Should you use Hubspot or ActiveCampaign? An In-Depth Analysis for Businesses
When choosing between Hubspot and ActiveCampaign, it’s crucial to consider your business’s unique needs, size, and budget. Hubspot is an excellent option for small to medium-sized businesses that are in search of an all in one, user-friendly solution. In contrast, ActiveCampaign is well-suited for small businesses that prioritize advanced email marketing, automation, segmentation capabilities and are ok with a light CRM. If you have more than a handful of sales people on your team, it’s probably better to consider Hubspot.
In this article, we’ll dig into the good and not-so-good aspects of both platforms, figure out which types of businesses and industries they’re perfect for, and take a look at their main features to help you decide which one is the best fit for your business.
Hubspot Overview
Hubspot is a comprehensive platform that differentiates itself from competitors by offering nearly everything in one tool – inbound marketing, sales, and customer service tools, known for its easy-to-use interface and wide array of features. It provides a range of solutions, including CRM, email marketing, content management, social media, and analytics.
Advantages:
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- All-in-one solution: Hubspot brings together marketing, sales, and customer service tools, enabling businesses to manage all aspects under one roof.
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- Easy to use: Hubspot’s user-friendly interface makes it accessible for users at all skill levels to efficiently navigate and utilize the platform. Although with it’s depth of features you shouldn’t expect to become an expert overnight.
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- Broad integrations: Hubspot offers seamless integration with hundreds of third-party tools, making it easy to connect with your existing software.
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- Comprehensive support and resources: Hubspot’s extensive educational resources and dedicated support team ensure users have access to the assistance they need.
Drawbacks:
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- Price: Hubspot can be costly, particularly for smaller businesses, as pricing increases based on the number of contacts and features required.
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- Customization limitations: While Hubspot provides a range of customization options, it may not offer the flexibility required by large businesses with unique needs. Most organizations that require custom setup or advanced integration work with a Hubspot Partner Agency.
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- Ideal for: Hubspot is best suited for small to medium-sized businesses across various industries such as B2B, tech, SaaS, and service businesses that prefer an all in one marketing and sales solution.
ActiveCampaign Overview
ActiveCampaign is a versatile marketing automation and CRM platform that focuses on email marketing and advanced automation capabilities. Its flexibility allows businesses to develop highly targeted and personalized campaigns.
Advantages:
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- Sophisticated automation: ActiveCampaign boasts powerful automation features, enabling businesses to design complex and tailored workflows to effectively reach their audience.
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- Scalable: ActiveCampaign’s pricing and features cater to businesses of different sizes, making it an attractive option for growing companies.
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- Advanced segmentation and targeting: The platform offers refined segmentation and targeting options, allowing for highly customized and effective campaigns.
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- Wide-ranging integrations: ActiveCampaign supports numerous integrations with other tools, streamlining the overall user experience.
Drawbacks:
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- Higher learning curve: ActiveCampaign’s advanced features may necessitate a greater level of technical expertise, making it more challenging for beginners to navigate. It’s recommended that users new to the tool work with an ActiveCampaign Certified Consultant.
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- Restricted features in lower pricing tiers: Some advanced features are only accessible in higher pricing tiers, potentially limiting functionality for smaller businesses on a tight budget.
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- Ideal for: ActiveCampaign is an excellent fit for businesses of all sizes and industries, including B2B, B2C, e-commerce, tech, SaaS, and service businesses that prioritize email marketing and require sophisticated automation and segmentation features.
ActiveCampaign vs. Hubspot Feature Comparison
ActiveCampaign vs. Hubspot Pricing
ActiveCampaign generally offers more budget-friendly pricing plans compared to Hubspot, especially for smaller businesses. However, like most software platforms, some advanced features in ActiveCampaign may only be available at higher pricing tiers. Hubspot’s pricing can become quite expensive as the number of contacts and features increases, but it offers a more comprehensive set of tools. At the Automation Strategy Group we typically recommend the ActiveCampaign Plus tier – which as of publication starts at $79 a month for 1,000 contacts. The Plus tier includes the ActiveCampaign Automation functionality and the lower tiers do not. Frankly, without the automation feature you’re losing much of the value you get with ActiveCampaign.
Hubspot prices their product differently in that they chunk it out by module or “hub”. They offer 4 different “hubs”- Marketing, Sales, Service and Content. We typically recommend businesses start with the Marketing and Sales hubs. This gives you access to full CRM and Marketing Automation capabilities. It also enables you to build custom reports and dashboards. If you’re organization has a customer service team, the Sales Hub is also worth looking at.
If considering Hubspot, it’s important to consult with a Hubspot Partner to ensure you’re getting the best price. Partners are often able to offer discounts or have onboarding fees waived.
ActiveCampaign vs. Hubspot CRM
Both Hubspot and ActiveCampaign provide CRM functionality, but Hubspot’s CRM is more extensive and user-friendly, making it simpler to manage contacts and sales pipelines. ActiveCampaign’s CRM, while functional, is more basic in comparison. When comparing both CRM’s it’s also important to consider the size and structure of your sales team. If your sales team is larger than 5 or you have complex lead assignment rules based on territory or industry, you’re better off going with the Hubspot CRM. In Hubspot it’s much easier to manage complex lead assignment routing and permissions compared to ActiveCampaign.
Hubspot vs. ActiveCampaign Email Marketing
There are two things to consider when looking at the email marketing capabilities – automated emails and campaign emails. Both systems are very good at both. ActiveCampaign excels in email marketing with its sophisticated automation, segmentation, and personalization features, granting businesses a lot of control over their campaigns.
Hubspot offers the same email marketing capabilities but has a leg up on templates and their WYSIWYG editor is easier to use compared to ActiveCampaign. If you don’t have a developer on staff and want to to be able to have your marketing team quickly create emails then Hubspot is a better option for you.
Hubspot vs. ActiveCampaign Content Management
Hubspot includes a built-in content management system (CMS) called the Hubspot Content Hub that allows users to create, edit, and manage content with ease. ActiveCampaign does not have a native CMS and requires integration with external tools for content management. If you’re looking to maintain content in CRM, Hubspot may be the better choice.
UPDATE: ActiveCampaign now offers a built in content management system for users on the Enterprise plan. Check out details on the ActiveCampaign Content Management system here.
ActiveCampaign vs. Hubspot Analytics and Reporting
Both platforms provide analytics and reporting features, but Hubspot delivers more comprehensive and visually appealing reports, covering website, email, and social media analytics. ActiveCampaign’s reporting capabilities are frankly, just ok. The out of the box reports are great but if you need something custom, creating them is not so straightforward.
ActiveCampaign vs. Hubspot Social Media Management
Hubspot comes with integrated social media management tools, enabling users to schedule and publish posts, monitor engagement, and analyze performance. ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, lacks native social media management features and requires integrations with third-party tools. If social media management is a requirement then we reccommed going with Hubspot.
Hubspot Customer Support vs. ActiveCampaign
Hubspot is well known for their exceptional customer support. You can reach them via phone, email, and live chat. They also have an extensive knowledge base and active customer forum that has a ton of useful resources. ActiveCampaign also provides customer support but only through web chat. In our experience the support can be hit or miss. Too often, basic issues need escalation and are never followed up on.
Hubspot and ActiveCampaign Integrations
Both platforms support a wide range of integrations with third-party tools, making it easy for businesses to connect with other software they already use. While Hubspot’s App Marketplace offers a more extensive selection of integrations compared to ActiveCampaign, 95% of companies will find the integration they need within the ActiveCampaign marketplace. And if not, there’s always the ActiveCampaign API.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the best choice will depend on your company’s specific requirements and goals. Need help deciding between ActiveCampaign and Hubspot?
Our CRM and Marketing Automation strategists can help you make an informed decision.
