ActiveCampaign

Give each automation an owner

ActiveCampaign documents triggers with plan-specific availability. Its actions guide lists starting or ending another automation on Professional and Enterprise; If/Else is available on Plus and above, not Starter. Draw the entry condition, wait, exit and dependencies between journeys, and confirm the actions in your account’s plan.

The plan overview describes a Starter offering with five actions per automation and the ability to purchase the transactional email add-on. The overview says existing customers do not qualify for Starter. Confirm eligibility and the exact trigger, action, user and add-on requirements in the current quote.

Test a representative lead through the intended branches using authorized sample records. Check what happens on repeat entry and when a connected system changes a field; record expected outcomes before activation.

Count contacts and preserve list status

ActiveCampaign says accounts created on or after November 3, 2025 count all contacts toward their limit, regardless of list status. For accounts created on or before November 2, 2025, active contacts or all contacts may count depending on plan. Check Billing & Upgrade for the account’s actual rule.

List statuses include active, unconfirmed, unsubscribed and bounced. Preserve the status for each list when importing. Automation list associations determine which lists an unsubscribe affects; verify those associations for every automated email before sending.

ActiveCampaign says contacts need a list subscription to receive automated campaigns. An existing contact record alone is not proof of permission to send marketing email.

Quote the recurring operation

ActiveCampaign’s pricing page lists plan allowances and optional products, including CRM, transactional email and SMS. The send-limit guide describes marketing email overage fees. Ask for the complete quote at your peak contacts, monthly marketing sends, user seats and required add-ons; confirm billing cycle and applicable taxes.

Separate transactional messages and one-to-one sales emails from marketing campaigns when forecasting: the send-limit guide excludes them from the marketing counter. Confirm their separate eligibility and costs, and identify who maintains integrations and templates.

At the contact limit, ActiveCampaign says campaigns cannot send and automation email actions are skipped while contacts continue through the workflow. It says auto-upgrade is optional. Check your account setting, alert thresholds and recovery procedure; a skipped message may need explicit follow-up.

Compare the alternatives

Consider Mailchimp for its marketing flows and audience model, or Brevo for its send and storage tiers. Compare each using the same journey, permissions, contact states and annual cost rather than entry prices alone.

Common questions

Do unsubscribed contacts count?

For accounts created on or after November 3, 2025, all contacts count. Older accounts depend on their plan.

Can every plan run the same automation?

No. ActiveCampaign lists plan-specific action and feature limits; verify every required trigger and action in your quote.

Are transactional emails part of the marketing send allowance?

ActiveCampaign excludes transactional and one-to-one emails from the marketing send counter. Confirm separate add-on costs and terms.

Sources and scope

We read the linked vendor pricing and documentation on November 5, 2026. Prices, plan limits and eligibility can change; confirm the terms for your account and region.

We have not tested these products, sent messages or connected accounts. The suggested checks are evaluation steps, not results.

Inclusion and corrections are free; sponsorship does not determine our conclusions. Editorial order is independent of paid placements.

Quillwell LLC also builds Adswell, a paid-media product.

Sponsorship never changes this page. How we research.