Head-to-head · facts checked 13 Sept 2026
ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo
Klaviyo uniquely has 7 features · ActiveCampaign uniquely has 6 features.
From
$15/mo, Starter, billed annually
Free plan
No
From
Usage-based (contact-tiered) — paid plans scale by profile count
Free plan
No
The verdict
ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo?
Section 01
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
ActiveCampaign
Starter (Email)
— · $180/yr
Email marketing, limited segmentation, 5 actions per automation, 1 user
Plus (Email)
— · From $588/yr
Automation and customer insights, standard segmentation, unlimited automation actions, 1 user
Pro (Email)
— · From $948/yr
Enhanced email orchestration, advanced segmentation, predictive content, 3 users
Enterprise (Email)
— · From $1,740/yr
Enterprise-level support, premium segmentation, custom objects, SSO, dedicated account team, 5 users
Core (WhatsApp)
— · From $1,188/yr
WhatsApp automation and chatbots, up to 2 lines, 3 users
Advanced (WhatsApp)
— · From $1,188/yr
Advanced WhatsApp automation, up to 5 lines, 5 users
Premium (WhatsApp)
— · From $2,616/yr
Enterprise WhatsApp messaging, up to 5 lines, dedicated account team, 8 users
Plus (WhatsApp + Email)
— · From $1,344/yr
Pro (WhatsApp + Email)
— · From $1,704/yr
Enterprise (WhatsApp + Email)
— · From $3,408/yr
Klaviyo
Free
Free
Up to 250 profiles, 500 emails/month, $5 mobile messages, 10,000 Composer credits, email support for 60 days
Marketing
Scales by profile count
Full email + SMS marketing, flows, segmentation, and analytics — price varies by contact list size
Data + Analytics
Scales by usage
Advanced Klaviyo Data Platform, CDP, benchmarks, and marketing analytics add-on
Service
Scales by usage
Customer Hub, Helpdesk, Customer Agent — customer service module
Composer (AI Agent)
Price not published
AI marketing agent for automated campaign creation — separate add-on, 30% off promotional pricing shown 30% OFF promotion noted.
Customer Agent (AI Agent)
Price not published
24/7 AI customer service agent resolving 65% of questions autonomously, 30% off promotional pricing shown 30% OFF promotion noted.
Enterprise
Custom
Custom pricing for large brands — contact sales
Section 02
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
ActiveCampaign
Pros
- ActiveCampaign has been a trusted platform since 2003, giving it deep institutional knowledge and a proven track record with 180,000+ customers.
- The visual automation builder supports genuinely complex branching logic with a wide range of triggers including webhooks, form submissions, email opens, and ecommerce events.
- Multi-channel reach covers email, SMS, and WhatsApp automation from a single platform without needing separate tools.
- Active Intelligence 2.8 is a proprietary AI layer designed to remember brand context, learn from past campaigns, and reduce manual oversight of cross-channel marketing.
- The platform offers 1,000+ integrations including Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, and Zapier, making it highly connectable to existing tech stacks.
- Conditional logic and behavioral segmentation go beyond basic if/then rules, allowing sophisticated audience targeting based on real user actions.
- Available across web, iOS, and Android, offering flexibility for teams working across devices.
Cons
- The platform is extremely deep and feature-rich, which can overwhelm users who just need straightforward email automation.
- The AI agent positioning may be oversold, Active Intelligence 2.8 is interesting but likely doesn't yet deliver fully autonomous marketing as implied.
- The interface is English-only, which creates friction for multilingual teams even though content itself can be written in other languages.
- The sheer volume of features and configuration options creates a steep learning curve for new users.
- Its age shows in parts of the product, meaning some legacy design decisions and workflows feel dated compared to newer competitors.
Klaviyo
Pros
- Combines email, SMS, mobile push, WhatsApp, reviews, and customer service inbox in a single unified platform.
- Visual drag-and-drop flow builder supports advanced branching logic including conditional splits, time delays, and A/B testing inside flows.
- The Klaviyo Data Platform provides a unified customer data layer that powers behavioral segmentation and automation.
- Composer AI agent can audit existing flows, segments, and forms then build out campaigns from a simple text prompt.
- Purpose-built for ecommerce and DTC brands, meaning the feature set and integrations are deeply tailored to consumer brand needs.
- Supports a wide range of trigger types including web browsing activity, email engagement, form submissions, and webhook-based triggers.
- Trusted by over 196,000 brands across more than 100 countries, indicating strong market validation and reliability at scale.
Cons
- The 'autonomous B2C CRM' marketing framing overpromises and requires scrutiny, real-world performance depends heavily on the quality of your historical data.
- The platform is explicitly built for consumer and ecommerce brands, making it a poor fit for B2B SaaS companies or agencies running generic automation.
- The Composer AI agent's effectiveness is directly tied to how clean and complete your existing data is, limiting value for newer or disorganized accounts.
- The platform has grown significantly in scope, which may introduce complexity and a steeper learning curve for smaller teams.
- The breadth of features across email, SMS, helpdesk, and AI agents means the full product can feel overwhelming to configure and maintain.
Side by side
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2003 | 2012 |
| HQ | Chicago, USA | Boston, USA |
| AI model | Proprietary (Active Intelligence) | Proprietary (Klaviyo AI / K:AI) |
| User base | 180,000+ customers | 196,000+ |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Languages | English only (interface); content creation in multiple languages supported | 25+ |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Subscription | Freemium |
| Free plan | No, 14-day free trial only | No |
| Free trial | Yes — 14 days | No — free plan available indefinitely |
| Starting price | $15/mo, Starter, billed annually | Usage-based (contact-tiered) — paid plans scale by profile count |
| Enterprise | $145/mo (starts at, billed annually) | Custom |
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back guarantee | — |
| All plans | Starter (Email) Plus (Email) Pro (Email) Enterprise (Email) Core (WhatsApp) Advanced (WhatsApp) Premium (WhatsApp) Plus (WhatsApp + Email) Pro (WhatsApp + Email) Enterprise (WhatsApp + Email) | Free — Free Marketing — Scales by profile count Data + Analytics — Scales by usage Service — Scales by usage Composer (AI Agent) — Price not published Customer Agent (AI Agent) — Price not published Enterprise — Custom |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | SMBs and growing teams seeking autonomous email marketing and CRM automation | E-commerce marketing automation |
| Differentiator | Active Intelligence 2.8 remembers brand details, learns from top campaigns, and autonomously executes cross-channel marketing across email, SMS, and WhatsApp without repeated instructions. | Usage-based pricing with AI agents including Composer Agent (marketing) and Customer Agent, plus Customer Hub and Helpdesk |
| Competitors | Klaviyo, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Drip, Brevo | Mailchimp, Attentive, Postscript, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Listrak |
| Features | ||
| AI Agents | — | ✓ |
| Active Intelligence (AI) | ✓ | — |
| Automation Actions (Unlimited) | ✓ | — |
| Broadcast and Automated Messaging | ✓ | — |
| Composer Agent | — | ✓ |
| Customer Agent | — | ✓ |
| Customer Hub | — | ✓ |
| Data & Analysis Plans | — | ✓ |
| Helpdesk | — | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | — |
| Predictive & Conditional Content | ✓ | — |
| Shared Team Inbox | ✓ | — |
| AI Agents | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Webhooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conditional Logic | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Code | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data Transform | ✓ | ✓ |
| Error Handling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Execution Logs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Human in Loop | ✕ | ✓ |
| Num Integrations | 1,000+ | 350+ |
| Scheduled Runs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Features | ✓ | ✓ |
| Trigger Types | webhook / schedule / email open / form submit / tag / ecommerce / CRM event / SMS / WhatsApp | behavioral event / purchase / web activity / email engagement / SMS / schedule / webhook / form submission |
| Visual Builder | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Workspace | ✓ | ✓ |
| Key Integrations | Shopify, Salesforce, WooCommerce, Zapier, Slack | Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Salesforce, BigCommerce |
| Slack | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webhook Support | ✓ | ✓ |
Section 03
ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo: common questions
Is ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo cheaper?
ActiveCampaign's cheapest paid plan is $15/mo, Starter, billed annually and Klaviyo's is Usage-based (contact-tiered) — paid plans scale by profile count. Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
Keep comparing
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