ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse: plans and pricing compared (Oct 2026)
Pricing last verified: — may be outdated; check the vendor page
Both target businesses that want automation; one has a free plan, the other a trial.
Plans side by side
| Tool | Plan | Price | Billing basis | Contacts | Sends | Source / confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | Free | No permanent free plan. 14-day free trial (vendor help center) | source · Vendor-published | |||
| ActiveCampaign | Starter | $15/mo | billed yearly (monthly-billing price not vendor-confirmed; one third-party source says $19) | 1,000 contacts | 10,000 emails/month | source · Vendor-published |
| GetResponse | Free | $0 | n/a | 500 contacts | 2,500 emails/month | source · Vendor-published |
| GetResponse | Email Marketing | $19/mo | monthly (18% off 12-month) | 1000 contacts | unlimited emails | source · Vendor-published |
What the published numbers say
- Free options: GetResponse lists a free plan (500 contacts, 2,500 sends/month). ActiveCampaign has no permanent free plan; it offers a 14-day trial.
- Entry paid: ActiveCampaign Starter is $15/mo billed yearly for 1,000 contacts and 10,000 sends (vendor page and blog; we could not confirm a monthly-billing price); GetResponse Email Marketing is $19/mo for 1,000 contacts with unlimited messages, 18% off for 12 months. Same list size, but the billing terms differ, so they are not strictly like-for-like.
- To verify yourself: which automation features each entry tier includes. We did not test automations.
Per-tool summary
ActiveCampaign
No permanent free plan; a 14-day free trial. The vendor pricing page lists Starter for 1,000 contacts and 10,000 sends a month, billed yearly, and ActiveCampaign's own blog says Starter starts at $15/month. A monthly-billing price ($19) appears only in a third-party source, so we do not treat it as confirmed. New customers only; the help center caps Starter at 25,000 contacts.
GetResponse
Free plan: 500 contacts and 2,500 sends a month. Email Marketing is listed from $19/month for unlimited messages to 1,000 subscribers, with 18% off for a 12-month commitment.
Who might lean which way
These are inferences from published limits, not test results. Match them to your list size and whether you need automations. For other options see Mailchimp alternatives and the hub.
What we could not verify
- Feature depth, ease of use, deliverability and support quality. We did not test these products, so we make no claims about them.
- Prices for larger lists: we captured the entry paid tier and the free plan only. Use each vendor's calculator for your list size.
Sources
- ActiveCampaign: https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- GetResponse: https://www.getresponse.com/pricing/free (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- GetResponse: https://www.getresponse.com/pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026)
Sources marked "third-party" are pricing guides, not vendor pages; the confidence label in each table explains which figures need re-checking. Full data: pricing-data.json.
Questions or corrections: gb1@mail.grokbot.com. Prices change often; always confirm on the vendor's own page before you buy.