SendervsActiveCampaign

Sender vs ActiveCampaign

Budget-friendly email + SMS vs enterprise automation

TL;DR

Sender offers budget-friendly email + SMS with a generous free tier (2,500 subscribers) at ~$50/month for 10k contacts. ActiveCampaign provides enterprise-grade automation with CRM at $149/month for 10k contacts. Choose Sender for affordable multi-channel marketing. Choose ActiveCampaign for sophisticated automation and CRM needs.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Price Point
Sender wins

Sender costs ~$50/month at 10k contacts. ActiveCampaign costs $149/month - 3x more expensive. For budget-conscious teams, Sender offers significant savings.

Free Tier
Sender wins

Sender offers a generous free tier with 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails. ActiveCampaign only offers a 14-day trial. For testing and small lists, Sender is more accessible.

Automation Power
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign is renowned for automation with 500+ recipes, advanced branching, and predictive features. Sender has basic automation. For sophisticated workflows, ActiveCampaign is superior.

CRM Integration
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with deal tracking, pipelines, and lead scoring. Sender has no CRM. For sales-marketing alignment, ActiveCampaign wins.

SMS Marketing
Sender wins

Sender includes native SMS marketing in its platform. ActiveCampaign requires an add-on. For multi-channel email + SMS, Sender is simpler.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts

Sender
~$50/month

Standard plan with email + SMS capabilities, 1600+ templates.

Visit Sender
ActiveCampaign
$149/month

Plus plan with CRM, advanced automation, sales pipelines.

Visit ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k subscribers, unlimited sends, native Stripe integration.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Sender
ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy
Pricing & Free Tier
Free Plan
2,500 subs, 15k emails
14-day trial only
14-day trial
Cost at 10k
~$50/month
$149/month
$49/month
Price Increase at Scale
Gradual
Steep
Gradual
Marketing Channels
Email Marketing
SMS Marketing
Built-in
Add-on available
Landing Pages
Automation
Visual Workflow Builder
Basic
Advanced
Good
Automation Recipes
Limited
500+ templates
Growing
Conditional Logic
Basic
Advanced
Predictive Sending
A/B Testing
Advanced
CRM & Sales
Built-in CRM
Included
Deal Tracking
Pipeline Management
Lead Scoring
E-commerce
Shopify Integration
WooCommerce
Abandoned Cart
Basic
Advanced
Templates & Design
Template Library
1600+ templates
Good library
Component library
Email Builder
Drag-and-drop
Good
Visual builder
SaaS Features
Stripe Integration
Via Zapier
Native OAuth
Subscription Events
Via integrations
Native

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Sender if you...
  • Budget-conscious small businesses
  • Teams wanting email + SMS together
  • Businesses with simple automation needs
  • Startups testing marketing channels
  • Organizations wanting generous free tier
Choose ActiveCampaign if you...
  • Businesses needing advanced automation
  • Teams requiring CRM integration
  • E-commerce with complex workflows
  • Companies with sales pipelines
  • Organizations that outgrew simple tools
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Subscription businesses
  • Software companies needing unified email
  • Teams wanting affordable SaaS automation

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

SaaS-Specific Focus

Neither Sender nor ActiveCampaign has native Stripe integration. Sequenzy is built for SaaS with subscription lifecycle automation and payment-triggered emails.

Better Value for SaaS

At $49/month for 10k contacts, Sequenzy costs less than Sender (~$50) and far less than ActiveCampaign ($149). Purpose-built for subscription businesses.

Transactional + Marketing Unified

Sequenzy combines transactional and marketing email. Neither Sender nor ActiveCampaign focuses on this unified approach for SaaS companies.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Sender and ActiveCampaign serve different market segments with vastly different pricing. Sender is a budget-friendly platform with email + SMS. ActiveCampaign is an enterprise-grade marketing automation platform with CRM. See our ActiveCampaign comparison for more context.

The Price Difference

At 10,000 contacts, Sender costs ~$50/month while ActiveCampaign runs $149/month. That's 3x the price difference. Plus Sender offers a generous free tier (2,500 subscribers, 15k emails) while ActiveCampaign only has a 14-day trial.

Automation Capabilities

ActiveCampaign is where the money goes. 500+ automation recipes, advanced conditional branching, predictive sending, and sophisticated workflows. It's built for complex marketing automation. Sender has basic automation that covers essentials but nothing as powerful.

CRM Integration

ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with deal tracking, sales pipelines, and lead scoring. This is valuable for businesses aligning sales and marketing. Sender has no CRM features - it focuses purely on email + SMS marketing.

SMS Marketing

Sender includes native SMS marketing at no extra cost. ActiveCampaign requires an SMS add-on. For businesses wanting email + SMS from one platform without additional fees, Sender is simpler and more affordable.

Template Libraries

Sender boasts 1600+ templates - one of the largest libraries available. ActiveCampaign has a good selection but smaller. For template variety and starting points, Sender offers more options.

When ActiveCampaign Is Worth It

If you need advanced automation workflows, CRM integration, lead scoring, or sophisticated e-commerce automation, ActiveCampaign's features justify the higher price. It's built for teams that outgrew simple email tools.

When Sender Makes Sense

If you're budget-conscious, need email + SMS together, or have straightforward marketing needs, Sender delivers excellent value. The generous free tier makes it accessible for testing and small businesses.

For SaaS Companies

Neither platform is built for SaaS specifically. Both lack native Stripe integration. Sequenzy offers Stripe integration with subscription-aware automation for software businesses at $49/month - less than both options.

Making the Choice

Choose Sender for budget-friendly email + SMS with generous free tier. Choose ActiveCampaign for advanced automation, CRM, and enterprise features. For SaaS with Stripe billing, consider Sequenzy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, significantly. Sender costs ~$50/month at 10k contacts vs ActiveCampaign at $149/month. That's 3x cheaper. Plus Sender has a generous free tier while ActiveCampaign only offers a trial.

ActiveCampaign offers SMS as an add-on. Sender includes SMS marketing natively in its platform at no extra cost. For built-in SMS, Sender is simpler.

ActiveCampaign. It has 500+ automation recipes, advanced conditional logic, predictive sending, and sophisticated workflows. Sender's automation is basic in comparison.

No. Sender focuses on email + SMS marketing. ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with deal tracking, pipelines, and lead scoring. If you need CRM, ActiveCampaign offers it.

Sender with 1600+ templates. ActiveCampaign has a good library but smaller. For template variety, Sender wins.

It depends on your needs. If you need advanced automation, CRM, and lead scoring, ActiveCampaign's features justify the cost. For simple email + SMS marketing, Sender offers better value.

ActiveCampaign has more advanced e-commerce automation with predictive features and deep integrations. Sender has basic e-commerce support. For sophisticated e-commerce workflows, ActiveCampaign is better.

No. Lead scoring is an ActiveCampaign feature. Sender focuses on simpler email marketing without sales-oriented features like scoring.

Export subscribers from Sender. Import into ActiveCampaign and set up custom fields. Rebuild automations using ActiveCampaign's advanced builder. Note that SMS will require the add-on. You'll gain powerful automation and CRM.

Export contacts from ActiveCampaign. Import into Sender. Recreate automations in Sender's simpler builder - complex workflows may need simplification. Note that CRM, lead scoring, and advanced automation features won't transfer. You'll save significant money.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

Start Free TrialSee All Features

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Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com