ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a customer experience automation platform that combines email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools to help you create personalized customer journeys and scale your business growth effectively.
ChowNow
ChowNow is an online ordering and marketing platform that helps independent restaurants build their own branded digital storefronts to take commission-free orders directly from their customers.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | ChowNow |
|---|---|---|
| Website | activecampaign.com | chownow.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | |
| Starting Price | $29/month | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2003 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, USA | Los Angeles, USA |
Overview
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign helps you move beyond basic email blasts by automating your entire customer experience. You can track every interaction a lead has with your brand and trigger personalized follow-ups based on their specific behavior. Whether you are sending a welcome series or managing a complex sales pipeline, the platform ensures you reach the right person with the right message at exactly the right time.
You can manage your contacts through a built-in CRM that updates automatically as leads engage with your marketing campaigns. This integration between marketing and sales helps you identify your most qualified leads and close deals faster. The platform is designed for growing businesses that need sophisticated automation without the technical overhead of enterprise-level systems, offering a scalable solution for your marketing and sales teams.
ChowNow
ChowNow provides you with the tools to take control of your restaurant's digital presence and eliminate high third-party delivery fees. You can launch your own branded ordering system across your website, social media profiles, and a custom-built mobile app. This allows you to keep 100% of your profits on every order while capturing valuable customer data that third-party apps usually keep for themselves.
The platform focuses on sustainable growth by providing you with automated marketing tools and a dedicated success manager to help increase your order volume. Whether you run a single local eatery or a growing regional chain, you can manage your entire digital menu and track sales performance through a centralized dashboard. It integrates directly with your existing POS system to keep your kitchen operations running smoothly without manual data entry.
Overview
ActiveCampaign Features
- Visual Automation Builder Create complex automated workflows with a drag-and-drop interface to send emails, update CRM records, and segment your contacts.
- Site Tracking See exactly what your contacts are doing on your website so you can trigger personalized follow-ups based on their interests.
- Integrated Sales CRM Automate your sales pipeline by moving deals between stages and notifying your team when it is time to follow up.
- Predictive Sending Use machine learning to send your emails at the specific time each individual contact is most likely to open them.
- Dynamic Content Change the text and images within your emails based on what you know about each subscriber for a truly personalized experience.
- Lead Scoring Assign points to your leads based on their engagement so your sales team can focus on the most promising opportunities.
ChowNow Features
- Commission-Free Ordering. Keep every dollar you earn from your online orders instead of paying 15-30% in fees to third-party delivery platforms.
- Branded Mobile Apps. Launch your own custom-branded iOS and Android apps so your customers can order directly from their home screens.
- OrderBetter Network. Get discovered by new diners through a network of high-traffic sites like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor with integrated ordering.
- Automated Marketing. Send automated email campaigns and push notifications to your customers to drive repeat business and increase order frequency.
- POS Integrations. Sync your online orders directly with your existing point-of-sale system to eliminate manual entry and reduce kitchen errors.
- Customer Data Ownership. Access your own customer database including email addresses and order history to power your personalized marketing efforts.
Pricing Comparison
ActiveCampaign Pricing
- Marketing automation
- Email marketing
- Site and event tracking
- Lead capture forms
- 100+ email templates
- Standard support
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Sales CRM with automation
- Lead scoring
- Deep data integrations
- Landing page builder
- Conditional content
ChowNow Pricing
- Commission-free ordering
- Ordering on your website
- Google Search & Maps ordering
- Digital menu management
- Standard payment processing
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Custom-branded mobile app
- Automated email marketing
- Dedicated Success Manager
- Loyalty program tools
- Advanced data reporting
Pros & Cons
ActiveCampaign
Pros
- Extremely powerful and flexible automation builder
- Excellent deliverability rates for email campaigns
- Seamless integration between marketing and CRM
- Detailed reporting on campaign performance
- Large library of pre-built automation recipes
Cons
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Pricing increases significantly as list grows
- Interface can feel slow with large datasets
- No forever-free plan available
ChowNow
Pros
- Eliminates expensive per-order commissions entirely
- Provides full ownership of customer contact data
- Responsive customer support and dedicated success managers
- Easy-to-use interface for updating menus quickly
Cons
- Initial setup fees can be high
- Requires your own staff for local delivery
- Limited customization options for the mobile app