Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

What changes when you move off Keap

Keap, formerly Infusionsoft, sells one plan with CRM, email, texting, payments and booking inside it. That plan starts at $299/month billed monthly, and before your first campaign you also buy a required implementation package, currently $500 against a struck-through $1,500. Even a list smaller than 1,500 contacts pays the full entry rate, because Keap's contact counter starts there.

When to stay. If you run a service business that books, bills and texts clients from one screen, and the implementation package is already paid, Keap's single plan can still be worth it. Leave when you mostly send email and track a short list of deals, because then most of what you pay for sits unused.

The tools side by side

Each row is the plan a Keap user would move to for about a thousand contacts and one user. None asks for a setup package, and HubSpot's row is a new-customer price.

HubSpot: I priced Starter. New customers get this rate for a limited time; Starter's regular price is $20/user per month billed monthly.

ActiveCampaign: I priced Plus. Starter allows 5 actions per automation, short of what a Keap user runs, so this is Plus.

Systeme.io: I priced Startup. The free plan stores this list, but with 1 automation rule it can't replace Keap's follow-ups, so this is Startup.

GetResponse: I priced Marketer. Starter has 1 custom automation workflow, too few for a Keap user's follow-ups, so this is Marketer.

Brevo: I priced Starter. Brevo bills by emails sent; Free sends 300 a day, so this is the Starter band that holds this list.

one business, about a thousand contacts, no setup purchase: plan priced, monthly and annual cost, Users included, SMS, Free start

Tool and plan	Cost per month	Users included	SMS	Free start
HubSpotStarter	$7annual $10 monthly	1	No	Free plan
ActiveCampaignPlus	$49annual $59 monthly	1	Paid SMS add-on (SMS credits, billed with the plan); per-message price not published on the pricing page	14-day trial
Systeme.ioStartup	$14.17annual $17 monthly	unlimited	Not published	Free plan
GetResponseMarketer	$48.38annual $59 monthly	5	No	Free account and a 14-day trial
BrevoStarter	$15.25annual $17 monthly	1	SMS campaigns included on every plan (Free through Enterprise); SMS credits priced separately by volume and destination	Free plan
MailerLiteComfort	$17.10annual $19 monthly	3	Not published	Free plan and a 14-day trial

Six picks, in the order I'd consider them

Each one says who it is for, what it costs for one small business with about a thousand contacts, and what you give up.

1

HubSpot

Best CRM to replace Keap's, at a small-business price

Hands-on

Choose it if

The CRM was the reason you bought Keap, and you want deal stages and contact history without the setup purchase.

Consider ActiveCampaign instead if

Your Keap account runs long automated sequences. HubSpot Starter keeps automation simple, and ActiveCampaign Plus has no action cap.

Why it fits one small business with about a thousand contacts

HubSpot is the closest match to Keap's CRM side: contacts, companies and deals sit at the center, and email is built on top. Starter includes 1,000 marketing contacts, needs no onboarding package, and even its regular rate of $20/user per month billed monthly is a small share of Keap's entry price. The free tools let you move your contacts over and look around before you pay anything.

The plan I priced

Starter: $10/month billed monthly for one seat while the new-customer offer lasts, or $7/mo on yearly billing. The regular price is $20/user/mo.

Closest alternative

Brevo becomes the better choice when you want a lighter sales CRM plus SMS and the smallest possible bill.

See HubSpot plans

One small business with about a thousand contacts: Starter

Billed annually

$7/mo

Billed monthly

$10/mo

The trade-off

Starter's automation is basic, with a small cap on actions, and the jump to Professional for full workflows costs more than Keap. There is no SMS on Starter, and the low price is an offer for new customers.

What my review says

Best for: A Keap user who mainly relied on the CRM and wants deals and email without a setup package.

Skip it if you send clients long automated sequences or texts every week.

Strengths

• Contacts and deals at the center, the part of Keap most owners use daily.
• A free tier and a cheap Starter plan, with no onboarding purchase.

Limits

• Simple automation on Starter compared with Keap's.
• SMS only from Professional, as a paid add-on.

See HubSpot plansMy HubSpot reviewHubSpot pricingAffiliate link

Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

2

ActiveCampaign

Best for keeping Keap-style automation

Desk research

Choose it if

Keap's automated follow-ups are the part of the product you rely on, and a lighter CRM is fine.

Consider GetResponse instead if

More than one person builds the campaigns. Marketer includes 5 users, where ActiveCampaign Plus includes 1.

Why it fits one small business with about a thousand contacts

Plus removes the cap on automation actions, so sequences that branch on opens, clicks, tags and form fills carry over from Keap. Abandoned-cart automation and an SMS add-on are on the plan, a pipeline CRM is available as an add-on, and ActiveCampaign refunds within 30 days. You can pay month to month with no package at signup.

The plan I priced

Plus: $59/month billed monthly, or $49/mo on yearly billing, for the first contact band.

Closest alternative

GetResponse becomes the better choice when you want unlimited workflows and several users on one plan, without SMS.

See ActiveCampaign plans

One small business with about a thousand contacts: Plus

Billed annually

$49/mo

Billed monthly

$59/mo

The trade-off

The CRM is an add-on rather than the core, payments and booking need other tools, and SMS credits cost extra at a rate the pricing page doesn't show. Starter is cheaper but limits each automation to a handful of actions.

What my review says

Best for: A Keap user whose business runs on automated follow-ups and who can manage with a lighter CRM.

Skip it if you take client payments and bookings through Keap today.

Strengths

• No action cap on Plus, so long Keap sequences can be rebuilt.
• Month-to-month billing and a money-back window, with no setup package.

Limits

• Deals live in a CRM add-on, not the base product.
• Payments and booking need separate tools.

See ActiveCampaign plansMy ActiveCampaign reviewActiveCampaign pricingAffiliate link

Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

3

Systeme.io

Best for selling online with checkout pages

Hands-on

Choose it if

You used Keap to sell offers, courses or coaching online and need checkout pages tied to your follow-up emails.

Consider ActiveCampaign instead if

Your sequences branch on many conditions and you sell elsewhere.

Why it fits one small business with about a thousand contacts

Systeme.io covers the selling side of Keap that the other picks skip: funnels and checkout pages connect to email and automation rules, and Systeme.io takes 0% of your sales as a platform fee. Startup holds 5,000 contacts with 10 funnels and unlimited sends, and assistant accounts are free.

The plan I priced

Startup: $17/month billed monthly, or $14.17/mo as a single yearly payment of $170/year.

Closest alternative

MailerLite becomes the better choice when you sell elsewhere and only need email with landing pages.

See Systeme.io plans

One small business with about a thousand contacts: Startup

Billed annually

$14.17/mo

Billed monthly

$17/mo

The trade-off

There is no deal pipeline, so contacts are sorted by tags, and Startup's automation tops out at 5 workflows. Booking calls with clients needs another tool.

What my review says

Best for: A Keap user who sells offers online and wants checkout pages and email in one flat-priced tool.

Skip it if you run a service business that sells through calls and quotes, not a checkout page.

Strengths

• Checkout pages and funnels tied to email, with no platform fee on sales.
• Free assistant accounts, where Keap charges for each extra user.

Limits

• Tags instead of a deal pipeline.
• Automation capped at a set number of workflows on Startup.

See Systeme.io plansMy Systeme.io reviewSysteme.io pricingAffiliate link

Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

4

GetResponse

Best for a small team leaving Keap

Desk research

Choose it if

Two or more people share the marketing work and Keap's per-user fee keeps growing the bill.

Consider Brevo instead if

Texting is part of how you reach clients. GetResponse keeps SMS for Enterprise.

Why it fits one small business with about a thousand contacts

Keap includes 2 users and charges for each one after that. GetResponse Marketer includes 5, with unlimited automation workflows, abandoned-cart recovery and landing pages. You can pay monthly or yearly, and a free account stays open after the 14-day trial.

The plan I priced

Marketer: $59/month billed monthly, or $48.38/mo on yearly billing, for about a thousand contacts.

Closest alternative

ActiveCampaign becomes the better choice when you work alone and want the deepest automation for the price.

See GetResponse plans

One small business with about a thousand contacts: Marketer

Billed annually

$48.38/mo

Billed monthly

$59/mo

The trade-off

Contacts sit in a marketing list without deal stages, and SMS is Enterprise-only.

What my review says

Best for: A Keap account with a few people in it who want workflows and logins without a per-user fee.

Skip it if texting clients is a weekly habit you need to keep.

Strengths

• Several users included on Marketer.
• Unlimited workflows and cart recovery on the same plan.

Limits

• No deal pipeline.
• SMS only on Enterprise.

See GetResponse plansMy GetResponse reviewGetResponse pricingAffiliate link

Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

5

Brevo

Cheapest way to keep texting and a sales CRM

Hands-on

Choose it if

You texted clients from Keap and want SMS and a simple deal list on the smallest budget here.

Consider HubSpot instead if

The CRM needs to carry more of your sales work than Brevo's lighter pipeline does.

Why it fits one small business with about a thousand contacts

Brevo is the only pick that keeps both of Keap's habits, texting and a deal pipeline, without add-ons or a big plan. SMS campaigns run on every plan with credits priced by volume and destination, the sales CRM comes with the account, and abandoned-cart flows are included. Starter's automation has a contact ceiling, but it sits well above a list this size.

The plan I priced

Starter: billed by monthly email volume, shown here at the band that stores about a thousand contacts. Free stores 100,000 contacts but sends 300 emails a day.

Closest alternative

HubSpot becomes the better choice when deal stages matter more to you than texting.

See Brevo plans

One small business with about a thousand contacts: Starter

Billed annually

$15.25/mo

Billed monthly

$17/mo

The trade-off

SMS credits are a second bill, unlike Keap's bundled tier, and paying by emails sent is harder to plan ahead.

What my review says

Best for: A Keap user who wants to keep texting clients and tracking deals on a very small bill.

Skip it if you need payments and booking in the same tool as your CRM.

Strengths

• SMS on every plan, where Keap needs its full plan.
• A sales CRM included at no extra cost.

Limits

• SMS credits are bought separately.
• Paying by emails sent makes the bill harder to forecast.

See Brevo plansMy Brevo reviewBrevo pricingAffiliate link

Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

6

MailerLite

Smallest bill if you only used Keap for email

Desk research

Choose it if

You bought Keap for the CRM but ended up using it for newsletters and a welcome sequence.

Consider Systeme.io instead if

You also sell online and want checkout pages in the same account.

Why it fits one small business with about a thousand contacts

For an owner who mostly emailed from Keap, MailerLite covers the job for a sliver of the price. Comfort is $17.10/month billed annually for about a thousand subscribers and includes 50 automations, 10 landing pages and 3 users, with a 14-day trial and no card needed.

The plan I priced

Comfort: $19/month billed monthly, or $17.10/month billed annually, for about a thousand subscribers.

Closest alternative

GetResponse becomes the better choice when you want unlimited workflows and room for a few more users.

See MailerLite plans

One small business with about a thousand contacts: Comfort

Billed annually

$17.10/mo

Billed monthly

$19/mo

Above 200,000 subscribers: no bigger plan is published.

The trade-off

There is no CRM or deal pipeline and no documented SMS. It replaces Keap's email, not the rest of it.

What my review says

Best for: A Keap user who mainly sent emails and wants the smallest bill that still automates.

Skip it if you track sales conversations in Keap's pipeline.

Strengths

• A full email toolkit for a small share of Keap's price.
• Several users and landing pages on Comfort.

Limits

• No CRM, so deals go elsewhere.
• No documented SMS.

See MailerLite plansMy MailerLite reviewMailerLite pricingAffiliate link

Keap alternatives that skip the implementation package

What one small business with about a thousand contacts really costs

The bars show each plan's monthly cost, on yearly billing where the vendor sells it. HubSpot is left off because its Starter price is a limited-time offer.

HubSpot: priced on Starter. New customers get this rate for a limited time; Starter's regular price is $20/user per month billed monthly.

ActiveCampaign: priced on Plus. Starter allows 5 actions per automation, short of what a Keap user runs, so this is Plus.

Systeme.io: priced on Startup. The free plan stores this list, but with 1 automation rule it can't replace Keap's follow-ups, so this is Startup.

GetResponse: priced on Marketer. Starter has 1 custom automation workflow, too few for a Keap user's follow-ups, so this is Marketer.

Brevo: priced on Starter. Brevo bills by emails sent; Free sends 300 a day, so this is the Starter band that holds this list.

Other options, and why they missed the list

I kept the list to tools a small business can sign up for and run without a setup purchase, that put email next to a CRM, funnels or landing pages, and that publish prices for a small list. Sales-only CRMs with no email marketing replace only half of Keap.

• 

  Kit

  Strong for creators selling to a newsletter audience, with paid products built in, but it has no deal pipeline for a service business coming from Keap.

• 

  Mailchimp

  The name most owners already know, with a basic contact database. Its automation limits on lower plans and contact-based pricing leave it behind MailerLite and Brevo for this switch.

How I chose, and how I earn from this page

Who is behind this guide

Joonas Rotko

I co-ran a marketing agency in Finland and spent more than ten years buying SEO and marketing software with real client budgets. I write these guides for the person who has to pay for the tool and use it.

• Hands-on with 3 of these 6 tools
• Prices checked 30 Sep 2026
• How this page earns

More about me and how I review

Questions people ask

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• Keap vs ActiveCampaign