ActiveCampaign vs Listmonk
ActiveCampaign is a all-in-one marketing platform while Listmonk is a newsletter platform. ActiveCampaign has been around since 2003, giving it a 15-year head start over Listmonk (founded 2018). ActiveCampaign starts at $15/mo billed annually, while Listmonk is free. Their pricing is not measured the same way, so we don't rank them on price. Listmonk offers a free plan (Unlimited (self-hosted, open source)), while ActiveCampaign does not. ActiveCampaign has the edge with marketing automation, A/B testing, landing pages.
Quick Verdict
ActiveCampaign wins on deliverability, rating, integrations.
Listmonk wins on free tier.
Best for most users: ActiveCampaign (ecommerce).
ActiveCampaign
Marketing automation that drives growth
ActiveCampaign is widely regarded as having the best marketing automation capabilities in the email marketing space. It combines email marketing with a built-in CRM, making it ideal for businesses that need sophisticated automation workflows and sales pipeline management.
Listmonk
Self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager
Listmonk is a free, open-source, self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager written in Go. It handles millions of emails with minimal resources and is best for developers and technical users who want full control over their email infrastructure.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | Listmonk |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.5/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Starting Price | $15/mo billed annually | Free |
| Free Plan | No free plan | Unlimited (self-hosted, open source) |
| Founded | 2003 | 2018 |
| Email Templates | 250 | 5 |
| Integrations | 900 | 10 |
| Deliverability Rate | 97.5% | 97% |
| Marketing Automation | Yes | No |
| A/B Testing | Yes | No |
| Landing Pages | Yes | No |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | Yes |
| SMS Marketing | Yes | No |
| Ecommerce Features | Yes | No |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | Yes | Yes |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | Yes | No |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | Yes |
ActiveCampaign: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Industry-leading automation builder
- + Built-in CRM for sales teams
- + 900+ integrations (largest ecosystem)
- + Excellent deliverability
- + Powerful segmentation and contact scoring
Cons
- − No free plan available
- − Steep learning curve for beginners
- − Gets expensive with higher-tier features
- − Reporting could be more intuitive
- − Landing page builder is basic compared to dedicated tools
Listmonk: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Completely free and open source with no usage limits
- + Handles 7+ million emails with minimal CPU and 57 MB RAM
- + Single binary deployment with Docker support
- + SQL-based subscriber segmentation for advanced querying
- + Zero recurring costs — self-hosted with no per-subscriber fees
Cons
- − Requires technical knowledge to set up and maintain
- − No built-in SMTP, must configure an external provider like Amazon SES
- − Lacks automation workflows, A/B testing, and landing pages
- − Community support only via GitHub
- − No managed hosting option — you handle server maintenance yourself
The Verdict
ActiveCampaign edges ahead with a 4.5/5 rating compared to Listmonk's 4.1/5. The gap comes mainly from ease of use (4.5 vs 3.5) and support (4.7 vs 3.7). On deliverability, ActiveCampaign reports 97.5% compared to 97% for Listmonk — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | ActiveCampaign | Listmonk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $15/mo billed annually | Free |
| Deliverability | 25% | 97.5% Winner | 97% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.5/5 Winner | 4.1/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 900 Winner | 10 |
| Free Tier | 10% | No | Yes Winner |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose ActiveCampaign if…
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You need marketing automation
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You need built-in landing pages
Choose Listmonk if…
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You're a developers
- + You're a self hosters