ActiveCampaign vs Mautic (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick Mautic if

• Fits if you have developers or a hosting partner and want to own your marketing data
• Makes sense if you need full automation and want no per-contact price

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you do not want to host a server or pay for a hosting partner
• Pricey if you want it managed: from 247.50 euros a month billed annually, and Professional starts at 1,237 euros
• Watch out: managed plans come from Dropsolid, not Mautic itself, and are priced in euros
• Watch out: email sending is set up separately and costs extra
• Skip it if you want a quick start, as setup and migration fees are not stated

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.

Mautic

• Managed plans come from Dropsolid, not Mautic itself, and are priced in euros: from €247.50 a month billed annually.
• Self-hosting means you run, update and secure the install, and email sending is set up separately.
• Essential covers up to 50K contacts and 50K emails a month; Professional starts at €1237 a month.
• Setup and migration fees vary by hosting partner and are not stated on the pricing page.

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.

Mautic

Campaign builder

A click-and-drag builder for multi-step campaigns that respond to what contacts do.

Email and landing pages

Drag-and-drop email and landing page builders, built for mobile and cross-client use.

Lead nurturing and scoring

A central contact overview with point scoring to prioritize leads.

REST API and plugins

A REST API and a plugin ecosystem let teams connect Mautic to other systems and extend it.

Data control

Self-hosting keeps data on your own infrastructure, and the project lists privacy features aimed at data-protection laws.

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.

Mautic

• Mautic Essential€247.50

  per month for up to 50K contacts, billed annually (€275 quarterly)

  Shared managed hosting by Dropsolid, 50K emails a month, 100 emails a minute, standard workflows. Priced in euros.

• Mautic Professional€1237

  per month and up

  Dedicated managed hosting from 50K contacts, extendable to 3M, with a dedicated IP, dynamic content and a support manager.

• Mautic EnterpriseCustom

  Dedicated infrastructure, up to 6M emails a month, SSO, custom plugin support. Sold through sales.

• Self-hosted$0

  The open source software, which you host and maintain yourself; email sending is separate.

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.

Mautic

• Annual discount

  10% off managed Essential billed annually

  Mautic Essential is €247.50 a month billed annually against €275 a month billed quarterly, a 10% discount.