ActiveCampaign vs Brevo
Both are on our shortlist for course creators. They part company on a couple of things that matter more than the monthly price.
ActiveCampaign
BrevoWhich one, for whom
- Starting out with no budgetBrevoBrevo can run an automated welcome sequence on its free plan. ActiveCampaign cannot, so a new subscriber hears nothing from you until you pay.Start free on Brevo
- Worried about being locked inBrevoActiveCampaign's terms cut off access to your contact data when you cancel. Brevo does not do that.
Side by side
| ActiveCampaign | Brevo | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | None | 100,000 subscribers |
| Free sends | 14-day trial only | 300 emails/day |
| Welcome sequence on free | No | Yes |
| Connects to Teachable | Direct | Not listed |
| Connects to Kajabi | Direct | Not listed |
| Connects to Podia | Direct | Not listed |
| Connects to Thinkific | Direct | Through Zapier |
| Paid from | A$23/mo AUD | $9/mo USD |
| The catch | Starter caps you at 5 actions per automation, which a real welcome sequence will hit. | Sending is the limit, not your list. The free plan stops at 300 emails a day, so a campaign to more than 300 people has to be resent by hand, 300 a day, and free emails always carry the Sent with Brevo logo. On its three smallest paid tiers, passing 500, 1,500 or 2,500 contacts moves you up a tier automatically and the price rises. |
| G2 score | 4.4 out of 5, from 14,791 reviews | Could not be read |
| Trustpilot score | 2.7 out of 5, from 1,433 reviews | 4.0 out of 5, from 7,204 reviews |
Figures read off each vendor's own pricing page between 9 and 12 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.
The last two rows are other people's scores, not ours, read between 6 and 12 September 2026. Check them yourself:ActiveCampaign on G2, ActiveCampaign on Trustpilot, Brevo on Trustpilot.
- ActiveCampaign: Reviewers disagree about this one. It scores 4.4 on G2 and 2.7 on Trustpilot. Read a page of each before you decide, because one of those audiences is having a different experience to the other.
- Brevo: G2 refused to load its Brevo reviews page for us on 12 September 2026, in two separate browser attempts, so there is no G2 score to show. Missing is not the same as low.
Getting your list back out
ActiveCampaignHard to leave
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. Source
Brevo
Cancelling is self-serve from the My plan page and moves you to the Free plan at the end of the billing period. Their help page says cancelling does not delete any data, though automations drop back to the 2,000-contact limit. The catch comes later: their help page says you have to log in every four months, or the Free account is deleted automatically. Their terms of service give six months instead, so Brevo's own pages disagree. Plan around the shorter one. Source
ActiveCampaign vs Brevo, answered
- Is ActiveCampaign or Brevo better for an online course?
- Neither is better outright, and anyone who says so is guessing on your behalf. Brevo if you are starting out with no budget. Brevo if you are worried about being locked in.
- Which of ActiveCampaign and Brevo has the better free plan?
- Brevo allows more free subscribers (100,000 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. Brevo's free plan also sends at most 300 emails a day, so check the free sends row too.
- Can I move from ActiveCampaign to Brevo later?
- Yes, and you should assume you will. Export your list before you cancel anything, and keep whatever marks who bought from you. We wrote the whole running order up separately.
Try either one
ActiveCampaignDeepest automation, once the list pays for itself
A$23/mo AUDpaid plans start here. No free plan. Read off their pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026.
See ActiveCampaign pricingRead the full ActiveCampaign breakdownBrevoStores a big free list, but sends only 300 emails a day
$9/mo USDpaid plans start here. Free up to 100,000. Read off their pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026.
Start free on BrevoRead the full Brevo breakdownMoving between them? Read the switching guide first, or answer 5 questions to check neither of these is the wrong shortlist.
Neither of these? See all 14, including which ones connect straight to Teachable, Kajabi, Podia or Thinkific, or compare what they cost as your list grows.