SendyvsActiveCampaign

Sendy vs ActiveCampaign

Budget self-hosted vs automation leader

TL;DR

Sendy is a $69 one-time purchase sending via Amazon SES for ~$0.10 per 1,000 emails. ActiveCampaign is industry-leading automation starting at $29/month. If you can self-host and only need basic email, Sendy saves thousands. If you need sophisticated automation and CRM, ActiveCampaign is worth it.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Automation Capabilities
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign has arguably the best automation builder in the industry. Unlimited conditions, branching, goals, and machine learning. Sendy has basic autoresponders. The gap is enormous.

Cost at Scale
Sendy wins

At 50,000 contacts, Sendy costs ~$5-50/month. ActiveCampaign costs $339+/month. That's $3,500+ per year in savings if you don't need advanced features.

CRM Features
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign includes full CRM with deals, pipelines, and sales automation. Sendy is email-only. For sales teams, ActiveCampaign replaces multiple tools.

Technical Requirements
ActiveCampaign wins

Sendy requires server administration and Amazon SES setup. ActiveCampaign is sign-up-and-start with dedicated onboarding. Non-technical teams can't use Sendy.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts

Sendy
~$1-10/month

One-time $69 license + Amazon SES costs.

Visit Sendy
ActiveCampaign
$149/month

Plus plan. Professional plan $259/month.

Visit ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited sends, native Stripe integration.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Sendy
ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy
Pricing & Costs
Upfront Cost
$69 one-time
$0
$0
Monthly Cost (10k)
~$1-10
$149
$49
Cost at 50k
~$5-50
$339+
$99
Self-Hosting Required
Automation
Visual Builder
Industry-leading
Visual builder
Conditional Logic
Unlimited
Event-based
Lead Scoring
Advanced
Predictive Sending
AI-powered
CRM & Sales
Built-in CRM
Full CRM
Sales Pipeline
Deal tracking
Sales Automation
Task automation
Integrations
Native Integrations
Very limited
900+
Key integrations
Stripe Integration
Via Zapier
Native
E-commerce
Shopify, WooCommerce
Stripe-based

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Sendy if you...
  • Technical users with basic email needs
  • High-volume newsletter senders
  • Budget-conscious startups
  • Those comfortable self-hosting
Choose ActiveCampaign if you...
  • Businesses needing advanced automation
  • Sales teams wanting CRM
  • E-commerce with customer journeys
  • Agencies managing clients
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Startups wanting automation without complexity
  • Businesses needing payment-triggered emails
  • Teams wanting transactional + marketing unified

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

Modern Without Enterprise Pricing

ActiveCampaign's advanced features come with enterprise pricing. Sequenzy offers event-based automation at moderate costs.

Native Stripe Integration

ActiveCampaign connects to Stripe only via Zapier. Sequenzy has native Stripe integration for payment-triggered automation.

SaaS-Specific Features

For SaaS companies, Sequenzy offers event-based automation and transactional + marketing unified. Sendy is too basic. ActiveCampaign lacks SaaS focus.

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Overview

Sendy and ActiveCampaign represent opposite ends of email marketing. Sendy is a $69 self-hosted tool for budget-conscious technical users. ActiveCampaign is industry-leading automation with CRM for businesses prioritizing capabilities over cost.

The Fundamental Trade-off

What's more valuable: saving thousands per year or having best-in-class automation? There's no universal answer, only what's right for your business.

Sendy's Cost Savings

At 50,000 contacts, Sendy costs ~$5-50/month. ActiveCampaign costs $339+/month. That's $3,500+ per year in savings. If you only send newsletters, Sendy's economics are compelling.

ActiveCampaign's Automation Leadership

ActiveCampaign arguably has the best automation builder in the industry. Visual workflows, unlimited conditions, goal tracking, and machine learning optimization. Build virtually any customer journey.

The CRM Difference

ActiveCampaign includes full CRM: contacts, companies, deals, pipelines, and sales automation. For businesses needing marketing and sales tools, it replaces multiple subscriptions. Sendy is email-only.

For SaaS Companies

ActiveCampaign lacks native Stripe integration. Sendy lacks modern automation. For subscription businesses wanting Stripe integration, consider Sequenzy.

Making the Choice

Choose Sendy if you're technical, have basic needs, and want maximum savings. Choose ActiveCampaign for advanced automation and CRM. Your needs will clearly point one direction.

Frequently Asked Questions

At 10,000 contacts, Sendy costs $1-10/month vs ActiveCampaign's $149/month. That's $1,500+ per year. At 50k, savings exceed $3,500/year.

For many businesses, yes. The automation, CRM, and integrations often justify the cost. But if you're just sending newsletters, you're paying for unused features.

No. Sendy has basic autoresponders. ActiveCampaign has visual workflows with unlimited conditions. The gap is not closeable.

No. 14-day free trial only. Sendy's $69 one-time purchase is cheaper long-term than any ActiveCampaign plan.

Emails stop until you fix it. With ActiveCampaign, infrastructure is fully managed with guaranteed uptime.

ActiveCampaign has dedicated deliverability teams. Sendy uses Amazon SES which has excellent deliverability. Both can achieve great results.

Export subscribers as CSV. Import into ActiveCampaign with mapping. Build automations in visual builder. ActiveCampaign offers migration help.

ActiveCampaign, significantly. Native Shopify/WooCommerce integrations, abandoned cart, and purchase automation. Sendy has no e-commerce features.

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