MailChimp and ActiveCampaign are the two best Email marketing tools in the marketing field, but with different features. MailChimp is a common email marketing tool that all are familiar with. It is an email marketing tool for all types of businesses. Its affordability and ease of use make MailChimp popular. ActiveCampaign provides you with some extra features. Its advanced automation workflow makes ActiveCampaign unique. Below is a complete comparison of MailChimp Vs ActiveCampaign. If you are looking for a better email marketing tool for your business, then this review will help you to find a better one.
MailChimp is a general email marketing tool. Its free plan is popular and beginner-friendly. It has so many features. But most of them are extremely priced and are suitable for large-scale corporate businesses. The highest number of users are beginners who are just started to learn. That’s why MailChimp contributes the highest number of spam emails. MailChimp is good in its features and ease of use.
Who uses?: Large corporate businesses, Small businesses, Universities, Local clubs, etc
ActiveCampaign is a customer experience software that included a sales system, CRM, etc. They have added email marketing automation also. You will get the all the features like sending simple emails to complex multi-step automation. ActiveCampaign is mainly focusing on automation. On its lowest price pricing plan, ie. $9 /month, you will get all the basic features for email marketing. In its higher plan from $49 /month to $258 /month, you can access pro features like lead scoring, A/B testing, Sending SMS, etc.
Who uses?: Large corporate businesses, ECommerce, Those who want Complex automation.
ActiveCampaign is cheaper when compared to MailChimp. Its plans go like $9, $49, and $299. You will get most of the features in the first two plans. In the case of MailChimp, it has a free plan. But if you want more features, you have to pay. Its plans go like $11, $17, and $299. Some essential features are included in the $299 plan. Phone support is also available only in $299.
Who is better MailChimp or ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign will be better when compared to MailChimp. It has more advanced features like advanced automation workflow, better analytics, and reporting, split testing for more elements, advanced CRM, advanced segmentation, etc. MailChimp features are basic and traditional when compared to ActiveCampaign.
Is MailChimp free to use?
MailChimp provides you with a free version. In the free version, you can get most of the basic features like creating campaigns, 1 automation, 100+ email templates, etc. And also, you can add up to 2000 contacts and you can send 10,000 emails per, month using this free version.
What are the disadvantages of MailChimp?
>> Most of the template designs are outdated. >> Only automation previews are available in the free version. >> Chance of your email being flagged as spam is high. >> Deliverability rate is low. >> Pricing is based on the number of subscribers.
Does MailChimp go into spam?
Yes. Most of the students and beginners will use MailChimp’s free plan & first plan. And also it provides unlimited emails. So there are a lot of IP addresses flagged. That’s why there is a high chance for your email to go to spam. But for higher plans of MailChimp, the deliverability rate is comparatively high.
Why should I use ActiveCampaign?
Because ActiveCampaign has so many advanced features. It has special features like the anti-spam policy. It will help your email won’t get flagged. It has a lot of automation triggers with flexible options. So you can combine various triggers in one campaign. It has an advanced built-in CRM, Messaging option, etc.
Does ActiveCampaign have landing pages?
Yes. You can create beautiful landing pages using ActiveCampaign. But you can’t create Landing pages for the $9 plan. It is available for $49 and higher plans. ActiveCampaign also provides you with plenty of templates (50+ landing page templates). You will get high conversions using these landing pages.
Main Differences
Let’s see the main differences between MailChimp and ActiveCampaign.
MailChimp has a free plan where you will get all the basic features for free. ActiveCampaign does not have a free plan. It has only a 14-day free trial.
ActiveCampaign more focuses on Automation Workflow, whereas MailChimp focuses on Email campaigns.
ActiveCampaign is affordable when compared to MailChimp. ActiveCampaigns plan starts from $9, $49 and $149. You will get almost all the features in the first plan itself. MailChimp’s plan goes like $11, $17, and $299.
MailChimp is a traditional email marketing tool. It has only basic CRM features. But ActiveCampaign CRM features are advanced. You will get it for $49.
ActiveCampaign has more integration compared to MailChimp. ActiveCampaign has lead scoring, but MailChimp does not.
ActiveCampaign email templates are stunning when compared to MailChimp. Most of the templates in MailChimp are outdated and old-fashioned.
Interest over time in MailChimp Vs ActiveCampaign according to Google Trends is given below.
Importing contacts in MailChimp is easy. You can create a mailing list in MailChimp using several ways. You can add subscribers manually, you can upload a CSV file or TXT file, and you can copy and paste the contacts from the Spreadsheet. MailChimp allows you to create multiple lists. You can separate one contact list from one another and you can use these multiple contacts for different purposes. You can also create segments for these contact lists. You can create simple or complex segments. MailChimp’s pricing is based on the number of customer lists. You can add up to 2000 contacts to your free plan.
You can import contacts from other services like Zapier, Salesforce, WooCommerce, Shopify, etc.
MailChimp also has customer segmentation. There are so many segmentation options available. You can segment customers based on location, birthday, signup source, automation activity, etc.
>> Active Campaign
List management in ActiveCampaign is very easy. You can find all the options on the left itself. There you need to click on contacts. From that, you can manage your contacts, Manage Scoring, manage tags, manage exclusion, clean up the list, etc. In ActiveCampaign, you can add the contacts in many ways. You can add contacts manually by adding them one by one, you can import the contacts from CSV files, and you can also copy and paste the contacts.
Activecampaign adding contacts
You can also import the contacts by using app integration. You can connect to other services like many apps and you can add the contacts automatically. ActiveCampaign is providing you with one more option. That is migration. Its expert migration service will help you to move your contacts from the other marketing automation provider to ActiveCampaign. Then you can create different segments to the contact list and also you can give tags to them. Some of the services are given below.
Activecampaign contacts other services
Key Take-Aways: Contact management in both MailChimp and ActiveCampaign are good and almost similar. Both have features like customer segmentation, tagging, importing contacts from other services, etc. So it’s a tie.
Winner of Contact Management: Tie
MailChimp: 1-1 : ActiveCampaign
2. Templates & Design
>> MailChimp
On the other hand, MailChimp is a design-centric email marketing tool. MailChimp provides around 100 templates with various designs. We can use them for holiday mails, newsletters, promotions, etc. Also, we can create our templates. For that, they are providing around 15 blank templates. But most of the templates are outdated and non-usable.
MailChimp Templates
>> ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has around 150+ modern and responsive email templates. You can create stunning and eye-catching emails using ActiveCampaign. You can also write code to create your own email templates. All the templates are responsive and attractive. You can easily edit these templates and change them as your own. There are basic templates, designed templates, Layouts, and past campaigns. And all these templates are again categorized into different categories. So you can easily find a template according to your need. You can also create the templates from the scratch.
Activecampaign Templates
Key Take-Aways: Templates are better in ActiveCampaign when compared to MailChimp. The number and look & feel of templates are good in ActiveCampaign. But MailChimp templates are a bit outdated and old-fashioned. And also, most of them are unusable.
MailChimp’s email editor is user-friendly and easy to navigate. All the options are present on the right side itself. You can simply drag and drop the blocks you want. You have plenty of features in the MailChimp editor. You can also add videos from your gallery or you can give the youtube link. For the free version, you can have all the features in the MailChimp email editor. But to create Dynamic content, you need to upgrade the plan to $14 /month.
Mailchimp email editorMailchimp Editor
>> ActiveCampaign
In ActiveCampaign, the campaign creation comes under the campaign option. For creating the campaign, you have to choose the campaign type first. ActiveCampaign provides you mainly with 6 types. They are Standard, Automated, auto-responder, split testing, RSS triggered, and date based.
Activecampaign Campaign Creation
The email builder of ActiveCampaign is cool. There are a lot of options are available in the editor section. The drag and drop options are available. You can add images, links, videos from youtube, etc. You can save a content block and you can also hide a content block from mobile devices. You can also customize the fields the way you want.
Activecampaign editorActiveCampaign email builder text editor
You can’t use a free email provider like Gmail as senders’ emails. ActiveCampaign will recommend using custom from your website domain. Because there is a chance for the email marked as spam when we use free email providers.
ActiveCampaign spam check
Key Take-Aways: Campaign creation and email builder of both MailChimp and ActiveCampaign are similar. Both of them have similar features. So, it’s a tie.
Winner of Campaigns & Email Builder: Tie
MailChimp: 2-3 : ActiveCampaign
4. Split Testing
>> MailChimp
MailChimp has two types of testing. A/B Testing and Multivariate Testing Testing. Multivariate Testing is just an evolution of A/B testing that contains 8 variations instead of the two variations that you get in A/B testing. It is only available for a $299 /month plan.
You can test different versions of the subject line, from name, Content, and Send time. After you select the version, you can split the test among your recipients.
>> ActiveCampaign
Split Testing is better in ActiveCampaign when compared to MailChimp. You can set up five different versions of your email using ActiveCampaign. You can test the subject line, overall design, email content, etc.
ActiveCampaign split test
Key Take-Aways: Split Testing of both MailChimp and ActiveCampaign are almost similar. Both of them allow you to test different versions of different features. We can’t find a winner here. It’s a tie.
Winner of Split Test: Tie
MailChimp: 3-4 : ActiveCampaign
5. Automation Workflow
>> MailChimp
In MailChimp, the $9 and the higher plan includes automation workflow. You can create only 1 automation using the free plan. There are about 25 automation workflow triggers based on the various customer activity. You can also visualize the journey of the customer in a simple way. If you want advanced automation features, you need to upgrade to $9 or to other higher plans. Mailchimp has also a multi-step workflow based on customer activity. You can create complex workflows using the $14 plan. You can create a customer journey and also you can send transactional emails on Mailchimp.
ActiveCampaign is more focused on its Automation. Automation is the feature that makes ActiveCampaign powerful. It provides you with 100+ automation templates. To create automation, you have to provide the web page URL or Landing page. ActiveCampaign provides you with a visual automation workflow. You can do anything using ActiveCampaign’s Automation. Because it has no limit. You can send emails, SMS, site message, notification mail, etc. You can create various conditions and workflows. You can also create various tasks with the help of plenty of apps. You can create automation from the scratch also.
Key Take-Aways: You can create an advanced automation workflow in ActiveCampaign. It has a lot of automation triggers. Nobody can beat the Automation workflow of ActiveCampaign.
You will get better analytics and reports using MailChimp. You will get an open rate, click rate, bounced rate, unsubscribe rate, etc. They are also providing a performance chat of your campaign. You will get a campaign benchmark also. By this, you can compare your campaign performance with your competitors. You will get even better analytics and reports with higher plans. You will get comparative reporting using the $299 plan.
Mailchimp analytics & report
>> ActiveCampaign
The Analytics & reporting of ActiveCampaign is good. By using ActiveCampaign, we can see the open rates, Click rate, Unsubscribed rate, click-maps, page visits, geo-tracking, etc. You will also get a report of the sales performance because ActiveCampaign has an in-built CRM. If you are integrated with eCommerce websites like Shopify, WooCommerce, etc. you will get its report also. But you have to upgrade to the $9 plan or more.
Activecampaign Analytics Report
Key Take-Aways: You will get almost similar analytics and reporting using both MailChimp and ActiveCampaign. For advanced reporting, you have to choose higher plans. You will get basic reporting like open rate, click rate, bounce rate, etc. using both. So, we can’t decide on a winner here.
Winner of Analytics & Reporting: Tie
MailChimp: 4-6 : ActiveCampaign
7. Landing Pages & Website Builder
>> MailChimp
You can create beautiful landing pages using MailChimp within minutes. It will help you to grow your audience. You can publish them on the internet or send them through MailChimp Campaigns. You can send unlimited landing pages for free. Creating Landing pages is easy. You have to follow some steps.
Click Create icon -> Click on Landing Pages -> Name your Landing page -> Select Audience -> Click Begin. Thats all.
MailChimp provides you so many templates for creating landing pages. So many features are available for MailChimp Landing pages. They include Creating a buzz for your new business (Test Product, message, Ideas, etc. before launching), Highlight products (You can insert products directly from your eCommerce store), Offer Free downloads, etc.
>> ActiveCampaign
Creating sign-up forms in ActiveCampaign is pretty cool in ActiveCampaign. But these Landing page creations are available for only $49/ month or higher plans. There are around 50 templates in ActiveCampaign you can choose from. All are vibrant and stunning templates. Landing page templates are different from Email builder templates. But features are pretty similar. Both have drag and drop features with different content blocks.
ActiveCampaign landing pages
Key Take-Aways: Landing page building and Website building is easy and better in ActiveCampaign than compared to MailChimp. ActiveCampaign has a better landing page and Website builder than MailChimp.
Winner of Landing Page & Website Builder: ActiveCampaign
MailChimp: 4-7 : ActiveCampaign
8. Pricing Comparison
No. of Customers
Company
Price (First Plan)
0 – 500
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$11 /mo $9 /mo
501 – 1000
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$11 /mo $29 /mo
1000 – 1500
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$23 /mo $29 /mo
1501 – 2500
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$34 /mo $49 /mo
2501 – 5000
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$59 /mo $79 /mo
5001 – 10,000
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$87 /mo $139 /mo
10,000 – 15,000
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$150 /mo $139 /mo
15,001 – 25,000
MailChimp => ActiveCampaign =>
$189 /mo $229 /mo
>> MailChimp
MailChimp has mainly 3 plans. The pricing plan of MailChimp is given below.
Essential: $11 /month: Email and landing page template, Customer journey builder, custom branding, A/B testing, 24/7 email, and also chat support. Standard: $17 /month: Customer journey builder and Branching points, Send time optimization, Behavioral targeting, Custom templates, and also dynamic content. Premium: $299 /month: This plan is for expert builders. Advanced segmentation, Multivariate testing, comparative reporting, Unlimited seats & role-based access, and phone support.
>> ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free version. It only has a 14-day free trial. The Pricing plan of ActiveCampaign is given below.
Lite: $9 /month Marketing Automation, Email marketing, site & event tracking, Campaign & automation reporting, Chat & Email support, Lead capture forms, etc.
Plus: $49 /month Features of Lite plan + Landing page, Advanced performance reporting Automation map, built-in CRM, Contact & Lead scoring, SMS sending, etc.
Professional: $149 /month Plus plan features + Split automation, Sales engagement automation, Site message, Predictive sending, Pro implementation service, etc.
Enterprise: $258 /month Features of Professional plan + HIPAA compliance, Create custom object via API, Customize your mail server domain, Custom SMS number, Phone support, custom marketing strategy, etc.
Activecampaign Pricing
Key Take-Aways: ActiveCampaign is affordable when compared to MailChimp. By the first look, we will think that MailChimp is affordable. Because it has a free plan. But we will get only basic features in the Free plan. we will get it for $11. In ActiveCampaign, we will get it for $9. And also, from ActiveCampaign’s first plan, we will get almost all important features.
MailChimp has a good number of integrations. Mailchimp offers more than 300 integrations. They are also integrated with major CRMs. Their integrations are categorized into Ecommerce, productivity, point of sale, etc. Mailchimp is integrated with Shopify, Zapier, WooCommerce, etc.
Mailchimp-integration
>> ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign supports over 800 integrations. It is integrated with popular apps and websites like Shopify, Squarespace, WordPress, Woocommerce, etc. It also integrates with Zapier and helps to build APIs.
Activecampaign integration
Key Take-Aways: ActiveCampaign has the highest number of integration when compared to MailChimp. It has 800+ integration. MailChimp has also a good number of integrations. It has 300+ integration. But when compared to ActiveCampaign, MailChimp has less integration.
Provides customer support via Live Chat, Email, and phone support. 24/7 email and chat support is provided for the $9 plan, phone support is provided for the $299 plan. You will not get proper customer support for the free plan.
>> ActiveCampaign
The customer support of ActiveCampaign is pretty good. You can access customer support via email, and live chat, with the knowledge base, and tutorials are also available.
Key Take-Aways: Customer support in ActiveCampaign is better than MailChimp. MailChimp customer support is not that good. If you want priority support or Phone support, you have to pay $299.
The Email propagation of website that using MailChimp is given below. In the cross mark (❌) area, the email will deliver slowly.
The Email propagation of website that using ActiveCampaign is given below. In the cross mark (❌) area, the email will deliver slowly.
Alternatives of MailChimp & ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit
Constant Contact
Campaign Monitor
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Emma
MailerLite
Moosend
Benchmark
SendInBlue
GetResponse
An in-depth features comparison of MailChimp and ActiveCampaign is given below.
Email Marketing Features
MailChimp ($11 /mo)
ActiveCampaign ($9 /mo)
MailChimp ($17 /mo)
ActiveCampaign ($49 /mo)
Users
3 Users
1 User
5 Users
Up to 25 Users
Drag & Drop Editor
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
HTML Editor
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Template Library
✔️ 100+ Templates
✔️ 150 + Templates
✔️
✔️
A/B Split Testing
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Multivariate Testing
❌
❌
❌ For $299 plan
❌
Split automation
❌
❌
❌
❌ For $149
Apps & Integration
✔️ 300+ Integrations
✔️ 800+ Integrations
✔️
✔️
Advanced Tracking & Reporting
✔️
✔️ Site and Event Tracking, Campaign and Automation Reporting.
✔️
✔️ Advanced performance reporting, Task Reporting, Advanced Mobile Reporting
Ecommerce marketing
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Customizable pop-up forms
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
SMS marketing
❌ (With Simple Texting Integration)
✔️
❌ (With Simple Texting Integration)
✔️
SMS Service Follow-ups
❌
❌
❌
✔️
In-depth reporting
❌
✔️
❌ For $299 plan
✔️
Predictive analytics
❌
❌
✔️
❌ For $149 /mo
Built-in CRM
✔️
❌
✔️
✔️
Create invoices
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Lead Scoring
❌
✔️
❌
✔️
Contact Management
Sign-up forms
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Contacts list import from Gmail, Outlook, etc.
❌
✔️
❌
✔️
List segmentation
✔️
✔️
✔️ Advanced segmentation for $299
✔️
Ecommerce Segmentation
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Automation
Visual automation Workflow
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
List Building tools & Welcome emails
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Smart Sending
✔️
❌
✔️
❌
Dynamic content
❌
✔️
✔️
✔️
Automated Email Welcome series
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Automated email behavioral series
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Landing Pages
Custom Branded landing pages
✔️
❌
✔️
✔️
Shoppable landing pages
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️ 50+ Templates
Landing page creation & Hosting
✔️
❌
✔️
✔️
Logo Maker
✔️
❌
✔️
❌
Customer Support
Phone Support
❌
❌
❌ For $299
❌
Email/ Help Desk
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
24/7 (Live Rep)
✔️
❌
✔️
❌
Chat
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
FAQs/Forum
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Knowledge Base
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Training
Live Online
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
In-Person
❌
✔️
❌
✔️
Videos
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Documentation
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Webinars
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Deployment
Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Desktop – Mac
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Desktop – Windows
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Desktop – Linux
❌
✔️
❌
✔️
Desktop – Chromebook
❌
❌
❌
❌
On-Premise – Windows
❌
❌
❌
❌
On-Premise – Linux
❌
❌
❌
❌
Mobile – Android
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Mobile – iPad
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Mobile – iPhone
✔️
✔️
✔️
✔️
Conclusion
Why should you use MailChimp over ActiveCampaign?
MailChimp is affordable. It has a free plan and you will get all the basic features for free.
You can send 10,000 emails per month (daily 2000 emails) to 2000 contacts.
In MailChimp, you will get Marketing CRM in all the plans. But in ActiveCampaign, you have to pay $49 for CRM.
MailChimp has a built-in image editor.
If you are a beginner, then choose MailChimp. Because MailChimp is super easy to use and set up.
Why should you use ActiveCampaign over MailChimp?
ActiveCampaign has an anti-spam policy. It will help to your emails won’t be flagged by the email providers by spam reports.
Landing page creation is better than in MailChimp, (But you can use MailChimp website builder for free to create better landing pages than Activecampaign
Activecampaign Message: You can add Chatbot automation to your site. That means ActiveCampaign brings your email, Chat, CRM, etc. together.
A Gmail Extension: Sometimes people from your list reply to your emails. With ActiveCampaign’s Gmail extension, you can view all of that person’s information in your sidebar itself.
SMS Marketing: This is for $49 and higher plans. If you want to send a discount code to a customer if you want to alert a sales agent to follow up on a lead. You can do it with SMS marketing.
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