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Most buyers should pick GetResponse.
Choose GetResponse for more Starter seats, unlimited email sends, and landing pages at $15.58/month billed annually ($19 monthly). Choose ActiveCampaign if automated account audits, testing, and deeper automation matter more: its annual Starter is $15/month per 1,000 contacts, but includes one seat and 10,000 monthly sends. GetResponse Starter has only one automation workflow and AI writing capped at three uses, so serious automation needs its $59 Marketer plan.
01Side by side
| ActiveCampaign | GetResponse | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $15/month per 1,000 contacts, billed annually | $15.58/month annually; $19 monthly |
| Free plan | No free plan; 14-day free trial | No free plan; trial length unpublished |
| Best for | Teams prioritizing automation, segmentation, and account audits | Marketers wanting email, landing pages, and multichannel tools |
| Core strength | AI campaign drafts, audits, automatic testing, and reporting | Email, automation, landing pages, SMS, and web push |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 6.5/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 6.5/10 |
| Integrations & data | Weekly audits cover hygiene, tags, automations, deliverability | Homepage lists 150+ integrations; audit scope unpublished |
| Team/seat costs | Starter: one seat; Plus: one seat at $49 | Starter: up to three users; Marketer: five |
| Support | Support terms not published on the vendor's site | Enterprise includes a dedicated Customer Experience Manager |
ActiveCampaign Choose ActiveCampaign if
- Choose ActiveCampaign if automated account audits are a priority.
- Choose ActiveCampaign if automatic email and SMS testing matters.
- Choose ActiveCampaign if you need its contact-based annual pricing.
GetResponse Choose GetResponse if
- Choose GetResponse if Starter's three seats fit your team.
- Choose GetResponse if unlimited monthly email sends matter.
- Choose GetResponse if you want landing pages and web push.
02Pricing compared
GetResponse has the lower entry price if you want more than one seat: Starter is $15.58 per month billed annually, or $19 month to month, and allows up to three users. It includes unlimited email sends, but only one custom automation workflow. ActiveCampaign Starter is $15 per month for 1,000 contacts, billed annually. It includes one seat and 10,000 monthly sends; pricing for monthly billing is not published, and the rate scales with contacts.
The next step changes the comparison. GetResponse Marketer costs $48.38 per month annually or $59 monthly, with unlimited workflows. ActiveCampaign Plus is $49 per month for 1,000 contacts annually and includes unlimited automation triggers and actions. ActiveCampaign’s higher tiers cost $79 and $145 per month per 1,000 contacts annually. GetResponse Creator is $56.58 annually; Enterprise pricing is custom.
03Features and depth
ActiveCampaign’s edge is the breadth of its automation and account-management features. Its product description says Active Intelligence can draft campaigns from a brief, audit list hygiene and automations weekly, test email and SMS sends, and generate reports. It also describes automatic audience segmentation and drafts for email, SMS, WhatsApp and ads. Starter has 5 actions per automation and 15 active goals; Plus and higher list unlimited automation triggers and actions. SMS and WhatsApp are listed as add-ons with prices not published.
GetResponse combines email marketing with landing pages, forms, popups, web push and SMS. Its AI can tailor email content and recommend send times, while its automation tools support journeys such as welcome, cart recovery and win-back. But Starter’s one workflow and three AI-writing uses are narrow limits. Marketer removes the workflow cap and adds abandoned-cart recovery, sales funnels and web push. Choose based on the work you need: more built-in account oversight points to ActiveCampaign; landing-page tools and unlimited sends on the entry plan point to GetResponse.
04Ease of use and learning curve
The plan limits give a clearer guide to the learning curve than the available product descriptions do; neither source publishes a direct setup or usability comparison. GetResponse Starter is easier to price out, with unlimited sends and landing-page tools included, but its single automation workflow may force an upgrade once campaigns get more involved. Marketer is the relevant tier for unlimited workflows.
ActiveCampaign offers more automation room from Plus upward, but its pricing is tied to contact count and its Starter plan limits each automation to five actions. That means more to weigh before switching: contact growth, seat count, send volume and how complex your journeys need to be. Compare the tier you’ll actually use, not just the starting price.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or GetResponse?
At the entry level, GetResponse is $15.58 per month on annual billing or $19 monthly. ActiveCampaign is $15 per month for 1,000 contacts on annual billing, with one seat and 10,000 monthly sends. The prices are not directly equivalent because ActiveCampaign’s rate is contact-based and monthly billing is not published.
Does GetResponse Starter include unlimited automation?
No. The pricing details list one custom automation workflow on GetResponse Starter. Marketer includes unlimited workflows and costs $48.38 per month billed annually or $59 month to month. GetResponse Starter also limits AI email and subject-line generation to three uses.
Does ActiveCampaign offer a free plan or trial?
The published pricing information says ActiveCampaign has no free plan and offers a 14-day free trial. Its Starter plan is listed at $15 per month for 1,000 contacts when billed annually. Monthly, non-annual pricing is not published and is described as higher.
Which platform is better for ecommerce marketing?
GetResponse Marketer lists abandoned-cart recovery, sales funnels, promo codes, revenue reports and unlimited automation workflows, making those needs a direct fit for its published feature set. ActiveCampaign emphasizes automation, segmentation and account audits. The better choice depends on which capabilities and plan limits match your campaigns.