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. EmailOctopus
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for creators and small businesses that want low-cost newsletters, automation and landing pages without paying for features they will not use.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | ActiveCampaign | EmailOctopus |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not stated | From $9 / month Pro plan, billed yearly; the price scales with the number of subscribers. A free Starter plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | Free Starter plan for up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month, with EmailOctopus branding |
| API | Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, a public API to manage lists, contacts, campaigns and automations |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Campaign types | Yes, email campaigns with a drag-and-drop designer and more than 250 templates | Yes, email newsletters and campaigns, with scheduled sending |
| Automation and journeys | Yes, marketing automation, 5 actions per automation on Starter and unlimited on Plus, Pro and Enterprise | Yes, automated sequences that engage subscribers based on triggers |
| Segmentation and personalisation | Yes, segmentation from limited on Starter to advanced and premium on the higher plans, with predictive sending | Yes, segmentation using custom fields and tags |
| 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 editor with auto-generating templates that adapt to your colours |
| Deliverability and testing | Yes, a spam check across plans and predictive sending | Yes, with over a decade of email delivery experience and real-time open and click reporting |
| Ecommerce and CRM data | Yes, contact profiles with custom fields, tags and lists, plus premium CRM integrations such as Salesforce on the higher plans | Through integrations rather than a built-in sync: an official WordPress plugin for sign-up forms, and Zapier for the rest, with Shopify connected that way |
| Integrations and API | Yes, an API with webhooks plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, a public API for lists, contacts, campaigns and automations, plus over 1,000 integrations |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | Not stated |
| 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 | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries Shopify, Salesforce, Zendesk, Wix, Facebook, Google Sheets, Google Ads, ChatGPT, Claude | Zapier, WordPress, Shopify |
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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 EmailOctopus Free Starter plan for up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month, with EmailOctopus branding
- Company size ActiveCampaign Small and mid-sized, Enterprise EmailOctopus Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- AI features ActiveCampaign Yes EmailOctopus No
- API ActiveCampaign Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations EmailOctopus Yes, a public API to manage lists, contacts, campaigns and automations
- Campaign types ActiveCampaign Yes, email campaigns with a drag-and-drop designer and more than 250 templates EmailOctopus Yes, email newsletters and campaigns, with scheduled sending
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
EmailOctopus
Strengths
- Generous free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month
- Low-cost Pro plan from $9 per month
- Automation, tag-based segmentation, and landing pages and forms
- Public API and over 1,000 integrations
Limitations
- The free plan carries EmailOctopus branding
- The lowest Pro price is billed yearly
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.
EmailOctopus
- Starter $0 / month Up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month, with EmailOctopus branding.
- Pro From $9 / month Billed yearly; removes branding and adds custom email design, unlimited landing pages, forms and reports. The price scales with the number of subscribers.
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.
EmailOctopus
- 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
EmailOctopus https://emailoctopus.com · checked against the official source on 2026-08-22
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.