ActiveCampaign vs Salesforce Sales Cloud comparison

ActiveCampaign and Salesforce are both solutions in the CRM category. ActiveCampaign is ranked #33 with an average rating of 8.5, while Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2. ActiveCampaign holds a 0.5% mindshare in CRM, compared to Salesforce’s 3.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of ActiveCampaign users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

ActiveCampaign

Read 2 ActiveCampaign reviews

312 Views
312 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Read 117 Salesforce Sales Cloud reviews

5,161 Views
3,871 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

ActiveCampaign

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Salesforce Sales Cloud and ActiveCampaign are competing in the sales efficiency and customer interactions sector. Salesforce Sales Cloud seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive feature set, while ActiveCampaign is favored for its price-value balance and ease of use.

Features: Salesforce Sales Cloud offers lead and opportunity management, customizable dashboards, and advanced analytics with seamless enterprise integration. ActiveCampaign is known for email marketing automation, customer segmentation, and CRM capabilities, focusing on small-to-medium businesses.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Salesforce Sales Cloud's deployment requires significant time and often third-party assistance, but provides comprehensive support services. ActiveCampaign allows for simpler deployment with an easy setup process and responsive customer support catering to businesses seeking fast deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Salesforce Sales Cloud typically requires higher initial setup costs but offers extensive features justifying the investment for larger enterprises. ActiveCampaign provides affordable pricing options emphasizing marketing value, ideal for budget-conscious businesses. Salesforce may offer higher ROI for large enterprises, while ActiveCampaign offers accessible ROI for smaller businesses.

To learn more, read our detailed ActiveCampaign vs. Salesforce Sales Cloud Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ActiveCampaign vs. Salesforce Sales Cloud

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

ActiveCampaign

Ranking in CRM

33rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Salesforce Sales Cloud

Ranking in CRM

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

117

Ranking in other categories

Opportunity Management (1st), Sales Force Automation (2nd), Conversation Intelligence Software (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the CRM category, the mindshare of ActiveCampaign is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Sales Cloud is 3.5%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

CRM Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Salesforce Sales Cloud	3.5%
ActiveCampaign	0.5%
Other	96.0%

CRM

Featured Reviews

Laura Oosterbroek

Head of Markting at Vanderkamp

Easy to use, efficient marketing automation and CRM tool

AI is upcoming, so for reporting and dashboarding, it would be nice to have some AI integrated into the system. Overall, some AI features can be added. For example, I can ask, like, we have imported conversion rates, and you can ask like, "What is the trend of the conversion of the last half year?" So, more on a reporting side you can get those kinds of AI skills. Not that you have to download an Excel and put it into another AI system to do the analysis, but that it would be possible to do it on its own.

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Kamal Deep

Founder and Salesforce Consultant at SaaSnic

Experience exceptional project enhancements and seamless automation integration

Salesforce Sales Cloud itself is a wonderful solution, and there are two different versions: Lightning and classic. The Lightning version is a new generation version compatible with any mobile device, whether it's a phone, iPad, or any size of screen. The reporting and analytics functionalities, especially with the Einstein feature, are wonderful because it allows for analysis of data regarding your opportunity pipeline, giving insight into how long it will take to close deals. This gives a great understanding of running different levels of campaigns and defining smart workflows, where if one task is done, the other task can automatically get created and assigned to different team members. This flexibility is a key benefit of Salesforce Sales Cloud. Lead management is a great feature in Salesforce Sales Cloud because if you go for enterprise and above licenses, you can define different record types. For example, if one company is into two different businesses such as real estate and car reselling, both being opposite, this can be defined in Salesforce Sales Cloud, allowing for different workflows, fields, and mechanisms that do not affect each other's operations. The predictive insight feature known as forecasting is a very old feature of Salesforce Sales Cloud, giving predictions based on your pipeline and previous opportunity closings. The new Einstein analytics feature is more advanced and is enabled with AI, providing better forecasting based on your current pipeline. Salesforce Sales Cloud is working smartly with AI to help close more deals based on opportunity stages, trends, and industries, advising on the steps to take next. Lead generation is the most important thing because every sale starts from the lead. At the lead level, different stages and resources can be defined. You can capture leads from various resources, with Salesforce Sales Cloud offering a web-to-lead feature and integrations with LinkedIn to fetch data. Once a lead is qualified and converted into opportunities, there are stages with percentages, and workflows can help in easily closing deals.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"ActiveCampaign is for medium-sized companies is the better solution because it’s way less complex than the other solutions."

"Our use case within the organization covers the entire cycle from lead generation, demand planning, and opportunities to realization and closure. For our clients, Salesforce is used more to plot the cycle from products to cash and lead to revenue. They mostly build offers and pricing quotations in the Salesforce environment through their field marketing agents."

"The tracking and monitoring of daily activities within each account is the most valuable aspect of Salesforce Sales Cloud. It allows for staying informed about ongoing activities, ensuring comprehensive visibility into the progress made within each account on a regular basis. Additionally, the plugins that are available, such as ZoolInfo are useful."

"Salesforce Sales Cloud is very reliable and provides good stability and security."

"It is a very stable solution."

"The most valuable features are the reporting and the custom codes."

"This solution offers a good user experience. It is easy to learn and use, even for those who are using it for the first time."

"It is a very good tool. There are a lot of interesting features. It is one of the best solutions."

"Contact records are most valuable."

More Salesforce Sales Cloud pros

Cons

"AI is upcoming, so for reporting and dashboarding, it would be nice to have some AI integrated into the system."

"The user interface could be better in Salesforce Sales Cloud because it feels a little heavy."

"It is very clunky. Its interface can be more user-friendly. There is always way too much information going on in Salesforce. It puts too much on your screen. It gives you every piece of information in the world, whereas I need less. It would be nice for it to be cleaned up a bit."

"The solution's design could be improved."

"The solution can be difficult to understand for customers of Salesforce."

"As a cloud solution with web browser, it's different than my classical way of thinking. It's modern, but for older people, maybe it's not that understandable. It could be more user-friendly, maybe with an option to switch between interfaces."

"The scalability could improve by a small amount."

"I need to do a lot of customization to implement an ERP solution for an energy and utilities client versus a BFS client. Salesforce should look at the common customizations each client wants and see how much of that can be standardized into industry-specific specific solutions. That would speed up implementation, so we don't need to go through the same steps a hundred times. Salesforce could do it once and put it out for the rest of the clients to use it."

"If the infrastructure is not correct, then customers are having an issue and it's taking a lot of time to load."

More Salesforce Sales Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The development costs are lower because you don’t have to have consultants changing and all that stuff."

"The tool's pricing is based on the number of users. It has a different pricing for 0-100 and another for 100-500 users."

"I've seen the prices for Salesforce Sales Cloud, but I haven't been the one to handle the money. As someone who's only visually looked at the price, I would imagine it's on the pricier side, but they do have a ton of leverage, and seeing that everyone I've worked for has always been dedicated to continuing Salesforce. I've never worked for anyone who has threatened to leave. Everyone has accepted the pricing for what they offer."

"It's expensive, storage being the most costly aspect."

"The price is fair."

"It is a premium product, so it is not the cheapest solution. I think if it's implemented well, and you're getting the soft cost benefits, the efficiencies, it's justified. But not if you're looking at just apples for apples as a subscription, without the complexity that you can achieve. It can deal with complex business requirements. Some other CRMs can't. But you certainly pay, so it's a premium-charged solution. It's one of the more expensive ones."

"Its license is expensive. It is probably a lot more than smaller solutions. It is around £500 a month, but I don't know how many licenses we have."

"The main issue is the price. Because it's SaaS, you will have to pay on a monthly or yearly basis."

"Price-wise, the product does not fall under the category of cheaply priced products."

More Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	54
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	40

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ActiveCampaign?

The development costs are lower because you don’t have to have consultants changing and all that stuff. I feel that it’s a bit cheaper than the other systems.

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What needs improvement with ActiveCampaign?

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What is your primary use case for ActiveCampaign?

I use it For marketing automation purposes and for share repurpose purposes.

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What do you like most about Salesforce Sales Cloud?

The features of Sales Cloud most useful for testing and running email campaigns are highly valuable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Salesforce Sales Cloud?

From a customer perspective, it's a very stable system, and people are used to its functionalities, good and bad. Improvement, in my opinion, would be to include AI functionality in a simpler way; ...

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What is your primary use case for Salesforce Sales Cloud?

For managing two different things, I'm managing some sales pipeline, the pipeline of sales of some products, and also doing marketing automation for after-sales.

See all answers

Comparisons

No data available

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CRM

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Sales Cloud

September 2025

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Also Known As

No data available

Sales Cloud, SFDC, Salesforce

Overview

ActiveCampaign provides marketing automation, email marketing, and CRM capabilities tailored for businesses looking to enhance customer engagement. Known for its rich feature set, it offers flexible solutions to help businesses streamline processes and improve marketing efforts.

ActiveCampaign serves as a key tool for businesses aiming to integrate automation with CRM functions. Its platform offers a robust range of features that help businesses engage effectively with their audience. Known for its flexibility, ActiveCampaign helps create personalized customer experiences. The platform is continually updated, reflecting feedback from a diverse user base. Some areas for improvement include intuitive navigation and analytics capabilities. Despite these, ActiveCampaign remains a popular choice among professionals who desire comprehensive marketing solutions.

What are the essential features of ActiveCampaign?

Marketing Automation: Offers sophisticated workflows for scheduling messages and segmenting contacts.
Email Marketing: Provides customizable templates and advanced reporting tools.
CRM Integration: Automates customer data management for efficient workflow processing.
Customer Experience Automation: Creates personalized experiences with data-driven insights.
Sales Automation: Streamlines sales processes through task management and deal updates.

What benefits should users look for in reviews of ActiveCampaign?

Enhanced Efficiency: Saves time through automation of repetitive tasks.
Improved Engagement: Increases interaction rates with personalized communications.
Scalable Solutions: Grows alongside business needs, adapting to larger campaigns.
Comprehensive Support: Provides extensive resources and support for seamless use.

In specific industries like e-commerce, ActiveCampaign is implemented to manage customer journeys from lead generation to purchase conversion. Retail businesses leverage its automation features to target promotions and optimize customer retention strategies. In the service sector, companies use its CRM functionality to maintain client relationships and streamline communication. These tailored approaches demonstrate the adaptability of ActiveCampaign across different market needs.

ActiveCampaign

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a comprehensive CRM platform designed for efficient lead management, sales forecasting, and customer engagement, offering extensive customization and cloud-based accessibility.

Aimed at enhancing business efficiency, Salesforce Sales Cloud supports core business processes like CRM, lead and opportunity management, sales forecasting, and customer engagement. Its robust integration capabilities allow seamless connectivity with ERP systems and various applications. The platform offers pipeline tracking, process automation, and advanced sales cycle management. Users appreciate its cloud-based accessibility, allowing teams to operate remotely and manage sales operations effectively. However, users highlight concerns about its complexity, cost, and the need for a more intuitive interface.

What features does Salesforce Sales Cloud offer?

Customization: Tailor the CRM to meet specific business requirements.
Robust Reporting: Comprehensive analytics and data insights.
Lead Management: Efficiently manage and convert leads.
API Integration: Seamless connectivity with multiple applications.
Cloud Accessibility: Work from anywhere with cloud-based access.

What benefits should be evaluated in Salesforce Sales Cloud reviews?

Enhanced Productivity: Streamline sales processes with automation.
Improved Collaboration: Facilitate team coordination and client engagement.
Accurate Forecasting: Make informed decisions with reliable sales forecasts.
Flexibility: Accommodate diverse industry needs with ease.
Legacy System Integration: Efficiently update and integrate with existing systems.

Salesforce Sales Cloud is widely implemented across industries such as finance, healthcare, and retail, supporting sales teams in tracking and managing sales operations. Its use extends to reporting, collaboration, and enhancing client interactions, allowing companies to tailor Salesforce to meet industry-specific requirements efficiently.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Kuoni Global Travel Services, Financial Times, Just Eat, Jobsite, H.R. Owen, PlayerLayer, O2, DMGT, Philips, Xtreme.ie, Business Stream, Remote Asset Management, Dialogue Group

Buyer's Guide

ActiveCampaign vs. Salesforce Sales Cloud

September 2025

Free Report: ActiveCampaign vs. Salesforce Sales Cloud

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