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ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp: annual billing against landing pages and 24/7 chat
Updated Oct 15, 2026
ActiveCampaign Starter costs $49 a month for 2,500 contacts, or $39 a month billed annually. Mailchimp Essentials costs $45 a month for 2,500 contacts, billed monthly only. Beyond price, ActiveCampaign has no landing pages on Starter and limits each automation to 5 actions; Mailchimp includes landing pages and limits Essentials flows to 4 steps.
At a glance, by our score
- Lowest price
#3 Mailchimp
Teams that want A/B tests, landing pages and 24/7 chat on the entry plan, $45 a month for 2,500 contacts
8.3/10Very goodOur scoreVisit MailchimpOn mailchimp.com #9 ActiveCampaign
Automations and email A/B tests from $39 a month billed yearly for 2,500 contacts, landing pages on Plus
6.9/10FairOur scoreVisit ActiveCampaignOn activecampaign.com
Mailchimp's lowest monthly price is lower than ActiveCampaign's, checked Sep 27, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
Side by side
| Criterion | ActiveCampaign | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 6.9/10FairOur score #9 of 10 | 8.3/10Very goodOur score #3 of 10 |
| Cost for 2,500 contacts (35%) | 7.2 / 10 | 6.5 / 10 |
| Included on the entry plan (20%) | 6.0 / 10 | 10.0 / 10 |
| Free plan (15%) | 5.0 / 10 | 7.0 / 10 |
| Emails a month (15%) | 10.0 / 10 | 10.0 / 10 |
| Support (15%) | 6.0 / 10 | 10.0 / 10 |
| Price from | $19 / month | $0 / month |
| Best for | Automations and email A/B tests from $39 a month billed yearly for 2,500 contacts, landing pages on Plus | Teams that want A/B tests, landing pages and 24/7 chat on the entry plan, $45 a month for 2,500 contacts |
| Visit | Visit ActiveCampaignOn activecampaign.com | Visit MailchimpOn mailchimp.com |
Who should pick which
- ActiveCampaign: Automations and email A/B tests from $39 a month billed yearly for 2,500 contacts, landing pages on Plus
- Mailchimp: Teams that want A/B tests, landing pages and 24/7 chat on the entry plan, $45 a month for 2,500 contacts
At a glance
| ActiveCampaign | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Starter | Essentials |
| Cost for 2,500 contacts | $49 a month billed monthly; $39 a month billed annually ($468 a year) | $45 a month, billed monthly only at this size |
| Emails a month | 25,000 (10x contacts); $0.005 per email over the limit | 25,000 (10x contacts) |
| Automation | Yes, 5 actions per automation | Yes, flows up to 4 steps |
| A/B testing | Emails only | Yes |
| Landing pages | No: starts on Plus | Yes |
| Signup forms | Standard and inline forms only | Yes |
| No provider logo | Its pages don't say | Yes |
| Free plan | No: 14-day trial, no card | Yes: 250 contacts, 500 emails a month |
| Support | Email and live chat, not 24/7 | 24/7 email and chat |
| Users | 1 (1 more can be bought) | 3 |
Prices and features from ActiveCampaign's pricing page and Mailchimp's pricing page, read Sep 27, 2026, with details from each company's help pages linked below. Where a company's own pages conflict, we use the worse reading for a buyer.
Price
| ActiveCampaign Starter (2,500 contacts) | Mailchimp Essentials (2,500 contacts) | |
|---|---|---|
| Billed monthly | $49 a month | $45 a month |
| Billed yearly | $39 a month ($468 a year) | No yearly price |
| A year, billed monthly | $588 | $540 |
Billed monthly, Mailchimp Essentials costs $4 a month less than ActiveCampaign Starter, $48 less over a year. Mailchimp has no yearly price at this size, so a year of Mailchimp costs $540, against $468 for ActiveCampaign billed yearly: $72 more.
ActiveCampaign's pricing page shows only annual prices; the month-to-month price is on its Starter plan page. The annual plan is a one-year commitment that renews automatically, and cancelling takes effect at the end of the term.
Mailchimp has no annual price at this size: its annual plans are for Standard and Premium at 10,000+ contacts, through sales. Overages apply past the contact or send limit, with no rate on the pricing page.
Where they differ
- Billing terms. ActiveCampaign's annual plan is a one-year commitment that renews automatically, and its pricing page offers a 30-day money-back guarantee (pricing page). Mailchimp bills Essentials monthly only at this size; annual plans are for Standard and Premium at 10,000+ contacts, through sales (pricing page).
- Landing pages. ActiveCampaign Starter has no landing pages. They start on Plus, $95 a month billed annually (pricing page) or $119 month to month (Plus plan page) at 2,500 contacts. Mailchimp includes landing pages on every plan (compare page).
- Automation. ActiveCampaign Starter includes marketing automation, limited to 5 actions per automation; Plus and up are unlimited (pricing page). Mailchimp Essentials includes automation flows of up to 4 steps; Standard lists up to 200 flows (compare page).
- Support. ActiveCampaign Starter gets email and live chat, with chat Monday to Friday 3am-11pm CT and Sunday 6-11pm CT. Its phone line reaches an AI virtual assistant (help page). Mailchimp Essentials gets 24/7 email and chat support; phone is Premium only (compare page).
- The provider's logo. ActiveCampaign's pages don't say whether Starter emails carry its logo; its branding article lists Plus, Pro and Enterprise. Mailchimp Essentials lets you remove Mailchimp branding (compare page).
Who should pick which
Pick ActiveCampaign if you'll prepay a year for the lower price, and 5 actions per automation suit you better than 4-step flows.
Pick Mailchimp if you pay monthly, want landing pages and branding removal on the entry plan, and want chat at any hour.
ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp are listed on our page for online stores. Compare both in our email marketing software ranking, and see how we score email marketing tools.