ActiveCampaign Pricing Explained (2026): Plans, Add-ons and What You Pay

ActiveCampaign pricing, in short: four plans priced by contact count. At 1,000 contacts, billed yearly, Starter is $15 a month, Plus $49, Pro $79 and Enterprise $145. Starter and Plus include one user, Pro three and Enterprise five. There is no free plan — just a 14-day trial with no credit card — and the price rises with every contact band you cross.

More on this topic: CRM and sales tool pricing, every guide in one place.

That makes ActiveCampaign easy to start and harder to forecast. This guide sets out what each plan includes, which add-ons sit outside the plan price, what a year costs at the starting band, and how the numbers compare with Mailchimp.

Key takeaways

How much does ActiveCampaign cost per month?

ActiveCampaign costs $15 to $145 a month at 1,000 contacts on yearly billing, depending on plan. Those are the figures its pricing page shows before you move the contact slider.

Prices checked on ActiveCampaign's and Mailchimp's own pricing pages in October 2026, in US dollars. ActiveCampaign prices by a contact slider; the figures here are the ones it shows at 1,000 contacts, billed yearly. For any other list size, check current pricing on the slider.

The page quotes yearly billing only; if you want to pay month to month, check the price at checkout before you assume it matches. It also lists prices in several currencies (USD, CAD, AUD, EUR, GBP and BRL), so make sure you are reading the one you will be billed in.

How does ActiveCampaign's contact-based pricing work?

You pick the number of contacts you have from a list of bands — 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500, 10,000, 15,000, 20,000, 25,000, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, and above 50,000 — and every plan's price changes to match. The bigger the list, the higher the monthly fee, on every plan.

Two consequences follow. First, a successful lead magnet raises your bill, so budget on the list you expect in twelve months. Second, list hygiene is a cost control: contacts you will never email again still take space in your band until you remove them. ActiveCampaign's FAQ says that if your list outgrows your plan, you move to the next band or plan without penalties or losing access to features.

Email sends scale with the band too. Starter and Plus allow ten times your contact limit each month, Pro twelve times, Enterprise fifteen times. For most newsletter senders that is plenty; for teams that email daily it is worth checking.

What do ActiveCampaign's add-ons cost?

ActiveCampaign does not publish add-on prices on its pricing page; they are marked “available add-on” or “sold separately”, so check current pricing in your account or with sales. What the page does show is which plans can buy them.

The important line is the CRM. If you are buying ActiveCampaign to manage a sales pipeline as well as email, Starter is not an option, and the realistic starting point is Plus at $49 a month plus the Pipelines add-on. Price that combination before comparing ActiveCampaign with an all-in-one CRM.

What does ActiveCampaign cost for a year?

At 1,000 contacts on yearly billing, a year of ActiveCampaign costs $180 on Starter, $588 on Plus, $948 on Pro and $1,740 on Enterprise, before add-ons.

The per-user column explains why small teams often land on Pro: it is the first plan with three users, and spread across a team it is cheaper per head than Plus. A two-person team that needs logins for both is choosing between Plus plus an extra user and Pro — the page does not list an extra-user price, so ask before deciding.

Remember these are the 1,000-contact figures. At larger bands every number in the table goes up, so the year-one cost for a 10,000-contact list is a multiple of these — check current pricing on the slider for your band.

Is ActiveCampaign more expensive than Mailchimp?

At small lists, it depends on the plan you compare. Mailchimp is free to 250 contacts and its paid plans start at $13 a month for Essentials and $20 for Standard at up to 500 contacts — regular prices, with Mailchimp advertising 50% off for the first 12 months in October 2026. ActiveCampaign Starter is $15 a month at 1,000 contacts billed yearly.

The bigger difference is automation depth. ActiveCampaign includes multi-step automation even on Starter; Mailchimp Essentials allows flows of up to four steps. Our ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp comparison covers that in detail, and our Mailchimp alternatives list covers the cheaper email tools.

Which ActiveCampaign plan should you choose?

Most small businesses should start on Starter or Plus, depending on whether they need landing pages and the CRM add-on.

• Starter ($15): one person sending newsletters and a few automated sequences. Note the five-list limit.
• Plus ($49): you need landing pages, site messages, generative AI or the Pipelines add-on.
• Pro ($79): a team of up to three, or anyone who needs conditional content, predictive sending or attribution.
• Enterprise ($145): SSO, HIPAA support, custom objects or a Salesforce integration are requirements.

How to keep an ActiveCampaign bill down

• Clean the list before renewal. Contacts you will never email again still count toward your band.
• Buy the yearly term — the published prices assume it.
• Buy add-ons only after the base plan is working. Pipelines and SMS are easy to add later.
• Count users honestly. Pro's three seats may be cheaper than adding users to Plus.
• Check AI credit use. Each plan includes 500; the FAQ says core AI keeps working when they run out, but advanced actions such as image generation pause.

When ActiveCampaign is not the right buy

ActiveCampaign is strongest when email automation is the main job. If your team mostly needs a sales pipeline with email attached, a CRM with built-in email may cost less than Plus plus the Pipelines add-on — see Keap alternatives and HubSpot vs ActiveCampaign. Scalry, which publishes this guide, is one flat-priced option at $29 to $199 a month per workspace with the CRM included and no contact bands; it does not match ActiveCampaign's automation depth or its integration catalogue, and for a pure email programme ActiveCampaign is the better tool.

Questions to ask before you commit

Whichever way you are leaning, these are the questions that change the answer. Work through them against your own numbers rather than anyone's feature matrix — including this one.

• What will your list be in twelve months? That band is your real price.
• Do you need the CRM? If yes, Starter is out and an add-on is in.
• How many people need logins? Pro includes three.
• Do you need landing pages? They start on Plus.
• Will you pay yearly? The published prices assume it.
• Which add-ons, at what price? They are not published — get them in writing.

If you cannot answer the first three, you are not ready to choose between Scalry and ActiveCampaign yet — you are still deciding what you need, which is a cheaper problem to solve first.

Frequently asked questions

How much does ActiveCampaign cost?

At 1,000 contacts, billed yearly, ActiveCampaign costs $15 a month for Starter, $49 for Plus, $79 for Pro and $145 for Enterprise, according to its pricing page in October 2026. Prices rise as you select larger contact bands.

Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?

No. ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial with email sign-up and no credit card. Mailchimp is the better-known option with a free plan, for up to 250 contacts.

Is the ActiveCampaign CRM included?

Not fully. The Enhanced CRM — Pipelines and Sales Engagement — is sold as add-ons on Plus, Pro and Enterprise, and is not available on Starter. The pricing page does not list their prices.

How many users does ActiveCampaign include?

One user on Starter and Plus, three on Pro and five on Enterprise.

What happens if my contact list grows past my plan?

ActiveCampaign's FAQ says you move up to the next contact band or plan, without penalties or losing access to features. Your monthly price rises with the band.

Is ActiveCampaign cheaper than Mailchimp?

Not at the very bottom: Mailchimp is free to 250 contacts and Essentials starts at $13 a month. ActiveCampaign Starter is $15 at 1,000 contacts billed yearly but includes multi-step automation, which Mailchimp limits to four-step flows on Essentials.

What is the cheapest ActiveCampaign plan?

Starter, at $15 a month for 1,000 contacts billed yearly, with one user, 10,000 sends a month and multi-step automation.