If you were choosing a new email marketing platform, wouldn’t you want to know what caused almost 7,000 people to change from the tool they were currently using?
Email marketing platforms are hard to choose because a lot of the features you see from the outside aren’t the things that are going to make or break you once you’re actually using the tool (and locked into a year-long contract). A great-looking user interface with beautiful email design is great…until you realize that your platform has terrible deliverability and you aren’t reaching the inbox.
To help you skip buyer’s remorse, we went and looked at other people who have buyer’s remorse. That’s why we analyzed 6,887 sales calls from people looking to switch their email marketing platform.
The short version: people leave their tools for four reasons, but which reason depends heavily on what kind of tool they’re leaving.
- Outgrowing a basic tool. People listed this as their reason for switching on 33% of calls. Especially when switchers were using more barebones email marketing tools like Mailchimp and Constant Contact, getting a tool with more powerful automations and integrations was a priority.
- Price. Surprising no one, price is a major factor in switching email marketing platforms. It came up on 44% of calls (but was not always the deciding factor). People switching from platforms like HubSpot were upset at changes to their pricing model and felt like they “had more platform than they use.” People switching from platforms like Mailchimp were sick of constant price hikes.
- Integrations. Integrations came up on an incredible 57% of calls, even though our analysis shows they were not necessarily the deciding factor. They were especially important for larger companies or companies on platforms like HubSpot or Marketo, who wanted to connect to a lot of existing systems.
- Deliverability. Deliverability only came up on 12% of calls, but when it did come up it was a dealbreaker. It was most common for customers from GoHighLevel, Zoho, and Brevo, who seemed more likely to be having deliverability problems with their platforms.
In the rest of this analysis, we’ll dig into what people from each platform cared about most when switching.
We’ll also share what to think about when you move (from our email migration guide), since worrying about the switch came up on 42% of calls.
Why people leave email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Constant Contact
| Platform | Biggest reason they start looking | What people leaving care about most |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Mailchimp customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Mailchimp. | Mailchimp customers were 1.7x more likely to start searching for a new platform because they wanted to replace several tools with one. They were 1.4x more likely to start searching because of a deliverability problem. They were also 1.3x more likely to start searching because they had outgrown their current platform, and 1.2x more likely to bring up data and segmentation. |
| HubSpot | HubSpot customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown HubSpot, followed closely by paying for more than they use. | HubSpot customers were 3.2x more likely to start searching for a new platform because they were paying for more than they use. They were 2.7x more likely to start searching because of a price increase. HubSpot customers were also 2x more likely to say what they were billed for was a main reason for their decision. |
| Constant Contact | Constant Contact customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Constant Contact. | Constant Contact customers were 1.9x more likely to start searching for a new platform because of a deliverability problem. They were 1.6x more likely to start searching because they had outgrown their current platform. Constant Contact customers were also 1.6x more likely to bring up the editor and email design, and 1.2x more likely to bring up automation. |
| Pardot | Pardot customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that Pardot is "too complex," followed closely by having outgrown it. | Pardot customers were 3.4x more likely to start searching for a new platform because their current platform was "too complex." They were 2.0x more likely to worry about timing or a deadline when switching. Pardot customers were also 1.9x more likely to bring up the editor and email design and 1.5x more likely to bring up integrations. |
| Salesforce Marketing Cloud | Salesforce Marketing Cloud customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that Salesforce Marketing Cloud is "too complex." | Salesforce Marketing Cloud customers were 5.2x more likely to start searching for a new platform because their current platform was "too complex," more than customers of any other platform. Salesforce Marketing Cloud customers were 2.0x more likely to bring up ease of use, and 1.4x more likely to bring up integrations. |
| Brevo | Brevo customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Brevo. | Brevo customers were 2.9x more likely to start searching for a new platform because of a deliverability problem. They were 1.8x more likely to bring up deliverability. Brevo customers were also 1.4x more likely to start searching because they had outgrown their current platform, and 1.4x more likely to bring up having all their channels in one platform. |
| Klaviyo | Klaviyo customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Klaviyo. | Klaviyo customers were 6.8x more likely to bring up store features like store sync, cart recovery and revenue tracking. Klaviyo customers were 1.7x more likely to start searching for a new platform because they wanted to replace several tools with one platform. |
| GoHighLevel | GoHighLevel customers say the two biggest reasons they start looking for a new platform are a deliverability problem and having outgrown GoHighLevel, which come up about equally often. | GoHighLevel customers were 3.2x more likely to start searching for a new platform because of a deliverability problem. They were 2.6x more likely to bring up deliverability, more than customers of any other platform. GoHighLevel customers were 2.6x more likely to start searching because of a support problem, and 2.0x more likely to start searching because their current platform was "too complex." |
| Zoho | Zoho customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Zoho. | Zoho customers were 3.0x more likely to start searching for a new platform because of a support problem. They were 2.5x more likely to start searching because of a deliverability problem. Zoho customers were 1.8x more likely to bring up deliverability, and 1.6x more likely to start searching because they had outgrown their current platform. |
| RD Station | RD Station customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown RD Station. | RD Station customers were 2.5x more likely to start searching for a new platform because of a price increase. They were 1.5x more likely to bring up price. RD Station customers were also 3.7x more likely to bring up ecommerce store features, and 1.6x more likely to bring up having all their channels in one platform. |
| Marketo | Marketo customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that Marketo is "too complex." | Marketo customers were 4.5x more likely to start searching for a new platform because their current platform was "too complex." They were 2.3x more likely to worry about timing or a deadline when switching. Marketo customers were also 1.9x more likely to say the effort of the move itself was a main reason for their decision, and 1.4x more likely to bring up integrations. |
| Keap | Keap customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Keap. | Keap customers were 7.2x more likely to worry about rebuilding their automations when switching. They were 3.8x more likely to bring up switching costs. Keap customers were 4.1x more likely to say trust in their platform being worn down by changes was a main reason for their decision. |
| Campaign Monitor | Campaign Monitor customers say the biggest reason they start looking for a new platform is that they’ve outgrown Campaign Monitor. | Campaign Monitor customers were 1.7x more likely to start searching for a new platform because they had outgrown their current platform. Campaign Monitor customers were also 1.8x more likely to bring up the editor and email design, and 1.4x more likely to bring up data and segmentation. |
| ActiveCampaign | These calls were people coming to ActiveCampaign, so we don’t have data from this study on why people leave. Overall though, people come to us because we have a platform that makes powerful automation possible for anyone (with the #1 ranked email deliverability to boot). |
For features and prices side by side, see ActiveCampaign's email marketing software comparison guide.
The 4 biggest reasons to switch email marketing platforms (according to 6,887 calls)
The four biggest reasons to switch email marketing platforms are:
- Outgrowing a basic platform, and needing more powerful automation, integrations, and other features
- Integrations, needing the platform to connect to your business’ other systems (either more deeply with your tools, or with more tools)
- Price, especially disliking pricing models and feeling like you are being charged for things you don’t use.
- Deliverability, the concern that your emails are not making it to your contacts
Here’s the breakdown of what people cared about most for each platform.
1. Outgrowing the tool starts more searches than anything else
Outgrowing the current tool was the trigger that started the search on 33% of calls. Replacing several tools with one came next at 13%, then a tool that's too complex at 9%.
This was not the same for customers of every platform. Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor customers were more likely to say that they had outgrown the tool.
And that makes sense! Those platforms are known for basic email marketing. When a business is starting to work with more marketing automation and needs to integrate their platform with other systems, it’s unlikely that a basic email marketing tool is the best fit.
Although it came up less often, some customers of platforms like Marketo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Pardot, and HubSpot were more likely to say that they were switching because the tool was too complex.
The key takeaway: Your email marketing and marketing automation platform needs to be a good fit for the stage of business you’re running.
2. Integrations come up most often, but were rarely the sole decision factor
Integrations came up on an incredible 57% of calls with people switching their email marketing platform. It is clearly important, and customers of all platforms were roughly equally likely to bring it up.
That said, integrations tended to not be the main decision factor on these calls. Instead, you can think of them as a factor contributing to the overall “fit” of a platform to your business.
We analyzed every call to understand the key themes that were driving a decision, and even though “integration” wasn’t necessarily the sole dealbreaker, “fit with the tools around it” came up a lot — most often, in fact, on 47% of calls.
Which email marketing platform is best for your business is a complex decision that integrations are one component of — but integrations combined with other factors like automation, ease of use (whether the platform needs to be someone’s full-time job), and overall platform sophistication in helping people make their decision.
In fact, the two most common factors were about fit:
- Fit with the tools around it meant that the CRM, online store, or website platform was being kept, and the email marketing platform needed to connect to it. It was a main reason on 47% of calls.
- Fit with the business as it is now meant appropriateness for the stage of the current business; could a platform serve a business’ current needs and its future growth. It was a main reason on 43% of calls.
Key takeaway: Make sure the platform you choose is easy to integrate with your key business systems, but also consider the overall fit for your business.
3. Price and billing structure are key factors in choosing an email platform
Price, to no one’s surprise, matters. It came up in 44% of calls with people switching their email marketing platforms, and was the second most-mentioned topic after integrations.
When choosing an email platform, people were not only interested in the absolute amount of the price — it also mattered how they were being billed (per contact, tiers, add-ons, etc.).
What people were billed for came up on 19% of calls, but when it did it was usually a main factor in the decision. When people are billed for contacts they don’t email, features they don’t use, or credits they don’t want, they are more motivated to switch.
Here’s how often price came up as a factor in calls about each platform.
Price came up most on calls about RD Station and HubSpot, about 1.5x and 1.4x as often as on a typical call.
People leaving HubSpot stand out because they were especially likely to have issues with their pricing structure. HubSpot customers were 3.2x more likely to raise that they were paying for more than what they use, 2.7x more likely to mention a price increase, and 2x more likely to raise “what they are being billed for” as a reason.
Key takeaway: When you compare platforms, understand how each platform bills you for features and contacts rather than just comparing the sticker prices.
4. Deliverability comes up on only 12% of calls, when it comes up it is a key decider
Email deliverability is whether or not the emails you send reach your contacts’ inbox. It comes up on only 12% of calls, but is an absolutely critical factor when it comes up.
This makes sense — if your emails don’t reach your contacts, nothing else about your email marketing platform matters.
ActiveCampaign has the best email deliverability of any platform, according to a 2026 study by Email Tool Tester. That said, some other platforms have reasonable (if not the best) deliverability. The real concern happens when your platform doesn’t reliably deliver your emails, and that seems to be happening for a few of the platforms people left in our analysis.
On some platforms, deliverability was a major issue:
- GoHighLevel customers raised deliverability 2.6x more often
- Zoho customers raised deliverability 1.8x more often
- Brevo customers raised deliverability 1.8x more often
- Constant Contact customers raised deliverability 1.5x more often
On GoHighLevel, Brevo and Zoho calls, a deliverability problem started the search 2.5x to 3.2x as often as usual.
Some platforms have better deliverability than others, as the Email Tool Tester research shows. It’s worth knowing that switching platforms does not automatically fix deliverability problems, as Spamhaus, the anti-spam organization, points out. A new platform starts with no sending history, and a poor domain reputation can follow you if you are not careful. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC and clean your list before you move, then warm up the new sending domain by emailing your most engaged contacts first.
Key takeaway: If deliverability is why you’re leaving, fix your sending setup and warm up your new platform when you switch.
Your industry might affect what kind of platform you need
Most of the best email marketing platforms don’t cater to a specific industry, and have features that are accessible to people in most industries. But in some industries — where you have very specific use cases or regulation is a top concern — the things you look for in a platform can matter a lot more.
| Industry | What people care about most | What you should be careful about before you switch |
|---|---|---|
| Health and wellness | Health and wellness companies were 3.54x more likely to bring up compliance and vendor approval checks. It was the only industry where compliance was a top-four most common topic. | Compliance is huge for any business that is managing sensitive data. In the United States, HIPAA-compliant marketing is critical, and something you should check with your vendor. ActiveCampaign offers HIPAA-compliance on our Enterprise plans. |
| Nonprofits, public, and education | Nonprofit, public, and education businesses were 1.56x more likely to raise data and segmentation. They were also 1.3x more likely to raise a worry about migration. | Nonprofits were more likely to be coming from smaller, more basic email tools. They also tend to be short-staffed (explaining the migration concern). Key concerns will be fast migration and segmentation that is easy for anyone to understand. If you use ActiveCampaign, our AI will actually suggest segments for you. |
| Ecommerce | Ecommerce businesses were 11.6x more likely to raise online store features. | No surprises here! Ecommerce businesses need email marketing that connects to an online store. Especially if you are not using Shopify, this type of integration is critical. You can learn more about ActiveCampaign and ecommerce here. |
| Agencies and consultancies | Agencies and consultancies were 1.44x more likely to be concerned with having someone who has the time and skill to run a platform. They were 0.77x as likely to bring up integrations; integrations seemed to be less of a concern for this industry. | Agencies and consultants are doing client work! You don’t have time to be running a complicated tool. Because you run a services business, you are less likely to integrate your email marketing with a ton of other platforms. ActiveCampaign’s AI is focused on doing things for you, bringing you suggestions, and making it easy to do your best-ever marketing. |
Key takeaway: Most industries don’t need a specialized platform, but you should consider what industry-specific features or compliance concerns you might have. Platform fit for the business is the number one overall factor!
Worry about switching platforms is a concern for everyone
Everyone is worried about migrating platforms. This concern was more likely for enterprise platforms (e.g. Marketo switchers were 2.5x more likely to bring up switching costs, HubSpot 1.9x more likely).
But everyone is concerned about migration. For many customers, their email marketing platform has been gathering a backlog of messy data that needs to be cleaned. For some, automations have been running without oversight — and no one at the company is even sure exactly what is running.
Within worries about the move, deadlines came up most often. Unsurprisingly, people who want to switch email marketing platforms are in a time crunch until their contract ends!
After that the top factors were reconnecting integrations, cleaning up contact data, warming up a new platform, or going over a price tier after migration.
ActiveCampaign's email platform migration guide walks through the whole move. If you are looking to switch to ActiveCampaign, it might even be possible to migrate your account automatically in just a few clicks. And on qualifying plans, our migration team moves things (such as contact lists, forms or automations) for free.
From ActiveCampaign interviews: In addition to call analysis, we interviewed our buyers to learn more. When buyers put the decision on hold or kept their current tool, the move was usually one of the main reasons.
Migration effort, timing or risk was a main reason in 56.5% of interviews where the buyer put the decision on hold.
Here’s a play-by-play guide for what to do about each of the concerns that came up on the calls we analyzed.
| Worry (share of calls) | What to do before you move |
|---|---|
| Timing or a deadline (25%) | Find your renewal date and notice period first. Litmus's migration guide suggests 6 to 8 weeks for a simple move and 3 to 6 months or more for a complex one, with the old platform kept running while the new one ramps up. |
| Reconnecting integrations (9%) | List every connection before you shortlist, from sign-up forms and the store to the CRM sync and any custom connections. Email and lifecycle strategist Anna Levitin also advises checking sales, product and support tools for hidden automations. |
| Cleaning up contact data (9%) | Export unsubscribes, hard bounces and spam complaints along with the contacts, and keep your consent records. Levitin suggests importing only the last 12 to 24 months of opens and clicks. |
| Warming up a sending domain (3%) | Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, the records that prove your mail comes from you, before the first send. Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook.com require them from bulk senders. Then email your most engaged contacts first and add volume gradually, as Google advises. |
| Going over a contact or price tier (3%) | Ask how the new platform counts contacts, including unsubscribed and inactive ones, before you import. Pruning first can keep you in a lower tier. |
Methodology
This research comes from AI-tagged summaries of sales calls, checked by a second AI reviewer. Although this is a powerful way to crunch numbers, there are some limitations of the research design to be aware of.
The study covers 6,887 ActiveCampaign sales calls with prospects weighing a switch, held from October 16, 2025, to October 15, 2026.
AI tools read a summary of each call and tagged it against a fixed list of 19 buying factors. They also tagged what started the search, worries about the move and what prospects said about named platforms, with text from the summary as evidence. A second pass tagged nine themes on every call, both whether each came up and whether it was a main reason.
A second reviewer re-checked a random sample without seeing the first tags. They agreed well on whether a factor, theme or worry came up, and less well on which themes were main reasons — although they identified primary reasons for switching, those reasons are complicated! They should be treated as directional.
