Marketing automation + CRM
ActiveCampaign
4.2A marketing automation suite with a built-in CRM, known for a powerful automation builder at SMB-friendly prices.
At a glance
- Best for
- SMBs and B2B service businesses that want deep automation and light CRM without enterprise pricing.
- Category
- Marketing automation + CRM
- Pricing model
- Contact-based across Starter / Plus / Pro / Enterprise.Starter from ~$15/mo (1k contacts); Plus ~$49/mo; Pro ~$79/mo with predictive sending; costs scale with contacts. Check activecampaign.com.
- AI approach
- ActiveCampaign embeds AI — predictive sending, AI-suggested segments, an AI campaign builder, win-probability scoring — into plan pricing without per-credit metering.
- Founded
- 2003
- Topics
- AutomationComparisons
ActiveCampaign offers enterprise-grade automation at a small-business price. Its automation builder — conditional logic, splits, multi-channel triggers — is a genuine strength, and it ships with a built-in CRM and lead scoring.
A point its fans emphasize: AI is embedded in plan pricing rather than metered. Predictive sending, AI-suggested segments, an AI campaign builder, and win-probability scoring are available on Plus/Pro tiers without a separate credit meter — a contrast with credit-based models elsewhere.
Where it fits
Great for B2B and service businesses that want deep automation and a CRM without enterprise pricing. For DTC ecommerce, Klaviyo's native commerce data is the stronger fit.
Strengths
- Enterprise-grade automation at SMB prices.
- AI features (predictive sending, AI segments) included rather than credit-metered.
- Built-in CRM with lead scoring.
- Multi-channel (email, SMS) in one agent workflow.
Watch-outs
- No free plan (trial only).
- Costs rise with contact count like other contact-based tools.
- Less ecommerce-native than Klaviyo.
AI features
- Predictive sending (per-contact send time)
- AI-suggested segments
- AI campaign builder
- Win-probability scoring