Is Campaign Monitor cheaper than ActiveCampaign?

At 5,000 contacts in this example snapshot, ActiveCampaign is $99/mo (Campaign Monitor $117/mo, ActiveCampaign $99/mo). At 10,000 contacts: Campaign Monitor $182/mo vs ActiveCampaign $189/mo.

Which is better for ecommerce, Campaign Monitor or ActiveCampaign?

ActiveCampaign is marked ecommerce-native in the dataset. Campaign Monitor is not.

Does Campaign Monitor have SMS compared with ActiveCampaign?

ActiveCampaign has SMS in the dataset; the other does not.

Which has deeper automation?

Campaign Monitor is 3/10; ActiveCampaign is 5/10. The score is an editorial 1–10 in the JSON, not a vendor claim.

Head-to-head · 1–6–0 (A–B–tie)

Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign

Campaign Monitor and ActiveCampaign overlap as email platforms but diverge on price, automation, and store data. At 5,000 contacts this example snapshot has ActiveCampaign at $99/mo. ActiveCampaign scores higher on automation depth (5/10). ActiveCampaign is marked ecommerce-native; the other is not. On the scored dimensions below, Campaign Monitor leads 1, ActiveCampaign leads 6, with 0 ties. This is a dataset tally, not an award.

Visit Campaign Monitor Visit ActiveCampaign

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Dimension winners

Price at 5k contactsCampaign Monitor: $117/moActiveCampaign: $99/moActiveCampaign
Price at 10k contactsCampaign Monitor: $182/moActiveCampaign: $189/moCampaign Monitor
Automation depth (1–10)Campaign Monitor: 3ActiveCampaign: 5ActiveCampaign
SMSCampaign Monitor: NoActiveCampaign: YesActiveCampaign
CRMCampaign Monitor: NoActiveCampaign: YesActiveCampaign
Ecommerce-nativeCampaign Monitor: NoActiveCampaign: YesActiveCampaign
G2 scoreCampaign Monitor: 4.2ActiveCampaign: 4.5ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign wins more of the scored dimensions (6–1). Campaign Monitor can still be the right buy when small businesses outweighs those rows.

Full field dump for Campaign Monitor and ActiveCampaign from the JSON dataset.
Tool	Free plan	Price @ 1k	Price @ 5k	Price @ 10k	Model	Automation	SMS	CRM	Ecommerce	Landing pages	Forms	G2	Trial
Campaign Monitor	No free plan	$74/mo	$117/mo	$182/mo	contacts	3/10	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	4.2 (n/a)	30-day trial
ActiveCampaign	No free plan	$19/mo	$99/mo	$189/mo	contacts	5/10	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	4.5 (14,000)	14-day trial

Choose Campaign Monitor if

Choose Campaign Monitor over ActiveCampaign when small businesses is the job to be done.
Choose Campaign Monitor over ActiveCampaign when agencies is the job to be done.
Choose Campaign Monitor over ActiveCampaign when newsletters is the job to be done.
Choose Campaign Monitor over ActiveCampaign when landing pages is the job to be done.
Choose Campaign Monitor over ActiveCampaign when beginners is the job to be done.
No free plan. 30-day trial.

Skip Campaign Monitor if

Do not pick Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign if you specifically need budget SMBs over 5k contacts.
Do not pick Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign if you specifically need native Shopify catalog sync.
Do not pick Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign if you specifically need native SMS.
Do not pick Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign if you specifically need HIPAA / BAA email.
Do not pick Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign if you specifically need deep ecommerce CRM needs.

Choose ActiveCampaign if

Choose ActiveCampaign over Campaign Monitor when marketing automation is the job to be done.
Choose ActiveCampaign over Campaign Monitor when CRM + email combo is the job to be done.
Choose ActiveCampaign over Campaign Monitor when SMBs scaling journeys is the job to be done.
Choose ActiveCampaign over Campaign Monitor when agencies is the job to be done.
No free plan. 14-day trial.

Skip ActiveCampaign if

Do not pick ActiveCampaign vs Campaign Monitor if you specifically need absolute beginners wanting free forever.
Do not pick ActiveCampaign vs Campaign Monitor if you specifically need simple newsletter only users.

Dated pricing snapshot

Figures below are monthly USD list-size prices from data/esp-tools.json, last marked verified September 14, 2026. They are example placeholders until you swap in live quotes. Always confirm on the vendor pricing page.

Campaign Monitor1k $74/mo · 5k $117/mo · 10k $182/moModel: contacts · row date September 14, 2026
ActiveCampaign1k $19/mo · 5k $99/mo · 10k $189/moModel: contacts · row date September 11, 2026

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Related comparisons

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Brevo: Free up to 100,000 contacts · 5k $9/mo · SMS · WhatsApp · Moosend: No free plan · 5k $48/mo

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