That Marketing Buddy

Moosend vs ActiveCampaign: the cheaper CRM email platform, or the one that caps seats and forces an upgrade?

Email marketing and CRM platforms · Verified · By Joonas Rotko

Moosend logo

Moosend

Desk research

From Pro, billed annually

$7/mo

$9/mo billed monthly

ActiveCampaign logo

ActiveCampaign

Desk research

From Starter, billed annually

$15/mo

Quick answer

Moosend is the cheaper buy at every list size I compared, and I compare it with ActiveCampaign on annual billing, the only basis ActiveCampaign publishes. At 500 contacts Moosend's Pro is $7/month billed annually against ActiveCampaign's Starter at $15/month billed annually, and the gap holds at 5,000 contacts and for a 1,000-contact, 3-seat team. ActiveCampaign's seat caps are the bigger story: Starter and Plus include only 1 seat, so a team of 3 is pushed up to Pro. ActiveCampaign's CRM depth, ecommerce integrations, segmentation tiers and Enterprise white-labeling are real advantages for a sales-driven team; Moosend doesn't document an equivalent. Prices verified 1 Oct 2026.

Across the three setups below: Moosend in 3 of 3 scenarios.

Which one fits you?

  1. Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier

    Moosend logo

    Moosend

    My pick

    $7/mo billed annually

    At 500 contacts, Moosend's Pro plan is $7/month billed annually, or $9/month billed monthly. ActiveCampaign publishes annual-billed rates only, and its Starter is $15/month billed annually, so on the same annual basis Moosend is the cheaper of the two.

    Why this pick, and when to skip it

    Skip it if you already know you'll want deeper CRM and sales-pipeline tools, or plan to outgrow Starter's segmentation and automation caps (Limited segmentation, 5 actions per automation) quickly. ActiveCampaign's Plus and Pro tiers offer more room to grow into than Moosend's single Pro tier, even at a higher price.

    See Moosend plans

  2. Growing list, sending regularly

    Moosend logo

    Moosend

    My pick

    $38/mo billed annually

    At 5,000 contacts, Moosend's Pro plan is $38/month billed annually, or $48/month billed monthly. ActiveCampaign's cheapest fit is Starter, $79/month billed annually, annual billing only, so on the same annual basis Moosend is the cheaper of the two.

    Why this pick, and when to skip it

    Skip it if you want ActiveCampaign's CRM and ecommerce integrations: Starter includes Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations, and its Plus and Pro tiers add more automation and segmentation than Moosend's single Pro tier documents.

    See Moosend plans

  3. Small team managing one list together

    Moosend logo

    Moosend

    My pick

    $13/mo billed annually

    At 1,000 contacts and 3 seats, Moosend's Pro plan already includes 5 seats and costs $13/month billed annually, or $16/month billed monthly. ActiveCampaign's Starter and Plus both cap at 1 seat, so 3 seats means Pro at $79/month billed annually, annual billing only. On the same annual basis Moosend is the cheaper of the two.

    Why this pick, and when to skip it

    Skip it if you need ActiveCampaign's deeper CRM and ecommerce integrations (Standard CRM & premium ecommerce integrations on Pro) or Enterprise's full white-labeling; Moosend doesn't document an equivalent to either.

    See Moosend plans

Neither fits? See the alternatives, or take the 2-minute recommendation.

How are Moosend and ActiveCampaign really different?

  • What forces an upgrade past the cheapest plan

    Moosend
    Team size, not contact count, rarely forces one: Pro includes 5 seats and a tiered contact ladder that runs to 1,000,000 contacts before Moosend+ or Enterprise enter the picture.
    ActiveCampaign
    Seats: Starter and Plus both cap at 1 seat each, so any 3-person team needs Pro (3 seats) at minimum, regardless of how small the contact list is.

    A small team on ActiveCampaign pays for a higher tier to add people, not to add contacts; Moosend's seat allowance absorbs a 3-person team on its cheapest paid plan.

  • Entry paid price at a small list

    Moosend
    Pro: $9/month billed monthly, or $7/month billed annually, at the 500-contact entry band.
    ActiveCampaign
    Starter: $15/month billed annually at the 1,000-contact entry band; ActiveCampaign publishes annual-billed rates only.

    Moosend publishes a monthly and an annual rate; ActiveCampaign publishes annual-billed rates only, so I compare the two on annual billing.

  • Automation depth on the entry paid tier

    Moosend
    Marketing automation included on Pro, with no flow-step cap stated.
    ActiveCampaign
    Starter caps automations at 5 actions per automation; Plus and up remove the cap entirely (Unlimited automation actions).

    ActiveCampaign holds back unlimited automation steps until Plus; Moosend includes automation with no stated step cap on its only paid tier below Moosend+.

  • CRM, ecommerce and segmentation depth

    Moosend
    Not broken out by tier for Moosend.
    ActiveCampaign
    Rises by tier: Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations on Starter, up to Premium CRM & ecommerce integrations on Enterprise; segmentation runs from Limited on Starter to Premium on Enterprise. An Enhanced CRM add-on (pipelines, sales engagement) is sold on Plus and up, not Starter.

    This is ActiveCampaign's real strength over Moosend for a sales-driven team: a deliberate ladder of CRM and segmentation depth that Moosend doesn't document an equivalent for.

  • Billing options

    Moosend
    Pro is priced on both monthly and annual billing, with a published annual discount.
    ActiveCampaign
    Every plan is quoted as a per-month rate billed annually. There is no monthly/annual toggle on the pricing page.

    If you don't want to commit to a year, Moosend is the one that lets you pay month to month.

What will Moosend or ActiveCampaign cost for your setup?

The cheapest plan that covers each setup, add-ons included. Prices exclude VAT.

Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier

500 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 1 user

ToolMonthlyYearly, per month

Moosend

My pick
$9
$7

Pro

Above 1,000,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

ActiveCampaign

Annual only
$15

Starter

Above 25,000 subscribers: Plus (+$434/mo, billed annually).

See Moosend plans
Usage, limits and billing

Moosend

  • Uses 500 of 1,000,000 subscribers.
  • On monthly billing: $108 a year.
  • On annual billing: $84 a year.

ActiveCampaign

  • Uses 500 of 25,000 subscribers.
  • On annual billing: $180 a year.
  • Starter is sold on annual billing only.

Growing list, sending regularly

5,000 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 1 user

ToolMonthlyYearly, per month

Moosend

My pick
$48
$38

Pro

Above 1,000,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

ActiveCampaign

Annual only
$79

Starter

Above 25,000 subscribers: Plus (+$370/mo, billed annually).

See Moosend plans
Usage, limits and billing

Moosend

  • Uses 5,000 of 1,000,000 subscribers.
  • On monthly billing: $576 a year.
  • On annual billing: $456 a year.

ActiveCampaign

  • Uses 5,000 of 25,000 subscribers.
  • On annual billing: $948 a year.
  • Starter is sold on annual billing only.

Small team managing one list together

1,000 subscribers · mailed 3 times a month (for tools priced by emails sent) · 3 users

ToolMonthlyYearly, per month

Moosend

My pick
$16
$13

Pro

Above 1,000,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

ActiveCampaign

Annual only
$79

Pro

Above 50,000 subscribers: nothing published fits.

See Moosend plans
Usage, limits and billing

Moosend

  • Uses 1,000 of 1,000,000 subscribers.
  • On monthly billing: $192 a year.
  • On annual billing: $156 a year.

ActiveCampaign

  • Uses 1,000 of 50,000 subscribers.
  • On annual billing: $948 a year.
  • Pro is sold on annual billing only.
How I calculated this

For each tool I price every current plan plus the add-ons a setup needs, from the vendor's published prices only, and take the cheapest. Monthly and annual billing are priced separately. When a limit or price isn't published, the tool shows as not fitting instead of a guess.

  • Solo marketer or small business, a list just past the free tier: A list of about 500 contacts, just past the free tiers most vendors offer. One login. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.ActiveCampaign, monthly billing: Not sold on monthly billing.
  • Growing list, sending regularly: A list of 5,000 contacts, sending regularly. One login. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.ActiveCampaign, monthly billing: Not sold on monthly billing.
  • Small team managing one list together: Three people logging in to the same 1,000-contact list. Seats, not list size, are the deciding limit. Tools priced by emails sent are costed at three mailings per subscriber a month.ActiveCampaign, monthly billing: Not sold on monthly billing.

Moosend vs ActiveCampaign side by side

I compare email/CRM platforms on: Real cost per list size, both billing bases; Free-tier contact ceiling before you must pay anything; Team seats included, and the seat price past that; List segmentation depth; Automation workflow depth and any step/action limits; Deliverability and sending limits (emails per month, per day, or per rolling window); CRM and ecommerce integration depth; What happens past your plan's contact ceiling (overage pricing vs a forced upgrade).

Moosend and ActiveCampaign compared on the main buying criteria
Free plan or trialNone; 30-day trial, no card required.None; 14-day trial, no card required.
Entry paid price, and which billing basis is quotedPro: $9/month billed monthly, $7/month billed annually.Starter: $15/month billed annually; annual-billed rates only.
Team seats included5 on Pro.1 on Starter, 1 on Plus, 3 on Pro, 5 on Enterprise.
Automation depth by tierIncluded on Pro, no flow-step cap stated.5 actions per automation on Starter, Unlimited automation actions from Plus up.
CRM, ecommerce and segmentation tierNot published: Moosend's pricing page doesn't break CRM, ecommerce or segmentation depth out by tier.Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations and Limited segmentation on Starter, rising to Premium CRM & ecommerce integrations and Premium segmentation on Enterprise.
All details, including automation and AI workflows
All compared details for Moosend and ActiveCampaign
White-labelingNot published for Moosend.Logo-only branding removal on lower tiers; full white-labeling (custom domain, CSS/HTML rebrand, ActiveCampaign references removed) on Enterprise only, at no extra fee.
API access and integrationsIncluded on paid plans; 82 integrations including Zapier and Make.Included on every plan including Starter; 1,000+ integrations including Zapier and WordPress.
Trial terms30 days, no credit card required.14 days, no credit card required.
Refund / money-back termsNot published: Moosend's pricing page doesn't publish a refund or money-back window.30-day money-back guarantee, first-ever paid subscription only.
Full price ladderPro: $9/month billed monthly, or $7/month billed annually, at the 500-contact entry band (20% off with annual billing), rising on a tiered ladder up to 1,000,000 contacts. Moosend+: Custom plan built by selecting Enterprise add-ons; pricing varies based on features chosen. Enterprise: Contact sales for custom quote.Starter: $15/month billed annually. Plus: $49/mo. Pro: $79/mo. Enterprise: $145/mo. All four are annual-billed only, at the 1,000-contact entry band, and rise with contact count. Above 50,000 contacts ActiveCampaign says to talk to sales.
How pricing scalesContact-count tiered, with a published table on Moosend's own pricing page up to 1,000,000 contacts, on both billing bases.Contact-count tiered from a 1,000-contact entry band (1,000 contacts). All four plans publish annual-billed rates only: Starter up to 25,000 contacts, Plus, Pro and Enterprise up to 50,000.
Seats and extra-seat pricing5 seats included on Pro. Not published: more seats past that require the Moosend+ add-on or a custom Enterprise quote.1 seat on Starter and Plus, 3 on Pro, 5 on Enterprise. Extra seats can be purchased in-app, but ActiveCampaign's own help center doesn't publish a per-seat price; it's shown at checkout.
Automation actions limitMarketing automation included on Pro, with no flow-step cap stated.5 actions per automation on Starter; Unlimited automation actions from Plus through Enterprise.
CRM, ecommerce and segmentation by tierNot broken out by tier for Moosend.Starter: Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations, Limited segmentation, no Enhanced CRM add-on available. Plus: Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations, Standard segmentation, Enhanced CRM add-on available. Pro: Standard CRM & premium ecommerce integrations, Advanced segmentation. Enterprise: Premium CRM & ecommerce integrations, Premium segmentation.

Who should pick Moosend, and who should pick ActiveCampaign?

Moosend logo

Moosend

Desk research
  • Best for solo marketers and small businesses
  • Best for growing lists sending regularly
  • Best for small teams sharing one account

Moosend starts at $9/month billed monthly at its entry contact tier with automation included, and the price scales through contact-count tiers, with a published ladder up to 1,000,000 contacts. Annual billing saves 20%, and there's a 30-day trial that requires no credit card. API access, Zapier and Make come standard, but there is no free plan, so you must commit to Pro after the trial ends.

Best for: Growing businesses with scaling email lists who want predictable contact-based pricing instead of flat-rate limits, with marketing automation, API access and 82 integrations on the Pro plan.

Strengths

  • Contact-count tiering is granular, with published prices up to 1,000,000 contacts: $9/month billed monthly at the entry tier, or $7/month billed annually for the same tier, so cost rises in small steps with list size rather than a few wide bands.
  • 30-day trial with no credit card required, covering core features including automation.
  • API access, Zapier, Make and workflow automation are all standard, plus 82 integrations across the platform.

Limits

  • No free plan; only a 30-day trial. The entry tier at $9/month billed monthly is still modest, but you can't stay free after the trial window closes.
  • Pro includes only 5 team seats; more seats are an add-on on Moosend+, and Enterprise includes more.
  • Moosend+ is a custom plan built from Enterprise add-ons, and Enterprise is a contact-sales quote, so cost comparison with competitors is harder if your list is already large or you need specific add-ons.

Skip it if you need a free forever tier, or want more than 5 team seats without paying for the Moosend+ add-on.

Moosend reviewMoosend pricingMoosend alternatives

ActiveCampaign logo

ActiveCampaign

Desk research

ActiveCampaign prices by contact list size on top of the plan tier, and the plan cards only show the annual rate; there's no published monthly-billing number to compare against. Starter caps you at 5 actions per automation and one seat, so it reads more like a taste of the platform than a real working plan.

Best for: A small business that wants CRM and ecommerce integrations bundled with email marketing from the entry tier.

Strengths

  • API and webhook access on every plan, including Starter.
  • Zapier is available on every plan, not gated to the top tier.
  • A 14-day trial with no card, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first paid subscription.

Limits

  • Starter automations are capped at 5 actions per automation; Plus and up remove the cap.
  • Full white-labeling (custom domain, CSS/HTML rebrand) is Enterprise-only.
  • The Enhanced CRM add-on (pipelines, sales engagement) isn't offered on Starter at all.

Skip it if you need more than 5 actions per automation or a second seat without upgrading past Starter.

ActiveCampaign reviewActiveCampaign pricingActiveCampaign alternatives

My pick: Moosend in 3 of 3 scenarios.

See Moosend plansSee ActiveCampaign plans

Neither Moosend nor ActiveCampaign? Try these

  • MailerLite logo

    MailerLite

    From $10.80/mo billed annually

    Pick it if you want an even cheaper general email-marketing entry tier than Moosend or ActiveCampaign, with automation included on its own free plan.

    MailerLite reviewMailerLite alternatives

  • Brevo logo

    Brevo

    From $8.08/mo billed annually

    Pick it if you want SMS and transactional email bundled with marketing email under one account, rather than as a bolt-on.

    Brevo reviewBrevo alternatives

  • Mailchimp logo

    Mailchimp

    From $27/mo billed monthly

    Pick it only if you specifically want the category default with 300+ integrations; cheaper, more automation-forward alternatives to Mailchimp exist too, Moosend among them.

    Mailchimp reviewMailchimp alternatives

Switching between Moosend and ActiveCampaign

Neither vendor documents a specific migration tool, import fee, or list-transfer guarantee for this switch, so this stays qualitative: expect to re-import your contact list and rebuild automations by hand in either direction, since no free concierge migration is documented for Moosend or ActiveCampaign. Both trials need no card up front (30 days on Moosend, 14 days on ActiveCampaign), so you can test a rebuild on either side without a billing surprise.

What would change my pick?

  • ActiveCampaign adding a monthly-billing option would let me compare both tools on monthly billing as well as annual, at every list size.
  • ActiveCampaign publishing a per-seat price for extra users would show what a team of 3 really costs on Starter or Plus, and could narrow the gap with Pro.
  • Moosend publishing CRM, ecommerce, segmentation, white-label or refund terms would close several side-by-side rows that stay unfilled for Moosend today.
  • A price change on either side. The scenario picks recalculate when a vendor changes a price.

Moosend vs ActiveCampaign: questions people ask

Is Moosend free?

No. Moosend has no free-forever plan, only a 30-day trial that needs no credit card. After the trial, Pro starts at $9/month billed monthly, or $7/month billed annually.

Is ActiveCampaign free?

No. ActiveCampaign has no free-forever plan either, only a 14-day trial that also needs no credit card. Starter then starts at $15/month billed annually; ActiveCampaign publishes annual-billed rates only.

Which is cheaper, Moosend or ActiveCampaign, for a small list?

Moosend, at 500 contacts. Its Pro plan is $7/month billed annually. ActiveCampaign's Starter is $15/month billed annually, so on the same annual basis Moosend is cheaper. ActiveCampaign has no monthly rate to compare with Moosend's $9/month billed monthly.

Why would a 3-person team on ActiveCampaign have to pay more than the contact list alone would suggest?

Seats, not contacts. Starter and Plus both cap at 1 seat, so 3 people force an upgrade to Pro (3 seats included). Moosend's Pro plan already includes 5 seats, room to spare for a 3-person team.

Does either tool include real automation on its cheapest paid tier?

Moosend does: automation is included on Pro with no flow-step cap stated. ActiveCampaign's Starter caps automations at 5 actions per automation; the cap lifts entirely from Plus up (Unlimited automation actions).

Does ActiveCampaign have deeper CRM and ecommerce tools than Moosend?

ActiveCampaign does, and Moosend doesn't document an equivalent. ActiveCampaign's CRM and ecommerce integrations rise by tier, from Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations on Starter to Premium CRM & ecommerce integrations on Enterprise, with an Enhanced CRM add-on (pipelines, sales engagement) sold from Plus up. Segmentation runs from Limited to Premium across the same tiers.

What will a 3-person team on a 1,000-contact list pay on each tool?

Moosend's Pro plan is $13/month billed annually, or $16/month billed monthly. ActiveCampaign's seat cap forces Pro, $79/month billed annually, annual billing only, so the like-for-like comparison is annual against annual.

How I verified this

Every price and limit here comes from the vendors' own pages, last checked . Moosend: desk research. ActiveCampaign: desk research.

Sources and changelog

38 facts from 8 source pages, oldest checked 30 Sep 2026.

  • : New page. All three scenarios pick Moosend. ActiveCampaign publishes annual-billed rates only, so the price comparison is annual against annual, and Moosend is cheaper at each size. ActiveCampaign's Starter and Plus both cap at 1 seat, so a 3-person team is pushed up to Pro.
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