ActiveCampaign Alternatives: 5 Similar Tools You Should Use

You’ve been an ActiveCampaign subscriber for a while, but now you feel it’s finally time to make a switch.

Whether it’s that you need a cheaper option or you just want to see what else is out there, you’re quite curious.

You’d love a shortlist of ActiveCampaign alternatives to pursue, and we’ve got ‘em.

We recommend EngageBay above all, but you might also consider HubSpot, Pipedrive, AWeber, or SharpSpring.

These ActiveCampaign competitors boast lower pricing than ActiveCampaign as well as services that are just as comprehensive–if not more so–than what you get now with your ActiveCampaign subscription.

5 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives With Pricing & Features

In today’s post, we’ll more closely examine these 5 alternatives to ActiveCampaign so you can choose the one that’s the best fit for your company!

#1. EngageBay

EngageBay is an all-in-one sales, marketing, and support solution with a built-in CRM. Founded in 2017,

EngageBay arose as a HubSpot alternative that’s more cost-effective for small businesses and startups.

Here are some features that make EngageBay a viable ActiveCampaign alternative.

• EngageBay’s Smart Lists and Static Lists can be custom titled for better organization of your contacts no matter how many lists you have. You may also select the criteria conditions per each list you build.
• Creating your own landing pages and emails from templates is incredibly easy with drag-and-drop functionality.
• EngageBay’s CRM is always free, the same of which is not the case with ActiveCampaign. You can use ActiveCampaign’s CRM as part of their least expensive plan, the Lite plan, but that starts at $9.99 with only 500 contacts. At 2,500 contacts, you’re already paying $45 a month, which is getting costly!
• With team management and task management, keeping your employees productive using EngageBay is easy. You can also prevent task overlaps so everyone can stay focused on their own work.
• EngageBay’s sales and marketing automation can save you time in so many ways. From scheduling meetings to sending emails, posting on social media, and taking care of routine tasks that suck up hours of your day, using visual automation workflows will make a big difference. You select all triggers so the timing of each part of the workflow is precise.

Watch EngageBay’s full product demo below:

 

Cost compared to ActiveCampaign	Plans for any of EngageBay’s products start at $8.99 a month per user for 15,000 contacts. You can also use their Free plan with support for up to 1,000 contacts.
Trial?	Sign up for a free demo or use EngageBay’s Free plan forever.
Recommended if:	If you need an ActiveCampaign alternative that’s made for small businesses and startups, EngageBay is it. You get a surprising number of services as part of their Free plan, and pricing on their paid plans never exceeds a startup’s budget.
Not recommended if:	Should you need a lot of integrations, you’ll have to be patient since EngageBay’s integrations list is smaller compared to some more established sales and marketing tools.

EngageBay vs. ActiveCampaign Monthly Pricing

Contacts	ActiveCampaign	EngageBay (per user)
0 to 1,000	$25 for the Lite plan, $49 for the Plus plan, $129 for the Professional plan, and $229 for the Enterprise plan	$0
Up to 25,000	$205 for the Lite plan, $319 for the Plus plan, $479 for the Professional plan, custom pricing for the Enterprise plan	$12.99 for the Basic plan (up to 15,000 contacts) and $24.99 for the Growth plan (25,000 contacts)
Up to 50,000	$275 for the Lite plan, custom pricing for all other plans	$49.99

#2. HubSpot

Few names in sales and marketing software are as big as HubSpot, which divides its products into the Sales Hub, Marketing Hub, Service Hub, and CMS Hub.

Here are some of its best features:

• HubSpot’s CRM is always free. That can offset some of the high costs associated with using HubSpot’s sales, marketing, and customer service software.
• Automate more marketing tasks with workflows that follow an if/then style of branching behavior.
• HubSpot’s sales CRM is intended for developing new contacts, nurturing and engaging with them, and presenting your sales solutions at the appropriate time to close the deal.
• Work on your website with drag-and-drop page editing that utilizes custom code (if you know how to code).
• HubSpot offers integrations galore, including in areas such as PPC, helpdesk, events, CRM, email, CMS, video, ecommerce, surveying, project management, automation, social media, lead gen, workflow management, calling, sales, marketing, and analytics

Cost compared to ActiveCampaign	HubSpot’s Starter plan with 1,000 contacts at $45 a month is comparable to ActiveCampaign’s Plus plan at $49 a month for the same number of contacts. Then HubSpot’s pricing gets considerably more expensive without adding a lot of contacts.
Trial?	14 days free
Recommended if:	If you want name recognition with your sales and marketing software, HubSpot is the cream of the crop. Their free CRM is a nice feature too.
Not recommended if:	For startups and small businesses who plan on exceeding 1,000 contacts this year, the pricier plans through HubSpot are way outside of your budget.

HubSpot vs. ActiveCampaign Monthly Pricing

Contacts	ActiveCampaign	HubSpot
0 to 1,000	$25 for the Lite plan, $49 for the Plus plan, $129 for the Professional plan , and $229 for the Enterprise plan	$45 for the Marketing Hub Starter plan
Up to 2,500	$45 for the Lite plan, $99 for the Plus plan, $129 for the Professional plan, and $229 for the Enterprise plan	$800 for 2,000 contacts as part of the Marketing Hub Professional plan
Up to 10,000	$275 for the Lite plan, custom pricing for all other plans	$3,200 for the Marketing Hub Professional plan

#3. Pipedrive

The sales and CRM software Pipedrive was founded in 2010 in New York.

Although they might not have all the marketing features you would get by using ActiveCampaign, Pipedrive’s sales tools are more than strong enough to make up for that.

Here are some of the software’s features:

• Use unique integrations and features through the free Pipedrive app, including Pipedrive for Gmail, Google Drive syncing, Nearby map, web-to-mobile calls, audio notes, and Microsoft syncing.
• Pipedrive’s workflow automation includes personalized emails and flows you build to eliminate time-consuming everyday tasks.
• With the AI Sales Assistant, you get recommendations on how to improve your automation. The Sales Assistant also generates report graphs, sends notifications, and shares performance tips.
• Sync your emails with Pipedrive and then begin using features like group email sending, email templates for personalization, and analytics tracking (like open and click-through rates).
• Import leads from your old CRM or your saved spreadsheets into Pipedrive. Pipedrive has contacts timeline features that manage all interactions with your saved contacts, including emails and phone calls.

Cost compared to ActiveCampaign	Pipedrive doesn’t charge you by your  number of contacts, but you are billed per user. Even still, their pricing is much lower than ActiveCampaign’s to start.
Trial?	14 days free
Recommended if:	If you need to pay more attention to your sales processes, Pipedrive is a good solution. Their CRM is also a comprehensive tool.
Not recommended if:	Although Pipedrive has some email and marketing features thrown in, primarily, it’s a sales tool. You’d need to buy another marketing and customer service software if you need something more all-inclusive.

Pipedrive vs. ActiveCampaign Monthly Pricing

Plan Pricing	ActiveCampaign	Pipedrive (per user)
Basic	The Lite plan is $9 for 500 contacts, $25 for 1,000 contacts, $45 for 2,500 contacts, $79 for 5,000 contacts, $125 for 10,000 contacts, and $205 for 25,000 contacts	$15 for the Essential plan
Advanced	The Plus plan is $49 for up to 1,000 contacts, $99 for 2,500 contacts, $135 for 5,000 contacts, $199 for 10,000 contacts, and $319 for 25,000 contacts	$29 for the Advanced plan
Pro	The Pro plan is $129 for up to 2,500 contacts, $199 for 5,000 contacts, $279 for 10,000 contacts, and $479 for 25,000 contacts	$59 for the Professional plan
Comprehensive	The Enterprise plan is $229 for up to 2,500 contacts, $359 for 5,000 contacts, $399 for 10,000 contacts, and custom-priced beyond that	$99 for the Enterprise plan

#4. AWeber

Our fourth ActiveCampaign competitor is AWeber, a small business email marketing tool created in 1998.

Let’s take a look at some of AWeber’s top features compared to what you get with ActiveCampaign.

• Integrate with all the big names in software when using AWeber, including Facebook, WordPress, PayPal, Etsy, Shopify, Privy, and WooCommerce.
• Score prospects via quick targeting and segmentation so you can organize your leads in a jiffy. AWeber’s subscriber management tools then lets you do further categorization as well as manage your contacts.
• Automate your email workflows with triggers that activate depending on a lead or customer’s email behavior. You can also personalize your email communications, streamline routine tasks, and use auto-tagging with AWeber.
• Make your own landing pages, emails, and newsletters with drag-and-drop features or browse AWeber’s robust template library.
• AWeber delivers pre-built reports and analytics for optimizing your next marketing campaign.

Cost compared to ActiveCampaign	AWeber only has two plans, one of which is free. The paid plan is about on par with ActiveCampaign’s Lite plan pricing, only slightly more affordable.
Trial?	Use AWeber’s free plan, which is always $0
Recommended if:	If you want to look like a marketing whiz even as a startup or small business, switch from ActiveCampaign to AWeber.
Not recommended if:	Pipedrive doesn’t have a multitude of marketing features but excels in sales, and the opposite is true of AWeber. That’s one advantage of ActiveCampaign, that it has more sales and marketing features in one tool.

AWeber vs. ActiveCampaign Monthly Pricing

Contacts	ActiveCampaign	AWeber
0 to 500	$9 for the Lite plan, $49 for the Plus plan, $129 for the Professional plan, and $229 for the Enterprise plan	$0 for the Free plan and $19 for the Pro plan
Up to 2,500	$45 for the Lite plan, $99 for the Plus plan, $129 for the Professional plan, and $229 for the Enterprise plan	$29
Up to 5,000	$79 for the Lite plan, $99 for the Plus plan, $199 for the Professional plan, and $359 for the Enterprise plan	$49
Up to 10,000	$125 for the Lite plan, $199 for the Plus plan, $279 for the Professional plan, and $399 for the Enterprise plan	$69

#5. SharpSpring

The last of the ActiveCampaign competitors we want to talk about is SharpSpring.

Also founded in 1998, SharpSpring calls itself a “revenue growth platform” that’s supposed to be more affordable than other sales and marketing solutions.

Here are some standout features:

• SharpSpring’s social media management tool called SharpSpring Social takes care of post scheduling, automation, analytics, and more. This tool also features social CRM or SCRM.
• Integrate with apps and software like Formstack, Salesforce, SugarCRM, Wufoo, WordPress, Zoho, and Weebly.
• Produce and pore over SharpSpring marketing reports that track engagement, user behaviors, ROI, and other metrics crucial to your campaign’s successes.
• Build your own landing pages and emails using SharpSpring’s designer. Even if you don’t know programming or graphic design, your pages will look professional and appealing.
• Automate areas like marketing, CRM, and email within the platform.

Cost compared to ActiveCampaign	SharpSpring’s services are intended for SMBs, enterprises, and agencies, with different pricing depending on which you select.
Trial?	SharpSpring offers a free live demo
Recommended if:	If you want a sales and marketing solution that’s akin to ActiveCampaign yet has solutions for businesses at different stages of growth, SharpSpring could be what you’re looking for.
Not recommended if:	Small businesses with a tight budget might find some of SharpSpring’s plans unaffordable.

SharpSpring vs. ActiveCampaign Monthly Pricing

Contacts	ActiveCampaign	SharpSpring
0 to 1,500	$25 for the Lite plan, $49 for the Plus plan, $129 for the Professional plan, and $229 for the Enterprise plan	$550
Up to 10,000	$125 for the Lite plan, $199 for the Plus plan, $279 for the Professional plan, and $399 for the Enterprise plan	$850
Up to 25,000	$205 for the Lite plan, $319 for the Plus plan, $479 for the Professional plan, and custom pricing for the Enterprise plan	$1,250 for 2,000 contacts

Our Best Pick

Now that you’ve seen ActiveCampaign pricing compared to these great alternative tools, which is the best?

You can’t go wrong with any of the recommended software options, but we suggest EngageBay most of all.

Some of the software solutions we discussed excelled more in sales than marketing or vice-versa, including Pipedrive and AWeber.

EngageBay offers both sales and marketing features as well as CRM and customer service solutions.

Pound for pound, EngageBay can step up to ActiveCampaign.

Not only that, but in the pricing department, EngageBay is the clear winner!