ActiveCampaign vs beehiiv
Both are on our shortlist for course creators. They part company on several things that matter more than the monthly price.
ActiveCampaign 
beehiiv Which one, for whom
- A list already in the thousands beehiiv beehiiv stays free to 2,500 subscribers against ActiveCampaign's nothing.
- Worried about being locked in beehiiv ActiveCampaign's terms cut off access to your contact data when you cancel. beehiiv does not do that.
- Selling the course from the same tool beehiiv beehiiv can take the payment itself, so you do not need a separate checkout.
Side by side
| ActiveCampaign | beehiiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None | 2,500 subscribers |
| Free sends | 14-day trial only | Unlimited sends |
| Welcome sequence on free | No | No |
| Paid from | A$23/mo | $43/mo |
| At 5,000 subscribers | Not published | $78 |
| At 25,000 subscribers | Not published | $149 |
| The catch | Starter caps you at 5 actions per automation, which a real welcome sequence will hit. | No paid subscriptions or digital products on the free tier. |
Figures read off each vendor's own pricing page on 5 September 2026. Where a row says not published, that vendor does not state a price at that list size and we will not invent one.
Getting your list back out
ActiveCampaign
Read this before you sign up. Their terms say that on cancellation "you will not have access to or be able to restore any Contact Data". Export your list before you cancel, not after.
beehiiv
We have not been able to confirm their cancellation terms, so treat this as unchecked.
Try either one
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ActiveCampaign Deepest automation, once the list pays for itself
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See ActiveCampaign pricing Read the full ActiveCampaign breakdown beehiiv Best if the course sits beside a newsletter
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Start free on beehiiv Read the full beehiiv breakdownActiveCampaign vs beehiiv, answered
- Is ActiveCampaign or beehiiv better for an online course?
- Neither is better outright, and anyone who says so is guessing on your behalf. beehiiv if you are a list already in the thousands. beehiiv if you are worried about being locked in. beehiiv if you are selling the course from the same tool.
- Which of ActiveCampaign and beehiiv has the better free plan?
- beehiiv allows more free subscribers (2,500 against none). A bigger allowance is not automatically the better plan: check the welcome sequence row above, because that is where the two usually part company.
- Can I move from ActiveCampaign to beehiiv later?
- Yes, and you should assume you will. Export your list before you cancel anything, and keep the tag that says who bought from you. We wrote the order of operations up separately.
Moving between them? Read the switching guide first, or answer four questions to check neither of these is the wrong shortlist.