Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives in 2026 (Feature & Pricing Comparison)

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

• Why Seek Alternatives: Users often look for ActiveCampaign alternatives due to its higher cost, lack of a free plan, and a learning curve that can be steep for beginners or small teams.
• Automation is the Differentiator: The primary difference between tools is the depth of their automation. ActiveCampaign excels at complex, multi-conditional workflows, while tools like MailerLite and Moosend offer simpler, more linear automation suitable for basic needs.
• Best Overall Alternative: Brevo is the best overall alternative, combining email, SMS, chat, and CRM features, with plans starting at an affordable $25/month.
• Best Free Plan: SendPulse, which includes email, chatbots, a CRM, and push notifications at no cost.
• Pricing Varies Widely: Your budget will play a large role. MailerLite and SendPulse offer robust free plans, making them great starting points. In contrast, platforms like Klaviyo and Customer.io are premium tools with pricing that reflects their advanced capabilities.

Top ActiveCampaign Alternatives: At a Glance

ActiveCampaign is a powerhouse in the marketing automation world, renowned for its sophisticated workflows and integrated CRM.

However, its robust feature set comes with a premium price tag and a learning curve that isn't always a perfect fit for every business. If you're searching for ActiveCampaign alternatives that offer a different balance of features, price, and usability, you've come to the right place.

Choosing the right platform is critical. The right tool can streamline your marketing, nurture leads effectively, and drive revenue. The wrong one can drain your budget and create frustrating bottlenecks.

This guide breaks down the best competitors to help you find the perfect fit for your business needs in 2026.

Why Look for an ActiveCampaign Alternative?

While ActiveCampaign is a top-tier platform, there are several common reasons why businesses explore other options:

• Cost: ActiveCampaign's pricing can be a significant investment, especially for startups and small businesses. Its plans scale quickly with contact numbers, and advanced features are locked behind more expensive tiers.
• No Free Plan: Unlike many competitors, ActiveCampaign only offers a 14-day free trial. This makes it difficult for businesses on a tight budget to get started without a financial commitment.
• Complexity: The sheer power of its automation builder and CRM can be overwhelming for users who only need basic email marketing and automation. The learning curve can be steep for teams without a dedicated marketing specialist.
• Specific Needs: Some businesses require features that are better served by specialized platforms, such as advanced e-commerce analytics (Klaviyo) or a more intuitive interface for beginners (MailerLite).

The Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives: Full Review

Here is our detailed review of the best tools to consider as an ActiveCampaign alternative, each with its own unique strengths.

1. Brevo

Overview:
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) has evolved from a simple email tool into an all-in-one marketing and sales platform.

It uniquely combines email marketing, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns, a sales CRM, and live chat, making it a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to consolidate their tools.

Its pricing model, often based on email volume rather than contacts, offers excellent value.Best For:
Small to medium-sized businesses that want an affordable, all-in-one platform with multichannel marketing and sales features.

Pros (Key Features):

• All-in-One Platform: Unifies email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, and a sales pipeline in one dashboard.
• AI-Powered Automation: Includes marketing automation with web tracking, lead scoring, and an intuitive workflow builder.
• Generous Free Plan: The free tier includes marketing automation and a solid number of features for up to 300 emails per day.
• Transactional Emails: Provides a robust SMTP service for sending transactional emails like password resets and order confirmations.

Cons (Limitations):

• The user interface can feel slightly less modern or polished compared to some competitors.
• The CRM is functional but not as advanced as dedicated systems like HubSpot.
• Daily sending limits on the free and lower-tier plans can be restrictive for some users.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 300 emails/day with unlimited contacts.
• Starter: Starts at $25/month for 20,000 emails/month.
• Business: Starts at $65/month, adding marketing automation, A/B testing, and advanced reporting.

2. Mailchimp

Overview:
Mailchimp is one of the most recognizable names in email marketing, largely due to its intuitive user interface and professionally designed templates. Its straightforward design makes it an excellent starting point for beginners or small business owners new to digital marketing.

Over the years, the platform has expanded beyond simple newsletters to include a broader suite of tools. These include an integrated website builder, social media ad management for cross-channel campaigns, and basic CRM functionality to help users organize their audience data more effectively.

Best For:
Beginners, small businesses, and content creators who prioritize ease of use and brand design.

Pros (Key Features):

• Intuitive Interface: Extremely easy to learn and navigate, with helpful tips throughout the platform.
• AI and Personalization: AI-powered tools help with content creation, send-time optimization, and personalization.
• Strong Integrations: Integrates easily with hundreds of other apps and platforms.
• Advanced Segmentation: Offers robust segmentation capabilities to target subscribers effectively.

Cons (Limitations):

• Pricing can become expensive as your list grows, often costing more than more powerful alternatives.
• The free plan is quite limited in terms of contacts and monthly sends.
• Advanced automation features are reserved for higher-priced plans.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 500 contacts and 1,000 emails/month.
• Essentials: Starts at $13/month for 500 contacts, adding A/B testing and basic automation.
• Standard: Starts at $20/month, adding more advanced automation and audience insights.

3. Moosend

Overview:
Moosend is an affordable email marketing platform that delivers a surprising range of advanced features, especially given its competitive price point.

It offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, making it easy for businesses to design professional and visually appealing email campaigns without requiring technical expertise. 

Additionally, Moosend includes powerful tools like marketing automation, which allows users to create personalized workflows to engage their audience more effectively.

It also provides options for building landing pages and creating customized subscription forms, helping businesses capture and nurture leads with ease. These features make Moosend an excellent choice for businesses seeking a budget-friendly platform that doesn’t compromise on functionality or value.

Best For:
Startups and small businesses that need marketing automation and landing pages on a tight budget.

Pros (Key Features):

• Email Marketing Automation: Visual workflow builder with pre-built templates for common scenarios.
• Unlimited Emails: All paid plans include unlimited email campaigns.
• AI-Powered Content: Offers AI-driven suggestions for subject lines and email copy.
• Landing Page Builder: Create and host landing pages to support your campaigns.

Cons (Limitations):

• The template selection is smaller and less modern than some competitors.
• The CRM functionality is very basic and not comparable to ActiveCampaign or Brevo.
• Integrations are available but the library is not as extensive as Mailchimp's or ActiveCampaign's.

Pricing:

• Free Trial: 30-day free trial available.
• Pro: Starts at $9/month for up to 500 subscribers, including landing pages and transactional emails.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced needs.

4. SendPulse

Overview:
SendPulse is a versatile multichannel marketing platform that expands its capabilities far beyond just email. It integrates various communication channels, including SMS marketing, web push notifications, and even chatbots compatible with popular messaging platforms like Facebook and Telegram.

By offering this wide range of tools, SendPulse positions itself as a comprehensive communication solution for businesses. It's particularly notable for its very generous free plan, which provides access to many of its core features without an initial investment, making it an attractive option for users on a budget.

Best For:
Businesses that want to engage customers across multiple channels and need a powerful free tool to get started.

Pros (Key Features):

• Multichannel Campaigns: Combine email, SMS, web push, and chatbots in a single platform.
• Generous Free Plan: The free plan includes email, chatbots, a landing page builder, and a basic CRM.
• Automated Sales Pipeline: The built-in CRM helps manage leads and automate sales processes.
• 24/7 Support: Offers multilingual customer support around the clock.

Cons (Limitations):

• The user interface can feel a bit cluttered with all the different features.
• Advanced automation capabilities are not as flexible as ActiveCampaign's.
• Email deliverability, while generally good, may not be as top-tier as more specialized email platforms.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month.
• Standard: Starts at $8/month for 500 subscribers.
• Pro: Starts at $9.60/month, adding more advanced features.

5. Klaviyo

Overview:
Klaviyo is a leading marketing automation platform specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. It stands out for its exceptionally deep integrations with platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and other major e-commerce solutions.

These integrations enable businesses to create highly tailored marketing campaigns by leveraging real-time customer data, such as browsing behavior, purchase history, and engagement patterns.

For example, e-commerce brands can use Klaviyo to send personalized product recommendations, follow up with abandoned cart reminders, or craft targeted email campaigns that resonate with individual customers. This level of customization helps businesses build stronger relationships with their audience, ultimately driving growth and customer loyalty.

Best For:
E-commerce businesses of all sizes that want to drive sales through data-driven, personalized marketing.

Pros (Key Features):

• Deep E-commerce Integrations: Unparalleled data syncing with Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce.
• Advanced Segmentation: Create dynamic segments based on purchase frequency, predictive analytics (like churn risk), and customer lifetime value.
• Proven Automation "Flows": A vast library of pre-built automation workflows for abandoned carts, browse abandonment, and post-purchase follow-ups.
• Powerful Reporting: E-commerce-centric analytics that directly attribute revenue to your marketing efforts.

Cons (Limitations):

• It is one of the more expensive options, with pricing based on contact count.
• The focus is almost entirely on e-commerce, making it less suitable for B2B or content-focused businesses.
• The interface is data-rich and can be complex for beginners.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 250 contacts and 500 email sends.
• Email: Starts at $20/month for 500 contacts.
• Email & SMS: Starts at $35/month for 500 contacts.

6. Customer io

Overview:
Customer.io is a powerful and flexible customer engagement platform designed for tech-savvy marketers in data-driven companies.

Its core strength lies in enabling highly personalized, automated messaging campaigns across multiple channels.

These channels include email, push notifications, SMS, and in-app messages, all triggered by real-time user behavior tracked directly within your product or website.

Best For:
SaaS companies, mobile apps, and subscription businesses that need to send behaviorally triggered messages across multiple channels.

Pros (Key Features):

• Real-Time Data Integration: Connects directly to your product's data to trigger messages based on what users do (or don't do).
• Flexible Segmentation: Create highly specific audience segments using a combination of event data, attributes, and page views.
• A/B Testing and Workflows: Build sophisticated, multi-branching workflows and test every aspect of your messaging.
• Cross-Channel Messaging: Orchestrate campaigns across email, SMS, and push notifications seamlessly.

Cons (Limitations):

• Requires technical knowledge to set up and integrate properly; not a plug-and-play tool.
• It is a premium, enterprise-focused tool with a higher price point.
• Less focused on traditional newsletter creation and more on event-triggered automation.

Pricing:

• Essentials: Starts at $100/month for up to 12,000 profiles.
• Premium: Starts at $1,000/month for advanced features and support.

7. MailerLite

Overview:
MailerLite has earned its reputation by focusing on simplicity, affordability, and delivering a clean, intuitive user experience that’s easy to navigate.

Designed with creators, freelancers, and small businesses in mind, it provides all the essential tools needed for effective email marketing. These include powerful automations to streamline workflows, a landing page builder to create high-converting pages, and even a website builder for those looking to establish a stronger online presence - all bundled into one easy-to-use platform.

Its straightforward design and user-friendly features make it a go-to choice for anyone looking to grow their audience without the complexity often associated with larger tools.

Best For:
Beginners, solopreneurs, and small businesses looking for a straightforward, budget-friendly, and effective email marketing tool.

Pros (Key Features):

• Exceptional Ease of Use: The drag-and-drop editor and overall interface are incredibly user-friendly.
• Great Value: Offers a very generous free plan and affordable paid plans with unlimited email sends.
• All-in-One Tools: Includes a website builder, blog creation, and the ability to sell digital products.
• Solid Automation: Provides simple but effective automation for welcome series, drip campaigns, and basic segmentation.

Cons (Limitations):

• Automation is less powerful and lacks the complex conditional logic of ActiveCampaign.
• Reporting is basic and doesn't offer the deep analytics of more advanced platforms.
• It has no built-in CRM or sales-focused features.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month.
• Growing Business: Starts at $15/month for 1,000 subscribers with unlimited emails.
• Advanced: Starts at $30/month, adding a custom HTML editor and promotion pop-ups.

How to Choose the Right Email Marketing Tool

With so many options, selecting the right platform can be daunting.

Focus on these key areas to make an informed decision:

Define Your Primary Goal

What is the primary function you need your email marketing tool to perform? For example, are you mainly focused on sending out a weekly newsletter to keep your audience engaged?

Or do you need the capability to run complex e-commerce automations, like abandoned cart reminders and post-purchase follow-ups?

Perhaps your focus is on managing a sales pipeline directly within the tool.

The needs of a content creator who just wants to share updates are vastly different from those of a SaaS company that requires sophisticated lead nurturing and sales tracking features.

Pinpointing your core objective will help narrow down the options significantly.

Evaluate Your Budget

Establish a clear budget before you begin your search.

If you are just starting out or have a limited marketing spend, platforms like MailerLite and SendPulse offer robust features at a lower price point.

Conversely, if your business requires high-level functionality and advanced automation, platforms such as ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo may represent a more significant financial investment, but they provide a higher return in terms of specialized tools and deep integration capabilities.

Assess Your Technical Skill

Be realistic about the technical expertise and bandwidth of your team. If you are just starting out or have limited technical experience, selecting a user-friendly platform with a gentle learning curve, such as MailerLite or Mailchimp, is often a more practical choice.

Choosing an overly complex tool like Customer.io before you are ready can lead to frustration and underutilized features.

It is important to select a tool that matches your current skill level while still allowing for future growth.

Consider Key Integrations

Start by compiling a comprehensive list of all the essential tools currently within your tech stack, such as your e-commerce platform, CRM, or booking software.

Once you have identified these core systems, verify that your chosen marketing platform can integrate with them seamlessly.

A smooth connection between these tools is vital to ensure data flows automatically and to help you avoid the frustration of repetitive manual data entry.

Look for Scalability

It is essential to select a platform that can grow alongside your business. While a basic tool might satisfy your current requirements, take the time to evaluate whether it offers the advanced features you will likely need in one or two years.

As your operations expand, your marketing needs will become more complex; ensuring your chosen platform can scale effectively will prevent the need for a difficult migration down the road.

Let ColdIQ Manage Your Outreach and Deliver Results

Choosing and managing an email marketing platform for sales outreach can be a full-time job. It requires technical setup, strategic planning, and constant optimization to generate qualified leads.

If you want the results of a powerful outbound system without the headache of managing it yourself, ColdIQ offers a complete, "done-for-you" solution.

We build and manage your entire cold outreach process, using the best-in-class tool stack and proven AI-powered workflows. Our team handles everything from infrastructure setup to appointment setting, delivering a predictable stream of qualified meetings directly to your sales team's calendar.

Instead of wrestling with software, you can focus on closing deals.

Book a free strategic call with ColdIQ today.