Are you trying to decide between ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo? Whether you’re an eCommerce retailer, brick-and-mortar store, or service-based business, choosing the best email marketing tool is essential for promoting your company and growing your audience. For eCommerce stores specifically, studies show that 55% of online shoppers prefer to communicate with companies via email. By 2026, eCommerce sales will skyrocket to almost $7.5 trillion. Whether you sell your products in an online store or work out of a brick-and-mortar location, staying in touch with your email subscribers is more important than ever.
Is your company ready for this kind of growth?
Kaviyo and ActiveCampaign are two of the industry's best marketing automation solutions. When it comes to ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo, which one is right for your business? Let's dive in with a comprehensive overview of both tools.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign focuses on automation and scalability. The suite of features is designed for teams. For small to midsize businesses who need a scalable platform, ActiveCampaign works well.
Key features:
- 900+ built-in integrations including WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento
- SMS marketing automation features for Plus, Professional, and Enterprise plans
- Extensive library of pre-built automations
- More than 125 templates to get started with sending email campaigns
- Split automations
- Mobile app
- Predictive sending
- Conditional content
Pros and Cons of Using ActiveCampaign
Pros
- ActiveCampaign is the clear winner for service businesses or physical stores.
- More than 900 integration with eCommerce platforms
- Free migration and onboarding for businesses transitioning from another provider.
- While ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free plan, they do offer a 14-day free trial.
Cons
- ActiveCampaign doesn't pull your brand's fonts and colors into a campaign.
- If you have a specific font you love to use, ActiveCampaign may not offer it because the platform's font library is limited.
- ActiveCampaign is not eCommerce-focused.
- Beginners may find ActiveCampaign's dashboard confusing because of overly complicated features.
- The block feature for products is limited to WooCommerce or Shopify stores.
- SMS messaging is not available in the Lite plan.
- ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer a free plan, and the Lite plan is still pricey at $29 per month.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is widely considered to be the ultimate eCommerce marketing platform. If you have an eCommerce store, Klaviyo is the tool best suited for your needs. Particularly, eCommerce sellers with physical products will find Klaviyo will meet their initial needs while also helping them scale their online stores.
Key features:
- SMS marketing options
- Easy integration with most eCommerce platforms
- Advanced segmentation
- Reporting and analytics tools
- Intelligent automation
- Easy to use with an excellent user experience
- Superior integration with Shopify
- Forms (Embed + Stand Alone)
- Mobile Push Notifications
Pros and Cons of Using Klaviyo
Pros
- If typography matters in your business, Klaviyo has a larger font library than ActiveCampaign.
- Businesses such as Benchmark Groups that are focused on analytics, customer data, and user behavior will get better results with Klaviyo.
- Klaviyo has a clean email editor that's easy to use. The minimalist interface and streamlined features are easy to use.
Cons
- Klaviyo is better suited to eCommerce stores. It's not the best option for service businesses or physical stores.
How to Decide Whether Klaviyo vs Active Campaign is Best for You
Below, we outline a side-by-side comparison of ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo.
Email marketing capabilities and template designs
ActiveCampaign
With its extensive library of customizable email templates, ActiveCampaign stands out. Users can also use custom HTML code or plain layouts to create their own email templates.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo also has an extensive library of responsive pre-built designs and forms. The form templates are stunning visually, and allow you to customize them with images and text. Additionally, eCommerce store owners can create email forms in multiple versions to A/B test.
Automation and segmentation tools: ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
ActiveCampaign
With ActiveCampaign, you can create automations—the company calls them automation recipes—for post-purchase, abandoned shopping carts, welcome emails, follow-up emails, and more. In addition to using the built-in automations, you can create your own automation recipes from scratch.
Segmentation is straightforward with ActiveCampaign. They allow as many as 20 conditions for each segment. You can also do lead scoring with ActiveCampaign.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo calls their automation "flows." The tool has fewer automation templates, and the actions for automation are slightly more limited than those of ActiveCampaign. However, Klaviyo's automations are much easier to use.
Klaviyo has default segmentations. For example, you can easily use segmentations like engagement or new subscribers. Beyond that, you can segment your customers or site visitors with specific actions such as coupon codes used, product viewing, and adding to cart.
Integration with eCommerce platforms: ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign does have some eCommerce integrations, but the platform falls short of Klaviyo's ability to integrate with eCommerce stores because integrations with eCommerce are available only on the Plus plan and higher.
Klaviyo
For eCommerce stores, Klaviyo is superior in terms of being a data-driven automation and email marketing platform because integrations are real-time and offer data backfill.
Analytics and reporting features: ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
ActiveCampaign
With ActiveCampaign, business owners can use comprehensive reports to cover a wide variety of metrics. These include click-through rates, open rates, and more. Most importantly, ActiveCampaign's analytics will track a customer journey across many different touchpoints, including social media.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo has a laser focus on eCommerce. With this tool, you can see how various customer groups respond to individual email campaigns. Also, Klaviyo can track revenue generated, predictive metrics, retention rates, and lifetime customer value.
Customer support and community resources: ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
ActiveCampaign
With ActiveCampaign, business owners can take advantage of free onboarding and implementation for all paid plans. The platform does not offer onboarding for the 14-day free trial. ActiveCampaign has email and live chat support.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo users can access an extensive help center and many useful guides. In addition, they also have Klaviyo Academy and an active community forum. You can also get support via live chat or email.
Pricing structures and plans: ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign doesn't offer a free plan at this time. However, you can sometimes find promo codes for free trials if you read published reviews or watch YouTube reviews. The Lite plan for ActiveCampaign starts at $29 per month if billed annually. Pricing goes up to $259 a month for enterprises.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers a free plan if you have 250 or fewer people on your email list. Once your subscriber base is 251 and over, Klaviyo's price starts to increase. Paid Klaviyo plans start at $35.
Conclusion: Active Campaign vs Klaviyo
How can you be sure you're choosing the best eCommerce platform? When deciding between ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo, keep in mind your business goals, and conduct lots of research. You can sign up for free trials or consult with our team to find which platform is right for your needs. To take your email marketing to the next level, get in touch with us to schedule a personalized consultation.
