What No One Tells You About ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit
ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit... which is best for you?
Whether you're a content creator, small business, or a go-it-alone superstar, at some stage we need some kind of marketing strategy, or email system, to reach our peeps.
So, out of ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit, which is the best "bang" for your buck?
Active Campaign is probably the master of email automations.
ConvertKit is more for the creative entrepreneur, with a new free landing page builder setup. (We get into that down below).
So let's look at the differences between these two email marketing tools...
ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit
With ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign being among the biggest names in email marketing automation tools, it's easy to see why you could be drawn towards them.
They both offer great features for anyone looking into growing their send frequency or improving customer engagement with targeted messages on autopilot!
However you may want/need your business' emails delivered differently - whether that means sending newsletters daily versus quarterly updates, or planning out a year of emails in one sitting!
There are some important things to consider when choosing between the two email marketing services:
- The overall price factor
- Features (all the cool stuff)
- Integrations (what your tool syncs with)
- Analytics (so you know what your peeps are doing)
- Ease of use (No coding degree needed!)
Let's find out which is the best option for your specific needs and why.
Onwards...
Do you go ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign is a software platform that helps small to medium sized businesses. It provides tools for automation, like email marketing, marketing automation, and sales automation.
It's like a Swiss Army knife for all your email marketing needs.
One thing I really love about ActiveCampaign is their ability to do automations.
Automations allow you to set up emails to go out over a period of time, in specific timezones, and at any time of the day.
This means you can write the emails once, and they will automatically send out over the next year.
This is a massive time saver if you don't want to be writing emails all day!
If you have an ecommerce business, or use Shopify or a similar tool to sell products and services, having automated emails to follow up with customers can be a life saver.
Generally, once you've set up these automated emails, you don't need to log in to do anything more.
It gets even more fun than just automations, but we'll get to that.
Other email marketing services do automations too, but ActiveCampaign are great at it!
What is Active Campaign?
Active Campaign is a marketing automation tool that gives you pretty much all the autoresponder capabilities you need. It allows you to integrate with third party tools like SamCart, Shopify, etc, so you can run membership sites, shopping cart abandonment campaigns, email re-targeting & more!
Here is a 'no brainer' 6 email welcome sequence you can steal and plug in for people when they sign up to your email list. Only 39% of brands send a welcome email, so this will help you can stand out from the crowd!
Or ConvertKit?
ConvertKit is a new player in the world of cloud-based, email markerting tools. Founded by Nathan Barry in 2013.
They ride a very different road to Active Campaign.
ConvertKit is tailor-made for creators to grow their audiences. Our mission is to help creators earn a living and we believe that by adding a free entry point we are removing a large roadblock for beginner creators towards earning a living online.
~ ConvertKit
Pop quiz!
Do you see yourself as...
- An artist,
- Designer
- Poet or writer
- An innovator?
- Someone who has a GREAT idea?
If anyone of these are 'you' then ConvertKit might be your thing.
In a nutshell, ConvertKit is an email marketing platform designed for creators.
ConvertKit have grown and innovated fast. Their mission is to allow creators to... spend less time on marketing to allow them to focus on creating.
Right there, you can spot a few differences when comparing ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit.
(Plus ConvertKit have a free plan too).
We'll get into that shortly.
But first...
ActiveCampaign pricing
You can test out the ActiveCampaign free trial here.
Here's the ActiveCampaign pricing for 1000 and 5000 contacts...
The more contacts you have, the more you pay (which is pretty normal).
In this case I have selected yearly billing, and the price is Australian dollars.
Updated: Active Campaign pricing 2023
With Active Campaign, the plans start at 500 contacts. (I've selected 1000 and 5000 contacts so you can get an idea of the costs).
In 2022, Active Campaign changed their pricing structure. Here's the updated ActiveCampaign pricing plans...
- Lite: A$40.00 / m (with 1000 contacts)
- Plus: A$68.00 / m (for 1000 contacts)
- Professional: A$292.00 / m (for 5000 contacts)
- Enterprise: A$530.00 / m (for 5000 contacts)
I'm sure you get the idea!
The ActiveCampaign Lite plan allows most users to start their email marketing campaigns.
I use the Lite plan and I find it easy to use.
You don't get the landing pages, integrations, split automation, customisable domains and all those extra bits and bods.
If you're just starting out you may not need the "extras" just yet.
If you want to set up an email campaign, drip it out over a few weeks, then ActiveCampaign might be the better option for you.
Alternatively ConvertKit’s free plan is a no brainer if you have less than 1000 subscribers and are more creative inclined.
Now let's check out ConvertKit's pricing...
What is ConvertKit?
ConvertKit helps you to promote your latest projects and collect subscribers with beautiful landing pages, sign up forms and so forth. They have an intuitive email editor, simple sales funnels and web page builders that you can start using within minutes, with or without using your own domain.
If you're selling digital products and subscriptions, and you make a living selling your work then ConvertKit might be the right fit for you. Take a look at the ConvertKit free landing page builder here.
ConvertKit pricing
Like I mentioned, there's some big differences between these two email toolsters.
ConvertKit is way more than just "another email marketing company" now.
They focus on landing pages as well, giving creators the ability to setup a quick website and start gathering email addresses.
Which means you can kind of grow into using ConvertKit... start with the free plan, until you need more functionality and advanced features like sequences and visual automations.
The beauty of the free plan is that you can get started without any roadblocks (it's free, right?) and stop procrastinating getting your products and services out there!
The ConvertKit free plan is for users who manage less than 1000 subscribers and includes...
- 30+ landing page templates, opt in, sign up forms etc
- Mobile responsive designs
- Subscriber tagging
- Unlimited email broadcasts
- Customisable domain setup (add your own domain)
Groovy eh?
Thought I should let you know about this free plan first.
You can upgrade to the other plans in a heartbeat, when you're smashing it with 1000+ subscribers!
Now for the ConvertKit pricing plans...
The price for the ConvertKit plans start at...
- Free plan for up to 1000 subscribers
- Creator plan is $29.00 a month, and
- Creator Pro plan is $59.00 a month
The paid plans get you better support, integration, more automation options (etc).
Getting some ideas?
Before we go on have a look at this 'coming soon' landing page template that ConvertKit allow you to build...
ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit features
Like many of these email software tools they have a few similarities but some key differences.
The thing that jumps out at me is that ConvertKit seems more orientated towards the creative side... online creators like musicians, authors, coaches, podcasters, writers, artists and designers, and so on.
ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, seems to be focused slightly more on the professional entrepreneur, online marketer, business owner, etc.
If you're at the stage where you're bringing in multiples of new leads and customers every day or week, then marketing automation tools like ActiveCampaign can help you generate more sales.
If you're not at that stage yet, then ConvertKit can be a good starting point.
Let's look at the benefits to both tools...
ConvertKit benefits
- Cool free landing page template (no website needed)
- Free plan so you can get started straight away
- Built for creators like writers, artists, designers, authors etc
- Single window editing of autoresponders
- Fully customisable templates
- No coding required
- Templates look good on all devices
Now for Active Campaign...
Active Campaign benefits
- Drag & drop email templates
- Great for ecommerce!
- Target your emails to your contact's interests
- 2 year price lock
- You own your data!
- Amazing automation with simple workflows
- Website messaging & SMS (Answer questions & recommend products / get feedback while customer is on your website!)
- Lots of great training!
- Gmail extension (very handy)
- Integrates with Shopify, WordPress, Zapier etc
You can also segment lists and have an amazing bird's eye view of your email marketing workflow too.
There's a lot you can do with Active Campaign!
The automation feature is MAD. You can play around with tags, custom fields, analytics and performance reporting, as well as grab info from offline and digital channels (social media, live chat, landing pages, text messaging, etc), to automate your marketing.
And you don't need to be a tech wizard to use Active Campaign either! The drag and drop automation builder lets you set up automated workflows in minutes.
Quick ConvertKit questions
Answered on the fly...
Does ConvertKit have landing pages?
You bet. You can get access to the free ConvertKit landing pages here and opt-in forms to start building your community. No need to invest money or waste your precious time figuring out how to start your business right at the beginning!
Can I create a landing page without a website?
Yes, see above. Use the link above to start your journey using the fully customisable landing pages so you can easily validate your ideas! You can also use ConvertKit with or without a domain and be live within minutes!
How much is ConvertKit monthly?
Well there's the free plan, then the ConvertKit pricing points start at $29.00 a month, then $59.00 a month.
But yep, it depends on how many subscribers you have.
What else would you like to know?
How do you create a landing page in ConvertKit?
To create a ConvertKit landing page just follow this link to the landing page builder. Scroll down a little on that page and click the demo button. See the image below...
Quick ActiveCampaign questions
Let's get to it...
What is ActiveCampaign used for?
Active Campaign is the kings of email marketing automation. They allow you to build automations so you can spend more time on important stuff.
They're great at perfecting the customer experience so your emails reach customers at the right time.
I guess you could say they help get your time back!
In their words...
ActiveCampaign gives you the email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools you need to create incredible customer experiences.
How much does Active Campaign cost?
Starting with 500 contacts, the plans are (In Australian dollars)
- Lite plan $12.00 a month
- Plus plan $68.00 a month
- Professional plan $208 a month
- Enterprise $362.00 a month
This is billed yearly... so if you pay monthly, it's slightly more expensive. (I pay yearly).
They have a free trial here, (no credit card required) so you can test them out first.
Is this an ActiveCampaign review?
Well I'd like to think it is. Actually it's meant to be an ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit comparison. Not sure if I got it right. But I gave it a shot.
In conclusion
Obviously there's a lot more to marketing automation than my scribbles on this page.
As for the ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit comparison, both products have their own unique selling points.
ConvertKit is likely to be the best option for most content creators and creatives. Plus it comes with the free landing page builder, which is perfect if you're just starting out.
On the other hand, if you want to push ahead with your online business, dig the entrepreneurial freedom, and need to interact with your clients in a super powerful way, then ActiveCampaign is a great choice.
The ActiveCampaign automations go way beyond email marketing and includes the use of machine learning, as well as opening 2-way communication channels with your users.
Plus ActiveCampaign has a free plan too, so you can "test the water" before you decide to jump in.
When it comes to ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit, what's your preference?