MessagedvsActiveCampaign

Messaged vs ActiveCampaign

Abandoned platform vs powerful automation leader

TL;DR

Messaged appears to have been abandoned since March 2022. The platform promised SaaS-focused features with billing integrations, but development stopped before launch. ActiveCampaign is a powerful, actively developed marketing automation platform with built-in CRM, costing $79/month at 10k contacts. ActiveCampaign offers sophisticated automation, sales pipelines, and extensive integrations. For SaaS with Stripe, consider Sequenzy for native billing integration.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Platform Viability
ActiveCampaign wins

The critical difference: Messaged appears abandoned since March 2022. ActiveCampaign is a leading marketing automation platform with continuous development, extensive support, and hundreds of thousands of users. Never build on an abandoned platform.

Automation Sophistication
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign has one of the most powerful visual automation builders in the industry with conditional logic, split testing, goals, and an extensive template library. Messaged's promised automation features were never delivered.

CRM Integration
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with sales pipelines, deal management, and sales automation. Neither Messaged nor most email platforms offer this level of sales integration.

SaaS-Specific Automation
ActiveCampaign wins

Messaged was designed specifically for SaaS with native billing integrations. ActiveCampaign requires third-party integrations for Stripe and subscription data. However, Messaged never delivered, making ActiveCampaign the only real option between them.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts

Messaged
N/A(inactive)

Announced $80/month but never launched. Platform appears abandoned.

Visit Messaged
ActiveCampaign
$79/month

Professional plan with advanced automation and CRM features.

Visit ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited sends, native Stripe integration.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Messaged
ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy
Platform Status
Active Development
No (stalled 2022)
Yes, very active
Yes, active
Can Sign Up Today
Unclear/No
Support Available
Unknown
Email, chat, phone
Direct founder access
Documentation
Outdated
Extensive
Current
Last Update
March 2022
Ongoing
Ongoing
Automation Features
Visual Automation Builder
Promised, not delivered
Industry-leading
Conditional Logic
Unknown
Advanced
Split Testing in Flows
Unknown
Limited
Automation Goals
Unknown
Automation Templates
Promised, not delivered
Extensive library
AI-generated
CRM & Sales
Built-in CRM
Full CRM
Sales Pipelines
Deal Management
Lead Scoring
Unknown
Advanced
Basic
Sales Automation
SaaS-Specific Features
Native Stripe Integration
Promised, not delivered
Via integrations
Native OAuth
Subscription Triggers
Promised, not delivered
Via Deep Data
Native
Billing Platform Support
Promised, not delivered
Via integrations
Stripe native
SaaS Lifecycle Automation
Promised, not delivered
Requires setup
AI-generated
Pricing & Value
Starting Price
N/A
$29/month (1k contacts)
$29/month
Price at 10k
N/A
$79/month
$49/month
CRM Included
N/A
Transactional Email
Promised, not delivered
Separate product
Included

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Messaged if you...
  • We cannot recommend Messaged for any use case
  • Platform appears to be abandoned since 2022
  • Promised automation features were never delivered
  • No support or active development available
Choose ActiveCampaign if you...
  • Businesses needing sophisticated marketing automation
  • Sales teams wanting CRM + email in one platform
  • Companies with complex customer journeys
  • E-commerce businesses with advanced segmentation needs
  • Teams wanting sales pipeline management
  • Organizations needing extensive third-party integrations
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Founders wanting what Messaged promised
  • Teams needing transactional + marketing email unified
  • Software companies wanting simpler automation
  • Startups needing payment-triggered emails

Sequenzy Delivers SaaS-Focused Automation

Native Stripe Integration

Messaged promised native Stripe but never delivered. ActiveCampaign requires Deep Data integrations or Zapier. Sequenzy has native Stripe OAuth integration for real-time subscription automation.

Simpler SaaS Automation

ActiveCampaign is powerful but complex - it's designed for marketing teams, not developers. Sequenzy is built specifically for SaaS with AI-generated sequences for onboarding, trials, and churn prevention.

Unified Transactional + Marketing

ActiveCampaign's transactional email is a separate product (Postmark). Sequenzy includes transactional and marketing email in one platform, one price, one integration.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Messaged was a SaaS-focused email platform that promised prebuilt automation workflows and billing integrations. Development appears to have stalled in March 2022. ActiveCampaign is a leading marketing automation platform with a built-in CRM, powerful visual automation builder, and extensive integrations, serving hundreds of thousands of businesses.

The Critical Issue: Messaged Appears Abandoned

This comparison has one essential starting point: Messaged shows no signs of active development since March 2022. The promised features - billing integrations, prebuilt SaaS automations, $80/month pricing - never materialized. Building your email automation on an abandoned platform is risky and inadvisable.

What ActiveCampaign Actually Delivers

ActiveCampaign is one of the most powerful automation platforms available. Its visual automation builder supports complex conditional logic, split testing within flows, goals, and extensive templates. Beyond email, it includes a full CRM with sales pipelines, deal management, and sales automation - making it a complete customer engagement platform.

Automation Sophistication

ActiveCampaign's automation capabilities far exceed what most email platforms offer. You can build complex multi-channel journeys, score leads based on behavior, trigger sales tasks, and create highly personalized experiences. Messaged's promised "prebuilt SaaS campaigns" never launched to compare.

The SaaS Integration Challenge

While ActiveCampaign is powerful, connecting it to Stripe requires Deep Data integrations or Zapier workflows. You'll need to manually set up data syncing and build automations based on subscription events. For SaaS companies wanting plug-and-play Stripe integration, this can be frustrating compared to what Messaged promised.

Our Recommendation

Do not consider Messaged - it's not a viable option. For sophisticated marketing automation with CRM, ActiveCampaign is excellent despite requiring Stripe setup. For SaaS companies wanting native billing integration and simpler automation, Sequenzy offers what Messaged promised at $49/month for 10k contacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Messaged appears to have stopped development in March 2022. The platform never fully launched, and promised features like billing integrations and advanced automation were never delivered. Choose an active alternative like ActiveCampaign or Sequenzy.

Use ActiveCampaign. Messaged is not a viable option as it appears abandoned. ActiveCampaign is a leading automation platform with proven reliability and extensive features.

ActiveCampaign can work for SaaS but requires setup. You'll need integrations for Stripe data, and the platform is designed for general marketing automation rather than SaaS-specific needs. For native Stripe integration, consider Sequenzy.

Messaged promised prebuilt SaaS lifecycle automations, native integrations with Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, and Chargebee, and simple $80/month pricing. None of these were delivered before development stopped.

ActiveCampaign costs $79/month for 10k contacts on the Professional plan (with advanced automation). This is competitive, and you get built-in CRM. Sequenzy is cheaper at $49/month but doesn't include CRM.

Yes, ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with sales pipelines, deal management, lead scoring, and sales automation. This is a major advantage over most email-only platforms.

Yes, through their Deep Data integrations or Zapier. However, it's not as seamless as native integration. You'll need to set up data syncing and build automations manually based on Stripe events.

For pure SaaS email with native Stripe integration, Sequenzy offers what Messaged promised - subscription-aware automation at $49/month. If you need CRM + email, ActiveCampaign's combined platform is hard to beat despite the setup complexity.

Export any subscriber data from Messaged (if possible). Import into ActiveCampaign as contacts with tags. Since Messaged's automations never launched, you'll build workflows fresh. ActiveCampaign offers migration assistance and has extensive documentation.

If you don't need CRM and are building SaaS, Sequenzy offers simpler pricing ($49 vs $79), native Stripe integration, and included transactional email. ActiveCampaign's value proposition is strongest when you use both marketing automation and CRM together.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

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Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com