Campaign Monitor vs EngageBay
Campaign Monitor is a email marketing platform while EngageBay is a all-in-one marketing platform. Campaign Monitor has been around since 2004, giving it a 14-year head start over EngageBay (founded 2018). Campaign Monitor is the more affordable option at $12/mo — that's $2.99 less than EngageBay's $14.99/mo entry point. EngageBay offers a free plan (250 contacts, 1,000 branded emails, up to 15 users), while Campaign Monitor does not. EngageBay has the edge with landing pages.
Quick Verdict
Campaign Monitor wins on price, deliverability, integrations.
EngageBay wins on rating, free tier.
Best for most users: Campaign Monitor (agencies).
Campaign Monitor
Beautifully crafted email marketing
Campaign Monitor is particularly well-suited for agencies and brands that need polished, branded email campaigns. Its client management features and beautiful template builder make it a popular choice for marketing agencies managing multiple client accounts.
EngageBay
All-in-one CRM for marketing, sales & support
EngageBay is a bootstrapped all-in-one CRM platform that bundles marketing automation, sales pipeline management, helpdesk ticketing, and live chat into a single affordable package. Founded in 2018 as a cost-effective alternative to HubSpot, it serves over 150,000 businesses with a free plan supporting up to 15 users. Its strongest differentiator is delivering the full marketing-sales-support stack at a fraction of enterprise CRM pricing, making it particularly attractive to budget-conscious SMBs.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Campaign Monitor | EngageBay |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.1/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Starting Price | $12/mo | $14.99/mo |
| Free Plan | No free plan | 250 contacts, 1,000 branded emails, up to 15 users |
| Founded | 2004 | 2018 |
| Email Templates | 120 | 100 |
| Integrations | 250 | 30 |
| Deliverability Rate | 97.5% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| A/B Testing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✕ | ✓ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| SMS Marketing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✓ | ✓ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Language | ✓ | ✕ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✕ | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✕ | ✓ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
Campaign Monitor: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Excellent email template builder
- +Strong agency features and client management
- +Good deliverability
- +Time zone sending optimization
- +Link review feature prevents broken links
Cons
- −No free plan
- −Lite plan caps at 2,500 emails
- −Premier plan expensive ($159/mo)
- −No landing page builder
- −Limited automation on lower tiers
EngageBay: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Exceptionally affordable all-in-one platform combining CRM, marketing, sales, and support — Pro plan at $119.99/mo vs HubSpot at $900+/mo
- +Generous free plan supports up to 15 team members with email marketing, CRM, helpdesk, and live chat included
- +Highly rated customer support (4.8/5 on Capterra) with live chat and real human agents available 24/5
- +Built-in landing page builder with 87 templates, web forms, pop-ups, and SMS marketing included from Basic plan
- +Strong marketing automation with visual workflow builder, lead scoring, and A/B testing on Growth plan and above
Cons
- −Limited email editor widgets and somewhat outdated email template designs compared to modern competitors
- −Reporting module offers only basic analytics — lacks advanced custom reporting depth for data-driven teams
- −Per-user pricing model becomes expensive as teams scale beyond 5-10 users, especially on Growth and Pro plans
- −Occasional performance issues including slow page loads and intermittent bugs reported by users
- −Steep learning curve for advanced features — the breadth of the all-in-one platform can overwhelm new users
The Verdict
EngageBay edges ahead with a 4.7/5 rating compared to Campaign Monitor's 4.1/5. The gap comes mainly from support (4.8 vs 3.8) and value for money (4.8 vs 4.1). On deliverability, Campaign Monitor reports 97.5% compared to 95% for EngageBay — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Campaign Monitor | EngageBay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $12/mo | $14.99/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 97.5% | 95% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.1/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 250 | 30 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Campaign Monitor if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($12/mo)
- + You're a agencies
- + You're a brands
Choose EngageBay if…
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You're a small businesses on a budget
- + You're a startups replacing hubspot