Direct Answer: ActiveCampaign Pricing at a Glance
ActiveCampaign has four plans: Starter, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. Pricing starts at $19/month for 1,000 contacts on Starter (billed monthly). There is no free plan, only a 14-day free trial with 100 contacts. Annual billing saves 20% across all tiers. Hidden costs include add-ons for CRM pipelines ($68/month), SMS credits ($16.83+/month), custom reporting ($159/month), and extra users ($12/user/month).
Why ActiveCampaign Pricing Confuses Most Buyers
ActiveCampaign does not show a single flat price. The monthly cost scales with your contact count, which plan tier you choose, and which add-ons you bolt on. A buyer comparing "Starter at $19/month" to a competitor's $20/month plan is not doing an apples-to-apples comparison, because that $19 buys a very limited feature set, while most real use cases require Plus or Pro.
This guide breaks down every plan, every contact tier, the math behind per-contact costs, and every fee that does not appear on the pricing page headline.
ActiveCampaign Plans: Full Breakdown
ActiveCampaign currently offers four plans. The older "Lite / Plus / Professional / Enterprise" naming was replaced with the current Starter / Plus / Pro / Enterprise structure.
Starter
The entry plan. Designed for solo operators or small businesses sending straightforward email campaigns.
What you get:
- 1 user seat
- 10× monthly email send limit (1,000 contacts = 10,000 sends/month)
- Basic automations (limited triggers and actions)
- Inline and embedded forms (no landing pages)
- Basic segmentation
- No conditional content, no generative AI, no A/B testing
What you do not get: Landing pages, site messages, AI writing tools, A/B automation testing, advanced segmentation, or any CRM features.
Verdict on Starter: This plan works if you need broadcast emails and simple drip sequences. The moment you need landing pages, behavioral segmentation, or more than one user, you hit a wall immediately.
Plus
The most popular tier for growing businesses.
What you get over Starter:
- Landing pages
- Generative AI for email content
- Site messages (on-site pop-ups and notifications)
- Unlimited automation triggers and actions
- 1 user seat (still just one, this is a common surprise)
What you still do not get: A/B testing for automations, advanced segmentation, conditional content, attribution tracking, or multiple users without paying extra.
Plus is the minimum viable plan for anyone running real marketing automation. Starter is too restricted for most professional use cases.
Pro (Previously "Professional")
The tier where ActiveCampaign becomes a serious marketing platform.
What you get over Plus:
- 3 user seats included
- 12× monthly email send limit
- A/B testing for emails and automation sequences
- Advanced segmentation and conditional content
- Conversion and attribution tracking
- Predictive sending (send-time optimization)
Who needs Pro: Teams running multi-step nurture sequences with revenue attribution, or any business where you need to test and optimize automation logic, not just email subject lines.
Enterprise
The full stack. Designed for large marketing teams or complex operational requirements.
What you get over Pro:
- 5 user seats included
- 15× monthly email send limit
- Custom objects (extend the data model)
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Premium segmentation and reporting
- Dedicated onboarding and priority support
- Custom mail server domain
Enterprise is custom-quoted for very large contact lists. For contact counts below 50,000, the pricing table below applies.
ActiveCampaign Pricing by Contact Count (2026)
All prices below are billed monthly. Annual billing reduces each figure by approximately 20%.
| Contacts | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $19 | $59 | $99 | $179 |
| 2,500 | $49 | $119 | $189 | $319 |
| 5,000 | $99 | $179 | $259 | $469 |
| 7,500 | $139 | $209 | $359 | $599 |
| 10,000 | $189 | $239 | $469 | $739 |
| 25,000 | N/A | $489 | $789 | $1,099 |
| 50,000 | N/A | $759 | $1,209 | $1,459 |
Note: Starter caps out at 10,000 contacts. To go beyond that, you must upgrade to Plus or higher.
Annual pricing equivalent (monthly cost when billed annually):
| Contacts | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | ~$15 | ~$47 | ~$79 | ~$143 |
| 5,000 | ~$79 | ~$143 | ~$207 | ~$375 |
| 10,000 | ~$151 | ~$191 | ~$375 | ~$591 |
| 25,000 | N/A | ~$391 | ~$631 | ~$879 |
Per-Contact Cost Math
Understanding the per-contact cost at scale shows where ActiveCampaign becomes expensive, and where it becomes competitive.
Starter plan:
- 1,000 contacts: $19 → $0.019 per contact
- 5,000 contacts: $99 → $0.020 per contact
- 10,000 contacts: $189 → $0.019 per contact
The per-contact cost on Starter is nearly flat, pricing scales linearly with list size.
Plus plan:
- 1,000 contacts: $59 → $0.059 per contact
- 5,000 contacts: $179 → $0.036 per contact
- 10,000 contacts: $239 → $0.024 per contact
- 25,000 contacts: $489 → $0.020 per contact
Plus actually becomes more cost-efficient at scale, the per-contact rate drops significantly as your list grows. If you have 25,000 contacts, Plus is only marginally more expensive per contact than Starter.
Key insight: For lists above 10,000 contacts, the cost gap between Starter and Plus narrows dramatically. Upgrading to Plus at 10,000+ contacts costs only $50/month more than Starter while unlocking significantly more capability.
Hidden Costs: What the Pricing Page Does Not Headline
This is where ActiveCampaign comparisons go wrong. The base plan price is only the starting point.
Extra Users
Every plan includes a fixed number of seats: 1 (Starter/Plus), 3 (Pro), 5 (Enterprise). Additional users cost $12/month per seat. A 3-person team on Plus pays $59 + $24 = $83/month minimum.
CRM Pipelines Add-On
ActiveCampaign's basic deal tracking is included in most plans, but the full sales pipeline CRM (called "Enhanced Pipelines") is an add-on at $68/month. The full Sales Engagement CRM with AI deal analysis costs $111/month.
This is critical: competitors often include CRM functionality in their base plans. With ActiveCampaign, a true CRM+email stack costs significantly more than the headline price suggests.
SMS Marketing
SMS is not included in any base plan. The SMS add-on starts at $16.83/month for 1,000 credits. Costs scale with volume and vary by country (international SMS costs more). If SMS is a meaningful channel for your business, budget at least $50–100/month extra depending on send volume.
Custom Reporting
The standard reporting included in all plans is functional but limited. The Custom Reporting add-on, which gives you 50 reports, 25 dashboards, and deeper attribution data, costs $159/month. This is a significant add-on that most growing businesses will eventually need if they are doing serious performance analysis.
Transactional Email (Postmark)
ActiveCampaign owns Postmark, a transactional email service. If you need to send transactional emails (receipts, password resets, account notifications) through ActiveCampaign infrastructure, Postmark starts at $15/month for 10,000 emails/month.
Onboarding
ActiveCampaign claims no mandatory onboarding fee, training and initial setup are included in the plan price. However, if you need dedicated onboarding support beyond what is included, professional services are available at additional cost and are priced on request.
Total Cost of Ownership Example
A realistic Plus plan setup for a 5,000-contact business with a 3-person team and SMS:
- Plus base: $179/month
- 2 extra users: $24/month
- SMS add-on: $50/month (estimated)
- Actual monthly cost: ~$253/month, versus the $179 headline price
ActiveCampaign vs. Competitors: Pricing Comparison
ActiveCampaign vs. Mailchimp
| Contacts | AC Starter | AC Plus | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $19 | $59 | ~$27 | ~$40 |
| 5,000 | $99 | $179 | $75 | $100 |
| 10,000 | $189 | $239 | $110 | $135 |
| 25,000 | N/A | $489 | $270 | $310 |
At small scales (1,000 contacts): Mailchimp Essentials and ActiveCampaign Starter are nearly identical in price. Mailchimp includes a free plan for up to 250 contacts; ActiveCampaign does not.
At larger scales (10,000+ contacts): ActiveCampaign becomes more expensive than Mailchimp Standard, but delivers meaningfully stronger automation logic. Mailchimp's automation builder is simpler; ActiveCampaign's is genuinely more powerful for complex sequences.
Verdict: If you need basic email newsletters, Mailchimp is cheaper. If you need serious automation with branching logic and behavioral triggers, ActiveCampaign delivers more value despite higher cost.
ActiveCampaign vs. Klaviyo
| Contacts | AC Plus | Klaviyo Email |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $59 | $30 |
| 5,000 | $179 | $100 |
| 10,000 | $239 | $150 |
| 25,000 | $489 | $375 |
Klaviyo is consistently cheaper than ActiveCampaign Plus and is built specifically for e-commerce (deep Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, revenue-per-email reporting out of the box).
Verdict: For e-commerce businesses, Klaviyo often wins on both price and e-commerce-specific features. For B2B SaaS or service businesses, ActiveCampaign's CRM integrations and lead scoring tend to be more relevant.
ActiveCampaign vs. HubSpot Marketing Hub
HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter begins at $15/seat/month with 1,000 marketing contacts included, but caps email sends and features heavily. HubSpot's Professional tier, which is comparable to ActiveCampaign Pro in capability, starts at $890/month (billed annually) for 2,000 marketing contacts, scaling steeply from there.
Verdict: ActiveCampaign is dramatically cheaper than HubSpot at equivalent capability levels. HubSpot wins if you are already in the HubSpot ecosystem and need CRM, Sales, and Marketing in a single platform. For pure marketing automation, ActiveCampaign offers comparable or better automation at a fraction of HubSpot Professional pricing.
Who Should Use Each Plan
Use Starter if:
- You are a solo operator or freelancer
- Your primary use case is newsletter broadcasts and simple drip sequences
- You have fewer than 5,000 contacts and no plans to scale rapidly
- You do not need landing pages or advanced segmentation
Use Plus if:
- You need landing pages integrated with your email sequences
- You want generative AI for content creation
- You are running multi-step automations with behavioral triggers
- You have a single marketing person managing everything
Use Pro if:
- You have a team of 2–3 people in marketing
- You need to A/B test automation sequences, not just email subject lines
- Attribution tracking and conversion data matter to your reporting
- You are in a longer sales cycle and need advanced segmentation to qualify leads
Use Enterprise if:
- You have a team of 5+ people in marketing
- You need custom data objects to model your specific customer data structure
- SSO is required for security compliance
- You are at 25,000+ contacts and need dedicated support and deliverability management
When to Upgrade, and When to Downgrade
Upgrade from Starter to Plus when: You find yourself manually creating landing pages in a separate tool and then manually syncing data back to ActiveCampaign. The workflow friction will cost you more in time than the $40/month difference.
Upgrade from Plus to Pro when: You start asking "which automation path actually converts better?", because without A/B testing for automations, you are guessing. Pro pays for itself if it helps you identify one underperforming sequence.
Upgrade from Pro to Enterprise when: User seats become a constraint, or you need to extend the data model to track custom attributes (product tier, contract value, industry vertical) natively in ActiveCampaign rather than in a spreadsheet.
Downgrade when: You are on a higher tier but using fewer than 60% of the features that justify the upgrade. Many businesses land on Plus and never touch the features that make Pro worth it. Annual audits of feature usage are worth doing.
Is ActiveCampaign Worth the Price?
ActiveCampaign is worth it if your business runs on nurture sequences, lead scoring, and behavioral automation. The automation builder is one of the most flexible available at this price point. For B2B businesses with longer sales cycles, the combination of email automation, CRM pipelines, and site tracking creates a complete system at a price far below HubSpot Professional.
It is not worth it if: you primarily send one-off broadcast emails, you are purely e-commerce (Klaviyo is better suited), or you need a free plan to get started (Mailchimp covers that gap).
The most common buyer mistake is underestimating total cost. Budget for the base plan plus at least one or two add-ons (extra user seat, SMS if relevant, CRM pipelines if you have a sales team). The real cost is typically 30–50% higher than the headline monthly price shown on the pricing page.
Related Reading
- 7 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives in 2026
- ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot (2026): Full Comparison
- Best Email Marketing Tools in 2026 Compared
- Best Mailchimp Alternatives in 2026 Compared
- HubSpot Pricing 2026: Plans and Hidden Costs
Frequently Asked Questions
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No. ActiveCampaign does not offer a free plan. There is a 14-day free trial that gives you access to the platform with up to 100 contacts and 100 email sends. You can request a trial extension from support, but there is no ongoing free tier.
How does billing work when my contact list grows?
ActiveCampaign bills you based on the contact tier bracket you are in. If you exceed your current tier, you are automatically moved to the next pricing bracket at your next billing cycle. You will not be charged per contact mid-cycle, but you will pay the higher tier rate on renewal.
Is there a discount for nonprofits or annual billing?
Yes. ActiveCampaign offers 20% off for annual billing and a separate 20% nonprofit discount. These are not stackable, you get one or the other, not both simultaneously.
What happens to my data if I cancel?
ActiveCampaign retains your data for 30 days after cancellation, during which you can export contacts, automations, and campaign history. After 30 days, data is deleted. Export everything before canceling.
Can I switch plans mid-billing cycle?
You can upgrade at any time, the cost difference is prorated for the remaining days in your billing cycle. Downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing cycle.
Does ActiveCampaign charge for unsubscribed contacts?
ActiveCampaign counts all contacts in your account toward your contact limit, including unsubscribed contacts. Regularly cleaning unsubscribed and bounced contacts from your list is important to avoid paying for contacts you cannot email.
Is CRM included in all plans?
Basic deal tracking and pipeline visibility are included in Plus and above. The enhanced CRM with automation, AI deal analysis, and advanced pipeline management is a paid add-on starting at $68/month. Starter does not include CRM features.
ActiveCampaign Pricing by Contact Tier: Full 500–100K Breakdown
The tables above cover the most common tiers. Here is the extended pricing matrix covering every contact bracket ActiveCampaign publishes, including the large-list tiers that most reviews omit.
Monthly Billing, Full Contact Tier Table
| Contacts | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $15 | $49 | $79 | $149 |
| 1,000 | $19 | $59 | $99 | $179 |
| 2,500 | $49 | $119 | $189 | $319 |
| 5,000 | $99 | $179 | $259 | $469 |
| 7,500 | $139 | $209 | $359 | $599 |
| 10,000 | $189 | $239 | $469 | $739 |
| 15,000 | N/A | $349 | $579 | $879 |
| 20,000 | N/A | $429 | $689 | $999 |
| 25,000 | N/A | $489 | $789 | $1,099 |
| 30,000 | N/A | $529 | $879 | $1,199 |
| 40,000 | N/A | $629 | $1,039 | $1,349 |
| 50,000 | N/A | $759 | $1,209 | $1,459 |
| 75,000 | N/A | Custom | Custom | Custom |
| 100,000 | N/A | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Key observations from the full table:
- Starter maxes out at 10,000 contacts. There is no path to scale beyond that without upgrading to Plus or higher.
- The Plus-to-Pro gap narrows as contact count increases. At 50,000 contacts, Plus costs $759 and Pro costs $1,209, a $450 difference for significantly more features.
- Enterprise pricing beyond 50,000 contacts is custom-quoted. Expect $1,500–$2,500/month for 75,000–100,000 contacts based on reported user data.
- The per-contact cost drops meaningfully at scale: Plus at 50,000 contacts costs $0.015/contact, compared to $0.059/contact at 1,000 contacts.
Annual Billing, Full Contact Tier Table (20% Savings)
| Contacts | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | ~$12 | ~$39 | ~$63 | ~$119 |
| 1,000 | ~$15 | ~$47 | ~$79 | ~$143 |
| 2,500 | ~$39 | ~$95 | ~$151 | ~$255 |
| 5,000 | ~$79 | ~$143 | ~$207 | ~$375 |
| 10,000 | ~$151 | ~$191 | ~$375 | ~$591 |
| 25,000 | N/A | ~$391 | ~$631 | ~$879 |
| 50,000 | N/A | ~$607 | ~$967 | ~$1,167 |
Annual billing saves approximately $228–$3,504 per year depending on the plan and contact tier. For any business committing to ActiveCampaign for 12+ months (which is most), annual billing is always the correct choice.
Plan Feature Comparison: Side-by-Side Matrix
This table shows exactly which features are included in each plan, the kind of detail that the pricing page buries behind tooltips and expandable sections.
| Feature | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email Campaigns | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Marketing Automation | Basic (limited triggers) | Full | Full | Full |
| Automation Triggers | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Email Send Limit | 10x contacts | 10x contacts | 12x contacts | 15x contacts |
| User Seats Included | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Landing Pages | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Generative AI (email) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Site Messages | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| A/B Testing (emails) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| A/B Testing (automations) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Segmentation | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Conditional Content | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Conversion Tracking | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Attribution Reporting | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Predictive Sending | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Objects | No | No | No | Yes |
| SSO | No | No | No | Yes |
| Custom Mail Server Domain | No | No | No | Yes |
| Dedicated Onboarding | No | No | No | Yes |
| CRM Pipelines | Add-on ($68+) | Add-on ($68+) | Add-on ($68+) | Add-on ($68+) |
| SMS Marketing | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on |
| Custom Reporting | Add-on ($159) | Add-on ($159) | Add-on ($159) | Add-on ($159) |
| Transactional Email | Add-on (Postmark) | Add-on (Postmark) | Add-on (Postmark) | Add-on (Postmark) |
The feature gaps between tiers are significant. The jump from Starter to Plus unlocks landing pages, full automation, and AI. The jump from Plus to Pro unlocks testing, segmentation, and attribution, the features that let you optimize. Enterprise adds governance and data model customization.
ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: Full Pricing Comparison
HubSpot is the competitor most often compared to ActiveCampaign, but the pricing structures are fundamentally different. HubSpot charges per user seat on Sales Hub and per contact tier on Marketing Hub. ActiveCampaign bundles both into a single subscription.
| Feature / Tier | ActiveCampaign Plus (5K contacts) | ActiveCampaign Pro (5K contacts) | HubSpot Marketing Starter (5K) | HubSpot Marketing Pro (2K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $179 | $259 | ~$100 | ~$800 |
| Automation depth | Full multi-step | Full + A/B testing | Basic workflows | Full workflows |
| Landing pages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| A/B testing | Email only | Email + automations | Email only | Email + workflows |
| CRM included | Add-on ($68+) | Add-on ($68+) | Free CRM (basic) | Free CRM (basic) |
| User seats | 1 (extra $12/ea) | 3 (extra $12/ea) | Unlimited (view-only) | Unlimited (view-only) |
| Contact scoring | No | Yes (predictive) | No | Yes |
| Attribution | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Annual cost (approx) | ~$1,716 | ~$2,484 | ~$1,080 | ~$9,600 |
The takeaway: ActiveCampaign Pro delivers comparable functionality to HubSpot Marketing Professional at roughly 25% of the cost. HubSpot wins when you need its CRM, Sales Hub, and Service Hub in a unified platform. For pure marketing automation, ActiveCampaign is dramatically more cost-effective.
ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp: Extended Comparison
| Feature | ActiveCampaign Plus | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 contacts/month | $59 | ~$30 |
| 5,000 contacts/month | $179 | ~$100 |
| 10,000 contacts/month | $239 | ~$135 |
| 25,000 contacts/month | $489 | ~$310 |
| 50,000 contacts/month | $759 | ~$450 |
| Automation complexity | Multi-step, conditional | Basic sequences |
| Contact scoring | Pro plan only | No |
| Site tracking | Yes | Limited |
| Landing pages | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | No | Yes (250 contacts) |
| Charges for unsubscribes | Yes | Yes |
| CRM | Add-on | No |
Mailchimp is 30–50% cheaper at every tier but offers significantly less automation depth. The decision hinges entirely on whether you need complex, multi-step behavioral automation.
ActiveCampaign vs Brevo: Cost Comparison
Brevo charges by email volume, not contacts, making it categorically different.
| Scenario | ActiveCampaign Plus | Brevo Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 contacts, 20K emails/mo | $179/mo | $65/mo |
| 10,000 contacts, 40K emails/mo | $239/mo | $75/mo |
| 25,000 contacts, 60K emails/mo | $489/mo | $89/mo |
| 50,000 contacts, 100K emails/mo | $759/mo | $129/mo |
Brevo is dramatically cheaper for large lists with moderate send frequency. The tradeoff: Brevo's automation builder is less sophisticated than ActiveCampaign's, and the deliverability infrastructure is less mature. For businesses that need the automation depth, ActiveCampaign justifies the premium. For businesses that primarily need to send campaigns to large lists, Brevo wins on economics.
Discount Strategies: How to Pay Less for ActiveCampaign
1. Annual Billing (20% Off)
The most straightforward discount. Every plan tier offers 20% off when billed annually. On a Pro plan at 10,000 contacts, that is $469/month versus ~$375/month, saving $1,128 per year.
2. Nonprofit Discount (20% Off)
ActiveCampaign offers a 20% discount for registered nonprofits. Note: this does not stack with annual billing. You get one or the other, not both. If you are a nonprofit, annual billing and the nonprofit discount save the same amount, use whichever billing cycle works for your cash flow.
3. Negotiate at Renewal
ActiveCampaign's retention team has flexibility to offer discounts at renewal, especially if you are on an annual plan and signal you are evaluating alternatives. Real-world reports suggest 10–25% renewal discounts are achievable, particularly for Plus and Pro tier customers with 10,000+ contacts.
4. Start on a Lower Tier and Upgrade
Do not buy Pro on day one unless you are certain you need A/B automation testing and attribution tracking immediately. Start on Plus, use it for 90 days, and evaluate whether the Pro features would actually change your results. Many teams discover that Plus covers 90% of their needs.
5. Clean Your Contact List Before Every Billing Cycle
ActiveCampaign charges for all contacts including unsubscribes. Run a quarterly list cleanup to archive unsubscribed, bounced, and disengaged contacts (no opens or clicks in 90+ days). A 10,000-contact list with 15% dead weight means you are paying for 1,500 contacts you cannot reach.
6. Bundle Negotiation for CRM + SMS
If you need both the CRM pipelines add-on and SMS credits, negotiate them as a bundle during initial purchase or renewal. Vendors discount add-ons more willingly than base plans because the marginal cost to them is lower.
Total Cost of Ownership: Realistic Budget Scenarios
The base plan price is never the real cost. Here are four realistic scenarios with all costs included.
Scenario 1: Solo Marketer, 2,500 Contacts
| Line item | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Plus plan (2,500 contacts) | $119 |
| Extra users | $0 (1 seat included) |
| Add-ons | $0 |
| Total | $119/mo ($1,428/yr) |
Scenario 2: Small Team, 10,000 Contacts
| Line item | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Pro plan (10,000 contacts) | $469 |
| Extra users (2 additional) | $24 |
| CRM pipelines | $68 |
| Total | $561/mo ($6,732/yr) |
Scenario 3: Growth Company, 25,000 Contacts
| Line item | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Pro plan (25,000 contacts) | $789 |
| Extra users (4 additional beyond 3 included) | $48 |
| CRM pipelines with AI | $111 |
| SMS credits (5,000/mo) | ~$80 |
| Custom reporting | $159 |
| Total | $1,187/mo ($14,244/yr) |
Scenario 4: Enterprise, 50,000 Contacts
| Line item | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Enterprise plan (50,000 contacts) | $1,459 |
| Extra users (10 additional beyond 5 included) | $120 |
| CRM with AI | $111 |
| SMS credits (20,000/mo) | ~$300 |
| Custom reporting | $159 |
| Postmark transactional email | $35 |
| Total | $2,184/mo ($26,208/yr) |
The gap between headline price and total cost ranges from minimal (Scenario 1) to nearly 50% (Scenario 4). Always build a line-item budget before committing.
ActiveCampaign Free Trial: What You Actually Get
ActiveCampaign does not have a free plan. The 14-day free trial includes:
- Access to the Pro plan feature set (not Starter)
- Up to 100 contacts
- Up to 100 email sends
- Full automation builder access
- CRM pipeline access (trial-only)
- No credit card required to start
What you cannot do on the trial: Send to a real list. The 100-contact limit means you are testing workflows, not running live campaigns. Import a sample segment of your actual contacts to test automation logic, deliverability, and the editor experience.
Trial extension: ActiveCampaign support will extend trials by 7–14 days on request, particularly if you are actively building automations and need more time to evaluate.
Compared to competitors: Mailchimp offers a permanent free plan (250 contacts). Brevo offers a permanent free plan (300 emails/day). MailerLite offers a permanent free plan (1,000 subscribers). ActiveCampaign's trial is the most restrictive entry point in this category.
When ActiveCampaign Is Not Worth It
ActiveCampaign is a strong platform, but it is the wrong choice in specific scenarios:
You primarily send newsletters. If your email strategy is a weekly broadcast to your entire list, you are overpaying. MailerLite or Brevo handles this at 50–80% less cost.
You are an e-commerce business. Klaviyo is purpose-built for e-commerce with native Shopify/WooCommerce integrations, revenue-per-email reporting, and predictive purchase analytics. ActiveCampaign can work for e-commerce but requires more configuration.
You need a free starting point. ActiveCampaign's 14-day trial is not enough for some businesses to evaluate properly. If you need to grow into a paid plan gradually, start with Mailchimp, MailerLite, or Brevo's free tier.
Your list is under 1,000 contacts. At this scale, the pricing difference between ActiveCampaign and competitors is minimal in absolute terms, but you are paying for automation capabilities you probably are not using yet. Start free elsewhere and migrate to ActiveCampaign when your automation needs mature.
You need built-in CRM without add-on fees. HubSpot includes CRM in every plan (including free). ActiveCampaign charges $68–$111/month extra for meaningful CRM functionality. If CRM integration is a core requirement, factor this into the comparison.
ActiveCampaign Pricing History: How Costs Have Changed
Understanding pricing trends helps predict future costs:
| Year | Starter (1K contacts) | Plus (1K contacts) | Notable changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $9 (Lite plan) | $49 (Plus plan) | Original 4-tier structure |
| 2022 | $9 | $49 | Prices stable |
| 2023 | $29 (renamed Lite) | $49 | First price increase on entry tier |
| 2024 | $15 (renamed Starter) | $49 | Tier restructure, features shifted |
| 2025 | $19 | $59 | Price increases across all tiers |
| 2026 | $19 | $59 | Stable (current) |
The pattern: ActiveCampaign has increased prices by roughly 50–100% on entry-tier plans since 2021. Plus and Pro have seen smaller percentage increases but remain on an upward trend. Budget for 10–15% annual price increases when forecasting multi-year costs.
Summary
ActiveCampaign pricing in 2026 starts at $15/month (Starter, 500 contacts) and scales to $1,459+/month (Enterprise, 50,000 contacts) before add-ons. Annual billing saves 20%. The most important factors beyond the base price: your contact count, how many users need access, whether you need CRM pipelines, and whether SMS is in your stack.
For most B2B businesses running marketing automation seriously, Plus or Pro is the realistic starting point, not Starter. Budget for add-ons, the real cost is typically 30–50% higher than the headline monthly price. Use annual billing, clean your list quarterly, and negotiate at renewal to minimize costs over time.
Last verified: March 2026
Originally published on konabayev.com.
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