GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign Detailed Comparison: Which Should You Pick?

GetResponse vs. ActiveCampaign: A Simple Comparison 🤔

Picking the right email marketing tool for your business isn’t easy. If you’re here, chances are you’re trying to decide between GetResponse and ActiveCampaign.

It’s no secret—we’re big fans of GetResponse (we built it, after all 😅). With powerful email marketing tools, an easy drag-and-drop builder, sales funnels, and plenty of built-in features, we believe it’s a top choice.

But hey, the decision is yours! In this article, we’ll give you a clear breakdown of GetResponse and ActiveCampaign, so you can decide which one works best for your business. Let’s dive in! 🚀

GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign Table

To provide you with the best information, we'll go through each key feature one by one. But if you're in a rush, here's a quick table that recaps the features included in each platform.

GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign Comparison Table

1. Which one has better email marketing features?

GetResponse:

GetResponse Email Marketing Software Dashboard

GetResponse email marketing software is the bread and butter of our platform. 

With our email marketing platform, you can easily create emails using ready-made templates or start from scratch to build a full email marketing campaign 💌. It's perfect for:

✅ Newsletters
✅ Autoresponders
✅ Email sequences
✅ Segmented campaigns
✅ Automated RSS feeds (like blog posts)

Got a contact list? 📋 You can quickly import it in bulk using a CSV file or connect it with other tools through integrations. 🚀

So what makes it good for small businesses?

GetResponse Email Creator

Creating professional emails with GetResponse is super easy! 🚀 The drag-and-drop builder lets you design great-looking emails with your own text and images in just minutes. 🖱️✨

But that’s not all—it helps you engage your prospects and customers effectively. For example, when your email lands in someone’s inbox, GetResponse tracks how often it’s opened and whether any links are clicked. 📩👀 This helps you identify which contacts are most interested in your products and ready to buy. 💰💡 You can even run A/B tests to improve your future campaigns. 🔄📈

It’s also super quick! ⏱️ The "Quick Actions" menu makes setting up email marketing campaigns a breeze. If you need more options, the main navigation menu has all the tools to grow your email list and boost your results. 📊📬

The best part? 🎉 Unlike many other tools out there, GetResponse offers everything you need—landing pages, funnels, webinars, and chats—to make your email campaigns more successful! 🚀✨

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign dashboard.

ActiveCampaign's email marketing tools are pretty powerful! 💪

With this software, you can create different kinds of email campaigns, such as triggered emails, targeted messages, and auto-responders. 📨 It also offers ready-made email funnels, which are super helpful if you’re new to email marketing or need to set up a campaign quickly. 🚀

Just like GetResponse, ActiveCampaign features a drag-and-drop editor, so you can design professional-looking emails without needing any coding skills. 🎨 Plus, it has a big collection of mobile-friendly templates to help you start sending effective campaigns right away. 📱✨

Verdict: The main difference between these two platforms is the range of features. While GetResponse provides a complete platform with funnels, webinars, and social media tools, ActiveCampaign doesn’t include those extras—making it a bit limited for launching all-in-one marketing campaigns. 🤔

Want to try it for yourself? You can test GetResponse completely free for 30 days. No credit card needed.

2. If you need to run surveys, do these tools allow it?

GetResponse:

GetResponse makes it easy to create custom surveys and include them in your email campaigns. 📧✨ With their drag-and-drop survey builder, you can quickly design surveys using:

✅ Multiple-choice questions
📝 Text answers
📋 Subscription forms

After creating your survey, simply add the survey link to your email, and you're good to go! 🚀 You can even use these surveys during webinars to gather valuable attendee data. 🖥️📊

Creating a survey inside GetResponse

You can easily customize your surveys with the drag-and-drop editor! 🎨✨ Here's what you can do:

• Add your logo or branding 🖼️.
• Create multiple-choice questions ❓.
• Include subscription forms ✍️.
• Build up to 50 pages—great for collecting detailed feedback 📄.
• Edit surveys even after they’re published 🔄.

Plus, if you prefer using an external survey tool, no worries! GetResponse works with most platforms through built-in integrations or Zapier 🤝⚙️.

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign doesn’t have its own survey tool right now, but it works well with third-party platforms like SurveyMonkey, Survicate, and Typeform. 🛠️

This means you can connect surveys to your email and automation campaigns, and the results will go straight to your ActiveCampaign account. 📩

Verdict:

If you prefer to keep things simple and don’t want to use an external platform, GetResponse is a better option. 👍

But if you’re okay with using an outside tool and need seamless integration, both GetResponse and ActiveCampaign will do the job just fine. ✅

3. Deliverability is a big issue, so which tool does it better?

GetResponse:

An email marketing tool only works if your emails actually reach your contacts' inboxes. 📩

At GetResponse, we're proud to say our average delivery rate is an impressive 99%! 🚀

But why is our delivery rate so high, and how do we maintain it?

The secret lies in a few key factors:

• High-Quality Content: We help you craft messages that get delivered.
• Strong ISP Relationships: We've built trust with internet service providers worldwide by maintaining strict standards.

We stand out because of our zero-tolerance policy on spam 🚫 and tools that make it simple to manage and clean your email lists. We automatically track undeliverable addresses, ensuring they’re filtered out to keep your lists healthy.

We’ve also developed a cutting-edge anti-abuse system called Hydra 🔒. It actively detects and prevents potential threats, protecting your reputation and ensuring high delivery rates.

What’s more, we have two dedicated teams focused solely on email delivery and compliance, with over 20 years of experience under our belt. 🛠️👩‍💻

So, when you choose GetResponse for your email marketing, rest assured—you’re in great hands! 🤝✨

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign is known for its solid email delivery rates. A study by Email Tool Tester in September 2020 reported its inbox rate (a metric similar to deliverability) at 73%, while GetResponse scored 86% during the same period.

However, keep in mind that these numbers can vary 📊. Even top tools like ActiveCampaign and GetResponse have fluctuations in performance.

💡 Pro Tip: Deliverability isn’t just about the tool you use; the quality and relevance of your email content play a big role too! ✍️

Verdict:
Both platforms are reliable and can help ensure your emails reach their destination. 🚀

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4. Do they both offer landing pages?

GetResponse:

Yes! GetResponse has a tool that lets you create custom landing pages or choose from over 180 templates to build the perfect one for your business. 🌐✨

GetResponse landing page templates.

Just like the easy-to-use email drag-and-drop tool, the GetResponse landing page builder is designed for simplicity. You can create mobile-friendly and professional landing pages without any coding skills. 📱💼

Want to add some custom code? No problem! With the editor, you can easily add HTML, CSS, or Javascript. Plus, if you need to add external elements, just cut and paste! 🖥️📋

To make your page pop, there's a built-in image editor so you can add your own photos. You can even import images from Shutterstock or add fun GIFs from Giphy to make your landing page more eye-catching! 🖼️🎉

GetResponse Landing Page Creator.

Once you're happy with how your landing page looks, you can launch it right away and start gathering leads, which will go straight to your mailing list. 📬

With the landing page builder, you can:

• Organize your page using sections 📄
• Add content blocks for images, videos, text, and buttons 🖼️🎥✏️
• Include static and contextual forms ✍️
• Add webinar registration forms 🎥💻
• Create a sense of urgency with countdowns ⏰
• Collect payments through PayPal integration 💰
• Add social sharing icons for easy sharing 📱
• Insert custom code elements using HTML, CSS, or JavaScript 💻
• Preview your landing page to see how it looks on both desktop and mobile 📱💻

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign also recently launched an integrated landing page builder. Similar to GetResponse, it features an easy-to-use drag-and-drop design tool that lets you create professional landing pages with just a few clicks! ✨

AC Landing Pages

You can also pick a template from the library and customize it by adding your own images, videos, and calls to action. 🎨📸

Verdict:

Both tools give you great value for money when it comes to landing page builders. 💸✅

5. What about conversion funnels?

GetResponse:

Funnels might seem tricky to create, but GetResponse has made the process super simple. 🚀

With the Conversion Funnel feature, you can easily build effective funnels, even if it's your first time. Funnels are just planned-out steps of how a typical sale or conversion happens. 💡

For example, if you're selling a course, the conversion path could look something like this: 🎓📈

GetResponse Conversion Funnel sample scenario.

With the Funnel feature, every step of the conversion process is automatically arranged into clear stages that you can easily visualize 📊✨.

GetResponse Conversion Funnel visualization.

With GetResponse, you can track the success of every step in your sales funnel and measure the profitability of your efforts 💰. You’ll know how many prospects enter your funnel and, more importantly, how many become paying customers 👥➡️💵.

The best part? All the tools you need to create your funnel are already included in GetResponse 🛠️.

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign doesn’t currently offer conversion funnels 🚫.

Verdict:

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to manage multiple channels (emails, landing pages, sales pages, Facebook ads, Facebook Pixel, and more) in a single dashboard, GetResponse is the way to go ✅.

6. You may need webinars, which one offers this feature?

GetResponse:

You can easily launch an interactive webinar straight from the GetResponse dashboard. 🚀

The webinar software lets you create webinars with a custom URL, registration forms, and built-in polls and surveys for a more engaging experience! 🎤📊

 

GetResponse Webinars software.

With GetResponse webinars, every lead you gather automatically gets added to your email lists and nurtured. When you start a webinar on GetResponse, you’ll have access to key features like:

🎨 Design tools & interactive whiteboard

📺 Screen sharing & interactive chat room

🎥 Recording (so you can re-market your webinar later)

❓ Q&A sessions

💬 Chat moderation

👥 Multiple hosts

What makes GetResponse stand out is its promotion machine, which helps you sell content directly from your webinars. This includes:

📄 Pre-designed registration pages

⚙️ Advanced subscription settings

💳 Payment gateways

With these features, you can sell products, services, and courses directly during your webinars! 🚀

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign doesn’t have its own webinar tool. However, you can integrate with other platforms like GoToWebinar, StealthSeminar, and WebinarNinja to host webinars within the software.

Verdict:

GetResponse includes its own webinar software at no extra cost. But if you prefer to use an external tool for webinars, both GetResponse and ActiveCampaign integrate easily with other platforms. 🙌

7. Any provisions for Facebook or Google ads?

GetResponse:

GetResponse offers a set of tools designed to help small businesses and freelancers create effective Facebook and Google ad campaigns without wasting time. ⏱️

Let’s start with the Facebook ad tool, which makes it super easy to create and post ads directly to social media right from the dashboard. 📱

First, you can set up your target audience by choosing from options like website visitors, similar audiences, or existing contacts. 🎯

Facebook ads in GetResponse.

You can use the Social Ads Creator app to easily create professional, eye-catching Facebook ads that look like they were made by a designer 🎨. Just like the other GetResponse tools, the Ad Builder is a simple drag-and-drop feature that anyone can master 💡.

Social Ads Creator app in GetResponse.

Once you're happy with how your ad looks, just hit submit – and you're all set! 🎉

We’ve also launched a new tool that lets you create Google Ads directly from the dashboard. 🚀 Simply link your Google Ads account, add your content, choose your target audience 🎯, and set your budget 💰.

Google Ads setting your budget.

Easy!

ActiveCampaign:

You can't run Facebook or Google Ads directly from ActiveCampaign, but you can sync your Facebook Ads account and manage contacts in Facebook Custom Audiences. 📱

Verdict:

If you want a simple solution for your paid ad campaigns, GetResponse has got you covered! 🚀

8. In terms of segmentation, which tool does it better?

GetResponse:

We believe our lead generation tools make it simple to nurture your contacts and turn them into paying customers. 💼✨

How do we do it? By using segmentation to send personalized, targeted emails that make your contacts feel like you're talking to them one-on-one. 📧👥

 

Segmenting your email list in GetResponse.

It all begins with our forms, designed to gather the most valuable data from contacts when they sign up through a newsletter or landing page. 📧

Once they’re added to your contact list, you can tag them based on their actions and send emails that are tailored to specific groups. 📩

What makes GetResponse special is that it automatically identifies the most engaged contacts on your list, so you can focus on them. 🙌

We call this an engagement score. Using real-time data, GetResponse gives each contact a score based on a 5-step scale:

1. Not Engaged (They’re not interested in your content at all 😬)
2. At-Risk (They’re losing interest ⚠️)
3. Neutral (They’re on the fence 🤔)
4. Engaged (They like your content and open your emails 📥)
5. Highly Engaged (They absolutely love your content, opening and clicking on everything 🔥)

This engagement score will show up on your contact list, allowing you to focus on the most engaged contacts and boost your chances of turning them into paying customers. 💸

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign has an easy-to-use segmentation tool that lets you collect and use contact info like names, actions, and location to organize your contacts 📊.

You can not only track this data, but also use it to group your contacts 🎯. With ActiveCampaign, you can target contacts based on their behavior, like if they opened an email 📧 or clicked a link 🔗.

ActiveCampaign segmentation.

Verdict:

The main difference between the two platforms is how easy it is to use GetResponse's segmentation feature.

Both platforms let you group your email list by things like products bought, website visits, or industry. However, GetResponse goes a step further by automatically sorting contacts based on how they engage with your emails 📧.

This can be really powerful when you're trying to target the right people and close deals 💪.

9. Do they both offer email templates?

GetResponse

We offer 100+ responsive email templates, designed specifically for the new GetResponse Email Creator, and they work perfectly on any device! 📱💻

GetResponse newsletter templates.

Each template is top-quality and professionally designed, allowing you to run campaigns to host, educate, promote, and sell—all without needing any coding skills. To make it even easier, the library is organized into sections like Online Marketing, Ecommerce, Travel, Notifications, and more. 📚✨

Just like other tools in our collection, these email templates are simple to customize using a drag-and-drop builder. 🖱️

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign also provides a set of templates to send to your subscribers. 📧

Like GetResponse, all ActiveCampaign templates are mobile-friendly and easy to customize with the drag-and-drop builder. However, the selection is a bit smaller, and the designs feel a little outdated. 📱

ActiveCampaign Email Templates

10. Marketing automation? Anyone?

GetResponse:

One of the best things about a marketing suite is how automation can take care of your daily tasks on its own! 🚀

GetResponse's Marketing Automation Builder is one of the most powerful tools for marketers looking to create both simple and advanced automation.

With its easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder, you can design visual workflows to see your automation in action and adjust each step along the way. You can set up automation events based on your contacts' actions and trigger specific actions when certain conditions are met.

For example, if you only want to send an email when a contact clicks a link, simply set up that sequence and condition using the visual automation tool. ✉️

You can easily add a "trigger" to your workflow for actions like:

• New subscribers 📥
• Email opens 📧
• Clicks on links 🔗
• Abandoned carts 🛒
• Product purchases 🛍️
• Product upgrades 🔄
• Pages visited (e.g., pricing pages) 🌐

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign offers a simple visual builder to create and view your automation steps. Just add the conditions and emails you want, and ActiveCampaign will automatically send out the campaign you've set up! 🚀

ActiveCampaign automation.

It also includes more than 500 pre-made automation templates (called "recipes" by ActiveCampaign) to help you easily get started. 📊✨

Verdict:

Both platforms provide powerful marketing automation tools, perfect for running both simple and complex communication sequences. 🚀📈

Read more:

1. GetResponse vs. MailerLite
2. GetResponse vs. ClickFunnels
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11. Do they both offer an autoresponder feature?

GetResponse:

Just like many other features in GetResponse, the autoresponder is ready to use right out of the box. 📦

With the autoresponder, you can easily build and maintain relationships with your contacts without being glued to your inbox all day! 📧

Here’s a quick overview of what you can do with GetResponse’s autoresponder: ✨

How do I create an autoresponder? – GetResponse Help

You can easily see your autoresponders in a user-friendly calendar view 📅. If you're running a campaign or need autoresponders sent on a specific day, just add them to the calendar 🗓️!

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign has an autoresponder feature that you can easily turn on when creating a campaign or setting up a marketing sequence using their automation builder. ✉️

You can set up autoresponders to welcome new subscribers or send messages through drip campaigns based on where they are in your marketing funnel. 📈

With the Automation Builder, you can also customize when the autoresponder is sent to a contact. For example, you can delay the message by an hour or even a day after they sign up to your list. ⏳

ActiveCampaign autoresponders.

Another great feature? ActiveCampaign also includes an SMS autoresponder, so you can reach your contacts outside their email inbox 📱.

Verdict:

Both platforms let you create email campaigns with autoresponders 📧.

But ActiveCampaign takes it a step further by adding SMS, which is super useful for e-commerce businesses 🛒.

12. What about pricing?

GetResponse:

GetResponse offers several pricing options: Free, Email Marketing, Marketing Automation, Ecommerce Marketing, and a custom plan called Max.

GetResponse plans – prices include the annual discount. February 2023.

The pricing depends on the size of your contact list and the features you need access to.

• If you have up to 500 contacts, the Free account is a good start.
• For 1,000 contacts, the Email Marketing plan costs just over $15/month. This plan includes essential tools like email marketing, autoresponders, landing pages, and more. 📧
• The next plan, Marketing Automation, costs $49/month and adds features like webinars, sales funnels, and an automation builder. 🔄
• The Ecommerce Marketing plan is for businesses needing more advanced features like ecommerce automations, transactional emails, promo codes, and web push notifications. 🛒

💡 Tip: GetResponse offers discounts! You can get 18% off for a 12-month plan or 30% off for a 24-month plan. Non-profit organizations may qualify for up to a 50% discount! For large lists (over 100,000 subscribers), you can get a custom solution.

ActiveCampaign:

ActiveCampaign has a 14-day free trial and three paid plans: Plus, Professional, and Enterprise.

ActiveCampaign Pricing plans – include the annual discount. February 2023.

•  The Plus plan is $49/month and includes marketing automation, email marketing, and inline forms. 📧
• The Professional plan, at $149/month, includes additional features like A/B testing for automations and predictive sending. 📊

Verdict:

Both GetResponse and ActiveCampaign offer unique features and integrations. However, GetResponse tends to be more affordable for the same size contact list. Plus, GetResponse includes more built-in tools, so you don’t need to sign up for extra services like webinar hosting or creating conversion funnels. 🎯

GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign full feature comparison

GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign Funnel Feature Compariaon

So, ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse… which one is better?

The answer really depends on what you need the tool to do.

If you’re looking for more than just email marketing, and want a tool that can help you create professional Facebook ads, build custom funnels, and automatically nurture your customers, then GetResponse is the perfect choice for you! 🎯

However, the easiest way to decide is to compare features and pricing. Choosing the right marketing automation tool is an important decision, so make sure you do your research! ✅ Ensure the tool you pick meets all your needs before committing.

If you’ve already decided and want to give GetResponse a try, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial by clicking the button below. 🚀

Sign up for GetResponse free trial today

Author’s note:

This comparison is accurate as of December 2, 2024. We do our best to keep it as accurate as possible, and we check it regularly, however, if you want to familiarize yourself with our competitors' offerings, you should check it on their site official or contact their representatives.

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