Best for
Best for teams that want email marketing with deep marketing automation and a built-in CRM, and that will grow into advanced segmentation and predictive sending.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Email Marketing Comparison
ActiveCampaign vs. Benchmark Email
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for small businesses and creators that want an easy drag-and-drop email builder with a capable free plan.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | ActiveCampaign | Benchmark Email |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not stated | From $27 / month Pro plan; the price scales with the number of contacts. A free plan is available. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | Free plan for up to 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails |
| API | Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, API access, with up to 10 API keys on the Pro plan |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Campaign types | Yes, email campaigns with a drag-and-drop designer and more than 250 templates | Yes, email campaigns and newsletters, with a drag-and-drop signup form builder |
| Automation and journeys | Yes, marketing automation, 5 actions per automation on Starter and unlimited on Plus, Pro and Enterprise | Yes, automations and customer journeys |
| Segmentation and personalisation | Yes, segmentation from limited on Starter to advanced and premium on the higher plans, with predictive sending | Yes, contact tagging and segmentation with merge-field personalisation |
| Templates and editor | Yes, a drag-and-drop email designer for plain text and HTML with more than 250 pre-built templates | Yes, a drag-and-drop email builder with a template library |
| Deliverability and testing | Yes, a spam check across plans and predictive sending | Yes, built-in list verification tools |
| Ecommerce and CRM data | Yes, contact profiles with custom fields, tags and lists, plus premium CRM integrations such as Salesforce on the higher plans | No native ecommerce or CRM connectors. Benchmark lists two integrations in total, Zapier and Playable Video, and points everything else at Zapier's 8,000+ app library; the Zapier connection syncs contacts rather than order or deal data |
| Integrations and API | Yes, an API with webhooks plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, API access plus Zapier and a universal embed code |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | more entries Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | Email helpdesk |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Guided onboarding, Live online demos and webinars | Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | more entries Shopify, Salesforce, Zendesk, Wix, Facebook, Google Sheets, Google Ads, ChatGPT, Claude | Zapier, Playable Video |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Free trial ActiveCampaign 14-day free trial, no credit card required Benchmark Email Free plan for up to 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails
- Company size ActiveCampaign Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Benchmark Email Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- Support ActiveCampaign Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum Benchmark Email Email helpdesk
- API ActiveCampaign Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations Benchmark Email Yes, API access, with up to 10 API keys on the Pro plan
- Campaign types ActiveCampaign Yes, email campaigns with a drag-and-drop designer and more than 250 templates Benchmark Email Yes, email campaigns and newsletters, with a drag-and-drop signup form builder
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
ActiveCampaign
Strengths
- Marketing automation with unlimited automation actions on Plus, Pro and Enterprise
- More than 1,000 integrations plus an API with webhooks
- Active Intelligence AI features across all plans
- Built-in CRM with contact profiles, custom fields, tags and lists
Limitations
- Starter caps automations at 5 actions each and offers only limited segmentation
- Prices scale with the number of contacts
Benchmark Email
Strengths
- Free plan for up to 500 contacts with access to the core features
- Drag-and-drop email and signup form builders
- Contact tagging, segmentation and merge-field personalisation
- API access plus Zapier and a universal embed code
Limitations
- The Pro price scales with the number of contacts
- Additional users cost $15 per month each
Plans
Pricing
ActiveCampaign
- Starter Not stated Entry plan with the email designer, templates and up to 5 actions per automation. Scales with contacts.
- Plus Not stated Adds unlimited automation actions and standard segmentation. Scales with contacts.
- Pro Not stated Adds advanced segmentation and predictive sending. Scales with contacts.
- Enterprise Not stated Adds premium segmentation and premium integrations such as Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.
Benchmark Email
- Free $0 / month Up to 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly sends, with 1 user, the drag-and-drop builder and 2 API keys.
- Pro From $27 / month 1,000 to 100,000 contacts with sends up to 10x the contact limit, 10 API keys and 10 domains; additional users cost $15 per month each.
- Enterprise Not stated Custom pricing for 100,000+ contacts.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
ActiveCampaign
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Benchmark Email
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
ActiveCampaign https://www.activecampaign.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-19
Benchmark Email https://www.benchmarkemail.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-21
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.