ActiveCampaign vs Keap

ActiveCampaign is an email marketing and marketing automation platform headquartered in Chicago. Jason VandeBoom founded it in 2003 as on-premises software before it moved to SaaS. Its core job is to send the right email, SMS or WhatsApp message at the right time based on what a contact does, using a visual automation builder with branching logic.

The automation builder handles multi-step journeys with waits, conditions, goals and split tests, triggered by site visits, purchases, form fills, tags or CRM events. Campaigns use 250+ templates and, on Pro, predictive sending, conditional content and attribution. Since 2025 the Active Intelligence layer adds AI agents that build segments, automations and brand kits, a conversational workspace, and a remote MCP server; every plan includes 500 AI credits a month. Plans are priced by contacts: Starter ($19/month for 1,000 contacts billed monthly) covers email and automation, Plus adds landing pages, generative AI and SMS, Pro adds advanced segmentation and three seats, and Enterprise adds SSO, HIPAA support and custom objects. CRM pipelines, WhatsApp and transactional email are add-ons.

ActiveCampaign suits SMBs, ecommerce stores and agencies that need deep automation without HubSpot pricing. Mailchimp is easier for simple newsletters, Brevo and MailerLite are cheaper at large lists, and HubSpot is stronger as an all-in-one CRM.

Buying tip: prices rise steeply with contact count, so clean inactive contacts before upgrading. The 14-day trial needs no card, and annual billing saves roughly 17 to 21%.

Keap is a small-business CRM and marketing automation platform that combines contacts, email and text campaigns, sales pipelines, appointments, invoices and payments in one account. It started in 2001 in Arizona as Infusionsoft, rebranded as Keap in 2019, and was acquired by Thryv Holdings in 2024. Its core job is automating follow-up for service businesses and coaches.

The visual campaign builder triggers emails, texts, tasks and tags based on forms, purchases, appointments or pipeline stages. Landing pages, multi-page sales funnels, checkout forms with order bumps and promo codes, quotes, invoices and recurring billing cover selling, while lead scoring, custom fields and reporting handle the CRM side. Keap now sells one all-in-one plan at $299 a month, or $2,988 a year, including two users; extra users cost $39 a month and a paid implementation package is required.

Keap fits established small businesses that sell services or digital products and want deep automation without stitching tools together. The price is high for solo founders, US-only texting and native payments limit international users, and the interface feels older than newer rivals. HubSpot offers a free CRM with a smoother path to scale, ActiveCampaign gives stronger email automation for less, and Pipedrive is better for pure sales pipelines.

The 14-day free trial needs no credit card but caps sending at 25 emails and blocks texts and payment processing, so plan a real test with a few internal contacts. Ask about the unlisted implementation fee before committing.