5 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives in 2025
Last updated: February 2026 • 17 min read
ActiveCampaign is a popular tool for businesses needing advanced marketing automation. With pricing starting at $29/mo, it can be expensive for many teams. Whether you're looking for a cheaper option, better features, or an open-source solution, we've compiled the 5 best ActiveCampaign alternatives to help you find the right fit.
📋 Quick Summary
- Total alternatives: 5
- Free alternatives: 4 (Mailchimp, Brevo (Sendinblue), ConvertKit (Kit))
- Best overall: Mailchimp
- Best free: Mailchimp
Why Look for ActiveCampaign Alternatives?
People commonly look for ActiveCampaign alternatives for several reasons:
- Cost: At $29/mo, ActiveCampaign isn't cheap, especially for small teams and startups.
- Feature gaps: No free plan and can be complex are common complaints.
- Simplicity: Some users find ActiveCampaign overly complex for their needs and prefer simpler solutions.
- Data ownership: Organizations wanting data sovereignty prefer open-source, self-hosted alternatives.
- Better fit: Different tools excel at different use cases — you may find a tool that's specifically built for your workflow.
📊 Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Free Tier | Starting Price | Rating | Open Source | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | ✗ No | $29/mo | ⭐ 4.3 | No | Businesses needing advanced marketing automation |
| Mailchimp | ✓ 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/mo | $13/mo | ⭐ 4.1 | No | Small businesses getting started with email marketing |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | ✓ 300 emails/day | $25/mo | ⭐ 4.1 | No | Businesses wanting multichannel marketing on a budget |
| ConvertKit (Kit) | ✓ Up to 10,000 subscribers | $25/mo | ⭐ 4.4 | No | Content creators and newsletter writers |
| MailerLite | ✓ Up to 1,000 subscribers | $9/mo | ⭐ 4.4 | No | Small businesses wanting affordable email marketing |
| Drip | ✗ No | $39/mo | ⭐ 4.1 | No | E-commerce businesses |
Detailed Reviews of Each Alternative
Mailchimp
All-in-one marketing platform for email campaigns and automation.
Mailchimp is one of the most recognizable email marketing platforms in the world, now offering a full marketing platform including email, social media, landing pages, and automation. Acquired by Intuit in 2021, Mailchimp serves millions of businesses with its easy-to-use tools and signature brand personality.
Pros
- ✓ Easy to use
- ✓ Great templates
- ✓ Comprehensive features
- ✓ Strong brand
Cons
- ✗ Gets expensive fast
- ✗ Limited free plan now
- ✗ Can be buggy
- ✗ Removes contacts actively
Brevo (Sendinblue)
All-in-one marketing platform for email, SMS, and chat.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is an all-in-one marketing platform offering email marketing, SMS marketing, chat, CRM, and marketing automation. Known for its competitive pricing based on emails sent rather than contacts stored, Brevo is popular among businesses wanting multichannel marketing without breaking the bank.
Pros
- ✓ Multichannel marketing
- ✓ Pay by emails not contacts
- ✓ Good free tier
- ✓ Transactional email included
Cons
- ✗ Interface can be clunky
- ✗ Limited templates
- ✗ Basic landing pages
- ✗ Support can be slow
ConvertKit (Kit)
Email marketing platform designed for creators.
ConvertKit (now rebranding to Kit) is an email marketing platform built specifically for creators — bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, and course creators. It focuses on subscriber-first email marketing with powerful automation, tagging, and landing pages designed to help creators grow their audience and revenue.
Pros
- ✓ Built for creators
- ✓ Generous free tier
- ✓ Great automations
- ✓ Creator Network
Cons
- ✗ Limited design options
- ✗ Basic analytics
- ✗ No A/B testing on free
- ✗ Higher pricing at scale
MailerLite
Email marketing tool with a generous free plan and simple interface.
MailerLite is an email marketing platform known for its simplicity, generous free plan, and excellent deliverability. It offers everything small businesses need — email campaigns, automations, landing pages, and a website builder — at a fraction of the cost of competitors.
Pros
- ✓ Great free plan
- ✓ Simple interface
- ✓ Affordable pricing
- ✓ Good deliverability
Cons
- ✗ Limited advanced features
- ✗ Basic automation
- ✗ Approval process for new accounts
- ✗ Limited integrations
Drip
Marketing automation platform built for e-commerce.
Drip is a marketing automation platform specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. It offers deep integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other e-commerce platforms, along with powerful segmentation and automation features tailored for online stores.
Pros
- ✓ Built for e-commerce
- ✓ Powerful automation
- ✓ Revenue attribution
- ✓ Deep integrations
Cons
- ✗ No free plan
- ✗ Expensive
- ✗ Limited non-ecommerce use
- ✗ Complex for beginners
🏆 Our Recommendations
❓ FAQ
What is the best free alternative to ActiveCampaign?
The best free alternative to ActiveCampaign is Mailchimp, which offers 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/mo.
Is there an open-source alternative to ActiveCampaign?
There are no widely-used open-source alternatives to ActiveCampaign at this time, but several affordable options exist.
What is the cheapest alternative to ActiveCampaign?
The cheapest alternatives are the free options: Mailchimp, Brevo (Sendinblue), ConvertKit (Kit). For paid alternatives, prices start from as low as $9/mo.
💰 Stop Overpaying for SaaS
Join smart professionals who receive our weekly roundup of the best SaaS deals, free alternatives, and money-saving tips.
Free forever. Unsubscribe anytime. No spam.