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Email marketing has become an essential part of any online marketing strategy, especially for small businesses and eCommerce stores. However, with so many email marketing tools and solutions out there, it can be challenging to choose the right one for your specific needs.
Two popular email marketing automation platforms are ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo. Both platforms have many great features and tools to help you grow your email list, increase customer engagement, and boost conversions. But which one is the better choice for small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and freelancers?
In this article, we will provide a detailed comparison of Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign, focusing on their key features, pricing, integrations, customer support, and user reviews. By the end of this post, you will have a clear understanding of the major differences between the two platforms and which one is the best fit for your email marketing needs.
ActiveCampaign Vs Klaviyo – a detailed comparison for the freelancer, solopreneur, and small businesses.
What Is Klaviyo?
Klaviyo was founded in 2012 by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen. The Boston-based email marketing automation platform is designed specifically for eCommerce businesses. The platform offers a wide range of advanced features and tools to help eCommerce businesses grow their email lists, increase customer engagement, and drive sales. Klaviyo’s powerful automation workflows, segmentation tools, and real-time analytics make it easy for businesses to create personalized and effective email marketing campaigns.
Huge brands such as Shopify, Magento and Bigcommerce use Klaviyo.
If you have an online store, you’ll most likely want to use Klaviyo. Read on to find out why!
What Is ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign was founded in 2003 by Jason VandeBoom. The Chicago-based email marketing automation platform is designed to help businesses of all sizes increase customer engagement and drive conversions. ActiveCampaign offers a range of advanced features and tools, including marketing automation, segmentation, A/B testing, and real-time analytics. With its user-friendly interface and an extensive list of integrations, ActiveCampaign is an excellent choice for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and freelancers who want to streamline their email marketing efforts.
ActiveCampaign is very focused on email nurturing, customer experience, and customer relationship management, and even offers pipelines to help you see the different stages your email leads are at. It also allows you to build a landing page so you have the great option of keeping all your systems in one place and saving on an additional cost in terms of funnel-building software.
ActiveCampaign Vs Klaviyo: Key Features
Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo are popular email marketing automation platforms that offer a wide range of features and tools to help you create effective email marketing campaigns, including newsletters, promotions, and automated messages. However, there are some key differences in their features and tools.
Dashboard
One of the first things you’ll notice when using an email marketing platform is the dashboard. The dashboard is where you can access all the essential features and tools you need to manage your email marketing campaigns effectively.
ActiveCampaign’s dashboard is well-designed and easy to use, with a clean and straightforward interface that makes it easy to navigate and find what you need quickly. You can access your contacts, campaigns, automation workflows, and reports all from one place.
Right off the bat, with ActiveCampaign, you can see the number of contacts you have. As a small business owner or solopreneur trying to grow your contact list, this can be a very important number to look at as you launch lead magnets, newsletters, and run ads.
You are also able to see on the right-side panel your latest subscribers and unsubscribers. This at a glance lets you know if your latest campaign is speaking to your target audience the way you want it to. If the number of unsubscribes is higher than usual, this will be the right time to tweak your next campaign or email automation to best cater to what your leads want.
Klaviyo’s dashboard is more complex and overwhelming for beginners, with a more cluttered interface that can be confusing and difficult to navigate. However, it does offer more advanced features and tools that experienced users may appreciate.
Ecommerce business owners love Klaviyo because of these stats that you see on the dashboard:
- Total sales revenue
- Sales revenue from email campaigns
Knowing how much revenue you’re making the moment you log into your email marketing automation software is incredibly helpful if you have an e-commerce store and want to frequently keep tabs on how your latest sales automation is performing.
Campaigns
ActiveCampaign offers a range of pre-built templates for email campaigns, making it easy for beginners to get started. You can also create your own templates using the drag-and-drop email builder. With ActiveCampaign, you can send plain text or HTML emails and personalize messages with dynamic content.
Klaviyo also offers pre-built templates, but they are not as comprehensive as ActiveCampaign’s. Additionally, Klaviyo’s email builder is not as user-friendly as ActiveCampaign’s. However, Klaviyo does offer some unique features, such as product recommendations, and best choice options that can help increase customer engagement and conversions.
Automation
Marketing automation is an essential feature of any email marketing platform. It allows you to set up automated workflows based on specific events or triggers, such as email opens or clicks.
ActiveCampaign’s automation tools are among the best in the industry. With its intuitive visual automation builder, you can easily create complex workflows that trigger emails, tasks, and other actions based on specific events. You can also use split testing (A/B testing) to test different variants of your automation recipes and improve conversion rates.
Triggers include contact tags, a specific date and time in either your preferred timezone or in the user’s timezone, being added to a list, and more.
You are also able to create if/else conditions and segment the contacts mid-automation (for example, if you are launching a series of 5 emails promoting your course, you want to remove the contact that has already bought your course from receiving the rest of the promotional emails).
There are also automation templates you can use to save time.
Klaviyo’s automation tools are also robust and offer similar functionality. However, Klaviyo’s automation workflows are not as intuitive and can be challenging to set up. Additionally, Klaviyo’s split testing feature is not as advanced as ActiveCampaign’s.
Segments
Email segmentation allows you to divide your email list into specific groups based on certain criteria, such as location, demographics, or behavior. Segmentation can help you personalize your messages and improve engagement rates.
ActiveCampaign’s segmentation tools are powerful and easy to use, allowing you to segment your contacts based on any criteria you choose, including behavior, tags, and custom fields. You can also create advanced segmentation using multiple conditions.
Klaviyo’s segmentation tools are also excellent and offer similar functionality, allowing you to create targeted segments based on any criteria you choose, such as behavior, tags, and custom fields.
Check out the numerous types of segmentation you can use to make your automation that much more efficient!
Integrations
Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo offer a wide range of integrations with popular apps and services, such as eCommerce platforms, CRM software, social media, and more. However, ActiveCampaign has a more extensive list of integrations compared to Klaviyo, making it easier to connect with other tools you might be using for your online marketing efforts.
ActiveCampaign has over 300 integrations, including popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. Additionally, ActiveCampaign offers native integrations with major social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Klaviyo also has a decent list of integrations, including popular eCommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce. However, Klaviyo’s list of integrations is not as extensive as ActiveCampaign’s, and it does not offer native integrations with social media platforms.
Reports and Analytics
Having access to detailed reports and analytics is essential for tracking the success of your email marketing campaigns. Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo offer robust reporting and analytics tools, but there are some differences between the two.
ActiveCampaign’s reporting tools are comprehensive and easy to use, allowing you to track open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and more. Additionally, you can track conversions and revenue generated from your email marketing campaigns. ActiveCampaign also offers real-time analytics, so you can see how your campaigns are performing at any given time.
Klaviyo’s reporting tools are also excellent, but they are not as comprehensive as ActiveCampaign’s. However, Klaviyo does offer some unique features, such as cohort analysis, that can help you track customer behavior over time.
Pricing
Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo offer a range of pricing plans to suit different budgets and needs. However, there are some differences in the pricing structure and features offered.
ActiveCampaign’s pricing plans start at $9 per month for the Lite plan, which includes basic features like email marketing campaigns and marketing automation. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month and includes more advanced features like SMS marketing and split testing. The Professional plan starts at $129 per month and includes even more advanced features like predictive sending and site messaging.
If your number of contacts begins to increase significantly, ActiveCampaign can get really expensive. However, if you’re just starting out and have less than 1,500 contacts, the Plus plan is relatively affordable and great for growing your list.
Klaviyo’s pricing plans start at $20 per month for the Basic plan, which includes email marketing campaigns and basic automations. The Plus plan starts at $65 per month and includes more advanced features like SMS marketing and pre-built automations. The Pro plan starts at $125 per month and includes even more advanced features like custom integrations and premium support.
Its free plan allows you up to 500 contacts and is a good place to start if you’re just starting out.
Customer Support
Having access to quality customer support is crucial when using an email marketing platform. Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo offer several support options, including email support, knowledge base, and live chat. However, there are some differences in the quality and availability of support.
ActiveCampaign’s customer support is excellent, with a comprehensive knowledge base, live support, and email support. Additionally, ActiveCampaign offers phone support for customers on the Professional plan. ActiveCampaign’s customer support team is highly responsive and knowledgeable, making it easy to get help when you need it.
Klaviyo’s customer support is also good, with a comprehensive knowledge base and email support. There is email and live chat support for customers on paid plans for either SMS or email. If you’re on the free version, you have access to a 60-day trial of email support, along with a variety of other resources including the Help Center, interactive live trainings, Academy, and Community.
User Ratings and Reviews
Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo have positive user ratings and reviews. However, ActiveCampaign has slightly higher ratings and more positive reviews overall. On review sites like G2 and Capterra, ActiveCampaign consistently ranks higher than Klaviyo in terms of overall satisfaction, ease of use, and customer support. User reviews can be a valuable source of information when choosing an email marketing platform, as they provide insights from real users who have experience with the platforms.
ActiveCampaign Vs Klaviyo: Conclusion
After comparing ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo in terms of their key features, pricing, integrations, customer support, and user reviews, it’s clear that both platforms offer robust email marketing solutions for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and freelancers.
However, in my opinion, ActiveCampaign emerges as the better choice for most small businesses and eCommerce businesses due to its user-friendly interface, extensive list of integrations, advanced automation and segmentation features, and excellent customer support. Additionally, ActiveCampaign’s pricing plans offer great value for money, with advanced features available at a reasonable price.
On the other hand, Klaviyo may be a better option for eCommerce businesses that require more advanced features like product recommendations, custom integrations, and cohort analysis. However, Klaviyo’s pricing plans can be more expensive than ActiveCampaign’s, and its user interface can be overwhelming for beginners.
Ultimately, the right email marketing platform for you will depend on your specific needs, budget, and goals. I recommend taking advantage of the free trials offered by both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo to get a feel for each platform and see which one best suits you.
Using Mailchimp? Check out an article on Mailchimp’s best image sizes for emails here!
