Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign: easy email or deep automation?
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Campaign Monitor Reviews · Updated October 4, 2026
Campaign Monitor suits small teams, nonprofits, and agencies that want good-looking newsletters and simple journeys without a long setup. Its monthly prices come in under ActiveCampaign's annual-billed prices at 500, 2,500, and 10,000 contacts. Essentials includes unlimited sends, and every paid plan comes with client sub-accounts and private labeling.
Pick ActiveCampaign if automation is the main job. Its builder handles multi-step, branching workflows, and G2 reviewers also use it as a CRM with deal pipelines. It also rates higher on G2 and with organic Trustpilot reviewers, and it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign at a glance
| Compared on | Campaign Monitor | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|
| Comparable plan | Essentials (unlimited sends) | Plus (sends up to 10x contacts) |
| Price at 500 contacts | $31/mo, billed monthly | $49/mo for its smallest tier (1,000 contacts), billed annually |
| Price at 2,500 contacts | $74/mo, billed monthly | $95/mo, billed annually |
| Price at 10,000 contacts | $182/mo, billed monthly | $189/mo, billed annually |
| Entry plan | Lite: $13/mo at 500 contacts, 2,500 emails/mo | Starter: $15/mo at 1,000 contacts, billed annually; 5 actions per automation |
| Billing options | Monthly; 10% off annual | Annual prices shown; monthly rates not published |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | 30 days, 500 contacts and 500 emails, no card | 14 days, 100 contacts and 100 emails, no card |
| Money-back guarantee | Not published | 30 days, full refund |
| Phone support | Premier plan | No human phone tier published (AI voice assistant); chat and email on all plans |
| Agency sub-accounts / white label | Sub-accounts and private labeling on every paid plan | Agency Partner reseller program with white-label options; plan not published |
| Trustpilot, organic reviews only | 1.44 (n=18) | 1.74 (n=39) |
| G2 rating (reviews) | 4.1 (731) | 4.4 (14,647) |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of 2026-10-04. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
Trustpilot row: organic reviews only (written without an invitation or link from the company), from our pull on October 4, 2026. Campaign Monitor's 18 span January 2023 to September 2026; ActiveCampaign's 39 span April to October 2026. Both samples are small and the windows differ, so read the gap as a rough signal. G2 figures are each product's overall rating and review count on G2.
Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign pricing at 500, 2,500, and 10,000 contacts
ActiveCampaign's pricing page shows annual-billed prices only. Monthly billing exists, but the rates are not published. Campaign Monitor lists monthly prices and takes 10% off for paying a year up front. So the figures here set Campaign Monitor's monthly price against ActiveCampaign's annual one, which flatters ActiveCampaign.
Campaign Monitor Essentials costs $31 a month at 500 contacts, $74 at 2,500, and $182 at 10,000, with unlimited sends and unlimited automated emails. ActiveCampaign Plus costs $49, $95, and $189 at the same sizes, with sends capped at 10 times your contact limit. Its smallest tier is 1,000 contacts, so a 500-contact list pays the 1,000-contact price.
The entry plans are closer. Campaign Monitor Lite is $13 a month at 500 contacts and sends up to 2,500 emails a month. ActiveCampaign Starter is $15 billed annually for up to 1,000 contacts and limits each automation to 5 actions. On either product the bill grows with your list, and Campaign Monitor keeps phone support on Premier ($171 a month at 500 contacts). Every tier is broken down on our Campaign Monitor pricing page.
Ease of use: how fast a new person can send
This is where Campaign Monitor is strongest. Capterra reviewers in our pull rate its ease of use 8.8 out of 10, and G2 users gave it the Easiest To Use badge for Fall 2026 (see awards). Reviewers keep mentioning that new staff and clients pick up the drag-and-drop builder in a day, and that campaigns, automations, and reports each have a clear place.
“It is one of the most simple email marketing tools I have personally used, with clear areas for one-off campaigns, automation and report viewing.”Dayna L., G2, Mar 2025
ActiveCampaign reviewers like the product, and plenty call it easy once it is set up. The common caveat is the first few weeks, when tags, lists, and automations all need to click into place.
“The main thing I dislike about ActiveCampaign is that it can feel overwhelming when you’re first getting started.”Nitesh C., G2, Aug 2026
Automation: ActiveCampaign goes further
Every ActiveCampaign plan includes its visual multi-step builder, Plus and above remove the per-automation action limit, and it ships with more than 950 automation recipes. G2 reviewers in our pull describe timed lead cadences, branching on tags and site behavior, and sales pipelines in the same account.
Campaign Monitor covers what most small teams automate: welcome series, drip campaigns, and transactional email, with pre-built journeys on every paid plan and unlimited automated emails on Essentials. Its automation is simpler than some power users want. If your plan is a regular newsletter plus a handful of journeys, that simplicity saves setup time.
Agencies and support: Campaign Monitor builds them into the plans
Campaign Monitor includes client sub-accounts under one admin login on Lite, Essentials, and Premier, along with private labeling that swaps its branding for yours. Agency accounts also get markup billing and a separate API key for each client. ActiveCampaign handles agencies through its Agency Partner reseller program, which offers white-label options and lets you invoice clients directly. It does not publish which plan the program requires.
On support, Campaign Monitor holds G2's Best Support badge for small business (Fall 2026), and G2 and Capterra reviewers often describe its team as fast and knowledgeable. Phone support comes with Premier. ActiveCampaign offers chat and email on every plan, with priority handling from Pro and a dedicated account team on Enterprise. Its phone line is an AI virtual assistant, and it publishes no plan with human phone support.
Try Campaign Monitor free30-day trial with 500 contacts and 500 emails, and no card at signup. What it includes: Campaign Monitor free trial.
Where ActiveCampaign wins
- Deeper automation: multi-step, branching workflows on every plan, unlimited actions from Plus, and more than 950 automation recipes.
- Sales and marketing in one account: G2 reviewers in our pull run CRM records and deal pipelines next to their email.
- Chat and email support on every plan, Starter included, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Higher review scores like for like: 4.4 on G2 from 14,647 reviews (Campaign Monitor: 4.1 from 731), and a 1.74 organic Trustpilot average from 39 reviews (Campaign Monitor: 1.44 from 18).
- Its 14-day trial runs on Professional-tier features, so you can test the full automation set before paying.
Weighing other options? See ActiveCampaign alternatives or Campaign Monitor vs Mailchimp.
Campaign Monitor vs ActiveCampaign FAQ
Is Campaign Monitor or ActiveCampaign cheaper?+
Campaign Monitor, at the list sizes we checked. Essentials costs $31 a month at 500 contacts, $74 at 2,500, and $182 at 10,000, billed monthly. ActiveCampaign Plus costs $49 (its smallest tier covers 1,000 contacts), $95, and $189, and those prices are billed annually. ActiveCampaign does not publish its monthly rates. Prices checked October 4, 2026.
Which is easier to learn, Campaign Monitor or ActiveCampaign?+
Campaign Monitor. Capterra reviewers rate its ease of use 8.8 out of 10, and G2 users gave it the Easiest To Use badge for Fall 2026. ActiveCampaign reviewers often mention a learning curve with automations, tags, and lists, though many say it gets easier once the setup is done.
Does ActiveCampaign have better automation than Campaign Monitor?+
For complex workflows, yes. ActiveCampaign is built around multi-step automation, with unlimited actions from the Plus plan and more than 950 automation recipes. Campaign Monitor covers welcome series, drip campaigns, and pre-built journeys, with unlimited automated emails on Essentials, which is enough for most newsletter senders.
Which is better for agencies?+
Campaign Monitor includes client sub-accounts and private labeling on every paid plan, plus markup billing so you can charge clients for their sending. ActiveCampaign offers white-label options and custom billing through its Agency Partner reseller program and does not publish which plan that requires.