ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite Comparison

Why choose ActiveCampaign

• Higher Scalability score (7/10 vs 6/10)
• Higher Integration score (8/10 vs 7/10)
• Better fit for marketing teams (9/10 vs 6/10)
• Better fit for mid-market (7/10 vs 5/10)

Why choose MailerLite

• Has a free plan (ActiveCampaign does not)
• Higher Cost score (8/10 vs 5/10)
• Higher Ease of Use score (9/10 vs 6/10)
• Better fit for freelancers (8/10 vs 6/10)
• Better fit for startups (8/10 vs 6/10)

ActiveCampaign

Pros

• Every plan, including Starter, has multi-step automation and AI campaign builders, so small teams can run nurture sequences cheaply.
• Pro adds predictive sending, conditional content and attribution tracking at a list price of about 79 USD a month for 1,000 contacts on annual billing.
• Enterprise covers compliance-heavy buyers with SSO, HIPAA support, custom objects and a Salesforce integration.
• Review sites rate it highly, at about 4.4 on G2 from around 14,700 reviews and 4.6 on Capterra.
• iOS and Android apps let users create and manage deals, assign tasks and log calls on the go.

Cons

• Pricing is tied to contact count and rises sharply as lists grow, and there is no permanent free plan.
• Deal pipelines and inbox sales email cost extra through CRM add-ons, which adds a lot to the total cost for sales teams.
• Starter allows only 5 actions per automation and 1 user, and it has no landing pages.
• Reviewers often mention a steep learning curve and slow support on lower tiers.
• Reporting customisation is limited, and deals cannot be exported without the API.

MailerLite

Pros

• The interface is clean, and reviewers say automations are quick to set up even for first-time users.
• Automations are included even on the free plan.
• Paid plans start at $12 a month, which reviewers say is cheaper than Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
• Native e-commerce integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and Stripe feed purchase-based automations.
• Reviewers report deliverability ranking first in an independent EmailToolTester test.

Cons

• Many users report accounts suspended or terminated with little warning and difficult appeals.
• Support is email-only on Comfort, and some reviewers say replies are slow.
• The free plan has been cut more than once and now allows only 250 subscribers.
• Prices rise steeply as the list grows, according to a competitor's analysis.
• Reviewers find reporting and segmentation limited for larger companies.