ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign: Which Comes Out on High? (2021)

Have you ever launched a enterprise within the final yr, however it isn’t rising as rapidly as you’d like? Are you a longtime retailer searching for higher conversions?

In both case, you may be available in the market for a brand new e mail advertising instrument that will help you take advantage of out of some of the efficient advertising methods.

Electronic mail isn’t going out of style any time quickly. With the proper e mail advertising technique, you may drive conversions, nurture new leads, and encourage buyer loyalty. 

To succeed with e mail advertising, you want a spread of instruments at your disposal. Personalization, e mail automation, segmentation, and analytics, simply to call a couple of. On this evaluate, we’re taking an in depth take a look at two rivals on the market: ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign. 

By the tip of this text, you’ll understand how their options, pricing, and buyer help examine. As well as, you’ll have the ability to inform if one in every of these instruments may change into the most recent member of your current tech stack.

Let’s dive proper in!

What Is ConvertKit

ConvertKit remains to be a (comparatively) new child on the block. It was based in 2013 to allow bloggers and creators to succeed in their audiences by way of e mail. ConvertKit has at all times had a extra particular focus than a number of the different e mail advertising options.

As an alternative of serving small companies of all kinds, ConvertKit is aimed explicitly at on-line creators and their wants. Which means a spotlight on weblog newsletters, merchandising, updates, and bulletins.

ConvertKit is an effective way to show readers into followers and earn a dwelling as a creator on-line. Influencers and creatives may flock to this instrument. ConvertKit supplies intensive options, together with e mail automation, touchdown pages, subscription varieties, and extra. 

What Is ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign has an extended historical past and boasts loads of trade expertise. Based again in 2003, it aimed to allow companies to automate and improve each buyer journey stage.

With simply over 145,000 prospects, ActiveCampaign isn’t essentially the most spectacular when it comes to person numbers. Nonetheless, that is most certainly because of the heftier price ticket. Whereas this may deter startups on tighter budgets, it ought to on no account scare away extra established companies searching for bang for his or her buck. 

ActiveCampaign is a well-rounded platform that fits an omnichannel strategy to advertising and customer support. It contains options for lead technology, customer support and help, social media, SMS advertising, and, after all, e mail advertising.

Electronic mail Modifying

With any e mail advertising supplier, the e-mail editor is the place you get to be artistic. Whether or not you’re working from scratch or utilizing a template, you’ll need the chance to customise your newsletters to deliver your imaginative and prescient to life.

That mentioned, right here’s what I famous about ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign’s e mail editors.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit doesn’t provide a drag-and-drop e mail editor like most of its rivals. As an alternative, it focuses on offering a cleaner, much less distracting strategy. For instance, reasonably than dedicating a complete sidebar of content material blocks to select from, you simply click on on a plus icon inside your e mail template. Then, you may choose which aspect to insert into the part and reorder these sections as you see match.  

Content material blocks embody information, quotes, movies, hyperlinks, dividers, photos, personalization tags, and extra. As well as, you may retailer ceaselessly used media in ConvertKit’s picture library and entry Unsplash inventory images to reinforce your on-line content material. You additionally profit from a fundamental in-built imaging enhancing instrument, the place you are able to do issues like rotate and crop your image. 

ConvertKit additionally lets you edit HTML snippets for a higher diploma of flexibility. Nonetheless, it falls slightly quick on general design customization as you may’t edit your e mail’s textual content font or coloration. It additionally doesn’t provide up a variety of e mail templates — there are solely 9 pre-designed HTML templates to select from.

This HTML focus could also be an excellent playground for anybody wanting to start out from scratch, however it doesn’t present a lot help in case you are not design-savvy. For sure, it’s not the quickest or most accessible possibility for novices.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign comes with a refreshingly versatile drag-and-drop e mail editor. In contrast to a lot of its rivals, you may edit the textual content throughout the template itself. Additionally, because of the wide range of block parts, it’s simple to construct extra complicated designs.

To get began, there are over 125 e mail templates to select from. These are categorized by B2B, B2C, and eCommerce, and are totally responsive, which means they give the impression of being simply pretty much as good on cell units as they do desktops. In addition to that, these templates additionally help HTML edits.

You’ll be able to even regulate borders, shadows, margins, paddings, background colours, and extra from the sidebar. On prime of that, you may flexibly resize photos from inside the e-mail and match them responsively into the accessible area, making the creation of distinctive layouts a breeze.

It’s simple to position parts equivalent to buttons, photos, textual content blocks, line breaks, movies, merchandise, and extra. You’ll be able to even embody RSS feeds and HTML blocks you could fill with your individual content material. Plus, you may add personalization tags to auto-populate your buyer’s identify, birthday, corporations, and places.

Predictive content material blocks are additionally accessible for extra granular personalization. Right here, you’re prompted to create as much as 5 variations of the block. ActiveCampaign then sends essentially the most acceptable variant to the recipient based mostly on current information insights.

Like ConvertKit, you additionally get entry to a fundamental picture library the place it can save you your media and retouch photos and movies. 

Electronic mail Modifying – Winner: ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign’s e mail editor is less complicated to make use of because of its drag-and-drop interface and customization potential. It additionally affords a broader vary of e mail templates to select from.

For all these causes, ActiveCampaign’s e mail editor is way more accessible to newbies.  

Segmentation

Segmentation lets you cut up up your e mail record to tailor campaigns to satisfy the wants of smaller viewers teams. This type of personalized strategy is more likely to transform.

Right here’s how ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign allow you to section your viewers.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit grants full freedom over the way you prepare your e mail record utilizing segments and tags. As an example, you may create and assign customized tags to subscribers for extra granular management over your e mail segmentation.

You’ll be able to even automate the assignation of tags based mostly on a set off occasion of your selecting, for instance, when a product is bought or an e mail is opened. 

The tag system lets you mix a number of tags or circumstances for even richer segmentation. Other than tags, you may as well filter prospects based mostly on customized type fields, location, prior purchases, and extra.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign doesn’t cease on the fundamentals the place segmentation is anxious. You’ll be able to mix lists, tags, and customized fields to create extremely tailor-made viewers teams. This contains the power to section subscribers based mostly on person habits — for instance, who has opened your emails or used coupons.

You can too section subscribers based mostly on buyer data equivalent to product varieties they’ve beforehand checked out, location, demographics, and extra. 

In complete, you may apply as much as 20 circumstances to every section. This could offer you some thought of how granular your segments can get. You can too situation segments based mostly on a numeric worth. This empowers you, for instance, to focus on prospects inside a particular buyer lifetime or complete gross sales vary. 

Segmentation can be totally accessible out of your workflow editor, making the method extra seamless and intuitive. 

Segmentation – Winner: ActiveCampaign

ConvertKit’s customized tagging characteristic is fairly spectacular. Nonetheless, ActiveCampaign goes additional by enabling you to create extremely area of interest viewers teams in line with worth ranges and as much as 20 circumstances per section.

Touchdown Pages

Touchdown pages are important for changing new subscribers. Usually, that is the place you’ll publish subscription varieties to entice new readers or promote a brand new product to a tailor-made viewers.

Fortunately, touchdown web page builders are included with each platforms. However, let’s see how they examine.

ConvertKit

Touchdown web page creation is included with ConvertKit’s free plan. You’ll be able to generate as many touchdown pages as you need, with 35 templates to select from, masking themes equivalent to coming quickly, gross sales, guide releases, lead magnets, and plenty of extra.

Now, let’s flip our consideration to ConvertKit’s touchdown web page editor. One neat characteristic about it’s the coloration picker. This identifies the precise colours utilized in your photos and backgrounds that will help you find the proper accent coloration in your fonts. It is a nice design characteristic for serving to you obtain a lovely and constant coloration scheme.

ConvertKit additionally integrates with Unsplash, enabling entry to an unlimited library of high-quality inventory photos you could add to your touchdown pages with just some clicks. 

Lastly, the touchdown web page editor lets you edit the CSS for extra in-depth customization. When you’ve got the coding know-how, this grants you that additional little bit of freedom to attain your actual imaginative and prescient. 

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign customers can entry touchdown web page creation from the Plus plan upwards.

The touchdown web page editor falls consistent with its intuitive e mail editor and affords loads of customization choices. You should use the superior drag-and-drop performance to position parts in a grid and resize them as you want. 

You’ll be able to make the most of extra superior customization choices equivalent to internal spacing, nook radius, borders, drop shadows, opacity, and extra for every design aspect. This alone units ActiveCampaign other than a lot of its much less versatile rivals.

Talking of content material blocks, you may add countdown timers, columns, lists, PayPal and Shopify gross sales buttons, and different parts to your touchdown pages.

To get began, you’ve got a selection of over 50 touchdown web page templates that may be edited to satisfy your necessities. Alternatively, you can begin from scratch. You can too save any template you’ve got created into your private library and reuse it at any time. 

Touchdown Pages – Winner: ActiveCampaign

On this spherical, ActiveCampaign wins with a extra slender margin. Whereas it’s a must to go for a dearer plan to entry touchdown web page creation instruments, the editor is intuitive and highly effective. Plus, you get entry to loads of customization choices and a broader vary of templates.

ConvertKit nonetheless affords a wide selection of touchdown web page templates, neat design options, and CSS entry. Nonetheless, I’ve to present a slight edge to ActiveCampaign’s detailed albeit intuitive touchdown web page editor.

Analytics

With highly effective insights at your fingertips, you’re higher positioned to grasp what prospects need out of your emails and optimize the expertise to drive higher conversions.

However, precisely how a lot perception can ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign present?

ConvertKit

With ConvertKit, you may generate quite a lot of reviews, together with:

• Sequence reporting: This contains metrics equivalent to click on and open charges, bounce charges, unsubscribes, and extra. It additionally exhibits what number of subscribers are included in a pipeline and what number of make it by way of your complete funnel.
• Broadcast reporting: This critiques the full variety of recipients and unsubscribes for every e mail marketing campaign. 
• Deliverability reporting: It is a professional characteristic that exhibits what number of emails efficiently attain their targets. You’ll additionally obtain granular perception into deliverability filtered by e mail service suppliers.

ConvertKit additionally comes with fundamental A/B testing. This, nevertheless, solely lets you change the topic line of your emails, which means you may’t rapidly take a look at the effectiveness of message content material or different facets of your marketing campaign. When you get the outcomes from a cut up take a look at, you may select the profitable variant and ship it to the remaining recipients. You’ll be able to base your A/B testing on simply 15% of your subscriber base to optimize for almost all.

ActiveCampaign

Like most e mail advertising suppliers, ActiveCampaign makes it simple to evaluate fundamental metrics equivalent to click on, open, and unsubscribe charges. Nonetheless, it goes some steps additional by placing a definite focus on the client journey.

You’ll be able to observe targets and buyer scores, reviewing which consumers are essentially the most loyal and which levels they attain in your conversion pipelines. Moreover, ActiveCampaign comes with conversion attribution monitoring so that you could see the place prospects are coming from and what their complete journey appears to be like like. For instance, it’s possible you’ll observe that they stumble throughout your model on Fb, clicking by way of to your web site. Then, they might fill out your subscription type after visiting a couple of days later by way of an natural Google search. 

For those who hint these paths at scale, you may higher optimize the client journey and focus your funds and time on the channels that convert the perfect. 

ActiveCampaign allows you to generate reviews about your web site, automations, attributions, contacts, campaigns, and eCommerce. You can too create customized reviews utilizing metrics from all of the above to investigate an important information in your campaigns. 

ActiveCampaign additionally comes with superior A/B cut up testing. Along with splitting your emails by topic line, header, message content material, and textual content message, you may as well cut up workflows and take a look at buyer journeys. Set a time for whenever you need the cut up take a look at to cease or a aim that wants reaching earlier than the workflows come collectively once more, such at the least product sale quantity.

Analytics – Winner: ActiveCampaign

It goes nearly with out saying that ActiveCampaign emerges victorious. It knocks ConvertKit out of the park with its in-depth buyer journey metrics, aim monitoring, A/B cut up testing for emails and automations, and way more.

Superior customers will likely be more than pleased with the analytics accessible at their fingertips. Whereas, compared, they could discover ConvertKit limiting.

Electronic mail Automation

Electronic mail automation is what makes e mail such a manageable and efficient advertising instrument for companies. You’ll be able to set off pre-prepared e mail broadcasts when the time is good with out having to continuously monitor your progress or take handbook motion.

Electronic mail automation performance is included with each ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign, however to totally different ranges — let’s discover out extra!

ConvertKit

ConvertKit comes with a easy and intuitive automation workflow editor. With a drag-and-drop interface, you may simply set triggers, actions, occasions, and circumstances to regulate your workflows in line with your wants. 

The workflow editor’s most noteworthy characteristic is you could create emails with out having to depart the workflow designer. You’ll be able to merely open a smaller window on the identical web page and edit the content material you want. This makes it a lot simpler to maintain the general workflow in thoughts while you’re writing your emails.

The automation instruments themselves are easy and comply with fundamental ideas. As I’ve already hinted at, you may create occasions that set off the workflow’s actions. These occasions may very well be when somebody subscribes, completes a type, makes a purchase order, and extra. In response, an motion equivalent to an e mail blast, shifting subscribers to totally different segments, delaying earlier than an e mail is shipped, or including and eradicating tags out of your subscribers could happen. 

Lastly, you may set circumstances to set what occurs based mostly on totally different triggers. For instance, you can ship a follow-up e mail after two days, however provided that a subscriber hasn’t clicked on a earlier e mail. 

ActiveCampaign

The fundamental precept of e mail automation is similar in ActiveCampaign. Nonetheless, as with a lot of its options, it goes that additional step additional.

While you set actions within the drag-and-drop workflow editor, you get extra superior choices. You’ll be able to add notes, take away or add tags, replace contact data, add subscribers to a customized Fb viewers, regulate their buyer rating, and so on.

The client rating is prime as a result of it lets you observe your most loyal prospects as they progress by way of your pipelines. This contains the power to trace targets and set circumstances based mostly on a buyer’s lifetime worth. 

You additionally get extra granular management over triggers for actions and delays. For instance, you may decide {that a} workflow ought to begin if a buyer has watched a particular proportion of a video or began on a web-based course. 

ActiveCampaign lets you create and handle e mail segments from inside your workflow area that will help you goal essentially the most acceptable viewers in every workflow.

Lastly, ActiveCampaign boasts a novel automation map instrument. This supplies an summary of all of your automations from one place, and extra particularly, the place all of them join. As an example, a number of of your workflows may result in sending the identical e-newsletter or subscription type. The map lets you evaluate bottlenecks and spot if an automation isn’t contributing to your general targets. Put merely, it’s big-picture enhancing in a simple automation editor.

Automation – Winner: ActiveCampaign

Whereas ConvertKit has some helpful automation options and covers all of the fundamentals, ActiveCampaign affords extra superior e mail automation. The e-mail automation map is a strong instrument and lets you get actually particular together with your automations.

Most significantly, ActiveCampaign allows you to observe buyer scores and observe their journey by way of your pipelines, feeding you much more precious metrics to work with. 

Pricing

Pricing is undoubtedly a major concern when choosing the perfect e mail advertising resolution for your corporation. With hefty subscription fashions, e mail advertising software program can rapidly add as much as a substantial sum.

So, let’s see whether or not these platforms present respectable worth in your cash.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit affords a free plan which is right for these simply beginning out. This freemium bundle allows you to create limitless touchdown pages and e mail broadcasts for as much as 1,000 subscribers. You’ll be able to promote digital merchandise and subscriptions with a 3.5% + 30 cent transaction charge.

Moreover, ConvertKit affords a number of premium plans based mostly on the variety of subscribers you’ve got, which means a extra intensive record will incur a better value. Nonetheless, in case you go for annual billing, you’ll save two month’s price of bills.

To present you an thought of prices, assuming 5,000 subscribers with month-to-month billing, the costs are as follows:

• $79 monthly on the Creator plan: This comes with the automation workflow editor, ConvertKit’s API and integrations, and precedence help.
• $111 monthly on the Creator Professional plan: This unlocks extra superior reporting, limitless crew members in your account, and further options in your e mail broadcasts. You’ll additionally get free migration and Fb customized audiences.

For a extra full record of options that include every plan, take a look at ConvertKit’s pricing comparability.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign’s pricing additionally relies upon on the size of your subscriber record, however there’s no free plan. As an alternative, the most affordable provide is $9 monthly for a listing of 500 contacts, billed yearly. 

ActiveCampaign affords three premium plans and an enterprise plan. To match in opposition to ConvertKit’s pricing, we’ll take a look at the price of 5,000 subscribers with month-to-month billing:

• $99 monthly on the Lite plan: This comes with all the fundamental options equivalent to advertising automation, e mail advertising, limitless e mail sends, the e-mail editor, 125 templates, and segmentation.
• $169 monthly on the Plus plan: This unlocks contact scoring, SMS advertising, and touchdown web page creation. 
• $239 monthly on the Skilled plan: Right here, you’ll entry web site personalization, predictive sending, and predictive content material blocks. You can too cut up automations and ship web site messages.

Lastly, the Enterprise plan prices $449 monthly. It comes with a customized area, customized reporting, free design providers, and social information enrichment.

For the needs of this evaluate, I’ve solely explored ActiveCampaign’s core e mail advertising options. On ActiveCampaign’s pricing chart, you’ll discover extra data on its service and gross sales capabilities with every plan, in addition to its most noteworthy B2C, B2B, and eCommerce options.

Pricing – It’s a Tie

There’s no denying that ActiveCampaign can get far dearer than ConvertKit. Nonetheless, based mostly on 5,000 subscribers, ActiveCampaign’s Lite plan prices only a bit greater than ConvertKit’s Creator bundle.

As such, it’s secure to say that ActiveCampaign affords way more in-depth options focusing on omnichannel options for the cash. ConvertKit, compared, doesn’t provide gross sales or customer support options to the identical extent.

That mentioned, we will nonetheless think about pricing a tie as a result of ActiveCampaign solely unlocks touchdown pages with its dearer plan — whereas that is included with ConvertKit from the beginning. ConvertKit additionally comes with a beneficiant free plan, making it way more cost-friendly for smaller companies and solopreneurs.

Buyer Assist

For those who run into a problem, you have to know you may rely on your supplier’s buyer help crew and sources. In any other case, your conversions may endure, otherwise you may by no means take advantage of out of the software program you’ve got bought.

So, right here’s how ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign’s buyer help examine.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit’s buyer help crew could be contacted by way of a help ticket. If this isn’t sufficient in your liking, you may entry precedence help with the Creator plan. This ensures a response inside 15 minutes. Nonetheless, working hours are restricted to eight AM to eight PM EST, Monday to Friday, irrespective of which plan you select.

There’s additionally a web-based data base with weblog articles, video coaching, and ceaselessly requested questions. This contains how-to-guides on a number of the commonest goals equivalent to constructing a neighborhood with newsletters, enhancing your Instagram recreation, creating high-converting touchdown pages, and extra. There’s additionally a creator neighborhood you may take part with, the place you may speak to friends and talk about suggestions and methods. 

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign affords barely extra versatile help; stay chat and e mail help can be found with all premium plans. Greater-paying customers get extra assist equivalent to one-on-one coaching and onboarding. Nonetheless, cellphone help is restricted to Enterprise customers.

Identical to ConvertKit, 24/7 help isn’t accessible. As an alternative, ActiveCampaign’s enterprise hours are Monday to Thursday, eight AM to 11 PM CST, and on Fridays, they’re open from eight AM to six PM.

On prime of this, ActiveCampaign affords intensive self-help documentation, together with the ActiveCampaign College, the place you could find movies and sources. Nonetheless, the programs aren’t as complete as you may anticipate from a web-based studying useful resource like this. As an alternative, the main focus is on shorter video tutorials. 

ActiveCampaign additionally has a person discussion board you may be a part of and take part in.

Buyer Assist – Winner: ActiveCampaign

Sadly, neither supplier affords 24/7 help or intensive cellphone help. Nonetheless, ActiveCampaign is a little more versatile because of its broader vary of video tutorials and stay chat help. There’s additionally the potential for unlocking cellphone help with the Enterprise plan.

Different Capabilities

Up thus far, I’ve in contrast ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign on their e mail advertising toolkit as a result of that is the place the instruments overlap.

Nonetheless, it’s additionally essential to handle the wealth of different options ActiveCampaign affords that make it a extra well-rounded, omnichannel resolution. For you, this will likely justify the hefty price ticket and make it a greater addition to your tech stack.

ConvertKit

Sadly, there’s not a lot to say right here – ConvertKit doesn’t provide a lot in the best way of additional options. As an alternative, its focus is on e mail advertising and touchdown web page creation. 

ActiveCampaign

First off, ActiveCampaign allows you to use SMS advertising to share fast reductions, bulletins, surveys, delivery updates, and extra. 

You can too set off web site messages to seem when prospects go to your web site. That is nice for asserting new merchandise, qualifying leads, and giving guests a strong name to motion. You can too level them to your FAQ in order that they don’t get misplaced on your web site. ActiveCampaign makes it simple to tailor these messages in line with your buyer’s earlier interactions. As an example, if they’ve visited your web site earlier than, you may welcome them again!

You can too create customized Fb audiences based mostly on your subscriber record — merely point out that your Fb adverts ought to make the most of a specific section for a extra tailor-made strategy.

Lastly, ActiveCampaign lets you personalize your web site utilizing related concentrating on standards as you’ll to section your web site messages. As an example, you may edit the heading of your web page based mostly on who’s visiting. Your web site doesn’t even must be created with ActiveCampaign for this to work — it integrates with a number of common web site builders. 

Different Capabilities – Winner: ActiveCampaign

We received’t waste a lot time right here; the plain winner of this spherical is, after all, ActiveCampaign. 

Professionals and Cons of ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign

We’re near wrapping up our final evaluate of ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign. So, that is the proper alternative to recap an important factors and spotlight the place the 2 instruments actually shine and the place they arrive up quick.

That mentioned, listed here are the platforms’ most noteworthy execs and cons.

ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign: Ultimate Verdict

Now we have reached the tip of our final ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign evaluate, and it’s time to come back to a verdict. 

There’s no denying that ActiveCampaign supplies the extra superior characteristic set at nearly each stage. It has extra complicated segmentation and automation options, a extra versatile and design-friendly editor, and it branches out into SMS advertising and Fb promoting.

As compared, ConvertKit appears to fall quick. Nonetheless, it’s price noting that ConvertKit affords all the fundamental options you want for a profitable e mail advertising technique and affords strong instruments to work with. Its free plan particularly makes it a really inexpensive and beginner-friendly possibility.

In brief, ActiveCampaign is the plain advice in case you are already premium pricing with a better subscriber depend. If your corporation is prospering, I might advocate investing slightly additional to entry ActiveCampaign’s extra superior omnichannel capabilities.

In distinction, ConvertKit stands out as the proper selection for you in case you are a artistic particular person on the cusp of reworking your ardour right into a dwelling.

What do you assume? Is ActiveCampaign well worth the cash for all it affords, or do you like the sound of ConvertKit? Both method, tell us within the feedback beneath.