ConvertKit verses ActiveCampaign. Which One is Better?
Email Marketing is not exactly a difficult concept but you are better off using an online email marketing platform that is going to make things even simpler for you. As of now, we look at two of the biggest email marketing tools available for you ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign and investigate what each offers and their own set of advantages and features.
But that does beg the question: Which one is the best for you? That is ultimately dependent on your preferences. In order to make the choice, it is best that you know each of these tools as to what they can offer.
The Basics
First things first, what are ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign? Although both are technically email marketing services, each platform has its own design focus and philosophy.
For Convertkit, it has always been a tool mainly designed for bloggers especially those with a rather personalized brand. It can also be used for strictly e-commerce related purposes but it was not designed for that solely. Also, as far as other Email Service Providers (ESP) are concerned, ConvertKit is the youngest platform out there as it had only been introduced in 2015 and currently commands a user base of approximately 15,000 people.
As for ActiveCampaign, it is a software tool that was designed for small business owners with the purpose of providing email automation, among several other services, such as sales automation and marketing automation. It was originally an on-premise software that business owners could install on their own servers but was redesigned as a service-based software model in the mid-2010s.
Similarities
Since ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit tend to cater to the same group of markets, they also have some similar features. Here are some of the similarities shared by these tools:
- Automation – Both tools allow you to create funnels for your email marketing campaigns using their own set of triggers.
- Web Forms – These programs already have their own web forms so you won’t have to subscribe to another program like OptinMonster just for your fill-up forms.
- Subscriber Tagging – You can easily tag email subscribers with either tool.
- Automated Broadcasting – Either tool allows you to schedule the broadcasts of your content after creating them.
- Audience Segmentation – Both ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign allow you to segment your audience based on a number of specific demographic and performance metrics.
- WordPress Integration – Both platforms are compatible with various WordPress plug-ins and allow for easy integration of other forms into your webpages.
- Easy Migration – If you are already using an ESP now, both ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign will allow you to migrate your assets from your existing ESP service to their databases.
What Makes Them Different?
Now that you know what makes each program similar, what would make ActiveCampaign and Convert Kit different from each other then? As of now, they differ in two aspects.
- Landing Pages – When you peruse the ConvertKit website there is a lot of talk of ‘creators’. These are a reference for ConvertKit’s target audience. Effectively, everyday people with a side hustle, a hobby or a passion that want to get online, create a brand for themselves and be able to manage that fledgling micro-business. Aside from the actual email marketing part, both providers have landing pages. However, with ConvertKit pretty much all the templates are around these creators looking to launch themselves online. With that focus there are many styles to choose from. ActiveCampaign does have Pages but it is more advanced. If you want to spend your time working on your art and not get bogged down with web design then ConvertKit landing pages are more ready to go.
- Plug-in Integration – Generally speaking, both ActiveCampaign and Convertkit allow you to easily integrate plug-ins in their platforms.
However, it seems that ConvertKit has a bit more integration issues as users can report bugs and glitches when using third-party plug-ins from time to time. However, this is not something that is fixable in time or avoidable if you know what plug-ins work best for your current ESP setup.
Features
It’s time that we get to know these tools better. Just remember that each tool has its own set of features to offer, many of which may or may not be what you need given your current setup.
For ConvertKit, it offers several features such as:
- Email list building and expansions.
- Tagging and categories to better segment your email marketing audiences.
- Customizable sign-up forms that are easy to integrate to your current website’s layout.
- Custom sequences and conditions to automate further your email marketing.
- E-commerce specific tools and services that are likewise easy to integrate into your website.
As for Active Campaign, it gives several features which include the following:
- Easy e-mail customization via drag and drop system.
- Split testing features so you can tell whether or not a campaign can succeed before you publish it.
- Contact content customization based on their history and other performance metrics.
- Easy data collection and organization.
- Easy campaign scheduling and automization.
But, of course, features are just part of the aspects you have to look into when choosing the best. There are others to consider which will follow shortly.
Automation
Both ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit were designed with automation in mind. What this means is that every feature or setting offered on either platform will ultimately lead to your email marketing campaigns being rendered fully automated. This is provided, of course, that you know what you are doing.
For instance, in ConvertKit, you can automatically have your email subscribers listed in an automation sequence as soon as they join your list. What this means is that they can then start receiving whatever email you have set to be published later on while triggering certain content if they meet certain performance metrics.
Now, would automation be difficult and complicated with ConvertKit? Not really. ConvertKit offers “blueprints” or templates that you could follow to automate your email marketing and sales funnels.
What this means is that you get to choose from different combinations of pre-set triggers and conditions or create your own sequence by mixing and matching such features.
For example, let’s say that you want to funnel your subscribers to a sales page or social media users who clicked on one of your social media campaigns to your landing page. You can choose what triggers which content and where people go to on your pages just by mixing and matching different conditions and triggers. On paper, this would allow you to easily create funnels for your content with your subscribers even if you know next to nothing about coding.
What ActiveCampaign offers on automation is similar to ConvertKit but even simpler to the point of being fool-proof. When you choose a certain trigger, ConvertKit does this little “if (X), then (Y)” explanation at the side. At the very least, you would know how exactly that trigger is going to affect your automation sequence. Combine this with the built-in performance tracking system and what you will have is a fairly reliable email marketing automation system.
However, this could be off-set by the sheer amount of triggers for you to choose from which can be intimidating. Depending on what you include, your automation will be efficient or too complicated for no apparent reason.
Email Marketing
In this aspect, both programs offer roughly the same features with some slight technical variations here and there. However, ActiveCampaign has one slight advantage over its competitor in one aspect: customization. For starters, the program uses a drag-and-drop designing feature which allows you to add whatever feature you want and where they will be located in the webpage. Furthermore, the designing process is so simplified that non-technical folk can come up with a decent page design loaded with the features that they want without learning how to code.
Of course, the things that you will add and integrate in your email marketing campaigns will affect the deliverability of your content. In this regard, both ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit have a wealth of information, best practices, community support and checkers to tackle this important aspect of ensuring your emails will arrive in the recipients inbox.
There is also the option to customize your messages according to the different audience groups that you have set up. For instance, if you are operating a blog, the RSS Feed option will automatically send updates to your subscribers to notify them of new content. There will also be tests offered to see which of your campaigns have been the most effective in funneling online traffic to your business brand.
As for ConvertKit, it offers better registration form designs made to ensure maximum responsiveness for audiences. Simply put, you have more options for fill-up forms that are not intrusive for audiences when it comes to ConvertKit. And if the templates are not up to your preferences, you can build your forms yourself with some WordPress plug-ins.
Pricing
Before we proceed, it’s best that you seriously consider paying for your ESPs. Sure, there are free to use platforms out there but what they offer is comparatively basic to more premium products.
With that in mind, you should expect to invest considerably for either ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign. As to the question of which of these platforms are the best for you price-wise, that’s one aspect that you must find out for yourself. After all, your needs are quite different from another business.
With those out of the way, what you have to consider is that both ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit offer four basic pricing plans.
- ConvertKit
In this platform, your pricing plan will be according to the number of subscribers that you want to support regularly. The cheapest plan is at $29 and will allow you to support as much as 1,000 subscribers per year. The next is at $49 which will allow support in between 1,000 to 3,000 subscribers.
The highest set price is at $79 per month which allows support for 3,000 to 5,000 subscribers. There is also a custom plan where you can place whatever desired subscriber size that you want and the service will automatically calculate the price for you.
Will there be a difference on the features that you get for every price plan? The answer is no. The feature set for ConvertKit is always the same regardless of what price plan you go for. However, free migration is only available at the $79 plan and some custom plan setups.
- ActiveCampaign
As for ActiveCampaign’s pricing plans, they are a bit more customizable. First, you are given the option to choose how many subscribers you want to support. The number of subscribers that you want will then determine the price range you will have to choose from for each plan.
In practice, this means that pricing plans with ActiveCampaign can go as low as $10 or as high as $1,000 every month depending on the needs of your brand.
The User Experience
Which of these platforms are the easiest to use for common folk like you?
From the get-go, it seems that ConvertKit is the comparatively “user-friendly” program with its less-demanding UI and built-in assistance service. From a very simple dashboard to the aforementioned drag and drop designing system, everything with ConvertKit is designed with non-techie people in mind.
As for ActiveCampaign, one cursory glance at their dashboard will tell you that a LOT is going on and this might intimidate newbies. With a lot of options immediately available right from the start, you would need someone to guide you through what would work best for you.
And this is where the 24/7 live chat support comes into play. Having an actual human being at the other end guide you as to how to use each option properly while also tending to your specific concerns can be rather helpful. In essence, you get to improve your email marketing campaigns gradually with ActiveCampaign.
The Verdict
So, with all that is said and done, which of these platforms is the superior product?
The most honest answer that you could get is NEITHER. ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit have their own set of quirks and features that will cater to very different marketing needs.
As of this juncture, you should have an idea as to which platform works best for you as ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit have features, plans, and systems that would allow you to play very different strategies.
If you are the person looking for a way to build and grow your email list while accurately tracking performance for your email marketing campaigns, then ActiveCampaign is ideal for you. But if you want a more automated affair so you could focus on other aspects of your brand, then ConvertKit would be highly recommended.
With that being said, all you have to do is choose. If you are convinced that ConvertKit is the tool for you, then click here. But if you feel that ActiveCampaign has features that you need, then you should click here.