ActiveCampaign
$97/mo est.
- Per user
- Per contact (from $15/mo)
- Free tier
- No
- Marketing automation
- Yes (best-in-class)
- Integrations
- 870+
- Pipeline
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $97/mo
ActiveCampaign
A powerful marketing automation platform with a built-in CRM, strong AI features, and the deepest workflow engine in this set.
- Per user
- Per contact (from $15/mo)
- Free tier
- No
- Integrations
- 870+
- Onboarding
- None
Best for
US businesses that treat marketing automation and a built-in CRM as the core of their stack. No free plan, 14-day trial only.
Pricing breakdown
All prices in USDLast verified July 14, 2026Every fee we track, grouped by where it applies.
Strengths and trade-offs
Pros
- Deepest automation and workflow engine in this set
- Built-in sales CRM
- Official MCP server for AI agents
- Native US SMS as a paid add-on
Cons
- No free plan (14-day trial only)
- Steeper learning curve than simpler tools
- Bills for all contacts (active and inactive)
- Costs climb at larger list sizes
About ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is the automation-first choice in this set, built around a powerful visual workflow engine and a built-in sales CRM. US businesses that want to connect marketing email to sales follow-up in one platform, with conditional logic, behavioral triggers, and goal-based sequences, choose it for that depth.
The Starter plan covers core sending and basic automation, while the Plus plan and above unlock advanced multi-step automations, the CRM, and predictive sending. It bills by contact count in US dollars and has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. SMS marketing is a paid add-on, and it has an official MCP server for AI assistants and agents. It suits senders who treat automation as the core of their marketing.
ActiveCampaign was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Chicago, USA.
How ActiveCampaign compares
Side-by-side with the closest alternatives by estimated cost.
Per-user pricing based on 5 users and 1,000 contacts, using each free plan where it fits.
HubSpot
$100/mo est.
- Per user
- $20/seat/mo
- Free tier
- Yes (2 users, 1,000 contacts)
- Marketing automation
- Yes (Starter+)
- Integrations
- 1,000+
- Pipeline
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $100/mo
Zoho CRM
$100/mo est.
- Per user
- $20/user/mo
- Free tier
- Yes (3 users, 5,000 contacts)
- Marketing automation
- Professional+
- Integrations
- 1,000+
- Pipeline
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $100/mo
Capsule CRM
$90/mo est.
- Per user
- $18/user
- Free tier
- Yes (2 users, 250 contacts)
- Marketing automation
- Growth+
- Integrations
- 60+ (QBO, Xero)
- Pipeline
- Yes
- Est. monthly cost
- $90/mo
Common questions about ActiveCampaign
The same questions US merchants ask before signing up.
ActiveCampaign is priced by the size of your contact list, not by the seat: Per contact (from $15/mo), with no monthly base fee ($0) and no onboarding fee (None). The catch most comparisons miss is that seats are still capped. Starter covers one user, Plus one, Pro three and Enterprise five, and extra users are charged on top, so a five-person sales team does not pay the headline price. The calculator on this page applies both the contact ladder and the seat charges, so the estimate moves when you change either.
No: No. Every list size has a price, which makes ActiveCampaign one of the few CRMs here with no free tier at all. If a free plan is what you need, HubSpot and Zoho both have one, and Capsule is free for up to two users.
It is both, and the order matters. ActiveCampaign began as an email marketing platform and its automation is Yes (best-in-class), which is why it wins on that axis against every dedicated CRM in this table. The CRM side is real (deal pipelines, Yes, contact records and Yes email tracking) and is included on every plan, but a sales team that lives in a pipeline all day will find Pipedrive or HubSpot more purpose-built. Buy ActiveCampaign when marketing automation is the reason you are shopping.
ActiveCampaign sells an Enhanced CRM add-on (advanced pipelines, AI deal analysis and one-to-one sales engagement) for an extra monthly fee on top of your plan. The standard CRM is already included in every plan, so the add-on is an upgrade rather than a requirement, and the cost estimate on this page does not assume you buy it.
The price climbs a contact ladder, stepping up each time your list crosses a band, and it counts every contact you store, including people who never open anything, so list hygiene is a real line item. The Starter plan is sold up to 25,000 contacts; past that you are on Plus or higher. Above 200,000 contacts ActiveCampaign publishes no price at all and quotes instead, which is why the table shows "Get quote" rather than an invented number at that size.
Integrations are a genuine strength: 870+ apps, plus Yes API access. Its AI is Native (Active Intelligence), and it offers Native MCP (official), so it can be driven by AI assistants directly, which most CRMs in this table still cannot do. Support is 24/7 chat.
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