HubSpot vs. ActiveCampaign vs. Mailchimp: Marketing Automation Shootout

As your business grows, managing customer journeys manually just doesn’t cut it anymore. That’s where digital marketing automation comes in. It helps you scale outreach, stay consistent, and convert leads without burning out your team. But with multiple options out there, it’s easy to get stuck in comparison.

HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Mailchimp each offer their own approach to automation. The question is: which one fits your workflow growth goals best?

Let’s compare the key features of each digital marketing automation platform to see which one aligns with your workflow the best.

Comparing HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Mailchimp

Mailchimp: A user-friendly email marketing tool, ideal for small businesses and beginners.

Rating: 4.4 (1196 Ratings)

HubSpot: A complete CRM platform with advanced marketing, sales, and service tools. Best for businesses looking for a comprehensive solution.

Rating: 4.5 (338 Ratings)

ActiveCampaign: A powerful automation-first platform. Best for businesses that want sophisticated workflows without CRM bloat.

Rating: 4.4 (61 Ratings)

Here’s a detailed comparison of the tools to help you pick the right one:

Ease of use

Mailchimp: 

• Sidebar ensures easy navigation

• Drag email elements and drop them in the right place. This simplifies email creation

Downside: You do not see the landing pages in the main navigation. While you can add one, it's confusing to find them after setup.

HubSpot:

• Clean interface with live support option

• Customization elements to organize your dashboard

Downside: It has a steep learning curve, and it might take some time to get familiar and comfortable with it.

ActiveCampaign:

• Drag email components to the right places to build emails

• Multiple styling and content options to get the right format in no time

Downside: For automations, you need to be technically inclined, and it will take some practice to get the knack of it.

Winner: HubSpot and ActiveCampaign are easy if you can spend some time getting familiar, but Mailchimp is the clear winner, as it is easier to master.

Email builder

Mailchimp:

• The easy interface makes it simple to insert content blocks like text, videos, and more

• Add a unique email format by inserting custom HTML code

• Deliver personalized campaigns using Groups and Merge Tags, and get dynamic content

• The Optimize Button helps you correct errors in the campaign

• Creative Assistant picks visual elements from your website to use in your campaigns

• An AI Writing Assistant helps you create content seamlessly

HubSpot:

• Add videos, images, and products with the simple Email Builder

• Create smart rules to display based on source, country, lifecycle stage, and such criteria

• Refine your copy with the Copilot integration

• 45 email newsletter templates for easy reference

ActiveCampaign:

• Choose from 250+ templates to craft emails

• Import your own templates to ensure brand alignment

• 137 templates for email newsletter

Winner: It’s a tie between Mailchimp and HubSpot, as both tools offer smart features for crafting engaging emails.

Marketing automation

Mailchimp:

• Create basic email workflows such as welcome emails, SMS, thank you messages, and abandoned cart campaigns

• Choose between triggers and actions for email sequences using the Customer Journey Builder

• 100+ pre-built journeys help you create an automated marketing strategy

HubSpot:

• Set up automated email sequences to move the leads through the sales funnel

• Automate social media posts and campaigns

• Categorize your audience based on different factors for personalized campaigns

• Deliver timely and relevant messages and track leads with HubSpot CRM

ActiveCampaign:

• Create sophisticated workflows by combining Triggers, Actions, and Conditions

• Automate the sales process, such as follow-ups with the built-in CRM

• Segmentation, Site Tracking, Dynamic Content, Lead Scoring, and more make the process seamless

Winner: ActiveCampaign takes the lead here with a range of customization options and automations.

List management

Mailchimp:

• Tag audience, segment them, and create groups

• Create a Preference Center to identify customer preferences for email types

However, you need to create different campaigns for different audiences. Plus, if the subscriber appears in two or more audiences, you pay every time they appear, which increases the cost.

HubSpot:

• The contact uploaded from CRM will have its own contact record, so you know the quality of leads

• Create Static and Active Lists. The static lists do not update as records change

• Describe the type of records for the AI list Assistant to automatically create them

ActiveCampaign:

• Categorize the audience with custom fields and add or remove them with automation

• Automatically segment the audience based on their clicks on the links or images

• Assign scores to the leads based on the actions

Winner: HubSpot and ActiveCampaign get similar scores here, as both tools help you organize your audience list based on your workflow.

Reporting and analytics

Mailchimp:

• Monitor key metrics such as link opens, bounces, clicks, unsubscribes, click maps, social media reporting, email client data, and eCommerce summaries

• Integrate with Google Analytics to track conversions

• Generate personalized reports and use comparative records

HubSpot:

• See which activities or interactions drove conversions

• Share reports publicly or privately for flexible data management and collaboration

• Personalize dashboards by selecting the reports you want to see

• Sales Rep Performance data lets you track what’s working

ActiveCampaign

• Get summaries of the deals in the CRM with deal reports

• You get reports on everything to analyze every aspect of your sales and marketing process

Winner: All three tools shine here with strong reporting options.

Landing pages and forms

Mailchimp:

• Add products, promo codes, social follow buttons, and more to create comprehensive forms

The form editor is simple to use, but you must use different editors for embedded forms and pop-up forms.

HubSpot:

• Create embedded or standalone forms from zero or with templates

• Select a theme for the landing pages to align it with the website

• A/B test to optimize your pages

• Set smart rules to align the landing page with factors such as language, country, etc.

• HubSpot CRM automatically updates the contact form when someone fills it out

ActiveCampaign:

• Visual and easy-to-use form editor

• Embed, link, or add forms to WordPress and Facebook with integrations

• Attribute forms with lists, tags, and deals

Winner: HubSpot wins this round with a range of customizable elements and the A/B testing feature.

Integrations

Mailchimp:

• Over 300 integrations with some of the popular tools, such as Shopify, Salesforce, WordPress, Wix, and Zapier

HubSpot:

• You get 1700+ integrations with SEO tools, CRM systems, social media operations, and more

ActiveCampaign:

• 850 integrations and Zapier access, and built-in Shopify and WordPress plugins

Winner: HubSpot wins this round with the maximum total of integrations.

Customer support

Mailchimp:

• Free plans get email support for the initial 30 days. After that, you have tutorials and guides to refer to

• For paid plans, you get 24/7 live chat and email support

• Premium plan users get phone and priority support

However, per reviews, Mailchimp is slow to provide support.

HubSpot:

• Free users get guides and have access to the HubSpot community

• With the HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional trial, you also get live chat

• For paid plans, you receive in-app chat and email support

• If you have the Marketing Hub Professional plan and the Enterprise plan, you also get phone support

ActiveCampaign:

• You get chat and email support for all plans

• For the Enterprise plan, you have access to phone support

• With the Plus plan and up, you also get one-on-one training

Winner: ActiveCampaign sits at the top with a more comprehensive approach for every plan.

Streamline Email Marketing with Tactics Marketing

Choosing the right marketing automation tool comes down to your business needs, team size, and long-term goals. If you need CRM with advanced features, HubSpot is your best bet. For businesses focused on automation and flexibility, ActiveCampaign offers the most robust options. And if you’re just getting started and want something user-friendly, Mailchimp is the easiest to adopt. Each tool has its strengths, so weigh your priorities carefully. 

Scale smarter, save time, and create personalized experiences that convert with Tactics Marketing.

Schedule a call now!

Key Takeaways

• HubSpot is best for businesses looking for a complete CRM + marketing solution with powerful automation, advanced customization, and 1700+ integrations, but it has a learning curve

• ActiveCampaign is ideal for users who want advanced, customizable automation and high email deliverability. It offers excellent segmentation, lead scoring, and support, even for non-enterprise users

• Mailchimp is the easiest to use, perfect for small businesses or beginners. It offers a solid email builder and user-friendly experience, but it can get expensive due to list duplication and has limited automation

FAQs

1. How to choose the right digital marketing automation platform?

The right digital automation tool depends on your business goals and budget. Identify your goals and compare features and pricing to choose the right tool.

2. Do any of these platforms require coding knowledge?

Not for most users. All three offer no-code automation and visual builders. That said, if you want custom HTML emails or API-level integrations, HubSpot and ActiveCampaign provide developer tools and documentation. Mailchimp supports code blocks but is mostly geared toward non-coders.