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Email Marketing · head to head

ActiveCampaign vs Zoho Campaigns

ActiveCampaign logo

ActiveCampaign

Email Marketing

CRM, marketing automation, and sales platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Campaigns logo

Zoho Campaigns

Email Marketing

Email marketing tool with a genuine free tier, priced by contact count once paid

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; Zoho Campaigns template design quality and out-of-the-box deliverability reputation tools are less polished than specialist platforms such as Klaviyo or Campaign Monitor.
  • They diverge on capability: ActiveCampaign covers Contact management, Zoho Campaigns covers Drag-and-drop email builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ActiveCampaign and Zoho Campaigns actually diverge.

Attributes where ActiveCampaign and Zoho Campaigns differ
AttributeActiveCampaignZoho Campaigns
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by contact tier once on a paid plan
PlatformsCloud-based SaaSWeb
Founded2003Unknown

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
  • Marketing automation
  • Email marketing
  • Customer service
  • Reporting
  • Automation
  • Zapier

Only in Zoho Campaigns

  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • Zoho CRM integration
  • A/B testing
  • Advanced segmentation
  • Send time optimisation
  • WhatsApp and SMS add-ons

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 Zoho Campaigns
  • Marketing teams needing AI-driven lead scoring and automationnot Zoho Campaigns

Zoho Campaigns

  • A small business with under 2,000 contacts wanting a genuinely usable free email marketing tool rather than a crippled trialnot ActiveCampaign
  • An existing Zoho CRM or Desk customer wanting email marketing that syncs natively without a third-party connectornot ActiveCampaign
  • A growing list needing to scale from 500 up to 500,000 contacts within one vendor's pricing laddernot ActiveCampaign
  • A team wanting WhatsApp or SMS as an add-on channel alongside email from the same vendornot 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

Zoho Campaigns

  • Template design quality and out-of-the-box deliverability reputation tools are less polished than specialist platforms such as Klaviyo or Campaign Monitor.
  • Advanced segmentation and dynamic content are reserved for the Professional tier, so mid-sized lists needing that capability face a real price step up from Standard.
  • WhatsApp and SMS are separate paid add-ons rather than included channels, so a genuinely multi-channel campaign costs more than the base email price suggests.
  • Its main structural advantage, native Zoho ecosystem integration, does not benefit a buyer using a non-Zoho CRM or helpdesk, who gets no more from Zoho Campaigns than from a specialist alternative.
  • Support responsiveness reflects Zoho's broad, lower-touch model across its whole portfolio rather than dedicated email marketing expertise.

Pricing, plan by plan

ActiveCampaign

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ActiveCampaign review.

Zoho Campaigns

Free
  • Forever FreeFree
    • Up to 2,000 contacts
    • 6,000 emails per month
    • 5 users, basic templates and reporting
  • Standard$undefined/month
    • Starts at 500 contacts, scales to 100,000
    • Unlimited email sends
    • A/B testing and priority support
  • Professional$undefined/month
    • Starts at 500 contacts, scales to 500,000
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Advanced segmentation, dynamic content, custom roles and webhooks

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 Zoho Campaigns if

  • You need drag-and-drop email builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want zoho crm integration.
Zoho Campaigns review

Questions people ask

Is ActiveCampaign or Zoho Campaigns better?
Neither clearly leads. ActiveCampaign starts at Free and Zoho Campaigns at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Zoho Campaigns?
ActiveCampaign starts at Free and Zoho Campaigns at Free.
Does ActiveCampaign or Zoho Campaigns run on more platforms?
ActiveCampaign runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Zoho Campaigns 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 Zoho Campaigns is typically brought in for.
What can ActiveCampaign do that Zoho Campaigns cannot?
ActiveCampaign covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Marketing automation, Email marketing. Zoho Campaigns covers Drag-and-drop email builder, Zoho CRM integration, A/B testing, Advanced segmentation.

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
Zoho Campaigns: Is the free tier good enough for real use, or just a trial?

It is a real, ongoing free tier for up to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month, not a time-limited trial.

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
Zoho Campaigns: Does it integrate with non-Zoho CRMs?

Yes via Zapier and other connectors, but the native, no-extra-fee integration advantage is specific to other Zoho products.

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
Zoho Campaigns: Are WhatsApp and SMS included?

No, they are separately purchased add-ons alongside the email plan.

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