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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.