ActiveCampaign vs Substack
ActiveCampaign and Substack are both email marketing tools. ActiveCampaign is aimed at small businesses and E-commerce, while Substack is aimed at creators. Only Substack has a free plan.
Email marketing and automation platform for SMBs and ecommerce
Newsletters, podcasts and paid subscriptions
| Pricing | Paid · $19 | Free |
| Starting price | $19/mo | Not published |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 14 days | — |
| Built for | Small businesses, E-commerce, Agencies | Creators |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2003 | US · 2017 |
| 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 Substack if
Writers starting out who value discovery and simplicity over control.
- Zero upfront cost; discovery network
- Simple, writer-focused
- Payments and hosting handled
Look elsewhere if: Publications with revenue that want to keep 100% and own SEO (Ghost, beehiiv).
ActiveCampaign vs Substack 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
Substack
- Free$0Free publishing, no monthly fee
- Paid subscriptions10%/of revenuePlus credit card processing fees
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
Substack · Key features
- Newsletter, podcast and video publishing
- Paid subscriptions with free and paid tiers
- Recommendations network, Notes and Chat
- Hosted site with custom domain
- Mobile app for readers
- Basic analytics and import tools
Cons
- 10% revenue share
- Limited design and SEO control
- Platform dependence
ActiveCampaign vs Substack: FAQ
Do ActiveCampaign and Substack have a free plan?
ActiveCampaign has no free plan, a 14-day free trial. Substack has a free plan.
Which is better for small businesses, ActiveCampaign or Substack?
ActiveCampaign lists small businesses as a core audience, while Substack is aimed more at creators.