ActiveCampaign Review 2024

Welcome to our ActiveCampaign Review for 2024

When it comes to email marketing, ActiveCampaign is a popular choice, for good reason. Starting from email marketing, automation, and CRM, to landing pages, website tracking, and reporting. It promises to be your powerful marketing tool, all in one place. But does it truly live up to all this hype? That’s what you will discover here in this review. We will help you discover if ActiveCampaign is the missing piece in your marketing puzzle. We’ll go over its features, pricing, strengths, deliverability rate, and limitations to help you determine if it’s right for you.

Our Quick Verdict

Based on our review of the software, we can finally say that ActiveCampaign is a strong player that comes with a range of advanced features in terms of email marketing and automation. It has an easy-to-use platform, smooth and easy drag-and-drop editor. We can’t forget its excellent deliverability compared to many competitors, it was even awarded Best Email Deliverability 2023 by ToolTester. It has almost everything you may need to start your email marketing journey.

However, although it provides a free 14-day trial, which is considered limited compared to alternatives that offer 30 days, the free plan is always considered better. So, there is a lack of a free plan, and of course, despite the fact that it offers advanced features in addition to its price, it is still considered expensive for some users with a small budget. These things can hold it back compared to some of its alternatives. Overall, the decision is up to you and your budget. Give it a try since the free trial does not require a credit card, and decide after that whether to continue with it or not.

ActiveCampaign Review 2024: Key Pros and Cons

ActiveCampaign has a lot to offer, but like any other platform, it is not without flaws. However, after we tested it, this is what we liked about it, and the things we think could be better.

What do we like the most?🙂

• Easy-to-use Interface: It has a clean and intuitive interface, with helpful resources and tutorials.
• Free Trial: ActiveCampaign provides a 14-day free trial to familiarize yourself with its features without a credit card.
• Unlimited Emails: You can send unlimited emails in all plans if you have less than 250,000 subscribers.
• Excellent Deliverability Rate: It has a great deliverability rate.
• Integrations: It offers over 940+ integrations.
• 24/7 Support: anytime you need it.

Can be better🙁

• No Free Plan: A free trial is good, but a free plan is always better.
• Not the Cheapest Option: It’s a bit expensive compared to some competitors.
• Limited Free Trial: It allows you to send only 100 emails and add 100 subscribers.

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What is ActiveCampaign?

ActiveCampaign is one of the best email marketing tools designed to help you, whether you are an individual or you have a small or big business, connect and engage with your customers.

In 2003, it was started by Jason VandeBoom as an email marketing service provider, but it quickly evolved to become a comprehensive platform that offers a wide range of features. Starting from email marketing, and automation, to CRM, and analytics.

The perfect thing about ActiveCampaign is that it has excellent deliverability compared to some competitors, which makes us rank it as one of the best email marketing software.

ActiveCampaign platform

How to Setup an ActiveCampaign Account in 2024

After you create your ActiveCampaign account and activate it. They will ask you some questions to personalize your platform & experience, like, How many contacts/prospects do you have? How many employees do you have?  What industry is your business in?

Once you finish that, it will redirect you to the dashboard, where you have to set up your account as shown in the pictures below. As you can see, the dashboard appears to be easy, and with the blue color, it is eye-friendly.

In the Basics, you have to complete the tasks to start sending campaigns and automating your business as described. You should verify your email and import your contacts. Next is communication with your customers. Here, you will have to integrate your store. “The integrations you get are determined by the industry of your business, which you choose when creating your account. Also, you need to create a form, for example, the “sign-up form” in this step.

Now, in the orchestrate your customer experience step, you will create a campaign and build automation. and finally, start managing your sales cycle.

Overall, the setup is easy and won’t take you more than 10 minutes maximum.

Now that we’ve set up our account, let’s dive into the features ActiveCamaign has to offer you.

What Features Does ActiveCampaign Offer in 2024?

ActiveCamaign offers many features that make it one of the best marketing solutions. We will provide its key features you may need, since there are a lot of them. However, keep in mind that the features you get depend on the plan you have.

Email Marketing

Let’s start with the first feature ActiveCamaign provides you, which is the creation of an email.

You have different options Whether starting from scratch or using the drag-and-drop editor, which will help you design beautiful and responsive emails without any coding knowledge you can also use AI. Or you can simply use already-designed templates. Let’s see both of them.

To create your first email, click Campaigns > Create a campaign

Here, you will find 6 different types to choose from, including:

• Standard
• Split testing
• RSS triggered
• Date based
• Automated
• Autoresponder

After you pick one, click next and click “Create with email designer“. In our case, we chose standard. Don’t worry; we will explain other features as well.

Drag-and-drop editor

For the drag-and-drop editor, we found that ActiveCamaign has a clear, fast, and easy-to-use editor. We were able to import and create our design effortlessly. Actually, this drag-and-drop is one of the best we tried across all the platforms.

It offers many fonts, around 38, with the ability to import new ones; although it is not recommended by them as a best practice, you can if necessary.

You have structures, blocks, emojis, and global settings where you can customize everything as you like. We have designed our email as a test easily, as you can see in the picture.

Overall, the drag-and-drop editor is easy and smooth, and its blocks are more than enough for you to create what you imagine. You also have an AI generator included that will help you generate attractive content.

Templates

If you prefer using ready-made templates, then ActiveCamaign provides you with over 250 impressive and responsive templates.

The best part? These templates are fully customizable, so you can effortlessly adjust them as you like to match your brand’s style. Also, they include important features like interactive elements and mobile responsiveness, which will let you engage your audience no matter where they are.

Split testing

This feature is called the “A/B test” as well. It allows you to test different subject lines, email content, and even full landing pages to find what works best for your audience. No more guessing—decisions based on data will result in better engagement and conversions.

RSS triggered

By using the power of this feature, you can automatically trigger email notifications when new content is published on your websites or blogs. This will save you the time you spend copying and pasting.

Besides that, your audience will stay informed and engaged with the latest news, updates, or promotions, delivered straight to their inbox the moment they’re available.

Date based

With the power of this feature, you can build a strong relationship with your audience by sending them personalized emails sent on birthdays, anniversaries, or other important dates stored in your CRM.

You can make your audience feel valued by showing them your care.

Marketing Automation

Here is another important feature provided by ActiveCampaign: automation.

Did you subscribe before to the email list of your favorite store or service provider? So, immediately after a moment, you received a welcome email. This is exactly what this feature does, and more.

With this amazing feature, you can work smarter, not harder, by streamlining repetitive tasks, saving your time, and personalizing customer experiences at scale.

You can automatically send welcome emails to your new subscribers, nurturing leads with targeted content based on their interests, or re-engaging inactive contacts with relevant offers.

Actually, the platform won’t disappoint you when it comes to automation. You can use pre-built automation templates, or recipes, as it is called, ActiveCampaign has over 750 recipes categorized by industry if you’re just getting started.

Or simply start your automation from scratch and add your own triggers and actions. The first thing you will meet when you start your first automation is a popup that will ask you to select a trigger. Choose the event that will start your automated email sequence. For our test, we will select “subscribes to a list”.

Next, you will have to “select a list“, and “Runs“. Also, you can “segment the contacts entering this automation” in the advanced settings. And finally, select “Add a New Action“.

Now, you can start building your automation workflows with the drag-and-drop editor. You can edit or insert new or multiple triggers, add conditions like if/else logic, split paths (for a/b testing), and more.

You also have the AI builder, which will help you build your automation easily.

Overall, you can automate entire customer journeys, starting from campaign engagement to personalized deal nurturing and seamless e-commerce experiences. Connect with leads via SMS while centralizing all contact management for a unified view of your audience. Simplify your workflows, save time, and boost results with ActiveCampaign’s comprehensive automation capabilities.

Autoresponder

On the other hand, we have autoresponders. You can consider them a more simplistic form of email automation. They react to a single trigger (like signups, purchases, or website activity ) by sending a pre-written email.

You can create automated email sequences that deliver targeted messages whether immediately or after a specific time, to welcome your new subscribers, educate leads, or re-engage inactive contacts.

Landing Pages

To build a landing page in ActiveCampaign, click Website > Pages > Create a new page.

When you click to create a new page, you will find around 62 pre-designed templates (despite being less than its competitor, GetResponse, which offers 93 templates). Also, you have a blank template.

Well, after we tested the templates, we can say that they are responsive and easy to customize by anyone, whether a beginner or a pro. You have a drag-and-drop editor, which will make it easy for you to customize the page as you like.

We were able to edit a template smoothly and effortlessly, so almost everything you may need to build a professional page exists. However, the AI builder is not available, unlike GetResponse, which offers an AI builder. So, if you rely on artificial intelligence to build your page, this lack can disappoint you.

To sum up, you can have a good experience with this page builder, but it still needs some improvements to be better.

Forms

Forms are an important feature you can’t do without it, as long as it is your way to build your email list and capture leads.

You can find them under Website > Forms > Create a new form.

In this section, you will be able to create a form for your website. So, after you click to create a new form, you will have to name it and pick the style of your form, whether inline form, floating bar, floating box, or modular.

Finally, you will land in the form builder with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. Here, you can build your form as you like. You have fields where you can drag almost everything, in addition to an HTML editor where you can add your custom code. You also have a style for the appearance of your form and options where you can write your thanks message after someone subscribes or adds an action.

You can also integrate it with your WordPress website through a plugin, a Facebook page, a link, or by embedding code.

Integrations

When it comes to integrations, ActiveCampaign does a great job. It allows you to connect and integrate with over 940+ apps, which is more than the majority of platforms. This includes popular platforms like Shopify, PayPal, Woocommerce, Facebook, WordPress, Google Analytics, and more.

You can find these integrations or apps, as ActiveCampaign is called, Dashboard > Apps

Deals CRM

If you are a pro, you already understand what this feature does, however, if you are still a beginner you may not. Well, imagine sales being a messy desk full of papers. Deals CRM works like a magic organizer for it.

This amazing feature in ActiveCampaign allows you to track potential customers (“deals”) as they go through your sales process, similar to steps on a ladder.

You can track who is about to buy, set reminders, and even have the system do things automatically (like send emails!) to save you time.

Reports help you understand what works and what doesn’t, but they’re more like spreadsheets than flashy pictures. If you want to avoid the sales desk chaos and focus on closing deals, this feature is your buddy.

Reporting

In terms of reporting, ActiveCampaign boasts impressive analytics.

It lets you track nearly every aspect of your email marketing, starting from opens, and clicks, to unsubscribes, revenue, and even goal completions.

As we said above, it integrates seamlessly with popular eCommerce platforms to help you get clear ROI insights.

Other Features

• Segmentation and targeting: Divide your contacts into groups based on their interests, demographics, or behavior.
• Chat: Add live chat to your website to connect with visitors in real time.
• SMS marketing: Send targeted SMS messages to your customers.

ActiveCampaign Deliverability

Here we are with one of the most important things you have to check when you choose your email marketing platform: deliverability.

Landing in your subscribers’ inboxes, not the spam folder, is crucial for engagement and campaign success. Before we tested ActiveCampaign, we read some reports that rated its deliverability as perfect.

So, we’ve tested its deliverability, of course, after following the Email Deliverability Best Practices to ensure that, and guess what? We found that it has an excellent delivery rate, which makes it one of the best email marketing services with high deliverability rates.

ActiveCampaign and AI in 2024

As you can see in the features we discuss above, ActiveCampaign allows you to use the power of AI (artificial intelligence) in the majority of features it provides.

For example, you can rely on the AI content generator to effortlessly create personalized and engaging emails, saving time and resources and helping you boost engagement and conversion.

That’s not all; you can ask the AI to build you an automation that will help you eliminate manual tasks by automating repetitive processes based on triggers and conditions.

So finally, you can improve efficiency and save time to focus on strategic initiatives.

If you plan to use ActiveCampaign, don’t miss the power of this strong weapon.

Who Can Use ActiveCampaign in 2024?

ActiveCampaign has a user-friendly platform, which makes it a flexible solution that can be used by anyone looking to streamline their email marketing efforts and implement cutting-edge automation strategies.

So whether you are a beginner or a pro, have a small business, a marketing professional, an e-commerce store, an enterprise, or a nonprofit organization, the features of ActiveCampaign will help you connect with your audience, nurture leads, and drive conversions effectively.

Why Should Choose ActiveCampaign in 2024?

Well, keep in mind that choosing ActiveCampaign among its competitors depends on your budget, requirements, and skills. However, what makes us suggest ActiveCampaign as the best option for you to choose is its strong deliverability rate, which may reach 98% to 100% to ensure that your emails land in inboxes, not spam folders.

It also boasts an impressive feature set, including award-winning email marketing, robust marketing automation, and an integrated CRM. If awards hold weight, you have to know that ActiveCampaign has won many awards, like G2’s Best Software of 2023, ToolTester’s Best Email Deliverability 2023, and more. You can check their awards section on the official website to learn more.

How to Get Started with ActiveCampaign in 2024?

Getting started with ActiveCampaign is very simple and easy, all you have to do is to create your free 14-day trial account and set up your account as we explained above. If you want to test it first, you have 14 days before your trial expires. However, if you want to upgrade immediately, go to unlock features, and then pick your plan.

But, before starting with ActiveCampaign, how much does it cost?

ActiveCampaign Pricing 2024

ActiveCampaign has three plans (Marketing, Sales, and Bundles). Each plan offers different plans at different prices based on the number of subscribers you have. Also, all plans come with unlimited emails for up to 250,000 contacts. It also offers a transactional email service—here is a breakdown.

Marketing Plan (Email & Marketing Automation)

Lite (Perfect for Solopreneurs)—This plan starts at $29/month (billed annually) or $39/month (billed monthly) and includes 1 user. It allows you to add from 1,000 to 50,000 contacts, and customize pricing for more than 50,000. And it comes with some features like email marketing & marketing automation, personalized chat & email support, inline forms, site & event tracking, and more.

Plus (Perfect for Small Teams)—Starts at $49/month billed annually and $70/month billed monthly, including 3 users. The number of contacts is similar to the Lite plan; you can add from 1,000 to 50,000 contacts and request pricing for more than 50,000 subscribers. In terms of features, you have everything in the Lite plan besides inline, pop-up and modal forms, landing pages, Facebook custom audiences & lead ads, and more.

Professional (Perfect for Teams)—It is the popular plan, according to ActiveCampaign, that includes everything in Plus, including predictive sending AI, split automation, Salesforce integration, and more. The plan starts at $149/month, billed annually, and $187/month, billed monthly. However, the number of contacts here starts at 2,500 instead of 1,000, bringing the total to 50,000, with the ability to add more than 50,000 by requesting a price.

Enterprise (Perfect for Growing Teams)—This is the highest plan in marketing plans. It starts at $259/month, billed annually, and $323/month, billed monthly. You will get in this plan everything in the pro plan, in addition to the ability to add 10 users and the number of subscribers from 2,500 to 50,000, with customized pricing for over 50,000 contacts. Also, it comes with features like custom reporting & objects, single sign-on, HIPAA support, an uptime SLA, and unlimited email testing.

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Sales Plan (CRM & Sales Engagement)

Sales is a customizable plan, which means the more user seats you add, the more you are going to pay.

Plus—this plan is perfect for small sales teams and starts at $19/month for annual billing and $23/month for monthly billing.

Professional— It is the most popular plan for growing sales teams and starts at $49/month for annual billing and $59/month for monthly billing.

Enterprise—starting from $99/month for annual billing and $119/month for monthly billing. It is a perfect plan for scale sales teams and comes with everything on the plus and pro plans.

Bundles Plan (Marketing Automation + Sales CRM)

Plus—It is a 5-user plan starting at $93/month for annual billing and $116/month for monthly billing. Allowing you to add from 1,000 to 50,000 contacts with a custom price for over 50,000 contacts.

Professional—here you will and everything in the Plus plan in addition to other advanced features and 10 users. The price starts at $386/month for annual billing and $482/month for monthly billing. It is considered the most popular plan that allows you to add from 2,500 to 50,000 contacts with custom prices for over 50,000 contacts.

Enterprise—which is the highest plan in the bundles plan, comes with all the features of the Pro plan with more advanced features. So, here, you have to pay $734/month for annual billing and $918/month for monthly billing. You can also add from 2,500 to 50,000 contacts and a custom price for more contacts.

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Transactional Email

ActiveCampaign also allows you to integrate with Postmark, which will enable you to send your transactional emails quickly and reliably. Its pricing starts at $15 monthly for 10,000 emails per month and $1.80 for any additional 1,000 emails, and it continues like this: the more emails, the more you will pay.

Do these prices look expensive to you? Don’t worry; the platform provides you with some discounts to help you start your email marketing journey at a low price. Also, we at CouponFYI have a coupon code as a gift for you.

ActiveCampaign Coupon Codes and Discounts

When it comes to discounts, ActiveCampaign provides discounts on annual billing plans. In the marketing plan, you will get a 26% discount on the Lite plan, 30% off on the Plus plan, and 20% off on the Professional and Enterprise plans. If you get your plan from the Seals plan, you will receive a 17% discount on any plan. Of course, these discounts are able to increase during seasonal events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. For the Bundles plan, you will get a 20% discount on all plans. But that’s not all, by using one of our verified ActiveCampaign coupon codes, you can save up to $100 on your plans. Give them a try and start growing your savings.

Customer Support

Now, after we discussed ActiveCampaign’s key features, pricing, and other things, it is important to check how to reach out to its customer support and how responsive it is.

Well, ActiveCampaign offers different ways to contact them in 6 languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, and Italian). If you want to get an account, you can submit your request or call them at +1 (800) 357-0402. However, if you already have an account, you can either submit a request or use the live chat.

So, it offers different ways: email, phone, and live chat. Since live chat is the most popular and fastest way, we decided to test it to see how fast they would answer. Actually, it takes less than 5 minutes to receive an answer, which is perfect.

However, phone support is only available to contact the sales team if you want to get an account, and it is not available for general things.

The other thing is that they reported that the support is available 24/7, while in an article about “How to Contact the ActiveCampaign Customer Experience Team,” they said that their live chat is available Monday–Thursday from 6 am to 11 pm, and on Friday from 6 am to 4 pm. This can be confusing.

Overall, the support based on our test is fast and responsive.

Our Overall Rating

Based on our review, the features provided, besides the price, the delevability rate, support, and some weaknesses that exist, our overall rating is 4.5/5.

ActiveCampaign Reviews and Testimonials

Do not just take our word for it; discover what other real users have to say about it.

Positive ActiveCampaign Review with 5 Stars on Trustpilot: For Jens, ActiveCampaign does a perfect job. He started using it at the beginning of his business, so he found it super easy to use and logical to build. So Jens recommends ActiveCampaign, covering its effectiveness in helping him build his business from day 1. Jens’s review highlights the positive qualities of ActiveCampaign when it comes to ease of use and logical build.

Negative ActiveCampaign Review with 1 Star on Trustpilot: On the other hand, Casper did not have a satisfactory experience with AciveCampaign. He even described it as by far the worst on the market, especially after their latest update. Among the issues he faces are frequent logouts, random errors during navigation, slow loading times, and inadequate support that fails to acknowledge these problems. He also mentioned that the program was slow and not very intuitive, which made him frustrated with its overall performance.

Here, it can make you confused after reading Casper’s review. However, the good thing is that ActiveCampaign tries to resolve that directly.

So, as you can see in the picture below, ActiveCampaign replied to Casper, showing concern for the reported issues and asking for contact information to offer support. This shows that ActiveCampaign cares about its customers satisfaction.

Key Alternatives

If you decide, after reading the full review, to look for another alternative that offers similar features at a low price, here are the best ActiveCampaign alternatives for 2024.

• AWeber
• GetResponse
• Moosend
• SendPulse

FAQs