Automation
Automated workflows can boost your lead nurturing process and increase your conversion rates. There are numerous automation you can use with ActiveCampaign and GetResponse. Find out more.
GetResponse Automation
GetResponse provides different ready-made automated workflows, which are a great option for beginner marketers who have little time or skills to start building their own automation. The drag-and-drop builder allows you to easily combine a template with your specific goals and create a flow in several minutes.
To build customized workflows based on your contacts’ behavior, you can use the platform’s lead scoring feature. The tagging system also allows you to build personalized and engaging workflows according to conditions that trigger specific user actions. Moreover, if you manage an online store, you can easily set up abandoned cart automation or product recommendation flows.
ActiveCampaign Automation
ActiveCampaign provides a visual and highly intuitive email builder that allows you to easily set up automated workflows based on different conditions. Overall, the automation building process is logical and can be carried out pretty quickly.
Thanks to the tool’s advanced segmentation features, you can diversify the workflows based on your audience’s preferences to increase your conversions. The platform’s SMS marketing feature is another great addition you can leverage to boost these automation success.
The verdict
If you’re looking for ready-made templates, GetResponse is better. However, if you’re looking for advanced automations, ActiveCampaign is better, therefore, it’s a tie.
A/B Tests
A/B tests allow you to experiment with two different emails for the same campaign in order to realize which content is more engaging. Both ActiveCampaign and GetResponse offer reliable A/B tests.
GetResponse A/B Tests
There are different email elements you can test using the A/B testing features of this platform. The feature is available for different types of email campaigns including newsletter campaigns, autoresponder emails, or other automated messages you can send to your clients to walk them through the sales funnel easier.
This feature enables you to analyze the different open rates, the number of people who unsubscribe, or the sales each email generates.
ActiveCampaign A/B Tests
ActiveCampaign is also praised for its A/B testing tool. In this platform, you’ll find the A/B tests under the name ‘split testing’. There are different categories you can test this way; the emails’ subject lines, the content itself, the images or emojis you add to your email or the call-to-action buttons.
The verdict
Once again, it’s a tie, both platforms offer similar functionality.
Deliverability Rates
The success of your campaign depends on how reliable your email marketing platform is in delivering messages to your subscribers. Both ActiveCampaign and GetResponse provide good deliverability.
GetResponse Deliverability
According to the data found on the company’s website, GetResponse boasts an outstanding deliverability rate that can reach up to 99%. Moreover, this platform has managed to develop strong connections with Yahoo and Gmail. This means that most emails delivered to these providers are likely to reach users’ main inboxes. Furthermore, GetResponse also offers a tool that allows you to track deliverability rates and see how many emails were undelivered, in order to improve your campaigns.
ActiveCampaign Deliverability
ActiveCampaign doesn’t state a precise deliverability rate. However, many tests have been performed to evaluate this tool’s efficiency. According to Emailtooltesters, this platform is able to ensure deliverability rates of up to 85.79%. In another test carried out by Emailtech, the platform achieved a deliverability rate of 92%, while GetResponse’s rate was little below 80%.
The verdict
Since GetResponse makes an official claim regarding this aspect on their website, we consider it the winner.
Landing Pages
Landing pages are great tools you can leverage to gather more leads. Here is what you get from GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign.
GetResponse Landing Pages
GetResponse provides you with all the tools you need to build engaging and attractive landing pages that will convert. There are around 200 ready-made templates you can use and personalize for your business needs.
If you don’t want to use any of their templates, there is a user-friendly drag-and-drop builder that will allow you to create your landing page from scratch. You can also integrate sign-up or pop-up forms on these pages or a countdown timer. To make your page more attractive and memorable, you can also use Shutterstock images.
ActiveCampaign Landing Pages
ActiveCampaign also has a landing page tool called Pages. You can create original and attractive landing pages within a few minutes from a user-friendly menu based on drag-and-drop functionality. This platform also provides you a library of templates you can use for your landing pages and you can customize them according to your needs.
A great feature you can integrate with your landing pages is the chat function that allows you to interact with visitors. To gain more leads, you can also add special offers or gifts.
The verdict
Both platforms offer similar features that allow you to build awesome landing pages. We consider it a tie.
Autoresponders
Autoresponders allow you to automate your email campaigns and send standard or custom messages for repetitive situations such as welcome emails, reminders, booking confirmation emails, etc. This is a feature that will save you a lot of time and it should be present in the email marketing platform you decide to use.
GetResponse Autoresponders
he autoresponder feature is present among the automation tools you can benefit from with GetResponse. There is a separate tab for this function. You will find it once you log in and access the menu.
It's pretty easy to create autoresponders with GetResponse. You simply need to select this option and type in the desired message. You get to choose the frequency of these emails or the specific days when you want to send them, and there is no limit to the number of autoresponders you can send.
ActiveCampaign Autoresponders
ActiveCampaign also offers this feature, although it’s a little bit harder to access it. From the regular campaigns tab, you need to start creating an email campaign and then select the autoresponder features. There are different types of autoresponder templates you can choose from. The steps of the process are similar to those you need to take when creating a regular campaign. In the end, you get to choose the autoresponders’ time frame.
The verdict
Both platforms offer similar autoresponders. However, we opt for GetResponse because they seem easier to implement.
Pricing Comparison
Price is certainly one of the factors that will influence your purchase decision, so let’s see which one of these two tools offers the best plans.
GetResponse Pricing
GetResponse offers 4 different pricing plans. The first tier costs $15 per month, it allows you to use it with up to 1000 contacts and includes email marketing features, website builder, landing pages, and autoresponders.
The second plan is called Plus and costs $49 per month. It also offers sales funnels, contact scoring and tagging, webinar funnels, and access to 3 users. The next plan is called Professional. It costs $99 and some of the extra features it brings include on-demand webinars for up to 300 attendees, unlimited webinar funnels, unlimited sales funnels and access for 5 users. With the Max plan, you get custom prices depending on your business needs.
ActiveCampaign Pricing
ActiveCampaign offers four different pricing plans. The first is called Lite and it costs $9 per month. You get all the basic tools you need to design beautiful email campaigns and create automated workflows with this plan.
The next tier is called the Plus plan and it costs $49 per month. It is followed by the Professional plan, which costs $129 per month and offers unlimited sending, and the Enterprise plan which costs $229 per month.
The verdict
It’s a tie this time, since the prices are similar.
ConvertKit vs ActiveCampaign - Ease of Use
If you’re busy managing a company or an entire marketing department, you need an email marketing tool that’s easy to use and requires little technical knowledge. Let’s see what you can get from GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign.
GetResponse Ease of Use
GetResponse is one of the most intuitive email marketing platforms on the market. Once you log into your account, you will find a simple interface where all the main features are neatly organized in different sections.
GetResponse also provides a start-up wizard that can support you while using the tool from day one. The dashboard is based on a ‘quick actions’ approach that allows you to easily choose the functions you want.
ActiveCampaign Ease of Use
ActiveCampaign is among the first platforms that introduced the concept of ‘visual’ email automation builder. This approach allows you to easily configure an automated workflow by combining different conditions.
Overall, although the platform has multiple sections and sub-sections, it is not very hard to get used to it, especially if you’re using it regularly. There is also a guided onboarding process you can take part in by clicking on the ‘Getting Started’ widget. The email templates are also easy to choose and use, and the possibility to create your own emails from scratch implies only a few more clicks.
The verdict
Although Active Campaign aims to provide a user-friendly tool for marketers of all levels, due to its complex features and multitude of options, it also implies a steeper learning curve. Therefore, GetResponse is the winner.
Integrations
If you use multiple tools to manage your marketing campaigns, it’s important to get an email marketing platform that can help you connect these tools.
ConvertKit Integrations
GetResponse allows you to integrate with different useful applications. There are 150 different apps you can connect to this platform. You can integrate different eCommerce platforms such as Shopifyl, or your content management system. WordPress is one of the main tools you can integrate with GetResponse to manage your content easier. Different CRM systems such as Capsule or Highrise also integrate with GetResponse, as well as different Google tools such as Google Analytics or Google Ads.
ActiveCampaign Integrations
ActiveCampaign is hard to outperform in terms of integrations. This platform allows you to integrate more than 200 third-party tools, which can be helpful in managing your social media posts, your contacts list, or sales process Some of the most popular apps and tools you can integrate with ActiveCampaign include Facebook, WordPress, Zapier, Google Analytics, Pipedrive, WooCommerce. There are also 4 native apps provided by ActiveCampaign.
The verdict
Since ActiveCampaign beats its competitor when it comes to the number of integrations it offers, we consider it the winner.
Reporting
Any reliable email marketing service should provide you with sufficient reports that can allow you to understand how your email campaigns perform.
GetResponse Reporting
GetResponse offers a good array of analytic tools and different reports. With this platform, you can easily track all the main aspects that help you understand if your email campaigns convert customers: open rates, click-through rates, the number of people who subscribe or unsubscribe to your list, etc.
GetResponse also helps you automatically track users who have not responded to your newsletters and place them on a separate list in order to target them through different campaigns. There is also an email ROI option that helps you see how many sales your emails drive.
ActiveCampaign Reporting
ActiveCampaign features similar reporting capabilities. With this tool, you can track your open rates, clicked links, or the time of the day when contacts are more likely to open an email. All the reports you can generate from this platform are available in a dedicated section. You can also get various statistics regarding your deals or contacts.
The verdict
Both tools provide good reporting features, however, ActiveCampaign’s reporting is harder to navigate. For this reason, we choose GetResponse.
Customer Support
Whatever problems you might encounter while using an email marketing tool, you want to know that there will always be someone to help you. This is why it’s important to check the existing customer support options.
GetResponse Customer Support
GetResponse offers reliable customer support services round the clock. You can contact their support department by email or chat with an agent using the live chat option. Email support is available in 8 different languages including Spanish, German, Italian, or French. Furthermore, this platform also features a vast collection of articles and training resources that can help you solve different issues on your own.
ActiveCampaign Customer Support
ActiveCampaign provides its clients with different customer support options. However, like it often happens with most email marketing platforms, you get access to all the options only with the upper pricing plans.
One of the reliable help options all this platform’s users can always benefit from is the robust help center. Here, you can find answers to some of the most common questions and useful articles and guides that show you how to use the platform.
Email support is also available and you can create tickets to get in touch with the ActiveCampaign team. Live chat support is another useful and prompt method to reach out to the customer department.
The verdict
We choose ActiveCampaign due to the positive customer feedback it receives. For example, on Capterra, ActiveCampaign gets a 4.4 score, compared to the 4.1 score GetResponse received.
When to Use GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign
Each one of these two services can be more compatible with different types of companies and professionals. Find out which one is more suitable for you.
When to Use GetResponse
GetResponse can adapt to the needs of small or medium companies alike. Moreover, it can also be used by beginner marketers or bloggers as it is one of the most intuitive email marketing tools you can come across. GetResponse offers you a simple and easy-to-use interface that allows you to create email campaigns or automated workflows in minutes. It also has a built-in webinar tool, which is a great addition. The landing page builder and numerous templates will also help you create beautiful and engaging content.
When to Use ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a great choice for small or even medium companies. This platform offers affordable pricing options, which also make it suitable for start-ups and individual content creators. Their service stands out due to the powerful automations, testing, and segmentation tools it offers. If you are looking for an email marketing solution that can provide you with a vast array of advanced automations and sufficient reporting capabilities, ActiveCampaign is a good choice.
GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign Pros and Cons
As you can easily discover if you read the full GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign review above, both these tools have their pros and cons. Here’s a quick overview.
GetResponse Pros and Cons
Some of the main benefits you can enjoy with this platform include the 30-days free trial, 24/7 customer support service available in multiple languages, the possibility to host webinars, the beautiful templates that allow you to build landing pages or the fact that you need no technical skills to build them. Overall, the interface is very intuitive, the platform boasts high deliverability rates, and it provides multiple integrations.
Among its downsides, we can mention the fact that there is no phone support, and the tracking tool is not as powerful as the one you get with ActiveCampaign.
ActiveCampaign Pros and Cons
ActiveCampaign’s pros include the powerful automation features, the CRM functionality, a visual landing page builder, highly detailed reporting tools and goal-tracking feature, multiple testing capabilities, an impressive array of integrations, or multi-channel communication options.
Some of its cons include the fact that it offers support in fewer languages compared to GetResponse, there is no webinar tool, and the interface is more complex and harder to use due to its multitude of features.
Alternatives to GetResponse or ActiveCampaign
If you can’t make up your mind ore believe that neither of these tools is suitable for you, here are two other options:
- MailerLite: this tool was developed in 2010 and has several affordable pricing plans that start from $10 per month. Some of the main features it boasts are beautiful and modern email templates, an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, powerful automation features, the numerous reports that are easy-to-generate and understand, and 24/7 customer support.
- Benchmark: this is one of the oldest email marketing services on the market. It was developed in 2004 and it provides nowadays a vast array of useful tools to automate email campaigns. Some of Benchmark’s main features include an intuitive editor, reliable testing capabilities, anti-spam detection, list management and segmentation tools.
Final Winner:
Both these services are some of the best options currently available. However, we found that GetResponse has a better offering than ActiveCampaign. This platform seems to be more user-friendly than its rival. We also like the great selection of ready-made templates it provides, as well as the fact that it makes a clear statement regarding its deliverability capacities. The limitless autoresponders you can easily set up are another plus.
Check out our other comparisons