Joonas Rotko · Founder, That Marketing Buddy
I assess marketing software through 10+ years of agency work, current product research, buyer needs, competing tools and total cost.
How this review was prepared
This is a research-based review. I checked Keap's current product pages, pricing, documentation and terms, then assessed what those published limits mean for a marketing team or small agency. I have not presented vendor claims as personal testing.
This page may include affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you sign up (at no extra cost to you).
The Verdict
Is Keap right for you?
Keap is a CRM and marketing automation platform for small service businesses, now owned by Thryv (which acquired it in October 2024). New customers see one plan: the whole platform at one price, scaled by contacts and users rather than by feature tier.
The entry price is $299/month billed monthly, or $2,988 billed annually (about $249/month), and it includes 2 users. Extra users cost $39/month each, and contacts are priced by tier through a calculator I could not read without a browser. Text marketing is US-only, with tier 1 included and add-on tiers from $24 to $279/month.
It fits a service business that wants CRM, invoicing, appointments and automation together and will pay for onboarding. It fits poorly when you want a low entry price, a full contact price list in advance or an official MCP server.
Who It's For
Who Keap is for (and who it isn't)
✓ Best for
- +Service businesses that need CRM and follow-up in one system. Keap lists a CRM, email and text marketing, automation, invoicing and payments, appointment scheduling, landing pages and lead-capture forms in the same platform, so a consultant or contractor does not stitch several tools together.
- +Owners who want hands-on onboarding. Keap offers dedicated implementation managers, data migration and customer success managers. Implementation is required and sold separately, and 24/7 support is listed as free.
- +Teams that want AI help writing and building campaigns. Keap lists an AI Content Assistant for subject lines and copy, and describes AI tools that build automations from a plain-English request.
× Consider something else if
- −You want a low entry price or a public contact price list. Keap's price starts at $299/month and moves with the contact count you enter in its calculator. I could not read the contact tiers, so budget by asking for a quote at your list size.Try ActiveCampaign →
- −You need CRM plus marketing hubs that scale into a larger team. Keap serves small teams with two seats included. A larger sales and marketing team will pay $39/month per extra seat, and a CRM built for larger teams may fit better.Try HubSpot →
What You Can Do
What can Keap do?
Follow up every new lead automatically
Capture a lead on a landing page or form, then run an automation that sends email and text follow-ups, books an appointment and updates the contact record. Keap ships pre-built proven automation templates.
Quote, invoice and collect payment
Send an invoice or quote, take payment and trigger a follow-up sequence when it is paid, inside the same contact record.
Send text messages to US customers
Text marketing is limited to the US. Tier 1 is included with 500 messages and 100 voice minutes, and add-on tiers run $24 (1,000 messages), $39 (2,500), $79 (5,000), $139 (10,000) and $279 (25,000) a month.
Generate copy with Keap AI
The AI Content Assistant drafts subject lines and email copy from a prompt. The tool sits inside the campaign builder, so a non-writer can get a first draft.
Works With
Which website platforms does Keap work with?
Keap installs on:
WordPress
BigCommerce
Not on this list? Keap web forms and landing pages embed on any site with a code snippet or a hosted link.
How each connection works (2)›
Checked against Keap's own docs and official app stores on 22 October 2026.
AI, API & MCP
Does Keap Have an MCP Server, API or AI Features?
Keap is reachable by agents only through its REST API and community or Zapier bridges.
AI agent workflow
A safe agent workflow
Give an agent read-only access to contacts and tags for reporting, and have it draft follow-up copy for a person to review inside Keap.
Approval boundary: Keep sends, payments and contact deletions behind a human click. A community MCP with write scopes can change contacts and tags directly.
MCP
noneNo official MCP server
Keap staff said in February 2026 that they had no official server. Treat community servers as unsupported projects.
Keap developer forum, 20 Feb 2026 →API
officialREST API v1 and v2 with OAuth 2
Register for integration keys at the developer portal. Rate limits were not stated on the pages I read.
Keap developer portal →Pricing
How much does Keap cost?
Keap costs $299/month billed monthly ($2,988 billed annually) with 2 users, and the price rises with your contact count.
| Plan | Entry plan, contact count and implementation extra |
|---|---|
| Keap, entry price, monthly billingPopular | $299/mo |
| Enterprise, 50,000+ contacts | Custom |
Keap's pricing page shows a single entry plan and asks you to enter your contact count to see a price. Monthly billing is $299/month. Annual billing is shown as $2,988 a year, which is about $249/month. Two users are included, and extra users are $39/month each. Text marketing add-ons apply to US customers only, with overage of $0.015 per text and $0.01 per voice minute.
The contact ladder is not public in the copy I could read
Keap's page tells you to enter the number of contacts to see a price. Third-party trackers quote roughly $449 at 5,000 contacts, and I could not confirm that, so ask Keap for a quote at your real list size.
Implementation is required and extra
Keap says implementation services are required and sold separately. The amount was not stated on the pricing page, and third parties quote $500 to $1,500, which is unverified.
Seats and text add-ons raise the bill
Each user beyond two adds $39/month. Text marketing tiers add $24 to $279/month, and are available in the US only.
Refunds are conditional
Keap advertises a 90-day money-back guarantee with requirements such as adding at least 100 contacts, per a search summary of its terms. Its terms otherwise say subscription payments are non-refundable, so confirm the conditions at purchase.
Alternatives
When I'd choose something else
Three different buying priorities, and what I'd pick instead for each one.
If you want deeper marketing automation for less
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign combines email automation with a CRM and sales automation, with public plan tiers.
Trade-off: It lacks Keap's built-in invoicing and appointment tools, so those need add-ons or integrations.
Explore ActiveCampaign for this use case →If you want a CRM that scales to a larger team
HubSpot
HubSpot offers a free CRM and separate marketing, sales and service products that add up as the team grows.
Trade-off: Cost grows quickly with hubs and seats, and it offers less built-in invoicing for service jobs.
Explore HubSpot for this use case →Keep going
- Compare Keap against the field: 9 Best All-in-One Marketing Software for Small Business 2026
- Compare Keap against the field: Best Marketing Automation Software
- Put it to work: CRM vs Email Marketing Software: Do You Need Both?
Downsides
Limitations to consider before subscribing
High entry price for a small team
$299/month billed monthly is the floor with two users, before contacts beyond the base, extra users, text add-ons and implementation.
Contact pricing is behind a calculator
Keap does not list contact tiers in plain text on the page I read, so you cannot compare it with other tools until you enter a list size.
Implementation is required
You pay for onboarding on top of the plan. The amount is not published on the pricing page.
Text marketing is US-only
Text and voice add-ons apply to US customers, and the mobile app is limited to a few countries.
No official MCP server and an uneven API
Keap has no vendor MCP server, and its v2 REST API does not cover every feature of the older versions.
My Recommendation
Should You Choose Keap?
Shortlist Keap if you run a small service business, want CRM, invoicing, appointments and automation in one place, and accept a high entry price and required onboarding.
Choose ActiveCampaign for automation depth at public prices, or HubSpot for a CRM that grows with a larger team.
What to check during the trial
- –Enter your real contact count in Keap's calculator, or ask sales for the price at that size.
- –Ask for the implementation fee in writing before you sign.
- –Confirm the 90-day guarantee requirements and the annual refund rules.
- –Count users, since each one past two adds $39/month.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Keap
Keap's single plan for new customers starts at $299/month billed monthly, or $2,988 billed annually (about $249/month), with 2 users. Extra users cost $39/month, and the price rises with your contact count.
Yes. Keap offers a free trial with no credit card. The pricing page I read did not state its length, and TMB's data records 14 days.
No official one. Keap staff said in February 2026 that there is no official server. Community servers and Zapier's Keap MCP exist as third-party options.
Thryv acquired Keap in October 2024. Keap continues to operate as its own brand.
Sources & References (5)
Spot something out of date?Vendors and readers, send me the correct fact.
Software sites change almost every week, and I want every claim on this page to be factually correct. If you are a vendor or a reader, send me the correct fact and a link to the official page. I will check it and update the page. The opinions and rankings stay mine.