ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp 2021 | All-in-one Review

Looking for a side-by-side comparison of ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp? Look no further! In this in-depth review you will discover the differences in pricing, core-features, integrations and the main pros and cons of both tools. You will also learn about the top 3 alternatives of ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp. So continue reading to discover which tool is best for you...

ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp Side-by-Side Comparison Table

Below you can find our checklist with which we've analysed ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp. Not only do we try to cover the "what" of each tool, we also try to tell you the "why" by giving you the review scores with our opinion explained (if you hoover over the score itself).

	ActiveCampaign	Mailchimp
Overall Rating	★★★★ 4.3/5	★★★ 3.3/5
More information	Visit ActiveCampaign	Visit Mailchimp
Pros and cons
Main Pros	🟢 Value for money	🟢 Lots of beautiful email templates
	🟢 Best Automation features	🟢 Good reporting & integrations
	🟢 Great visual automation builder	🟢 Easy to use drag & drop editor
	🟢 Drag-and-drop email editor	🟢 Interface is visually very appealing
	🟢 Splittesting automations	🟢 Interface is user friendly
	🟢 Great support & community	🟢 Competitive pricing for small accounts
	🟢 Segmentation & targeting features
	🟢 Automation & templates marketplace
	🟢 Free migration service
Main Cons	🔴 Interface can be a bit slow	🔴 Lacks automation capabilities
	🔴 Slight learning curve for beginners	🔴 Lacks segmentation (still list-based)
	🔴 Not many pre-designed email templates	🔴 Can not split-test automations
	🔴 Limited form builder in lower plan	🔴 Pay extra for subscribers in multiple lists
		🔴 No visual builder for automations
More information	Visit ActiveCampaign	Visit Mailchimp
Capabilities Detailed Review	Rating	Rating
1 – Email builder	★★★★ 4.0/5 ActiveCampaign’s editor works pretty intuitively and has many features available. For instance, with ActiveCampaign you can reuse certain customizations (save them as blocks). Also, it is easy to see what changes people have made, listed in a orderly fashion.	★★★★ 4.0/5 Mailchimp's editor is easy to use. With their drag & drop interface you can set up emails fast.
2 – Email templates	★★★ 3.5/5 ActiveCampaign has a decent set of different email templates, but we hope for a bit more options in the future (you can get extra templates on the marketplace however). Their drag-and-drop visual editor is pretty easy to use and gives you freedom in what you want to create.	★★★★ 4.0/5 After this Mailchimp review we must say Mailchimp is the best tool when it comes to email templates. There is a great variety, the designs look nice and professional, and the editor is easy to use.
3 – Form builder	★★★ 3.5/5 ActiveCampaign’s visual form builder works well. Downside is that only the more expensive versions give you access to more form functionality and removing the ActiveCampaign branding.	★★★ 3.0/5 Mailchimp's form building is decent. A nice feature is that you can create pop-ups.
4 – List management & segmentation	★★★★★ 5.0/5 With ActiveCampaign it is easy to segment your contacts in a vast variety of different ways. You can target as specific as you want and send personalized content. You can use both lists & tags.	★★ 2.0/5 Mailchimp lacks behind in terms of tagging and segmentation. Mailchimp is still very list-based. Yes you can use tags, but only inside of lists, and lists are siloed. Basically this means your campaigns won't be as targeted as you would like them to be, without a big workaround.
5 – Automation	★★★★★ 5.0/5 With ActiveCampaign setting up automations is easy with their visual workflow builder. A great feature is the copying and pasting of automated sequences into your email service. Also, as no other tool, ActiveCampaign has set up an automations marketplace where other users can give away or sell their automations, and you can import them into your account with 1 click.	★ 1.5/5 Compared to other tools, Mailchimp is a bit too basic in the automation department. If you want people to be deleted from a sequence, for instance, because they already purchased a product, you have to manually delete them from the sequence. Also, Mailchimp is too basic in setting up automations. With Mailchimp you can only build lineair automations. This limits your posibilities for advanced automation because you can't easily "branch off" 2 paths inside of 1 automation when something happens, like for example a, open/click/sale. You want to send some people down 1 path and some on another path. This is very difficult in Mailchimp because of their "lineair path only" approach.
6 – Splittesting	★★★★★ 5.0/5 Best A/B-testing of all tools out there. You can basically splittest everything from titles, to email content, and even complete automations! And you get detailed reportings.	★★ 2.0/5 The A/B-testing of Mailchimp is limited. You can split-test subject lines, content, send times and form names. But you can not split-test complete automations or individual emails inside of automations.
7 – Integrations	★★★★ 4.0/5 ActiveCampaign integrates with basically every app, (also Zapier integrations). So you should be able to connect with whatever app you like.	★★★★ 4.5/5 There is not an app (for as far as we know) that doesn't integrate with Mailchimp (that include Zapier as well, of course).
8 – Reporting	★★★★ 4.0/5 ActiveCampaign has decent reporting with great visuals. They also offer goal tracking, which means you can track conversions within ActiveCampaign. This way, you can A/B-test about everything you want to (even your automations), which is awesome!	★★★★ 4.0/5 ​It would deserve a 5 rating if Mailchimp didn't have restrictions based on the plan you have. All in all it is set up nice visually, and the amount of data you can collect is great!
9 – Support & Community	★★★★★ 5.0/5 There is absolutely no shortage of information when it comes to using ActiveCampaign. Their website is basically a library of information guided with great video’s. Their support is unparalleled. You have the option to use live chat or email. The support during our time as customers ánd during this ActiveCampaign review were very quick and comprehensive. The craziest part is that they will guide you with personalized video’s!	★★★ 3.0/5 The support we got during this Mailchimp review was solid. This include a ticket-based support system and live-chat.
10 – Ease of use	★★★ 3.5/5 You need a bit of time to get all of the available features under your control, but when you do, there’s not much you can’t do.	★★★★ 4.0/5 You don't need much time to be able to use all features. It works pretty straight forward.
11 – Value for money	★★★★ 4.5/5 Great value for money considering all the stuff you get. If you did an ActiveCampaign review yourself, you would know it’s a great investment.	★★★★ 4.0/5 Very competitive pricing, but it gets expensive once you get a lot of subscribers (especially considering the lack of good automation features, which you will need with a lot of subscribers).
More information	View all features	View all features
Pricing
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Free plan	No	No
Price 1.000 contacts	$29/month	$15/month
Price 10.000 contacts	$139/month	$75/month
Price 25.000 contacts	$225/month	$150/month
Price 50.000 contacts	$299/month	$240/month
Price 100.000 contacts	$459/month	$475/month
More information	View pricing plans	View pricing plans
Marketing Features
Native Conversion tracking	🟢	🔴
Web activity tracking	🟢	🟢
Splittesting Campaigns	🟢	🟢
Splittesting Automations	🟢	🔴
Dynamic Personalized Content	🟢	🟢
Multichannel Attribution	🟢	🔴
Site Messaging	🟢	🔴
Facebook Integrations	🟢	🟢
SMS Integrations	🟢	🔴
Webinar integrations	🟢	🟢
Native Landingpage builder	🔴	🟢
Native Shopping Cart	🔴	🔴
Shopify integration	🟢	🟢
Woocommerce integration	🟢	🟢
Sales & CRM Features
Leadscoring	🟢	🔴
Native CRM System	🟢	🔴
Task Management	🟢	🔴
Realtime Sales alerts	🟢	🔴
Gmail integration	🟢	🔴
Outlook integration	🟢	🔴
Salesforce integration	🟢	🔴
Mobile App CRM	🟢	🔴
Create quotes & invoices	🔴	🔴
More information	View all features	View all features
Overall rating	★★★★ 4.3/5 ActiveCampaign is without a doubt one of the most effective tools out there. ActiveCampaign has a vast selection of different features. Although there is a slight learning curve for beginners, everyone should be able to master the program and have great results.	★★★ 3.3/5 Mailchimp is a solid tool. It is easy to use, looks great visually, and probably the best tool when it comes to email templates. Also, their reporting is on point. When it comes to setting up automations, segmentation options, and A/B-testing, they are falling behind a little.
See for yourself?	Try ActiveCampaign for free	Try Mailchimp for free

Screenshots

See also: Membershiop funnels | Product Launch funnels | Saas Funnels | Survey/ Quiz funnels | Video Sales Letter funnels | Webinar funnels

Alternatives