Independent head-to-head
ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
Both are on our shortlist, and most people only need one. Here is where each genuinely wins.
Which fits your work better: ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo?
ActiveCampaign suits agencies and businesses that have outgrown basic newsletter automation and need real branching logic tied to a lightweight CRM. Klaviyo suits e-commerce brands whose flows genuinely need order and catalogue data — abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back sequences built on real purchase behaviour. ActiveCampaign is cheaper to start with ($19/month against $20/month), so price alone favours it.
ActiveCampaign
Email Marketing ToolsWhere local-service agencies land once Mailchimp's automation runs out.
Klaviyo
Email Marketing ToolsEmail and SMS built around e-commerce order data, not generic list-building.
Decision view
Compare what changes the answer
| Decision factor | ActiveCampaign$19/mo | Klaviyo$20/mo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $19/mo | $20/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | None |
| Best for | Agencies and businesses that have outgrown basic newsletter automation and need real branching logic tied to a lightweight CRM. | E-commerce brands whose flows genuinely need order and catalogue data — abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back sequences built on real purchase behaviour. |
| Not for | Anyone who just wants to send a monthly newsletter — you're paying for automation depth you won't touch. | Service businesses and agencies without a transactional store — the e-commerce-specific triggers are dead weight if there's no product catalogue driving them. |
Shared answers are dimmed so trade-offs stay visible.
Plan comparison
Published plans as recorded on each vendor’s pricing page on its verification date. Limits and add-ons differ between vendors, so compare at your own volume.
ActiveCampaign
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19 | Monthly billing at 1,000 contacts ($15/mo if billed annually); re-prices at each contact band |
| Plus | $59 | 1,000 contacts, monthly billing; landing pages, unlimited automation actions |
| Pro | $99 | 1,000 contacts, monthly billing; predictive content, 3 users |
| Enterprise | $179 | 1,000 contacts, monthly billing; SSO, dedicated account team |
Klaviyo
| Plan | Monthly | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 250 profiles, 500 emails/month, 60 days of support access |
| $20 | From this price at ~500 profiles; scales with profile count (~$30 at 1,000, ~$150 at 10,000) | |
| Email + SMS | $35 | Adds SMS credits; roughly $15/month more than the Email plan at each profile tier |
Where ActiveCampaign wins
- Automation builder handles genuinely complex branching that Mailchimp's flows can't express
- Built-in CRM/pipeline features remove the need for a separate lightweight CRM at the Plus tier and up
- Site tracking ties visitor behaviour directly to contact records without a separate analytics tool
Where Klaviyo wins
- Order- and catalogue-triggered flows are genuinely deeper than general-purpose email tools manage
- SMS and email share one contact profile instead of being bolted-on separate systems
- Predictive segmentation (churn risk, next-order date) is a real differentiator for retention work
ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo?
ActiveCampaign suits agencies and businesses that have outgrown basic newsletter automation and need real branching logic tied to a lightweight CRM. Klaviyo suits e-commerce brands whose flows genuinely need order and catalogue data — abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back sequences built on real purchase behaviour. ActiveCampaign is cheaper to start with ($19/month against $20/month), so price alone favours it.
Agencies and businesses that have outgrown basic newsletter automation and need real branching logic tied to a lightweight CRM.
E-commerce brands whose flows genuinely need order and catalogue data — abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back sequences built on real purchase behaviour.
What decides it
- Entry price
- ActiveCampaign starts at $19/month; Klaviyo at $20/month. Compare the plan that matches your real usage, not the entry tier.
- Trial
- ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day trial; Klaviyo offers a free plan.
- What each gives up
- ActiveCampaign: pricing re-bands at every contact-count threshold, so a growing list can jump price tiers abruptly. Klaviyo: billing on total active profiles, including cold and suppressed contacts since 2025, front-loads cost onto list hygiene.