ActiveCampaign vs. Cakemail

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ActiveCampaign
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
ActiveCampaign is presented as an AI-first marketing platform for marketers, agencies, and entrepreneurs. It uses Active Intelligence for goal-aware automation and personalized experiences across email, SMS, and WhatsApp. ActiveCampaign integrates with 950+ apps and generates insights to optimize every workflow.
$15
per month
Cakemail
Score 6.7 out of 10
N/A
CakeMail is an email marketing platform from the company of the same name in Montreal with users throughout North America and Europe, designed to be simple and elegant. Dedicated to small businesses and non-technical users, CakeMail's emphasis is the core features of list management, email design (templates), and basic behavior tracking for a modest price. A free trial is available for up to 30 days and 500 sends, after which Cakemail is available starting at $8 per month.N/A
Pricing
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Editions & Modules
Starter
$15
per month
Pro
$49
per month
Plus
$79
per month
Enterprise
$159
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Considered Both Products
ActiveCampaign
Chose ActiveCampaign
much more user friendly than these other alternatives.
Chose ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign feels like the professional, empowered and much more fully set up version of MailChimp. I was using MailChimp when I first started my business, but was then introduced to AC, and it's a million times better.
Chose ActiveCampaign
I used Mautic/Acquia for 4 years. It was more expensive for less features than ActiveCampaign. Also, I find ActiveCampaign is more intuitive and easier to use. The support system is more helpful. The pages are easy to navigate and the menu and submenus are well laid out. …
Chose ActiveCampaign
MailChimp, Mailer Lite, Constant Contact: ActiveCampaign is much better and much more versatile with automations, tags, and options for customizable lists and forms.
Chose ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp is in a different league to the above platforms.
Chose ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign has much better segmenting and more powerful automations, contact info, and integrations with other platforms.
Chose ActiveCampaign
In my opinion, ActiveCampaign is wayyyy easier to use than MailChimp. It's easier to choose your lists and to resend to unopens.
Chose ActiveCampaign
Salesforce is a beast! The learning involved to use the system is prohibitive. Mailerlite is limited in functionality but ConvertKit is a solid alternative. Both are easy to use but clunky to navigate, while ActiveCampaign is logical. Mailchimp is great for small businesses …
Chose ActiveCampaign
You'll be able to accomplish everything you need to with ActiveCampaign. A lot of these platforms distinguish themselves with bells and whistles. If a certain 'luxury' is important to you, then go with the platform that offers it. Generally speaking, they can all get the job …
Chose ActiveCampaign
It's simply intuitive! You know what to do and what you can do by just looking at it. So it goes very fast into a natural usage where You don't need to think too long. You can execute faster and build amazing funnels, because the functions are so easy and come with a great …
Chose ActiveCampaign
We selected Active Campaign several years ago due to its competitive cost and ability to integrate well with other software that we were using. With recent pricing changes, however, we will likely be shopping for alternatives.
Chose ActiveCampaign
In my opinion, not easy to use. Very limited in regards with features. I think the forms you integrate in webpages are ugly and not fully customizable. for almost the same price I have more features with ActiveCampaign.

I feel more confortable using ActiveCampaign since it is …
Chose ActiveCampaign
The level of sophistication and detail of the automations and segmentation is much higher with ActiveCampaign vs. Mailchimp resulting in much more targeted campaigns. Also, the user experience is so much more intuitive and easier to navigate with ActiveCampaign.
Chose ActiveCampaign
Clear winner on all fronts over most products, excluding HighLevel.
Chose ActiveCampaign
I don't like MailerLite and Flodesk because they only offer segments, no tags. I like to add many tags to my contacts depending on the products they purchase, and this gets too cluttered when there's only segments. They also don't have clear insights on the home page of people …
Chose ActiveCampaign
I used to use the free version of Mailchimp, but it did not allow me to construct automated email marketing campaigns the way I wanted to do it. So I decided to migrate all my list to ActiveCampaign. The migration process was easy enough. I am happy I did it.
Chose ActiveCampaign
The really big difference between ActiveCampaign the the competition, is the power of the automation that you can get with AC.
Chose ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign focuses much more on automation and email marketing. It also has highly advanced customization in both marketing campaigns and contacts, allowing them to tag and send content based on the interaction that the contact has had. ActiveCampaign offers custom email, …
Cakemail
Chose Cakemail
I have used other email platforms before, but I think Cakemail is easier to use AND provides you with templates. For the other products I have tested out, you had to create your own templates from scratch. I like the ability to create from scratch, but on days where you lack …
Chose Cakemail
I have used many other email marketing softwares. If you are looking for email and form capture information and not a full CRM, Cakemail, Mailchimp and Act-On are great solutions. They are great for smaller marketing teams and allow you to easily build and send out emails for a …
Chose Cakemail
I use mailchimp a lot, and to be honest, both are great programs. Should you go with either of these, you will not be disappointed. I'm just a little biased because I just started using Cakemail, and I fell in love with the program. It's really solid and they're always updating …
Features
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
7.3
Ratings
4% below category average
Cakemail
8.6
Ratings
8% above category average
WYSIWYG email editor5.30 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Dynamic content4.30 Ratings9.60 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content4.20 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Landing pages4.70 Ratings9.00 Ratings
A/B testing9.90 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Mobile optimization7.80 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting9.70 Ratings8.10 Ratings
List management9.90 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences10.00 Ratings6.20 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.0
Ratings
3% above category average
Cakemail
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading7.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Data quality management7.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead segmentation and distribution7.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
9.9
Ratings
29% above category average
Cakemail
-
Ratings
Calendaring9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
6.8
Ratings
10% below category average
Cakemail
-
Ratings
Social sharing and campaigns7.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Social profile integration6.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
6.6
Ratings
10% below category average
Cakemail
9.1
Ratings
17% above category average
Dashboards6.60 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Standard reports6.60 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Custom reports6.60 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.7
Ratings
15% above category average
Cakemail
-
Ratings
API8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizability6.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Third-party software integrations8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Pre-Send Testing
Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
Cakemail
9.3
Ratings
15% above category average
URL Validation00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Link Tracking00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Image Validation00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Inbox Display00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings8.40 Ratings
Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Email Previews00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.9 out of 10
Mad Mimi
Mad Mimi
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Emma by Marigold
Emma by Marigold
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
1.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ActiveCampaignCakemail
Likelihood to Recommend
I've been using ActiveCampaign since around 2018-2019 and I've always been satisfied with the software. It's simple to use, connects with the other tools I use and makes it easy for me to duplicate automations, email templates and workflows as I need to. On top of that, any time I've had an issue (which I think is around twice in the past 5/6 years), the customer service has always been super helpful and my issue has been resolved quickly.
Read full review
For small marketing teams, or organizations without a marketing team, Cakemail is a great platform for email marketing. The templates make this tool easy to use without the need for coding knowledge and there is enough reporting information for small teams. Easily manage your contacts and get your companies name in front of your audience.
Read full review
Pros
  • The graphic design is very good, especially fonts, colours and templates
  • Flexibility of design and functionality
  • Takes a little while to learn it, but generally user-friendly
  • Looks very professional but doesn't cost much to get started
  • There are masses of integrations for ActiveCampaign, and the ones I tried all worked well and didn't take long to figure out.
Read full review
  • Provides organized templates.
  • Has many different useable categories.
  • The templates are practical and make sense.
Read full review
Cons
  • The email designing part could be easier to use. There are certain simple shortcuts that don't work, for example, adding links is more complicated than it should be, moving blocks around is hard, etc.
  • There's no good way to filter by 'active' and 'inactive' subscribers when editing en-mass.
  • I'd like more reporting data on one page.
Read full review
  • Some reporting features could be enhanced for ease of use
  • Customer support - sometimes it is difficult to get a hold of them
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Likelihood to Renew
I am committed at the moment. Rebuilding the automations I have would be a huge time drain. Plus the cost of learning a new system and the risk to deliverability of porting a 6,000 person list to a new platform. Also, AC offers everything I need ast a reasonable (but a little high) price. So, why not a 10? Because, early 2023, AC dropped a massive 2x price hike on long-term customers. They knew few would shift, so this feels like a cynical cash grab and left a bad taste, If they do something like this again, this camel will have a broken back.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
ActiveCampaign has been the easiest marketing automation software we have ever used. They provide tips throughout the entire process of anything you are building. Their support team through LIVE CHAT has been extremely fast and helpful. The monthly meetings provided with the enablement team has helped us through several large and urgent needs.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
I haven't experienced application errors or unplanned outages at all. Active Campaign is ultra reliable and I would not be using them if that were the case. Also, the helpful emails they send are welcomed and informative, and present very practical tips and guidance for using the platform. They're always demonstrating new features and I'm thankful for that.
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No answers on this topic
Performance
Oh my gosh, Active Campaign's performance gets an A+++ in my book. The pages load quickly and so do the reports. I haven't noticed any slowdowns when it's integrating with other programs and it performs excellently on all levels.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
This might be the best part. The chat support lady offered to make a video to help me solve my problem. I worked in customer service for years and I've never done that, lol. So, if they're offering things like that, I can only imagine that they'd be able to handle most any issue you throw at them.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Very satisfied with our implementation in our professional medical practice, allowing us to be on top of client service, and not miss out on crucial information and insights. Marketing is often neglected in professional practices and ActiveCampaign solved this problem with aplomb.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I transitioned from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign because it was so much more user friendly and allowed me to do a lot more in regards to lead magnets than Mailchimp can. For example, ActiveCampaign allows users to sign up for a lead magnet as many times as they like to keep receiving it (in case they've lost or deleted the email with access to the lead magnet). Mailchimp was unable to do this. And the categorization of users and the trigger email sequencing was a lot easier in ActiveCampaign.
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I have used other email platforms before, but I think Cakemail is easier to use AND provides you with templates. For the other products I have tested out, you had to create your own templates from scratch. I like the ability to create from scratch, but on days where you lack the time or creativity, there are templates ready to go for you
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Scalability
My web designer told me about Active Campaign and although I don't recall which platform I had before, I LOVE Active Campaign and its user friendliness. The transition was seamless and I've never had a problem with functionality or server failure.
Active Campaign provides so many features, and makes it easy for non-techies to maneuver around the site with ease. They capture information and put it in an easy-to-read format.
At this point, I don't think I'd ever use any other platform!
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Automations free up time - once set up, email campaigns execute in seconds
  • Emailing my newsletter is a second touch-point for my clients
  • The flat rate for my subscription means that I reach my clients and prospects for fractions of a cent each month
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  • Cakemail has given us a pretty positive response rate...we're always open to trying new technologies, but Cakemail has shown our subscriber clicks rise quite frequently in the last few campaigns we've sent out.
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ScreenShots

ActiveCampaign Screenshots

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