Overview

Ontraport and ActiveCampaign both target small businesses but take very different approaches. Ontraport is an all-in-one platform that bundles CRM, email, payments, membership sites, and more. ActiveCampaign focuses on being the best email marketing and automation platform in its class. For our take on each, see our Ontraport comparison and ActiveCampaign comparison.

Automation: ActiveCampaign's Sweet Spot

ActiveCampaign's visual automation builder is widely considered the best in the industry. You can split-test entire automation paths, use predictive sending to optimize delivery times, and build conditional workflows that rival enterprise tools at a fraction of the price. Ontraport's campaign builder is capable, but it doesn't match ActiveCampaign's depth or flexibility.

The All-in-One Question

Ontraport's value proposition is consolidation. CRM, email, payments, membership sites, landing pages, affiliate management — one login, one bill. If you're a coach running courses, managing clients, accepting payments, and sending emails, Ontraport replaces 4-5 separate tools. That consolidation has real value. But if you mainly need email, you're paying $297/month for features you'll never touch.

Pricing Reality

At 10,000 contacts, ActiveCampaign Pro is $79/month. Ontraport Pro is $297/month. That's $2,616/year in savings with ActiveCampaign. The question is whether Ontraport's extra features (payments, memberships, affiliate management) are worth that premium. For most businesses that just need email and CRM, ActiveCampaign plus a few specialized tools is cheaper and better.

The Sequenzy Alternative

If you're a SaaS founder, neither Ontraport nor ActiveCampaign is built for you. Sequenzy combines transactional email and marketing campaigns with native Stripe integration — so your subscription events automatically trigger the right emails.