ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: In-Depth Comparison 2024

HubSpot vs ActiveCampaign: An Overview

HubSpotstands as a comprehensive CRM platform, including an array of products dedicated to marketing, sales, content management, and customer service. Designed as an integrated system from the ground up, each distinct Hub links to a unified database, whether you opt for one or the entire suite. As your business expands, HubSpot lays the groundwork with interconnected data, enabling the creation of captivating customer experiences on a large scale.

On the other hand, ActiveCampaign is a dynamic Customer Experience Automation platform that allows businesses to establish connections and interactions with their customers. This platform enhances customer experiences by automating various behind-the-scenes marketing, sales, and support processes. While ActiveCampaign provides a core product, it also offers additional specialty sales and service features that can be added as needed.

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Comparison Table

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Ease of Use

Choosing a robust solution can sometimes entail a steep learning curve. While both tools are relatively user-friendly, HubSpot is slightly easier to use than ActiveCampaign.

HubSpot boasts a sleek and straightforward interface, complemented by live chat support if you encounter any troubles. Unlike complex CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot offers many customization options without overwhelming users. A guided software tour is also available, so you can see how everything works before getting started. What's noteworthy is the flexibility to arrange your dashboard according to your priorities, reducing time spent on digging around. Additionally, you can readily monitor individual sales performances directly from the dashboard.

While ActiveCampaign's interface is also intuitive and allows dashboard personalization, including sections like tasks, campaigns, top contacts, and more, its menu contains numerous sub-elements that might demand additional search time. Nevertheless, a convenient search bar aids in finding specific contacts, campaigns, or deals. A drawback raised by ActiveCampaign users is the inability to add multiple email addresses for the same contact, a feature present in HubSpot. 

Setting up an email campaign is a fairly intuitive process; tooltips provide guidance when hovering over elements, and a live chat widget aids when in need. The Content Manager segment facilitates centralized storage of content assets, accessible to the entire team.

Adding a deal is effortlessly accomplished, facilitated by a plethora of automation templates. This array of options simplifies automating various aspects, from managing contacts and lists to emails and deals.

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Pipeline Management

When it comes to handling your deal pipeline, you'll discover a wealth of versatility on both platforms.

ActiveCampaign empowers you with fully adaptable stages, enabling you to design as many as required to align with your existing sales workflow. Whether you have diverse sales processes (like for different products or services), ActiveCampaign accommodates multiple pipelines to suit each.

HubSpot also puts customization at your fingertips, providing an extra advantage of a broader selection of filters compared to ActiveCampaign.

Within the deals pipeline, HubSpot gives the freedom to modify columns and incorporate numerous custom properties to suit your unique needs. A search bar, also present in ActiveCampaign, assists in swiftly locating specific items.

Both platforms employ a drag-and-drop mechanism, facilitating the seamless progression of deals through various sales stages. This intuitive approach simplifies the process and enhances your sales pipeline management.

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Marketing Automation

As your company expands, the significance of marketing automation becomes undeniable. With growth, tasks that were once manually manageable, like sending timely nurturing emails, become overwhelming. Handling numerous contacts and juggling various responsibilities demand a more efficient approach. Marketing automation empowers you to maintain a personalized customer experience while focusing on pivotal objectives.

ActiveCampaign's marketing automation tool presents a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface to create foundational workflows that automate tasks such as emails, segmenting contacts, and updating information. ActiveCampaign offers limited API-based automation and includes fewer options for automated workflow enrollment triggers. It provides a singular SMS integration choice, alongside a native one. ActiveCampaign enables teams to visualize connected workflows, yet lacks HubSpot's comprehensive overview of how Workflows relate to Lists and Properties.

HubSpot's automation platform goes beyond simple emails, delving into a realm of possibilities. Beyond triggering emails based on contacts' actions, HubSpot's workflows facilitate contact database management, lead distribution among sales teams, and even the automatic creation of support tickets. Advancing further, you can incorporate delays and conditional logic, customizing workflows to suit your team's precise needs. 

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Email Marketing 

In terms of email marketing, HubSpot's Free CRM plan allows you to send 2,000 promotional emails per month to your contacts. However, the design templates are an exclusive privilege of paying users. Alternatively, embracing the Marketing Starter plan at $20/month grants you 1,000 contacts and 5,000 emails, complete with email templates.

On a different note, ActiveCampaign introduces a distinctive approach. Even on its basic plan, it offers an array of templates to fuel your creativity. What sets it apart is the unlimited email-sending capability, allowing your messages to flow without constraint.

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Reporting

Both HubSpot and ActiveCampaign shine in reporting features, offering powerful analytical tools. ActiveCampaign stands out with its all-encompassing reports covering contacts, deals, email newsletters, automations, and even e-commerce. This depth overview empowers you to analyze every aspect of your sales and marketing efforts. Notably, the Deal Task Overview Report in ActiveCampaign gives access to invaluable data concerning CRM-related tasks and their outcomes, providing a comprehensive perspective.

HubSpot, on the other hand, allows you to manage your reporting dashboard, allowing you to view multiple reports side by side. This dynamic feature provides a holistic insight into the effectiveness of your strategies, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. The inclusion of sales representative performance data adds an extra layer of clarity, enabling you to identify team members' contributions. Furthermore, HubSpot's flexibility allows you to personalize report sharing by making them public or private, granting you control over who accesses specific insights.

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Support

When it comes to customer support, HubSpot offers its HubSpot Community, but a leap to the Starter plan grants access to in-app and email support. For those opting for the Professional plan, phone support is the exclusive option. HubSpot's standout feature is its wealth of valuable resources, including complimentary courses, guides, articles, and ebooks that enrich user knowledge.

ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, offers chat and email support across all plans, reserving phone support for Enterprise plan subscribers. A treasure trove of support includes a comprehensive knowledge base, video courses, and a vibrant community forum. For enhanced assistance, one-on-one training is available starting from the Plus plan. 

Both platforms prioritize customer service, assuring thorough and adept responses to your queries, reflecting their commitment to user satisfaction.

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Pricing

ActiveCampaign has recently implemented updates to its plans and pricing structure, primarily focusing on segregation between marketing and sales functionalities. The selection of plans depends on the specific features you need and the number of users in your setup. Notably, all Marketing plans encompass unrestricted email usage, offering peace of mind regarding potential excess charges. The initiation point for the Marketing plan is $29 per month, with gradual increments for more advanced options. However, if you upgrade your plan because you require more features, you will notice a significant price increase.

HubSpot offers diverse plans categorized into Marketing, CRM & Sales, and Service, each with multiple tiers spanning a wide price range from $20 to $890. Adding to this, the Professional and Enterprise plans require additional onboarding fees, a significant $3,000 and $6,000 respectively, which can be expensive for SMBs. 

While HubSpot's free CRM plan stands out with its generosity, supporting unlimited users, the focus for those comparing ActiveCampaign and HubSpot often centers on automation, reporting, and analytics features. These capabilities become accessible only with the Marketing Starter plan and above.

What Sets ActiveCampaign Apart from HubSpot?

ActiveCampaign specializes in marketing automation, particularly catering to email marketers. In contrast, HubSpot presents a range of 'Hubs' tailored for sales, marketing, and customer service teams.

HubSpot boasts a more diverse array of features, though unlocking its extensive feature set requires a financial commitment. Many users opt for a single Hub or a discounted bundle, requiring a 12-month commitment.

While ActiveCampaign lacks HubSpot's comprehensive suite, it excels as a commendable CRM and email marketing software. In fact, it is one of the best email marketing services, thanks to its robust automation and comprehensive reporting—crucial components of effective email marketing.

Both ActiveCampaign and HubSpot prove valuable for sales funnels, but there are distinctions. HubSpot generously offers a Free CRM plan, whereas ActiveCampaign provides a 14-day free trial. ActiveCampaign's pricing starts at $29/month, with gradual increases, yet without hidden fees, you can encounter using HubSpot.

HubSpot vs ActiveCampaign: Wrapping Up

In the dynamic realm of customer relationship management, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot are prominent contenders. HubSpot emerges as a holistic CRM platform, with an impressive range of products catering to marketing, sales, content management, and customer service. HubSpot's value amplifies as businesses grow, offering interconnected data to shape immersive customer experiences at scale.

Conversely, ActiveCampaign carves its identity as a Customer Experience Automation platform, fostering meaningful interactions with customers. It excels in automating behind-the-scenes marketing, sales, and support processes. 

In conclusion, ActiveCampaign and HubSpot offer distinctive strengths. HubSpot's comprehensive approach makes it an all-encompassing solution. In contrast, ActiveCampaign shines as an automation-focused platform. Consider your business needs and priorities to choose the CRM that aligns with your goals.