vs
ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
Side-by-side comparison of pricing, features, and trade-offs — which one actually fits your team.
What each tool does
ActiveCampaign: ActiveCampaign is the customer experience automation platform combining email marketing, marketing automation, sales CRM, and messaging. Founded in 2003, ActiveCampaign serves over 180,000 businesses globally and consistently ranks as the leader in marketing automation depth for SMB and mid-market.
Klaviyo: If you run an online store, you've probably heard of Klaviyo. It's the email and SMS marketing platform that built its entire identity around ecommerce, and it shows. Where tools like Mailchimp and Brevo serve a broad audience, Klaviyo was designed from the ground up to pull data from your store, understand customer behavior, and turn that data into targeted campaigns and automated flows that drive revenue.
ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo at a glance
| ActiveCampaign | Klaviyo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | Paid | Freemium Free (250 contacts), scales with list size |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Category | marketing | marketing |
| Best for | ActiveCampaign is a business tool available at activecampaign | Klaviyo delivers AI-powered email and SMS automation personalizing customer journeys to boost ROI |
| Top strength | Automation depth: best-in-class for SMB and mid-market segments. | Ecommerce-first design: Every feature is built with online stores in mind. Product feeds, order data |
| Main limitation | Steep learning curve: power comes with complexity. | See review |
| Full review | ActiveCampaign review → | Klaviyo review → |
Strengths & weaknesses
ActiveCampaign highlights
Pros- Automation depth: best-in-class for SMB and mid-market segments.
- CRM integrated: sales and marketing share one database.
- Multi-channel automation: email + SMS + on-site messaging.
- Strong ecosystem: 870+ integrations including Shopify, Salesforce, Stripe.
- ML features: send-time optimization and predictive content work well at scale.
- Steep learning curve: power comes with complexity.
- UI can feel cluttered: many features compete for screen space.
- Pricing climbs with contacts: large lists pay significantly more.
- CRM lighter than Salesforce: enterprise sales teams may want dedicated CRM.
Klaviyo highlights
Pros- Ecommerce-first design: Every feature is built with online stores in mind. Product feeds, order data, and browsing behavior are first-class citizens, not afterthoughts.
- Shopify integration depth: Real-time syncing, pre-built flows based on Shopify events, and native Shopify checkout integration. No other email platform matches this level of connection.
- Behavioral segmentation: The ability to segment based on purchase history, browsing behavior, predicted lifetime value, and engagement metrics is best-in-class.
- Revenue attribution: Clear reporting on exactly how much revenue each email, flow, and campaign generates. This makes ROI conversations with your team or clients easy.
- Pre-built flows library: Abandoned cart, welcome series, post-purchase, win-back, and more. All designed for ecommerce and ready to customize.
Which should you pick?
Choose ActiveCampaign if automation depth: best-in-class for smb and mid-market segments.
Choose Klaviyo if ecommerce-first design: every feature is built with online stores in mind. product feeds, order data, and browsing behavior are first-class citizens, not afterthoughts.
Still unsure? Read the deep-dive reviews: ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo.
Frequently asked questions
Is ActiveCampaign better than Klaviyo?
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo?
Can ActiveCampaign replace Klaviyo?
Do you have an affiliate relationship with these tools?
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.