ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot Marketing Hub

We put ActiveCampaign and HubSpot Marketing Hub head to head across pricing, features, ratings and the type of team each one fits best.

Quick Answer

ActiveCampaign scores 4.6 / 5 and HubSpot Marketing Hub scores 4.3 / 5 in our editorial rating. ActiveCampaign starts at $15/month and HubSpot Marketing Hub starts at Free tools; Starter from ~$20/month. See the feature comparison below for the full breakdown.

Winner

ActiveCampaign — 4.6 / 5

ActiveCampaign leads with an overall rating of 4.6 / 5.

Pricing Comparison

ActiveCampaignHubSpot Marketing Hub
Starting Price$15/monthFree tools; Starter from ~$20/month
Free TrialYesYes
Free PlanNoYes
Pricing ModelPer-contact monthly subscriptionTiered subscription priced by marketing contacts

ActiveCampaign starts at $15/month and HubSpot Marketing Hub starts at Free tools; Starter from ~$20/month. Free trial: ActiveCampaign offers a trial; HubSpot Marketing Hub offers a trial.

Feature Comparison

DimensionActiveCampaignHubSpot Marketing Hub
Overall Rating4.6 / 54.3 / 5
Starting Price$15/monthFree tools; Starter from ~$20/month
Free TrialYesYes
Free PlanNoYes
DeploymentCloud / SaaSCloud / SaaS
Best ForB2B businesses, Advanced automation needs, Sales + marketing teams, Ecommerce brandsB2B and inbound marketing teams, Companies wanting marketing and sales on one database, Teams starting on free tools, Organizations consolidating multiple tools
Key FeatureVisual automation builder with conditional branchingEmail marketing with visual automation workflows
IntegrationsShopify / WooCommerce / Salesforce / WordPress / Zapier / StripeSalesforce / Gmail / Outlook / Slack / Shopify / Zoom
Features Rating4.9 / 54.7 / 5
Ease of Use Rating3.9 / 54.3 / 5
Pricing Rating4.2 / 53.2 / 5
Integrations Rating4.6 / 54.7 / 5
Support Rating4.3 / 54.4 / 5
Value for Money Rating4.4 / 53.7 / 5

Where Each One Wins

ActiveCampaign Advantages

  • The most powerful automation builder in the category
  • Built-in CRM and sales pipeline
  • Multi-channel automation (email, SMS, site)
  • Top-tier deliverability

HubSpot Marketing Hub Advantages

  • Genuinely unified database across marketing, sales and service
  • Excellent free tier and best-in-class onboarding resources
  • Very broad toolset covering email, CMS, ads, social and chat
  • Huge integration marketplace and partner ecosystem

How to Choose

Choose ActiveCampaign If…

  • B2B businesses
  • Advanced automation needs
  • Sales + marketing teams
  • Ecommerce brands

Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub If…

  • B2B and inbound marketing teams
  • Companies wanting marketing and sales on one database
  • Teams starting on free tools
  • Organizations consolidating multiple tools

Best For

ActiveCampaign

B2B businesses, Advanced automation needs, Sales + marketing teams, Ecommerce brands

HubSpot Marketing Hub

B2B and inbound marketing teams, Companies wanting marketing and sales on one database, Teams starting on free tools, Organizations consolidating multiple tools

Value for Money

ActiveCampaign scores 4.4 / 5 for value and HubSpot Marketing Hub scores 3.7 / 5. See our full reviews of both tools for the complete value breakdown.

Final Verdict

Our verdict on ActiveCampaign: ActiveCampaign is the platform to choose when email marketing needs to behave like a sales engine rather than a newsletter tool. The automation builder, built-in CRM and multi-channel capabilities are the deepest in the category, and it consistently leads on deliverability. You pay for that power in two ways: a steeper learning curve and no free tier. For B2B teams and ecommerce brands that will actually use advanced automations and pipeline logic, ActiveCampaign delivers measurable returns; for simple broadcast sends, it is more than you need. Our verdict on HubSpot Marketing Hub: Marketing Hub wins on consolidation. If you want email, landing pages, forms, ads, social, chat and CMS running on the same contact database as your sales and service teams, with attribution that spans the whole customer lifecycle, nothing else is as complete, and the free tier plus HubSpots training resources make it easy to start. The pricing model deserves genuine caution. Contact-based billing punishes large lists, the Starter to Professional jump is severe, and the automation and reporting that make the platform worthwhile are gated behind the expensive tiers. Ecommerce brands are usually better served by Klaviyo. But for B2B and inbound teams willing to budget properly, Marketing Hub is the most coherent platform in the category.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How much does ActiveCampaign cost?
ActiveCampaign starts at $15/month for 1,000 contacts (Starter), with Plus at $49/month and higher tiers scaling with list size.
Does ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No, it offers a 14-day free trial but no permanent free tier.
Is ActiveCampaign better than Mailchimp?
Yes for automation and CRM; Mailchimp is easier and has a free plan.
Is ActiveCampaign good for ecommerce?
Yes, it offers deep ecommerce automation and full revenue attribution, especially for Shopify brands.
How much does HubSpot Marketing Hub cost?
Free tools are available with limits. Starter begins around $20 per month, Professional around $890 per month, and Enterprise around $3,600 per month, with pricing scaled by the number of marketing contacts.
How is Marketing Hub different from HubSpot CRM?
HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub free tier) manages contacts and deals. Marketing Hub adds email marketing, automation, landing pages, forms, ads, social and attribution on the same database.
Does ActiveCampaign or HubSpot Marketing Hub offer a free trial?
ActiveCampaign offers a free trial. HubSpot Marketing Hub offers a free trial. A free trial lets you test core features with your own data before committing to a paid plan.
Which is easier to use, ActiveCampaign or HubSpot Marketing Hub?
ActiveCampaign scores 3.9 / 5 for ease of use and HubSpot Marketing Hub scores 4.3 / 5. HubSpot Marketing Hub is the easier-to-learn option for most teams, though real onboarding time depends on your existing stack.
Which is more affordable, ActiveCampaign or HubSpot Marketing Hub?
ActiveCampaign starts at $15/month and HubSpot Marketing Hub starts at Free tools; Starter from ~$20/month. Compare the listed plans against your team size, because per-user pricing changes the real monthly cost as you add seats.
Who should choose ActiveCampaign over HubSpot Marketing Hub?
Choose ActiveCampaign if your priority is B2B businesses, Advanced automation needs, Sales + marketing teams, Ecommerce brands. Choose HubSpot Marketing Hub if you need B2B and inbound marketing teams, Companies wanting marketing and sales on one database, Teams starting on free tools, Organizations consolidating multiple tools. Match the tool to your primary workflow rather than the feature list, because the right fit depends on which jobs your team runs every day.

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