ActiveCampaign
Deep marketing automation with a CRM and EU data centres
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform built for businesses whose email is driven by behaviour, with a CRM, conditional logic and EU data centres available. There is no free plan and the Starter tier costs $15 per month for 1,000 contacts. It suits teams whose automation has outgrown simpler tools.
What it costs as your list grows
- 1k subscribers $15/mo
- 10k subscribers $149/mo
Cheapest paid plan covering that list size, on yearly billing.
Pricing verified on 10 August 2026 · Entry last reviewed 10 August 2026
ActiveCampaign at a glance
Features
- No: Paid subscriptions
- No: Referral program
- Yes: Landing pages
- Yes: Custom domain
- Yes: API
- Yes: A/B testing
Data and compliance
- Yes: EU hosting
- Yes: GDPR DPA
- Yes: List export
What ActiveCampaign is
ActiveCampaign is the tool people move to when their automation stops fitting in a simple builder. The core of the product is a workflow canvas where conditions, branches, waits and scores combine into logic that most competitors simply cannot express, and a CRM sits underneath it so the sales side sees the same contact record.
That depth is the whole proposition and also the whole warning. Nothing about ActiveCampaign is aimed at publishing; it is aimed at reacting to what people do.
Pricing
There is no free plan, which puts ActiveCampaign in a small group here alongside Ghost and Constant Contact. Starter is $15 a month at 1,000 contacts, and the tiers climb steeply: Plus at $49, Pro at $79, Enterprise at $145 at that same list size.
Watch the add-ons. SMS credits, extra CRM pipelines and custom reporting are priced separately, and the published tier price is a floor rather than a total.
What it does well
- The most capable automation builder in this comparison, by a clear margin
- CRM and email in one product, so contact history is not split across tools
- EU data centres available at no extra cost, which few US platforms offer
- Strong deliverability and a mature integration ecosystem
Where it falls short
- No free plan, so evaluation is limited to a 14-day trial
- Steep price jumps between tiers as contacts grow
- Genuinely complex: the learning curve is the price of the power
- Add-on costs make the advertised price misleading as a total
Who ActiveCampaign is for
A good fit
Businesses whose email is triggered by customer behaviour and whose automation has outgrown what simpler tools can express.
- Teams whose workflows need branching, conditions and scoring that simpler builders cannot express
- Businesses that want the CRM and the email tool to be the same product rather than two integrations
- European companies, since data can sit in an EU data centre at no extra cost
- Anyone running lifecycle email where the trigger is a customer action, not a publishing calendar
Not a fit
You publish a newsletter, want a free plan, or your automation would fit in three simple rules.
- You send a newsletter and will never build a funnel , use MailerLite instead
- You want to start on a free plan, since there is only a 14-day trial , use GetResponse instead
- The newsletter is the product and you need sponsorships and referrals , use Beehiiv instead
Alternatives to ActiveCampaign
Kit
Automation-heavy email platform for creators who sell things
$33/mo · Free plan: 10,000 subscribersGetResponse
EU-based all-in-one: email, webinars, courses and funnels
$19/mo · Free plan: 500 contactsMailerLite
Simple EU-hosted email marketing for small businesses
$12/mo · Free plan: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/monthActiveCampaign FAQ
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No. There is a 14-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, but no permanently free tier. Starter begins at $15 per month for 1,000 contacts.
How much does ActiveCampaign cost?
At 1,000 contacts, Starter is $15 per month, Plus $49, Pro $79 and Enterprise $145, all billed annually. Prices rise with contact count, and add-ons such as SMS and extra CRM pipelines are charged separately.
Can ActiveCampaign store data in the EU?
Yes. ActiveCampaign runs multi-regional data centres and customers can have their data stored in the EU at no additional cost, which is unusual among US-headquartered platforms.
Is ActiveCampaign worth it over MailerLite?
Only if you will actually use the automation. ActiveCampaign's builder handles branching and conditional logic that MailerLite cannot express, but if your sequences are linear you are paying for depth you will not open.
Is ActiveCampaign good for newsletters?
It sends them competently, but there is no paid subscription support, no referral programme and no discovery. It is a lifecycle marketing tool, not a newsletter platform.
Whichever platform you pick
Niusleters is where you get paid for it: publish your newsletter, set your price and let brands find you.
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