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Does keeping track of emails daily exhaust you? Are you looking for a correct email marketing automation tool but in a dilemma about finding one?

No worries!

Today, I have two of the best email marketing tools, Mailerlite and ActiveCampaign, which have an equal collision against each other. Both encompass impressive sets of features and outstanding automated email deliverability.

But the fact is, choosing the one depends entirely on your needs and budget. So, let us compare Mailerlite vs ActiveCampaign to determine which one suits you the best.

Let's dive in!

Overview of Mailerlite Vs ActiveCampaign

Before directly diving into a comparison of the two software, let us first understand both the tools individually. 

Mailerlite

If you are a beginner in email marketing and have small to medium enterprises, Mailerlite is a go-to platform with all the basic features.

Since 2010, MailerLite has garnered a whopping one million users. Despite its name, this email marketing platform prides itself on being super easy to use.

Not just email marketing, MailerLite packs a punch. It boasts advanced features like splitting your subscribers into groups, testing different versions of your emails, and automating tasks.

They aim to make your complicated stuff easy. They want everyone, even beginners, to benefit from email marketing's awesome power.

The best part is that MailerLite is also very budget-friendly. It's perfect for newbies, small businesses, bloggers, and anyone looking for powerful marketing without breaking the bank.

ActiveCampaign

If you have standardized marketing strategies and possess a medium-sized business, ActiveCampaign is a perfect fit for you. It has advanced automation capabilities to cater to all your needs. 

ActiveCampaign was established in 2003. It predates MailerLite, aiming to streamline the entire customer experience for business owners.

Even though it's been around longer, it has around 185,000 users, less than MailerLite. This might be because ActiveCampaign is pricier but offers a broader range of services.

ActiveCampaign is not just for emails. It's an all-in-one platform. It handles email automation, helps find new customers, manages customer service, handles social media, and even deals with text messaging.

Hence, you can call it an all-in-one convenient spot. It's like having many superpowers for your Business in a single place.

Major Differences between Mailerlite and ActiveCampaign

Monthly PlansMailerLite Advanced PlanActiveCampaign Plus Plan
Method of Counting SubscribersOnly active and new subscribers are countedActive Subscribers are counted
Monthly Email SendsUnlimitedUnlimited
Free Plan up to 1,000 Subscribers
Pricing for 500 Subscribers$20$70, Billed Annually (Limited Features)
Pricing for 1,000 Subscribers$30$49, Billed Annually (Limited Features)
Pricing for 5,000 Subscribers$50$49, Billed Annually (Limited Features)
Pricing for 10,000 Subscribers$110$49, Billed Annually (Limited Features)
Pricing for 25,000 Subscribers$200$49, Billed Annually (Limited Features)
Pricing for 50,000 Subscribers$340$49, Billed Annually (Limited Features)
Annual Discount10%20%
Non-profit Discount30%20%

Which one is more affordable: Mailerlite or ActiveCampaign?

Now, let us figure out which out of Mailerlite and ActiveCampaign is cheaper to afford.

Mailerlite Pricing Plan

Here's a breakdown of MailerLite's pricing plans:

  • Free Plan: $0
    • Ideal for beginners and small businesses.
    • It includes basic features and allows users to manage up to 1,000 subscribers. It helps you send 12,000 emails per month for free.
  • Growing Business: $10/month for up to 500 subscribers
    • As the subscriber list grows, the price also grows.
    • Pricing is based on the number of subscribers, allowing flexibility and scalability.
    • Offers expanded features, increased subscriber limits, and unlimited emails. It caters to the specific needs of growing businesses.
  • Advanced Plan: $20/month for up to 500 subscribers
    • As the subscriber list grows, there will be an acceleration in the price as well.
    • All features are similar to a Growing Business Plan. It includes a promotion pop-up form, a custom HTML editor, etc.

MailerLite's pricing structure is user-friendly. It provides users with the flexibility to start with a free plan.

It also enables them to gradually scale up their email marketing efforts as their subscriber base increases. Moreover, it ensures affordability and access to more advanced features as needed.

ActiveCampaign Pricing Plan

ActiveCampaign offers a tiered pricing structure with varying features. The pricing also depends on subscriber limits tailored to different business needs.

The platform gives a 14-day free trial for users to investigate its functionalities before committing to a plan.

Here's an overview of ActiveCampaign's pricing plans for 1,000 contacts:

  • Lite Plan – $29 per month:
    • Tailored for solo entrepreneurs aiming for seamless marketing operations.
    • Includes marketing automation, email marketing, unlimited email sends, list segmentation, and fundamental features.
  • Plus Plan – $49 per month:
    • Designed for compact teams dedicated to curating exceptional customer journeys throughout the lifecycle.
    • Provides landing page creation, contact and lead scoring, SMS marketing, conditional content, advanced performance reporting, custom branded forms, and more.
  • Professional Plan – $149 per month:
    • Ideal for teams seeking to explore and enhance their marketing endeavours through experimentation and optimization.
    • Unlocks website personalization, predictive sending, split automation, website messages, and other advanced features.
  • Enterprise Plan – Talk to Sales
    • Tailored for larger organizations' growing teams seeking scalable, personalized marketing solutions.
    • Primarily offers more report customization and additional support services.

ActiveCampaign doesn't offer a free plan. ActiveCampaign's pricing tiers cater to diverse business requirements. It offers a range of features, from basic email marketing to advanced automation.

It also provides personalized messaging and extensive reporting. Users can choose the Plan that best aligns with their needs and scale up as their Business grows.

Key Features Comparison: Mailerlite vs ActiveCampaign

1. Editor

Mailerlite

Mailerlite is like a breeze for newbies and those with limited email marketing knowledge. If we talk about the setup process, it is very easy and straightforward with no complexity.

Once you complete the registration procedure, you will get one verification mail on your registered email ID. You have to verify your email ID, and then be directed to the Mailerlite dashboard. 

Further, you will be asked to complete your profile. While filling out details, they will ask you the purpose of using Mailerlite. You will get to know the diversity of Mailerlite at that point, where you can customize your preference from:

  • Campaigns
  • Forms
  • Website
  • Automation
  • Transactional Emails

Its dashboard is very simple and user-friendly and seamlessly manages your email marketing workflow like a breeze.

Additionally, If I talk about its editor, Its editor is highly intuitive and advanced. You can add images, blocks, or buttons by dragging and dropping on the editor. 

ActiveCampaign

The signup process for ActiveCampaign is simple, but unlike MailerLite, there's no free plan. Instead, you get a 14-day trial without needing credit card details initially. If payment isn't made after this trial, access to the account is lost.

Their drag-and-drop email editor is similar to MailerLite's, yet ActiveCampaign's backend navigation is more complex.

It's loaded with many features, great for customization, but can be harder to learn at first. Though it takes more time to get used to, these additional features are valuable for intricate email marketing strategies.

Who is the WINNER

Although ActiveCampaign has several advanced features, Mailerlite is much easier to use in terms of its editing functions and the setup process. So, if you are a beginner and seeking a seamless email marketing platform, Mailerlite is a perfect option.

2. Email Marketing Automation

Mailerlite

Mailerlite email marketing automation is simple and straightforward. Its visual workflow builder is highly intuitive. 

It enables the creation of multi-step workflows triggered by campaign actions. Those actions can be link clicks, form subscriptions, email opens, or link clicks. These workflows can be customized based on custom fields and audience segments, ensuring tailored responses.

Although MailerLite's automation is user-friendly, it may not offer advanced breadth and flexibility. Some advanced triggers, like initiating automation based on page views, specific product interactions, and specialized e-commerce triggers, might be lacking within MailerLite's capabilities.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign stands out for its robust marketing automation. It offers diverse workflows. It excels in various tasks like sending emails for abandoned carts or post-purchase follow-ups through customizable “automation recipes.”

Not only this! You can also personalize these templates with unique content and custom fields. Or, you have the option to start entirely new automation from scratch.

The platform allows multiple triggers within each automation and can conduct split tests. Split tests can help you determine the most effective pathways.

However, more advanced features like e-commerce and lead scoring automation are exclusive to the higher-priced Plus plan.

Who is the WINNER

In terms of automating your email campaign, ActiveCampaign is a clear winner with advanced capabilities of building an automated workflow. 

3. Designing & Flexibility

Both platforms possess similar design capabilities, yet subtle differences set one apart as the winner in certain aspects. 

Mailerlite

Mailerlite offers mobile responsive templates to make it visible thoroughly everywhere. The counts may be around 50 templates. 

However, these templates are accessible only to the paid plans of Mailerlite. You can say that Mailerlite has limited templates in its free Plan.

Regarding design flexibility, Mailetlite offers many customization options to make your email look more appealing. You can change the layouts, colours, fonts, and even drag-and-drop blocks. 

ActiveCampaign

On the other hand, ActiveCampaign possesses over 250 email templates. Moreover, you also have the option to use the plain layout and build an email template from scratch. Also, it lets you customize HTML code for advanced specifications.

Additionally, ActiveCampaign vs Mailerlite stands in an equal position in terms of A/B testing of the emails. Both platforms allow you to optimize your emails to get better outcomes.

Who is the WINNER

ActiveCampaign is a transparent winner with a huge number of template options in its bag. However, if we talk about design flexibility, both platforms attain an equal position.

4. Segmentation

If you are seeking a personalized email marketing option, segmentation is a vital feature that both ActiveCampaign and Mailerlite offer. However, let's check out who the winner is here.

Mailerlite

Automated and effective campaigns make sense when you can send personalized emails to every subscriber at the correct time.

With the segmentation feature of Mailerlite, you get personalization and tagging features in your hand. Hence, you can send content to your subscribers based on their behaviour, interest, geography, and more.

MailerLite provides simpler segmentation tools. It is functional for basic needs. Users can categorize subscribers into “groups” based on different variables and automated actions. 

MailerLite allows setting automation to shift subscribers between groups based on specific triggers.

MailerLite also supports preference centers. It enables subscribers to manage their subscription preferences, like newsletter choices and email frequency.

ActiveCampaign

To make your email marketing campaigns more transparent and personal, ActiveCampaign offers robust segmentation with advanced features.

ActiveCampaign encompasses its intuitive segment builder that helps you segment your email list on the basis of several conditions. These conditions can be tags, events, and actions. Moreover, ActiveCampaign allows you approximately 20 conditions for each segment.

Another great thing is that ActiveCampaign has a special “advanced lead scoring” feature. It ranks your contacts based on their interests. 

Additionally, ActiveCampaign allows you to segment people while you are crafting your email. This feature makes ActiveCampaign ideal as compared to others.

On the other hand, MailerLite keeps things simple for sorting your subscribers. You can put them into groups based on different things they do.

For instance, you can make a rule that moves someone from one group (like “New customers”) to another (like “Repeat customers”) when something specific happens. It's not as fancy as ActiveCampaign, but it does the job for basic stuff.

ActiveCampaign also comes with a segmentation function, and it covers some advanced features. ActiveCampaign comes with granular control and an intricate tagging system. However, Mailerlite lacks such features. 

Who is the WINNER

ActiveCampaign excels with its detailed and customizable advanced segmentation options. It offers extensive control for businesses needing intricate segmentation and lead management.

In contrast, MailerLite's segmentation, though simpler, serves well for basic needs but lacks the depth and granular control provided by ActiveCampaign.

5. Landing Pages 

Mailerlite

MailerLite offers 14 customizable and responsive landing page templates. It caters to various purposes like blog promotion, webinars, featured services, and coming soon pages.

Their drag-and-drop editor allows building designs from scratch but may require some element-based editing through the sidebar.

Content blocks such as subscription forms, marketing videos, countdown timers, testimonials, customer feedback surveys, and more can be added to the landing pages. MailerLite can directly integrate with Stripe for direct digital product selling from the pages.

Users can save templates for future use and potentially create a small interconnected website by linking multiple landing pages.

However, there are limitations; the tool wasn't primarily designed for website creation, and premium plans offer only five free landing pages, possibly restricting larger website projects.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign offers highly customizable landing page creation due to its robust editing capabilities. Designing landing pages involves effortless dragging and resizing elements within a grid.  

Each element provides various design options such as borders, spacing, opacity, width adjustments, visibility settings, and more.

You can access diverse content blocks for landing pages. This includes including countdown timers, navigation tools, columns, lists, subscription forms, social links, PayPal buttons, and Shopify Buy buttons.

ActiveCampaign provides over 50 editable landing page templates. Moreover, you can also create custom pages from scratch, saving new templates to a personal library, similar to MailerLite's functionality.

Who is the WINNER

 It is clear that ActiveCampaign really stands apart in terms of superior customization of landing ages. This is due to its broader editing capabilities and template variety. Yet, it's worth noting that landing page creation is exclusive to ActiveCampaign's Plus plan.

In contrast, MailerLite provides landing page builder features across all plans, even the free tier, although users are limited to ten free pages.

6. Registration Forms

If we talk about registration forms, both Mailerlite and ActiveCampaign offer the creation of registration forms as a part of an email marketing solution. However, we need to look at who is the winner, right? Then, let's move ahead.

Mailerlite

Mailerlite offers three types of registration forms: the Pop-up, Signup, and Promotion forms. The signup and pop-ups are accessible in its free Plan. However, the Promotions form can be created only if you have an advanced subscription to Mailerlite.

Another thing is you get a diverse range of form templates to create your designs as per your requirements.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, offers four types of forms: Inline Form, Floating Box, Modal Pop-up, and Floating Bar.

Although ActiveCampaign has more types of forms than Mailerlite, it lacks in terms of in-build form templates. It does not offer pre-designed form templates.

Who is the WINNER

It's clear that Mailerlite enables you to create more customized and appealing forms than ActiveCampaign. Hence, Mailerlite is a winner.

7. Analytics

Mailerlite

MailerLite provides a simpler set of analytics. It covers fundamental metrics like email opens, clicks, and unsubscribe rates, which is less comprehensive than other platforms.

Notably, purchase tracking is limited to Shopify and WooCommerce stores, a point of consideration for e-commerce users.

Unlike ActiveCampaign, MailerLite lacks specialized insights into social media performance or detailed email client usage data. 

It offers essential email metrics. Yet, its analytics suite might be less extensive for those seeking in-depth insights beyond basic email performance.

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign stands out with its extensive analytics suite. It delivers a wide array of reports to monitor email marketing performance.

From campaign insights to marketing automation metrics, contact engagement, and CRM/e-commerce statistics, it covers comprehensive KPIs.

The best part is you can exclude tracking of “Apple Privacy Opens.” This is a handy policy that automatically registers email ‘opens,' potentially affecting open rate accuracy. 

This reporting flexibility ensures a clearer view of email engagement. Also, it thereby empowers you to make informed decisions based on reliable data.

Who is the WINNER

MailerLite does a good job with the basics, but if you want really detailed insights about how your emails are doing, ActiveCampaign is the better option. Hence, ActiveCampaign wins.

8. Customer Support

Customer Support plays a vital role when we decide to follow up with any tool. Both platforms, along with automation features, offer remarkable support to their customers. Yet, it's time to check out which one is more fine out of the two.

Mailerlite

Mailerlite offers live chat support only with the highest plan subscription. This is considered a premium feature of Mailerlite. Moreover, Live chat support is accessible for a 30-day trial period and is available 24/7.

Apart from Live chat, Mailerlite offers various other forms of customer support. These options include emails, educational resources, and community support. 

Yet, I must say that its live chat support is highly commendable. They will respond within a few minutes of contacting them. Also, the agents provide detailed answers and support you until your query gets resolved.

ActiveCampaign

On the other hand, ActiveCampaign also provides quick customer support but is restricted by one or the other constraints. For example, live support is available only from Monday to Friday. One-on-one training is available in upgraded plans.

The other thing that ActiveCampaign lacks in customer support is its educational resources. No doubt, its education resources are appreciable, but they are so wide that you feel a bit overwhelmed in finding the one you need to resolve your query.

Who is the WINNER

Both the marketing software are standing equally here, but Mailerlite's customer support is easy to navigate and also offers support day and night. So Mailerlite is a winner here.

9. Integration

Mailerlite

MailerLite offers approximately 140 integrations spanning CRM, website builders, social media, ecommerce platforms, and more. 

With additional support from Zapier and LeadsBridge, you can extend these integrations for enhanced functionality and connectivity across various applications and services.

ActiveCampaign 

ActiveCampaign provides a vast library of integrations. It boasts around 930 options at the time of writing. ActiveCampaing offers integration capabilities to business software.

This software include accounting, analytics, human resources, and project management tools.

Similar to MailerLite, ActiveCampaign also offers integration via Zapier. It allows users to expand connectivity across multiple platforms.

Who is the WINNER

ActiveCampaign is a clear winner.

Mailerlite Vs ActiveCampaign: Pros and Cons

MailerLite Pros

  1. User-Friendly Interface: Its clean interface is straightforward. This feature makes it easy to navigate without overwhelming features.
  2. Generous Free Plan: Offers up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 email sends monthly at no cost.
  3. Affordability: Known for being a cost-effective option in the email marketing space.
  4. Scalable Premium Plan:
  5. Offers a single premium plan where users pay based on their contact list growth. So, there is no need for multiple tiers for advanced features.
  6. Abundant Templates: Provides numerous email and newsletter templates for varied design options.
  7. Simple Automation: Allows creating basic automation using an uncomplicated workflow editor.
  8. Support Availability: Offers 24/7 live chat and email support for prompt assistance.

MailerLite Cons

  1. Limited Editor Flexibility:
  2. The email and landing page editor is less flexible than ActiveCampaign.
  3. Report Variability: Offers fewer types of reports in comparison to other platforms.
  4. Basic Automation: Automation features are less advanced compared to competitors like ActiveCampaign.
  5. Free Pages Limitation: Allows only five free pages; additional pages require extra payment.
  6. Email-Focused: Lacks omnichannel features, focusing solely on email marketing solutions.
  7. No Phone Support: Absence of phone support for user assistance.

ActiveCampaign Pros

  • Omnichannel Features: Offers omnichannel marketing capabilities. It includes text messaging, website personalization, and Facebook ads.
  • Drag-and-Drop Editors:
  • Email and landing page editors provide genuine drag-and-drop interfaces with versatile design options.
  • Abundance of Templates:
  • Offers a broader selection of email and newsletter templates for diverse design needs.
  • Workflow Visualization:
  • Provides an overview of all operations and visualizes their connections for better understanding.
  • Robust Reporting:
  • Offers powerful tools, including attribution reporting, eCommerce reports, and customer lifetime values.
  • Sophisticated Automation: Features advanced automation, split-testing, and segmentation tools for enhanced campaign management.

ActiveCampaign Cons

  • Higher Cost: Considerably more expensive than MailerLite.
  • No Free Plan: Lacks a free plan option.
  • Learning Curve: Due to its many features, ActiveCampaign has a steeper learning curve for users.
  • Limited Features on Lower Tiers: Core features like landing pages are only available in higher premium plans.
  • Limited Support: Lacks 24/7 support and restricts phone support to the enterprise level.
  • Inactive Community Forum: Community forum engagement and activity levels are relatively low.

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on your needs: Mailchimp has more features but can be complex and pricier, while MailerLite is more straightforward and cost-effective for essential email marketing. Choose based on your specific requirements and budget constraints.

ActiveCampaign is best for businesses seeking comprehensive automation, robust email marketing, and CRM capabilities to manage customer relationships effectively and personalize communications at scale. Its strength lies in its powerful automation features and versatile customer relationship management functionalities.

MailerLite is perfect for small to medium-sized businesses looking for an intuitive, cost-effective email marketing platform offering essential features, simplicity, and user-friendly design for efficiently creating and managing email campaigns.

MailerLite is well-suited for newsletters, offering easy-to-use templates, drag-and-drop editors, and functionalities ideal for creating and distributing newsletters efficiently and effectively.

Which one would you choose in 2023: Mailerlite or ActiveCampaign?

MailerLite and ActiveCampaign share many common traits. Their isolated features keep them ahead of each other. 

The one which you will choose should cater to all your requirements. Whether Mailerlite or ActiveCampaing, both email marketing software enable you to create personalized emails to captivate your audience; they will also help you skyrocket your Business.

As both the tools stand equal, choosing the one seems difficult. Now, there is one option left to choose your ideal one. That is, to look for your profiles and compare them with the features of the tools.

So, If you are a B2B business owner or running an online store, ActiveCampaigns' advanced automation capabilities can suit your needs. 

On the other hand, if you are a beginner and want hands-on experience running an email marketing campaign under a tight budget, Mailerlite will suit you the best.

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