If you are on this page right now, I know the dilemma you are going through. Choosing the appropriate CRM/Email Marketing Platform can sometimes get a little tasking, and it is essential to know each platform you consider in detail before making any decision.
The article below reviews Zoho and ActiveCampaign entirely to help you choose wisely. Zoho is an ideal customer relationship management tool that offers all the solutions for your sales and marketing purposes.
On the other hand, ActiveCampaign is a CRM tool famous for its Email Marketing Services. Both the platforms offer similar services yet function differently, and the comparison below will guide you through all the ups and downs of the software.
Overview – Zoho Vs. ActiveCampaign
Zoho primarily functions as a CRM solution, and it is slightly different from ActiveCampaign, which is mainly an Automation software. However, Zoho has almost all the tools required for Customer Relationship Service.
It means that all the essential tools offered by ActiveCampaign are somewhat included in Zoho. Zoho offers sales pipeline management, workflow automation, performance management, etc.
It can automate several business operations and even connect with customers from different channels. Various third-party applications get easily integrated with Zoho, which lessens your load and makes work easier.
When it comes to ActiveCampaign, it prioritizes marketing first and then to CRM. Whereas what we see in Zoho is the exact opposite. ActiveCampaignwas designed mainly for small businesses and other companies that would like to track the customer’s behavior.
However, now with the new updates and development, ActiveCampaign is used by most people on the market. It offers tools like lead segmentation, website tracking, drag, and drop design, etc. It can integrate with a vast number of applications.
Ease of Use – Zoho vs Active Campaign
The most crucial aspect of any software is its accessibility. If your tool has all the features possible but is not easy to use, it becomes worthless. Zoho CRM takes you only a couple of seconds to sign in.
Once you have logged in, you see a very clean and neatly designed user interface. Zoho has well-placed categories and sections and helps you navigate with ease. Even if you are a complete beginner, Zoho is pretty straightforward.
However, please don’t get too excited as Zoho has its drawbacks. The starting navigation may seem easy enough to understand, but the latter functionalities are a little complicated for a novice.
If you require Zoho to guide you through the additional functionalities, you must fill in specific documentation. However, once you are past that phase, the rest is simple.
Similar to Zoho, ActiveCampaign also has an easy signing-in process. The digital interface is elegant and easy to navigate, and you can customize the system at your convenience. It is designed to ensure that you do not get lost while navigating your way.
However, there is a catch to this system. ActiveCampaign has a clean interface with clear set menus and tabs, but each category opens up to multiple other sub-categories, which may seem overwhelming to a beginner.
You have a “getting started” button that guides you at each step you take. If you buy the Plus plan, it provides you with one-on-one training. ActiveCampaign is an excellent platform for growing and learning more in the ecommerce field.
Email Marketing Campaigns – Zoho vs ActiveCampaign
Zoho CRM saves you the effort of building campaigns from scratch. It has beautifully designed templates that are ready to use. You can select the one appropriate to the theme you are focusing on and customize it with the drag-and-drop builder.
The template gallery has hundreds of well-designed templates in store. It has unique features that let you gather information automatically from the lead and contacts you already have in place.
As mentioned earlier, ActiveCampaign is mainly an email marketing platform, and it supports various types of email marketing campaigns. The highly recommended ones are date-based email campaigns, one-off emails, and autoresponders.
After you have decided the type of email marketing campaign you want, ActiveCampaign guides you to its template library. Unlike Zoho CRM, ActiveCampaign has only 30 pre-designed templates available. Nevertheless, these templates are free.
You can also design your template from scratch. ActiveCampaign has a unique feature called the dynamic content feature, and it automatically adjusts your content based on the contacts and tags you have selected.
It helps reach out to a greater audience in a better way.
Contact and lead Management – Zoho vs ActiveCampaign
The very name Zoho CRM speaks for itself. It has a wide range of categories that manages various prospects, leads, etc. You can import your contacts manually into the CRM and create a setup that will automatically gather details from the website.
Through Zoho CRM, you can track your customers, their accounts, the products they purchase, etc. Through such monitoring, you get better control over your audience.
ActiveCampaign has special tools for organizing, segmenting leads, adding, etc. It also has lead scoring that shows you which customers need more attention.
It also has a site tracking system that tracks the behavior of the users and gives you information that can help you make better schemes for the future.
Pricing – Zoho vs ActiveCampaign
Pricing is an essential aspect of any decision you make. Both Zoho and ActiveCampaign have similar pricing systems.
Zoho offers three plans – Standard, professional, and Enterprise. Each starts at $18, $30, and $45, respectively.
Note that Zoho CRM is free for the first three users only. Apart from that, it doesn’t have a free trial or a free plan.
ActiveCampaign, on the other hand, has a free 14-day trial, and it has four different plans.
The Lite Plan and the Plus Plan start at $9 and $49, respectively. The most used plan is the professional plan that begins at $149 per month.
The final plan is the Enterprise plan that starts at $258 only. Note that all these plans are meant for only 500 users. The prices will increase as the number of users increase. You can also check our article on Activecampaign Vs Intercom.
Conclusion
I hope the detailed comparison between the two platforms helps you choose the one that best suits your requirements. Make sure you check all the details before making a choice. Good Luck!