ConvertKit Vs ActiveCampaign! Choosing among these two is a big decision. Both ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit are pretty different email marketing software. So, it really depends on what exactly you want for your specific business. ActiveCampaign is more focused on Salespeople and ConvertKit is mainly focused on bloggers and content marketers. Below is a comparison between ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign. By the end of this comparison, you can decide which one is the right option for you.
Quick Summary
ConvertKit
- Built-in lead capture pages
- More versatile forms
- High deliverability rate
- Built-in email Sequences
- Text-based Emails
- Affordable
- Free version Available Forever
- Good for content Marketers, Bloggers, & Single Business owners
- Website: https://convertkit.com?lmref=9tpN1Q
ActiveCampaign
- Great visual automation
- More integrations
- Anti-spam policy
- SMS Marketing
- Built-in CRM
- Good analytics & Reporting
- Split testing for different versions
- 14 -days free trial with limited features
- Good for large corporate business
- Website: https://www.activecampaign.com
What is ConvertKit?
ConvertKit is one of the fastest-growing email marketing companies in the world. It’s easy to use, its visual automation workflow is great, and so many other features make ConvertKit unique. They are providing customizable landing pages and sign-up forms.
Who uses: Single business owners, Bloggers, Content marketers
What is ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign is an email marketing, CRM & Chat system with sales automation software. You will get the all the features like sending simple emails to complex multi-step automation. ActiveCampaign is mainly focusing on automation. On its lowest price pricing plan, $9 /month, you will get all the basic features for email marketing. In its higher plan from $49 /month to $258 /month, you can access pro features like lead scoring, A/B testing, Sending SMS, etc. ActiveCampaign has features beyond email marketing and automation such as CRM and Chat systems.
Who uses: Large corporate businesses, ECommerce, Complex automation
FAQs
Main Difference Between ActiveCampaign & ConvertKit
- ConvertKit is more affordable than ActiveCampaign. You will get so many important features for a low price in ConvertKit than ActiveCampaign.
- ActiveCampaign has more templates than ConvertKit. ConvertKit is mainly focused on Text-based templates.
- ActiveCampaign has a drag and drop feature that ConvertKit doesn’t have.
- ActiveCampaign is mainly focused on Email automation. It has more advanced complex features than ConvertKit. However, in ConvertKit you can build simple and quick automation.
- ActiveCampaign is best for Online marketers and sales-oriented people. ConverKit is best for Bloggers and content creators.
- ActiveCampaign has a Built-in CRM. In ConvertKit we have to integrate with third-party CRMs.
Why you should use ConvertKit over ActiveCampaign
Here’s what’s great about ConvertKit:
- They have Built-in lead capture pages: ConvertKit has customizable and attractive landing pages for capturing leads. You can save some money by not having Lead Pageservices like Unbounce, Leadpages, Instapage, etc.
- More versatile forms: ConvertKit has more options in its form builder than ActiveCampaign does.
- Built-in email Sequences: To create something like ConvertKit’s Sequences on ActiveCampaign, you have to manually create an Automation, which is an inconvenient process compared to ConvertKit’s Sequence builder.
- It has an easy-to-use editor for simple emails. ConvertKit makes it very easy to compose plain emails or text-based emails.
- ConvertKit has an interface for adding and uploading images.
Why you should use ActiveCampaign over ConvertKit
Here’s what’s great about ActiveCampaign:
- An extremely powerful Automation builder: You can build about any automation you can imagine with it. It is visual. So, you can see exactly what you’re building.
- More email templates: If you want many design options for email templates, ActiveCampaign easily beat ConvertKit.
- Gmail Extension: Sometimes people from your list reply to your emails. With ActiveCampaign’s Gmail extension, you can view all of that person’s information in your sidebar itself.
- Built-in CRM: This is for $49 and higher plans. If you do any sort of online sales, ActiveCampaign is a clear choice. You can bring leads into your email campaigns, and score those leads based upon links clicked and emails opened.
- SMS Marketing: This is also for $49 and higher plans. If you want to send a discount code to a customer if you want to alert a sales agent to follow up on a lead. You can do it with SMS marketing.
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Current Customers
Market Share
Let’s check out these comparisons also.
Some of the common features & their rating are given below.
| Email Marketing Features | ConvertKit | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use |  5Easy to use. Best for beginners. | 4 A little bit difficult to use at first. |
| A/B Split Testing | 3 Only for the subject line | 5 You can split-test everything like subject line, email content, title, automation, etc. |
| Apps & Integration | 4 | 4.5 |
| Automation | 4.5 Great visual automation. But a limited number of triggers. | 5 Great automation workflow with various features. |
| Analytics & Report | 3 Basic reporting | 4 Better reporting with visuals. |
| Contact Management | 5 | 5 |
| Deliverability | 5 Around 99% deliverability rate | 4 Around 96% deliverability rate |
| Email Builder | 4 Limited customization option | 5 |
| Sign-up forms | 4 | 4.5 Visual editor. But comes under a higher plan. |
| Templates & Designs | 3.5 A limited number of templates | 4.5 |
| List segmentation | 5 | 5 |
| Customer support | 3 | 5 |
| Value for money | 4.5 | 3 Bit expensive |
Features In-Depth Review
1. Contact Management
>> ActiveCampaign
List management in ActiveCampaign is very easy. You can find all the options on the left itself. There you have to click on contacts. From that, you can manage your contacts, Manage Scoring, tags, exclusion, clean up the list, etc. In ActiveCampaign, you can add contacts in many ways. You can add contacts manually by adding them one by one, you can import the contacts from CSV files, and you can also copy and paste the contacts.
ActiveCampaign Adding Subscribers
You can also import the contacts by using app integration. Also, you can sync contacts automatically. Its expert migration service will help you to move your contacts from the other marketing automation providers to ActiveCampaign. Then you can create different segments to the contact list and also you can give tags to them. Some of the services are given below.
>> ConvertKit
ConvertKit allows you to add only one subscriber’s list. But you can organize the subscribers by segments and tag. You can give tags to the subscribers based on your interest. And also you can create segments of contacts with similar characteristics. If you import more contacts, they all will go to the same previous list. You can add subscribers to the ConvertKit using 3 ways. You can simply add the subscribers manually, you can import CSV files or you can import the contacts from another provider like Mailchimp, Mailerlite, etc. You can also create segments and give tags to the contacts. List management in ConvertKit is given below.
ConvertKit Adding Subscribers
Key Take-Aways: Adding contact lists in ActiveCampaign & ConvertKit is quite the same. But ActiveCampaign provides more services that allow you to add new contacts automatically.
Winner of Contact Management: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign : 1 – 0 : ConvertKit
2. Templates & Design
When talking about the templates, ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit have a lot of differences.
>> ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has around 150+ modern and responsive email templates. You can create stunning and eye-catching emails using ActiveCampaign. You can also write code to create your own email templates. All the templates are responsive and attractive. You can easily edit these templates and change them as your own. There are basic templates, designed templates, Layouts, and past campaigns. And all these templates are again categorized into different categories. So you can easily find a template according to your need. You can also create the templates from the scratch.
ActiveCampaign Templates
>> ConvertKit
On the other hand, ConvertKit is mainly focused on text-only emails. There are mainly 3 options for templates in ConvertKit. They are Classic, Modern, and Text only. Among these, text-only is only focusing on the text. So there are only 2 templates. We can only change the appearance of the font by changing font style, font color, etc. and we can add images and links also. If you are an expert, you can code your own email templates using an HTML editor. ConvertKit is not a design-centric email marketing tool. But the studies are saying that the deliverability of the emails is high for non-design-centric emails. A text-based email will most likely end up in the inbox and not in the Spam folder.
ConverKit Templates
Key Take-Aways: ActiveCampaign has more than 150 templates. ConvertKit has only around 4 templates. Because ConvertKit is text-based. And ConvertKit is more focused on bloggers and content marketers. ActiveCampaign is more focused on online marketers. So we can’t determine a clear winner here. Both are winners in their own way.
Winner of Templates: It is a tie.
ActiveCampaign : 2 – 1 : ConvertKit
3. Campaigns & Email Builder
>> ActiveCampaign
In ActiveCampaign, the campaign creation comes under the campaign option. For creating the campaign, you have to choose the campaign type first. ActiveCampaign provides you mainly with 6 types. They are Standard, Automated, auto-responder, split testing, RSS triggered, and date based.
The email builder of ActiveCampaign is cool. There are a lot of options are available in the editor section. The drag and drop options are available. You can add images, links, videos from youtube, etc. You can save a content block and you can also hide a content block from mobile devices. You can also customize the fields the way you want.
You can’t use a free email provider like Gmail as senders’ emails. ActiveCampaign will recommend using custom from your website domain. Because there is a chance for the email marked as spam when we use free email providers.
>> ConvertKit
The campaign of ConvertKit comes under the send option. You can send broadcasts and also sequences. Broadcast is a one-time email to your customers. By sequences, you can create multiple emails that can be sent in a specific interval of time. In ConvertKit, the email campaign is called Broadcast.
Creating a broadcast in ConvertKit is very easy. And also the email builder is easy to use. There are only limited options present in the editor section. The email builders are text-based. So, the customization of only the text like changing font size, font color, and adding images is available. There are no drag and drop options available in the ConvertKit.
You can create an A/B test from the editor itself. There the A/B test is for the subject line. You can create 2 subject lines and test which subject line is performing better.
Key Take-Aways: ActiveCampaign has so many features in its email editor. It has the Drag and Drop editor. And also, ActiveCampaign has so many campaign options. But the editor of ConvertKit is very simple. It is text-based. You can only edit the font style.
Winner of Campaign & Email Builder: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign : 3 – 1 : ConvertKit
4. Automation Workflow
>> ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is more focused on its Automation. Automation is the feature that makes ActiveCampaign powerful. It provides you with 100+ automation templates. To create automation, you have to provide the web page URL. ActiveCampaign provides you with a visual automation workflow. You can do anything using ActiveCampaign’s Automation. Because it has no limit. You can send emails, SMS, site message, notification mail, etc. You can create various conditions and workflows. You can also create various tasks with the help of plenty of apps. You can create automation from the scratch also.
ActiveCampaign Automation
>> ConvertKit
ConvertKit also has a great visual automation workflow. You can create your own automation workflow as well as you can use templates. There are so many options available for ConvertKit such as Event, Action, and Condition. Automation is available in the $9 and higher plan and not in the free version.
ConvertKit Automation
Key Take-Aways: In the area of automation workflow, ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit are head to head. But when it comes to features of automation, then ActiveCampaign has an edge over ConvertKit.
Winner of Automation: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign : 4 – 1 : ConvertKit
5. Analytics & Report
>> ActiveCampaign
The Analytics and Reporting of ActiveCampaign are better when compared to ConvertKit. By using ActiveCampaign, we can see the open rates, click rate, unsubscribed rate, click-maps, page visit, geo-tracking, etc. You will also get a report of the sales performance because ActiveCampaign has an in-build CRM. If you are integrated with eCommerce websites like Shopify, WooCommerce, etc. you will get its report also.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is providing only the basic analytics & Report. You can only see the Open rate, Click rate, and Unsubscribers rate. If you are connected to an eCommerce store, you won’t even get the conversion rate. You can’t get the social media conversion and also bounce rate.
Key Take-Aways: Analytics & Report is better in ActiveCampaign than ConvertKit. ActiveCampaign provides you with Open rates, click rates, Unsubscribed rates, click-maps, page visits, geo-tracking, etc. But ConvertKit provides you only basic reports like deliverability rate, open rate, click rate, and unsubscribed rate.
Winner of Analytics & Report: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign : 5 – 1 : ConvertKit
6. Pricing comparison
>> ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free version. It only has a 14-day free trial. The Pricing plan of ActiveCampaign is given below.
Lite: $9 /month Marketing Automation, Email marketing, site & event tracking, Campaign & automation reporting, Chat & Email support, Lead capture forms, etc.
Plus: $49 /month Features of Lite plan + Landing page, Advanced performance reporting Automation map, built-in CRM, Contact & Lead scoring, SMS sending, etc.
Professional: $149 /month Plus plan features + Split automation, Sales engagement automation, Site message, Predictive sending, Pro implementation service, etc.
Enterprise: $258 /month Features of Professional plan + HIPAA compliance, Create custom object via API, Customize your mail server domain, Custom SMS number, Phone support, custom marketing strategy, etc.
>> ConvertKit
ConvertKit has a free version and as well a paid version. The Pricing plan of ConvertKit is given below.
Free: Up to 1000 subscribers, Unlimited landing pages & forms, Send email broadcasts, Sell digital products & Subscription, Community support
Creator: $9 /month Features of Free plan + Free migration from another tool, Automated funnels & Sequences.
Creator Pro: $25 /month Creator plan features + Facebook custom audience, Newsletter referral system, Subscriber scoring. Advanced reporting.
The detailed pricing comparison is given below.
Main Email Marketing Features
| Main Features | ActiveCampaign ($9 Plan) | ConvertKit ($9 Plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Users | 1 User | 1 User |
| Send newsletters |  | |
| Email marketing | | |
| Marketing automation | | |
| Landing pages |  You can create landing pages $49 /month or higher plans | |
| Automations map | Automation map provided for $49 /month and higher plans | |
| Split automation | Only for $149 /month or higher plan | |
| Build-in CRM | ActiveCampaign provides Build-in CRM for only $49 and higher plans | You have to integrate with Hubspot or Zoho |
| Contact & lead scoring | For $49 and higher plan | For only $25 plan |
| Site messages | For $149 and higher plan | For $25 and higher plan |
| Predictive sending | For $149 and higher plan | |
| Drag & drop email designer | | ConvertKit doesn’t have a Drag and Drop feature. We can only add images and links in the editor. |
| Free email templates | | ConvertKit provides you with only 3 templates. ie. Classic, Modern, and Text only. All are text-based templates |
| Import existing contacts | | |
| Autoresponders | | |
| In-depth reporting | | Only for $25 plan |
| GEO tracking | | |
| Conditional content | For $49 and higher plan | You have to use the liquid template for conditional content |
| Unlimited sending | | |
| Subscribe by SMS | Only for $49 and higher plans | You have to integrate with Textiful |
| Inbox preview (Email testing) | Optional – Paid | You can send test emails. But Email client preview is provided for the $25 plan. |
| Social data | Optional – Paid | |
| SMS sending | Only for $49 and higher plans | You have to integrate with SimpleTexting. You have to pay for that also. |
| Newsletter Referal system | | |
Integration Features
| Integration | ActiveCampaign ($9 Plan) | ConvertKit ($9 Plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Auto import from other services | | |
| Subscription forms | | |
| Site & event tracking | | |
| Facebook Custom Audience integration | For $49 and higher plans | Only for $25 plan |
| Social media tools & integrations | For $49 and higher plans | |
| API & webhooks | | |
| Database sync | For $49 and higher plans | |
| Customize your application URL (for application access) | For $49 and higher plans | You can do this only if you are using WordPress |
| Rebranding (remove our logo from forms) | Only for $49 and higher plan | |
| Create custom objects via API | Only for $258 plan | |
| Custom SMS number | Provides only for $258 plan | |
eCommerce Features
| Ecommerce Features | ActiveCampaign ($9 Plan) | ConvertKit ($9 Plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Sell digital products | To sell digital products, you have to integrate with SendOwl. You have to pay again for that SendOwl. That will be costly. | |
| Run a paid newsletter | | |
| Sell recurring subscriptions | For Sell recurring subscription, you have to integrate ActiveCampaign with ReCharge | |
| Transaction Fee | Around 3% | 3.5%+30c |
| Ecommerce Integration | | |
Support & Training
| Support & Training | ActiveCampaign ($9 Plan) | ConvertKit ($9 Plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Live chat & email-based support | | |
| Managed email delivery | | |
| Comprehensive strategic enablement | | |
| Free custom email design service | Only for $49 and higher plans | |
| Phone support | Only for $258 plan | ConverKit doesn’t provide phone support in any plan |
| Accelerated Onboarding training | | |
| Data migration service | | |
Note
ConvertKit has a refund policy. If you cancel a paid plan, you can request a refund within 30 days. It is applicable in all plans. But ActiveCampaign does not provide a refund policy with any plan.
Key Take-Aways: When it comes to pricing, ConvertKit is more affordable than ActiveCampaign. ConvertKit has a free version. But ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free version. ActiveCampaign has only a free trial. And also you will get more features at an affordable price in ConvertKit.
Winner of Pricing: ConvertKit
ActiveCampaign : 5 – 2 : ConvertKit
7. Integration
Both ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit provide various numbers of integration. And both of them allow you to set up APIs.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign supports over 800 integrations. It is integrated with popular apps and websites like Shopify, Squarespace, WordPress, Woocommerce, etc. It also integrates with Zapier and helps to build APIs.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit has around 100 integrations. It is integrated with popular apps and websites like Shopify, Squarespace, WordPress, Zapier, Woocommerce, etc. But they are not integrated with big CRMs. The list of some integration in ConvertKit is given below.
Key Take-Aways: In the case of Integration, ActiveCampaign has more than 800 integrations. But ConvertKit has around 100 integrations. So we have a clear winner here.
Winner of Integration: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign : 6 – 2 : ConvertKit
8. Customer support
ActiveCampaign
You can access customer support via email, and live chat, with the knowledge base, and tutorials are also available. The customer service of ActiveCampaign is pretty good. They will try to provide proper customer service for all of our inquiries.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit offers email support and Live Chat support for all the customers (For free plans and also for higher plans), and also they are providing peer-to-peer support. They are providing limited live chat support on weekends. And also they are providing free quick migration for all plans and free advanced migration for importing 5k+ contacts. But the Customer support of ConvertKit is not that good. Because they are not providing better customer support. They will take time to reply to us.
Key Take-Aways: ActiveCampaign’s customer support is better than ConvertKit.
Winner of Customer support: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign : 7 – 2 : ConvertKit
Alternatives of ActiveCampaign & ConvertKit
>> Constant Contact
>> MailerLite
>> Omnisend
>> Klaviyo
>> AWeber
>> Marketo
>> Drip
>> Pardot
>> Infusionsoft
>> SendPulse
| ActiveCampaign | ConvertKit | |
|---|---|---|
| Found in | Started in 2003. Headquarted in Chicago, Illinois, US | Started in 2013. Headquarted in Boise, Idaho |
| Customer Geography | ActiveCampaign is getting around 55% traffic from the USA and Australia. Given below is the customer geography of ActiveCampaign. | And also ConvertKit is getting around 55% traffic from USA and Canada. Given below is the customer geography of ConvertKit.  |
| Organic Vs paid Traffic | ActiveCampaign is getting traffic from around 85% organic keywords and about 15% paid keywords. | ConvertKit is getting traffic from around 90% organic keywords and about 10% paid keywords. |
| Top Website | The top websites that use ActiveCampaign is given below. >> Mandatory >> Consequence >> euronews >> Eluniverso >> Brighteon | The top websites that use ConvertKit is given below. >> Blogging For Devs >> RecipeTin Eats >> Sally's Baking Addiction >> Natasha's Kitchen >> Once Upon a Chef |
Conclusion
ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign are both great services. It just depends upon your wants and needs. ActiveCampaign & ConvertKit varies in different factors. If you are more focusing on advanced email automation, then ActiveCampaign is better. If you need only simple email campaigns, then ConvertKit will be a good option. ActiveCampaign provides you with plenty of Templates, integration, and automation features. ConvertKit is mainly focused sending on text-based emails. You can try ConvertKit for free. ConvertKit provides you with a free version. But ActiveCampaign has a free trial only. There is no free version.
If you are an author, blogger, or have a small business, use ConvertKit. If you are an online marketer, or if you are a salesperson, then use ActiveCampaign.
Top News of ActiveCampaign & ConvertKit
- ActiveCampaign Increases Opportunities for New Customers by 110%
- Companies that Automate their Customer Experience Expect to Double
- ActiveCampaign Opens New and Expanded Hubs Around the World
- ActiveCampaign Helps Customers Kick off the New Year with Additional Growth Accelerator Apps
- ConvertKit acquires FanBridge, doubling down on expansion into the music industry
Top Commercials
ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit
Sophia Gilbert is an Email Marketing Specialist and Web Application Expert with 10+ years of experience. She meticulously tested and used most of the email marketing tools & website builders in the real field. Here she is sharing reviews and comparisons of different email marketing tools based on her past experience through different companies where she has worked.
