ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp Comparison
Compare ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
ActiveCampaign
6.5/10
Marketing automation platform with email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns plus optional deal-pipeline CRM add-ons, aimed at small and mid-sized businesses.
Mailchimp
6.6/10
Intuit-owned email marketing platform with automation flows, signup forms, segmentation and optional SMS, priced by contact count for small and growing businesses.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.5/10 | 6.6/10 |
| Scalability | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Ease of Use | 6/10 | 8/10 |
| Customization | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Cost | 5/10 | 4/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $13/mo Essentials |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | $350/mo Premium |
| Features | ||
| A/B Testing | Not listed | |
| E-commerce Features | Not listed | |
| Email Marketing | Not listed | |
| Landing Pages | Not listed | |
| Segmentation | Not listed | |
| SMS Marketing | Not listed | |
| More features | ||
| Marketing Automation | Not listed | |
| Lead Management | Not listed | |
| Integrations | Not listed | |
| Sales Automation | Not listed | |
| Opportunity Management | Not listed | |
| Contact Management | Not listed | |
| Reporting & Analytics | Not listed | |
| Mobile Access | Not listed | |
ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp cost by team size
| Team size | ActiveCampaign | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | FreeFree |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | $20/moStandard |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | $350/moPremium |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | $350/moPremium |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | $350/moPremium |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose ActiveCampaign
- Higher Security score (7/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Support score (6/10 vs 5/10)
- Better fit for marketing teams (9/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose Mailchimp
- Has a free plan (ActiveCampaign does not)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Analytics score (7/10 vs 6/10)
Pros & Cons
ActiveCampaign
Pros
- Every plan, including Starter, has multi-step automation and AI campaign builders, so small teams can run nurture sequences cheaply.
- Pro adds predictive sending, conditional content and attribution tracking at a list price of about 79 USD a month for 1,000 contacts on annual billing.
- Enterprise covers compliance-heavy buyers with SSO, HIPAA support, custom objects and a Salesforce integration.
- Review sites rate it highly, at about 4.4 on G2 from around 14,700 reviews and 4.6 on Capterra.
- iOS and Android apps let users create and manage deals, assign tasks and log calls on the go.
Cons
- Pricing is tied to contact count and rises sharply as lists grow, and there is no permanent free plan.
- Deal pipelines and inbox sales email cost extra through CRM add-ons, which adds a lot to the total cost for sales teams.
- Starter allows only 5 actions per automation and 1 user, and it has no landing pages.
- Reviewers often mention a steep learning curve and slow support on lower tiers.
- Reporting customisation is limited, and deals cannot be exported without the API.
Mailchimp
Pros
- Reviewers on G2 and Capterra often praise the template library and easy navigation, which help non-technical users send campaigns quickly.
- Large review base, with a 4.5 rating on Capterra from more than 17,000 reviews and 4.3 on G2.
- Standard includes up to 200 automation flows, predictive segments and generative AI tools at a low starting price.
- Premium adds enterprise SSO, unlimited seats and dedicated onboarding for larger teams.
Cons
- Costs rise steeply with list size. Premium starts at 350 USD a month, and reviewers rank pricing as the top complaint.
- New accounts are billed for unsubscribed and unconfirmed contacts, and going over the plan limit triggers overage fees.
- In January 2026 the Free plan was cut to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and automations were removed from it.
- Reviewers on G2 and Capterra say support is slow or inconsistent, especially for integration troubleshooting.
- Essentials limits automation flows to four steps.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Mailchimp scores higher on our Marketing criteria: 6.6/10 against 6.5/10 for ActiveCampaign. The largest gap is in Ease of Use: 6/10 for ActiveCampaign and 8/10 for Mailchimp.
Mailchimp has a free plan; ActiveCampaign does not list one.
ActiveCampaign is the better fit for marketing teams: we rate it 9/10 for them, against 7/10 for Mailchimp.
