Systeme.iovsActiveCampaign

Systeme.io vs ActiveCampaign

all-in-one marketing platform with funnels, courses, and email vs industry-leading marketing automation with CRM

TL;DR

Systeme.io ($27/month) is a all-in-one marketing platform with funnels, courses, and email. ActiveCampaign ($79/month) is a industry-leading marketing automation with CRM. Systeme.io wins on generous free plan (2,000 contacts). ActiveCampaign wins on best automation in industry. For SaaS founders, Sequenzy ($49/mo) offers Stripe integration and AI sequences that neither provides.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Pricing Model

Systeme.io costs $27/month. ActiveCampaign costs $79/month. Different pricing models for different needs and budgets.

Primary Strength

Systeme.io is best for generous free plan (2,000 contacts). ActiveCampaign is best for best automation in industry. They optimize for different goals.

Feature Depth

Systeme.io strengths: Generous free plan (2,000 contacts), Sales funnels built-in, Online courses and membership sites. ActiveCampaign strengths: Best automation in industry, CRM built-in, Lead scoring.

Pricing Comparison

At comparable usage

Systeme.io
$27/month

Free: 2,000 contacts unlimited emails. Startup $27/mo (5k). Webinar $47/mo (10k). Unlimited $97/mo.

Visit Systeme.io
ActiveCampaign
$79/month

$79/mo for 10k contacts. Best automation. CRM. Lead scoring.

Visit ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

SaaS marketing + transactional, Stripe integration, 10k contacts

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Systeme.io
ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy
All-in-One Features
Sales Funnels
Built-in
Online Courses
Built-in
Membership Sites
Built-in
Blog Builder
Built-in
Email Marketing
Email Automation
Basic workflows
Best in class
AI-powered sequences
Visual Email Editor
Basic
Standard
Visual builder
A/B Testing
Stripe Integration
Payments (not SaaS)
Native SaaS integration

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Systeme.io if you...
  • Generous free plan (2,000 contacts)
  • Sales funnels built-in
  • Online courses and membership sites
  • One-click upsells
Choose ActiveCampaign if you...
  • Best automation in industry
  • CRM built-in
  • Lead scoring
  • Predictive sending
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS founders needing Stripe integration
  • Teams wanting marketing + transactional in one
  • Startups wanting AI-powered email sequences
  • Companies building subscription businesses

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

Built for SaaS

Neither Systeme.io nor ActiveCampaign offers native Stripe integration. Sequenzy connects to [Stripe](/features/stripe-integration) and triggers emails based on subscription events automatically.

Marketing + Transactional Unified

One platform for [campaigns](/features/campaigns), [transactional emails](/features/transactional-emails), and [AI sequences](/features/ai-sequences). No stitching tools together.

AI-Powered Sequences

Describe what you want and Sequenzy generates the email sequence. Neither Systeme.io nor ActiveCampaign has AI content generation built in.

Simple Pricing

$49/month for 10,000 subscribers with everything included. Check [pricing](/pricing) for details.

Overview

Systeme.io and ActiveCampaign serve different needs. Systeme.io is a all-in-one marketing platform with funnels, courses, and email. ActiveCampaign is a industry-leading marketing automation with CRM.

The All-in-One Proposition

Systeme.io bundles email marketing, sales funnels, online courses, membership sites, blog, and automation into one platform starting at $0 (free for 2,000 contacts). For solopreneurs and course creators, this eliminates the need to pay for and integrate multiple tools.

ActiveCampaign has far superior automation and CRM capabilities. If complex customer journeys and sales workflows are critical, ActiveCampaign justifies its higher price. But it doesn't build funnels, courses, or membership sites.

The Trade-off: Breadth vs Depth

Systeme.io's email marketing features are functional but basic compared to dedicated email platforms. If you need advanced automation, beautiful templates, or sophisticated segmentation, ActiveCampaign will likely do a better job at best automation in industry.

The question is whether you'd rather have one platform that does everything adequately, or multiple specialized tools that each excel at their niche.

Pricing

Systeme.io offers a genuinely generous free plan: 2,000 contacts with unlimited emails. Paid plans start at $27/month. ActiveCampaign costs $79/month. ActiveCampaign at $79+/month costs more but offers significantly deeper automation.

For SaaS Founders

Neither platform is built for SaaS subscription businesses. If you need Stripe integration for billing-aware automation, Sequenzy handles that with AI sequences and unified transactional + marketing email at $49/month.

Frequently Asked Questions

Systeme.io costs $27/month. ActiveCampaign costs $79/month. The better value depends on what features you need beyond just sending.

Neither is purpose-built for SaaS. For subscription businesses, Sequenzy offers native Stripe integration, AI sequences, and unified transactional + marketing email at $49/month.

Yes. Export your contacts from Systeme.io and import them into ActiveCampaign. Templates and automations will need to be recreated. Domain authentication (SPF, DKIM) needs to be reconfigured.

Systeme.io has limited automation. For advanced automation, consider ActiveCampaign or Sequenzy.

Both have adequate deliverability for their use cases. Proper domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) matters more than the platform choice.

Sequenzy combines marketing and transactional email with native Stripe integration and AI sequences at $49/month. Built specifically for SaaS businesses that need subscription-aware email automation.

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.

Related Comparisons

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