Starter
$19
/month
- + 1,000 contacts
- + Email marketing
- + Basic automations (max 5 actions)
- + Basic segmentation
- + Site tracking
ActiveCampaign
Powerful email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM platform with 900+ integrations
email-marketing
Our Score
4.5
Starting at $19 /month
Try ActiveCampaign Free →
Affiliate link
4.5
Excellent ChoiceActiveCampaign Score
Ease of Use
4.6
Features
4.4
Value
4.6
Support
4.2
Based on our editorial review across usability, features, value, support, and integrations.
Best For
Growing businesses needing sophisticated automationE-commerce stores with complex customer journeysB2B companies with longer sales cycles
Best For
Growing businesses needing sophisticated automation
Free Trial
No
Standout Feature
Visual automation builder with conditional logic
Track Record
Since 2003
What Problem It Solves
ActiveCampaign solves the problem of scaling personalized marketing without increasing headcount. Its powerful automation builder allows businesses to create sophisticated, behavior-based customer journeys that respond to actions, segment audiences dynamically, and deliver personalized experiences at scale. This is crucial for growing businesses that need enterprise-level marketing capabilities without enterprise prices.
Key Features
- Visual automation builder with conditional logic
- Email marketing with A/B testing and send-time optimization
- Advanced segmentation and behavioral targeting
- Built-in CRM with sales automation
- SMS marketing and site messaging
- Lead scoring and predictive sending
- 900+ integrations including Shopify, WordPress, and Salesforce
Pros
- + Extremely powerful automation capabilities
- + Excellent segmentation and personalization
- + Strong deliverability rates
- + Comprehensive feature set for the price
- + Good balance of power and usability
Cons
- - Steeper learning curve than simpler email tools
- - Interface can feel overwhelming for beginners
- - Reporting could be more intuitive
- - Some integrations require higher-tier plans
Pricing
Plus
$49
/month
- + 1,000 contacts
- + Landing pages
- + Advanced automations
- + AI tools
- + Retargeting ads
Pro
$79
/month
- + 1,000 contacts
- + Conditional content
- + Conversion attribution
- + Split automations
- + Priority support
Enterprise
$145
/month
- + 1,000 contacts
- + Salesforce & Dynamics CRM
- + Custom objects
- + Dedicated account team
- + Uptime SLA
Starting at $19 /month
Try ActiveCampaign Free →
Affiliate link
Our Verdict
ActiveCampaign — Highly Recommended
ActiveCampaign is the clear winner for businesses that have outgrown basic email marketing and need serious automation capabilities without paying enterprise prices. Its visual automation builder is genuinely best-in-class — you can create behavior-based workflows with conditional logic, lead scoring, and dynamic segmentation that rivals platforms costing three to five times more. If your marketing strategy depends on delivering the right message at the right time based on what contacts actually do, ActiveCampaign should be at the top of your shortlist.
The pricing starts at $15/month for 1,000 contacts on the Starter plan, which covers basic email marketing. However, the real power unlocks at the Plus tier ($49/month), where you get the CRM, landing pages, and advanced automation features. For businesses generating significant revenue from email, this represents excellent value. The Professional plan at $79/month adds predictive sending and split automations for teams optimizing every conversion point. Compared to HubSpot's Marketing Hub or Salesforce Marketing Cloud, ActiveCampaign delivers 80% of the capability at 20% of the price.
Choose ActiveCampaign if you're a growing B2B or e-commerce business with complex customer journeys that need automation, segmentation, and CRM in a single platform. Skip it if you're just starting with email marketing and need something dead-simple — Mailchimp or Kit will serve you better initially. The learning curve is real, and the interface can feel overwhelming for beginners, but once you invest the time to learn it, ActiveCampaign becomes the engine that powers your entire marketing operation.
Related Tools
Is ActiveCampaign good for small businesses?
ActiveCampaign works well for small businesses that are growth-focused and need automation beyond basic email blasts. The Starter plan at $15/month for 1,000 contacts provides an affordable entry point with email marketing, forms, and basic automation. For businesses that have outgrown simple tools like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign's segmentation, behavioral triggers, and built-in CRM on the Plus plan ($49/month) make it an excellent next step. The platform scales with you, so small businesses can start simple and unlock more powerful features as they grow.
Does ActiveCampaign offer a free plan?
ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial but no permanent free plan. The trial gives you full access to test the automation builder, CRM, and email features with your own contact list. After the trial, the Starter plan begins at $15/month for 1,000 contacts, which includes email marketing, inline forms, and basic automation. To unlock the full power of the visual automation builder, CRM with sales pipelines, landing pages, and lead scoring, you will need the Plus plan at $49/month. The investment is justified by the depth of automation capabilities compared to free alternatives.
What is the starting price of ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign's Starter plan costs $15 per month for 1,000 contacts (billed annually), which includes email marketing, marketing automation, inline forms, and site tracking. The Plus plan at $49/month adds landing pages, a built-in CRM with sales automation, lead scoring, and advanced automation workflows. The Professional plan at $79/month includes predictive sending, split automations, and attribution reporting. Enterprise starts at $145/month with custom features, dedicated account rep, and custom reporting. Pricing scales with contact count, so costs increase as your list grows.
Starting at $19 /month
Try ActiveCampaign Free →
Affiliate link
Try ActiveCampaign Free →
Affiliate link