ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot
ActiveCampaign and HubSpot are both email marketing tools. ActiveCampaign is aimed at small businesses and E-commerce, while HubSpot is aimed at small businesses and enterprise. ActiveCampaign costs less, from $19/mo versus $20/mo for HubSpot. Only HubSpot has a free plan.
Email marketing and automation platform for SMBs and ecommerce
CRM platform with free core and paid hubs
| Pricing | Paid · $19 | Freemium · $20 |
| Starting price | $19/mo | $20/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, E-commerce, Agencies | Small businesses, Enterprise, Agencies |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2003 | US · 2006 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose ActiveCampaign if
Small and mid-sized businesses and ecommerce brands that want sophisticated, behaviour-based email and SMS automation at a mid-range price.
- One of the most powerful automation builders in its price range
- Strong ecommerce triggers and deep integrations
- AI agents included on every plan
Look elsewhere if: Teams sending simple newsletters to large lists on a tight budget, or wanting a full CRM suite (MailerLite, Brevo, HubSpot).
Choose HubSpot if
Growing SMBs and mid-market companies with marketing, sales and support teams that want one system and have budget for Professional tiers.
- One database across marketing, sales and support
- Free tier is complete enough for very small businesses
- Excellent documentation, academy and partner ecosystem
Look elsewhere if: Bootstrapped startups with large email lists (Brevo or Kit are cheaper) or sales-only teams (Pipedrive and Close are leaner).
ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot pricing
ActiveCampaign
- Starter$19/mo$15/mo billed annually; 1,000 contacts, 1 seat
- Plus$59/mo$49/mo annually; landing pages, SMS add-on, 1 seat
- Pro$99/mo$79/mo annually; predictive sending, attribution, 3 seats
- Enterprise$179/mo$145/mo annually; SSO, HIPAA support, 5 seats
HubSpot
- Free tools$02 users, 1,000 total contacts, basic CRM, HubSpot branding
- Starter Customer Platform$20/seat/moNew-customer promo $10/mo monthly or $7/mo annual
- Professional (per hub)$890/moMarketing Hub Pro, 3 seats; $3,000 onboarding fee
- Enterprise (per hub)$3,600/moMarketing Hub Enterprise, 5 seats; $7,000 onboarding fee
ActiveCampaign · Key features
- Visual automation builder with branching, goals and split tests
- Triggers from site visits, purchases, forms, tags and CRM events
- Email, SMS and WhatsApp messaging from one platform
- Active Intelligence AI agents for segments, automations and brand kits
- Predictive sending and conditional content on Pro
- Landing pages and site messages from the Plus plan
Cons
- Costs climb quickly as contact lists grow
- CRM pipelines and transactional email are extra
- Starter and Plus include only one seat
HubSpot · Key features
- Free CRM with contacts, companies, deals and tasks for up to 2 users
- Marketing Hub: email, automation workflows, landing pages, ads, SEO tools
- Sales Hub: sequences, meeting scheduler, quotes, call tracking, forecasting
- Service Hub: ticketing, knowledge base, customer portal, surveys
- Breeze AI agents for content, prospecting and customer service
- 1,500+ app marketplace integrations and a mature API
Cons
- Professional and Enterprise pricing is steep, plus onboarding fees
- Marketing contact tiers punish large lists
- Feature gating pushes you to upgrade for basics like A/B tests
ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: FAQ
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or HubSpot?
ActiveCampaign starts at $19/mo and HubSpot at $20/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do ActiveCampaign and HubSpot have a free plan?
ActiveCampaign has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. HubSpot has a free plan.