UserlistvsActiveCampaign

Userlist vs ActiveCampaign

SaaS-specific simplicity vs automation powerhouse

TL;DR

Userlist is built specifically for B2B SaaS with company accounts, user-company relationships, and in-app messaging at $99-149/month for 10k users. ActiveCampaign is a powerful marketing automation platform with CRM, 500+ automation templates, and advanced features at $149/month. Choose Userlist for B2B SaaS with company hierarchies, ActiveCampaign for sophisticated multi-industry automation.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

SaaS Specialization
Userlist wins

Userlist is built exclusively for B2B SaaS. Company accounts, user-company relationships, and company-level triggers are native. ActiveCampaign can handle this via CRM and custom fields, but it requires more setup.

Automation Power
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign has more sophisticated automation with 500+ templates, advanced conditional logic, lead scoring, and predictive content. Userlist covers SaaS lifecycle basics but lacks this depth.

In-App Messaging
Userlist wins

Userlist includes in-app messages for product onboarding and announcements. ActiveCampaign focuses on email and does not offer in-app messaging.

CRM Integration
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with pipeline management, deal tracking, and sales automation. Userlist has no CRM.

Integration Ecosystem
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign has 900+ integrations including native Segment. Userlist has key SaaS tools but a smaller ecosystem. For complex tech stacks, ActiveCampaign connects more easily.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts/users

Userlist
$99-149/month

Per user. Includes in-app messages and company accounts.

Visit Userlist
ActiveCampaign
$149/month

Plus plan with CRM and advanced automation

Visit ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

SaaS-focused with native Stripe integration

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Userlist
ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy
SaaS-Specific Features
Company accounts
Native, advanced
Via CRM deals
Supported
User-company relationships
Native support
Via custom fields
Supported
In-app messages
Company-level triggers
Full support
Via workarounds
Basic
Lifecycle email
SaaS-focused
General purpose
SaaS-focused
Marketing Automation
Visual workflow builder
Simple, clean
Advanced, powerful
Good
Automation templates
SaaS-focused
500+ templates
SaaS templates
Conditional logic
Good
Advanced
Good
Lead scoring
Predictive content
CRM & Sales
Built-in CRM
Included
Pipeline management
Deal tracking
Sales automation
Integrations
Native integrations
Key SaaS tools
900+ integrations
Core SaaS stack
Segment.com
Via API
Native integration
Events API
Stripe integration
Via Zapier
Via integration
Native OAuth
API quality
Good
Excellent
Good

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Userlist if you...
  • B2B SaaS with company accounts and user hierarchies
  • Teams needing in-app messaging included
  • Companies with user-company relationships
  • SaaS wanting focused, SaaS-specific features
  • Teams who prefer simplicity over feature depth
Choose ActiveCampaign if you...
  • Companies needing powerful marketing automation
  • Teams wanting CRM + email in one platform
  • Businesses with complex automation requirements
  • Organizations using diverse tech stacks
  • Companies in any industry, not just SaaS
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies building on Stripe
  • Founders wanting payment-triggered automations
  • Teams wanting 50-67% lower cost
  • Companies needing unified transactional + marketing

For SaaS Companies Building on Stripe

Native Stripe Integration

Neither Userlist nor ActiveCampaign has native Stripe billing integration. Sequenzy syncs your subscription data automatically. Trial starts, upgrades, cancellations, and MRR changes trigger automations.

50-67% Lower Cost

At $49/month for 10k contacts, Sequenzy costs half of Userlist ($99-149) and two-thirds of ActiveCampaign ($149). Significant savings for growing SaaS companies.

SaaS Revenue Attribution

Track which emails drive actual Stripe revenue. Know the MRR impact of your campaigns and automations.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Userlist and ActiveCampaign take different approaches to marketing automation. Userlist is built exclusively for B2B SaaS companies with native company account support. ActiveCampaign is a powerful marketing automation platform for any industry with CRM included. See our ActiveCampaign comparison for detailed analysis.

Your choice depends on whether you need SaaS-specific features or broad automation power.

Pricing Comparison

The pricing is similar:

  • Userlist: $99-149/month for 10,000 users
  • ActiveCampaign: $149/month for 10,000 contacts (Plus plan)
  • Sequenzy: $49/month for 10,000 contacts with native Stripe integration

At scale, they cost roughly the same. The value proposition differs significantly though. Check our pricing page for details.

Where Userlist Wins

Native company accounts

Userlist understands B2B SaaS. Companies and users are separate entities. You can track company-level behavior, trigger automations when a company reaches milestones, and segment by company attributes natively.

In-app messaging

Userlist includes in-app messages for product onboarding and announcements. No extra tool needed. ActiveCampaign focuses on email only.

SaaS lifecycle focus

Every feature in Userlist is designed for SaaS lifecycle messaging. No e-commerce features, no generic marketing tools. Just what B2B SaaS companies need.

Where ActiveCampaign Wins

Automation depth

500+ automation templates, advanced conditional logic, lead scoring, and predictive content. ActiveCampaign has been building automation for years and it shows.

Built-in CRM

Full CRM with pipeline management, deal tracking, and sales automation included. Userlist has no CRM. If you need sales and marketing together, ActiveCampaign delivers.

Integration ecosystem

900+ integrations including native Segment connection. ActiveCampaign fits into complex tech stacks more easily than Userlist.

Industry flexibility

ActiveCampaign works for e-commerce, agencies, service businesses, and SaaS. Userlist only works for B2B SaaS. If your business model might change, ActiveCampaign adapts.

The B2B SaaS Decision

If you have B2B SaaS with company accounts, user-company relationships, and need company-level triggers, Userlist is purpose-built. You will spend less time configuring and more time sending.

If you need sophisticated automation, CRM integration, lead scoring, or work across multiple industries, ActiveCampaign has more power and flexibility.

For SaaS on Stripe

Neither platform has native Stripe integration. Both require Zapier or custom API work for payment-triggered emails.

Sequenzy offers native Stripe sync with subscription lifecycle automation, MRR tracking, and unified transactional + marketing email at half the cost of either platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

For B2B SaaS with company accounts and user-company hierarchies, Userlist is better. It is built specifically for this use case. ActiveCampaign can work but requires more configuration.

ActiveCampaign can handle company data via its CRM with deals and custom fields. It works but is not as native as Userlist's company account support.

ActiveCampaign has more powerful automation with 500+ templates, advanced branching, lead scoring, and predictive content. Userlist's automation covers SaaS lifecycle basics well.

No, Userlist focuses on email and in-app messaging. It does not include CRM, pipeline management, or sales features like ActiveCampaign does.

Yes. Many SaaS companies use ActiveCampaign successfully. It requires more setup for company hierarchies but offers more automation power and CRM integration.

Neither has native Stripe OAuth integration. Both require Zapier or custom API work. Sequenzy offers native Stripe integration for subscription-based automation.

They are similar at 10k contacts. Userlist is $99-149/month. ActiveCampaign is $149/month. Userlist starts at $99/month. ActiveCampaign starts at $79/month.

Yes. Userlist includes in-app messages for product onboarding and announcements. ActiveCampaign does not offer in-app messaging.

ActiveCampaign has 900+ integrations including native Segment. Userlist has fewer but covers key SaaS tools. For complex tech stacks, ActiveCampaign wins.

Export users and company data from Userlist. Import into ActiveCampaign and map company data to CRM deals or custom fields. Rebuild automations in ActiveCampaign's workflow builder. You will gain automation power but lose native company triggers and in-app messaging.

Export contacts from ActiveCampaign. Import into Userlist and set up company-user relationships. Rebuild automations in Userlist. You will lose CRM features and some automation complexity but gain native B2B SaaS features.

Userlist offers founder-led support common in smaller SaaS tools. ActiveCampaign has professional support with more resources. Both get good reviews.

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.

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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