They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to email marketing software, it's a different story. At the end of the day, your emails need to get your subscribers' attention. They need to open the message in order for you to connect with them, and nudge them towards your desired action.
If you're using Mailchimp for your email marketing, you can skip over this article. But if you're looking for a Mailchimp alternative, I suggest you stick around. In this comparison guide, we'll go over everything from pricing and features to integrations and more to help you choose the best email marketing tool based on your needs.
Pricing and Features
The two are similar in many ways, but they do have important differences. The main areas to consider are:
Pricing: Mailchimp is cheaper than ActiveCampaign on paid plans, but ActiveCampaign offers more features with its paid plans. Mailchimp has a free plan, while ActiveCampaign does not.
Features: If you need advanced marketing automation features, ActiveCampaign offers more. Mailchimp is simpler and easier to use but does not offer as much functionality.
Email building: Both platforms offer drag-and-drop email builders and templates that are easy to use, but Mailchimp offers more customization options for your email content.
Mailchimp is Easier to Use for Building Emails
Mailchimp is well-known as a tool for building and sending emails. It's a great tool for that purpose, but it's also useful for storing subscriber lists, segmenting subscribers, tracking your email marketing performance and more.
ActiveCampaign also offers all of these features, but it's particularly focused on automating your email activities. For example, you can send an automated email sequence to welcome new subscribers or use other automation tools to send emails based on subscriber actions.
Mailchimp is easier to use for building emails. ActiveCampaign is better suited to automation.
Mailchimp has a free plan that lets you create and send emails at no cost (although it does have some limitations). ActiveCampaign has multiple paid plans with different feature sets.
Simplicity in use MailChimp Vs Active campaign
The first thing you'll notice about the two email marketing services is that Mailchimp is simpler. Its interface is easier for lay users to understand, and you don't need any technical knowledge to get started. You can easily create signup forms and customize them with your own branding.
While Mailchimp is easy to use and can be quickly set up, it's not as customizable as ActiveCampaign, which has more advanced features like campaign automation, segmentation, lead scoring, and split testing.
Mailchimp is more focused on email marketing while ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive tool that also allows you to create landing pages, send SMS messages, set up automation, and more.
However, while ActiveCampaign offers more features than Mailchimp, that's also what makes it harder to use. You'll need some technical knowledge and, hence a steeper learning curve to get the most out of it.
ActiveCampaign is the more powerful of the two, with complex automation features and comprehensive CRM tools, while Mailchimp is simpler, with a focus on usability.
ActiveCampaign Offers you more Features on Paid Plans
When you're just starting out with email marketing, you may be tempted to go with a free service. While that's certainly understandable, keep in mind that free services are often more limited than paid options.
For instance, Mailchimp — one of the most well-known email marketing platforms — offers a free plan. But even on larger plans, you're still capped at 2,000 contacts and 12,000 emails per month.
ActiveCampaign is another popular email marketing tool. Unlike Mailchimp, the company does not offer a free plan. Instead, its entry-level paid plan costs $9 per month for up to 500 contacts and unlimited sends.
Is ActiveCampaign really worth it? It really depends on your needs. If you're just getting started with email marketing, then Mailchimp may be an attractive option because of its low cost (and potential for future growth). However, if you want more features from the get-go — such as automation capabilities — then ActiveCampaign could be a better fit for your business.
ActiveCampaign is a solid email marketing tool that has nearly everything you need to manage and automate your business. Its automation features are powerful, with the ability to build out complex workflows and customize them to fit your business needs. And it has integrations with hundreds of apps that can help you add more functionality to your marketing.
ActiveCampaign has more Advanced Marketing Automation Features
ActiveCampaign is the clear winner here. ActiveCampaign offers more advanced marketing automation features than Mailchimp, including automation branching and split testing, autoresponders based on contact activity, and more.
On top of that, ActiveCampaign has way more integrations. Mailchimp does have an App Store where you can find some extra apps to add functionality to your account, but there are only about 100 apps in its store. ActiveCampaign has over 200 integrations on Zapier, including apps like Google Sheets, Asana and Facebook Lead Ads.
ActiveCampaign is the clear winner here. ActiveCampaign offers more advanced marketing automation features than Mailchimp, including automation branching and split testing, autoresponders based on contact activity, and more.
On top of that, ActiveCampaign has way more integrations. Mailchimp does have an App Store where you can find some extra apps to add functionality to your account, but there are only about 100 apps in its store. ActiveCampaign has over 200 integrations on Zapier, including apps like Google Sheets, Asana and Facebook Lead Ads.
Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign: Which should you use?
When comparing Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign, there are several differences to take into account. The two email providers appear to offer comparable levels of performance, but in terms of cost and ease of use, ActiveCampaign is a more streamlined tool with more set-and-forget automation features for businesses and individuals looking to grow their mailing lists.
However, one downside is that ActiveCampaign’s free plan limits the number of marketing tools you can use, while Mailchimp provides you with a bit more leeway at no charge.
If a feature-packed email management platform is what you’re looking for, then both providers have various plans to choose from. For those on a tight budget or who are just starting out with email marketing, Mailchimp is the way to go.
But if you’re after a tool that will help streamline your email campaigns, increase overall deliverability, and track activity all in one place at an affordable price point, then ActiveCampaign may be your best bet.
Our Email Marketing Sofware Top picks
Customer Experience Automation
ActiveCampaign
Best email marketing platform for automated email campaigns.
Inbuilt Webinar Software
GetResponse
All in one marketing campaigns, landing pages and webinar software.
An All in one marketing platform
HubSpot
make it easy to create and manage content, build connections with customers, and measure results.
Unlimited Campaigns
SendEx
Send unlimited email campaigns, build email lists, and email sequences.
Billing Capabilities
Pabbly
Critical applications like form creation, email marketing, billing, &automations
