ActiveCampaign vs. Zoho Campaigns

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ActiveCampaign
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
ActiveCampaign helps small teams power big businesses with a platform for intelligent marketing automation. It provides email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools that help businesses to create incredible customer experiences.
$19
per month
Zoho Campaigns
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Zoho Campaigns is an email marketing and social networking campaigning tool for smaller companies that helps create, send, and track effective email campaigns. It features list management and segmentation, A/B Testing, tracking and reporting, automation, and mobile campaign management.
$0
Pricing
ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Forever Free
$0
Standard Plan
$3 for 500 contacts
per month
Professional Plan
$4.5 for 500 contacts
per month
Pay as you go
$14 for 500 contacts
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Considered Both Products
ActiveCampaign
Chose ActiveCampaign
I moved to Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM on the basis that they were integrated with a wider package, but the graphics and fonts are far better with ActiveCampaign. Zoho Campaigns didn't even integrate as well with Zoho Forms as expected, and I missed a bunch of responses. …
Chose ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is easier to use than ANY platform we're ever implemented, and I've been an entrepreneur for three decades. It is flexible, effective and trustworthy when it comes to data security. We are able to customize campaigns easily and track results effectively. Our …
Chose ActiveCampaign
I was a previous Mailchimp user and ActiveCampaign is head and shoulders above MC. The functionality and depth of what I can do is so much better. The price seems to be better for what you get.
Zoho Campaigns
Chose Zoho Campaigns
Its easy setup and user interface made it one of our primary tool for sending newsletters and email campaigns. I don't always need to supervise my team on this tool. My team is well versed with the process involves in creating email campaigns on this tool. And the kind of …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.9
664 Ratings
13% above category average
Zoho Campaigns
9.2
24 Ratings
12% above category average
WYSIWYG email editor9.3581 Ratings8.723 Ratings
Dynamic content9.0520 Ratings8.124 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content8.7471 Ratings9.221 Ratings
Landing pages8.0338 Ratings9.716 Ratings
A/B testing9.0380 Ratings9.920 Ratings
Mobile optimization9.3526 Ratings9.622 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting7.4631 Ratings9.624 Ratings
List management9.6650 Ratings9.323 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences9.6574 Ratings8.618 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
7.4
524 Ratings
4% below category average
Zoho Campaigns
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation9.1491 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading8.1359 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management9.1401 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks9.1355 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead segmentation and distribution1.81 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
9.5
374 Ratings
22% above category average
Zoho Campaigns
-
Ratings
Calendaring9.6295 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing9.4286 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
9.5
287 Ratings
24% above category average
Zoho Campaigns
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns9.6254 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration9.4250 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.3
627 Ratings
10% above category average
Zoho Campaigns
9.5
24 Ratings
19% above category average
Dashboards8.0597 Ratings9.623 Ratings
Standard reports8.0584 Ratings9.624 Ratings
Custom reports9.0377 Ratings9.220 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
9.2
491 Ratings
19% above category average
Zoho Campaigns
-
Ratings
API9.5391 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals9.2267 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability9.4420 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com9.292 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM9.760 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM9.756 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations7.520 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Zoho Campaigns
9.7
2 Ratings
13% above category average
URL Validation00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Link Tracking00 Ratings9.52 Ratings
Image Validation00 Ratings9.52 Ratings
Inbox Display00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Email Previews00 Ratings9.52 Ratings
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ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
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PFL Direct Mail Platform
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Score 9.3 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 9.3 out of 10
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User Ratings
ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(676 ratings)
7.7
(24 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.4
(25 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.6
(38 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
6.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.4
(41 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.6
(14 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.5
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.9
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
1.6
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
6.5
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.2
(4 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Likelihood to Recommend
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is brilliant for small businesses wanting a secure, reliable and user friendly email capture software that filters users emails into the appropriate category/tags and have endless options when it comes to having different lead magnets and ways users may sign up. It's been super handy for my small business to send regular emails and be able to analyse the success rates and open rates of emails and the ability to resend them with a different subject line. It's made email marketing really easy peasy.
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Zoho
It is well suited in scenarios:
  1. Well-defined static list with proper info.
  2. Not building email templates from scratch
  3. Litmus testing involved
  4. Easy to use simple automation journeys involved
Not well-suited scenarios:
  1. Complex Customer journeys
  2. Dynamic content involved
  3. Integration with other products other than the ZOHO suite
  4. Testing API limits
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Pros
ActiveCampaign
  • 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.
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Zoho
  • The best thing about this software is its integration with G-suite.
  • It's user interface is so easy that any user can learn it quickly. And it is very easy to operate.
  • It helps users to engage subscribers via various social media platforms.
  • It allows users to compare various email campaigns.
Read full review
Cons
ActiveCampaign
  • 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
Zoho
  • Zoho should start by throwing this tool in the trash and then recreate it from scratch. There are so many flaws I would be here all year trying to list them all. Start by the fact that creating templates is an absolute nightmare. You'll find over and over again that something that should be easily executed can't be done. It is NOT a plug and play program. Everything is trial and error.
  • The reporting SUCKS bad. It gives you basics, but if you want any real insights... I have to export all my data into my own spreadsheets to compare results from multiple campaigns.
  • Customer service is B.A.D. You'll spend HOURS upon HOURS with a tech support team that knows less than you. The only time anything gets accomplished is when you work with a programmer. BUT, you'll seriously waste 1-2 hours explaining a problem to someone who is only taking notes. You'll get so frustrated when they try to show you how they think it works and you respond with... "I know how this works because I have used it for a year - the problem is that it stopped working the way it always did before. They will argue with you. You will respond accordingly. They will close tickets without resolution. Speaking of tickets, you'll never get one. They say they will take care of it and a week later you will follow-up and no one will have any idea what is going on. You'll start from scratch and be even more frustrated. You will learn to "fix" it on your own or deal with it, broken.
  • After two years, I'm still not sure if my emails even make it to an inbox. When asked, you'll be told that you need to write better subject lines. I call bull****. Don't rely on this product to deliver your email. And don't question Zoho, as it will always be your fault.
  • You can't use this tool to send to ANY group email addresses. You can't even override the system. I have a lot of clients that use info@xxx.com or sales@xxx.com, etc. and I have to send them personal emails since this will not allow them to be sent. They say it is to protect them from getting blacklisted. I call bull**** again.
  • The templates offered by the system are crap - unless you only send holiday emails. Not a large selection of just generic templates. You'll be pulling your hair out trying to use their builder to create your own. In the end, you'll end up sending emails with nothing "pretty" about them.
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Likelihood to Renew
ActiveCampaign
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.
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Zoho
Because I am a single user organization and the subscription is free for up to 3 users.
Read full review
Usability
ActiveCampaign
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.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
ActiveCampaign
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.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Performance
ActiveCampaign
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.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
ActiveCampaign
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.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ActiveCampaign
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.
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
ActiveCampaign
I moved to ActiveCampaign from Mailchimp. Admittedly, I was using the free version of Mailchimp, but I had numerous episodes of subscriber data NOT being added to Mailchimp, despite using API to integrate with my mailing list. Obviously, I couldn't pay for clicks and not capture subscriber data, so I had to find something else. ActiveCampaign has been 100% reliable in testing.
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Zoho
Zoho Campaigns is not for beginners to email marketing, but it’s an excellent choice for those who want to send out a lot of emails with few restrictions and great reporting. It’s a no-brainer if you’re already a Zoho user, as Campaigns is included in Zoho One subscriptions and integrates nicely with other Zoho apps.
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Scalability
ActiveCampaign
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!
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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
ActiveCampaign
  • I haven't monetized my list yet so no clear ROI but great from a list-building perspective
  • The software is not cheap so at times I feel like I may not be getting the most out of the product because I'm not using all of the features
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Zoho
  • It allows us to communicate with all our customers or lists together or individually, and to track how successful our campaigns are.
  • Customer Service is a target area of why we use Zoho Campaigns, and it meets our needs greatly.
  • To date we have not really measured the ROI or impact that Zoho Campaigns has on our marketing efforts but with this product it certainly has the means to do such.
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ScreenShots

ActiveCampaign Screenshots

Screenshot of tagging, that when combined with conditional content helps to put the right message in front of each customer.Screenshot of marketing automationScreenshot of audience segmentation based on engagement, purchase activity, lead score, or any other dimensionScreenshot of live chat, site messaging, email, and a unified inbox that can be used to build relationships with customers.Screenshot of the CRM, which helps sales reps to get more done in less time

Zoho Campaigns Screenshots

Screenshot of Template editorScreenshot of Real-time analyticsScreenshot of List managementScreenshot of Send time optimizationScreenshot of Automation—WorkflowsScreenshot of Dashboard