ActiveCampaign vs ConvertKit
Side-by-side total cost of ownership: subscription fees, labor, hidden costs, and AI alternatives.
Published pricing
The subscription is only part of the cost.
| ActiveCampaign | ConvertKit | |
|---|---|---|
| Published rate | $29/mo | $39/seat/mo |
| Team size modeled | 5 | 1 |
| Annual subscription | $1,740/yr | $468/yr |
What the invoice doesn't show
ActiveCampaign
Contact-tier pricing creates steep jumps: 1K to 5K contacts on Plus leaps from $59/mo to $179/mo — a 203% increase. As of November 2025, new accounts are charged for ALL contacts including unsubscribed, bounced, and unconfirmed — people you legally cannot email.
Users report bills doubling without changing plans. Specific complaints: '$588 to $1,800 after five years,' '$1,400/month suddenly turned into $2,800/month for the exact same list and features.' G2 shows 403 mentions of 'Expensive' as a complaint category.
Core features sold separately: SMS ($21/mo activation + per-message credits), CRM Pipelines ($49-107 first user), Custom Reports ($159/mo), Dedicated IP ($750 one-time). Real yearly cost is 20-40% higher than advertised.
AI and advanced features locked to higher tiers: predictive sending and content optimization are Pro-only ($235/mo at 5K contacts). The Starter plan caps at 25K contacts — forced upgrade to continue growing.
ConvertKit
Kit's Newsletter plan (free) supports up to 10,000 subscribers but blocks visual automations, sequences, and third-party integrations. The features that make email marketing effective require Creator ($39/mo, up 35% since September 2025) or Creator Pro ($79/mo).
Pricing scales steeply with subscriber count after the September 2025 increase. At 25,000 subscribers, Creator costs $99/mo and Creator Pro $166/mo. At 55,000 subscribers, Creator Pro hits $340/mo — well into enterprise tool pricing for what remains a creator-focused platform.
Kit lacks built-in A/B testing for email content (only subject lines). There's no send-time optimization, no multivariate testing, and limited segmentation compared to marketing automation platforms at similar price points.
Kit's visual automation builder, while praised for simplicity, can't handle complex conditional logic. Users report needing to build workarounds with tags and segments for workflows that tools like ActiveCampaign handle natively.
What teams are switching to
Replacing ActiveCampaign
Brevo
Free (300 emails/day), Starter $9/mo, Business $18/mo
Email-volume-based pricing with unlimited contacts on all plans. At 10K contacts, Brevo costs ~$35/mo vs ActiveCampaign Plus at $239/mo. AI subject line generator and send-time optimization included.
MailerLite
Free (1K subs), $10/mo Growing Business, $20/mo Advanced
Advanced plan at 5K contacts is ~$39/mo vs ActiveCampaign Plus at $179/mo. AI writing assistant for subject lines and content included. Free plan covers 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 emails/month.
Moosend
$9/mo (500 subs), ~$48/mo (5K contacts)
Full automation suite at a fraction of ActiveCampaign's cost with no feature gating on core plans. AI-driven product recommendations and predictive analytics for ecommerce.
Replacing ConvertKit
Beehiiv
Free (2.5K subs), $49/mo (Scale), $99/mo (Max)
Newsletter platform built for growth with AI writing tools, built-in referral program, and ad network for monetization. Free plan includes unlimited sends and up to 2,500 subscribers. Designed for the creator economy Kit pioneered.
MailerLite
Free (1K subs), $10/mo (Growing), $20/mo (Advanced)
Full visual automation on paid plans starting at $10/mo vs Kit's $29/mo. AI writing assistant, A/B testing (not just subject lines), and send-time optimization included. More features at a lower price point.
Buttondown
Free (100 subs), $9/mo (Basic), $29/mo (Professional)
Minimalist newsletter tool for writers who want clean design without bloat. Markdown-native editor, built-in analytics, and paid subscription support. Free for up to 100 subscribers.
StackCut doesn't sell or recommend any of these tools. We show them for context. The decision is yours.
Total Cost of Ownership
Subscription fees plus labor and error costs, modeled at $50/hr loaded rate (BLS ECEC).
| Cost Component | ActiveCampaign | ConvertKit |
|---|---|---|
| Annual subscription | $1,740 | $468 |
| Labor cost | $9,000 | $9,000 |
| Error & rework cost | $1,200 | $1,200 |
| Total Cost of Ownership | $11,940/yr | $10,668/yr |
| Est. AI alternative | $5,088/yr | $5,088/yr |
Labor rate based on BLS ECEC June 2025 ($45.65/hr private industry total compensation, rounded to $50). Team sizes differ because each vendor targets different market segments. Your actual numbers depend on team size, role mix, and usage. Run it with your own data.
Which one fits your team?
Both ActiveCampaign and ConvertKitcost more than their published pricing suggests. The right choice depends on your team size and how you weigh each tool's trade-offs.
ActiveCampaign starts at $29/mo , but watch for Contact-tier pricing creates steep jumps: 1K to 5K contacts on Plus leaps from $59/mo to $179/mo — a 203% increase. As of November 2025, new accounts are charged for ALL contacts including unsubscribed, bounced, and unconfirmed — people you legally cannot email.
ConvertKit starts at $39/seat/mo , but watch for Kit's Newsletter plan (free) supports up to 10,000 subscribers but blocks visual automations, sequences, and third-party integrations. The features that make email marketing effective require Creator ($39/mo, up 35% since September 2025) or Creator Pro ($79/mo).
An AI-native alternative may replace the workflow at a fraction of the TCO.
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