ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot
Same data, side by side: what each costs for a small team, which features sit on which plan, and where each one falls short.
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Email-marketing and automation platform first; the sales pipeline is a paid CRM add-on that needs at least the Plus plan.
- Core plan
- Plus + Pipelines, $88 /mo account
- 5 users / month
- $136
- Year 1, 5 users
- $1,632
- Free option
- 14-day trial
Free CRM for two users plus a broad paid suite; Sales Hub Starter adds workflows and calling, while Professional jumps to $90+ per seat and a required $1,500 onboarding.
- Core plan
- Starter, $20 /user/mo
- 5 users / month
- $100
- Year 1, 5 users
- $1,200
- Free option
- free plan
Bottom line
On documented facts, HubSpot scores 9.7 and ActiveCampaign 8.8 out of 10. For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, HubSpot costs $1,200 in the first year and ActiveCampaign $1,632, a difference of $432. The biggest gap is in how you can start (free plan or trial).
Where they differ
- Sales pipeline / deals: HubSpot ✓ all plans; ActiveCampaign paid add-on.
- Email marketing: ActiveCampaign ✓ all plans; HubSpot paid add-on.
- Built-in calling: HubSpot ✓ from Starter; ActiveCampaign ✗ no.
Choose ActiveCampaign if
- Teams that primarily need email/marketing automation and want a light sales pipeline layered on top (Plus + Pipelines from $88/mo annual-billing at 1,000 contacts)
- Ecommerce or lead-gen businesses that want tracking, segmentation and automation depth at low contact counts
- Healthcare-adjacent marketers needing a HIPAA BAA (Enterprise plan only)
Choose HubSpot if
- Teams that want to start on a free 2-user CRM with Gmail/Outlook sync and move up inside one platform later
- Teams that need workflow automation, custom reporting and forecasting and can absorb a $1,500 onboarding fee (Professional, $90/seat annual)
- US teams that need HIPAA-eligible storage of PHI in the CRM (Enterprise only)
Full comparison
 ActiveCampaign |  HubSpot | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Fact score | 8.8 / 10 | 9.7 / 10 |
| Type | General CRM | General CRM |
| Company | ActiveCampaign, LLC · Chicago, IL, USA | HubSpot, Inc. · Cambridge, MA, USA |
| Price | ||
| Free plan | no | Free tools / free Smart CRM: up to 2 users, no time limit, no credit card. Limits per catalog: up to 1,000 contacts, 1 pipeline per object type, 10 dashboards, 3 email templates, 200 email-tracking notifications/month, 2,000 marketing email sends/month (HubSpot branding), 1 shared inbox, 1 meeting link. Includes deals, tasks, Gmail/Outlook/Exchange sync, ticketing. |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days |
| Paid plans from | $88 per month, account | $20 per user / month |
| Core plan | Plus + Pipelines: $88 (annual) · $108 monthly | Starter: $20 |
| 5 users, year 1 | $1,632 | $1,200 |
| Seat minimum | none | none |
| Mandatory fees | none documented | Required onboarding (Professional): $1,500; Required onboarding (Enterprise): $3,500 |
| Monthly billing | yes | yes |
| Features | ||
| Sales pipeline / deals | paid add-on | ✓ all plans |
| Email sync & tracking | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Workflow automation | ✓ all plans | ✓ from Starter |
| Email marketing | ✓ all plans | paid add-on |
| Built-in calling | ✗ no | ✓ from Starter |
| AI assistant / AI features | ✓ all plans | ✓ from Starter |
| Reports & dashboards | ✓ from Plus + Pipelines | ✓ all plans |
| Custom objects | higher plans only | higher plans only |
| API access | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Mobile app | ✓ all plans | ✓ all plans |
| Compliance & data | ||
| HIPAA BAA | yes ('Eligible plans' only; ActiveCampaign's HIPAA marketing guide (published 2026-01-29, updated 2026-09-16) cites an Enterprise plan with BAA at about $229/month for 10,000 contacts. Full list of eligible plans not published on pages read.) | yes (Enterprise tier of the hub in use (Marketing, Sales, Service, Data, Content Hub Enterprise or Smart CRM Enterprise) with the Sensitive Data feature enabled) |
| Open source | no | no |
| Facts checked | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-03 |
Sources for every value are on each review: ActiveCampaign · HubSpot. Add a third CRM in the comparison tool.
FAQ
Is ActiveCampaign or HubSpot better?
On our fact score, HubSpot ranks higher (9.7 vs 8.8). That does not make it better for everyone: check the capability differences and the "choose it if" lists above.
Is ActiveCampaign cheaper than HubSpot?
For 5 users on each core plan with annual billing, HubSpot costs $1,200 in the first year and ActiveCampaign $1,632, a difference of $432.
Do ActiveCampaign and HubSpot have free plans?
ActiveCampaign: no free plan. HubSpot: yes (Free tools / free Smart CRM: up to 2 users, no time limit, no credit card. Limits per catalog: up to 1,000 contacts, 1 pipeline per object type, 10 dashboards, 3 email templates, 200 email-tracking notifications/month, 2,000 marketing email sends/month (HubSpot branding), 1 shared inbox, 1 meeting link. Includes deals, tasks, Gmail/Outlook/Exchange sync, ticketing.).