OnPay vs ActiveCampaign
A detailed comparison to help you choose between OnPay and ActiveCampaign.
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Verdict: ActiveCampaign wins
ActiveCampaign scores 4.2/5, edging out OnPay at 4.1/5. Growing businesses and agencies that need serious marketing automation with a built-in light CRM and are willing to invest in the learning curve.
OnPay Payroll voor MKB | ActiveCampaign AI-powered email marketing and customer experience automation | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1 (1 review) | 4.2 (1 review) |
| Pricing Model | paid | freemium |
| Starting Price | Pricing varies | Free tier available |
| Best For | US small businesses and the accountants who serve them who want full-service payroll with every feature in one transparent plan and no international footprint. | Growing businesses and agencies that need serious marketing automation with a built-in light CRM and are willing to invest in the learning curve. |
| Free Tier | ||
| API Access | ||
| Team Features | ||
| Open Source | ||
| Tags | — | team featuresfree tierapi access |
| Visit ActiveCampaign → |
OnPay
Pros
- + One plan with everything in it: at time of writing $49 base + $6/worker/month covers payroll, tax filing in all 50 states, direct deposit and the HR toolkit (onpay.com/Payroll)
- + Per-worker fee applies once per month no matter how many pay runs — weekly payroll does not multiply your bill
- + Tax accuracy guarantee: OnPay covers penalties and interest on filing errors it makes
- + Free setup and migration with human help, which is the hard part of switching payroll providers
- + Accountant-friendly: multi-client dashboard, filterable custom reports and accounting exports with no integration fees
Cons
- - US-only — no international payroll, EOR or contractor-of-record capability
- - Benefits administration without a shopping layer: no marketplace to compare plans, you source your own carrier
- - HR features are basic (onboarding, PTO, documents) — not a full HRIS with recruiting or performance cycles
- - No native time clock; you integrate TSheets, Clockify or similar (third-party review, smbhrreviews.com)
- - Published base price conflicts across sources ($40 in older reviews vs $49 on the vendor site) — confirm current pricing before budgeting
ActiveCampaign
Pros
- + The visual automation builder handled my five-step onboarding sequence with conditional splits and lead scoring without workaround scripting
- + Segmentation mixes AND/OR conditions across behaviour, custom fields, and predictive geography in one segment, deeper than newsletter-first rivals
- + EmailToolTester seeding tests have repeatedly placed inbox placement at or near the top of a fifteen-provider field
- + Send allowances and seat counts are stated plainly per plan (10,000 sends and one seat on Starter at 1,000 contacts)
- + Layered add-ons (SMS, WhatsApp, transactional, CRM pipelines) let a small company stay on one platform as it grows
Cons
- - The campaign editor dropped formatting between edit and test sends in my runs, and you cannot place an image inside a text block without splitting it
- - Editing a multi-email sequence means clicking through to the campaign editor per message instead of switching in place
- - From November 2025 new accounts pay for all contacts including unsubscribed and bounced, which raises real bills
- - No free plan exists, only a 14-day trial, which rules out hobbyist use
- - Prices climb steeply with list size (the Starter jump from 1,000 to 2,500 contacts is about 160 percent in published tables)
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, OnPay or ActiveCampaign?▼
ActiveCampaign scores higher at 4.2/5 vs 4.1/5 for OnPay, making it the better-rated option in our comparison.
What is the difference between OnPay and ActiveCampaign?▼
OnPay: OnPay is payroll software for small businesses, handling pay runs, tax filing and benefits administration in all US states. ActiveCampaign: All-in-one marketing platform with AI-driven email campaigns, automation workflows, and customer relationship management tools.
Is OnPay or ActiveCampaign more affordable?▼
OnPay starts at €0/mo, ActiveCampaign starts at €0/mo. Check the comparison table above for current pricing.
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