ActiveCampaign vs. Klaviyo: a data-backed comparison

Explore how ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo compare in terms of features, pricing, adoption trends, and ideal use cases to help you determine which project management tool is best for your team.

ActiveCampaign vs. Klaviyo at a glance

Both ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo are popular email marketing tools, but they differ significantly in capabilities and target audiences.

ActiveCampaign targets businesses seeking multi-channel automation across email, CRM, and sales, with a focus on building customer relationships. Klaviyo is built specifically for ecommerce brands, offering detailed customer segmentation, purchase-driven automations, and predictive insights tied directly to online shopping behavior.

Metrics

ActiveCampaign

Klaviyo

Relative cost

1% lower cost than category average

203% higher cost than category average

Adoption trend

11% QoQ adoption growth

11% QoQ adoption growth

Primary user segment

Best for

Startups and small teams seeking accessible marketing automation tools without enterprise-level complexity or pricing.

E-commerce businesses planning to scale their marketing sophistication and revenue over time.

ActiveCampaign overview

ActiveCampaign combines marketing automation, email marketing, and CRM capabilities in one platform. It enables businesses to create and manage automated customer journey projects across multiple channels while tracking the sales pipeline.

The platform excels at handling complex marketing workflow projects. With visual automation builders and AI-driven optimization tools, ActiveCampaign helps convert leads through personalized, behavior-triggered messaging campaigns.

ActiveCampaign key features

Features

Description

Email marketing automation

Creates behavior-triggered email sequences with a visual automation builder that requires minimal technical knowledge

Built-in CRM

Tracks contacts, deals, and conversations in one system with pipeline visualization and sales automation capabilities

Customer experience automation

Orchestrates personalized experiences across email, messaging, site, and sales based on customer behavior and preferences

Predictive sending

Uses AI to determine optimal send times for individual contacts, improving open rates and engagement metrics, reflecting current predictive analytics trends

Segmentation

Divides audiences based on behaviors, custom fields, and engagement levels for targeted messaging

Reporting and analytics

Provides accessible insights into campaign performance with conversion tracking and ROI measurement tools, similar to how finance automation can enhance business intelligence

Klaviyo overview

Klaviyo is purpose-built for businesses needing to leverage customer data for personalized marketing projects. It integrates deeply with online stores to pull purchase history, browsing behavior, and product interactions for targeted messaging campaigns.

Klaviyo’s strength comes from combining rich customer profiles with e-commerce metrics to create highly relevant messaging campaigns that directly impact revenue and customer lifetime value, thereby optimizing digital marketing campaign expenses.

Klaviyo key features

Features

Description

Advanced Segmentation

Target audiences by browsing behavior and purchase history

Predictive Analytics

Forecast customer lifetime value and churn risk

Ecommerce Automations

Prebuilt flows for cart recovery, welcome series, and win-backs

Email & SMS Campaigns

Manage both channels with unified analytics

Web & Mobile Tracking

Capture on-site and in-app events to refine messaging

Pros and Cons

Tool

Pros

Cons

ActiveCampaign

  • User-friendly interface with intuitive automation builder
  • Transparent, scalable pricing model
  • Quick implementation and faster time-to-value
  • Built-in CRM functionality without additional cost
  • Extensive integration library with simpler setup
  • Strong email deliverability performance
  • Limited depth for complex enterprise requirements
  • Fewer advanced ABM features for sophisticated B2B needs
  • Less robust for multi-region global compliance
  • Can become costly as contact lists grow significantly
  • Limited content management capabilities
  • Fewer options for complex approval workflows

Klaviyo

  • Specialized deep platform integrations
  • Intuitive interface optimized for e-commerce marketing projects
  • Strong revenue attribution for e-commerce campaign projects
  • Historical customer data storage for long-term marketing project analysis
  • Free plan available for small businesses
  • Pricing scales rapidly with contact list growth
  • Limited functionality outside e-commerce marketing use cases
  • Fewer general business integrations
  • Basic CRM capabilities
  • Limited multi-channel marketing project options

Use case scenarios

ActiveCampaign provides integrated email, CRM, and sales automation ideal for relationship-driven campaigns, while Klaviyo focuses on e-commerce brands with deep behavioral segmentation and predictive purchase insights.

When ActiveCampaign is the better choice

  • Best suited for relationship-driven campaigns with built-in CRM
  • Ideal for coordinating email, SMS, and on-site messages in one flow
  • Good for teams needing lead scoring and visitor event tracking
  • Appropriate for businesses focused on customer lifecycle management

When Klaviyo is the better choice

  • Best suited for e-commerce brands using purchase behavior data
  • Ideal for targeted cart recovery and post-purchase automations
  • Good for companies seeking predictive customer value insights
  • Appropriate for online stores offering personalized discounts

Other email marketing tools

  • Mailchimp: Better for small businesses needing an all-in-one marketing project platform with simpler automation needs and integrated design tools.
  • Omnisend: Specialized for e-commerce with marketing project features designed specifically for online retailers with multi-channel needs.
  • Constant Contact: User-friendly platform for beginners with straightforward email marketing and basic automation project capabilities.
  • Marketo: Enterprise-grade platform for organizations needing comprehensive lead scoring, account-based marketing, and extensive third-party integrations to power complex automation projects.
  • SendGrid: Developer-centric solution for teams requiring high-volume transactional email and API-driven workflows, offering enterprise-class deliverability and customizable notification systems.

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