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Last updated: October 29, 2026
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ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot (2027): Prices, Automation and Which to Choose
Choose ActiveCampaign if email automation is the heart of your marketing and you want powerful automation at a low price: Starter costs about $15 a month at 1,000 contacts and Plus about $49, with unlimited automation actions from Plus, according to 2026 pricing guides. Choose HubSpot if you want a free CRM and an all-in-one platform for sales, marketing and service: the CRM is free for 2 users and Starter costs $7 per seat per month on annual billing. At the professional level, HubSpot becomes much more expensive: Marketing Hub Professional starts at $800 a month plus a $3,000 onboarding fee.
- ActiveCampaign at 1,000 contacts (annual): Starter about $15, Plus about $49, Pro about $79, Enterprise about $145 *.
- ActiveCampaign Starter: 5 actions per automation; Plus and above: unlimited actions.
- HubSpot: free CRM for 2 users; Starter $7/seat (annual), $20 monthly.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional: from $800/month with 3 core seats and 2,000 marketing contacts, plus $3,000 onboarding.
- Trials: ActiveCampaign 14 days, no card; HubSpot free plan, no card.
ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot at a glance
| ActiveCampaign | HubSpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | No free plan (14-day trial) | Free CRM for 2 users |
| Entry paid plan | Starter about $15/month at 1,000 contacts * | Starter $7/seat (annual) |
| Mid plan | Plus about $49 at 1,000 contacts * | Starter Customer Platform and Hubs on seats |
| Advanced marketing | Pro about $79 at 1,000 contacts * | Marketing Hub Professional from $800/month |
| Onboarding fee | None listed | $1,500 (Sales Pro), $3,000 (Marketing Pro) |
| Billing unit | Contacts | Seats, plus marketing contacts on Marketing Hub |
| Strength | Deep email automation at low cost | All-in-one CRM platform |
Pricing compared
Entry level
HubSpot is cheaper to start: the CRM is free for 2 users, and Starter costs $7 per seat. ActiveCampaign has no free plan, but Starter costs about $15 a month at 1,000 contacts and includes email marketing and automation (5 actions per automation).
Mid level
ActiveCampaign Plus, about $49 a month at 1,000 contacts, removes the 5-action limit and adds sales automation. That's where ActiveCampaign is strongest: complex, multi-branch automations for under $50 a month.
Professional level
HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional starts at $800 a month with 3 core seats and 2,000 marketing contacts, plus a one-time $3,000 onboarding fee. ActiveCampaign Pro costs about $79 a month at 1,000 contacts. For advanced marketing automation alone, ActiveCampaign costs a fraction of HubSpot Professional.
What a real business pays
| Situation | ActiveCampaign | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|
| 2 people, 1,000 contacts, basic email | Starter about $15/month * | Free CRM; Marketing Starter for email features |
| 3 people, 1,000 contacts, advanced automation | Plus about $49/month * | Marketing Hub Professional from $800/month + $3,000 onboarding |
| 5-person sales team needing a CRM | Plus with CRM features * | Sales Hub Starter $35/month (annual) |
First-year cost for advanced marketing automation
| ActiveCampaign Pro (1,000 contacts) | HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | about $79 × 12 = $948 * | $800 × 12 = $9,600 |
| Onboarding | $0 | $3,000 |
| First-year total | about $948 | $12,600 |
HubSpot Professional includes much more than automation (CRM, reporting, content tools and more seats), but if automation is what you need, the difference is large.
Features that decide the choice
| If you need… | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A free CRM | HubSpot | Free for 2 users |
| Advanced automation under $100/month | ActiveCampaign | Plus and Pro |
| Sales, marketing and service on one database | HubSpot | Hubs share one CRM |
| Many contacts, few users | ActiveCampaign | Priced by contacts, not seats |
| Many users, few contacts | HubSpot Starter | $7 per seat |
| No onboarding fees | ActiveCampaign | None listed |
Ease of use
HubSpot is known for an approachable interface and a free CRM that teams adopt quickly. ActiveCampaign's automation builder is powerful and visual, with a learning curve proportional to how complex your automations get. Teams new to marketing automation often find HubSpot easier to start; teams that already know what they want to automate often get more out of ActiveCampaign per dollar.
Three real-world scenarios
A consultant with 1,500 subscribers and a course
Automated welcome series, lead scoring and a sales sequence: ActiveCampaign Plus is the efficient choice. HubSpot's free CRM works for tracking clients, but its advanced marketing automation sits in Professional.
A 6-person B2B startup with a small list
The team needs a shared CRM for deals and simple email. HubSpot's free CRM plus Starter seats at $7 each costs far less than any advanced plan, and everything lives in one place.
A 20-person company aligning sales and marketing
HubSpot Professional's unified CRM, reporting and attribution may justify the price and onboarding fees. Compare it with ActiveCampaign Pro plus a separate CRM such as Pipedrive.
Start ActiveCampaign's 14-day trial → No credit card required · Affiliate link
Hidden costs to watch
- HubSpot onboarding fees: $1,500 for Sales Hub Professional and $3,000 for Marketing Hub Professional.
- HubSpot marketing contacts: Professional includes 2,000; more cost extra.
- ActiveCampaign contact tiers: prices rise as your list grows.
- ActiveCampaign Starter's 5-action limit per automation.
- Annual commitments on both platforms for the lowest prices.
Alternatives worth comparing
| Tool | Entry price | Why consider it |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Comfort from $12/month | Cheaper automation for simple needs |
| GetResponse | Starter about €13/month at 1,000 (annual) | Webinars and funnels |
| Pipedrive | about $14/seat (Lite, annual) * | Add a sales CRM to ActiveCampaign |
See ActiveCampaign pricing, HubSpot pricing, ActiveCampaign alternatives and HubSpot alternatives.
How to choose in 5 steps
- Decide what you're buying: marketing automation, a CRM, or both.
- Count contacts and users; they drive each platform's price differently.
- Price year one, including HubSpot onboarding fees if you need Professional.
- Build the same automation in ActiveCampaign's trial and HubSpot's free tools.
- Choose the tool that handles your most important workflow with the least friction.
Terms explained
- Automation action: one step in an automation, such as sending an email or adding a tag.
- Marketing contact: a HubSpot contact you can send marketing emails to; billed on Marketing Hub.
- Hub: a HubSpot product (Sales, Marketing, Service) on the same CRM.
- Lead scoring: points assigned to contacts based on behaviour, to spot sales-ready leads.
- Onboarding fee: a one-time setup charge.
Our verdict
ActiveCampaign is the better value for email marketing automation: about $15 to $79 a month at 1,000 contacts buys automation that would cost hundreds on HubSpot. HubSpot is the better choice when you want a free CRM and one platform for sales, marketing and service, and it's unbeatable at entry level with free and $7 seats. For advanced marketing on a small budget, ActiveCampaign wins; for a unified platform with money to invest, HubSpot does.
How we compiled this page
HubSpot prices come from its official pricing page, checked October 29, 2026. ActiveCampaign's pricing page uses a contact calculator, so its prices come from 2026 pricing guides and are marked with *. Confirm both with your contact count and number of users.
FAQ
Is ActiveCampaign cheaper than HubSpot?
For marketing automation, yes: about $15 to $79 a month at 1,000 contacts versus $800 a month for HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional. For a basic CRM, HubSpot is cheaper because it's free for 2 users.
Is ActiveCampaign better than HubSpot?
For deep email automation on a budget, often yes. For an all-in-one CRM platform, HubSpot is usually better.
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No, but it offers a 14-day free trial without a credit card.
Can I use ActiveCampaign with HubSpot's free CRM?
Yes. Some teams use HubSpot's free CRM for sales and ActiveCampaign for marketing automation, connected through native integrations or Zapier.
Which is better for small businesses?
HubSpot for a free, easy CRM; ActiveCampaign for advanced email automation at a low price.
Which has better deliverability?
Both platforms invest heavily in deliverability, and results depend more on your list quality and domain authentication than on the tool. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC and clean your list regularly; our email deliverability guide explains how.
Which is better for ecommerce?
Both connect to major store platforms. ActiveCampaign offers ecommerce automations at lower prices; stores that rely heavily on email revenue may also compare Klaviyo or Omnisend.
Sources
hubspot.com/pricing and activecampaign.com/pricing, checked October 29, 2026. ActiveCampaign and Pipedrive prices from 2026 pricing guides.
Related
- 6 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives in 2027 (Cheaper Options)
- ActiveCampaign Pricing 2027: Plans & Real Costs
- ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp (2027): Which Is Better?
- 5 Best HubSpot Alternatives in 2027 (Cheaper CRMs)
- Pipedrive vs HubSpot (2027): Which CRM Is Better?