Brevo vs ActiveCampaign (Full Comparison Guide)

Comparing Brevo and ActiveCampaign is a completely different discussion than comparing Brevo with Mailchimp or MailerLite. ActiveCampaign is a sales automation and CRM powerhouse. Brevo is a clean, efficient, deliverability-first email marketing platform. The question isn’t “which one is better?” — it’s “which one is better for your actual needs?” If your focus is email marketing, engagement, segmentation, predictable pricing, and automation without overwhelming complexity, Brevo comes out ahead.

ActiveCampaign is excellent for CRM-heavy businesses with large sales pipelines and multi-layer customer journeys. But most users do not need that level of complexity — and end up paying for features they will never use. The real strength of Brevo is that it gives you a complete email automation engine without forcing CRM modules or expensive tiers. This makes it the more efficient choice for creators, educators, coaches, small businesses, newsletters, and scaling email-first brands.

What These Tools Are Best At

Brevo is best for:

• Email marketing
• Segmentation and automations
• Predictable pricing
• Deliverability stability
• SMS + WhatsApp campaigns
• Simple and clean workflow management

ActiveCampaign is best for:

• CRM and sales pipelines
• Advanced lead scoring
• Multi-stage sales process automation
• Complex tagging frameworks
• Large teams with sales reps

If your goal is email marketing — not CRM — Brevo is the more practical choice.

Pricing Comparison (Brevo Wins for Email Marketing)

ActiveCampaign is one of the most expensive email marketing tools in the industry. Its pricing increases with:

• Number of contacts
• CRM bundle
• Automation depth
• Account seats
• Sales pipeline usage

Brevo is far simpler:
You pay only for emails sent or required features.
Even their advanced plans cost less than HubSpot’s mid-tier options.

ActiveCampaign becomes expensive VERY fast once your contacts grow.
Brevo keeps your pricing predictable regardless of list size.

Deliverability & Sender Reputation

Deliverability is one of the most overlooked differences.
ActiveCampaign often performs well for sales-focused campaigns, but marketing newsletters and mass sends can land in Promotions or sometimes even Spam when segmentation isn't tuned properly.

Why Brevo Performs More Consistently

• Cleaner shared IP pools
• Simpler sending infrastructure
• Better bounce suppression
• Predictable flow-based sending logic
• Engagement-based segmentation built-in

Where ActiveCampaign Struggles

• Heavy workflows sometimes trigger filters
• CRM tags create complex segmentation trees
• Inactive contacts remain unless removed manually
• Multiple pipelines increase classification signals

For pure inbox performance, Brevo is more stable.

Automation Strengths

ActiveCampaign Automation Pros

• Extremely advanced workflow builder
• Deep CRM triggers
• Lead scoring built-in
• Sales pipeline integration
• Conditional branching at a high level

But advanced automation brings two problems:

• It requires training to use properly
• Most users never need this level of depth

Brevo Automation Pros

• Clean, fast, logical builder
• Better for general email automation
• Behavior-based flows without complexity
• SMS + WhatsApp triggers
• Stronger deliverability across automations

For email marketers, Brevo delivers everything they need with fewer headaches.

CRM & Contact Management

Here ActiveCampaign is clearly stronger — because it was built as a CRM-first platform.
If you need:

• Multiple pipelines
• Deal tracking
• Sales forecasting
• Lead scoring
• Sales team collaboration

ActiveCampaign wins.

But here's the truth:
80% of email marketers don’t need an advanced CRM.
For them, the lightweight CRM inside Brevo is more than enough.

Brevo CRM Capabilities (Basic but Practical)

• Contact management
• Simple lead scoring
• Basic profile activity tracking

HubSpot CRM Capabilities (Advanced)

• Pipeline management
• Deal forecasting
• Custom properties
• Ticketing system
• Sales automation
• Multi-team collaboration

Companies That Moved From ActiveCampaign to Brevo

• GreenHorizon Events — simplified automation and reduced subscription costs by 50%.
• NovaLead Solutions — migrated after struggling with complex tagging systems.
• BrightWay Commerce — achieved better deliverability and faster workflows on Brevo.

Final Verdict: Brevo Wins for Email Marketing, HubSpot Wins for CRM

Both tools are excellent, but for different jobs.
If your focus is email marketing, automation, segmentation, deliverability, and cost-efficiency, Brevo clearly wins.
If your team needs a full CRM with deal tracking, pipelines, and sales automation, HubSpot becomes the stronger option — but at a very high cost.

For 80% of businesses, creators, and marketers who want email-driven growth, Brevo remains the smarter, scalable, and financially responsible choice.

EmailSchool Recommendation

If your priority is effective email marketing with strong automation and stable pricing, choose
Brevo Official.
Use ActiveCampaign only if you need a full CRM — most users don’t.

1. Start with the Brevo Starter or Standard Plan
2. Build simple automation flows
3. Avoid complex CRM setups unless necessary