Great Automations and List Management for a Low Cost to Start With
Updated October 26, 2023

Great Automations and List Management for a Low Cost to Start With

Juan R. Arroyo Yap | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Small Business

Overall Satisfaction with ActiveCampaign

I have been using it for email marketing purposes for a consulting and coaching business.

I am a solopreneur and I use ActiveCampaign to manage my list, set automations, welcome sequences, and broadcast campaigns.

What it helps me do is keep the list management simple by using tags and a few lists. This way I can have a buyers list and a master list and use a simple tag system to properly identify what the person has purchased and interacted with.

I came from using Mailchimp's free plan and didn't like needing to use different lists for everything because they didn't have any tagging system that could integrate with other platforms
  • The automation triggers and workflow commands available are impressive. Very robust, it's so robust I don't know what's capable of doing since I stick to foundational triggers
  • The tagging system and segmentation approach is convenient since one can create segments from different places
  • I was relatively simple to navigate around the platform. (finding where are the lists, campaigns, automations.
  • I liked the quick ability to search for specific contacts based on status and tags.
  • The email builder is annoying. Very slow at work and it constantly resets the cursor, font type and list continuation. It's one of the most frustrating things about it.
  • I am surprised there isn't an automatic "send to people who haven't opened the last x campaigns" trigger. Other competitors have this feature. Instead, I'm forced to use 2 automations that play the role of tagging after a certain amount of days have passed.
  • While it's a market practice, I think the cost can go up exponentially the more members one has. Maybe I don't understand the process enough but places like sendgrid, MailerLite offer decent automations and 1,000 subscribers free. I know sendgrid charges per email sent but still I find the cost to pay for a list size odd.
  • The overall refresh rate of the platform seems to use a lot of CPU power because it lags every time I switch functions or create new steps. I can hear my fans go to high every time I start doing something. I know my CPU is old but I use other demanding software and I don't have that problem. I think the refresh rate and speed of the platform can be improved.
  • The main impact is integration with ClickFunnels and allowing tags because it saves a lot of time with data transfer
  • The access to all the automation triggers has been useful.
  • For a starting business, the cost of a small list is convenient compared to the features available in the basic plan.
I selected ActiveCampaign because many in the communities I was interacting with recommended it. It is also the software many of the platforms I interact with users and integrate directly via API.

The cost to get started is relatively low for access to automation and tagging systems.

Comparisons:

Mailchimp gives 2,000 subscribers free (back when I started my account) and have basic automations but didn't have the tagging system. Therefore, I didn't know which person but through my funnel and what product did they buy. Mailchimp's email builder is fairly simple but I didn't like how the emails looked on the email reader. It's like they try to be "fancy" without needing to.

MailerLite I enjoy it a lot. Simple and intuitive to use. Good speed and gives automation access on the free plan with a limit of 1,000 subscribers. I would use it if it wasn't for the lack of direct integration with ClickFunnels and other programs I use.

AWeber I have used with clients and I didn't like the silo approach they take to list building, forms and tags. It seems organized to think of each list as its own platform. I think it makes it look more complex that what it is. While they have tags and it integrates with common digital marketing platforms, tags appear to be a secondary thought and not intended to be used robustly.

sendgrid is more for sending emails at a cheap cost that then added other email marketing features. It seemed incomplete for what I was trying to do.

ActiveCampaign won mainly due to cost and integration at this time.

Do you think ActiveCampaign delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with ActiveCampaign's feature set?

Yes

Did ActiveCampaign live up to sales and marketing promises?

No

Did implementation of ActiveCampaign go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy ActiveCampaign again?

Yes

Zoom, WordPress, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), ClickFunnels
To me, the strongest value proposition of ActiveCampaign is the tagging system and it's robust automation offering. (I'm using the basic plan).

The automation triggers are very robust and it allows for many solutions to email sequence needs. The tagging system is quick to use and offers the option to manage it all with one list.

It also offers integration with many digital marketing platforms which makes it convenient to seamlessly transfer contact information from one place to another.

The addition of basic landing page building is a plus but the slowness of the builder makes it a little tedious to use at times.

ActiveCampaign Feature Ratings

WYSIWYG email editor
6
Dynamic content
8
Ability to test dynamic content
Not Rated
Landing pages
6
A/B testing
Not Rated
Mobile optimization
7
Email deliverability reporting
8
List management
10
Triggered drip sequences
10
Lead nurturing automation
9
Lead scoring and grading
Not Rated
Data quality management
Not Rated
Automated sales alerts and tasks
Not Rated
Social sharing and campaigns
Not Rated
Social profile integration
Not Rated
Dashboards
6
Standard reports
7
Custom reports
Not Rated
API
Not Rated
Role-based workflow & approvals
Not Rated
Customizability
Not Rated
Integration with Salesforce.com
Not Rated
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Not Rated
Integration with SugarCRM
Not Rated