ActiveCampaign vs n8n
ActiveCampaign and n8n are both workflow automation tools. ActiveCampaign is aimed at small businesses and E-commerce, while n8n is aimed at developers and small businesses. Only n8n has a free plan.
Email marketing and automation platform for SMBs and ecommerce
Source-available workflow automation you can self-host
| Pricing | Paid · $19 | Open source |
| Starting price | $19/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Small businesses, E-commerce, Agencies | Developers, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web |
| Country | US · 2003 | DE · 2019 |
| 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 n8n if
Technical teams and developers who want powerful, affordable automation and are comfortable with Docker or a cloud plan.
- Self-host for free with unlimited runs
- Per-execution cloud pricing is far cheaper than per-task
- Strongest AI/agent tooling among automation platforms
Look elsewhere if: Non-technical users who want plug-and-play templates and premium support; Zapier or Make fit better.
ActiveCampaign vs n8n 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
n8n
- Community (self-hosted)€0Self-hosted on your own server; fair-code license
- Starter (Cloud)€24/mo€20/mo billed annually; 2,500 executions, 1 shared project
- Pro (Cloud)€60/mo€50/mo billed annually; 10,000 executions, 3 shared projects
- Business (self-hosted)€800/mo€667/mo billed annually; 40,000 executions, SSO, LDAP
- EnterpriseCustomCloud or self-hosted, unlimited projects, 200+ concurrency
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
n8n · Key features
- Visual node editor with branching, loops, merge and error handling
- 400+ native integrations plus generic HTTP and webhook nodes
- Code nodes in JavaScript and Python
- AI agent nodes with LangChain, vector stores and memory
- Self-hosting with Docker or npm; queue mode for scale
- Credentials management, versioning and environments (Enterprise)
Cons
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier
- Fewer and sometimes less polished integrations
- Self-hosting means you maintain uptime and updates
ActiveCampaign vs n8n: FAQ
Do ActiveCampaign and n8n have a free plan?
ActiveCampaign has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. n8n has a free plan.