MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign: Which to Use? [Comparison 2024]

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Choosing a mailing system can significantly impact the effectiveness of marketing efforts, especially for creators of e-books and online courses who sell through webinars, auto-webinars, and evergreen campaigns. In this article, we will compare two popular tools—MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign—analyzing their features, pricing, and suitability for different business needs.

What features should the ideal mailing system for creators include?

The ideal mailing system for content creators should offer many features that not only enable effective communication with recipients but also allow for process automation, data analysis, and integration with other tools. Key features to consider include:

  • An intuitive email editor that enables the creation of visually appealing and responsive emails without the need for coding,
  • Automation and automatic message sending based on specific user actions, which helps better manage the sales funnel,
  • Segmentation of the mailing list based on subscribers’ behaviors, preferences, or demographics, which enhances communication efficiency,
  • Integration with external platforms, such as webinar platforms, CRM systems, data analysis tools, and tools for creating effective sales funnels like Apresly,
  • Advanced tools for monitoring and analyzing campaign effectiveness.

MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign—what to consider when choosing?

When choosing between MailerLite and ActiveCampaign, consider several key factors: First, the scale of operations. MailerLite may be more suitable for smaller businesses and creators who need simplicity and ease of use, while ActiveCampaign offers advanced features that are ideal for larger organizations and sophisticated marketing strategies. Second, the sophistication of features. ActiveCampaign provides deeper segmentation and advanced automation paths that may be essential for complex e-commerce campaigns. Finally—budget. MailerLite is generally more affordable, making it an attractive choice for companies with limited budgets.

MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign—price comparison

The pricing of both systems varies significantly, and at first glance, it is clear that MailerLite is the cheaper option. For example, handling 1,000 contacts in MailerLite’s Advanced plan costs $27 per month, while ActiveCampaign’s Plus plan costs $49 per month. However, it’s worth noting that MailerLite offers only three options, while ActiveCampaign provides a much larger selection.

ActiveCampaign only allows a 14-day trial period, which may not be sufficient to test all the tool’s features fully. In contrast, MailerLite offers unlimited testing for up to 12,000 sent messages. Unlike the free plan, the paid MailerLite plan does not impose any limits on the number of email messages sent and outperforms ActiveCampaign. The limits of ActiveCampaign are much more noticeable. For example, in the Plus plan for 1,000 contacts, you can send a maximum of 10,000 messages per month, meaning each person on the list can receive 10 emails per month.

As the number of contacts increases, the prices of both tools also change. For instance, handling 10,000 contacts in MailerLite’s Advanced plan costs $99 per month, while ActiveCampaign’s Pro plan for the same number of subscribers costs $375 per month.

Check the details of the pricing plans

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MailerLite — Ideal for Beginners

MailerLite is exceptionally user-friendly for those who are new to email marketing or simply need a straightforward tool for quick operations. This system offers an easy-to-use interface and features that are simple to master. 

Intuitive User Interface 

MailerLite stands out with its intuitive and clear interface, which is easy to navigate even for those new to email marketing. Notably, the “drag and drop” editor facilitates the creation of visually appealing emails. Users also have the option to choose their preferred editor while designing their email messages.

If users opt for the drag-and-drop feature, they have access to a variety of widgets provided by MailerLite that allow for individual template design. There are numerous customization options, including font and color editors. Additionally, if the email content requires it, an integrated survey feature is available, eliminating the need for external tools.

Attractive Pricing

Compared to other tools on the market, MailerLite offers very competitive pricing, making it an ideal choice for those on a limited budget. As mentioned earlier, prices depend on the number of subscribers, and the two plans offer a sufficient range of options and features.

Advanced Automation Features

MailerLite provides a comprehensive set of automation tools, available even within the free plan, that enable the construction of complex marketing scenarios. For example, emails can be automatically sent in response to subscriber actions, such as opening a message or clicking a link. The process of creating automation is simplified thanks to an intuitive builder and pre-designed templates that facilitate campaign planning. However, each automation requires using the same visual builder, which may slightly slow down the creation process. To speed up work on new, similar automation, existing scenarios can be copied and modified.

Built-in Landing Page Editor

MailerLite includes a built-in tool for creating landing pages, which is extremely useful for quickly setting up a page for a specific campaign. The availability of ready-made templates significantly eases and accelerates the work.

Integration with Other Tools

Smart integrations with popular tools are essential in modern marketing. MailerLite offers the ability to connect with over 140 apps and programs, streamlining work and ensuring a smooth flow of information. Importantly, MailerLite can also be integrated with the Apresly platform, enabling sales automation through Tripwire Funnels, Video Sales Letters, and Autowebinars.

ActiveCampaign — for E-commerce

You may have already noticed that ActiveCampaign appears to be a much more advanced tool, not just because of its price.

Advanced Automation

ActiveCampaign is distinguished by its advanced automation feature, enabling the creation of complex marketing campaigns. Unlike more basic tools, ActiveCampaign allows for the creation of multi-stage communication paths that are sensitive to a variety of user actions. This automation can be dynamically modified depending on the recipient’s interactions, such as opening a message, clicking a link, purchasing a product, or abandoning a cart. This tool offers maximum flexibility, allowing for the design of complex sales funnels that automatically adapt their actions to customer behaviors, making ActiveCampaign an ideal solution for companies conducting extensive and long-term sales campaigns where each user interaction is crucial.

CRM Features

One of the key advantages of ActiveCampaign is its integrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, which enables not only the conduct of email campaigns but also the comprehensive management of customer relationships at every stage of the sales process. The CRM in ActiveCampaign allows monitoring of user interactions, managing potential clients (leads), and automating the lead scoring process, which assesses the value of each contact based on their engagement. CRM functionalities also enable effective management of sales funnels, identifying the stage at which each client is, and planning actions aimed at increasing the likelihood of closing a deal. These advanced options make ActiveCampaign not just an email marketing tool, but a comprehensive system for managing the sales process and building customer relationships.

Integrations

ActiveCampaign offers extensive integration capabilities with other tools, making it a highly flexible solution for different types of companies. The platform works with hundreds of popular applications and tools, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, Zapier, Google Analytics, and social media management tools. This allows for full integration of email campaigns with sales, analysis, and CRM systems, creating a cohesive marketing ecosystem. These integrations enable tracking of customer actions across various platforms and automatic transmission of collected data to ActiveCampaign, providing a comprehensive view of customer interactions with your brand. Additionally, ActiveCampaign can be integrated with the Apresly platform, enabling even more advanced management of sales funnels and marketing automation, supporting sales efficiency and personalized communication with customers.

Lead Segmentation

Lead scoring is one of the most advanced features offered by ActiveCampaign, allowing for assessing a potential customer’s value based on their behaviors. Each interaction with a customer, such as opening an email, clicking a link, or visiting a website, is automatically scored. This allows for an evaluation of how close a client is to making a purchase. The lead scoring functionality enables more effective prioritization among contacts and tailoring marketing and sales campaigns to their individual needs. You can adjust the point values assigned to different actions, assigning greater weight to actions that are key to the company, such as preferring individuals who downloaded a product sample over those who just opened an email. This feature is extremely useful for companies conducting large sales campaigns that want to focus their efforts on the most promising customers, thus optimizing the use of time and resources.

Conclusions — MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign, Which to Choose?

The choice between MailerLite and ActiveCampaign should be dictated by the specifics of your business, technological needs, and budget. For beginner creators and smaller companies that require a simple tool for effective communication with recipients, MailerLite may be the best choice. Meanwhile, for e-commerce-oriented enterprises that require advanced automation and segmentation features, ActiveCampaign will be a better solution. It is important to thoroughly understand your needs and choose the platform that best meets them.

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