ActiveCampaign vs Brevo (Formerly Sendinblue): Automation and CRM Priced by Contacts, or Multichannel Marketing Priced by Sends?
This comparison used to be called ActiveCampaign vs Sendinblue, and most people still search for it that way. Sendinblue is now Brevo: the company announced the rebrand to Brevo on 4 May 2023, and sendinblue.com redirects to brevo.com. Both tools send newsletters and run automations, so the real difference is how they think about your list. ActiveCampaign is automation-first: it charges by the number of contacts you have, lets each contact receive 10 to 15 emails a month on your plan, and adds a CRM, SMS and WhatsApp as add-ons. Brevo charges by the number of emails you send, and puts SMS, a free sales pipeline and transactional email in its plans, with WhatsApp from Professional. We checked plans, prices, limits and features on activecampaign.com and brevo.com in November 2026.
Quick answer: pick ActiveCampaign if automation is the heart of your marketing: unlimited automation actions from Plus, goals in every plan, predictive sending and conditional content on Pro, 1,000+ integrations, and a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Starter costs $15 a month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts. Pick Brevo if you want a free plan that does not expire, SMS and transactional email in the same account, or a large list you email rarely: the free plan sends up to 300 emails a day, and Starter costs $9 a month on monthly billing for 5,000 emails. At 1,000 contacts on yearly billing the entry prices are almost the same; the gap opens at the next step up, where Brevo Standard comes to about $31.50 a month and ActiveCampaign Plus to $49.
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ActiveCampaign vs Brevo Pricing and Features Compared
Sources: activecampaign.com/pricing (default view: 1,000 contacts, US dollars, billed yearly), brevo.com/pricing (default Yearly view, euros shown from our location), brevo.com/pricing/see-all-features and Brevo's official pricing.md (US dollar list prices and email tiers, generated 29 September 2026), checked 12 November 2026. Prices exclude VAT or sales tax.
How we got the Brevo numbers: Brevo's pricing file allows 500 contacts at its 5,000-email tier and 1,500 contacts at 10,000 emails, so a 1,000-contact list needs the 10,000-email tier. That tier costs $8 a month on top of Starter's $9 ($183 a year billed yearly, about $15.25 a month) and $17 on top of Standard's $18 ($378 a year, about $31.50 a month); this is our arithmetic from Brevo's official price tables. ActiveCampaign at 1,000 contacts includes 10,000 sends on Starter and Plus, 12,000 on Pro and 15,000 on Enterprise. If your list is big but you email it once a month, Brevo usually costs less; if your list is small and every contact gets many automated emails, ActiveCampaign's contact pricing works in your favour.
ActiveCampaign: Automation-First Email Marketing
ActiveCampaign is built around automations: every plan includes multi-step automation and AI-powered automation and campaign builders, and its AI layer, Active Intelligence, comes with 500 credits on every plan for extra AI actions such as image generation and translated campaigns. Business goals let an automation wait until a contact does something, such as booking a call, before it moves on. Transactional email comes from Postmark, which ActiveCampaign sells as Postmark by ActiveCampaign, and SMS automations reach more than 180 countries as an add-on.
Plans (checked November 2026; default view: 1,000 contacts, US dollars, billed yearly):
- Starter, $15 a month: 10,000 email sends a month, 1 user, multi-step automation with up to 5 actions per automation, 250+ email templates, 15 active business goals, up to 5 lists and standard and inline forms. No landing pages, generative AI, SMS or WhatsApp.
- Plus, $49: 10,000 sends, 1 user, unlimited automation actions, cross-channel marketing, generative AI for content and images, landing pages and site messages, 25 business goals; Enhanced CRM, SMS and WhatsApp available as add-ons.
- Pro, $79 (recommended by ActiveCampaign): 12,000 sends, 3 users, predictive sending at each contact's best time, conditional content, advanced segmentation, attribution and conversion tracking, 200 business goals and priority support.
- Enterprise, $145: 15,000 sends, 5 users, single sign-on and HIPAA support, custom objects, premium CRM integrations such as Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, a dedicated account team and an uptime SLA.
- Trial and guarantee: 14-day free trial with no credit card; ActiveCampaign promises a full refund if you are not satisfied after 30 days.
What the ActiveCampaign pricing page adds: the price scales with your contact band, and if your list outgrows it you move to the next band without being locked out. Shopify, Square and WooCommerce connect on every plan; BigCommerce, Magento and Shopify Plus from Pro. Email and chat support is basic on Starter and Plus and priority on Pro and Enterprise.
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Brevo (Formerly Sendinblue): Email, SMS and WhatsApp Priced by Sends
Brevo calls itself one AI-powered customer platform for marketing and sales and says more than 600,000 customers use it. Its pricing works the other way round from ActiveCampaign's: you choose how many emails you send each month, and the plan sets how many contacts you may store. SMS campaigns are on every plan (credits sold separately), transactional email through an API or SMTP relay is included even on Free, and a free sales pipeline handles up to 50 open deals.
Plans (checked November 2026; default view Yearly, in euros from our location; US list prices on monthly billing in brackets):
- Free: free forever with no credit card; up to 300 emails a day once Brevo approves the account, up to 100,000 contacts, 1 user, automations for up to 2,000 contacts, email support.
- Starter, EUR 6.33 a month billed yearly ($9 monthly): from 5,000 emails a month, email and SMS campaigns, AI content generator, MCP for ChatGPT and Claude, advanced segmentation, forms and basic reports; automations still limited to 2,000 contacts.
- Standard, EUR 13.50 ($18): unlimited automated workflows, A/B testing, AI send-time optimisation, click heatmaps and device reports, web and event tracking, 1 landing page and up to 3 users as an add-on.
- Professional, EUR 449.08 ($499): from 150,000 emails a month, WhatsApp, popups, mobile and web push, 10 seats, contact scoring and phone support.
- Enterprise: custom price for 1M+ contacts, with several brands under one account, a dedicated IP and SSO.
What the Brevo pricing page, the full feature list and the official pricing file add: each email tier comes with a contact limit, from 500 contacts at 5,000 emails up to 500,000 contacts from 20,000 emails a month on Starter and Standard. Monthly or yearly commitment is your choice, pay-as-you-go email credits do not expire, and Brevo's pricing file prices extra users at $12 a month each.
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Brevo vs ActiveCampaign: Feature by Feature
Automation
ActiveCampaign is ahead for complex funnels: unlimited automation actions from Plus, business goals on every plan, conditional content and predictive sending on Pro. Brevo's workflows connect email, SMS and more, but on Free and Starter they only cover 2,000 contacts; unlimited workflows, A/B testing and AI send-time optimisation start on Standard.
CRM and sales
Brevo gives every account a free Sales plan with 1 pipeline and up to 50 open deals, which is enough to track a founder's first customers. ActiveCampaign sells Enhanced CRM (pipelines and sales engagement) as an add-on from Plus, and connects to Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics on Enterprise.
Channels: SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email
Brevo includes SMS on every plan and transactional email even on Free, with WhatsApp from Professional. ActiveCampaign offers SMS and WhatsApp as add-ons from Plus, and transactional email through Postmark as an add-on on every plan.
AI
Both lean on AI. ActiveCampaign's Active Intelligence builds campaigns and automations on every plan, with 500 credits for advanced actions and generative AI from Plus. Brevo's Aura AI and its MCP connection for ChatGPT and Claude are on every plan, with AI send-time optimisation from Standard.
Teams and integrations
ActiveCampaign gives 1 user on Starter and Plus, 3 on Pro and 5 on Enterprise, and lists 1,000+ integrations. Brevo gives 1 user until Standard (up to 3 as an add-on) and 10 on Professional, and connects to 150+ tools including Shopify, WordPress, Stripe and Zapier.
What Changed Since the 2026 Version of This Comparison
- The name: the old title said Sendinblue; the company has been Brevo since May 2023.
- ActiveCampaign prices: the old text said plans start at $29 a month. Starter now costs $15 a month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts, and Plus $49.
- Brevo prices: the old text said $25 a month for 20,000 emails. Starter is now $9 a month for 5,000 emails on monthly billing, with higher email tiers priced on top.
- ActiveCampaign channels: SMS and WhatsApp are now add-ons from Plus, and transactional email runs through Postmark by ActiveCampaign.
- Startup discount: ActiveCampaign's old start-up programme page now redirects to its free-trial page, so we no longer list a startup discount.
- Removed: the unsourced "$36 ROI for every $1" claim, "marketing is harder than product" framing, "ads" as an ActiveCampaign channel, "common mistakes" filler and the long conclusion.
ActiveCampaign or Brevo: Which Should You Choose?
- Your growth depends on long, branching automations (onboarding, nurture, upsell): ActiveCampaign Plus or Pro.
- You want to start free and stay free while you validate: Brevo Free.
- You have a big contact list from events or a previous business and email it rarely: Brevo, because you pay for emails sent.
- You need SMS reminders and transactional email without add-ons: Brevo.
- You sell B2B and need Salesforce sync: ActiveCampaign Enterprise, or compare Mailchimp vs Pardot.
- Your developer needs an email API for app emails: read Brevo vs SendGrid.
- You want a free CRM-first suite instead: read HubSpot vs ActiveCampaign.
More ActiveCampaign and Brevo Comparisons
More ActiveCampaign comparisons: Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact vs ActiveCampaign, ActiveCampaign vs Pardot, Omnisend vs ActiveCampaign, MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign, ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign vs Drip. More Brevo (Sendinblue) comparisons: Brevo vs MailerLite, Omnisend vs Brevo, Klaviyo vs Sendinblue and Sendinblue vs Drip. Other head-to-heads: Klaviyo vs Constant Contact and Infusionsoft vs Campaign Monitor. For more free options see the free Mailchimp alternatives, and to host email marketing yourself, the open-source Mailchimp alternatives.
How Founders Use ActiveCampaign or Brevo to Get Customers
A simple first funnel works on either tool: a signup form on your landing page, a welcome series of three to five emails, and a tag or deal when someone replies or books a call. Start with one automation that you can measure, and add branches only when you know which emails people open. Our email marketing tips for startups and the list of email marketing tools for startups cover the first steps. Before you spend on promotion, validate your startup idea.
Grow the list from social media with the schedulers in Loomly vs Sendible and SocialPilot vs MeetEdgar, and track which AI assistants mention you with the AI visibility tracking tools. Automations need content to send. The F/MS AI SEO Tool writes articles from your keywords that are built to rank on Google and to be cited by ChatGPT and Perplexity; link them from your nurture emails. F/MS Marketing Services help you get backlinks and guest posts that build your authority.
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FAQ: ActiveCampaign vs Brevo (Sendinblue)
Is Sendinblue the same as Brevo?
Yes. Sendinblue announced its rebrand to Brevo on 4 May 2023, and sendinblue.com now redirects to brevo.com. Searches for ActiveCampaign vs Sendinblue are about the same product.
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You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Get a quality backlink.
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Brevo?
At 1,000 contacts on yearly billing they start almost level: ActiveCampaign Starter $15 a month, Brevo Starter about $15.25 a month at its 10,000-email tier (our arithmetic from Brevo's price tables). With full automation, Brevo Standard comes to about $31.50 against $49 for ActiveCampaign Plus. Brevo also has a free plan; ActiveCampaign has a 14-day trial.
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No. It offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Brevo has a free plan with up to 300 emails a day and no time limit.
Which has better automation?
ActiveCampaign: unlimited actions from Plus, business goals on every plan, and conditional content and predictive sending on Pro. Brevo's automations are unlimited from Standard; on Free and Starter they cover up to 2,000 contacts.
Which has a better CRM?
For a first pipeline, Brevo: its free Sales plan includes 1 pipeline and up to 50 open deals. ActiveCampaign's Enhanced CRM is an add-on from Plus, with Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics sync on Enterprise.
Do both offer SMS and WhatsApp?
Brevo includes SMS on every plan with credits bought separately and WhatsApp from Professional. ActiveCampaign sells SMS and WhatsApp as add-ons from Plus; they are not available on Starter.
Can I send transactional emails?
Yes on both. Brevo includes transactional email through an API and SMTP relay on every plan. ActiveCampaign sells it as an add-on through Postmark by ActiveCampaign.
How many users do I get?
ActiveCampaign: 1 on Starter and Plus, 3 on Pro, 5 on Enterprise. Brevo: 1 on Free and Starter, up to 3 on Standard as an add-on, 10 on Professional.
What other tools should I compare?
For a free CRM-first suite, HubSpot; for app emails, SendGrid or Mailgun; for ecommerce, Omnisend or Klaviyo; for simple newsletters, MailerLite or Mailchimp; for free and self-hosted options, our free and open-source Mailchimp alternatives lists.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
