In the ever-evolving world of email marketing, selecting the right platform is crucial for business success.
Omnisend and ActiveCampaign, two of the leading contenders, each boast an extensive array of features designed to optimize your email campaigns.
But which one is the perfect match for your unique business requirements?
In this comprehensive comparison of Omnisend and ActiveCampaign, we delve into the essential aspects of each platform, including their standout features, pricing structures, and customer testimonials.
My goal is to provide you with a clear understanding of what each solution offers, ultimately empowering you to choose the email marketing platform that best aligns with your business objectives.
The TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) Version
Choosing a definitive winner between these two platforms is challenging, as each brings a unique set of strengths to the table.
ActiveCampaign, with its extensive features and customization capabilities for customer journeys, emerges as a front-runner. While not without its flaws, its powerful tools have the potential to significantly impact your business when utilized effectively.
On the other hand, Omnisend remains a formidable option, particularly for small businesses, due to its intuitive interface and user-friendly approach.
As someone with personal experience using ActiveCampaign, I found it to be a valuable platform. However, it’s essential to acknowledge that my perspective may be biased in this comparison.
What is Omnisend?
Omnisend is a versatile email marketing platform engineered to assist businesses in crafting and delivering compelling marketing campaigns.
Providing a suite of features and tools, Omnisend enables users to design aesthetically appealing emails, automate email campaigns, and segment their mailing lists effectively.
Seamless integration with various ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce facilitates effortless import of product and customer data.
With specialized features such as abandoned cart recovery and personalized product recommendations, Omnisend aids businesses in enhancing sales and customer engagement.
Beyond email marketing, Omnisend also offers SMS marketing and automation tools, empowering businesses to connect with their customers through multiple channels.
What is ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive customer experience platform that encompasses email marketing as a core feature.
This platform presents businesses with a multitude of tools to craft and dispatch visually appealing emails, streamline marketing campaigns, and efficiently segment email lists.
ActiveCampaign also incorporates an array of CRM (customer relationship management) and sales automation functionalities, alongside seamless integration with widely-used business applications like Google Analytics and Salesforce.
Expanding beyond email marketing, ActiveCampaign delivers an assortment of marketing and customer experience solutions such as live chat, marketing automation, and customer analytics.
ActiveCampaign aims to assist businesses in cultivating personalized and seamless customer interactions across every touchpoint.
Key features of Omnisend
Omnisend is a feature-rich email marketing platform that offers a range of tools to help businesses create and send professional-looking emails, automate marketing campaigns, and segment their email lists. In this section, we’ll explore some of the key features of Omnisend and how they can help businesses effectively reach and engage their customers.
Email Campaigns
Omnisend’s email campaign feature is a comprehensive and user-friendly tool that makes it easy for businesses to create professional, visually stunning emails. The library of templates offers a variety of customizable options to fit any brand, and the drag and drop email builder allows for the creation of dynamic content specifically tailored for ecommerce. The advanced segmentation capabilities enable targeted campaigns based on customer data and shopping history, and the campaign reports provide valuable insights into audience engagement and sales generated by each campaign. Overall, Omnisend’s email campaign feature is a powerful and effective tool for businesses looking to reach and engage their customers.
Marketing Automation
Omnisend’s marketing automation feature is a comprehensive and user-friendly tool that helps businesses streamline their marketing efforts and improve customer engagement. The pre-built ecommerce workflows provide a range of options for every stage of the customer journey, making it easy to get up and running in minutes. The drag-and-drop automation editor allows businesses to easily build and customize automated sets of messages, including email, SMS, and web push notifications, and trigger paths based on customer behavior. The automation splits feature enables businesses to tailor special offers and incentives for personalized messaging paths within a single workflow, and the A/B split testing feature allows for data-driven decision-making to improve workflows. Overall, Omnisend’s marketing automation feature is a valuable resource for businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts and grow their business.
Popup and Forms
Omnisend’s popups and forms feature is a powerful tool for capturing visitor information and immediately engaging them with automated messages. The signup forms are seamlessly integrated and allow businesses to easily collect more contacts, while the popups provide an opportunity to capture email addresses from the first visit to the store. The exit intent popups help to capture abandoning visitors and reduce bounce rates and checkout abandonment, while the form reports provide valuable insights into the performance of email marketing campaigns. Overall, Omnisend’s popups and forms feature is an effective tool for businesses looking to collect and engage with their audience.
SMS Marketing
Omnisend’s SMS marketing feature is a comprehensive and user-friendly tool that allows businesses to integrate SMS into their marketing efforts without the headache and extra costs of using multiple tools. The feature is seamlessly integrated with email, and Omnisend provides free SMS credits to get started. The Automations Library includes pre-built workflows with SMS for cart abandonment, birthday, order, and shipping confirmation automations, making it easy to get up and running in just a few clicks. The global audience reach feature enables businesses to reach their international customers and drive conversions from anywhere in the world, as Omnisend supports all country codes for SMS sending. Overall, Omnisend’s SMS marketing feature is a valuable resource for businesses looking to connect with their customers on the go.
Integrations
Omnisend offers a variety of integrations with powerful solutions to help businesses collect, engage, and retain their subscribers. Currently, Omnisend supports 125 integrations, including:
- E-commerce Apps: Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Prestashop and more.
- Shipping & Logistics Apps: Loop, Easyship, AfterShip, ShipStation and more.
- Email Capture Apps: Involve.me, WisePops, Poptin Popups, Typeform, ConvertFlow and more.
It is important to note that while Omnisend’s integrations offer a range of useful tools for businesses, ActiveCampaign offers a wider range of integrations, with over 900+ apps available.
Key features of ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive customer experience platform that includes email marketing as one of its key features. It offers a range of tools to help businesses create and send professional-looking emails, automate marketing campaigns, and segment their email lists. In this section, we’ll take a closer look at some of the key features of ActiveCampaign and how they can help businesses effectively connect with and engage their customers.
Email Campaigns
ActiveCampaign’s email campaign feature is a comprehensive and user-friendly tool that allows businesses to create effective newsletters, campaigns, and emails to stay in front of their audience. The email segmentation feature enables targeted campaigns based on customer preferences, and the drag and drop email designer makes it easy to create visually stunning campaigns in minutes. The subscription forms allow for the gathering of crucial information from website visitors, which can then be used to automate interactions across multiple channels to grow the business. The site tracking feature provides valuable data on the customer journey, ensuring that no opportunities are missed. Overall, ActiveCampaign’s email campaign feature is a powerful and effective tool for businesses looking to reach and engage their customers.
Marketing Automation
ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation feature is a powerful tool that helps businesses automate tasks and interactions that would otherwise take up valuable time and resources. The Automation Map feature provides a clear visual representation of the connections between automations, making it easy to edit marketing strategies and discover new opportunities for growth. The automation goals feature allows businesses to track the progress of their customers through the sales funnel and identify areas where people may be dropping off. The dynamic content feature ensures that customers see the most relevant message for them, leading to higher engagement, sales, and loyalty. The event tracking feature provides valuable insights into customer behavior, allowing businesses to make informed decisions about their marketing strategies. Overall, ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation feature is an invaluable resource for businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts and grow their business.
Popup and Forms
ActiveCampaign’s popups and forms feature is a powerful tool that allows businesses to gather crucial information from visitors and automate interactions across multiple channels to grow their business. The four types of forms available – inline, floating box, modal pop-up, and floating bar – offer a range of options for collecting information from visitors. The forms can be used to gather demographic data, preferences, and more through standard and custom fields, and automatically trigger follow-up actions across email, CRM, and other channels. The ability to populate contact records with a complete history of customer interactions with the business across all channels, services, and products is a valuable asset, and the option to display forms at the right time based on understanding of visitor behaviors and interests helps to convert more website visitors. Overall, ActiveCampaign’s popups and forms feature is a powerful tool for businesses looking to gather and use customer information to grow their business.
SMS Marketing
ActiveCampaign’s SMS marketing feature is a powerful tool that allows businesses to reach customers on the go and provide exceptional experiences at all times. The native solution and third party apps like Twilio, WhatsApp, and BulkSMS enable businesses to improve the effectiveness of their SMS marketing and enhance engagement across email, web, and other channels within the ActiveCampaign CXA platform. The ability to add automated SMS sending to automation workflows and send follow-ups to contacts, notify sales agents, and more is a valuable asset, as is the option to define the exact delivery time schedule for optimal day and time. The feature also allows businesses to import and manage phone numbers and collect phone numbers through custom forms on the website, enabling them to stay in touch with text campaigns when their contacts are on the go. The option to add an SMS block as a step in automations to send scheduled text notifications and campaigns automatically streamlines the SMS marketing process. Overall, ActiveCampaign’s SMS marketing feature is a valuable resource for businesses looking to connect with their customers on the go.
Integrations
ActiveCampaign offers a wide range of integrations with over 900+ apps, allowing businesses to connect with the tools that make the most sense for their specific needs. The integration options cover a variety of categories, including:
- Accounting Apps: Freshbooks, Harvest, QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books and more.
- Analytics Apps: Google Analytics, Databox, Fullstory, Kissmetrics, Segment and more.
- CRM Apps: Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Agile CRM, Gist, Pipedrive and more.
- Ecommerce Apps: PayPal, Prestashop, Shopify, Square, Stripe and more.
- Social Apps: Buffer, Facebook Pages, Google My Business, Linkedin, Mention and more.
- Support Apps: Crisp, Freshdesk, Intercom, Live Chat, Slack, WhatsApp and more.
Overall, ActiveCampaign’s integration options provide a wide range of tools to connect with and streamline business operations.
Omnisend vs ActiveCampaign: A Feature Comparison
In this comparison, we will take a closer look at the key features offered by Omnisend and ActiveCampaign and how they stack up against each other.
Email Marketing: Both Omnisend and ActiveCampaign offer email marketing solutions with a range of templates, drag and drop builders, and advanced segmentation. ActiveCampaign has a slight edge in this category, with the ability to track contact engagement and offer dynamic content based on customer data.
Marketing Automation: Both platforms offer marketing automation features, with Omnisend offering pre-built ecommerce workflows and the ability to A/B split test, and ActiveCampaign offering the Automation Map, goal tracking, and event tracking. ActiveCampaign’s Automation Map, which allows users to see how automations connect to each other, may give it a slight advantage in this category.
Popups and Forms: Omnisend offers a range of customizable, TCPA and GDPR compliant forms and popups to help businesses capture customer information and engage with automated messages. ActiveCampaign also offers forms and popups, but with the added ability to display forms based on a understanding of visitor behaviors and interests.
SMS Marketing: Omnisend integrates SMS into its email marketing platform and offers automation workflows with SMS, as well as global audience reach. ActiveCampaign also offers SMS marketing automation, with the ability to add SMS to automation workflows and manage and collect phone numbers.
Integrations: ActiveCampaign offers a wide range of integrations with over 900+ apps across a variety of categories, including accounting, analytics, CRM, ecommerce, social, and support. Omnisend supports a smaller number of integrations, with a focus on ecommerce, shipping and logistics, and email capture.
Overall, both Omnisend and ActiveCampaign offer a range of useful features for businesses looking to improve their marketing efforts. ActiveCampaign may be the better choice for businesses looking for a more comprehensive platform with a wider range of integrations and advanced marketing automation features, while Omnisend may be a good fit for businesses looking for a simpler, more streamlined solution with a focus on ecommerce.
Omnisend vs ActiveCampaign: Feature Comparison Table
| Features | Omnisend | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|
| Email marketing | Yes | Yes |
| Marketing automation | Yes | Yes |
| SMS marketing | Yes | Yes |
| Web push notifications | Yes | No |
| Popups and forms | Yes | Yes |
| Landing Pages | Very limited | Yes |
| Website tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| A/B testing | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | 125 | 900 |
Pricing: Omnisend vs ActiveCampaign
One of the most important considerations when making a decision is pricing. In this section we will compare the pricing options for Omnisend and ActiveCampaign to help you make an informed decision.
Omnisend
Omnisend is a great choice for businesses looking to connect with their customers through multiple channels. Their Free, Standard, and Pro plans offer various features at different price points, allowing you to find the best fit for your needs.
Free Plan
Omnisend’s Free plan is a great way to get started with your marketing efforts. With this plan, you can reach up to 250 contacts, and have an unlimited contact list size. You’ll also get 500 emails sent monthly, as well as up to 60 SMS and 500 web push notifications. With all these features, you can start building your customer base and growing your business.
Standard Plan
Omnisend’s Standard plan is an affordable and comprehensive solution for small businesses to reach their customers through multiple channels. For just $16/mo, you can reach up to 500 contacts, send up to 6,000 emails, send up to 60 SMS messages, and send unlimited web push notifications. With such a wide variety of features, the Standard Plan is a great way to stay connected with your customers and keep them informed about your business.
Pro Plan
Omnisend’s Pro plan is a great value for $59/mo. You can reach up to 500 contacts, with unlimited emails and up to 3,933 SMS/mo, while also having unlimited web push notifications. This plan is perfect for businesses that need to stay in touch with their customers through multiple channels. With the Pro Plan, you can easily manage your communication and get the most out of your marketing efforts.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign offers a range of plans to suit businesses of any size. For small businesses just getting started with email marketing, the Lite plan is an affordable, feature-rich option. For businesses looking to take their marketing and sales strategies to the next level, the Plus plan is a great choice. The Professional plan offers advanced features and integrations, while the Enterprise plan is designed for businesses that need a comprehensive suite of tools for their marketing and customer relationships. With each plan, businesses can access powerful features and support, making it easier to create successful email marketing campaigns.
Lite Plan
ActiveCampaign’s Lite plan is the perfect solution for small businesses looking to get started with email marketing and automation. For just $9/mo, you’ll get access to ActiveCampaign’s powerful tools, including email marketing, marketing automation, and 24/7 chat & email support. Plus, you’ll be able to have one user on the account! With the Lite plan, you’re just a few clicks away from a successful email marketing campaign.
Plus Plan
ActiveCampaign Plus is an ideal plan for businesses looking to take their marketing and sales strategies to the next level. This comprehensive plan includes all the features of the Lite plan and more, such as landing pages, Facebook custom audiences and lead ads, lead scoring, pop-up and modal forms, and three users. Plus is an affordable plan at just $49 per month, making it an ideal option for businesses looking to maximize their marketing and sales opportunities.
Professional Plan
ActiveCampaign’s Professional plan is the perfect choice for businesses looking for a comprehensive, integrated marketing automation solution. It includes all the features of the Plus plan, plus additional advanced features like predictive sending, split automations, and an automation map. It also offers integrations with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365, and supports up to five users. For just $149/mo, you get a powerful, feature-rich solution to help you grow your business.
Enterprise
ActiveCampaign’s Enterprise plan is a powerful solution for businesses looking for a comprehensive suite of tools for their marketing and customer relationships. It includes all of the features found in the Professional plan, such as advanced segmentation, automated marketing campaigns, and email marketing, as well as some additional features designed to make managing customer relationships even easier. With the Enterprise plan, businesses get access to custom reporting, custom objects, single sign-on, enterprise-level security, an uptime SLA, and 10 users. The cost of this plan is available by request, so businesses interested in the Enterprise plan should reach out to ActiveCampaign directly.
Top Alternatives to Omnisend and ActiveCampaign
For those looking for an alternative to Omnisend or ActiveCampaign, there are a variety of other email marketing solutions available.
Mailchimp: Mailchimp is the perfect choice for beginners. With a user-friendly interface, powerful automation features, and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, it’s easy to get started and create professional-looking emails quickly. It also offers a wide range of email list segmentation options, making it easy to target your messages to the right audience.
HubSpot: HubSpot is a great choice for marketing teams. With its comprehensive suite of tools for email, content, and social media marketing, it’s easy to build and manage sophisticated campaigns. It also offers a range of advanced analytics tools for tracking performance, so you can see how your campaigns are performing in real-time.
Sendinblue: Sendinblue is ideal for small businesses. Its simple, user-friendly interface makes it easy to create and send professional emails quickly. Plus, it offers a range of automation features, so you can automate repetitive activities like sending welcome emails, follow-ups, and newsletters.
MailerLite: MailerLite is the best choice for the price. With its powerful features and low cost, it’s an excellent option for those on a budget. Plus, it offers a wide range of templates and automation features, so you can easily create sophisticated campaigns.
Drip: Drip is the best choice for e-commerce businesses. With its powerful automation features, it’s easy to create personalized emails that target customers with products and offers that are tailored to their interests and needs. Plus, it provides powerful analytics tools for tracking customer engagement and sales.
ConvertKit: ConvertKit is the best choice for content creators. Its simple, user-friendly interface makes it easy to create and manage sophisticated campaigns. Plus, it offers a range of automation features, so you can easily target subscribers with content tailored to their interests.
Campaign Monitor: Campaign Monitor is the best choice for agencies. With its comprehensive suite of tools for creating and managing email campaigns, it’s easy to create sophisticated campaigns quickly. Plus, it offers powerful analytics tools for tracking performance and optimizing campaigns.
GetResponse: GetResponse is the best all-in-one solution. With its comprehensive suite of tools, it’s easy to create and manage sophisticated campaigns quickly. Plus, it offers a range of automation features, so you can easily target subscribers with content tailored to their interests.
Moosend: Moosend is the best choice for those who need to send unlimited emails. With its powerful automation features, it’s easy to create and manage sophisticated campaigns quickly. Plus, it offers unlimited emails and a range of powerful analytics tools for tracking performance.
Constant Contact: Constant Contact is the best choice for nonprofits. With its comprehensive suite of tools, it’s easy to create and manage sophisticated campaigns quickly. Plus, it offers powerful analytics tools for tracking performance and optimizing campaigns. Additionally, it offers a range of specialized features designed to help nonprofits maximize their impact.
Frequently Asked Questions: Omnisend and ActiveCampaign
Omnisend is an ecommerce marketing automation platform that offers specialized ecommerce features such as product recommendations, abandoned cart recovery, and customer segmentation. ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one marketing automation platform that offers integrated CRM, email marketing, marketing automation, and more. Key differences include the specialized ecommerce features offered by Omnisend and the wider range of marketing automation features offered by ActiveCampaign.
Omnisend and ActiveCampaign both offer a range of features for email marketing, automation, and segmentation. However, Omnisend offers more features for eCommerce stores, such as product recommendation and abandoned cart emails, while ActiveCampaign offers more features for customer relationship management (CRM) and lead scoring.
It is very easy to integrate Omnisend and ActiveCampaign with other platforms, as both offer a range of integrations with popular eCommerce, CRM, and marketing automation platforms.
The cost of Omnisend and ActiveCampaign depends on the plan chosen. Generally, Omnisend paid plans start at $16/month while ActiveCampaign plans start at $9/month.
Customer support options available with Omnisend include email, live chat, knowledge base and 24/7 support. ActiveCampaign offers email, live chat, knowledge base and forum support.
Conclusion
ActiveCampaign boasts an impressive range of features and tools, making it a great choice for businesses that are willing to invest the time to learn how to use them. However, if you don’t have the resources or don’t want to spend the extra time, then Omnisend is a great alternative with a simpler user interface and fewer bells and whistles.