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Kit vs ActiveCampaign pricing
Kit is aimed at creators and ActiveCampaign at automation-heavy marketers. This page compares their prices and free plans using StackScope's email marketing report, last verified October 2026.
Kit is cheaper at 10,000 contacts: Creator is about $117 per month, a rounded annual-effective figure, against $375 per month for ActiveCampaign Pro, also annual-equivalent. At smaller sizes the contact counts differ, with Kit Creator at $49 for 3,000 subscribers and ActiveCampaign Starter at $39 for 2,500 contacts, so they are not like-for-like. Kit has an ongoing free plan for 10,000 subscribers, while ActiveCampaign has only a 14-day trial capped at 100 contacts. The trade-off is automation: Kit's free plan has only 1 basic automation and 1 sequence, while ActiveCampaign's depth is its most praised feature, though Starter caps actions at 5 per automation and add-ons can add 30% or more.
| Tool | Free plan | Entry | Mid | Highest | Aggregated sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Most generous free plan | 10,000 subscribersUnlimited broadcasts, forms, landing pages, digital products; 1 basic automation, 1 email sequence — genuinely ongoing, not a trial | $33/moCreator · 1,000 subscribers · $39/mo billed monthly | $49/moCreator · 3,000 subscribers · $59/mo billed monthly | ~$117/moCreator · 10,000 subscribers · $139/mo billed monthly — annual-effective figure rounded from Kit's 2-months-free annual schedule; confirm the exact yearly total in Kit's own calculator | Catch: the free plan is huge on subscribers but deliberately withholds automation. Praised for simplicity and creator-focused tools — built-in digital product sales and a cross-promotion network make it easy to actually monetize a list. Kit's published pricing has moved up since our last check — Creator is now $59/mo at 3,000 subscribers and $139/mo at 10,000 on monthly billing. Creator Pro starts at $79/mo (1,000 subscribers; annual pricing not independently verified) and adds subscriber scoring and a referral system, most useful past ~5,000 subscribers. Billing is subscriber-based — Kit doesn't impose a comparable monthly send cap the way most competitors do. |
| ActiveCampaign Best value (paid) | No free plan14-day trial only, capped at 100 contacts | $39/moStarter · 2,500 contacts · annual-equivalent rate from vendor's contact-based calculator — a consistent public month-to-month figure isn't posted at every contact level | $95/moPlus · 2,500 contacts · annual-equivalent rate, same caveat | $375/moPro · 10,000 contacts · annual-equivalent rate, same caveat | Catch: public pricing is now built around annual billing and a contact-count selector, not a flat monthly rate. Automation depth is consistently the most praised feature — branching, multi-step workflows most competitors reserve for pricier tiers. Starter's automation actions are capped at 5 per automation, pushing serious users to Plus quickly. Add-ons (CRM pipelines, SMS, custom reporting) sit outside the sticker price and can add 30%+ to the real bill. |
Figures are aggregated from vendor pricing pages and independent third-party pricing research as of October 2026 and reflect published list prices. This page shows two of the four tools in the full Email Marketing Software report, which carries the complete footnotes and every source conflict we flagged. Confirm current pricing directly with each vendor before purchasing. This is not a recommendation to buy any specific product.
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FAQ
Common questions
Is Kit cheaper than ActiveCampaign?
At 10,000 contacts, yes: about $117 per month versus $375 for ActiveCampaign Pro. At smaller sizes the contact counts differ ($49 at 3,000 for Kit, $39 at 2,500 for ActiveCampaign Starter).
Do Kit and ActiveCampaign have free plans?
Kit does: up to 10,000 subscribers. ActiveCampaign has only a 14-day trial capped at 100 contacts.
Which has better automation?
ActiveCampaign's automation depth is its most praised feature. Kit's free plan has only 1 basic automation and 1 email sequence.
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See all four tools in the full Email Marketing Software report →
Vendor pricing: Kit pricing · ActiveCampaign pricing