ActiveCampaign vs. Square Customers

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ActiveCampaign
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
ActiveCampaign is presented as an AI-first marketing platform for marketers, agencies, and entrepreneurs. It uses Active Intelligence for goal-aware automation and personalized experiences across email, SMS, and WhatsApp. ActiveCampaign integrates with 950+ apps and generates insights to optimize every workflow.
$15
per month (billed annually)
Square Customers
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Square's Customer Engagement Suite, or Square Customers, is a suite of solutions that enables Square users to connect with existing customers, reach new ones, and grow relationships using tools that integrate with Square Point of Sale and Square Online.
$0
Pricing
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Editions & Modules
Starter
$15
per month (billed annually)
Pro
$49
per month (billed annually)
Plus
$79
per month (billed annually)
Enterprise
$149
per month (billed annually)
Customer Directory
$0
Gift Card Starter Pack
$2
per card (plus 2.6% + 10¢ processing fee)
Email Marketing
starting $15
per month
Text Message Marketing
starting at $10
per month
Loyalty
starting at $45
per month
Quick Cards
from 99c
per card (plus 2.6% + 10¢ processing fee)
Custom Cards
from 81c
per card (plus 2.6% + 10¢ processing fee)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Considered Both Products
ActiveCampaign
Chose ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp is a good easy solution for beginner marketers. I think ActiveCampaign is more robust with landing page, automated marketing integrations, plus the use of lists and tags to niche contacts. While it could be difficult to utilize AC's feature set initially, its AI …
Chose ActiveCampaign
I am stuck with ActiveCampaign
Chose ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp simply did not have all the features we were looking for, particularly with regard to list segmenting and automation. ActiveCampaign is more expensive, but it's a big step up for us. I think that Mailchimp is excellent for beginners and those who don't need all the …
Chose ActiveCampaign
pricing is quite competitive compared to similar products. It was also recommended to me from a business partner with a similar line in business
Chose ActiveCampaign
much more user friendly than these other alternatives.
Chose ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign feels like the professional, empowered and much more fully set up version of MailChimp. I was using MailChimp when I first started my business, but was then introduced to AC, and it's a million times better.
Chose ActiveCampaign
I used Mautic/Acquia for 4 years. It was more expensive for less features than ActiveCampaign. Also, I find ActiveCampaign is more intuitive and easier to use. The support system is more helpful. The pages are easy to navigate and the menu and submenus are well laid out. …
Chose ActiveCampaign
MailChimp, Mailer Lite, Constant Contact: ActiveCampaign is much better and much more versatile with automations, tags, and options for customizable lists and forms.
Chose ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp is in a different league to the above platforms.
Chose ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has much better segmenting and more powerful automations, contact info, and integrations with other platforms.
Chose ActiveCampaign
In my opinion, ActiveCampaign is wayyyy easier to use than MailChimp. It's easier to choose your lists and to resend to unopens.
Chose ActiveCampaign
Salesforce is a beast! The learning involved to use the system is prohibitive. Mailerlite is limited in functionality but ConvertKit is a solid alternative. Both are easy to use but clunky to navigate, while ActiveCampaign is logical. Mailchimp is great for small businesses …
Chose ActiveCampaign
You'll be able to accomplish everything you need to with ActiveCampaign. A lot of these platforms distinguish themselves with bells and whistles. If a certain 'luxury' is important to you, then go with the platform that offers it. Generally speaking, they can all get the job …
Chose ActiveCampaign
It's simply intuitive! You know what to do and what you can do by just looking at it. So it goes very fast into a natural usage where You don't need to think too long. You can execute faster and build amazing funnels, because the functions are so easy and come with a great …
Chose ActiveCampaign
We selected Active Campaign several years ago due to its competitive cost and ability to integrate well with other software that we were using. With recent pricing changes, however, we will likely be shopping for alternatives.
Chose ActiveCampaign
In my opinion, not easy to use. Very limited in regards with features. I think the forms you integrate in webpages are ugly and not fully customizable. for almost the same price I have more features with ActiveCampaign.

I feel more confortable using ActiveCampaign since it is …
Chose ActiveCampaign
The level of sophistication and detail of the automations and segmentation is much higher with ActiveCampaign vs. Mailchimp resulting in much more targeted campaigns. Also, the user experience is so much more intuitive and easier to navigate with ActiveCampaign.
Chose ActiveCampaign
Clear winner on all fronts over most products, excluding HighLevel.
Square Customers
Chose Square Customers
Square has multiple tools in one - marketing, sales, and CRM. It isn't as robust as some other CRM platforms, so if that is your main need, you might look into other options. But if you just need to keep basic data on clients, this is a great way to go!
Chose Square Customers
The only other service similar to Square I have any interaction with is PayPal here, it works in a very similar manner, and at the time had the same exact fee schedule. It has the added perk of going directly into your PayPal account if this is a service you use a lot of for …
Features
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.6
Ratings
12% above category average
Square Customers
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content8.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages7.40 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
List management8.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.3
Ratings
6% above category average
Square Customers
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks8.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead segmentation and distribution7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
9.1
Ratings
21% above category average
Square Customers
-
Ratings
Calendaring9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing9.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
6.8
Ratings
8% below category average
Square Customers
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns7.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration6.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.1
Ratings
10% above category average
Square Customers
-
Ratings
Dashboards8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.8
Ratings
17% above category average
Square Customers
-
Ratings
API8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals8.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability7.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM9.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
7.1
Ratings
10% below category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings5.30 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings4.00 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings5.80 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
6.8
Ratings
13% below category average
Case management00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Call center management00 Ratings6.80 Ratings
Help desk management00 Ratings6.30 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
8.9
Ratings
14% above category average
Lead management00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Email marketing00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
7.9
Ratings
2% above category average
Task management00 Ratings5.70 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
8.7
Ratings
13% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
6.9
Ratings
11% below category average
Custom fields00 Ratings3.70 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
9.5
Ratings
12% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
6.6
Ratings
13% below category average
Social data00 Ratings6.30 Ratings
Social engagement00 Ratings6.80 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
6.0
Ratings
23% below category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings2.00 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Square Customers
9.0
Ratings
16% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.9 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.3 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(0 ratings)
8.7
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.2
(0 ratings)
9.6
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.3
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ActiveCampaignSquare Customers
Likelihood to Recommend
I've been using ActiveCampaign since around 2018-2019 and I've always been satisfied with the software. It's simple to use, connects with the other tools I use and makes it easy for me to duplicate automations, email templates and workflows as I need to. On top of that, any time I've had an issue (which I think is around twice in the past 5/6 years), the customer service has always been super helpful and my issue has been resolved quickly.
Read full review
Square is absolutely brilliant if you are just starting out and your business has both an in-person and an online component to it, as Square will solve both in-person POS and online booking/billing. Square also offers the option to create a free website for your company, though it is a very basic site, if you don't have a website yet, this is a VERY helpful option, as it takes away a huge cost. Square allowed us to be up and running in no time, taking away the need to worry about an expensive appointment-setting add-on from our current website provider (Square integrates quite nicely with our current site). Square is probably less ideal for more advanced users or companies with a need for more detailed inventory/service management. But even then, Square will more than likely be able to get the job done!
Read full review
Pros
  • The graphic design is very good, especially fonts, colours and templates
  • Flexibility of design and functionality
  • Takes a little while to learn it, but generally user-friendly
  • Looks very professional but doesn't cost much to get started
  • There are masses of integrations for ActiveCampaign, and the ones I tried all worked well and didn't take long to figure out.
Read full review
  • User friendly interface
  • Easy to keep track of clients
Read full review
Cons
  • The email designing part could be easier to use. There are certain simple shortcuts that don't work, for example, adding links is more complicated than it should be, moving blocks around is hard, etc.
  • There's no good way to filter by 'active' and 'inactive' subscribers when editing en-mass.
  • I'd like more reporting data on one page.
Read full review
  • Inability to transfer funds to bank in real time (PayPal offers this option, for a fee)
  • The option to create a website on Square is very limited. We opted to integrate the Square appointment setting tool into our site, as the site Square offered was subpart.
  • Google calendar integration is now a premium feature, and it used to be included!
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
I am committed at the moment. Rebuilding the automations I have would be a huge time drain. Plus the cost of learning a new system and the risk to deliverability of porting a 6,000 person list to a new platform. Also, AC offers everything I need ast a reasonable (but a little high) price. So, why not a 10? Because, early 2023, AC dropped a massive 2x price hike on long-term customers. They knew few would shift, so this feels like a cynical cash grab and left a bad taste, If they do something like this again, this camel will have a broken back.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Usability
ActiveCampaign has been the easiest marketing automation software we have ever used. They provide tips throughout the entire process of anything you are building. Their support team through LIVE CHAT has been extremely fast and helpful. The monthly meetings provided with the enablement team has helped us through several large and urgent needs.
Read full review
A lot easier to get your head around and fewer pieces of software are required to manage clients' projects and systems.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
I haven't experienced application errors or unplanned outages at all. Active Campaign is ultra reliable and I would not be using them if that were the case. Also, the helpful emails they send are welcomed and informative, and present very practical tips and guidance for using the platform. They're always demonstrating new features and I'm thankful for that.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Performance
Oh my gosh, Active Campaign's performance gets an A+++ in my book. The pages load quickly and so do the reports. I haven't noticed any slowdowns when it's integrating with other programs and it performs excellently on all levels.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
This might be the best part. The chat support lady offered to make a video to help me solve my problem. I worked in customer service for years and I've never done that, lol. So, if they're offering things like that, I can only imagine that they'd be able to handle most any issue you throw at them.
Read full review
Have not had to use their support. I've read a help article that worked to provide the answer for that particular question but I haven't had to reach out to a live person.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Very satisfied with our implementation in our professional medical practice, allowing us to be on top of client service, and not miss out on crucial information and insights. Marketing is often neglected in professional practices and ActiveCampaign solved this problem with aplomb.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I transitioned from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign because it was so much more user friendly and allowed me to do a lot more in regards to lead magnets than Mailchimp can. For example, ActiveCampaign allows users to sign up for a lead magnet as many times as they like to keep receiving it (in case they've lost or deleted the email with access to the lead magnet). Mailchimp was unable to do this. And the categorization of users and the trigger email sequencing was a lot easier in ActiveCampaign.
Read full review
A lot easier to use than Infusionsoft!!
Read full review
Scalability
My web designer told me about Active Campaign and although I don't recall which platform I had before, I LOVE Active Campaign and its user friendliness. The transition was seamless and I've never had a problem with functionality or server failure.
Active Campaign provides so many features, and makes it easy for non-techies to maneuver around the site with ease. They capture information and put it in an easy-to-read format.
At this point, I don't think I'd ever use any other platform!
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Automations free up time - once set up, email campaigns execute in seconds
  • Emailing my newsletter is a second touch-point for my clients
  • The flat rate for my subscription means that I reach my clients and prospects for fractions of a cent each month
Read full review
  • This has allowed me to accept credit / debit transactions without having to have a monthly subscription to a service and lose money on times of no to little use, allowing me to have a broader customer range as checks are risky.
  • All of my initial equipment was free and there were no startup costs so my return was immediate.
  • The small fee taken out of the transaction is very much worth the ability to accept nearly all plastic transactions.
Read full review
ScreenShots

ActiveCampaign Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of