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Email Marketing · head to head

ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo

ActiveCampaign logo

ActiveCampaign

Email Marketing

CRM, marketing automation, and sales platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Klaviyo logo

Klaviyo

Email Marketing

The email and SMS marketing platform for ecommerce

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ActiveCampaign starter tier capped at 5 automation actions per automation; unlimited actions require Plus tier or higher; Klaviyo the free plan caps active profiles at 250 and sends at 500 emails a month
  • They diverge on capability: ActiveCampaign covers Contact management, Klaviyo covers SMS marketing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo actually diverge.

Attributes where ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo differ
AttributeActiveCampaignKlaviyo
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
PlatformsCloud-based SaaSWeb
Founded20032012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ActiveCampaign

  • Contact management
  • Sales pipeline
  • Customer service
  • Reporting
  • Automation
  • Zapier
  • Slack
  • Salesforce

Only in Klaviyo

  • SMS marketing
  • Push notifications
  • Segmentation
  • A/B testing
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Ecommerce integrations

Both cover

  • Marketing automation
  • Email marketing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ActiveCampaign

  • Businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, SMS, WhatsApp)not Klaviyo
  • Marketing teams needing AI-driven lead scoring and automationnot Klaviyo

Klaviyo

  • Email and SMS marketing automation for ecommerce storesnot ActiveCampaign
  • Segmenting customers on purchase and behaviour datanot ActiveCampaign

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ActiveCampaign

  • Starter tier capped at 5 automation actions per automation; unlimited actions require Plus tier or higher
  • Active Intelligence (AI features) limited or excluded in Starter and Plus tiers; Advanced Intelligence only available in Pro and Enterprise
  • SSO and advanced CRM integrations only available in Pro and Enterprise tiers
  • Multiple users scaling limited: Starter allows 1 user, Plus allows 3, Enterprise allows 5 users

Klaviyo

  • The free plan caps active profiles at 250 and sends at 500 emails a month
  • Pricing scales with stored profile count rather than with messages sent, so an unengaged list costs the same as an active one
  • SMS is metered separately, with only $5 of mobile messages included on the free plan
  • Paid tier prices are not published on the pricing page and depend on profile count

Pricing, plan by plan

ActiveCampaign

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ActiveCampaign review.

Klaviyo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 500 contacts
    • Unlimited campaigns
    • Basic automation
  • Pro$20/month
    • Unlimited contacts
    • SMS campaigns
    • Advanced automation

Which should you pick?

Choose ActiveCampaign if

  • You need contact management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
  • You also want sales pipeline.
ActiveCampaign review

Choose Klaviyo if

  • You need sms marketing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want push notifications.
Klaviyo review

Questions people ask

Is ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo better?
Neither clearly leads. ActiveCampaign starts at Free and Klaviyo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo?
ActiveCampaign starts at Free and Klaviyo at Free.
Does ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo run on more platforms?
ActiveCampaign runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Klaviyo runs on Web.
Can I use ActiveCampaign for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is ActiveCampaign best used for?
ActiveCampaign is most often used for businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, sms, whatsapp), marketing teams needing ai-driven lead scoring and automation. Of those, businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, sms, whatsapp) and marketing teams needing ai-driven lead scoring and automation are not what Klaviyo is typically brought in for.
What can ActiveCampaign do that Klaviyo cannot?
ActiveCampaign covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Customer service, Reporting. Klaviyo covers SMS marketing, Push notifications, Segmentation, A/B testing. Both handle Marketing automation, Email marketing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ActiveCampaign: Is there a free trial without providing a credit card?

Yes, ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial that requires only an email address for sign-up. No credit card is needed and setup is instant.

Source
Klaviyo: Is Klaviyo free?

Klaviyo has a free tier covering up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends per month and $5 of mobile messages per month, with 10,000 Composer credits. Email support on the free tier lasts only the first 60 days.

Source
ActiveCampaign: How is pricing determined for my account?

Pricing is custom and based on your contact volume, which ranges from fewer than 500 to more than 250,000 contacts. ActiveCampaign states they will put together a pricing package specific to your needs after you submit the pricing request form.

Source
Klaviyo: How much does Klaviyo cost?

Klaviyo does not publish a paid rate card on its pricing page. Paid tiers are priced by active profile count and message volume, and a figure is produced through the plan estimator rather than shown as a list price.

Source
ActiveCampaign: Do I need to talk to sales to access the platform?

No, the 14-day free trial provides full access to the autonomous marketing platform without requiring sales contact. After the trial ends, you must complete a pricing request form to move forward.

Source
Klaviyo: What counts as an active profile in Klaviyo?

Klaviyo defines active profiles as the contacts eligible to receive marketing, and the free tier is limited to 250 of them. Profile count is the main input to what a paid plan costs.

Source
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