Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign Pricing
Side-by-side pricing comparison to help you choose the right tool.
Best Price: Mailchimp starts at a lower price ( $13/mo vs $15/mo )
ActiveCampaign
Email marketing and marketing automation platform
Pricing Comparison
| Feature | Mailchimp | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $13/mo | $15/mo |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Free Trial |
| Free Trial | No | 14 days |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | No |
| Number of Plans | 4 plans | 4 plans |
| Hidden Fees | 4 found | 2 found |
| Rating | 4/5 | 4.5/5 |
Pros & Cons
Mailchimp
- + Easy to use with drag-and-drop builder
- + Good template library
- + Built-in CRM and landing pages
- + Wide integration ecosystem
- - Free plan drastically reduced (250 contacts, 500 emails)
- - Costs increase rapidly with list size
- - No annual billing discount
- - Multi-step automations locked behind Standard plan
ActiveCampaign
- + Best-in-class automation builder
- + CRM included on Plus+ plans
- + Excellent deliverability rates
- + Powerful segmentation
- - No free plan
- - Contact-based pricing scales steeply
- - SMS costs extra
- - Learning curve for automation features
When to Choose
Choose Mailchimp if...
You need small businesses and startups getting started with email marketing.
Choose ActiveCampaign if...
You need smbs that need advanced marketing automation without enterprise pricing.
Detailed Pricing Plans
Mailchimp Plans
Free
- 250 contacts
- 500 email sends/mo
- 1 user
- Basic email templates
- Marketing CRM
- Forms and landing pages
- Basic reporting
Essentials
- 500 contacts (scales with contacts)
- 5,000 email sends/mo (10x contacts)
- 3 users
- All email templates
- A/B testing
- 24/7 email and chat support
- Remove Mailchimp branding
Standard
- Everything in Essentials
- 500 contacts (scales with contacts)
- 6,000 email sends/mo (12x contacts)
- 5 users
- Customer Journey Builder
- Send Time Optimization
- Behavioral Targeting
- Custom-coded templates
Premium
- Everything in Standard
- 10,000 contacts (scales)
- 150,000 email sends/mo (15x contacts)
- Unlimited users
- Multivariate testing
- Comparative reporting
- Phone support
- Advanced segmentation
Prices shown are for 500 contacts (250 on Free). Costs scale with list size. No annual discount available. Non-profits get 15% off.
ActiveCampaign Plans
Starter
$15 /mo billed yearly
- 1 user
- 1,000 contacts
- 10x contact email send limit
- Email marketing
- Marketing automation
- Inline forms
- Site tracking
- API & webhooks
Plus
$49 /mo billed yearly
- Everything in Starter
- 1,000 contacts
- 10x contact email send limit
- CRM with sales automation
- Landing pages
- Lead scoring
- SMS marketing
- Custom branded forms
Pro
$79 /mo billed yearly
- Everything in Plus
- 1,000 contacts
- 12x contact email send limit
- Predictive sending
- Split automations
- Attribution reporting
- Site messaging
- Salesforce integration
Enterprise
$145 /mo billed yearly
- Everything in Pro
- 1,000 contacts
- 15x contact email send limit
- Custom objects
- HIPAA support
- Custom reporting
- Dedicated account rep
- Phone support
All prices shown for 1,000 contacts. Costs scale significantly with list size. 14-day free trial available.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign?
Mailchimp starts at a lower price point. Mailchimp starts at $13/mo while ActiveCampaign starts at $15/mo.
Is Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign better?
It depends on your needs. Mailchimp is best for small businesses and startups getting started with email marketing. ActiveCampaign is best for smbs that need advanced marketing automation without enterprise pricing.
Does Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
Mailchimp offers a free plan. ActiveCampaign does not have a free plan.