Brevo is the best replacement for most small businesses leaving ActiveCampaign — its contact-agnostic pricing means a 15,000-person list costs the same as a 5,000-person list. For eCommerce, Klaviyo is the stronger call. The migration catch neither platform advertises: no tool here can import ActiveCampaign automations directly, so budget 3–5 hours to rebuild your core sequences before you switch live sends.
Quick Picks (TL;DR)
- Best overall switch: Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
- Best for simplicity: MailerLite
- Best for e-commerce: Klaviyo
- Best budget CRM + email combo: HubSpot Free / Starter
- Best for solo founders: Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
- Best for automation depth without the price: Drip
Comparison Table
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Email + SMS + CRM | Yes (300 emails/day) | ~$9/mo | Unlimited contacts on paid plans |
| MailerLite | Clean simplicity | Yes (1,000 contacts) | ~$10/mo | Drag-and-drop builder |
| Klaviyo | eCommerce brands | Yes (250 contacts) | ~$20/mo | Revenue-attribution flows |
| HubSpot | CRM-first teams | Yes (robust free tier) | ~$15/mo | All-in-one CRM + email |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | Creators & solopreneurs | Yes (10,000 subs) | ~$25/mo | Tag-based segmentation |
| Drip | Automation-heavy shops | No | ~$39/mo | eCommerce automation depth |
Brevo (Formerly Sendinblue)
Best for small businesses that want email, SMS, and CRM without ballooning costs
Brevo's billing model is the reason it tops this list: you pay for the volume of emails sent each month, not the number of contacts stored. A 15,000-contact list that was pushing your ActiveCampaign invoice up doesn't increase your Brevo bill at all unless you email those contacts more often. That single structural difference is what makes migrations to Brevo produce meaningful cost drops for list-heavy businesses.
The automation builder handles multi-step sequences, conditional branches, and webhook triggers. SMS and WhatsApp campaigns are built in natively — features that sit behind paywalls or integrations on most competitors at this price point.
Pros:
- Unlimited contacts on paid plans — costs stay flat as your list grows
- SMS and WhatsApp campaigns included natively
- Transactional email (SMTP) built in, no separate tool needed
- Conversion tracking in reporting
Cons:
- Free tier caps at 300 emails/day — too low to test a real broadcast to your full list
- Visual automation editor is functional but less polished than ActiveCampaign's
- Predictive sending and deep segmentation features lag behind ActiveCampaign
Who should skip it: Teams that rely on ActiveCampaign's CRM pipeline for sales activity tracking. Brevo's CRM covers contact management and basic deal stages, but it isn't built for pipeline-driven sales teams.
MailerLite
Best for small businesses that want clean, no-overhead email marketing
MailerLite is the fastest platform to become operational on. Building an email sequence, setting up a landing page, and connecting a sign-up form is designed to take under 30 minutes from scratch — the interface removes the decision points that make ActiveCampaign time-consuming to manage day-to-day.
The free plan covers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month — enough to run real campaigns at early-stage scale, not just a trial.
Pros:
- Free plan: 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month
- Landing page builder and pop-ups included at no extra cost
- A/B testing on subject lines and email content
- Automation flows built for the common sequences (welcome, nurture, re-engagement)
Cons:
- Advanced automation logic — lead scoring, complex behavioral triggers — is limited
- No built-in CRM beyond basic contact management
- Support response times slow down on lower-tier plans
Who should skip it: Teams replacing ActiveCampaign specifically for its CRM features, or anyone who needs behavioral automation beyond basic email sequences.
Klaviyo
Best for eCommerce businesses running on Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce
Klaviyo pulls in real purchase data — average order value, product categories, purchase frequency — and builds automations around it natively. Abandoned cart, win-back, and post-purchase sequences can typically be configured in under an hour because the platform already understands your store's data structure before you build anything. Revenue-attribution reporting ties specific automation flows directly to sales figures, which is the feature most frequently cited as justifying the switch for DTC operators.
Nothing in this list matches Klaviyo for eCommerce-specific automation depth. Nothing matches it for cost escalation either — at 50,000 contacts, pricing climbs fast.
Pros:
- Native integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce
- Revenue attribution shows exactly which flows drove purchases
- Predictive analytics (lifetime value, churn risk) on paid plans
- SMS included
Cons:
- Pricing scales steeply with contact count — model your costs at your expected list size before committing
- Limited value for non-eCommerce use cases
- Steeper learning curve than MailerLite
Who should skip it: Service businesses, agencies, and B2B companies. Klaviyo's automation logic is purpose-built around product purchase data — everything else becomes a workaround.
HubSpot Free / Starter
Best for small businesses that need email and CRM working together
HubSpot's free plan is more functional than most: unlimited contacts, email marketing, a deal pipeline, live chat, and meeting scheduling — no credit card required. The Starter plan at ~$15/mo adds email automation sequences and removes HubSpot branding. For a small consultancy or freelancer managing a client list and a newsletter simultaneously, that combination is hard to beat at the price.
The scaling ceiling is the real trade-off. Complex multi-branch automations require Marketing Hub Professional, which is a significant jump.
Pros:
- Free plan includes CRM, email marketing, deal pipeline, and meeting scheduling
- Best-in-class CRM for this price tier
- Broad ecosystem (ads, forms, analytics, meetings) connected in one dashboard
- Strong onboarding documentation
Cons:
- Pricing escalates steeply at higher tiers
- HubSpot branding throughout the free plan
- Complex automations require Marketing Hub Professional
Who should skip it: Businesses that only need email marketing. If you won't use the CRM and deal pipeline, you're paying for capabilities you'll never open.
Kit (Formerly ConvertKit)
Best for creators, coaches, and solo founders
Kit's tag-based subscriber system is what sets it apart from the list-based models most tools use. Instead of organizing contacts into separate lists, you tag people based on behavior — what they clicked, what they purchased, which form they submitted. That flexibility makes segmentation more precise over time without requiring rigid list management upfront.
The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers — the most generous threshold in this roundup. The automation builder is visual and focused, without the feature density that makes ActiveCampaign harder to navigate for solo operators.
Pros:
- Free plan covers 10,000 subscribers — the highest free ceiling here
- Tag-based segmentation is more flexible than list-based systems
- Commerce features for selling digital products without a third-party checkout
- Clean, fast email editor
Cons:
- Reporting is relatively basic compared to ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo
- Not suited for retail eCommerce automation
- Template variety is narrower than MailerLite
Who should skip it: Teams with large databases needing complex behavioral automation. Kit works best for audiences under 50,000 subscribers.
Drip
Best for eCommerce brands that need ActiveCampaign-level automation depth
Drip is the closest functional match to ActiveCampaign's automation complexity — specifically for online stores. The workflow builder handles multi-condition sequences built on purchase history, browsing behavior, and cart contents, and integrates deeply with Shopify and WooCommerce. On-site behavior tracking triggers automations based on browsing and purchase signals rather than email activity alone, which is the differentiator broader platforms miss.
The absence of a free plan is the real barrier for smaller teams. At ~$39/mo, it's the highest entry price in this roundup.
Pros:
- Advanced segmentation based on purchase behavior and on-site events
- Multi-channel automation (email + SMS + Facebook audiences)
- Visual workflow builder with complex conditional logic
- Shopify revenue tracking built in
Cons:
- No free plan; starts at ~$39/mo
- Less useful for B2B or non-eCommerce use cases
- Smaller integration library than ActiveCampaign
Who should skip it: Non-eCommerce businesses and B2B teams. Drip's automation depth only pays off when you have product purchase and browsing data to build sequences on.
How to Choose
Match your reason for leaving to the right tool:
| Why you're leaving ActiveCampaign | Best fit |
|---|---|
| List is growing and costs are climbing | Brevo — contacts don't raise the bill |
| The platform is too complex to use consistently | MailerLite |
| You run an online store (Shopify/WooCommerce) | Klaviyo for revenue focus, Drip for automation depth |
| You need email and CRM in one place | HubSpot Starter |
| You're a solo creator, coach, or writer | Kit |
Migration checklist — before you cancel ActiveCampaign
- Export contacts with all tags and custom fields intact (ActiveCampaign → Contacts → Export)
- Document every active automation: trigger condition, sequence steps, goal conditions — you'll rebuild each one manually
- Start a free trial on your shortlisted platform and rebuild your highest-volume automation before your AC billing cycle ends
- Send a test broadcast to a small segment on the new platform to verify deliverability before going fully live
- Warm up the new sending domain if you're moving an established list — bulk sends from a cold domain can land in spam regardless of platform
Common mistakes when switching
- Canceling too soon: Platforms like MailerLite and Kit lack native ActiveCampaign automation import — teams that cancel before rebuilding lose their active sequences
- Ignoring domain warm-up: Moving a large, active list to a new sending domain without a warmup schedule causes deliverability drops unrelated to the platform itself
- Choosing on features, not actual use: ActiveCampaign's churn is often caused by teams paying for features they never open — pick the tool your team will actually use weekly
FAQ
Is Brevo as reliable as ActiveCampaign for deliverability? Brevo has strong sender reputation infrastructure. Many users moving from legacy ActiveCampaign setups report improved deliverability post-migration, particularly when they clean their list before the move.
Can I import my ActiveCampaign automations into MailerLite? No — you rebuild them manually. MailerLite includes templates for the most common sequences (welcome series, nurture, re-engagement) that cut rebuild time significantly. A standard three-sequence setup typically takes 2–3 hours from scratch.
Does HubSpot's free plan actually include email automation? Basic sequences, yes — simple drip flows, contact-based triggers, deal stage updates. Complex multi-branch automations require paid plans. For most small businesses, the free tier covers the most common workflows.
Which tool is best if I have both email subscribers and an online store? Klaviyo if eCommerce is your primary revenue channel and you want best-in-class purchase attribution. Brevo if you want a broader all-in-one (email, SMS, CRM) at a lower cost with solid eCommerce integrations.
What happens to my ActiveCampaign contact data during migration? All platforms in this list accept CSV imports. Export from ActiveCampaign, preserve custom fields and tags as columns, and import into the new platform. Field mapping is manual but well-documented on Brevo, MailerLite, HubSpot, and Kit — each has a step-by-step migration guide in their help centers.