ActiveCampaign Pricing in 2026: Plans, Contact Tiers & True Cost
ActiveCampaign uses contact-based pricing with four tiers: Starter, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. Entry is $15/mo for 1,000 contacts on Starter (annual billing). No permanent free plan, but there's a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Costs scale steeply with list size.
Quick answer: At 1,000 contacts, annual billing: Starter $15/mo, Plus $59/mo, Pro $99/mo, Enterprise $179/mo. Starter's 5-action automation cap makes it unusable for real workflows, budget Plus ($59/mo) as the realistic starting point.
ActiveCampaign plans at 1,000 contacts (annual billing)
| Feature | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (1k contacts) | $15/mo | $59/mo | $99/mo | $179/mo |
| Users included | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Email sends | 10x contacts | 10x contacts | 12x contacts | 15x contacts |
| Automation actions per automation | 5 (capped) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Automation branching & conditions | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Landing pages | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Segmentation | Limited | Standard | Advanced | Premium |
| Predictive & conditional content | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO & dedicated account team | No | No | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days |
Source: independent pricing breakdowns of ActiveCampaign's annual-billing rates, verified April 2026. Prices ActiveCampaign publishes require a custom quote, so always confirm current rates on activecampaign.com/pricing.
Pricing by contact tier (Pro plan example)
ActiveCampaign prices scale with list size. Here's how the Pro plan looks at common contact tiers:
| Contacts | Starter | Plus | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $15/mo | $59/mo | $99/mo | $179/mo |
| 5,000 | $79/mo | $179/mo | $259/mo | $469/mo |
| 10,000 | $189/mo | $239/mo | $469/mo | $739/mo |
| 25,000+ | Contact sales | Custom | Custom | Custom |
All annual billing. annual billing is roughly 20% cheaper than monthly.
What each plan is actually for
Starter ($15/mo at 1k contacts)
Technically affordable but functionally limited. Automations are capped at 5 actions each with no branching, and there are no landing pages. Fine for simple broadcast newsletters. Any real automation (welcome series, lead nurture, abandoned cart) bumps you to Plus within weeks.
Plus ($59/mo at 1k)
The first "real" tier. Unlimited automation actions, conditional branching, landing pages, and SMS capability. Most small businesses running actual email marketing end up here.
Pro ($99/mo at 1k)
Adds predictive sending, predictive content, advanced segmentation, and conversion reporting. Worth it if you're running multi-channel campaigns and want ActiveCampaign's ML features. Includes 3 users.
Enterprise ($179/mo at 1k)
SSO, dedicated account team, custom objects, premium segmentation, 5 users. For larger organizations with security requirements or complex data needs.
Which plan do you actually need?
| If you are... | Recommended plan |
|---|---|
| Sending simple broadcast newsletters | Starter ($15/mo at 1k), or Mailchimp's free plan |
| Running welcome series or lead nurture automations | Plus ($59/mo at 1k) |
| Multi-channel campaigns with predictive features | Pro ($99/mo at 1k) |
| Enterprise team with SSO needs | Enterprise ($179/mo at 1k) |
| Doing cold outreach, not opt-in email | MentionAgent ($99/mo) for link building, or Instantly for cold email |
You have 5,000 contacts and want a welcome series with multiple conditions. Which ActiveCampaign plan fits and what's the monthly cost?
Right! Plus is the minimum for unlimited automation actions and branching. Starter's 5-action cap and lack of conditions make any real welcome series impossible.
Plus at $179/mo (5k contacts) is the minimum. Starter can't run conditions or branching and caps actions at 5. Pro is nicer-to-have for predictive features but not required.
Hidden costs and considerations
- Contact-based pricing. Adding subscribers increases your monthly bill. Unsubscribed but not deleted contacts still count.
- Annual vs monthly billing. annual billing is roughly 20% cheaper than monthly than the annual rates listed above.
- SMS credits sold separately. SMS on Plus+ is available but requires purchasing credits on top of your subscription.
- Starter is a trap for real workflows. The 5-action automation cap and no-branching limit mean Starter users often upgrade to Plus within 1-2 months.
- Extra users cost extra. Starter and Plus include 1 user. Additional users are paid add-ons.
- Onboarding fees. Some Enterprise and higher-tier plans include mandatory onboarding fees. Confirm during sales calls.
Is ActiveCampaign worth the price?
ActiveCampaign is the most powerful sub-enterprise email marketing automation platform. For teams running complex lifecycle campaigns, lead scoring, and multi-channel workflows, it's genuinely capable. The Plus tier ($59/mo at 1k) is where the value lives.
But at scale, pricing gets steep. At 10,000 contacts on Pro, $469/mo buys you MailerLite (roughly $70/mo at that volume) several times over, plus budget for SMS and landing pages. If you don't need ActiveCampaign's deeper automation, cheaper tools deliver most of the value.
And if your goal is cold outreach (getting new blogs to mention you, not nurturing existing subscribers), ActiveCampaign is the wrong category entirely. MentionAgent ($99/mo flat, no contact tier) automates link building outreach instead. See our ActiveCampaign review and alternatives guide.
Cheaper alternatives to ActiveCampaign
| Tool | Starting Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | $10/mo (1k) | Cheaper automation with a usable free plan |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | $9/mo | Email + SMS + transactional |
| Mailchimp | Free / $13/mo | Brand-safe starter email marketing |
| GetResponse | $19/mo | Email + webinars + landing pages |
| MentionAgent | $99/mo flat | Cold outreach for link building (different category) |
A solo founder with 500 contacts wants a welcome series and monthly newsletter. Spending $15/mo on ActiveCampaign Starter, what's the catch?
Right! 500 contacts is well under the 1k ceiling, but Starter caps automations at 5 actions and has no branching. A welcome series hits that cap on email #2.
The automation cap is the real issue. A basic welcome series (trigger + wait + send + wait + condition + send...) blows past 5 actions fast. You'd need Plus ($59/mo) for real automation.
At 10,000 contacts on Pro, ActiveCampaign is $469/mo. A cold outreach tool like MentionAgent is $99/mo flat. Why do they cost so differently?
Right! ActiveCampaign sends emails to your opt-in list, so price scales with list size. MentionAgent sends personalized cold emails to blogs you don't have a relationship with yet, with no list to store.
They solve different problems. ActiveCampaign nurtures subscribers (priced per contact). Cold outreach tools find new prospects and send one-off pitches (no stored list to charge for).
Cold outreach, flat-priced
MentionAgent finds relevant blogs, looks up contacts, writes personalized pitches, and follows up. $99/mo regardless of list size, because there's no list to charge for.
Start Getting Mentioned For $99/moFrequently asked questions
How much does ActiveCampaign cost?
At 1k contacts (annual): Starter $15/mo, Plus $59/mo, Pro $99/mo, Enterprise $179/mo. At 10k: $189, $239, $469, $739/mo respectively. Annual billing is ~20% cheaper than monthly.
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No. A 14-day free trial is offered with no credit card required, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee. No permanent free tier.
Which ActiveCampaign plan do I need?
Starter is fine for simple newsletters but caps automations at 5 actions. Plus is the first tier for real automation (unlimited actions, branching, landing pages). Pro adds predictive features. Enterprise is for SSO and dedicated support.
Is ActiveCampaign expensive compared to alternatives?
At entry it's comparable (~$15/mo). At scale, it's significantly more expensive than MailerLite or Brevo. For cold outreach, category-specific tools (MentionAgent, Instantly) fit the job better regardless of price.
Can I pay monthly instead of annually?
Yes. ActiveCampaign offers monthly billing, but it costs roughly 20% more per month than annual. The annual rates shown publicly (Starter $15/mo, Plus $59/mo, Pro $99/mo at 1k contacts) assume the annual commitment.
Does ActiveCampaign charge extra for SMS?
Yes. SMS is available on Plus plans and higher, but requires purchasing SMS credits separately from your subscription. The base plan doesn't include any SMS sends, so budget SMS costs on top of the monthly plan price.