ActiveCampaign Pricing: Punches Above Weight Class

ActiveCampaign has built its reputation as one of the most powerful marketing automation platforms, but its pricing structure often sparks debate. After ActiveCampaign introduced a new 4-tier pricing model in August 2024, eliminating grandfathered plans and raising rates by up to 40%, I’ve seen some customers report their costs doubled or even tripled.

This guide breaks down ActiveCampaign’s pricing plans, plan features, hidden costs, and how it stacks up against ActiveCampaign alternatives like Mailchimp and Klaviyo. Whether you’re a startup, small business, or enterprise, you’ll see where ActiveCampaign offers value—and when alternatives may make more sense.

ActiveCampaign Pricing at a Glance

ActiveCampaign Plans & Costs Reviewed

ActiveCampaign gives you a free trial to test things out, then you can pick from Lite, Plus, Professional, or Enterprise—each unlocking more automation, CRM tools, and support.

Free Trial Reviewed

ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer a free plan, but their 14-day free trial lets you test the platform before committing. During the trial, you can manage up to 100 subscribers and send 100 emails, which is barely enough to evaluate basic email campaigns and automation features.

However, trial functionality is limited — you only get one user seat and no AI-generated campaigns. Support is restricted to email only, meaning slower response times from the support team. I’ve found that the trial period is quite short for fully testing advanced features, and you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan to continue using the platform after 14 days.

For those needing a permanent free option, Sender offers up to 15,000 emails monthly to 2,500 subscribers at no cost.

Starter Plan

The ActiveCampaign starter plan is the most affordable way to begin with ActiveCampaign. At a monthly price of $15 for up to 1,000 contacts with annual billing, it unlocks 10x contact list email sends and entry-level email automation including basic automated email sequences.

While it doesn’t include the powerful automation features or insights found in higher tiers, I’ve seen it work well for businesses starting their email marketing journey. 

Since the August 2024 restructuring eliminated grandfathered plans and raised rates significantly, this entry point has become more expensive for new users. Budget-conscious startups might find better value with Sender, which offers more generous limits even on free plans. 

Entrepreneurs and small teams benefit from professional tools like segmentation and personalization, without paying enterprise-level costs. It’s a cost-efficient first step up into paid plans for anyone who wants to grow a list and start running reliable campaigns.

Plus Plan

The ActiveCampaign Plus plan, priced at $49/month for up to 1,000 contacts with annual plans, is ActiveCampaign’s most popular tier among ActiveCampaign users. After the 2024 pricing overhaul, I’ve noticed this tier still delivers value despite the higher price point. 

The plan takes advanced automation and advanced segmentation to the next level with branching workflows, CRM add-on integration, and tools like lead scoring, landing pages, and Facebook Custom Audiences. This makes it ideal for growing companies that want to align marketing and sales engagement while gaining actionable insights into customer behavior. 

You’ll also unlock chat support, site messages, and stronger integrations, bridging the gap between basic email marketing and advanced customer experience management. For sales teams and most small-to-mid-sized businesses, this paid plan hits the sweet spot of cost vs. value with all the tools needed for growth.

Pro Plan

The Pro plan (a.k.a ActiveCampaign Professional plan), starting at $79/month for 1,000 contacts, unlocks ActiveCampaign’s most powerful marketing orchestration tools. 

The professional plan includes split automations, predictive sending, and conditional content to help you deliver hyper-personalized customer journeys. Advanced attribution reporting lets you tie revenue directly to campaigns, giving marketing teams clear ROI visibility.

Designed for scaling businesses, the Pro tier helps align marketing, sales CRM, and customer experience with data-driven decision-making as a comprehensive sales platform. If you’re ready to maximize automation efficiency and dive into deeper analytics with all these features, the Pro plan provides a strong balance of sophistication and scalability.

Enterprise Plan

The ActiveCampaign Enterprise plan is built for organizations that need scalability, customization, and white-glove support. Starting at $145/month and scaling with contact volume, this tier provides everything from unlimited email sending to enterprise-grade security features like SSO and HIPAA compliance. 

What sets it apart is the dedicated account manager, phone support, unlimited users, and onboarding support, ensuring smooth setup and campaign optimization. Custom objects and tailored solutions make it ideal for large businesses with multiple teams, complex workflows, or compliance requirements. 

For companies operating at scale with sophisticated deal stages in their pipeline, the Enterprise plan delivers a premium marketing platform backed by priority support.

ActiveCampaign Hidden Fees & Extra Costs

While ActiveCampaign’s pricing page appears straightforward, there are a few extra costs I’ve learned to watch for based on my ActiveCampaign review experience. Exceeding your contact limit automatically bumps you into a higher pricing tier, which can significantly raise monthly costs—especially painful after the 2024 restructuring that eliminated grandfathered plans. 

ActiveCampaign add-ons like transactional email (via Postmark) and SMS marketing (the SMS add-on starts at varying rates based on usage) are billed separately. Businesses with advanced needs may also face costs for custom domains, additional seats, or premium integrations. Enterprise users should factor in potential implementation and onboarding fees. 

While not strictly “hidden,” these charges can add up quickly, so it’s worth estimating usage before committing to a plan.

ActiveCampaign Pricing by Subscriber Count

ActiveCampaign Transactional Emails Pricing

Transactional Plans Breakdown

ActiveCampaign’s transactional emails, delivered via Postmark, use a block-based pricing model. Each block includes 25,000 emails for $30, and businesses can purchase multiple blocks as needed. The more blocks you buy, the lower the cost per block, with pricing dropping from $30 to as low as $20 per block for very high volumes.

This makes the system predictable and scalable, especially for ecommerce brands or SaaS platforms sending essential emails like receipts, confirmations, and password resets. The flexibility of buying blocks ensures businesses can match their email needs without being locked into rigid tiers.

Per-Email Costs by Volume

When you break down Postmark’s block pricing, the cost per email decreases significantly as volume grows. At the entry level, 25,000 emails for $30 works out to $0.0012 per email. By the time you’re purchasing 40+ blocks (1,000,000+ emails), the rate drops to just $0.0008–$0.00096 per email, delivering major cost efficiency.

This makes Postmark highly competitive against other transactional providers, particularly for businesses with large-scale sending needs. In short, the more you send, the less you pay per email—an attractive model for companies scaling quickly or handling high-frequency transactional communications.

ActiveCampaign SMS Pricing & Costs

ActiveCampaign vs. Competitors: Which Costs Less?

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See comparison

See comparison

Is ActiveCampaign Worth the Price?

ActiveCampaign makes the most sense for businesses that need advanced automation, CRM integration, and multi-channel marketing without jumping to enterprise-level tools like HubSpot. It’s especially valuable for agencies, SaaS companies, and mid-sized businesses looking to scale personalization and track ROI. 

However, after the August 2024 changes that saw some customers’ costs triple, I’ve noticed it may not be the best fit for very small startups or ecommerce brands with niche needs. In those cases, Mailchimp offers a cheaper, simpler option for beginners, while Klaviyo delivers stronger ecommerce-specific features. 

Startups on tight budgets may also find Sender more cost-effective with its generous free plan.

ActiveCampaign Pricing FAQs