ActiveCampaign vs. PlanPlus Online

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
PlanPlus
Score 10.0 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
PlanPlus Online is planning and organization software that integrates productivity tools into a complete customer relationship management solution.
$34.99
Per User per Month
Pricing
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus Online
Editions & Modules
Starter
$15
per month
Pro
$49
per month
Plus
$79
per month
Enterprise
$159
per month
PlanPlus Online Professional Edition
$34.99
Per User per Month
PlanPlus Online Planner Edition
$69.99
Per/Year
PlanPlus Online Business Edition
$199.99
per 5 users/per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptional$1,500 Up to 12 hours of Account Configuration Assistance Setup Include: Provision accounts and licenses (1hr), Kick-off Call (1 hr), and 10 additional hours of account configuration assistance to be used toward the following items, as needed by customers internal administrator: User Setup, Record Access, & Personal Preferences; Data Migration; Custom Fields & Page Layouts; Web-forms & Surveys; Views & Reports; Standard Sales Processes; Project Templates. Exact accomplishments may vary from this list based on Administrator's skills and requirements.
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus Online
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, …
PlanPlus
Chose PlanPlus
Initially went with PlanPlus Online due to cost and ease of getting started, plus the team was extremely accessible. Once we grew and saw the value of the CRM we switched the whole company over to Salesforce so we could integrate all of our systems into one.
Features
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus Online
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
7.3
Ratings
4% below category average
PlanPlus Online
-
Ratings
WYSIWYG email editor5.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic content4.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content4.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Landing pages4.70 Ratings00 Ratings
A/B testing9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile optimization7.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting9.70 Ratings00 Ratings
List management9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.0
Ratings
3% above category average
PlanPlus Online
-
Ratings
Lead nurturing automation9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading7.60 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
PlanPlus Online
-
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
PlanPlus Online
-
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
PlanPlus Online
-
Ratings
Dashboards6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
8.7
Ratings
15% above category average
PlanPlus Online
-
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
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
8.6
Ratings
11% above category average
Customer data management / contact management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Workflow management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Territory management00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Opportunity management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Contract management00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Quote & order management00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Interaction tracking00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Channel / partner relationship management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
9.0
Ratings
18% above category average
Case management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Call center management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Help desk management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
10.0
Ratings
27% above category average
Lead management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Email marketing00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
9.7
Ratings
24% above category average
Task management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Billing and invoicing management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Reporting00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
9.7
Ratings
25% above category average
Forecasting00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Pipeline visualization00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
8.5
Ratings
13% above category average
Custom fields00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Custom objects00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Scripting environment00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
API for custom integration00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
7.0
Ratings
17% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Social CRM
Comparison of Social CRM features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
8.0
Ratings
9% above category average
Social data00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Social engagement00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Integrations with 3rd-party Software
Comparison of Integrations with 3rd-party Software features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
9.5
Ratings
26% above category average
Marketing automation00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Compensation management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
ActiveCampaign
-
Ratings
PlanPlus Online
8.0
Ratings
9% above category average
Mobile access00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus Online
Small Businesses
Vbout
Vbout
Score 9.9 out of 10
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus Online
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.9
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
1.3
(0 ratings)
10.0
(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
ActiveCampaignPlanPlus Online
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
I would recommend this for businesses that have the time to invest in doing things the right way. Garbage in equals garbage out. If you can get over the somewhat steep learning curve and adopting their process this product would be a good fit. If you are short on time (and maybe cash) you may want to look for a simpler and less expensive solution.
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
  • Automating certain tasks like email replies.
  • Integrating with our sales forms and Outlook.
  • Supreme task management for even complex processes.
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
  • The synching did not always work well, especially for people on the road in remote areas.
  • Offline handling needs to be easier and faster.
  • Very complex CRM.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
It's great once you get the hang of it. I feel like it could be cleaned up a little. Some elements could be moved around or hidden. Overall it's a solid UI
Read full review
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.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
There are some cases where we just need something simple to get the job done. In our case, we needed a solution with a lot features for our complex setup. A lot of CRMs fell short. PlanPlus Online didn't. They had everything we needed. We didn't have to rely on multiple disparate solutions, and it was within our budget.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
PlanPlus Online is much nicer than Salesforce and also much faster.
Read full review
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!
Read full review
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
Read full review
  • Better lead management
  • Increased lead efficiencies with drip programs
Read full review
ScreenShots

ActiveCampaign Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

PlanPlus Screenshots

Screenshot of Mobile interface on iPadScreenshot of Mobile interface on iPhoneScreenshot of Desktop browser interfaceScreenshot of Another screenshot of desktop browser interface