Brevo vs ActiveCampaign: Marketing Automation Comparison 2026

Brevo and ActiveCampaign are both powerful marketing automation platforms, but they approach pricing, features, and multi-channel marketing differently. This comparison helps you understand which platform delivers better value for your specific needs.

Automation Brevo Multi-Channel Brevo only CRM All plans Loyalty With Tajo

Brevo · Automation

Visual Automation Builder

Drag-and-drop workflow editor with multi-channel triggers - email, SMS, and WhatsApp in a single flow. ActiveCampaign offers more automation templates, but Brevo is the only platform with native WhatsApp automation.

• Email + SMS + WhatsApp in one workflow
• Behavioural triggers (cart, browse, purchase)
• A/B split within automations
• 20+ pre-built templates

Quick Comparison

Feature	Brevo	ActiveCampaign
Pricing Model	Per-email	Per-contact
Starting Price	$9/month	$15/month
Free Plan	Yes (300/day)	No (14-day trial)
SMS Marketing	Yes (200+ countries)	Yes (limited)
WhatsApp	Yes	No
CRM	Included	Included
Automation	Advanced	Industry-leading

Platform Overview

Brevo (Formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo offers a comprehensive marketing suite with email, SMS, WhatsApp, CRM, and automation. Its per-email pricing makes it cost-effective for businesses with large contact lists.

Core strengths:

• Per-email pricing (unlimited contacts)
• Multi-channel marketing (Email + SMS + WhatsApp)
• Built-in CRM and deal pipelines
• Transactional email handling
• Global SMS coverage (200+ countries)

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is known for sophisticated marketing automation and CRM capabilities. It’s designed for businesses that prioritize complex automation workflows.

Core strengths:

• Industry-leading automation
• Deep CRM integration
• 900+ integrations
• Machine learning features
• Extensive automation templates

Marketing Automation

This is where both platforms excel, but differently.

Brevo Automation

• Visual workflow builder with drag-and-drop
• Multi-channel automation (Email + SMS + WhatsApp)
• Behavioral triggers (website, email, purchases)
• A/B testing within workflows
• Lead scoring capabilities
• Event-based triggers
• Pre-built templates (20+)

ActiveCampaign Automation

• Advanced visual builder with complex logic
• 900+ automation recipes (templates)
• Predictive sending and content
• Site tracking integration
• Attribution reporting
• Goals and conversion tracking
• Split actions within workflows

Verdict: ActiveCampaign has more sophisticated automation capabilities and far more templates. Brevo’s advantage is true multi-channel automation including WhatsApp.

Email Marketing

Email Builder

Brevo:

• Modern drag-and-drop editor
• Dynamic content blocks
• AI writing assistant
• Conditional content
• 40+ templates
• Full HTML access

ActiveCampaign:

• Flexible drag-and-drop builder
• Conditional content
• Predictive content (AI)
• 250+ templates
• HTML editing
• AMP email support

Verdict: Both offer capable builders. ActiveCampaign has more templates; Brevo’s editor is cleaner.

Deliverability

Brevo:

• 99%+ deliverability rate
• Dedicated IP available
• Full authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
• Deliverability reporting

ActiveCampaign:

• Excellent deliverability
• Shared and dedicated IPs
• Authentication support
• Predictive sending for optimization

Verdict: Both have strong deliverability. Similar capabilities overall.

CRM Features

Brevo CRM

• Included on all plans
• Deal pipeline management
• Contact scoring
• Task management
• Activity tracking
• Meeting scheduling
• Sales automation

ActiveCampaign CRM

• Included on Plus plan+
• Advanced deal pipelines
• Win probability scoring
• Lead scoring
• Task automation
• Sales engagement tracking
• Pipeline reporting

Verdict: Both offer solid CRM. ActiveCampaign’s is more mature with advanced features; Brevo includes CRM on all plans including Free.

Multi-Channel Marketing

SMS Marketing

Brevo:

• Global coverage (200+ countries)
• Two-way conversations
• Automated SMS workflows
• MMS support
• SMS/email orchestration
• Competitive per-message pricing

ActiveCampaign:

• US, Canada, Australia primarily
• Basic SMS automation
• One-way campaigns
• Limited global support
• Separate add-on (Postmark)

Verdict: Brevo wins significantly on SMS capabilities and global coverage.

WhatsApp Marketing

Brevo:

• Full WhatsApp Business API
• Automated workflows
• Interactive messages
• Template messages
• Two-way conversations
• Rich media support

ActiveCampaign:

• No native WhatsApp
• Third-party integrations required
• Not a core feature

Verdict: Only Brevo offers native WhatsApp marketing.

E-commerce Integration

Shopify Integration

Brevo Native:

• Contact sync
• Purchase data
• Basic triggers
• Product data (limited)

Brevo + Tajo:

• Full real-time sync
• Complete order history
• Product catalog
• Browse abandonment
• Built-in loyalty programs
• Advanced segmentation

ActiveCampaign:

• Deep Shopify integration
• Product blocks
• Abandoned cart automation
• Purchase-based automation
• Predictive analytics
• Product recommendations

Verdict: ActiveCampaign has excellent native Shopify integration. Brevo + Tajo matches it and adds loyalty programs.

Pricing Comparison

Brevo Pricing

Plan	Cost	Emails/Month
Free	$0	300/day
Starter	$9	5,000
Business	$18	5,000
Business	$35	20,000
Business	$65	40,000
Business	$129	100,000

Unlimited contacts on all plans

ActiveCampaign Pricing

Plan	Cost	Contacts
Lite	$15	500
Lite	$49	2,500
Plus	$49	500
Plus	$99	2,500
Plus	$149	5,000
Pro	$79	500
Pro	$149	2,500

Price increases significantly with contacts

Cost Comparison

Scenario: 10,000 contacts, 100,000 emails/month

Platform	Monthly Cost
Brevo Business	~$129
ActiveCampaign Plus	~$229

Annual savings with Brevo: ~$1,200

Scenario: 25,000 contacts

Platform	Monthly Cost
Brevo Business	~$169
ActiveCampaign Plus	~$449

Annual savings with Brevo: ~$3,360

Verdict: Brevo is significantly more affordable at scale due to per-email pricing.

Segmentation & Personalization

Brevo

• Behavioral segmentation
• Purchase-based segments
• Real-time segments
• Lead scoring
• Custom attributes
• Website tracking

ActiveCampaign

• Advanced segmentation
• Predictive segments
• Dynamic content
• Machine learning scoring
• Behavioral tracking
• Custom objects

Verdict: ActiveCampaign has more sophisticated segmentation with ML capabilities.

Integrations

Brevo

• 60+ native integrations
• Zapier connection
• API access
• Webhooks
• E-commerce platforms

ActiveCampaign

• 900+ integrations
• Deep CRM connections
• E-commerce platforms
• Zapier
• Comprehensive API

Verdict: ActiveCampaign has significantly more integrations.

Support

Brevo

• Email support (all plans)
• Phone/chat (Business+)
• Knowledge base
• API documentation
• Onboarding (Enterprise)

ActiveCampaign

• Email/chat support (all plans)
• Phone (Pro+)
• Training webinars
• 1-on-1 training available
• Migration assistance

Verdict: Similar support levels with different plan restrictions.

When to Choose Each Platform

Choose Brevo + Tajo If:

1. Cost is a priority - Per-email pricing saves significantly at scale
2. Multi-channel is essential - Need SMS and WhatsApp alongside email
3. Global reach matters - SMS in 200+ countries
4. E-commerce with loyalty - Tajo adds loyalty programs
5. Free plan is needed - Brevo offers genuine free tier
6. Transactional email required - Built into Brevo

Choose ActiveCampaign If:

1. Automation is paramount - Industry-leading automation
2. You need many integrations - 900+ available
3. Predictive features matter - ML-powered capabilities
4. CRM is core focus - More mature CRM features
5. Email-only is sufficient - Don’t need SMS/WhatsApp
6. Budget isn’t constrained - Willing to pay for features

Feature Comparison Summary

Feature	Brevo	ActiveCampaign
Free plan	Yes	No
Per-email pricing	Yes	No
Unlimited contacts	Yes	No
SMS (Global)	Yes	Limited
WhatsApp	Yes	No
Automation depth	Good	Excellent
CRM (all plans)	Yes	No (Plus+)
Integrations	60+	900+
ML/AI features	Basic	Advanced
Loyalty (w/Tajo)	Yes	No

Conclusion

ActiveCampaign is the choice for businesses prioritizing sophisticated automation, extensive integrations, and don’t mind paying per-contact pricing. Its automation capabilities are industry-leading.

Brevo offers better value with per-email pricing and true multi-channel marketing. For businesses needing SMS, WhatsApp, and cost-effective scaling, Brevo delivers more for less.

For e-commerce stores, Brevo combined with Tajo provides automation comparable to ActiveCampaign plus SMS, WhatsApp, and built-in loyalty programs, at a fraction of the cost.

Ready to experience Brevo’s multi-channel power? Start your free trial with Tajo today.