General Blog
15 Best Marketing Automation Software Tools in 2026
Compare 15 marketing automation tools, from ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo to Manychat, Zapier and Make. See features, pricing limits and best-fit use cases.
Browse the Marketing Automation Software directory for current Toollers profiles.
ActiveCampaign is our broad first shortlist for automated lead nurturing. Klaviyo is a stronger fit for ecommerce customer data, and Customer.io serves SaaS teams with reliable product events. Brevo suits simpler, lower-cost multichannel campaigns. Manychat handles conversational leads from social platforms.
Marketing automation is broader than scheduled newsletters. It can route a lead, react to a purchase, remind someone by text, or synchronize data between apps. Omnisend and FunnelKit target ecommerce; ClickFunnels, Kartra and Kajabi focus on sales funnels or creators. Zapier and Make connect tools, while Gist, SimpleTexting and Superchat add service and messaging workflows.
This roundup compares 15 Toollers-listed products, including specialized channel and workflow tools. We ranked them for use-case fit, automation controls, integration reach, plan limits and practical costs. Our judgments come from vendor documentation and editorial research, without documented hands-on testing.
Key takeaways
- ActiveCampaign suits multi-step lead nurturing; Customer.io fits product-event messaging
- Klaviyo, Omnisend and FunnelKit target different levels of ecommerce automation
- Manychat Free limits social automation to 25 monthly active contacts; email, SMS and WhatsApp need higher plans
- Zapier and Make connect systems but are not email marketing platforms
- Compare contact, send, task, credit, message and transaction fees separately
Quick verdict
How we evaluate marketing automation tools
We assessed current Toollers category relationships and official vendor materials, including free-plan restrictions and paid feature gates. Inclusion is based on a documented marketing workflow, whether a dedicated journey product, channel specialist or integration tool.
We assessed triggers, segmentation, journey branching, customer data, channel access, integrations, support eligibility and total cost. Nine accessible independent editorial pages helped identify buyer questions. We did not open production accounts, execute automations, measure deliverability or time support responses.
Testing methodology
The best marketing automation software at a glance
Compare contacts, sends, tasks, credits and transaction fees, not entry prices alone.
| Product | Best for | Difference | Entry cost | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | B2B lead nurturing and conditional customer journeys | Multi-step email workflows and CRM handoffs | Starter reference $15/month at 1,000 contacts | Contact tiers and feature gates |
| Klaviyo | ecommerce retention using purchase and browsing data | Store events and predictive customer segmentation | Free: 250 active profiles, 500 emails/month | Profile and channel costs scale |
| Customer.io | SaaS and mobile-app product lifecycle journeys | Product events across email, in-app and push | Essentials $100/month for 5,000 profiles | Developer event instrumentation required |
| Brevo | cost-conscious email and multichannel follow-up | Send-volume pricing and transactional channels | Free 300 emails/day; Starter from $9/month | Daily cap and automation tiers |
| Manychat | Instagram and TikTok conversational lead capture | Comment-to-DM and messenger automation | Free: 25 active contacts; Essential $14/yearly equiv | WhatsApp, SMS and email need higher plans |
| Omnisend | ecommerce email and eligible SMS campaigns | Store-aware workflows with an SMS option | Free 250 contacts/500 emails; Standard $16 | New SMS subscriptions require Pro and credits |
| FunnelKit | WooCommerce lifecycle marketing inside WordPress | Automations and checkout events without a separate SaaS | Automations Lite free; Pro/bundles paid | WordPress maintenance and plugin-tier differences |
| ClickFunnels | selling offers through a multi-step funnel | Funnels, landing pages and email follow-up together | Launch from $97/month | Funnel-first subscription is expensive for simple sends |
| Zapier | connecting marketing tools without custom code | Large app connector network and multi-step Zaps | Free 100 tasks/month; Pro $19.99 annual equiv | Task overages; no native marketing email audience |
| Make | visual multi-app orchestration with branching | Scenario routers, filters and data transformation | Free 1,000 credits/month; Core from $12 | Credit consumption and maintenance complexity |
| Gist | service teams marketing from shared customer records | Support conversations plus email automation | Marketing Free 200 contacts; Pro from $19 | Marketing and support modules have separate costs |
| Kartra | coaches selling digital products with funnels | Checkout and membership tied to email automations | Essentials $59 monthly or $52 annually equiv | Entry contact caps and 5% transaction fee |
| Kajabi | course creators automating student engagement | Courses, community and follow-ups in one system | Basic $179 monthly or $143 yearly equiv | Advanced automation is higher-tier |
| SimpleTexting | opted-in US and Canadian text campaigns | SMS sequences with two-way customer replies | 500 credits from $29/month, plus number fees | Carrier registration and messages add cost |
| Superchat | WhatsApp-centered customer conversation workflows | Shared inbox, AI agents and messaging automation | Free 30 contacts; Professional €149/month | True automations require Professional tier |
15 best marketing automation software tools
1. ActiveCampaign - Best for B2B lead nurturing and conditional customer journeys
AI-powered marketing automation platform for email, CRM, multichannel journeys, segmentation, personalization, analytics and sales workflows.
Best for: Small and midsize businesses that need sophisticated email and marketing automation, segmentation and lifecycle orchestration with strong integrations and room to scale.
- Marketing automation
- Predictive and attribution features
- Email marketing
- Enhanced CRM add-ons
- Active Intelligence AI
- Starter begins at $15/month for 1,000 contacts and already includes multi-step automation and CRM foundations.
- The automation builder, segmentation and personalization capabilities are among the strongest in mainstream SMB marketing platforms.
- ActiveCampaign currently advertises more than 950 integrations across marketing, ecommerce, CRM and business operations.
- Advanced automations and reporting can have a meaningful learning curve.
- Pricing rises with contact count and can increase further through SMS, CRM, custom-reporting and transactional-email add-ons.
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ActiveCampaign is the broadest dedicated journey builder on this list for SMB sales and marketing teams. Its visual automation, tags and CRM-linked events support different follow-ups after a form, email click or purchase.
Pros
- Flexible branching
- Segmentation and CRM handoffs
- Large integration catalog
Cons
- Complex workflows take planning
- Advanced steps and add-ons cost more
Features
- visual journeys
- conditional actions
- segmentation
- lead scoring options
- event tracking
- email campaigns.
Best for
- B2B lead nurturing and conditional customer journeys.
Pricing
- Starter starts around $15/month for 1,000 contacts. Model higher tiers, contacts and add-ons.
Integrations
- CRM
- ecommerce and API/connector apps
- check whether each is native.
Customer support
- Help center and vendor support
- priority services vary by plan.
2. Klaviyo - Best for ecommerce retention using purchase and browsing data
Commerce-data-driven email, mobile messaging and customer lifecycle marketing.
Best for: Direct-to-consumer stores and ecommerce marketing teams that use purchase behavior to personalize email, SMS and retention flows.
- Predictive analytics with sufficient data
- Email templates and campaigns
- Abandoned checkout reminders
- Behavioral audience segments
- Commerce integrations
- Deep integrations connect ecommerce order and browsing data to messaging.
- Automated flows support acquisition, checkout recovery and retention campaigns.
- Behavioral segmentation and personalization can target relevant customers.
- Costs rise with active profiles and message usage.
- Mobile messaging has separate charges that vary by channel and region.
Klaviyo is a specialist for retailers that want messages driven by carts, orders and customer history. Purchase-triggered flows can support replenishment and retention.
Pros
- Commerce data for audiences
- Cart and post-purchase flows
- Email and mobile channels
Cons
- Small free limits
- Paid profiles and channel add-ons add cost
Features
- event-driven flows
- segments
- abandoned-cart messages
- forms
- analytics
- customer profiles.
Best for
- ecommerce retention using purchase and browsing data.
Pricing
- Free up to 250 active profiles and 500 emails/month
- paid tiers scale with profiles and selected channels.
Integrations
- Shopify and other supported commerce platforms
- events API.
Customer support
- Help center
- paid users have email/chat, free human support is limited.
3. Customer.io - Best for SaaS and mobile-app product lifecycle journeys
Event-driven customer journeys across email, push, in-app messaging and SMS.
Best for: SaaS, mobile apps and product-led businesses needing event-triggered lifecycle marketing with developer-connected customer data.
- Reporting and delivery metrics
- Profile and object models
- Email campaigns and transactional email
- Journey branches and delays
- Behavioral segmentation and attributes
- Event-driven workflows support highly relevant onboarding and retention messaging.
- Email, SMS, push, in-app, Slack and webhooks can be coordinated in journeys.
- Flexible APIs, SDKs and data pipelines connect product behavior to marketing.
- No general free-forever plan; entry subscription begins at $100/month.
- Reliable event tracking and advanced integrations often require engineering work.
Customer.io acts on what people do inside an application. SaaS teams can sequence onboarding after an account event and reengage users when a feature stalls.
Pros
- Event-triggered messaging
- Cross-channel customer journeys
- SDK and API flexibility
Cons
- Higher entry cost
- Data quality and development effort matter
Features
- event triggers
- profile attributes
- journeys
- in-app messaging
- push
- webhooks.
Best for
- SaaS and mobile-app product lifecycle journeys.
Pricing
- Essentials starts at $100/month with 5,000 people-and-object profiles
- overages apply.
Integrations
- SDKs
- APIs
- webhooks and supported data pipelines.
Customer support
- Documentation and vendor support
- tailored onboarding is contract-dependent.
4. Brevo - Best for cost-conscious email and multichannel follow-up
Email marketing, automation and multichannel customer messaging with a free daily-send allowance.
Best for: Small and mid-sized businesses, ecommerce shops and marketing teams that want newsletters, automation, transactional messages and optional CRM/SMS in one account.
- A/B testing (Standard+)
- AI send-time optimization (Standard+)
- SMS campaigns and SMS transactional messaging
- Web push notifications
- WhatsApp options on eligible plans
- Free-forever plan supports up to 300 email sends per day and significant contact storage.
- Email, SMS, transactional messaging, automation and lightweight sales workflows share one platform.
- Published Starter and Standard entry prices make experimentation affordable.
- Daily free-plan sends reset and unused messages cannot be carried forward.
- Free automation is capped at 2,000 contacts even with larger storage allowance.
Brevo suits businesses that need basic customer journeys and campaign sending without paying entirely by list size. Its Free tier permits 300 emails daily; email volume, workflow limits and channel needs determine the paid plan.
Pros
- Real free daily allowance
- Email plus other channels
- Entry plans tied to sending
Cons
- Free sends cannot roll over
- Complex journeys need upgraded features
Features
- campaigns
- contact segments
- automated journeys
- transactional SMTP/API
- forms
- messaging.
Best for
- cost-conscious email and multichannel follow-up.
Pricing
- Free 300 emails/day and free marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts
- Starter from $9/month.
Integrations
- CRM/ecommerce connectors
- transactional SMTP and API.
Customer support
- Help resources
- live support availability depends on package.
5. Manychat - Best for Instagram and TikTok conversational lead capture
Conversational marketing automation for Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS and email with AI-powered replies, lead capture and team Inbox workflows.
Best for: Creators, ecommerce brands, agencies and social-first businesses that generate leads and sales through Instagram, TikTok, Messenger or WhatsApp conversations.
- Manychat AI
- Team Inbox and routing
- Broadcasts and multichannel messaging
- Social DM automation
- Permanent Free plan for basic social automation.
- Essential starts at $14/month billed annually and Pro at $29/month billed annually.
- Strong Instagram, TikTok, Messenger and WhatsApp automation.
- Free is limited to 25 Active Contacts per month and four active automations.
- WhatsApp, SMS and email are unavailable on Free or Essential under the current model.
Manychat is built around interactions on social and messaging channels. It can follow up when a creator receives a comment or direct message.
Pros
- Social-triggered automation
- Lead capture inside conversations
- Free experimentation
Cons
- Free limited to 25 active contacts monthly
- Channel access gated by higher plans
Features
- DM flows
- comment triggers
- contact labels
- inbox
- message automation
- lead capture.
Best for
- Instagram and TikTok conversational lead capture.
Pricing
- Free: up to 25 active contacts and four live automations
- Essential from $14/month billed annually for 250 contacts. Other channels require higher plans.
Integrations
- TikTok
- Messenger and Telegram on entry tiers
- more channels higher.
Customer support
- Help center/community
- human assistance varies by plan and region.
6. Omnisend - Best for ecommerce email and eligible SMS campaigns
Ecommerce email and marketing automation platform with campaigns, segmentation, forms, AI, push notifications and Pro-level SMS.
Best for: Small and midsize ecommerce businesses that want email marketing, automation, segmentation, forms and store data tightly integrated without enterprise ESP complexity.
- Email campaigns and automations
- Advanced AI tools
- SMS marketing
- Segmentation and customer data
- Free plan includes up to 500 emails/month and reach to 250 contacts with no credit card.
- Standard starts at $16/month and Pro at $59/month before the current introductory discount.
- Current G2 and Capterra review samples are large and consistently strong on usability and support.
- Pricing automatically scales with billable contact count, so monthly cost can rise as the list grows.
- Current subscribers who joined after May 4, 2026 need Pro to use SMS, and SMS is billed separately.
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Omnisend fits online stores that want ready-made purchase and cart flows without stitching together separate messaging products. Its Free plan is small, and current SMS policies make a Pro subscription plus separate SMS credits necessary for new customers.
Pros
- Commerce-aware follow-up
- Free entry for small stores
- Packaged campaign channels
Cons
- Contact growth raises costs
- SMS has extra Pro and credit fees
Features
- cart recovery
- purchase flows
- email campaigns
- web push
- segments
- SMS on eligible tiers.
Best for
- ecommerce email and eligible SMS campaigns.
Pricing
- Free 250 contacts and 500 emails monthly
- Standard from $16, Pro from $59 at regular rates.
Integrations
- Shopify
- WooCommerce and supported store integrations.
Customer support
- Help center
- paid live chat and qualified account assistance.
7. FunnelKit - Best for WooCommerce lifecycle marketing inside WordPress
WordPress and WooCommerce checkout optimization, sales funnels, order bumps and upsells, with automation available in the product suite.
Best for: WooCommerce stores, ecommerce marketers and WordPress agencies building custom checkout flows, cart offers, upsells, opt-in funnels and customer follow-up automation.
- Behavior-based segments via Automations
- Conditional checkout fields
- Cart quantity editing
- 14-day refund window
- Cart editing during checkout
- Works within an existing WordPress and WooCommerce store, keeping checkout and product records on the merchant site.
- Offers a free Lite plugin to build basic checkout and funnel pages before buying paid licenses.
- Paid plans add high-value sales mechanics such as order bumps, post-purchase upsells and A/B experiments.
- Requires WordPress, WooCommerce and separate hosting, maintenance and plugin compatibility checks.
- Promotional first-year prices rise considerably on renewal, especially Plus through Elite.
FunnelKit runs WooCommerce-oriented funnels and lifecycle workflows from WordPress. Store owners can use checkout and order events for recovery or follow-up, but need to distinguish its Funnel Builder licenses from separate Automations Lite and paid features.
Pros
- Direct WooCommerce context
- Free automation entry
- Checkout and recovery ecosystem
Cons
- WordPress ownership and upkeep
- Different products have distinct license terms
Features
- WooCommerce events
- automations
- cart recovery
- contact profiles
- email campaigns
- checkout funnels.
Best for
- WooCommerce lifecycle marketing inside WordPress.
Pricing
- Automations Lite is free
- paid Automations and funnel-builder bundles have separate annual pricing. Verify exact modules.
Integrations
- WooCommerce
- WordPress plugins and documented external connectors.
Customer support
- Vendor docs and support tied to license
- confirm free-tier support.
8. ClickFunnels - Best for selling offers through a multi-step funnel
All-in-one sales funnel platform for landing pages, checkouts, email workflows, courses, communities and online selling.
Best for: Course creators, coaches, ecommerce sellers and growth teams operating multi-step sales funnels, email follow-ups, checkout upsells and memberships in one platform.
- Physical goods sales flows
- A/B testing
- Conversion funnel analytics
- Custom code editor from Scale
- Community hosting
- Combines sales pages, checkout, order bumps, funnels, email workflows and digital-product delivery.
- Plan comparison makes workspaces, contacts, emails and course allowances visible.
- Scale adds API and webhooks, custom code editing, more domains and team collaboration.
- No permanent Free plan and monthly subscriptions start at $97.
- Entry Launch plan permits one workspace, two people and 10k contacts; caps can force upgrades.
ClickFunnels is relevant when automation moves visitors through a webinar, offer, checkout and follow-up sequence. It connects funnel pages and email actions, but is a poor-value replacement for a simple newsletter when sellers do not need its sales-funnel system.
Pros
- Connected funnel and checkout workflow
- Landing-page testing
- Email automations in the suite
Cons
- Higher platform starting price
- Limits and extensions vary by plan
Features
- funnel builder
- checkout
- email sequences
- workflows
- landing pages
- A/B testing.
Best for
- selling offers through a multi-step funnel.
Pricing
- Launch currently lists $97/month
- compare Scale and its contact and email caps.
Integrations
- Native ClickFunnels apps and supported external integrations.
Customer support
- Help documentation and account support
- check plan benefits.
9. Zapier - Best for connecting marketing tools without custom code
Connect thousands of apps with trigger-and-action workflows, forms, tables and AI orchestration, billed by completed tasks.
Best for: Marketers, sales operations and business teams connecting SaaS applications with no-code Zaps, lead-routing workflows and shared automation.
- Enterprise app governance
- SAML SSO and role controls on Team
- Formatter field transformations
- Multi-step workflows on paid plans
- Scheduled and polling workflows
- Very broad app connector catalog includes CRMs, marketing platforms, forms, spreadsheets and messaging tools.
- Free tier supports 100 monthly tasks and two-step automations without requiring a paid plan.
- Multi-step Zaps, filters, paths, webhooks, built-in tables and forms cover practical operational workflows.
- Multi-step Zaps and premium app connectors require Professional or higher.
- Successful action steps use a shared task budget; busy flows can exceed the included allocation.
Zapier is an integration layer, not an email service or CRM database. It can copy a form submission to a CRM, start a nurture sequence in another app and alert a salesperson.
Pros
- Broad app connections
- No-code triggers and actions
- Free simple workflows
Cons
- Tasks add up across steps
- Depends on connected marketing software
Features
- app triggers
- multi-step Zaps
- filters
- paths
- tables
- webhooks
- forms.
Best for
- connecting marketing tools without custom code.
Pricing
- Free 100 tasks/month
- Professional from $19.99/month billed annually at 750 tasks.
Integrations
- Vendor-maintained app catalog and APIs through supported actions.
Customer support
- Help center and paid-plan assistance
- enterprise options vary.
10. Make - Best for visual multi-app orchestration with branching
Visual automation scenarios with routers, data transformations, AI modules and usage-based execution credits.
Best for: Operations specialists and technically comfortable marketers automating multi-app processes with branching logic, API calls and detailed data transformations.
- Make AI Agents beta
- Full-text execution log search on Pro
- Annual pooled credits on Pro and Teams
- Conditional route filters
- Unlimited active scenarios on Core and up
- Visual canvas supports branching, filters, iterators and transformations in complex workflows.
- Free plan includes 1,000 monthly credits and core scenario-building tools.
- Core starts at $12/month for 10,000 credits with unlimited active scenarios.
- Most module actions consume credits; iteration, aggregation and advanced AI/code actions can increase usage.
- Free plan is limited to two active scenarios and 15-minute scheduling.
Make gives operations-minded marketers greater control over branching and data manipulation between products. It is useful when a lead must be checked, routed and synced through several applications.
Pros
- Detailed visual routing
- Flexible data transformations
- Free credit allowance
Cons
- Technical maintenance burden
- Credits rise with module actions
Features
- scenarios
- routers
- filters
- webhooks
- data stores
- API calls.
Best for
- visual multi-app orchestration with branching.
Pricing
- Free 1,000 monthly credits
- Core reference from $12/month at 10,000 credits. Advanced AI actions may cost more credits.
Integrations
- App modules
- HTTP/API connections and webhooks.
Customer support
- Documentation/community
- vendor assistance depends on subscription.
11. Gist - Best for service teams marketing from shared customer records
All-in-one customer support and marketing platform with live chat, inbox, knowledge base, bots, email marketing, automation and customer data.
Best for: Small and midsize SaaS, ecommerce and service businesses that want customer support, live chat, knowledge base and lifecycle marketing tools in one integrated platform.
- Knowledge base
- Email marketing
- Product tours and surveys
- Bots and automation
- Live chat and team inbox
- Free Forever tiers are available for both support and marketing use cases.
- Gist combines support and marketing tools that would otherwise require several separate products.
- Current Capterra and G2 ratings are strong, particularly for ease of use, support and value.
- The platform's breadth can make navigation and setup feel busy or complex until users learn how the tools fit together.
- Premium pricing is currently promotional and displayed beside much higher reference amounts, making long-term budgeting less clear.
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Gist links messages, lead forms and support conversations. It makes sense when a small customer-facing team wants relevant lifecycle follow-up tied to help-desk context.
Pros
- Unified contact context
- Email and chat workflows
- Free small-list entry
Cons
- Product modules and seats complicate cost
- Less broad than dedicated lifecycle systems
Features
- marketing journeys
- broadcasts
- lead forms
- chat
- customer timeline
- help desk.
Best for
- service teams marketing from shared customer records.
Pricing
- Marketing Free includes 200 contacts
- Marketing Professional starts around $19/month for an entry list
- support sold separately.
Integrations
- Shopify
- WordPress
- WooCommerce and supported connectors.
Customer support
- Docs plus vendor channels
- support-seat entitlements depend on plan.
12. Kartra - Best for coaches selling digital products with funnels
All-in-one online business platform for funnels, pages, email, courses, checkouts, webinars, automation, affiliates and support.
Best for: Creators, coaches, consultants and online businesses that want to replace multiple funnel, email, checkout, course, webinar and support tools with one integrated platform.
- Courses and memberships
- Email and SMS marketing
- Webinars
- Real-time funnel analytics
- Funnels and pages
- Kartra combines most of the core systems needed to sell digital products and services in one platform.
- Starter and above include unlimited pages, products, memberships/courses and 0% Kartra transaction fees.
- Native integrations cover major payment, email, SMS, calendar and membership tools, with Zapier/API/IPN for custom workflows.
- Kartra has a meaningful learning curve because many business functions are packed into one interface.
- G2's current 62-review aggregate is only 3.9/5, reflecting more mixed sentiment than Capterra.
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Kartra joins landing pages, digital product sales and email follow-up in one suite. Its entry tier has modest contact and product allowances, so a creator needs to evaluate transaction charges alongside the subscription.
Pros
- Funnel-to-email paths
- Checkout and courses
- Fewer separate apps
Cons
- Essentials has 5% transaction fee
- Limited entry contacts and pages
Features
- pages
- checkout
- campaigns
- automations
- forms
- memberships
- analytics.
Best for
- coaches selling digital products with funnels.
Pricing
- Essentials $59/month or $52/month billed annually
- 500 contacts, 10,000 monthly emails and 5% platform fee.
Integrations
- Payment providers and documented marketing integrations.
Customer support
- Knowledge resources and vendor support, tier-dependent.
13. Kajabi - Best for course creators automating student engagement
All-in-one platform for selling courses, memberships, coaching, communities and digital products with built-in marketing and payments.
Best for: Creators, coaches, consultants and expert-led businesses that want course delivery, website, community, email, funnels and payments consolidated in one platform.
- Advanced automations
- Course and product builder
- Email marketing
- API and custom code
- Funnels and landing pages
- Combines courses, coaching, communities, websites, landing pages, funnels, email and payments in one platform.
- Every current standard plan includes unlimited landing pages, unlimited funnels and unlimited marketing emails.
- Kajabi currently offers a 30-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- The entry plan is expensive compared with course-only or email-only products.
- Kajabi Payments and third-party payment processing can add transaction/processing costs depending on country and payment provider.
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Kajabi focuses on a creator’s business: publishing lessons, selling memberships and nurturing contacts. Automated email is tied to enrollment and customer behavior.
Pros
- Course and community context
- Built-in emails and funnels
- Unified creator billing
Cons
- Large starting spend for email alone
- Advanced automations require Growth
Features
- course triggers
- email sequences
- funnels
- landing pages
- forms
- contact management.
Best for
- course creators automating student engagement.
Pricing
- Basic $179 monthly or $143/month annual equivalent, 2,500 contacts
- 14-day trial. Growth adds advanced automation.
Integrations
- Kajabi platform plus supported third-party connectors.
Customer support
- Help docs, chat resources and tiered dedicated service.
14. SimpleTexting - Best for opted-in US and Canadian text campaigns
Send opted-in SMS campaigns, manage customer replies and automate business text conversations.
Best for: US and Canadian retail, home services, healthcare scheduling, nonprofits, event teams and B2C businesses communicating with opted-in subscribers and customer replies.
- Monthly credit rollover
- Opt-in forms, popups and text-to-join keywords
- Developer API and custom integrations
- Contact segmentation and custom fields
- iOS and Android team apps
- Mass SMS/MMS campaigns and two-way conversations run in one interface with scheduled and triggered outreach.
- Published credits distinguish outgoing SMS, outgoing MMS, incoming replies and incoming MMS for better forecasting.
- Shared inbox, segmentation, signup keywords, forms and autoresponders support the full consent-based message lifecycle.
- The minimum displayed $39 monthly local-number configuration is higher than the $29 messaging-only amount; number and carrier costs are separate.
- A long SMS may use two credits, an outgoing MMS uses three and a media reply consumes another credit.
SimpleTexting automates reminders, promotional texts and reply-based conversations for businesses with explicit SMS consent. It does not replace email journeys; it handles a narrower, time-sensitive channel with carrier compliance obligations.
Pros
- Two-way SMS
- Campaign scheduling and follow-up
- Straightforward credit model
Cons
- Credit, number and carrier charges
- Consent and registration obligations
Features
- SMS campaigns
- autoresponders
- contact segments
- keywords
- two-way replies
- reporting.
Best for
- opted-in US and Canadian text campaigns.
Pricing
- Entry 500 credits from $29/month
- number charges, activation and carrier fees may apply.
Integrations
- Business software integrations and supported API/webhook routes.
Customer support
- Help center plus vendor assistance
- carrier activation takes time.
15. Superchat - Best for WhatsApp-centered customer conversation workflows
Team inbox for WhatsApp, customer messages and workflow automation
Best for: Customer-facing SMB teams coordinating WhatsApp, social messages and email, especially where shared inbox ownership and automated FAQs matter.
- AI Agents
- Analytics and integrations
- WhatsApp newsletters
- Shared assignment and notes
- Automation
- The shared inbox supports WhatsApp and several other messaging channels, reducing the need to split customer conversations among staff accounts.
- The official free tier gives a real entry point with one WhatsApp number, one user and 30 active contacts per month.
- Professional adds an AI agent and more automation capacity; Advanced includes three agents, analytics and integrations.
- The standard 12-month minimum and restrictions on downgrades can bind a customer who chooses monthly billing.
- Official documentation now places integrations and API connectivity at Advanced or above, increasing the cost of CRM or automation integrations.
Superchat is primarily a team inbox for WhatsApp and other conversations. It fits marketing automation only when messaging follow-up and team routing are central.
Pros
- WhatsApp customer context
- Shared inbox workflows
- Free low-volume entry
Cons
- Automation is higher-tier
- Region, tax and Meta messaging charges vary
Features
- shared inbox
- WhatsApp channel
- automations on Professional
- AI agent
- review management
- team routing.
Best for
- WhatsApp-centered customer conversation workflows.
Pricing
- Free 30 active contacts
- Basic €89/month
- Professional €149/month adds automations. Pricing is net and contracts typically 12 months.
Integrations
- Messaging channels
- advanced integrations available by tier.
Customer support
- Vendor support and higher-tier priority chat, depending on plan.
How to choose marketing automation software
Define one triggering event and the intended next action before shopping. A downloaded guide may trigger a lead sequence; a completed checkout may trigger replenishment emails; a social comment might start a direct-message conversation. Distinct workflows need distinct products.
Write a cost model for 12 months. Include marketable contacts, campaign sends, SMS/WhatsApp usage, tasks or credits, transaction fees, user seats, add-ons and support. Manychat active contacts are not Klaviyo active profiles; Zapier tasks are not Make credits.
Audit consent and data movement. Confirm suppression rules, event reliability, webhook retries, deduplication, export rights and permissions. Use a small controlled launch and monitor real conversions, not just reported opens.
For more Toollers context, see ActiveCampaign vs Kartra, ActiveCampaign vs GoHighLevel, Manychat vs Gist and the ActiveCampaign pricing guide.
Expert tip
- Toollers editorial team
Top features of useful marketing automation software
Triggers and branches: Confirm whether conditions can use purchases, product events, messages or CRM stages, not only time delays. Check loops, exceptions and suppression.
Data and measurement: Profiles, deduplication, consent history and consistent event definitions are essential. Compare conversion reports against your CRM or store totals.
Delivery and governance: Review domain authentication, SMS opt-in, channel permissions, role controls, audit logs and safe workflow testing. AI-generated messages still need human review.
Which marketing automation software will you choose?
Choose ActiveCampaign for multi-step marketing and sales, Klaviyo or Omnisend for store-driven retention, Customer.io for app events, or Brevo for simpler campaigns. For social leads consider Manychat; for WooCommerce-native paths, FunnelKit.
Use Zapier or Make when several existing tools already handle messaging but their data must move together. ClickFunnels, Kartra and Kajabi serve selling flows; Gist, SimpleTexting and Superchat serve support and conversation-led cases.
Our verdict
ActiveCampaign is our general choice for teams able to maintain journeys. Klaviyo fits commerce; Customer.io fits app events. Brevo is a lower-cost alternative. Integration tools serve separate needs.
Marketing Automation category export, vendor plans, capabilities and source research: November 7, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between marketing automation and email marketing?
Does Manychat Free support WhatsApp, SMS or email automation?
Are Zapier and Make alternatives to Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign?
Does FunnelKit have a free marketing automation plan?
What pricing metric matters most?
When should a company avoid a marketing automation suite?
Sources
- ActiveCampaign pricing
- Klaviyo free and paid plans
- Customer.io pricing
- Brevo pricing and automation limits
- Manychat Free plan
- Manychat Essential plan
- Omnisend 2026 pricing and SMS
- FunnelKit Lite vs Pro
- ClickFunnels plans
- Zapier plans
- Make credit plans
- Gist plans
- Kartra plans
- Kajabi plans
- SimpleTexting plans
- Superchat plans
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