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ActiveCampaign alternatives: cheaper options at 1k–25k subscribers (2026)
Last verified against official pricing pages · USD, monthly billing, excluding tax
Prices change often. Every price here was checked against the platform's official pricing page on the date shown, but plans, promos and taxes vary. Always confirm on the official site before you buy or switch. Not financial advice.
ActiveCampaign has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. Starter begins at $19/mo for 1,000 contacts, plans are priced in contact bands, and sends above each plan's allowance cost $0.005 each.
Short answer
- With automations, 5,000 subscribers: ActiveCampaign Starter costs $99/mo. Cheapest alternative: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo (saves $70/mo, $840/yr).
- Basic newsletter, 5,000 subscribers: ActiveCampaign Starter costs $99/mo. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $0/mo (saves $99/mo, $1,188/yr).
- Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included), 5,000 subscribers: ActiveCampaign has no option in our verified data. Cheapest alternative: Kit Free at $145/mo.
Try Buttondown Try EmailOctopus (paid link)
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Recently flagged: Kit: 25% off the first year of Pro on annual billing (limited-time offer) (20 Oct 2026) · beehiiv renames plans and raises prices (Scale → Lite, Max → Pro) (1 Oct 2026)
All alternatives at 5,000 subscribers (with automations)
ActiveCampaign Starter: $99/mo. Cheapest fitting plan on each platform, monthly billing. Diff = monthly cost compared with ActiveCampaign (− = cheaper).
| # | Alternative and plan | Total /mo | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buttondown Paid (usage-based) Visit site | $29 | −$70 |
| 2 | EmailOctopus Pro Visit site (paid link) | $31.50 | −$67.50 |
| 3 | Brevo Starter, limited Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $32 | −$67 |
| 4 | Sender Standard Visit site | $39 | −$60 |
| 5 | Moosend Pro Visit site | $48 | −$51 |
| 6 | MailerLite Comfort Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $49 | −$50 |
| 7 | Shopify Email Basic plan + email usage Visit site | $49 | −$50 |
| 8 | Flodesk Lite, limited Visit site | $52 | −$47 |
| 9 | SendPulse Standard Visit site | $52 | −$47 |
| 10 | GetResponse Starter, limited Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $54 | −$45 |
| 11 | Mailjet Premium Visit site | $59 | −$40 |
| 12 | AWeber Lite, limited Visit site (paid link) · vs ActiveCampaign | $60 | −$39 |
| 13 | Mailchimp Essentials, limited Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $75 | −$24 |
| 14 | Constant Contact Lite, limited Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $80 | −$19 |
| 15 | Omnisend Standard Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $81 | −$18 |
| 16 | Kit Creator Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $89 | −$10 |
| 17 | Klaviyo Email Visit site · vs ActiveCampaign | $100 | +$1 |
| 18 | beehiiv Lite Visit site (paid link) · vs ActiveCampaign | $109 | +$10 |
Not available or not verified for this scenario: Ghost, Substack, HubSpot.
Cheapest alternative at each list size
With automations
ActiveCampaign plan used: Starter.
| Subscribers | ActiveCampaign | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $19 | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | $19 |
| 2,500 | $49 | EmailOctopus $0 Free, limited | $49 |
| 5,000 | $99 | Buttondown $29 Paid (usage-based) | $70 |
| 10,000 | $189 | EmailOctopus $44.50 Pro | $144.50 |
| 25,000 | $489 | Brevo $82 Starter, limited | $407 |
Basic newsletter
ActiveCampaign plan used: Starter.
| Subscribers | ActiveCampaign | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $19 | beehiiv $0 Free | $19 |
| 2,500 | $49 | beehiiv $0 Free | $49 |
| 5,000 | $99 | Kit $0 Free | $99 |
| 10,000 | $189 | Kit $0 Free | $189 |
| 25,000 | $489 | Substack $0 Free + 10% of paid revenue | $489 |
Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included)
ActiveCampaign has no option for this in our verified data (n/a).
| Subscribers | ActiveCampaign | Cheapest alternative | Saving /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | n/a | Kit $29 Free | n/a |
| 2,500 | n/a | Kit $72.50 Free | n/a |
| 5,000 | n/a | Kit $145 Free | n/a |
| 10,000 | n/a | Kit $290 Free | n/a |
| 25,000 | n/a | Ghost $904 Publisher | n/a |
Cheapest plan on each platform that covers the list size and needs. Paid totals = plan + platform cut + Stripe card fees (2.9% + $0.30 per payment, estimate) + Stripe's 0.7% Billing fee on recurring payments where confirmed (beehiiv, MailerLite, Ghost, Buttondown, Substack, AWeber and Flodesk); not added for GetResponse (not confirmed); Kit's 3.5% + $0.30 is all-in. How we model fees. "limited" = feature capped on that plan.
Switching? ActiveCampaign → Buttondown cost · ActiveCampaign → EmailOctopus cost · Rank all platforms for your needs
What you'd give up
Cost isn't everything. What ActiveCampaign does well, from its official pages: Businesses that live on automation (multi-step journeys, scoring, CRM-style follow-up) and are happy to pay more per contact than newsletter-first tools.
- Priced by contact count in bands (1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500, 10,000, 15,000 ... 50,000); above 50,000 you request a quote. No free plan, only a 14-day trial. source
- The pricing page shows yearly billing; monthly billing costs more (e.g. Starter at 1,000 contacts: $19/mo monthly vs $180/yr), as shown on the official checkout page. source
- Monthly sends = 10× contacts on Starter and Plus, 12× on Pro, 15× on Enterprise; extra sends cost $0.005 each. source
- Multi-step automation on every plan. Landing pages on your own domain and turning off ActiveCampaign branding start at Plus. source
FAQ
What is the cheapest ActiveCampaign alternative?
With automations at 5,000 subscribers: Buttondown Paid (usage-based) at $29/mo vs ActiveCampaign $99/mo. Basic newsletter at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $0/mo vs ActiveCampaign $99/mo. Paid newsletter (5% pay $8/mo, fees included) at 5,000 subscribers: Kit Free at $145/mo. Monthly billing, prices verified 2026-10-20.
Is ActiveCampaign more expensive than the alternatives?
For a newsletter with automations, at least one tracked platform is cheaper than ActiveCampaign at 5 of the 5 list sizes we checked (1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000). Cheaper is not always better: check the features you need on each platform page.
How much would I save by switching from ActiveCampaign?
Use the migration cost calculator with your own list size. At 5,000 subscribers (with automations), the cheapest alternative saves $70 a month.
Sources
- beehiiv pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Kit pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- MailerLite pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Ghost pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Buttondown pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Substack pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- EmailOctopus pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Brevo pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Mailchimp pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- AWeber pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Constant Contact pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- ActiveCampaign pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- GetResponse pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Flodesk pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Sender pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Moosend pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Klaviyo pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Omnisend pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Shopify Email pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Mailjet pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- SendPulse pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- HubSpot pricing (checked 2026-10-20)
- Stripe pricing (card-fee estimate)
- Stripe Billing pricing (0.7% on recurring payments)
More: Brevo alternatives · Sender alternatives · Moosend alternatives · MailerLite alternatives · Flodesk alternatives · GetResponse alternatives · all alternatives pages · ActiveCampaign pricing · best platform by use case · cheapest by list size