailerLite are generally easier to use for beginners thanks to their simpler interfaces and faster onboarding.

Which ActiveCampaign alternative is best for automation?

If automation is your priority, tools like GetResponse offer advanced workflow templates and guided setup, making it easier to build automated campaigns.

Which alternative is best if I need a CRM?

If you need strong CRM functionality, HubSpot and Salesforce are better options, as they combine email marketing with customer relationship management tools.