Best Marketing Automation Software in 2026
ActiveCampaign starts at $15 a month, and Salesforce's enterprise Account Engagement plans run from $1,250 to $15,000 a month once you scale up to a B2B budget.
Short answer: ActiveCampaign is the best marketing automation software for most small and mid-size teams in 2026, starting at $15 a month with a real visual automation builder and a built-in CRM. HubSpot Marketing Hub earns the pick once marketing, sales and service need to share one record, currently running a discounted new-customer rate on its Starter plan. Klaviyo and Omnisend lead for ecommerce brands automating around orders and browsing, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and Marketo Engage are built for B2B teams running account-based programs at enterprise budgets.
Key facts10 tools compared: HubSpot Marketing Hub, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp, Keap…
- 10 tools compared: HubSpot Marketing Hub, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp, Keap, Omnisend, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, Marketo Engage
- ActiveCampaign (best for: Small and mid-size teams that want real behavioral automation without an enterprise price tag): Starter $15/mo; Plus $49/mo; Pro $79/mo; Enterprise $145/mo (1,000 contacts, billed annually).
- Klaviyo (best for: Ecommerce brands that want automation built around orders, browsing and purchase history): Free up to 250 profiles (500 emails/mo, $5 SMS credit). Email from $20/mo; Email + SMS from $35/mo (251-500 profiles).
- Brevo (best for: Budget-conscious teams with a large contact list they do not email every day): Free (up to 100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day). Starter from $9/mo; Standard $18/mo; Professional $499/mo.
Marketing automation software promises the same outcome: fewer manual sends, more messages triggered by what a contact actually does, and leads that get nurtured while nobody is watching.
What separates these ten platforms by thousands of dollars a month is how each one prices that automation: by contact, by seat, by unique profile, or by a quote nobody sees until a sales call.
Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, evaluates 343 marketing automation tools as of September 2026.
This guide narrows that field to the ten platforms an SMB or B2B marketing team actually shortlists, priced on each vendor's own pricing page this month. MarketingShot's own newsletter runs on Beehiiv, not any platform ranked here, so nothing on this list stands to gain from where it lands.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
The bundled pick for HubSpot CRM users, with Starter discounted to $7 a seat under a limited new-customer promo.
Free (2 users). Starter $20/mo/seat (new-customer promo $7); Professional $890/mo; Enterprise $3,600/mo.
Teams already running HubSpot CRM who want marketing, sales and service on one record
The automation-first pick for its price, with a working CRM and branching logic even the entry Starter tier delivers.
Starter $15/mo; Plus $49/mo; Pro $79/mo; Enterprise $145/mo (1,000 contacts, billed annually).
Small and mid-size teams that want real behavioral automation without an enterprise price tag
The ecommerce specialist, with a genuinely useful free tier and pricing that scales with subscriber count rather than a flat fee.
Free up to 250 profiles (500 emails/mo, $5 SMS credit). Email from $20/mo; Email + SMS from $35/mo (251-500 profiles).
Ecommerce brands that want automation built around orders, browsing and purchase history
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Free (2 users). Starter $20/mo/seat (new-customer promo $7); Professional $890/mo; Enterprise $3,600/mo. | Teams already running HubSpot CRM who want marketing, sales and service on one record |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter $15/mo; Plus $49/mo; Pro $79/mo; Enterprise $145/mo (1,000 contacts, billed annually). | Small and mid-size teams that want real behavioral automation without an enterprise price tag |
| Klaviyo | Free up to 250 profiles (500 emails/mo, $5 SMS credit). Email from $20/mo; Email + SMS from $35/mo (251-500 profiles). | Ecommerce brands that want automation built around orders, browsing and purchase history |
| Brevo | Free (up to 100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day). Starter from $9/mo; Standard $18/mo; Professional $499/mo. | Budget-conscious teams with a large contact list they do not email every day |
| Mailchimp | Free up to 250 contacts. Essentials from $13/mo; Premium from $350/mo. | Small businesses that want a familiar tool with light automation needs |
| Keap | From $299/mo, billed monthly; one all-inclusive platform tier, price scales with users and contacts. | Small-business owners who want CRM, automation and invoicing bundled with hands-on setup help |
| Omnisend | Free up to 250 contacts. Standard $16/mo (500 contacts); Pro $59/mo (2,500 contacts); 30% off first 3 months. | Ecommerce stores that want email, SMS and push automation in one affordable plan |
| Customer.io | Essentials from $100/mo (5,000 profiles, monthly); Premium from $1,000/mo (yearly); Enterprise custom; 14-day trial. | Product and lifecycle marketing teams that need event-triggered, cross-channel messaging |
| Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement | Growth+ $1,250/mo; Plus+ $2,750/mo; Advanced+ $4,400/mo; Premium+ $15,000/mo (billed annually). | B2B enterprises already on Salesforce CRM running account-based marketing programs |
| Marketo Engage | Quote-only across four editions (Growth, Select, Prime, Ultimate); no published USD price. | Large B2B enterprises running complex, multi-touch account-based marketing at scale |
Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Sep 2026. 1 of 10 sells by quote only and publishes no price; that entry says so rather than estimating. 1 of 10 publishes prices for some plans and quotes the rest.
HubSpot Marketing Hub
The bundled pick for HubSpot CRM users, with Starter discounted to $7 a seat under a limited new-customer promo.
- Pricing
- Free (2 users). Starter $20/mo/seat (new-customer promo $7); Professional $890/mo; Enterprise $3,600/mo.
Best for: Teams already running HubSpot CRM who want marketing, sales and service on one record
Pros
- Free tier covers 2 users with no credit card, and Starter adds 1,000 marketing contacts plus 500 HubSpot Credits
- Professional and Enterprise share one contact record across marketing, sales and service instead of separate apps
- New customers get Starter at a discounted $7-a-seat rate for a limited introductory period
Cons
- Professional runs $890 a month billed monthly, or $800 on an annual commitment, plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee
- Enterprise starts at $3,600 a month with a separate $7,000 onboarding charge before the first campaign ships
ActiveCampaign
The automation-first pick for its price, with a working CRM and branching logic even the entry Starter tier delivers.
- Pricing
- Starter $15/mo; Plus $49/mo; Pro $79/mo; Enterprise $145/mo (1,000 contacts, billed annually).
Best for: Small and mid-size teams that want real behavioral automation without an enterprise price tag
Pros
- Starter already includes a CRM at its entry price, more usable out of the gate than most rivals' cheapest tier
- Every plan carries a 30-day money-back guarantee if the automation build does not pay off
- Enterprise at $145 a month adds a dedicated account team and an uptime SLA, not just extra seats
Cons
- Starter caps automations at 5 actions per workflow, so real branching logic means moving up to Plus at $49
- Every listed price covers 1,000 contacts, billed annually, and climbs fast once the list grows past that
Klaviyo
The ecommerce specialist, with a genuinely useful free tier and pricing that scales with subscriber count rather than a flat fee.
- Pricing
- Free up to 250 profiles (500 emails/mo, $5 SMS credit). Email from $20/mo; Email + SMS from $35/mo (251-500 profiles).
Best for: Ecommerce brands that want automation built around orders, browsing and purchase history
Pros
- Free plan covers up to 250 profiles and 500 emails a month, enough to test real flows before paying
- Native ecommerce data, order history and browse behavior, drives segmentation most rivals bolt on separately
- SMS and email share one profile and one automation builder instead of two separate products
Cons
- Email pricing climbs with every profile tier above the 251 to 500 band
- The free plan's $5 credits for mobile messaging and Composer usage each run out almost immediately
Brevo
The value pick: a free tier that stores up to 100,000 contacts and volume-based pricing that stays cheap until Professional's 150,000 sends.
- Pricing
- Free (up to 100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day). Starter from $9/mo; Standard $18/mo; Professional $499/mo.
Best for: Budget-conscious teams with a large contact list they do not email every day
Pros
- Free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts, sends up to about 9,000 emails a month at 300 a day, and automates for up to 2,000 contacts
- Starter and Standard are priced by email volume, with contact caps that grow at higher volume tiers, so a large idle list stays cheap
- Standard at $18 a month lifts the automation contact cap and adds A/B testing, not gated to a higher tier
Cons
- Professional jumps sharply to $499 a month for 150,000 emails, a big step up from Standard
- Annual billing saves about 10%, a smaller discount than the 15 to 20% some rivals offer
Mailchimp
The familiar default, cheap to start at $13 a month, though its automation depth trails ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo once flows get complex.
- Pricing
- Free up to 250 contacts. Essentials from $13/mo; Premium from $350/mo.
Best for: Small businesses that want a familiar tool with light automation needs
Pros
- Free plan covers up to 250 contacts, enough to test the platform before adding a card
- Essentials at $13 a month unlocks A/B testing and scheduled sends most rivals reserve for a mid tier
- 300+ integrations and a pay-as-you-go credit option suit senders who only mail a few times a year
Cons
- Essentials caps at 5,000 emails a month and Standard at 6,000, tight next to Brevo's per-volume model
- Premium jumps to $350 a month, a steep step from Standard
Keap
The done-with-you pick, pairing automation with a dedicated Customer Success Manager most self-serve tools skip.
- Pricing
- From $299/mo, billed monthly; one all-inclusive platform tier, price scales with users and contacts.
Best for: Small-business owners who want CRM, automation and invoicing bundled with hands-on setup help
Pros
- One platform tier at $299 a month bundles CRM, automation, invoicing and payments with no feature-gated add-on tiers
- Includes a dedicated Customer Success Manager and U.S.-based phone support on the subscription, not reserved for a top tier
- Guided, required implementation suits a non-technical small-business owner building a first automation from scratch
Cons
- $299 a month is the highest entry price on this list, enterprise-tier money for a two-person team's basic use
- Implementation services are required and billed separately, an upfront cost none of the self-serve tools here charge
Omnisend
The budget ecommerce pick, undercutting Klaviyo's pricing while still covering email, SMS and push from one automation builder.
- Pricing
- Free up to 250 contacts. Standard $16/mo (500 contacts); Pro $59/mo (2,500 contacts); 30% off first 3 months.
Best for: Ecommerce stores that want email, SMS and push automation in one affordable plan
Pros
- Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, enough for a brand-new store to start
- Standard at $16 a month already includes SMS and push alongside email, not sold as a separate add-on
- Pro's unlimited monthly emails remove the send-cap anxiety Mailchimp's and Brevo's entry tiers create
Cons
- Contacts above 2,500 on Pro or 150,000 overall move to a custom quote, resetting the budget conversation
- Automation logic is built for ecommerce triggers like cart, browse and order; it is a weak fit for B2B nurture
Customer.io
The developer-friendly pick for event-triggered messaging, priced by unique profile rather than a flat contact tier.
- Pricing
- Essentials from $100/mo (5,000 profiles, monthly); Premium from $1,000/mo (yearly); Enterprise custom; 14-day trial.
Best for: Product and lifecycle marketing teams that need event-triggered, cross-channel messaging
Pros
- Built for event-triggered messaging across email, push, SMS and in-app, not just broadcast newsletters
- Pricing scales by unique profile, so duplicate or inactive contacts do not quietly inflate the bill
- Early-stage startups get a full year free through Customer.io's Startup Program
Cons
- Essentials starts at $100 a month for 5,000 profiles, a high floor next to ActiveCampaign's $15 entry
- Premium starts at $1,000 a month billed yearly, a steep commitment for a mid-size team to plan around
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
The Salesforce-native pick for B2B teams, with a published entry price that scales all the way to multi-business-unit governance.
- Pricing
- Growth+ $1,250/mo; Plus+ $2,750/mo; Advanced+ $4,400/mo; Premium+ $15,000/mo (billed annually).
Best for: B2B enterprises already on Salesforce CRM running account-based marketing programs
Pros
- Deep native fit for Salesforce CRM shops running account-based B2B programs with sales and marketing on one record
- Growth+ has a published starting price, unusual clarity for enterprise marketing automation
- Premium+ adds multi-business-unit governance most rivals on this list do not offer at any price
Cons
- Every tier requires an annual commitment; there is no month-to-month or self-serve option
- The jump from Growth+ to Plus+ at $2,750 a month is steep for a team simply outgrowing Growth+
Marketo Engage
The enterprise B2B veteran, priced only through a sales call across four editions with no published rate.
- Pricing
- Quote-only across four editions (Growth, Select, Prime, Ultimate); no published USD price.
Best for: Large B2B enterprises running complex, multi-touch account-based marketing at scale
Pros
- Built for complex, multi-touch B2B account-based marketing at a scale most tools on this list do not reach
- Deep native integration with Adobe Experience Cloud for enterprises already standardized on Adobe
- Four editions let a sales rep scope features to the program instead of just contact volume
Cons
- No published price anywhere on Adobe's pricing page; every tier requires a sales call to get a number
- The four-tier structure makes budgeting opaque next to Salesforce Account Engagement's published Growth+ figure
What it is
Marketing automation software triggers emails, texts, push messages and workflow actions based on what a contact does, such as a signup, a click, a purchase or two weeks of silence, instead of a person sending each message by hand.
The stronger platforms add lead scoring, a CRM or CRM sync, and multichannel sends across email, SMS and sometimes WhatsApp or push.
How we compared: ten platforms with a published free tier, self-serve subscription or public enterprise pricing page. Prices below were verified in September 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page.
How it works
Start with who owns the contact record. A team that already runs its CRM in Salesforce gets the most from Account Engagement or HubSpot's CRM sync; a team with no CRM yet gets more from ActiveCampaign's or Keap's bundled one.
Ecommerce brands should start with Klaviyo or Omnisend, since both build automation around orders and browsing instead of generic email opens.
Size decides the second question. Under a few thousand contacts, free tiers from HubSpot, Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp and Omnisend cover real testing before any card is added.
Past that, per-contact tools like ActiveCampaign and HubSpot scale by list size, while Brevo and Customer.io bill by emails sent or unique profiles, often cheaper for a large, quiet list.
The email marketing software guide covers senders that skip the CRM and automation layer entirely, and the lifecycle marketing tools guide is the next read for product-led teams automating in-app behavior rather than a marketing list.
Why it matters
The platform you pick sets a ceiling on what your automation can do and a floor on what it costs as your list grows.
Buy too little and a marketer hand-sends what should be automated; buy too much and you are paying Salesforce Account Engagement's top enterprise rate for a workflow ActiveCampaign's entry tier would run just as well.
MarketingShot data: this newsletter reaches roughly 35,000 subscribers with a 32% average open rate and a 1.4% average click rate.
A list that size already clears every free tier on this page and lands past the entry paid tier on ActiveCampaign, Brevo and Omnisend too, which is close to where the real monthly bill starts for a growing list.
Key features to look for
Pricing
Marketo Engage is the one tool here with no published price, quote-only across four editions. Klaviyo's paid Email plan starts at the 251 to 500 profile band, Mailchimp Premium at $350 a month, and Customer.io Essentials at $100 a month for 5,000 profiles.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement is the exception among enterprise tools, publishing a full Growth+ through Premium+ list price for every tier, all billed annually.
HubSpot's Starter tier is running a new-customer promotion at a fraction of its list rate, so budget for the higher list price once the promotional window closes.
ActiveCampaign's four tiers all price at 1,000 contacts billed annually and scale from there. Brevo and Customer.io are the two tools that bill by volume, emails sent for Brevo and unique profiles for Customer.io, rather than by a flat contact tier, which can undercut per-contact pricing once a list is large but quiet.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot Free | Free | 2 users, no credit card required |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter (promo) | $7/mo/seat | Limited-time new-customer rate; 1,000 marketing contacts, 500 credits |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter (list) | $20/mo/seat | Standard rate once the promotional window ends |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional | $890/mo, or $800/mo annual commit | 3 core seats, 2,000 contacts, 3,000 credits; $3,000 onboarding required |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub Enterprise | $3,600/mo | 5 core seats, 10,000 contacts, 5,000 credits; $7,000 onboarding required |
| ActiveCampaign Starter | $15/mo | 1,000 contacts, 1 user, 5 actions per automation, billed annually |
| ActiveCampaign Plus | $49/mo | 1,000 contacts, 1 user, unlimited automation actions, billed annually |
| ActiveCampaign Pro | $79/mo | 1,000 contacts, 3 users, predictive and conditional content, billed annually |
| ActiveCampaign Enterprise | $145/mo | 1,000 contacts, 5 users, dedicated account team and uptime SLA, billed annually |
| Klaviyo Free | Free | 250 profiles, 500 emails/mo, $5 each in mobile messaging and Composer credit |
| Klaviyo Email / Email+SMS (paid) | From $20/mo / from $35/mo | 251 to 500 active profiles; scales by profile count above that |
| Brevo Free | Free | Up to 100,000 contacts stored, 300 emails/day (about 9,000/mo) |
| Brevo Starter | From $9/mo | 500 contacts, 5,000 emails/mo; about $8.08/mo billed yearly |
| Brevo Standard | $18/mo | Automation without the 2,000-contact cap, plus A/B testing; about $16.17/mo billed yearly |
| Brevo Professional | $499/mo | 150,000 emails/mo; about $449.08/mo billed yearly |
| Brevo Enterprise | Custom quote | For 1M+ contacts, custom solutions and full data control |
| Mailchimp Free | Free | Up to 250 contacts |
| Mailchimp Essentials | From $13/mo | 5,000 emails/mo, A/B testing and scheduled sends |
| Mailchimp Standard | From $20/mo | 6,000 emails/mo, behavioral targeting and retargeting ads |
| Mailchimp Premium | From $350/mo | 150,000 emails/mo, unlimited seats and audiences |
| Keap (single platform tier) | From $299/mo | Billed monthly; CRM, automation, invoicing and payments; scales with users and contacts |
| Keap text marketing add-on, tiers 2-6 | $24 to $279/mo | Above the included 500 messages and 100 minutes |
| Omnisend Free | Free | 250 contacts, 500 emails/mo |
| Omnisend Standard | $16/mo | 500 contacts, 6,000 emails/mo; $11.20/mo for the first 3 months (-30%) |
| Omnisend Pro | $59/mo | 2,500 contacts, unlimited emails; $41.30/mo for the first 3 months (-30%); SMS from $0.007/message |
| Omnisend Enterprise | Custom quote | For lists above 150,000 contacts |
| Customer.io Essentials | From $100/mo | 5,000 profiles, billed monthly; scales by unique profile count |
| Customer.io Premium | From $1,000/mo | Billed yearly; higher profile volume and support |
| Salesforce Account Engagement Growth+ | $1,250/mo | Email marketing, lead scoring, Salesforce CRM integration; billed annually |
| Salesforce Account Engagement Plus+ | $2,750/mo | Adds advanced automation, A/B testing and dynamic content; billed annually |
| Salesforce Account Engagement Advanced+ | $4,400/mo | Adds AI-powered scoring and attribution, sandbox testing; billed annually |
| Salesforce Account Engagement Premium+ | $15,000/mo | Multi-business-unit governance and advanced data controls; billed annually |
| Marketo Engage (Growth, Select, Prime, Ultimate) | Contact sales | No published USD price on any of the four editions |
The bottom line
Pick by contact record, not by feature list. ActiveCampaign is the general-purpose choice for most small and mid-size teams: real automation and a built-in CRM without an enterprise price tag.
The ActiveCampaign profile and our full ActiveCampaign review cover the rest.
Open HubSpot when marketing, sales and service need to share one record; our HubSpot Marketing Hub review has the detail.
Open Klaviyo or Omnisend for ecommerce automation built around orders and browsing, Brevo or Mailchimp for a budget-friendly starting point, and Customer.io once event-triggered, cross-channel messaging needs an engineer's input.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and Marketo Engage are the two built for enterprise B2B programs; only Account Engagement publishes a starting price.
Marketing automation is one half of the funnel.
Cold outbound has its own shortlist in the cold email guide, and SMS-specific sending is covered in the SMS marketing guide.
We re-read these pricing pages in September 2026 on each vendor's own pricing URL.
Cite this: MarketingShot, "Best Marketing Automation Software in 2026", September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best marketing automation software in 2026?
ActiveCampaign, for most small and mid-size teams: a working visual automation builder and a built-in CRM at its cheapest entry tier. HubSpot Marketing Hub is the better pick once marketing, sales and service need one shared contact record. Prices were verified on vendor pricing pages in September 2026.
How much does marketing automation software cost?
Self-serve tools start free or from about $9 a month: Brevo and ActiveCampaign both have a published entry price under $50. Mid-market platforms like Customer.io price by profile count on a calculator rather than a flat rate. Enterprise B2B tools run far higher, as Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement's pricing table below shows, and Marketo Engage publishes no price at all.
Is there a free marketing automation tool?
Yes, several. HubSpot's free plan covers 2 users, Klaviyo and Omnisend both cap free use at 250 profiles, Brevo's free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts and sends up to about 9,000 emails a month, and Mailchimp's free plan covers up to 250 contacts. None of the free tiers include the automation depth of a paid plan.
ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot: which should I use?
ActiveCampaign if you want the deepest automation builder for the price, with a usable CRM included even on its cheapest tier. HubSpot if marketing, sales and service already run, or will run, on HubSpot's CRM, since Marketing Hub shares that record natively. HubSpot costs more once you pass its promotional Starter rate and add Professional's required onboarding fee.
What is the best marketing automation software for ecommerce?
Klaviyo for stores that want the deepest order and browsing data behind every automation, and Omnisend for stores on a tighter budget that still want email, SMS and push in one builder. Omnisend's Standard plan lists at $16 a month ($11.20 for the first 3 months on the current promo), undercutting Klaviyo's pricing at a comparable contact count.
What is the best marketing automation software for B2B enterprises?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement if the company already runs Salesforce CRM; it is the only enterprise B2B tool here with a published starting price, $1,250 a month for Growth+. Marketo Engage is the alternative for Adobe-standardized enterprises, but every tier is quote-only, so budgeting means a sales call first.
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.
- ActiveCampaign pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Klaviyo pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Brevo pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Mailchimp pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Keap pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Customer.io pricingchecked Sep 2026
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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