Act-On vs ActiveCampaign (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick ActiveCampaign if

• Fits if your marketing is mostly automated sequences, like onboarding, nurture and win-back emails
• Works for stores on Shopify or WooCommerce that want email and a sales CRM on the same contacts

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a free plan to grow into, as there isn't one after the 14-day trial
• Tight if you're on Starter, since each automation stops at 5 actions, there's 1 user and lists stop at 25,000
• Pricey if your list is big, at $149 a month for 10,000 contacts even on Starter
• Watch out: SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email, sales pipelines and extra users are paid add-ons
• Watch out: landing pages need Plus at $49 and conditional content Pro at $79, both for 1,000 contacts billed yearly

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.

ActiveCampaign

• There is no free plan; after the 14-day trial every plan is paid.
• Monthly email sends are capped at 10 times your contact limit on Starter and Plus, 12 times on Pro and 15 times on Enterprise.
• SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email, sales pipelines and extra users are paid add-ons on top of the plan price.
• Starter has one user and stops at 25,000 contacts; landing pages need Plus and conditional content needs Pro.

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.

ActiveCampaign

Multi-step automations

A visual builder links actions, waits and branches into automations. Starter allows 5 actions per automation; Plus and above have no limit.

Email designer and AI tools

Drag-and-drop and HTML designer, 250+ templates and A/B testing, plus an AI campaign builder and AI text and image generation.

Segmentation and personalization

Segmentation runs from limited on Starter to premium on Enterprise. Conditional content and predictive sending start at Pro.

CRM and pipelines

Every plan keeps contact profiles, tags and custom fields. Pipelines, deals, lead scoring and win probability come with the paid CRM add-ons.

Forms, landing pages and site messages

Starter has standard and inline forms only; Plus adds landing pages. Site messages and Google, Facebook and LinkedIn ad audiences are also available.

Reporting and attribution

Campaign, automation and contact reports on every plan. Attribution starts at Pro; custom reports are included on Enterprise and an add-on on Plus and Pro.

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.

ActiveCampaign

• Starter$15

  per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($19 monthly)

  1 user, limited segmentation, 5 actions per automation, up to 25,000 contacts. Price rises with the list: $149 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually.

• Plus$49

  per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($59 monthly)

  1 user, unlimited automation actions, standard segmentation and landing pages. $189 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually.

• Pro$79

  per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($99 monthly)

  3 users, advanced segmentation, conditional content, predictive sending and attribution. $375 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually.

• Enterprise$145

  per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($179 monthly)

  5 users, premium segmentation, custom objects, single sign-on and a dedicated account team. $589 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed annually.

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.

ActiveCampaign

• Annual discount

  About 20% off with annual billing

  At 1,000 contacts, annual billing brings Starter to $15 a month from $19 monthly, Plus to $49 from $59 and Pro to $79 from $99.

• Nonprofit

  20% off for nonprofits

  ActiveCampaign's FAQ offers nonprofits a 20% discount on proof of nonprofit status, requested from the sales team or, for existing accounts, from support.