ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot CRM Pricing | Costbench
Compare / ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot CRM
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Team size
25 seats

ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot CRM

Marketing Automation pricing comparison · 2026

ActiveCampaign costs $15–$145/mo, while HubSpot CRM has a free plan, then $20/user/mo. HubSpot CRM is typically 69% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Visit
See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit ActiveCampaign pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Visit HubSpot pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Marketing Automation
Side-by-side · live
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation and email platform offering automation workflows,
verified 4d ago
$11K $26K
View pricing →
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM pricing ranges from free to $150 per seat per month as of March 2026.
verified 3d ago
$11K $26K
View pricing →
Recorded annual contract medians
ActiveCampaign median is $16K less than HubSpot · different customer contracts; not a quote
Cheapest $11K
Spread 60%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
Starter (Customer Platform bundle)
$6.0K/yr
year 1 license · $20/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$11K/yr
Vendr · n=0 · limited data avg 20% negotiated
Median annual
$26K/yr
Vendr · n=804 avg 18% negotiated
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 20 sourced facts
13 hidden-cost · 3 contract · Vendr median · 3 review platforms
Last verified 4d ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 18 sourced facts
12 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 3 review platforms
Last verified 3d ago
Confidence High confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Contact-Based Pricing Escalation
    100-500% of base license costs
    3 sources
  • Year-Over-Year Price Increases
    25-35% of license costs
    3 sources
  • Difficult Cancellation and Unauthorized Charges
    $84-$2,600
    3 sources
  • SMS and Add-On Costs
    $15-$159/month
    1 source
  • Feature Lock Requiring Tier Upgrades
    $30-$100/month
    2 sources
5 documented
  • Tiered Feature Paywalls and Rapid Price Escalation
    $3,000-$10,000+ annually in forced upgrades
    4 sources
  • Mandatory Onboarding and Implementation Fees
    $5,000-$15,000 in implementation costs
    1 source
  • Email Deliverability and Technical Issues
    5-10% of license costs
    1 source
  • Restrictive Annual Contract Terms
    $3,000-$50,000 depending on plan
    2 sources
  • Free Tier Data Lockout
    $240-$1,800 annual forced upgrade cost
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

ActiveCampaign
HubSpot
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
Must cancel before renewal date; refund window is 30 days from charge
Must provide notice before annual renewal; difficult to cancel mid-contract
Commitment
✓ Monthly or annual billing available
1 year
Price escalation
Year-over-year price increases of 25-35% reported by multiple long-term customers. One user documented costs rising from $2,700 to $4,700 over three years.
—
Can downgrade
✓ Yes
No
Based on 5 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
8.3out of 5 (936)
Trustpilot
2.7out of 5 (1,367)
G2
4.5out of 5 (14,629)
Best for
Small businesses getting started with email marketing
Watch out
Aggressive year-over-year price increases for existing customers
TrustRadius
8.4out of 5 (5,358)
Trustpilot
1.8out of 5 (1,040)
G2
4.4out of 5 (12,400)
Best for
Small teams getting started with basic sales tools
Watch out
Feature paywalls and expensive tier pricing
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit ActiveCampaign pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Affiliate partner — does not affect ranking.
Visit HubSpot pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Option A

ActiveCampaign

$15–$145
/mo
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Option B

HubSpot CRM

Free plan; paid $20
/user/mo
2 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan ActiveCampaign HubSpot CRM
Starter Custom Free /month
Plus Custom $20 /seat/month
Pro Custom —
Enterprise Custom —

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

ActiveCampaign

3 scenarios
$180/year
Solo Marketer (1,000 contacts, Starter plan)
$588/year
Small Business (1,000 contacts, Plus plan)
$948/year
Growing Team (1,000 contacts, Pro plan)

HubSpot CRM

1 scenario
Original contract + 30-50% increase from forced tier upgrade (no recourse for remainder of term)
Locked-In Annual Contract with Contact Growth

Market Intelligence

ActiveCampaign

Median annual cost
$10,548
Average negotiated discount
20%

HubSpot CRM

Median annual cost
$26,275
Average negotiated discount
18%
Based on
804 deals

What Users Say

ActiveCampaign

G2
4.5out of 5 (14,629)
Trustpilot
2.7out of 5 (1,367)
TrustRadius
8.3out of 10 (936)
Capterra
4.6out of 5 (2,556)
Top complaints
  • Aggressive year-over-year price increases for existing customers
  • Contact-based pricing becomes extremely expensive as list grows
  • Difficult cancellation process with unauthorized charges after cancellation

HubSpot CRM

G2
4.4out of 5 (12,400)
Trustpilot
1.8out of 5 (1,040)
TrustRadius
8.4out of 10 (5,358)
Top complaints
  • Feature paywalls and expensive tier pricing
  • Restrictive annual contracts with no flexibility
  • Email deliverability issues and spam problems

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

ActiveCampaign 6 hidden costs

high
Contact-Based Pricing Escalation 100-500% of base license costs
high
Year-Over-Year Price Increases 25-35% of license costs
high
Difficult Cancellation and Unauthorized Charges $84-$2,600
medium
SMS and Add-On Costs $15-$159/month (source dated Jun 2024)
medium
Feature Lock Requiring Tier Upgrades
See all ActiveCampaign hidden costs →

HubSpot CRM 6 hidden costs

high
Tiered Feature Paywalls and Rapid Price Escalation $3,000-$10,000+ annually in forced upgrades (source dated Feb 2026)
medium
Mandatory Onboarding and Implementation Fees $5,000-$15,000 in implementation costs (source dated Aug 2025)
high
Email Deliverability and Technical Issues 5-10% of license costs
critical
Restrictive Annual Contract Terms
critical
Free Tier Data Lockout $240-$1,800 annual forced upgrade cost (source dated Jan 2026)
See all HubSpot CRM hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term ActiveCampaign HubSpot CRM
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation Must cancel before renewal date; refund window is 30 days from charge Must provide notice before annual renewal; difficult to cancel mid-contract
Minimum commitment Monthly or annual billing available 1 year
Price escalation Year-over-year price increases of 25-35% reported by multiple long-term customers. One user documented costs rising from $2,700 to $4,700 over three years. —
Can downgrade Yes No

Continue researching

ActiveCampaign

HubSpot CRM

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