Best for
Best for teams that want email marketing with deep marketing automation and a built-in CRM, and that will grow into advanced segmentation and predictive sending.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Email Marketing Comparison
ActiveCampaign vs. Drip
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for ecommerce and direct-to-consumer brands on Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce that want behavior-based email automation with onsite popups in one platform.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | ActiveCampaign | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value From $15 / month Starter plan, billed annually, for 1,000 email contacts and 1 user. The price rises with the number of contacts. | From $39 / month For up to 2,500 active people; the price scales with the number of active people and the volume of emails sent. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial |
| API | Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, open API access on every plan |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Campaign types | Yes, email campaigns with a drag-and-drop designer and more than 250 templates | Yes, one-off email campaigns and newsletters plus automated workflows, with an onsite suite of popups, slide-ins, sticky bars and quizzes |
| Automation and journeys | Yes, marketing automation, 5 actions per automation on Starter and unlimited on Plus, Pro and Enterprise | Yes, a visual workflow builder with branching logic, goals and split tests, and 15-plus prebuilt templates for abandoned cart, browse abandonment, welcome and win-back |
| Segmentation and personalisation | Yes, segmentation from limited on Starter to advanced and premium on the higher plans, with predictive sending | Yes, dynamic segments that update automatically from behavior, purchase history and engagement, synced from the store in real time |
| Templates and editor | Yes, a drag-and-drop email designer for plain text and HTML with more than 250 pre-built templates | Yes, a drag-and-drop visual email builder with 50-plus themed templates, plus a plain-text builder |
| Deliverability and testing | Yes, a spam check across plans and predictive sending | Yes, A/B split testing of up to four subject line or content variations, reporting opens, clicks and revenue per variation |
| Ecommerce and CRM data | Yes, contact profiles with custom fields, tags and lists, plus premium CRM integrations such as Salesforce on the higher plans | Yes, deep native Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations that sync customers, orders and product catalog in real time |
| Integrations and API | Yes, an API with webhooks plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, open API access and 50-plus integrations on every plan |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | more entries Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | Email helpdesk, Chat |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Guided onboarding, Live online demos and webinars | Not stated |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries Shopify, Salesforce, Zendesk, Wix, Facebook, Google Sheets, Google Ads, ChatGPT, Claude | Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price ActiveCampaign From $15 / month Drip From $39 / month
- Free trial ActiveCampaign 14-day free trial, no credit card required Drip 14-day free trial
- Support ActiveCampaign Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum Drip Email helpdesk, Chat
- AI features ActiveCampaign Yes Drip No
- API ActiveCampaign Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations Drip Yes, open API access on every plan
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
ActiveCampaign
Strengths
- Marketing automation with unlimited automation actions on Plus, Pro and Enterprise
- More than 1,000 integrations plus an API with webhooks
- Active Intelligence AI features across all plans
- Built-in CRM with contact profiles, custom fields, tags and lists
Limitations
- Starter caps automations at 5 actions each and offers only limited segmentation
- Prices scale with the number of contacts
Drip
Strengths
- Every feature included on every plan, with nothing locked behind higher tiers
- Deep native Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations with real-time data sync
- Onsite suite of popups, slide-ins and quizzes included at no extra cost
- Billed only on active people who can receive email
Limitations
- No free plan, only a 14-day free trial
- Purpose-built for ecommerce, so less suited to non-store senders
- Live chat support is reserved for the $99 / month and higher plans
Plans
Pricing
ActiveCampaign
- Starter $15 Per month, billed annually, for 1,000 email contacts; 1 user. Entry plan with the email designer, templates and up to 5 actions per automation. Scales with contacts.
- Plus $49 Per month, billed annually, for 1,000 email contacts; 1 user. Adds unlimited automation actions and standard segmentation. Scales with contacts.
- Pro $79 Per month, billed annually, for 1,000 email contacts; 3 users. Adds advanced segmentation and predictive sending. Scales with contacts.
- Enterprise $145 Per month, billed annually, for 1,000 email contacts; 5 users. Adds premium segmentation and premium integrations such as Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. Scales with contacts.
Drip
- All features From $39 / month For up to 2,500 active people. Every feature is included on every plan; the price scales with the number of active people and email volume. Live chat support is available on the $99 / month and higher plans.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
ActiveCampaign
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Drip
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
Before sending, the author has to confirm three things: that they have used the product themselves, that they work neither for the vendor nor for a competitor, and that nobody is paying them for the review. We also ask whether the vendor invited them to write it. That answer is required, either answer is accepted, and it stays with the review.
Every review is read by a person before it appears. An email address is required and is confirmed: we send a link to it, and a review does not reach us until the author opens that link, so a review has a sender who was reachable at least once rather than being anonymous. Where what somebody writes needs backing, we ask them for evidence that they used the product, and a review that does not get it is not published. We publish positive and negative reviews alike, we pay nothing and offer nothing for a review, and we accept none that was bought or incentivised.
What we cannot do is verify a purchase. There is no shop here and no account, so whether the author really used the tool rests on their own declaration, on whatever we ask them for, and on the plausibility of what they write. We say so rather than implying a check that does not exist.
A vendor cannot buy a review, and cannot have one removed or changed because they dislike it. We remove or edit a review only if it breaks our rules or the law, for example a false statement of fact. Paid placement has no effect on which reviews appear or on any score.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
ActiveCampaign https://www.activecampaign.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-19
Drip https://www.drip.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-23
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.