Updated March 2026

ActiveCampaign vs Brevo

ActiveCampaign is the automation powerhouse. Brevo is the value champion. ActiveCampaign has 135+ automation triggers, 750+ recipes, a built-in CRM, and lead scoring — tools that really help mid-sized businesses run complex marketing operations. Brevo bundles email, CRM, SMS, WhatsApp, live chat, and transactional email at a fraction of the price, but its automation is simpler and its CRM is less mature. At 10,000 contacts: ActiveCampaign Plus costs approximately $139/month, Brevo Business costs $18/month for 20,000 emails. That's a massive price gap. Choose ActiveCampaign if you'll actively use complex automations and CRM pipelines. Choose Brevo if you need multi-channel communication on a budget.

Our pick: ActiveCampaign (7.4/10 vs 7.3/10)

ActiveCampaign wins 2 out of 6 categories. Brevo is better for: small businesses that need email, crm, sms, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume.

Try ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign

7.4/10

Brevo

7.3/10

5/5

Automation

3/5

4/5

Deliverability

4/5

2/5

Ease of Use

4/5

2/5

Templates & Design

3/5

4/5

Analytics

3/5

2/5

Customer Support

2/5

At a Glance

Feature	ActiveCampaign	Brevo
Free Plan	No	Yes
Starting Price	$19/mo	$9/mo
Automation	5/5	3/5
Deliverability	4/5	4/5
Ease of Use	2/5	4/5
Templates & Design	2/5	3/5
Analytics	4/5	3/5
Customer Support	2/5	2/5
Overall	7.4/10	7.3/10

Pricing Comparison

ActiveCampaign

Paid plans from $19/mo

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Brevo

Free Plan

Paid plans from $9/mo

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Pros & Cons

ActiveCampaign

First-rate automation builder with 135+ triggers and 750+ pre-built recipes — no other platform matches this depth (G2: 4.5/5 from 14,000+ reviews)

900+ integrations including 40+ new ones added in 2025 alone (Wix, Webflow, SOCi) — plays nicely with almost anything

Deep segmentation with new AI Segments Agent that lets you describe audiences in natural language

Aggressive price hikes documented at 20-100% for existing customers. Real examples: $588/yr to $1,800/yr; $1,400/mo to $2,800/mo; $2,000/yr to $7,800/yr

As of November 2025, now charges for ALL contacts including unsubscribed, bounced, and unconfirmed — same controversial practice as Mailchimp

Trustpilot rating of 2.8/5 from 1,358 reviews — billing complaints, cancellation horror stories, and users charged after cancelling

Full ActiveCampaign review →

Brevo

Pay-per-email pricing is unique and actually saves money — store unlimited contacts on every plan including free. A 50,000-contact list that only sends monthly newsletters costs a fraction of what Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign would charge

Most complete all-in-one at this price point: email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, transactional email, live chat, and landing pages. No competitor bundles this much under $20/month

Free plan includes unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, CRM, and basic automation — one of the most generous free tiers available

Account suspensions without explanation are a recurring Trustpilot theme — users report being blocked for as few as 1 unsubscribe out of 488 recipients, told to 'go elsewhere' with no specific reason

Customer support is the #1 complaint across every review platform. Copy-paste responses, 16+ day resolution times, and contradictory information from different agents. Free users get zero support; Starter gets email only

October 2025 plan restructure pushed features up to higher tiers — landing pages and A/B testing now require the Standard plan ($18/mo), previously available on cheaper plans

Full Brevo review →

The Bottom Line

Choose ActiveCampaign if: Mid-sized businesses (1K-25K contacts) that actively use complex automation daily. It wins 2 of 6 categories in our scoring.

Choose Brevo if: Small businesses that need email, CRM, SMS, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume. It offers better value for its specific use case.

Price comparison: Brevo starts at $9/mo (free plan available) vs ActiveCampaign at $19/mo.

Who Should Pick Which?

Pick ActiveCampaign if…

You need a tool best for mid-sized businesses (1k-25k contacts) that actively use complex automation daily
First-rate automation builder with 135+ triggers and 750+ pre-built recipes — no other platform matches this depth (G2: 4.5/5 from 14,000+ reviews)
900+ integrations including 40+ new ones added in 2025 alone (Wix, Webflow, SOCi) — plays nicely with almost anything

Try ActiveCampaign

Pick Brevo if…

You need a tool best for small businesses that need email, crm, sms, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume
Pay-per-email pricing is unique and actually saves money — store unlimited contacts on every plan including free. A 50,000-contact list that only sends monthly newsletters costs a fraction of what Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign would charge
Most complete all-in-one at this price point: email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, transactional email, live chat, and landing pages. No competitor bundles this much under $20/month

Try Brevo

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See our full ranking: Best Email Marketing Tools for Agencies

Read Full Reviews

ActiveCampaign

Brevo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ActiveCampaign or Brevo better?

ActiveCampaign scores higher overall (7.4/10 vs 7.3/10). ActiveCampaign is best for mid-sized businesses (1k-25k contacts) that actively use complex automation daily. Brevo is better if you need small businesses that need email, crm, sms, and chat in one affordable platform — especially those with large contact lists but low send volume.

Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Brevo?

Brevo is cheaper, starting at $9/mo with a free plan. ActiveCampaign starts at $19/mo with no free plan.

What is ActiveCampaign best for?

ActiveCampaign is best for mid-sized businesses (1k-25k contacts) that actively use complex automation daily. It scores highest in automation, deliverability, analytics.

How we compared these tools

We research every tool using real user reviews from Reddit, G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot — then verify current pricing and cross-reference independent deliverability data. No paid placements, no sponsored rankings.

Read our full methodologyLast updated: March 2026

Transparency note: We earn affiliate commissions from some tools on this page. This never influences our scores. Our methodology