Active Campaign vs Autopilot, which is the better Martech tool?

If you have read my previous articles on automated marketing and CRMs, there is a good chance that you are at the stage of choosing your digital tools. Since I am very familiar with Active Campaign and Autopilot, which cater to most SMEs and are very easy to use, I thought it essential to provide a comparison. So, Active Campaign VS Autopilot, which do you think is the best Martech tool?

The curriculum of Active Campaign

Active Campaign was my first Martech tool, and also the first CRM we used in our automotive digital marketing division. Active Campaign is a very powerful digital tool and extremely comprehensive regarding its automated marketing features. Its CRM is an extraordinary asset since it is integrated with the other features.

For a company that wants to have everything in one place, it all seems too good to be true. Especially since their CRM is free with the pro plan…The catch? The interface seems to date back to the 2000s and there is currently no mobile app! Not very appealing for a CRM!

The advantages of Active Campaign

Very competitive price at $50 USD per month for all features, 1000 contacts, and 25 users! So if you are on a tight budget, don’t ask the question any longer. Active Campaign is unbeatable. If your sales are primarily online, it’s likely that the tool will be perfect for your business.

The combination of the CRM and Martech in one place is also a great feature. The Sharpspring software is also a program that combines the two functions, but at a starting price of $450 USD per month for 1500 contacts…so 10 times more expensive than Active Campaign!

Apart from the price and the fact that the CRM and Martech are found in one place, Active Campaign's API is very well made and allows for integrations with other software very easily. As it is " Plug and Play " with Zapier, even users with 0 programming knowledge will be able to synchronize it with their favorite digital tools.

Finally, for those who wish, it is possible to change a few design elements and if you are a " Reseller ", you can even make Active Campaign a white label!

The disadvantages of Active Campaign

For " rookies " in Martech, the interface can be a deal breaker. Despite the fact that the tool remains simple to use, it is not necessarily fun to use! Even after 12 months of use, I was still searching for features. The same goes for the CRM; the U/I (Interface) and the U/X (User Experience) need a complete overhaul. The software works, the features are there…but it’s not visually appealing and not always practical.

The lack of a mobile version for the CRM is also a huge disadvantage for Active Campaign compared to other CRMs. But since in this case we are comparing AutoPilot (which has no CRM function) with Active Campaign… this should not be held against it.

Finally, creating very advanced marketing automations with Active Campaign can become very problematic for several reasons:

On a " dashboard ", it is possible to have only 1 track / trigger (experts will understand). The U/I of the automations means that you can search for a long time before finding what you want to change.

Autopilot: U/X and U/I almost perfect

Autopilot is roughly in the same price range as Active Campaign perhaps a bit less, depending on the package you choose. I discovered Autopilot in March of this year and I am very happy to have made the switch. It must be understood that initially I was using Active Campaign and its CRM and that we finally switched to Pipedrive X Autopilot, primarily because Active Campaign's CRM did not meet our needs.

Autopilot is ULTRA easy to use. The digital tool works like a big " whiteboard ". You just need to draw what you want and connect everything together with arrows. Although I love Autopilot, there are some disadvantages….

The advantages of Autopilot

As I mentioned earlier, one of the greatest advantages of Autopilot is its ease of use. The software is also highly flexible with its API and its native integration with several software like Pipedrive, SalesForce, and Hubspot. If you are a Hubspot or Salesforce user, using Autopilot as a martech tool instead of Salesforce's tools (Pardot) or Hubspot (Hubspot Marketing) could save you several thousand dollars a year. You can also check out my comparison of Pipedrive VS Hubspot.com by visiting our blog.

On the technical side, Autopilot allows you to have several " tracks " in the same automation. Active Campaign works like a family tree, with one trigger and a series of actions afterward. Autopilot allows us to have multiple triggers in one automation and several " trees ". If your automation project is complex, this difference is huge.

The disadvantages of Autopilot

If you are doing email marketing, you will easily understand the disadvantage of Autopilot…there is currently no possibility to add tags to our contacts! Despite repeated requests from users, it is still not possible in June 2019 to add tags to our contacts in the Autopilot digital tool.

However, we were able to " hack " the software to segment our lists, but this remains a significant deal breaker for many businesses. In fact, to solve the problem, you have to synchronize the lists with a Google Sheet and automate the addition of a tag in the file. It’s not complicated, but it remains very disappointing…and that's the only disadvantage of Autopilot, aside from the fact that Autopilot does not have an integrated CRM like Active Campaign.

Conclusion Active Campaign VS Autopilot

What to remember from the comparison of Active Campaign vs Autopilot is that both Martech tools are aimed at two completely different types of users:

• Those who want an integrated CRM → Active Campaign

• Those who want a more flexible and user-friendly Martech tool → Autopilot

If you already have a CRM, the answer is simple; Autopilot is definitely the best martech tool for your business. If you have a small budget and want to centralize all your work in one place, Active Campaign will be an incredible digital tool for your business!

Do you have any other questions? Don't hesitate!