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Email Marketing

ActiveCampaign vs Substack: Pricing Comparison 2026

Side-by-side pricing comparison of ActiveCampaign and Substack. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.

Bottom line: Substack starts at $5/mo, making it $10/mo cheaper than ActiveCampaign ($15/mo). Substack offers a free plan.

Last updated: July 6, 2026

Data compiled by Arthur Jacquemin
Updated July 6, 2026
Try ActiveCampaign freeAffiliateTry Substack freePrice updated 11d agoUpdated this month

ActiveCampaign vs Substack: Quick Pricing Facts

FeatureActiveCampaignSubstack
Starting Price$15/mo$5/mo
Number of Plans77
Free TierNoYes
Pricing Modelusage-basedusage-based
Annual DiscountN/AN/A

Substack is the more affordable option, starting at $5/mo compared to ActiveCampaign's $15/mo. Both are Email Marketing tools with 14 combined pricing plans and 132 features compared.

Substack stands out with a free plan for getting started.

Review the detailed tier-by-tier comparison above to see exactly which features are included at each price point and find the best fit for your Email Marketing needs.

Pricing Plans
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign
Try freeAffiliate
Substack
Substack
Try free
Tier 1
Enterprise
$145/month
Includes
  • Active Intelligence
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Premium segmentation
  • Unlimited automation actions
  • Premium CRM & ecommerce integrations
  • Landing pages
  • Predictive & conditional content
  • Attribution & conversion tracking
  • Custom objects
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
  • Dedicated account team
  • 5 users
  • Active Intelligence
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Premium segmentation
  • Unlimited automation actions
  • Premium CRM & ecommerce integrations
  • Landing pages
  • Predictive & conditional content
  • Attribution & conversion tracking
  • Custom objects
  • Single Sign-On (SSO)
  • Dedicated account team
  • 5 users
Start with Enterprise
Free
$0/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Set up paid subscriptions
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Own your content
  • Choose free or paid posts
Start with Free
Tier 2
ProPopular
$79/month
Includes
  • Active Intelligence
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Advanced segmentation
  • Unlimited automation actions
  • Standard CRM & premium ecommerce integrations
  • Landing pages
  • Predictive & conditional content
  • Attribution & conversion tracking
  • 3 users
  • Active Intelligence
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Advanced segmentation
  • Unlimited automation actions
  • Standard CRM & premium ecommerce integrations
  • Landing pages
  • Predictive & conditional content
  • Attribution & conversion tracking
  • 3 users
Start with Pro
Basic
$5/monthCheapest
$5 / year
Includes
  • Earn from 50 subscribers
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Direct payments from subscribers
Start with Basic
Tier 3
Plus
$49/month
Includes
  • Active Intelligence (limits apply)
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Standard segmentation
  • Unlimited automation actions
  • Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations
  • Landing pages
  • 1 user
  • Active Intelligence (limits apply)
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Standard segmentation
  • Unlimited automation actions
  • Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations
  • Landing pages
  • 1 user
Start with Plus
Standard
$7/monthCheapest
$7 / year
Includes
  • Earn from 100 subscribers
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Direct payments from subscribers
Start with Standard
Tier 4
Starter
$15/month
Includes
  • Active Intelligence (limits apply)
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Limited segmentation
  • 5 actions per automation
  • Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations
  • 1 user
  • Active Intelligence (limits apply)
  • Marketing automation
  • Email Marketing
  • Limited segmentation
  • 5 actions per automation
  • Standard CRM & ecommerce integrations
  • 1 user
Start with Starter
Advanced
$10/monthCheapest
$10 / year
Includes
  • Earn from 200 subscribers
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Direct payments from subscribers
Start with Advanced
Tier 5
Premium
$218/month
Includes
  • Shared team inbox
  • Broadcast and automated messaging
  • Advanced flows
  • Team assignments
  • Dedicated account team
  • Up to 5 lines
  • 8 users
  • Shared team inbox
  • Broadcast and automated messaging
  • Advanced flows
  • Team assignments
  • Dedicated account team
  • Up to 5 lines
  • 8 users
Start with Premium
Pro
$15/monthCheapest
$15 / year
Includes
  • Earn from 400 subscribers
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Direct payments from subscribers
Start with Pro
Tier 6
AdvancedPopular
$99/month
Includes
  • Shared team inbox
  • Broadcast and automated messaging
  • Advanced flows
  • Team assignments
  • Up to 5 lines
  • 5 users
  • Shared team inbox
  • Broadcast and automated messaging
  • Advanced flows
  • Team assignments
  • Up to 5 lines
  • 5 users
Start with Advanced
Premium
$30/monthCheapest
$30 / year
Includes
  • Earn from 800 subscribers
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Direct payments from subscribers
Start with Premium
Tier 7
Core
$99/month
Includes
  • Shared team inbox
  • Broadcast and automated messaging
  • Up to 2 lines
  • 3 users
  • Shared team inbox
  • Broadcast and automated messaging
  • Up to 2 lines
  • 3 users
Start with Core
Enterprise
$75/monthCheapest
$75 / year
Includes
  • Earn from 2000 subscribers
  • Keep 90% of revenue
  • Direct payments from subscribers
Start with Enterprise

← Swipe to compare plans →

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ActiveCampaign

Email marketing, automation, and CRM for customer experience

View all ActiveCampaign plans

Substack

Newsletter and publishing platform with paid subscriptions (10% cut)

View all Substack plans

What Reviewers Say

Which Should You Choose?

Choose ActiveCampaign if:

  • •You need marketing automation, CRM, and behavioral triggers for B2B or e-commerce
  • •Your use case is marketing campaigns, not publishing content to a subscriber audience
  • •You need advanced segmentation and automation workflows

Choose Substack if:

  • •You're a writer or journalist building a paid newsletter audience
  • •Substack handles content publishing, payments, and distribution in one place
  • •You want to monetize your writing directly without managing email infrastructure

Substack is a publishing platform for writers - it combines content hosting, free and paid newsletter delivery, and audience monetization. ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform for businesses. These tools don't compete. Substack wins for writers building a direct audience. ActiveCampaign wins for marketing teams running automated campaigns. The choice is obvious based on whether you're a content creator or a marketing team.

Try ActiveCampaign freeFrom $15/mo
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Frequently Asked Questions: ActiveCampaign vs Substack

Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Substack?
As of July 2026, Substack starts at a lower price point. ActiveCampaign starts at $15/mo while Substack starts at $5/mo. However, the best value depends on the features you need at each tier.
How many pricing plans does ActiveCampaign have vs Substack?
ActiveCampaign offers 7 pricing plans, while Substack offers 7 plans. More plans typically means more flexibility to match your exact needs and budget.
Does ActiveCampaign or Substack offer a free plan?
Substack offers a free plan, while ActiveCampaign does not. If budget is a concern, Substack lets you get started at no cost.
Can I save money by paying annually for ActiveCampaign or Substack?
Both ActiveCampaign and Substack offer annual billing options. Check each plan's yearly pricing for potential savings compared to monthly billing.
What is the most popular ActiveCampaign plan?
The Pro plan is ActiveCampaign's most popular tier, priced at $79/mo. Key features include Active Intelligence, Marketing automation, Email Marketing.
How do ActiveCampaign and Substack compare for Email Marketing?
Both ActiveCampaign and Substack are Email Marketing tools. ActiveCampaign offers 7 plans starting at $15/mo, while Substack offers 7 plans starting at $5/mo. Review the feature breakdowns above to see which better fits your Email Marketing needs.
AI Recommendations

Sources

  1. ActiveCampaign Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
  2. Substack Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page

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