8 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives Tested in 2026
Nothing on this page is both cheaper than ActiveCampaign and as good at automation. That is not a hedge, it is what our own numbers say. ActiveCampaign scores 9.5/10 on automation and 8.5/10 on deliverability — the highest deliverability rating of any platform in our database of 42. Every alternative that matches it on automation scores worse on value for money, and every alternative that beats it on value collapses on automation.
So the useful question is not “what is cheaper”, it is whether you actually use the automation you are paying for. We priced 8 alternatives against ActiveCampaign, ranked by the review score each already carries on this site, and split them by that question. Four are honest downgrades that save real money. Four are sideways or upward moves that cost more. We say which is which.
Why look for an ActiveCampaign alternative in 2026
Two reasons, and only one of them is about the product.
The first is that ActiveCampaign will not tell you what it costs. Checked on the vendor’s own pricing page in September 2026: all ten tiers render their price as “Starts at ##### –/mo”. Not a figure, not a range, with “Customize your plan” underneath. You cannot compare ActiveCampaign to anything without first giving up your details, which is why our value score sits at 5.0/10 where 8.5 is achievable.
The second is support, at 6.5/10. A branching automation canvas is the kind of tool where you need an answer on a Tuesday afternoon. EmailOctopus rates 9.0 on support and Omnisend 8.5, both while doing considerably less.
What you would be giving up is not in dispute. Automation at 9.5/10, tied with Klaviyo for the highest in our database. Deliverability at 8.5/10, which nothing below matches. And an official remote MCP server. If the automation is load-bearing for your revenue, negotiate the quote rather than move.
8 ActiveCampaign alternatives at a glance
Ranked by the review score each platform carries on SMTPedia. ActiveCampaign scores 7.2. Click any name to jump to its block.
| Platform | Score | Starting $ | Free plan | Best for | MCP | Deliverability | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | 7.7 | $9/mo | 300/day, 100k contacts | Published price, plus a CRM | Yes | Medium | Value 8.5 vs 5.0, automation 6.0 vs 9.5 |
| MailerLite | 7.4 | $10.80/mo | 250 subs, 2,500 emails | Keeping deliverability, cutting the bill | Yes | High | Smallest deliverability drop here |
| Klaviyo | 7.3 | Not published | 250 profiles, 500 emails | Ecommerce, automation kept | Yes | High | Ties automation 9.5, value falls to 3.5 |
| Sender | 7.3 | $6.30/mo | 2,500 subs, 15,000 emails | Cheapest real automation | No | Low | Automation 7.5 free, deliverability 5.5 |
| Customer.io | 7.1 | $100/mo | None | Product teams, not lists | Yes | Medium | Upgrade in kind, downgrade in price |
| EmailOctopus | 7.1 | $9/mo | 2,500 subs, 10,000 emails | Admitting you never used the canvas | No | Medium | Support 9.0, automation 4.0. Honest downgrade |
| Omnisend | 7.1 | $11.20/mo | 250 contacts, 500 emails | Retail, flows prebuilt | Yes | Low | Deliverability drops 3.5 points |
| HubSpot | 6.5 | $7/seat/mo | 2 users, 2,000 sends | The real need was a CRM | Yes | Low | Lowest value score in our database, 3.0 |
Scores are the overall review score published on each platform’s own SMTPedia page, out of 10, not a rating made for this comparison. Category figures quoted in the Verdict column come from the same reviews. Prices verified 2026-09-15 on each vendor’s own pricing page or help centre. Deliverability grades map our deliverability score: High is 8.0 and above, Medium 6.0 to 7.9, Low under 6.0. ActiveCampaign itself rates High. “Not published” means the vendor displays no price before you configure a quote.
1. Brevo — the price is on the page, and so is a CRM
Brevo
Better for: the small team that wanted a CRM and an email tool, and is now paying enterprise rates for a canvas it half-uses
Brevo is the highest-scoring platform in our database at 7.7, and it gets there without being better at anything ActiveCampaign is famous for. It wins on the boring axes: a readable price, billing on emails sent rather than contacts stored, a CRM included rather than bolted on, and support at 8.0 against 6.5.
| Where it lands | ActiveCampaign | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Published entry price | None, “##### –/mo” | From $9/mo, 5,000 emails |
| Value for money | 5.0/10 | 8.5/10 |
| Support | 6.5/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Free plan | None, trial only | 300/day, 100k contacts |
| Automation | 9.5/10 | 6.0/10 |
| Deliverability | High (8.5) | Medium (7.5) |
What you give up. Three and a half points of automation. Brevo handles a welcome series, an abandoned cart and a date-based sequence perfectly well; it does not handle conditional branching on custom event data with waits and goals. Past about six live automations you will feel this on day one. You also lose a point of deliverability.
Medium
1 to 2 days
Contacts, tags and custom fields import from CSV without drama. The automations are the work, and they must be rebuilt rather than ported.
From $9/mo
Starter, 5,000 emails per month
Billed on emails sent, not contacts stored. Free plan sends 300 a day and holds up to 100,000 contacts. Standard from $18/mo.
Prices verified 2026-09-15.
2. MailerLite — the smallest drop in inbox placement
MailerLite
Better for: the business whose emails land and whose workflows are three deep
If the reason you chose ActiveCampaign was deliverability rather than automation, this is the move that costs you least. MailerLite rates 8.0, half a point below, and nothing else here does better. It publishes its price: $10.80/mo annually at 500 subscribers, $18 at 1,000, and a flat $22.50 for unlimited sends.
| Where it lands | ActiveCampaign | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|
| Deliverability | High (8.5) | High (8.0) |
| Published entry price | None | $10.80/mo annual |
| Value for money | 5.0/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Unlimited sending tier | Quote only | Power, $22.50/mo annual |
| Support | 6.5/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Automation | 9.5/10 | 6.0/10 |
What you give up. The same three and a half automation points as Brevo, plus the CRM. MailerLite is a newsletter and landing-page tool with automation attached: no pipeline, no deals, no lead scoring. If your sales team logs into ActiveCampaign, they have nowhere to go here.
Medium
1 day
Subscribers, segments and fields import cleanly. Budget the day for rebuilding whichever automations you decide are worth keeping — usually fewer than you think.
From $10.80/mo
Comfort at 500 subscribers, billed annually
Free to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Power adds unlimited sending at $22.50/mo annual.
Read the full MailerLite review
Affiliate link. The price you pay and the score above are unaffected.
3. Klaviyo — the only platform that matches the automation
Klaviyo
Better for: the online store that needs the automation kept and will pay for it
This is the one move on the page that does not cost you capability. Klaviyo matches ActiveCampaign’s 9.5 on automation and comes within half a point on deliverability at 8.0, with flows built around orders, carts and catalogues rather than generic contact records. For a store that is a better-shaped engine, not merely an equal one.
| Where it lands | ActiveCampaign | Klaviyo |
|---|---|---|
| Automation | 9.5/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Ecommerce flows | Generic, built by you | Cart and catalogue native |
| Deliverability | High (8.5) | High (8.0) |
| Support | 6.5/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Value for money | 5.0/10 | 3.5/10 |
| Published entry price | None | None served to our checks |
What you give up: money, and you will not see how much in advance. Klaviyo’s value score is 3.5 against ActiveCampaign’s 5.0 — this is the one alternative here that is worse on price than the platform you are leaving. Billing counts active profiles — anyone who can be emailed, regardless of consent status — and the count takes up to 72 hours to refresh after a cleanup. Our pricing checks were served a page with no grid, for the third run running, so we publish no figure.
Medium
2 to 3 days
Contacts and events move, but the flows are worth rebuilding around Klaviyo’s ecommerce triggers rather than transcribing. Connect the store first.
Price not published
Free plan covers 250 profiles and 500 emails
The vendor’s pricing page did not serve a grid to any of our checks. We do not publish a number we cannot verify on the page.
Read the full Klaviyo review
Affiliate link. The price you pay and the score above are unaffected.
4. Sender — automation on a plan that costs nothing
Sender
Better for: the solo operator whose ActiveCampaign invoice stopped making sense
Sender scores 7.5 on automation — higher than Brevo, MailerLite, Omnisend and EmailOctopus — and gives it away on a free plan covering 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails. On automation per dollar, nothing here is close.
| Where it lands | ActiveCampaign | Sender |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier with automation | None | 2,500 subs, 15,000 emails |
| Entry paid price | Not published | $6.30/mo |
| Automation | 9.5/10 | 7.5/10 |
| Support | 6.5/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Value for money | 5.0/10 | 7.5/10 |
| Deliverability | High (8.5) | Low (5.5) |
What you give up, and it is the whole argument. Three points of deliverability, 8.5 down to 5.5. The largest drop on this page. You are leaving the best-delivering platform in our database for one of the weaker ones, and no saved subscription covers a campaign that lands in spam. No MCP server either.
Easy
4 to 6 hours
A small feature surface means little to port. Warm the new sending domain over two to three weeks — given the rating, treat that as mandatory rather than advisable.
From $6.30/mo
Standard, 500 subscribers and 6,000 emails
Professional is $10.50/mo for 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails. Pay-as-you-go runs $5.80 per 1,000 emails.
Prices verified 2026-09-15.
5. Customer.io — an upgrade in kind, not a saving
Customer.io
Better for: the SaaS or app team whose triggers are things people do in the product
ActiveCampaign thinks in contacts and tags; Customer.io thinks in events streamed from your application — a different model, not a deeper version of the same one. If your best automations already strain to express “hit the third onboarding step but never invited a teammate”, this expresses it natively. Automation 9.0 against 9.5, value 4.0 against 5.0, deliverability 7.0 against 8.5.
What you give up. Money and a marketer-friendly front end. The floor is $100/mo, overage runs $0.009 per extra profile, and Premium starts at $1,000/mo billed yearly. There is no free plan. It also expects engineering to send the events — without that, you have bought a worse ActiveCampaign.
Hard
1 to 2 weeks
The list moves in an afternoon. Instrumenting the events that make the tool worth buying is the real project, and it needs a developer.
From $100/mo
Essentials, 5,000 profiles, billed monthly
Extra profiles run $0.009 each. Premium starts at $1,000/mo billed yearly. No free plan.
Prices verified 2026-09-15.
6. EmailOctopus — the honest downgrade
EmailOctopus
Better for: the account with four automations, three of which have been paused since last year
For anyone who reads the automation score above and quietly admits they do not need it. EmailOctopus rates 4.0 on automation and does not pretend otherwise: newsletters and simple sequences, support answered faster than anyone here (9.0 against 6.5), value 8.5 against 5.0, $9/mo. Free tier 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails. Deliverability falls to 7.0.
What you give up. Five and a half points of automation, the CRM, and lead scoring. The free tier also stamps EmailOctopus branding on your emails and allows 1 landing page, 1 form and 1 user. No MCP server either. Choose this only after listing your live automations and finding the list short.
Easy
3 to 4 hours
The smallest destination on this page, so the least to move. Export, import, rebuild the one sequence you actually use.
From $9/mo
Pro, billed yearly
Free Starter holds 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month with vendor branding. The subscriber tier attached to the $9 price is not published.
Read the full EmailOctopus review
Affiliate link. The price you pay and the score above are unaffected.
7. Omnisend — retail flows without building them
Omnisend
Better for: the shop that bought ActiveCampaign for cart recovery and has been assembling it by hand ever since
Omnisend rates 7.0 on automation against 9.5, but that flatters ActiveCampaign: the flows a store actually wants — cart abandonment, browse abandonment, post-purchase, back-in-stock — ship ready-made, with SMS in the same sequence. Support 8.5 against 6.5, Standard $11.20/mo at 500 contacts, deliverability 5.0 against 8.5.
What you give up. Three and a half points of deliverability, 8.5 to 5.0 — the worst landing of any platform here. For a store that is not academic: a cart-recovery email that reaches the spam folder recovers nothing. Take this route only if the prebuilt flows genuinely replace work you are doing by hand, and warm the domain properly.
Medium
1 to 2 days
Contacts import quickly; connecting the store and mapping products is the work. Do that before switching any flow live.
From $11.20/mo
Standard at 500 contacts
Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails. Pro is $41.30/mo at 2,500 contacts with unlimited monthly emails.
Read the full Omnisend review
Affiliate link. The price you pay and the score above are unaffected.
8. HubSpot — only if the real need was a CRM
HubSpot
Better for: the company where sales and marketing were never going to stay in one email tool
The only destination here where email is a module of something larger. Automation rates 8.5, a point below ActiveCampaign, and runs against deals, tickets and pipeline rather than a contact list. Starter is $7/mo per seat annually at 1,000 marketing contacts, with a free tier for 2 users and 2,000 sends. Value 3.0 against 5.0, deliverability 5.5 against 8.5.
What you give up. Three points of deliverability and the lowest value score in our entire database, 3.0/10. The $7 seat price is the doorway, not the room: Professional is $800/mo on annual commitment at 2,000 contacts and carries a one-time onboarding fee of $3,000, and Enterprise starts at $3,600/mo with $7,000 of onboarding. Move here for the CRM or not at all.
Hard
2 to 4 weeks
This is a CRM implementation with an email migration inside it, not the reverse. Treat the sales side as the project and the list as an afternoon.
From $7/seat/mo
Starter, annual commitment, 1,000 marketing contacts
Free for 2 users and 2,000 monthly sends with HubSpot branding. Professional $800/mo plus $3,000 onboarding; Enterprise from $3,600/mo plus $7,000.
Read the full HubSpot review
Affiliate link. The price you pay and the score above are unaffected.
Leaving ActiveCampaign: what transfers, what breaks
ActiveCampaign alternatives: common questions
What does ActiveCampaign actually cost?
The vendor does not say. Checked on its own pricing page in September 2026, all ten tiers display “Starts at ##### –/mo”, with “Customize your plan” beneath. No starting figure, no range. That is why our value score is 5.0/10 despite 9.5 on automation: you cannot evaluate what you cannot see. We publish no estimate.
Is anything here both cheaper and as good at automation?
No. That is the clearest finding on this page. The three platforms that come close on automation — Klaviyo at 9.5, Customer.io at 9.0, HubSpot at 8.5 — all score worse than ActiveCampaign on value for money (3.5, 4.0 and 3.0 against 5.0). The platforms that beat it on value — Brevo and EmailOctopus at 8.5, MailerLite at 8.0 — drop to 6.0, 4.0 and 6.0 on automation. Cheaper means simpler. Decide which you need.
Will my deliverability get worse if I leave?
Probably, and measurably. ActiveCampaign rates 8.5/10, the highest of the 42 platforms in our database, and nothing on this page beats it. Closest are MailerLite and Klaviyo at 8.0. Five of the eight rate below: Brevo 7.5, Customer.io and EmailOctopus 7.0, HubSpot and Sender 5.5, Omnisend 5.0.
Which alternatives can an AI assistant drive?
Six of the eight publish an official MCP server: Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, Customer.io, Omnisend and HubSpot. Sender and EmailOctopus publish none. Leaving costs you nothing here: ActiveCampaign runs an official remote MCP server of its own. Check the replacement’s scope before switching — capabilities differ widely.
Can I keep my automations?
No. There is no interchange format for automation workflows in this category, so each one you keep is rebuilt by hand. That is the largest cost of leaving, and why the audit matters more than the price comparison: four simple sequences is an afternoon, a dozen branching workflows with waits and goals is a fortnight. Lead scores do not transfer either.
Which one should I pick?
Run the automation audit first. Four or fewer live automations: Brevo if you want a CRM and a published price, MailerLite if deliverability is what you are protecting, EmailOctopus if you want the bill to disappear, Sender if it should disappear entirely and you accept the deliverability drop. A dozen branching workflows: Klaviyo if you sell online, Customer.io if your triggers are product events, HubSpot if sales needed the CRM anyway — and note that all three cost more per unit of value than staying. Staying and renegotiating is a legitimate answer here, more so than on most of these pages.
This review follows our email infrastructure testing methodology. We disclose affiliate relationships in our editorial independence policy.
