ActiveCampaign vs Brevo: Automation Depth or Value Pricing?
Both go beyond simple email campaigns, but they price fundamentally differently: ActiveCampaign by contact count, Brevo by monthly email volume. Here's how they actually compare.
Pricing side by side
| Tier | ActiveCampaign | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Free | None (trial only) | $0/month (unlimited contacts, up to 300 emails/day) |
| Entry paid tier | Starter — from $19/month (1,000 contacts) | Starter — from $20/month (from 5,000 emails/month) |
| Mid tier | Plus — from $59/month (1,000 contacts) | Standard — $48/month |
| Higher tier | Pro — from $99/month / Enterprise from $179/month | Professional — $99/month (from 150,000 emails/month) / Enterprise custom |
ActiveCampaign's own pricing page shows no static table — it returns a quote dynamically by contact count and currency — so its figures here are cross-checked across two independent pricing trackers at the 1,000-contact, monthly-billing basis; treat them as a close estimate and confirm your exact quote on ActiveCampaign's site. Brevo figures are verified directly on its official, static pricing page. Both checked in September 2026. The structural difference matters more than the headline numbers: ActiveCampaign's cost climbs with contact-list size regardless of how often you email, while Brevo's climbs with how many emails you actually send, regardless of list size.
Go with one over the other if...
Go with ActiveCampaign if...
- You want genuine CRM-style depth — lead scoring, attribution tracking, predictive content
- Your automations need real branching logic, not just linear sequences
- You email your list frequently, so send-based pricing wouldn't save you anything anyway
Go with Brevo if...
- You have a large contact list but don't email it constantly
- You want SMS, WhatsApp, and a basic sales CRM bundled in without paying ActiveCampaign's premium
- You want a genuinely unlimited-contacts free plan to start on
Where the real difference shows up
ActiveCampaign's entire pitch is automation depth: attribution tracking across the customer journey, predictive and conditional content, and lead scoring that goes well beyond typical email-marketing features. That depth comes at the highest starting price in this category, and costs climb quickly as your contact list grows.
Brevo's pricing logic inverts that: because it charges by email volume rather than contact count, a large but infrequently-emailed list can cost far less than the same list would on ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp. Its automation and CRM features are real but shallower than ActiveCampaign's — Brevo's bundled "Sales Essentials" module is a basic CRM layer, not a full attribution/scoring engine.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper?
It depends entirely on how often you email your list. A large list emailed rarely is usually cheaper on Brevo; the same list emailed daily may cost about the same or more on Brevo than on ActiveCampaign, since email volume — not contact count — drives Brevo's price.
Which has deeper automation?
ActiveCampaign, clearly — attribution tracking, lead scoring, and predictive/conditional content go further than Brevo's automation and its bundled Sales Essentials CRM module.
Does either have a permanent free plan?
Only Brevo — its free plan allows unlimited contacts, capped at 300 emails per day. ActiveCampaign offers a free trial but no permanent free tier.
Our take
If automation depth and CRM-style features are what you actually use, ActiveCampaign's price premium is justified. If your list is large but you don't email constantly, Brevo's send-based pricing is structurally built to save you money in exactly that scenario. Full detail in our ActiveCampaign review and Brevo review.
Sources: pricing cross-checked against our own ActiveCampaign review and Brevo review, each verified directly on the vendor's official pricing page in September 2026 (activecampaign.com/pricing and brevo.com/pricing).