Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign (2025) – Which Email Platform Wins?
Introduction
Choosing the right email marketing platform can significantly impact your customer engagement, conversion rates, and long-term brand success. Two leading options in the space are Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign—but they serve very different purposes.
Klaviyo has built its reputation on powering eCommerce brands, especially those using platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. Its tight data integration and focus on sales-driven flows make it a favorite for product-based businesses.
ActiveCampaign, by contrast, offers broader capabilities that include advanced marketing automation, sales pipelines, CRM tools, and flexible multi-channel outreach—making it a top choice for service-based businesses, agencies, coaches, and B2B companies.
In this comprehensive comparison, we will break down features, ease of use, automation, integrations, pricing, real-world use cases, and support—so you can confidently decide which one fits your business needs best.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Klaviyo | ActiveCampaign |
| Best For | eCommerce (DTC/Shopify) | Services, B2B, SaaS |
| CRM | ❌ Not included | ✅ Full CRM included |
| Automation | Prebuilt for eCom flows | Fully customizable workflows |
| SMS Marketing | ✅ Native SMS integration | ⚠️ Requires external integration |
| Segmentation | Purchase + product-based | Tags, behaviour, fields |
| Reporting | Revenue-focused, predictive | Automation + pipeline insights |
| Free Plan | ✅ Yes (up to 250 contacts) | ❌ Trial only (14 days) |
| Starting Price (500 users) | ~$20/month | ~$39/month |
Core Features Comparison
Automation Workflows
Klaviyo offers prebuilt automation flows tailored for eCommerce, such as:
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Welcome series
- Post-purchase thank you flows
- Win-back campaigns
- Product recommendation flows
These are ready to launch with minimal setup and are designed around customer shopping behaviour.
ActiveCampaign, however, provides a more complex and powerful automation builder. You can:
- Create multi-step, conditional workflows
- Use split testing inside automations
- Trigger actions from emails, tags, lead scores, form submissions, or CRM updates
If your automation strategy includes long lead nurturing sequences, conditional logic, or cross-department triggers (e.g., marketing → sales), ActiveCampaign wins.
CRM and Sales Tools
Klaviyo doesn’t offer a built-in CRM. You can collect data, create segments, and integrate with third-party CRMs, but there’s no native pipeline or deal tracking.
ActiveCampaign comes with a full CRM, including:
- Customisable pipelines
- Lead scoring
- Deal tracking
- Task assignment
- Sales automation
This makes ActiveCampaign a true all-in-one platform for businesses with dedicated sales processes.
Segmentation and Targeting
Segmentation is one of Klaviyo’s strongest features. You can create dynamic segments based on:
- Purchase history
- Average order value
- Time since last purchase
- Predicted next order date
This makes it ideal for personalising eCommerce campaigns.
ActiveCampaign supports:
- Tag-based segmentation
- Behavioural triggers
- Site tracking-based conditions
- Custom field targeting
You can go deeper into user intent and engagement, which is especially useful for multi-touch funnels.
Reporting and Analytics
Klaviyo:
- Sales-focused dashboards
- Revenue per campaign/flow
- Customer lifetime value (CLV)
- Predicted churn risk
ActiveCampaign:
- Campaign and automation performance
- Goal tracking inside workflows
- Sales pipeline analytics
- Email split test results
Klaviyo’s reports help eCommerce brands measure ROI. ActiveCampaign provides broader funnel visibility.
Email Builder
Both platforms feature drag-and-drop editors with personalisation options.
- Klaviyo’s builder is fast, product-friendly, and integrates dynamic product blocks.
- ActiveCampaign includes conditional content, reusable content blocks, and more layout flexibility.
If you want high-speed campaign creation with great design for products, go with Klaviyo. For dynamic, content-rich messaging, ActiveCampaign excels.
SMS and Multichannel
Klaviyo supports SMS natively, so you can:
- Run email + SMS in the same flow
- Segment audiences for SMS-specific messaging
- Track SMS revenue impact
ActiveCampaign allows SMS but only through external tools (e.g. Twilio, Salesmsg). However, it supports:
- Facebook ads integration
- WhatsApp (via integrations)
- Live chat and site messaging
Klaviyo wins for simplicity and integration. ActiveCampaign offers greater flexibility if you’re using a wider multi-channel strategy.
Ease of Use and Setup
Klaviyo is plug-and-play for most eCommerce businesses:
- Seamless Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce integrations
- Prebuilt flows for common scenarios
- Easy onboarding with video walkthroughs
You can launch campaigns in under an hour if your store is already live.
ActiveCampaign has a steeper learning curve, especially if you use its CRM features:
- Requires time to set up tags, pipelines, and conditional logic
- More powerful, but more complex
- Onboarding takes several hours or days depending on business size
Use Cases and Business Types
Klaviyo is Best For:
- Shopify/WooCommerce/DTC brands
- Dropshipping stores
- Subscription product businesses
- eCommerce-focused agencies
ActiveCampaign is Best For:
- Coaches and consultants
- Service-based agencies
- B2B and SaaS businesses
- Freelancers managing client relationships
Real-World Example: Klaviyo in Action
A Shopify-based skincare brand used Klaviyo to:
- Capture emails via popups on landing pages
- Send automated welcome series
- Track cart activity and follow up via SMS
- Segment customers by skin type and purchase history
Results:
- 32% of total revenue driven by Klaviyo flows
- 19% increase in repeat purchases
- SMS open rate: 98% on flash sale campaigns
Real-World Example: ActiveCampaign in Action
A SaaS startup used ActiveCampaign to:
- Collect leads from webinar signups
- Tag and score leads based on product interest
- Automatically assign sales reps when lead score > 75
- Trigger onboarding campaigns based on pricing tier
Results:
- 60% faster lead-to-demo booking rate
- 50% reduction in churn through onboarding automation
Customer Support
Klaviyo:
- Live chat and email support (business hours)
- Academy with video tutorials
- Community forum and help docs
ActiveCampaign:
- 24/5 live chat and email support
- 1-on-1 onboarding for higher plans
- Dedicated account reps available
- Massive library of help articles and templates
Pricing Details
Klaviyo
- Free for up to 250 contacts and 500 emails/month
- $20/month for 500 contacts
- ~$100/month for 5,000 contacts
- SMS pricing based on message volume
ActiveCampaign
- Lite: $39/month (email only)
- Plus: $70/month (adds CRM, automations)
- Professional: $187/month (adds predictive content, win probabilities)
- Unlimited email sending
Klaviyo gets expensive as your list grows, but provides strong ROI for product-based businesses. ActiveCampaign offers more tools at higher tiers, and its pricing is more predictable long-term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which platform is easier to use?
A: Klaviyo is faster to launch for eCommerce. ActiveCampaign requires more setup.
Q: Can I integrate both tools with WordPress?
A: Yes. Both offer plugins or integrations for WordPress.
Q: Which is better for SEO agencies?
A: ActiveCampaign. Its CRM and tagging systems are ideal for managing leads and pipelines.
Q: Is there an affiliate program?
A: Both offer affiliate programs. Klaviyo’s offers recurring commission; ActiveCampaign’s pays per sale.
Q: Can I use them together?
A: Technically yes, but it’s redundant. Each is meant to be an all-in-one for its niche.
Final Verdict: Klaviyo vs ActiveCampaign
| Use Case | Best Tool |
| Shopify stores | Klaviyo |
| Product-focused brands | Klaviyo |
| Coaching and consulting | ActiveCampaign |
| Sales pipelines and CRM | ActiveCampaign |
| Quick eCom automation | Klaviyo |
| Advanced funnels and scoring | ActiveCampaign |
Choose Klaviyo if:
- You want powerful, prebuilt eCommerce flows
- You need email and SMS combined in one platform
- You care about revenue attribution and simplicity
Choose ActiveCampaign if:
- You manage leads, deals, or a sales team
- You need custom automations and CRM together
- You want flexible tagging and segmentation across channels
Call to Action
👉 Start with Klaviyo’s free plan if you run an eCommerce business.
👉 Try ActiveCampaign’s 14-day trial if you need automation + CRM.
Both tools are leaders—but only one will fit your specific goals. Choose based on your business model, team structure, and growth roadmap.