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ActiveCampaign

Marketing automation with built-in CRM and AI, the default mid-market choice for B2B and hybrid businesses.

8.4
AT500 Score
Rank #18 in Marketing AI
▲ +1
Starting price$15-19/mo (Starter, 1K contacts)
Pricing modelPaid
Founded2003
HeadquartersChicago, IL

About ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign combines email marketing, automation workflows, and a built-in CRM in one platform, positioned as the default mid-market choice for B2B and hybrid businesses needing more than a pure email tool. Its automation engine handles multi-branch conditional logic, A/B splits, Predictive Sending, AI-suggested segments, an AI Campaign Builder, lead scoring, and cross-channel orchestration across email, SMS, and WhatsApp in a single builder, breadth that is genuinely hard to match at this price point for B2B or multi-model companies. Pricing starts at $15-19/month for Starter at 1,000 contacts, but the real cost story is in the details: contact count roughly doubles cost at each major band (a Plus plan hits $239/month at 10,000 contacts), SMS runs on a separate credit system with no rollover, and useful capabilities like landing pages and A/B automation testing sit at least one plan above where most buyers expect. It holds the highest G2 review volume in the category at 14,586 reviews and a 4.5/5 rating.

Key features

AI Campaign Builder
AI-assisted campaign creation alongside predictive send-time optimization
Built-in CRM
Sales pipeline and lead scoring included, not a separate product
Cross-channel orchestration
Email, SMS, and WhatsApp automation in a single visual builder
Deep conditional automation
Multi-branch logic and A/B split testing within automation workflows

Pros and cons

✓ Pros
Highest review volume and satisfaction in the category, 14,586 G2 reviews at 4.5/5
Genuinely deep automation logic rivals dedicated CRM platforms at a fraction of the cost
Built-in CRM removes the need for a separate sales tool for many small teams
Cross-channel orchestration (email, SMS, WhatsApp) in one automation builder
✗ Cons
Contact-based pricing roughly doubles at each major band, a real budgeting risk as lists grow
SMS credits expire monthly with no rollover, adding real cost for active senders
Key features like landing pages and A/B automation testing sit above the entry Starter tier
No free plan, only a trial, unlike some direct competitors

Best for

B2B and hybrid businesses needing marketing automation plus CRMMid-market companies wanting deep conditional automation logicTeams needing cross-channel orchestration in one platformSales-led organizations wanting lead scoring built into marketing

Why this score

The default mid-market choice for B2B and hybrid businesses, combining marketing automation, CRM, and AI in one platform at 14,586 G2 reviews and 4.5/5 rating