Acoustic vs Act-On (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acoustic and Act-On share a 1.6 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money, where Acoustic grades higher, or platforms, where Act-On does.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Acoustic
Real-time customer engagement platform across email, SMS and push
Act-On
B2B marketing automation priced by contacts you actually email
Which one is for you
Pick Acoustic if
- Fits if you are a large sender mixing email, SMS and push
- Makes sense if you want a managed service alongside the software
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a price before you talk to anyone
- Skip it if you want to try it free, as there's no plan or trial
- Too light for personalization on Essentials, as web personalization and behavioral analytics aren't in it
- Watch out: volumes are counted annually, with Essentials at 5 million contact records and 30 recurring campaigns a year
- Watch out: extra volume, SMS short codes and deliverability audits are add-ons
Pick Act-On if
- Fits if you run a B2B team that wants marketing automation and can commit to a year
- Works for teams with a CRM to connect on the Enterprise tier
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $900 a month for 2,500 active contacts
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial
- Tight if you can't commit, as an annual contract is required
- Watch out: CRM integration and Data Studio are Enterprise items or add-ons
- Watch out: premium support is a paid extra
How we grade them
| 1.6GPAAcousticWeak | 1.6GPAAct-OnWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published; both plans come from a conversation with the vendor, so we can't place it against the $20 category middle. | DProfessional is $900 a month for up to 2,500 active contacts, $1,375 at 10,000, far above the $149 mark for this category's dearest tenth. It is a marketing automation product, not a newsletter tool. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial is stated. You book a demo. | FNothing free: no free plan or trial is described, and an annual contract is required. |
| Features | CMultichannel messaging, tracking, AI and analytics, but web personalization and behavioral analytics aren't in Essentials. | CEmail, landing pages and forms, scoring, journeys and reporting. But CRM integration and Data Studio are Enterprise or add-ons. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. An enterprise platform with campaigns and data to set up. | CNo store rating on record. Programmes and scoring rules have to be built. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web platform, with no integrations listed on the pricing page. | BWeb only, with Salesforce, SugarCRM, NetSuite, Dynamics and Zapier integrations. |
| Best for | enterprise messaging across email, SMS and push | B2B marketing automation priced by active contacts |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Acoustic and Act-On. How we grade
Where they differ
- Acoustic also covers sMS marketing, whatsApp messaging and session replay.
- Act-On also covers workflow automation, forms and reports.
At a glance
| Acoustic | Act-On | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $900 per month for up to 2,500 active contacts |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Acoustic | Act-On Marketing Automation |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | act-on.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Acoustic
- No prices are published; both plans go through a conversation with the vendor.
- Volumes are measured annually; Essentials includes 5 million contact records a year and 30 recurring campaigns a year.
- Web personalization and behavioral analytics are not in Essentials.
- Extra volume, SMS short codes, deliverability audits and managed services are sold as add-ons.
Act-On
- An annual contract is required, per the pricing page.
- CRM integration with Salesforce, SugarCRM, NetSuite and Dynamics, and Data Studio, are Enterprise items or add-ons.
- Professional includes the standard email support package; premium support is a paid extra and is recommended for Enterprise.
- No free plan or trial is described on the pricing page.
Key features
Acoustic
- Multichannel messaging
- Email, SMS, mobile push and WhatsApp, with scheduled, triggered and manual campaigns on both plans.
- Behavioral tracking
- Website and app tracking with standard and custom signals; the Advanced plan adds inferred signals and a no-code Signal Studio.
- Acoustic AI
- An assistant included in every plan that analyzes campaigns and audiences and drafts messages, campaigns or segments for review.
- Analytics and personalization
- Advanced adds session-level insights, executive dashboards and web personalization.
- Session Replay add-on
- A paid add-on for Advanced showing recorded customer sessions with rage-click and form-error signals.
Act-On
- Active Contacts pricing
- Billing follows the number of contacts emailed in a month, not the whole database, and non-active contacts keep their engagement history.
- Automated engagement programs
- Journey orchestration with behavior-based lists and targeting of emails and messages to segments.
- Landing pages and forms
- Pre-built templates for landing pages, forms and emails, with tracking of website and landing page visitors.
- Scoring and AI
- Scores visitors, prospects and customers, and lists an AI predictive lead score and audience insights.
- Reporting
- Interactive analytics dashboards; Data Studio for BI integration is an Enterprise feature or add-on.
Plans
Acoustic
Pricing could not be confirmed. See acoustic.com.
Act-On
Professional$900
per month for up to 2,500 active contacts, annual contract
Complete marketing automation program with standard email support. The price rises with active contacts: $1,375 a month at 10,000. Actual pricing may vary with add-ons.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Professional plus CRM integration, Data Studio for BI reporting, account-based marketing and 2x user accounts. Quoted through sales.
Ways to pay less
Acoustic
No public discounts listed.
Act-On
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit discounts
The pricing page FAQ says discounts exist for 501(c)(3) nonprofits and asks visitors to contact Act-On for details.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Acoustic or Act-On?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acoustic has no price we could confirm, and Act-On starts at $900 per month for up to 2,500 active contacts.
Which has a free plan, Acoustic or Act-On?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Acoustic nor Act-On has a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.