Are you trying to pick between ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo for your online store's email marketing? This comparison will help you decide which one fits your needs and budget best.
The Basics: ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo
ActiveCampaign: The Automation Powerhouse
ActiveCampaign has been around since 2003. It's known for its strong automation features. The company calls itself the "#1 automation platform" for marketing, sales, and sending important messages to customers.
ActiveCampaign isn't just for online stores. It works for all kinds of businesses. But it does have special features for e-commerce. These help store owners send better emails to their customers.
Klaviyo: The E-commerce Specialist
Klaviyo is newer, starting in 2012. It focuses on email marketing for online stores. Klaviyo says it helped online stores make $14 billion in 2022. That's a lot of money!
Klaviyo is built just for e-commerce. This means all its features are made to help online store owners sell more products through email.
How Easy Are They to Use?
ActiveCampaign: Powerful but Complex
ActiveCampaign has a lot of features. This is good because you can do many things. But it also means it can be hard to learn at first.
When you use ActiveCampaign, you'll see a menu on the left side of the screen. This menu shows all the main parts of the software. When you click on one of these parts, a second menu pops up. This second menu shows more specific options.
For example, if you click on "Contacts" in the main menu, you'll see options like "Lists" and "Tags" in the second menu. This setup helps you find what you need, but it might take some time to get used to.
Klaviyo: Simpler and Streamlined
Klaviyo is easier to use, especially if you're new to email marketing. Its screen layout is clean and simple. Instead of two menus like ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo uses dropdown menus. These menus open when you click on them, showing you the options inside.
Klaviyo doesn't have as many features as ActiveCampaign. This might sound bad, but it actually makes Klaviyo easier to learn. You won't feel overwhelmed by too many options.
Creating Emails: Design and Templates
ActiveCampaign: Lots of Options
ActiveCampaign gives you over 250 email templates to choose from. You can change these templates to fit your needs. If you want to make your own email from scratch, you can do that too.
For online store owners, ActiveCampaign has a special group of templates called "sell a product." These templates are made to help you show off your products in emails.
The email editor in ActiveCampaign is easy to use. You can drag and drop different parts to build your email. One cool feature is that you can save parts of your email to use again later. This saves time when you're making new emails.
Klaviyo: Fewer Templates, Better Forms
Klaviyo has fewer email templates than ActiveCampaign, about 100. But these templates look good and work well on phones and computers.
Where Klaviyo really shines is in making signup forms for your website. These are the forms people fill out to join your email list. Klaviyo has four types of forms:
- Embed forms (these sit inside your web page)
- Popup forms (these appear over your web page)
- Full page forms
- Flyout forms (these slide in from the side of the screen)
Klaviyo's form builder is very flexible. You can easily add your own text and pictures. You can even make different versions of your forms to test which one works best.
Automation: Sending the Right Emails at the Right Time
ActiveCampaign: The Automation King
ActiveCampaign is really good at automation. This means it can send emails to your customers based on what they do. For example, it can send a welcome email when someone signs up for your list, or a reminder email if someone leaves items in their shopping cart.
ActiveCampaign has many pre-made automation "recipes." These are like blueprints for different types of email campaigns. You can use these recipes as they are, or change them to fit your needs.
Some cool things about ActiveCampaign's automation:
- You can have multiple triggers for one automation. This means an email series can start for different reasons.
- You can test different paths in your automation. This helps you find out which emails work best.
- You can use tags to move people between different automations.
Klaviyo: Simple but Effective Automation
Klaviyo calls its automations "flows." These are simpler than ActiveCampaign's automations, but they still work well for most online stores.
Klaviyo has fewer pre-made templates for automations. Each flow can only have one trigger, which means it's less flexible than ActiveCampaign. But for many store owners, this simplicity is enough.
Klaviyo's flows are good for common e-commerce emails like:
- Welcome series for new subscribers
- Abandoned cart reminders
- Post-purchase follow-ups
Tracking Results: Reports and Analytics
ActiveCampaign: Deep Insights
ActiveCampaign gives you a lot of information about how your emails are doing. You can see reports on:
- Campaigns (single emails you send)
- Automations
- Contacts
- Sales from your online store
One cool feature is the click map. This shows you which links in your email got the most clicks. It's a visual way to see what your subscribers are interested in.
ActiveCampaign also lets you choose whether to count email opens from Apple devices. This is important because Apple's privacy features can make it look like more people opened your emails than really did.
Klaviyo: Focused on E-commerce Metrics
Klaviyo's reports are more focused on online store metrics. You can see basic things like how many people opened your email or clicked on links. But Klaviyo also shows you how much money each email made for your store.
A unique feature of Klaviyo is its benchmark data. This shows you how your emails compare to other businesses in your industry. It's a good way to see if you're doing better or worse than average.
Connecting with Other Tools
ActiveCampaign: Connects to Almost Everything
ActiveCampaign can connect to over 910 other tools. This is really impressive. It means no matter what other software you use for your business, ActiveCampaign probably works with it.
Some important connections for online stores:
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- BigCommerce
- Magento
- Square
These connections let ActiveCampaign get detailed information from your store. This helps you send more targeted emails.
Klaviyo: Fewer Connections, but Covers the Basics
Klaviyo has about 300 connections. This is less than ActiveCampaign, but it's still a lot. Klaviyo connects to all the major e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
If you need to connect Klaviyo to a tool it doesn't support, you can use Zapier. Zapier is like a bridge between different software tools.
Getting Help When You Need It
ActiveCampaign: Weekday Support and Lots of Guides
ActiveCampaign offers live chat support on weekdays. If you need help outside of chat hours, you can send a support ticket.
ActiveCampaign has a big knowledge base. This is like an online library of help articles. You can find answers to many questions here. But some users say it can be hard to find the right article sometimes.
Klaviyo: Support Even on Weekends
Klaviyo offers live chat support on weekdays, just like ActiveCampaign. But Klaviyo also provides email support on weekends. This is great if you're working on your store outside of normal business hours.
Klaviyo's help articles are well-organized. It's usually easy to find the information you need.
Grouping Your Contacts: Segmentation
ActiveCampaign: Powerful and Flexible
Segmentation means putting your contacts into groups based on things they have in common. ActiveCampaign is very good at this.
You can create segments based on many different factors. For example:
- People who clicked a link in your last email
- Customers who bought a specific product
- Subscribers who haven't opened an email in 3 months
ActiveCampaign lets you use up to 20 conditions to create a segment. This gives you a lot of control over how you group your contacts.
Klaviyo: Good for E-commerce, but More Complex
Klaviyo's segmentation is powerful, but it can be harder to use. It uses terms like "Dimensions" and "Boolean" which might be confusing if you're not familiar with them.
Klaviyo does give you some pre-made segments when you start. These include things like:
- New subscribers
- People who opened an email in the last 30 days
- People who opened an email in the last 60 days
- People who opened an email in the last 90 days
These pre-made segments are helpful for getting started quickly.
How Much Do They Cost?
ActiveCampaign: Tiered Pricing
ActiveCampaign's price depends on two things:
- How many contacts you have
- Which features you need
Here's a quick look at their prices for different numbers of contacts:
| Contacts | Lite Plan | Plus Plan |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $9/month | $49/month |
| 1,000 | $29/month | $49/month |
| 2,500 | $49/month | $125/month |
| 5,000 | $79/month | $199/month |
The Lite plan has basic features. The Plus plan includes more advanced features like landing pages and Facebook Custom Audiences.
Klaviyo: Based on Contacts and Emails Sent
Klaviyo's pricing is simpler. You pay based on how many contacts you have and how many emails you send each month. All features are included in every plan.
Klaviyo has a free plan for up to 250 contacts and 500 email sends per month. After that, prices start at $20 per month for up to 500 contacts.
Here's a quick look at Klaviyo's prices:
| Contacts | Price per Month |
|---|---|
| 500 | $20 |
| 1,000 | $30 |
| 2,500 | $60 |
| 5,000 | $100 |
Pros and Cons: The Quick Version
ActiveCampaign
Pros:
- Very powerful automation features
- Connects to many other tools
- Flexible contact segmentation
Cons:
- Can be complex to learn
- No free plan
- More expensive for larger contact lists
Klaviyo
Pros:
- Made specifically for e-commerce
- Easier to use, especially for beginners
- Has a free plan for small lists
Cons:
- Fewer automation options
- Segmentation can be confusing
- Fewer integrations than ActiveCampaign
Wrapping Up: Which One Should You Choose?
ActiveCampaign is best if:
- You want very detailed automation
- You need to connect to many different tools
- You're willing to spend time learning a powerful system
Klaviyo is best if:
- Your business is purely e-commerce
- You want something easier to use
- You're just starting out and want a free option
Both tools are good choices for online store owners. Think about what features are most important to you and how much time you can spend learning the tool. Remember, the best email marketing tool is the one you'll actually use to grow your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I try ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo before I buy?
Yes, both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo offer free trials. ActiveCampaign has a 14-day free trial. Klaviyo has a free plan for up to 250 contacts, which you can use to test the software.
Do I need coding skills to use these tools?
No, you don't need coding skills for basic use of either ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo. Both have drag-and-drop editors for creating emails. However, if you want to do very custom things, some HTML knowledge can be helpful.
Can I switch from one platform to the other later?
Yes, you can switch between ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo. Both platforms allow you to import and export contact lists. However, switching can take some work, especially if you have complex automations set up.
Do these tools work with Shopify?
Yes, both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo work well with Shopify. They can pull in data from your Shopify store to help you send more targeted emails.
Can I send SMS messages with these tools?
Klaviyo offers SMS messaging on all its paid plans. ActiveCampaign offers SMS, but only on its higher-tier plans.