ActiveCampaign Pricing Breakdown 2025: Hidden Costs & Money-Saving Tips

Introduction

ActiveCampaign pricing seems simple at $19 monthly, but there’s more to the story. The platform serves over 180,000 customers, and I’ve found some interesting details behind those advertised rates.

The basic plan starts at $19 for 1,000 contacts. Your costs can surge up to 26 times that amount as your contact list expands. The platform boasts a 93.4% email deliverability rate and 900+ integrations. The pricing structure gets tricky when you add features like SMS marketing ($16.83/month), custom reporting ($159/month), or transactional emails ($15/month).

You need to know the exact costs that match your business requirements. This breakdown helps you avoid any budget surprises when comparing ActiveCampaign plans. On top of that, I’ll share some insider tips that could help you save up to 40% through discounts and smart contact list management.

In this piece, we’ll get into each pricing tier and reveal the hidden fees. You’ll learn how to maximize ActiveCampaign’s features without overspending.

ActiveCampaign Pricing Plans Explained (2025)

ActiveCampaign offers four pricing tiers in 2025. The costs depend on your contact list size and what features you need. Let’s get into what each plan brings to the table and which businesses they work best for.

Starter Plan: $19/month for 1,000 contacts

The Starter plan costs $19 monthly for 1,000 contacts with one user. This plan has simple email marketing features, automation tools, and unlimited emails. You’ll also get site tracking features and a simple marketing CRM.

Your email send limit matches 10 times your contact limit – a 1,000-contact plan gives you 10,000 monthly emails. The plan doesn’t include landing pages, SMS marketing, or custom user permissions. Freelancers and solopreneurs who need simple marketing automation tools will find this plan perfect for their needs.

Plus Plan: $59/month with advanced features

The Plus plan costs $59 monthly for 1,000 contacts and gives you three users instead of one. You’ll get landing pages, SMS marketing, and AI-assisted email content generation with this tier.

This plan’s features include better segmentation tools, site messaging options, and generative AI tools. You won’t get predictive sending with AI or connections to premium CRMs like Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Salesforce. Small businesses ready to step up their marketing automation game will benefit from this plan.

Professional Plan: $99/month with AI and testing tools

The Professional plan starts at $99 monthly for 1,000 contacts and comes with three users. You’ll get predictive sending with AI, advanced CRM connections including Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365, plus conversion and split automations.

The plan’s email send limit goes up to 12 times your contact limit. You’ll also get conditional content features, advanced segmentation, better reporting tools, and attribution tracking. This level works best for small to mid-sized businesses that need detailed marketing automation across multiple channels.

Enterprise Plan: $179/month with custom reporting and SSO

The Enterprise plan costs $179 monthly for 1,000 contacts and includes five users. This top-tier option comes with custom reporting, custom objects, and Single Sign-On (SSO) capabilities.

Enterprise users can send up to 15 times their contact limit in emails. The plan includes a dedicated account team, premium support, and full access to ActiveCampaign’s features. Large organizations and growing businesses with complex marketing needs and security requirements will find this plan most valuable.

The prices for all plans increase as your contact list grows. You can save money by choosing annual billing.

Add-Ons and Extras: What’s Not Included in Base Plans

Base plans come with detailed capabilities, but several premium features need extra investment beyond ActiveCampaign’s standard pricing tiers. These add-ons can substantially affect your total cost. They provide specialized functionality that businesses with specific needs will find valuable.

SMS Marketing: Starts at $16.83/month for 1,000 credits

SMS marketing costs extra with all ActiveCampaign plans. Prices start at $16.83 monthly for 1,000 SMS credits, which equals about 1,000 text messages in the US. Your costs go up as your SMS needs grow, with 5,000 credits costing around $75 monthly. You’ll need to buy these credits separately, whatever plan tier you choose.

Enhanced CRM: Pipelines and Sales Engagement pricing

Simple CRM functions come with all plans, but the advanced sales features need additional investment. Extra pipelines beyond the standard allocation cost about $25 monthly per pipeline. Sales engagement tools for advanced prospect nurturing add another $50 monthly per user to your base subscription. A team of five salespeople using these enhanced CRM features could add $250+ to your monthly bill.

Custom Reporting: $159/month unless on Enterprise

Custom reporting lets you dive deeper into analytics and create tailored data visualization. This feature costs an extra $159 monthly unless you’re on the Enterprise tier where it’s included. The add-on lets businesses create custom reports to measure specific campaign metrics and ROI calculations not found in the standard reporting suite.

Transactional Email via Postmark: $15/month for 10,000 emails

Businesses that need transactional emails like order confirmations, password resets, and receipts can use ActiveCampaign’s Postmark integration. It starts at $15 monthly for 10,000 emails. Prices scale up based on volume, with 50,000 monthly emails costing about $50. This service runs separately from your regular email marketing allocation, so you’ll need to budget for it separately.

These extra costs play a key role in calculating ActiveCampaign’s true expense for your organization. Your business’s specific requirements will determine which add-ons become necessary investments versus optional extras.

Hidden Costs to Watch Out For

ActiveCampaign’s pricing has several hidden costs that can affect your budget beyond the advertised rates. You should know these expenses upfront to avoid surprises on your bill.

Email Send Limits by Plan Tier

Your monthly email sending limits depend on your ActiveCampaign plan and contact count. The Starter and Plus plans let you send 10x your contact limit. Professional users can send 12x, while Enterprise customers get 15x. A Plus plan with 5,000 contacts allows between 50,000-60,000 emails monthly. You’ll face overage fees if you go over these limits, but your service won’t stop.

User Seat Pricing Beyond Plan Limits

Base plans come with limited user seats. Starter and Plus plans give you one user, Professional offers three, and Enterprise provides five. Each extra team member costs about $12 monthly. Large teams might see their monthly bills jump by hundreds of dollars quickly.

Overage Charges for Contact Tiers

Going over your email limit costs $0.01 per additional email. Your email function stops if you exceed three times your limit until your next billing cycle. ActiveCampaign won’t upgrade your tier automatically when you hit contact limits. They pause your campaigns until you choose to upgrade.

Design Testing and Spam Check Fees

Testing emails across different clients costs extra. Starter plan users pay $5 for 5 preview tests. Plus and Professional plans give you 5 free previews monthly, but you’ll pay for more. Enterprise users get unlimited previews at no extra cost.

CRM Add-On Scaling Costs

CRM features add significant costs to your bill. The Pipelines CRM add-on starts at $49 monthly plus $15 per extra user. Sales Engagement CRM costs more and brings advanced features like automated 1:1 emails and win probability analysis. These add-ons get expensive fast as your team grows.

Money-Saving Tips for ActiveCampaign Users

Want to cut down your ActiveCampaign costs? I found several ways to get the most value from this powerful marketing platform without breaking the bank.

Annual Billing Discount: Save 20%

Your ActiveCampaign costs drop by 20% right away when you switch from monthly to annual billing. This discount works for plans of all sizes, which means significant savings for any business. A Professional plan with 50K contacts and 20 users saves about $134 monthly with this approach.

Non-Profit Discount: Additional 20% Off

Non-profits get a 20% discount on every ActiveCampaign plan. The best part? This discount combines with annual billing savings, which could slash your total cost by 40%. New accounts should email sales@activecampaign.com with non-profit status proof. Existing customers need to reach out to help@activecampaign.com

Bundle Add-Ons for Negotiated Pricing

Bundling multiple add-ons often results in better pricing, though it’s not advertised openly. Larger accounts have more room to negotiate, especially when they combine services like SMS marketing with enhanced CRM features.

Ask for Extended Free Trial or Onboarding Help

The standard 14-day free trial can be extended once if you contact their Customer Experience Team. You also get free services such as online training, digital onboarding, community access, and template libraries.

Clean Your Contact List Regularly

Your costs directly depend on your contact count, so a clean contact list saves money. Set up automation to remove contacts who haven’t engaged for 90+ days to avoid paying for inactive subscribers. This practice also helps with deliverability and prevents carrier filtering or compliance issues that might lead to extra costs or penalties.

Conclusion

Final Thoughts: Is ActiveCampaign Worth the Investment?
A deep dive into ActiveCampaign’s pricing structure reveals that the advertised rates are just the beginning. The basic $19 monthly plan can become much more expensive as your business grows.

The platform’s four-tier system works well for different business sizes, from solopreneurs to enterprise organizations. But the real costs become apparent when you add essential features. SMS marketing costs $16.83/month, transactional emails are $15/month, and custom reporting adds $159/month. These expenses pile up fast.

These extra costs shouldn’t stop you from considering ActiveCampaign. The platform’s impressive 93.4% email deliverability rate and robust integration options make it an effective marketing tool. Success depends on planning your approach carefully.

Research shows that smart ActiveCampaign users combine several money-saving tactics. Switching to annual billing reduces costs by 20%, and regular contact list maintenance prevents unnecessary charges. Non-profit organizations can save even more with their 20% discount, which could reduce total costs by 40%.

Note that your final price depends on user limits, email send thresholds, and CRM features. Calculating your exact requirements before signing up helps avoid unexpected expenses.

ActiveCampaign gives you great value when you understand its complete pricing structure. The platform grows with your business and provides advanced automation features that make it worth the investment – as long as you use the money-saving strategies mentioned in this piece.

FAQs

Q1. How much does ActiveCampaign cost for small businesses? ActiveCampaign’s pricing starts at $19/month for the Starter plan with 1,000 contacts. As your business grows, costs increase based on contact list size and features needed. The Plus plan starts at $59/month, offering more advanced features suitable for small businesses.

Q2. Are there any hidden costs with ActiveCampaign? Yes, there are some additional costs to consider. These include SMS marketing (starting at $16.83/month), enhanced CRM features, custom reporting ($159/month unless on Enterprise), and transactional emails. User seat pricing and overage charges for exceeding contact limits or email send thresholds can also increase costs.

Q3. How can I save money on my ActiveCampaign subscription? You can save up to 20% by opting for annual billing instead of monthly. Non-profit organizations can get an additional 20% discount. Other money-saving tips include bundling add-ons for better pricing, asking for extended free trials, and regularly cleaning your contact list to avoid paying for inactive contacts.

Q4. What features are included in ActiveCampaign’s Enterprise plan? The Enterprise plan, starting at $179/month for 1,000 contacts, includes custom reporting, custom objects, Single Sign-On (SSO), a dedicated account team, premium support, and unlimited access to all ActiveCampaign features. It also offers the highest email send limit at 15 times your contact limit.

Q5. Does ActiveCampaign offer a free trial? Yes, ActiveCampaign offers a standard 14-day free trial. You can also request a one-time extension by contacting their Customer Experience Team. Additionally, customers receive free services like online training, digital onboarding, community access, and template libraries.

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