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. Flodesk
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for creators, designers and small businesses that want beautifully designed emails without a steep learning curve.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | ActiveCampaign | Flodesk |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Not stated | Free plan; paid from $19 / month Lite billed annually at 1,000 subscribers, or $25 / month billed monthly. Every paid price scales with the active subscriber count, and annual billing includes one month free. Priced in US dollars worldwide. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | Free plan available, plus free trials on the paid plans |
| API | Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, a developer API with webhooks and a Model Context Protocol server; API keys are available on paid plans but not on free or trial accounts |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Campaign types | Yes, email campaigns with a drag-and-drop designer and more than 250 templates | Yes, email campaigns, plus forms, landing pages and, on the top plan, sales pages |
| Automation and journeys | Yes, marketing automation, 5 actions per automation on Starter and unlimited on Plus, Pro and Enterprise | Yes, workflow automations on the paid plans, unlimited on Pro and above |
| Segmentation and personalisation | Yes, segmentation from limited on Starter to advanced and premium on the higher plans, with predictive sending | Yes, audience segmentation |
| Templates and editor | Yes, a drag-and-drop email designer for plain text and HTML with more than 250 pre-built templates | Yes, designer-made templates and a visual editor |
| Deliverability and testing | Yes, a spam check across plans and predictive sending | Yes, subject line A/B testing that sends two variants to part of the list and the winner to the rest after 24 hours, with side-by-side results, plus AI subject line recommendations, content and sequence testing through split-path workflows, a send time optimizer, resend to unopens and a dedicated IP as a paid add-on |
| Ecommerce and CRM data | Yes, contact profiles with custom fields, tags and lists, plus premium CRM integrations such as Salesforce on the higher plans | Yes, integrated checkouts, sales pages and subscriptions with payment processing on the Everything plan |
| Integrations and API | Yes, an API with webhooks plus more than 1,000 integrations | Yes, a developer API with webhooks plus a Model Context Protocol server, included on every paid plan, alongside native integrations and Zapier and Pabbly Connect |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| MCP-ready | No | stated Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | more entries Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum | Email helpdesk, Community forum |
| Onboarding | more entries Documentation and knowledge base, Video tutorials, Guided onboarding, Live online demos and webinars | Documentation and knowledge base, Live online demos and webinars |
| Company size | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | Shopify, Salesforce, Zendesk, Wix, Facebook, Google Sheets, Google Ads, ChatGPT, Claude | more entries Shopify, Canva, Instagram, Squarespace, Wix, ThriveCart, ManyChat, HoneyBook, Interact, BookFunnel, Zapier, Pabbly Connect |
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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 Flodesk Free plan available, plus free trials on the paid plans
- Company size ActiveCampaign Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Flodesk Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- Support ActiveCampaign Email helpdesk, Chat, Community forum Flodesk Email helpdesk, Community forum
- MCP-ready ActiveCampaign No Flodesk Yes
- API ActiveCampaign Yes, an API with webhooks, plus more than 1,000 integrations Flodesk Yes, a developer API with webhooks and a Model Context Protocol server; API keys are available on paid plans but not on free or trial accounts
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
Flodesk
Strengths
- Design-led templates and a simple visual builder
- Free plan with forms, landing pages and segmentation
- Sell directly with checkouts, sales pages and subscriptions on the top plan
Limitations
- Workflow automations require a paid plan
- Advanced analytics and reporting are limited to the higher plans
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.
Flodesk
- Free $0 / month No subscriber limit, with forms, landing pages, link in bio, designer templates and audience segmentation.
- Lite $25 / month Up to 25,000 subscribers and 1 seat, with unlimited email sends, workflow automations, forms, landing pages and analytics. $19 / month billed annually. Both figures are for 1,000 subscribers and rise with the list.
- Pro $28 / month Up to 255,000 subscribers and 2 seats, adding unlimited workflows, advanced analytics and reporting and the option to remove Flodesk branding. $25 / month billed annually. Both figures are for 1,000 subscribers and rise with the list.
- Everything $54 / month Up to 255,000 subscribers and 3 seats, adding unlimited integrated checkouts, sales pages and funnels, subscriptions, payment plans and abandoned cart automations. $49 / month billed annually. Both figures are for 1,000 subscribers and rise with the list.
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.
Flodesk
- 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
Flodesk https://flodesk.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-05
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.