ActiveCampaign
Email marketing automation with Active Intelligence AI, priced by contacts from 1,000, with a 14-day free trial
What is ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform for small and mid-sized businesses, covering email campaigns, multi-step automations, segmentation, forms and landing pages, with SMS, WhatsApp and CRM pipelines sold as add-ons. Its Active Intelligence AI builds campaigns and automations from a prompt, suggests segments and drafts content. Pricing scales with contacts: at 1,000 contacts Starter costs $19 a month or $15 billed yearly, Plus $59 or $49, and Pro ($79) and Enterprise ($145) are sold on yearly terms. There is no free plan; the 14-day trial needs no credit card and paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Good for
- Building multi-step automations triggered by site visits, purchases and tags
- Small teams that want AI to draft campaigns and automations
- Businesses that want marketing automation and a sales CRM in one account
Key features
- Multi-step marketing automation with 950+ automation recipes and multiple triggers
- Active Intelligence AI: AI campaign builder, AI automation builder, AI-suggested segments and proactive drafts, with 500 AI credits on every plan
- Generative AI for email content and images (Plus and above)
- Drag-and-drop email designer with 250+ templates, A/B testing and dynamic content
- Predictive sending and conditional content (Pro and Enterprise)
- Forms on every plan; landing pages and site messages from Plus
- 1,000+ app integrations, API and webhooks, Zapier, and Claude and ChatGPT connectors through MCP
- SMS, WhatsApp and CRM pipeline add-ons
Limitations to know about
- No free plan; the smallest tier is 1,000 contacts
- Starter limits each automation to 5 actions, has no landing pages and automates email only
- Pro and Enterprise require a yearly commitment
- SMS, WhatsApp and CRM pipelines are paid add-ons
ActiveCampaign pricing
ActiveCampaign has no free plan. It offers a 14-day free trial, no credit card needed; 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise cost $15 to $145 a month billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $19/mo, or $15/mo billed yearly (1,000 contacts) | 10,000 sends a month, 1 user, multi-step automation with up to 5 actions per automation, AI campaign and automation builders, 250+ templates, email-only automation, up to 5 lists |
| Plus | $59/mo, or $49/mo billed yearly (1,000 contacts) | Sends up to 10x contacts, 1 user, unlimited automation actions, cross-channel marketing, generative AI for content and images, landing pages and site messages, Enhanced CRM add-on available |
| Pro | $79/mo billed yearly ($948/yr, 1,000 contacts) | Sends up to 12x contacts, 3 users, predictive sending, conditional content, advanced segmentation, attribution and conversion tracking, 200 active business goals |
| Enterprise | $145/mo billed yearly ($1,740/yr, 1,000 contacts) | Sends up to 15x contacts, 5 users, SSO and HIPAA support, premium segmentation and custom objects, premium CRM integrations such as Salesforce, dedicated account team and uptime SLA |
Costs on top of a plan
- Extra AI credits: $10/mo per 100 credits (Credits are used for advanced AI actions such as image generation and translated campaigns; core AI keeps working without them)
ActiveCampaign alternatives
Mailchimp
Intuit's email and SMS marketing platform, free for 250 contacts, with AI writing on Standard and Premium
Brevo
Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing, formerly Sendinblue, priced by email volume with a free 300-a-day plan
GetResponse
Email marketing and automation with unlimited sends on paid plans and a free plan for 500 contacts
Kit
Email marketing for creators, formerly ConvertKit, with a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers
HubSpot
CRM platform with free tools plus paid marketing, sales and service hubs
Klaviyo
B2C CRM for ecommerce email and SMS, billed by active profiles, with a free plan and the Composer AI agent
Compare ActiveCampaign with these side by side
Head to head: ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp
Frequently asked questions
Is ActiveCampaign free?
No, ActiveCampaign does not have a free plan. It offers a 14-day free trial, no credit card needed; 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. Paid plans start at $15/mo billed annually.
How much does ActiveCampaign cost?
Starter, Plus, Pro and Enterprise cost $15 to $145 a month billed annually. On Starter: for 1,000 contacts (the smallest tier) and 10,000 email sends a month; 1 user; $180 billed yearly or $19 month-to-month. The price rises with contact count. Every plan includes 500 AI credits; extra credits are sold separately. Prices as published on ActiveCampaign's pricing page on 21 October 2026.
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No. It offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card needed, and paid plans start with Starter at the 1,000-contact tier.
What is ActiveCampaign used for?
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform for small and mid-sized businesses, covering email campaigns, multi-step automations, segmentation, forms and landing pages, with SMS, WhatsApp and CRM pipelines sold as add-ons. People use it for building multi-step automations triggered by site visits, purchases and tags, small teams that want AI to draft campaigns and automations and businesses that want marketing automation and a sales CRM in one account.
What are the alternatives to ActiveCampaign?
Tools that do a similar job include Mailchimp, Brevo, GetResponse, Kit and HubSpot. Each has its own page here with its plans, limits and prices.
Who makes ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign is made by ActiveCampaign, LLC, based in Chicago, Illinois, US. The company was founded in 2003.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from ActiveCampaign, LLC's own pages, read on the dates shown.
- activecampaign.com/pricing (plan prices billed yearly at 1,000 contacts (rendered page), plan comparison table, AI credits, trial, money-back guarantee, FAQ) read 21 October 2026
- activecampaign.com/signup/?code=ac&tier=starter&contacts=1000¤cy=USD (plan checkout page: monthly prices for Starter and Plus, yearly totals for all plans, annual-only billing on Pro and Enterprise, AI credit add-on price (nothing submitted)) read 21 October 2026
- activecampaign.com/ (product overview, Active Intelligence, 1,000+ integrations, Claude and ChatGPT connectors) read 21 October 2026
- activecampaign.com/platform/email-marketing (email features: AI campaign builder, drag-and-drop designer, AI personalization, deliverability) read 21 October 2026
- activecampaign.com/platform/marketing-automation (automation features) read 21 October 2026
- activecampaign.com/about (company: founded in 2003, Chicago headquarters) read 21 October 2026
- activecampaign.com/legal/terms-of-service (legal entity name (ActiveCampaign, LLC)) read 21 October 2026
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