This is a match between a specialist and a platform. ActiveCampaign's identity is marketing automation: the pricing page is organised around what each tier lets you automate, how many goals stay active, how many users get access and how sophisticated the AI and segmentation are. Brevo's identity is multi-channel: email is one tab in a product that also sends SMS and WhatsApp, runs live chat and keeps a sales CRM.
TL;DR
ActiveCampaign sells automation depth and is priced in tiers with hard feature gates: Starter at $15/month gives one user and only 5 actions per automation, Plus at $49/month unlocks 25 active goals, Pro at $79/month adds 3 users and advanced segmentation, and Enterprise at $145/month adds premium segmentation, custom objects, SSO and a dedicated account team. Brevo starts lower (EUR 7/month Starter) and gives you SMS, WhatsApp, push, live chat, chatbot and a CRM in the same subscription, with unlimited-ish sending governed by volume. Buy ActiveCampaign when the automation map is the product. Buy Brevo when you need several channels and a sales inbox without stacking subscriptions.
ActiveCampaign's ladder is unusually explicit about what each tier withholds. Starter includes 5 actions per automation and a limited version of Active Intelligence, Plus moves to 25 active goals with standard segmentation, Pro adds 3 users, advanced segmentation and 200 active goals, and Enterprise adds 5 users, premium segmentation, custom objects, attribution, SSO and a dedicated account team. All tiers bill annually at the listed starting prices for 1,000 contacts.
Brevo's ladder is about volume and channels rather than automation ceilings: Starter at EUR 7/month, Standard at EUR 15/month, Professional at EUR 499/month, Enterprise by quote, with SMS, WhatsApp, push, chat and CRM available across the platform. Both vendors include a free entry: ActiveCampaign a 14-day trial with a 30-day money-back guarantee, Brevo a free plan that sends up to 300 emails a day. The decision is usually about which constraint bites first. If your automations are the money-maker, ActiveCampaign's tier gates will force an upgrade eventually; if your constraint is doing email, SMS and support from one vendor, Brevo's breadth avoids that upgrade entirely.
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | Brevo |
|---|---|---|
| Free entry | 14-day free trial | Free plan: up to 300 emails/day after approval |
| Entry paid tier | Starter, $15/month billed annually (1,000 contacts) | Starter, EUR 7/month (EUR 6.33 billed yearly) |
| Mid tier | Plus, $49/month; Pro, $79/month | Standard, EUR 15/month |
| Top tier | Enterprise, $145/month; above it, custom | Professional, EUR 499/month; Enterprise by quote |
| Automation limits | 5 actions per automation on Starter, 25 active goals on Plus, 200 goals and unlimited actions from Pro | No-code automation included; scope grows with tier |
| Users per plan | 1 Starter, 1 Plus, 3 Pro, 5 Enterprise | Plan-based |
| AI features | Active Intelligence, limited on Starter and Plus, full from Pro | Aura AI agents for copy, segmentation and send times |
| Segmentation | Limited, standard, advanced and premium depending on tier | Advanced segmentation including web tracking |
| Channels | Email marketing and automation; messaging positioned separately | Email, SMS, WhatsApp, push, Mobile Wallet, live chat, chatbot, phone |
| CRM | CRM features including pipelines, add-ons for deeper sales engagement | Included CRM with pipelines, deals and a shared inbox |
| Landing pages | Included across plans | Included on Standard and above |
| Transactions and receipts | Separate capabilities depending on tier | Transactional messaging in-platform |
| Integrations | 1,000+ listed | 150+ listed |
| Guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee | Free plan; no long-term lock-in |
| Best fit | Businesses whose revenue depends on complex automation | Teams wanting several channels and a CRM on one bill |
Pick ActiveCampaign if
ActiveCampaign is the pick when journeys, goals and conditional logic drive revenue. The tier gates are transparent - 5 automation actions on Starter, 25 goals on Plus, 200 goals with 3 users on Pro - and the product is designed around making those journeys deeper rather than making the invoice broader.
Pick Brevo if
Brevo is the pick when you need email plus SMS or WhatsApp, a live chat, and a CRM without three separate vendors. At EUR 7/month for Starter and a free plan that sends 300 emails a day, it costs less to start and it does not charge extra for the channels outside email.
Both vendors advertise their own ratings on their own pages. We did not collect or verify independent reviews, ratings or quotes, so none are reproduced here.
ActiveCampaign Starter is listed at $15/month billed annually for 1,000 contacts. Brevo Starter is listed at EUR 7/month at the default 5,000-emails-per-month view of its pricing page. Different currencies, but Brevo's entry tier is the cheaper configuration.
No. Brevo includes no-code automation across tiers, with scope growing as you pay more. ActiveCampaign names a number: 5 actions per automation on Starter, then unlimited actions with 25 active goals on Plus and 200 on Pro.
Brevo includes SMS, WhatsApp, push and Mobile Wallet in the platform. ActiveCampaign's base email plans are email and automation focused, with messaging sold separately.
Brevo. Its free plan reports up to 300 emails a day after account approval. ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee instead.
ActiveCampaign includes CRM features, with Pipelines and sales engagement available as add-ons. Brevo includes a CRM with pipelines, deals and a shared inbox as part of the platform.
Brevo, because the free plan sends real volume and the entry tier is cheaper, so the cost of learning the tool is lower. Move to ActiveCampaign when your automations have outgrown simple sequences.
Spot an outdated price or feature? Let us know and we'll verify it.