ActiveCampaign Pricing 2026: All Plans Broken Down (With Hidden Costs)
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 | ~$20 | ~$30 |
| 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 500 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 | $115 |
| 10,000 | $239 | $165 |
| 25,000 | $489 | $415 |
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 around $20/month for 1,000 contacts but caps email sends and features heavily. HubSpot’s Professional tier — which is comparable to ActiveCampaign Pro in capability — starts at approximately $800/month (billed annually) for 2,000 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.
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.
Summary
ActiveCampaign pricing in 2026 starts at $19/month (Starter, 1,000 contacts) and scales to $1,099+/month (Enterprise, 25,000 contacts). 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 and you will avoid the sticker shock that comes when the first full invoice arrives.
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