ActiveCampaign vs Pardot Pricing (2026)

ActiveCampaign vs Pardot

Marketing Automation pricing comparison · 2026

ActiveCampaign pricing ranges from $15–$145/month, while Pardot ranges from $1250–$15000/month. ActiveCampaign is typically 97% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Marketing Automation

ActiveCampaign

$15–$145
/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Marketing Automation

Pardot

$1250–$15000
/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →

ActiveCampaign and Pardot both operate in the marketing automation category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan ActiveCampaign Pardot
Starter $15 /month $1.3K /month (up to 10k contacts)
Plus $49 /month $2.8K /month (up to 10k contacts)
Pro $79 /month $4K /month (up to 10k contacts)
Enterprise $145 /month $15K /month (up to 75k contacts)

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)

Pardot

4 scenarios
$1,250/month
Starter Setup
$2,750/month
Growing Business
Custom pricing — typically negotiated annually, contact sales for quote
Enterprise (100+ users)
See all 4 scenarios →

Market Intelligence

ActiveCampaign

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

Pardot

Median annual cost
$6,000
Based on
27 deals

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
medium
Feature Lock Requiring Tier Upgrades $30-$100/month
See all ActiveCampaign hidden costs →

Pardot 5 hidden costs

high
Additional Contact Database Costs $45-$100/1,000 additional contacts/month
medium
Feature Tier Limitations $1,500-$2,750/month upgrade cost
high
Implementation and Training Costs 15-25% of annual license costs
low
Storage Limit Overages 5-10% of base costs
medium
Salesforce CRM Integration Requirements $75-$150/user/month for Salesforce CRM licenses
See all Pardot hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term ActiveCampaign Pardot
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation Must cancel before renewal date; refund window is 30 days from charge 30 days before renewal
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. Standard renewal increases apply; users report difficulty canceling or modifying contracts
Can downgrade Yes No