ActiveCampaign Vs. Mailchimp: Which is best for your business?

ActiveCampaign Vs. MailChimp

MailChimp is a well-known and widely-used service that is well-known even among individuals who have never participated in email marketing. The email powerhouse debuted in 2001 and has remained popular with small businesses because of its simplicity and targeted branding.

ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, is a viable MailChimp alternative, and it’s been around nearly as long (since 2003). It is renowned as a marketing automation beast capable of satisfying even the most seasoned marketer.

We’ve been using MailChimp for years, but before reading this piece, we had never heard of ActiveCampaign. So we spent a long time comparing one application to another, and the differences were apparent. Here’s how MailChimp and ActiveCampaign stack up.

What Is ActiveCampaign?

ActiveCampaign has been assisting businesses in 170 countries in communicating with their customers since 2003. 

Over 150,000 organizations utilize their Customer Experience Automation (CXA) Platform to generate meaningful customer connections through email marketing, marketing automation, CRM, and machine learning for strong categorization and customization across social, email, messaging, chat, and text.

More than 75% of ActiveCampaign’s customers utilize its 850+ connections, which include Shopify, Square, Facebook, Events, WordPress, and Salesforce. On G2.com, ActiveCampaign has the best customer satisfaction rating of any Marketing Automation and CRM solution.

What Is MailChimp?

You may use MailChimp to create and distribute marketing emails to customers, manage mailing lists, and create email marketing campaigns. MailChimp is owned entirely by Ben Chestnut and Mark Armstrong, with Dan Kurzius joining later.

ActiveCampaign Vs. MailChimp: Features

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign provides a limited number of email templates. It means you’ll have to put in more effort when creating messages and determining how to start an email.

However, since these templates are designed for specific purposes, such as product suggestions, discount coupons, and welcome letters, it is easy to tailor your emails to them. Its downside is that writing your email from scratch may take longer.

ActiveCampaign includes the following functions:

1. Email Testing:

You may test your email once you’ve created it to see how it appears in different browsers and devices. It is a handy tool for ensuring that your email looks great to everyone who receives it.

The email testing capabilities are lovely since they enable you to see how your message looks on mobile, desktop, and various email clients.

A spam check examines the sender’s email address, the sender’s email client, and the domain to assess whether or not a message is a spam.

2. Advanced Segmentation:

ActiveCampaign segments are created depending on factors you choose, such as demographics, location, or behavior. It’s a great tool for narrowing your audience for more focused communication. You can even tailor segments to users’ behavior on your site or app.

You may also create dynamic segments that update automatically when new subscribers meet your criteria. It is an effective technique for narrowly targeting your audience.

3. CRM Integration:

CRM connection is a valuable tool for sales teams because it helps them to monitor interactions with prospects and customers. It also enables the sending of pre-written messages in response to customer interactions with the CRM system, such as purchases or appointment requests.

You may also build automation procedures that trigger certain CRM system operations based on email exchanges. You may add someone to a sales cycle when they open an email or click on a link.

4. Auto Responder:

ActiveCampaign’s autoresponder feature enables you to send messages based on various actions taken by your subscribers.

An email welcome message or a purchase confirmation might be sent to a new subscriber after they’ve purchased from your store. You may also personalize your messaging by developing customized messages for different audience groups.

5. Custom Domain:

Using the custom domain option, you may use your domain name for your ActiveCampaign account. It is a powerful method for increasing brand awareness and trust among your target audience.

It also makes it easier to monitor email exchanges since all links in your messages will contain your domain name.

6. Detailed Email Analytics:

ActiveCampaign provides detailed email statistics to show you how well your messages are doing. Open and click-through rates, as well as unsubscribe rates, are all available.

It is also possible to monitor how your email subscribers respond to you by tracking whether they open your messages, click on links, or forward them to others. This helpful information may help you improve your email marketing strategy.

7. Social Data Enrichment:

Using the social data enrichment tool, you may add social media data to your contact information. This handy information can assist you in better identifying your target audience and creating more targeted messages.

You may also use this data to create audience segments based on their social media behavior. It will enable you to focus your message more effectively and communicate with your audience deeper.

MailChimp:

MailChimp will be a breeze to utilize if you have expertise with email marketing. The interface is straightforward, making it suitable for newcomers. The capabilities of MailChimp are broad and cover all elements of email marketing automation.

1. Email Templates:

MailChimp offers many email templates from which to create your messages. There is a template for every communication, from promotional to transactional.

You may also customize the templates to match your company’s identity. It is a fantastic tool for creating consistent, professional-looking text.

2. Marketing CRM:

You may monitor subscriber activity related to your brand with the marketing CRM tool. It lets you send predetermined messages to specific contacts depending on their actions.

You may also use the marketing CRM to segment your customers further and focus your message. It is a fantastic tool for increasing the ROI of your email marketing efforts.

3. Audience Dashboard:

A dashboard for your audience may help you better understand your subscribers. It provides data on demographics, interests, and levels of engagement. You may also use the dashboard to categorize your audience and better focus your message. It is a fantastic tool for increasing the ROI of your email marketing automation efforts.

4. Segmentation:

MailChimp’s segmentation option allows you to divide your audience into groups based on predefined criteria, enabling you to offer them more targeted and relevant content. It is suitable for raising open and click-through rates and overall marketing ROI.

Demographics, hobbies, degrees of involvement, and contact history may all be used to segment your audience. It is timely information that may assist you in developing more relevant messages.

5. A/B Testing:

Email testing may help you improve the efficacy of your email marketing initiatives. It allows you to test several versions of your messages to see which ones perform best. It is valuable information that can help you improve the overall performance of your email marketing activities.

6. Automation:

MailChimp’s automation function allows you to send automated messages based on certain subscriber behaviors. It is a fantastic tool for increasing the ROI of your email marketing efforts.

You can send automated notifications concerning contact activity, subscriber participation, and purchase history. You may use this data to better relate to your readers or listeners.

7. Predicted Demographics:

The expected demographics tool predicts if a subscriber will connect with your material based on their demographic information. This important information may help you target your message more effectively.

This information may be used to further segment and target your message. It is a vital tool for increasing the return on investment of your email marketing automation.

ActiveCampaign Vs. MailChimp: Ease Of Use

ActiveCampaign is simpler to use than MailChimp, yet both are simple to master.

MailChimp:

The drag-and-drop editor in MailChimp makes it easy to create beautiful emails without technical knowledge. They also provide a template library with over 100 professionally designed email templates that can be customized to meet your brand.

The MailChimp user interface is well-organized and straightforward. The features and tools are well labeled and easy to find from the main menu. It is a fantastic alternative if you’re starting with email marketing or don’t want to spend much time setting up and learning new email marketing tools.

When you first start using MailChimp, you will have a fantastic experience. It details the processes involved and why they must be carried out in a particular manner.

MailChimp, for example, investigates the advantages of segmenting your contact list to send more targeted emails.

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign is a complex system with many capabilities. Learning to use it may be challenging if you are unfamiliar with it. The UI is not as user-friendly as MailChimp’s, and finding the features you’re looking for may be challenging.

ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, offers a few lessons demonstrating how to utilize its email marketing platform. These classes are well-written, with screenshots and step-by-step directions.

It’s challenging to determine where to start since many aspects rely on past acts. You can’t create a lead score, for example, until you first create a section. Seasoned ActiveCampaign email marketers may already know this, but it’s tough to learn if you’re new to the platform.

ActiveCampaign also doesn’t provide much assistance from inside the platform. It would be beneficial if they included an introduction video that explained where everything is and how to use it. They assume you’re already acquainted with email marketing.

ActiveCampaign Vs. MailChimp: Deliverability

When talking about email, “deliverability” refers to how many messages make it to the inbox. A high deliverability rate ensures that your emails are returned to their intended recipients.

MailChimp:

MailChimp has an excellent delivery track record. They use best practices to ensure their clients’ emails get in their inboxes.

In addition, they have a strict anti-spam policy in place and regularly monitor their customers’ email campaigns to guarantee compliance. If MailChimp suspects your campaign is spam, it will be suspended immediately.

MailChimp does not offer dedicated IP addresses. Thus your deliverability rate may be lower than with another service, and their improved spam detection compensates for this.

ActiveCampaign:

The email deliverability of ActiveCampaign is also excellent, and we haven’t had any serious issues with them in this regard. They also provide superior deliverability options and tools, which is a huge advantage.

It’s also worth mentioning that Gmail has white-listed ActiveCampaign, which means that emails from ActiveCampaign are less likely to be classified as spam.

In terms of deliverability, ActiveCampaign trumps MailChimp. If you care about your email messages being read, ActiveCampaign is the way to go.

ActiveCampaign Vs. MailChimp: Email Analytics:

Keeping track of your email analytics is vital to determine what is and is not working. ActiveCampaign is the way to go if you care about your email messages get read.

MailChimp:

MailChimp gives basic email stats, such as how many people read your email and click on the links. It also shows the unsubscribe and response rates.

The reporting is concise and easy to understand, and you can see which links were clicked the most and which were not. In MailChimp, you can also A/B test your email subject lines and content to see what works best for your audience.

ActiveCampaign:

The email deliverability of ActiveCampaign is also excellent, and we haven’t had any serious issues with them in this regard. They also provide superior deliverability options and tools, which is a huge advantage.

It’s also worth mentioning that Gmail has white-listed ActiveCampaign, which means that emails from ActiveCampaign are less likely to be classified as spam.

In terms of deliverability, ActiveCampaign trumps MailChimp. If you care about your email messages being read, ActiveCampaign is the way to go.

ActiveCampaign Vs. MailChimp: Customer Support

Customer support is essential to consider when picking between ActiveCampaign and MailChimp. If you’re starting started, you may not need much assistance. However, if you operate a business, you’ll want to ensure that you have access to someone who can help you if anything goes wrong.

MailChimp:

MailChimp’s support options include a knowledge base, email support, and live chat. The knowledge base is extensive, including how-to guides and commonly asked questions.

Email support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Live chat is only accessible during business hours, and you should expect a response time of several hours.

If you’re on the free plan, email is the only form of contact you’ll have. If you pick a premium membership, you can access live chat support Monday through Friday.

Furthermore, if you choose the Premium (most expensive) plan, you will only get phone support Monday through Friday.

When you contact MailChimp for help, the first thing they’ll want you to do is to go through their Knowledge Base. You may contact customer support if you can’t find what you’re searching for.

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign offers email and live chat support. In addition, the firm has a substantial knowledge collection that contains manuals, how-tos, and FAQs.

Email and phone support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and responses are usually received within a few hours. Live chat is accessible during business hours.

Unlike MailChimp, ActiveCampaign makes it much easier to contact an actual person. You don’t have to go through a knowledge base to find a way to contact customer support.

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