The ActiveCampaign alternative with the CRM included, not added on.
If email automation is most of what you do, stay on ActiveCampaign; if you now need pipelines, calling, WhatsApp and a website, UnifyLoop gives you all of them for one flat price that doesn’t grow with your contact list. ActiveCampaign sells deal pipelines as a paid add-on and has no built-in calling, website builder, blog or booking pages. UnifyLoop has those, but no SMS, mobile app or public API yet.
Reviewed October 20, 2026 against ActiveCampaign’s public docs and pricing
When ActiveCampaign is the right call
ActiveCampaign is the better pick when email automation is the heart of your business:
- Deep, mature email automation with 950+ ready-made recipes and a long deliverability track record
- SMS as an add-on on Plus and up, with a two-way inbox and automated texts
- iOS and Android apps on every plan, plus an API and webhooks on every plan
- 1,000+ integrations, including Shopify, WooCommerce, Calendly and Aircall
When UnifyLoop is the right call
UnifyLoop is the better pick when you’ve outgrown email and need to sell:
- Kanban pipelines on every plan, Free included, with no CRM add-on to buy
- Built-in calling: browser softphone, power dialer, recording and transcripts
- An AI website builder, blog, booking pages and funnels with Stripe checkout
- One flat fee from $49 a month with unlimited users, priced by emails sent, not contacts stored
The shapes, not the screenshots.
Feature grids go stale the day they ship. These are the structural differences: the things a release cycle doesn’t change.
If something here has gone stale, tell us and we’ll correct it.
Sources, checked October 20, 2026. ActiveCampaign prices are US list prices.
Where ActiveCampaign is genuinely better
ActiveCampaign has spent years on email automation, and it shows: multi-step workflows with several triggers, 950+ recipes, predictive sending on Pro, and a strong deliverability reputation. It also has things UnifyLoop doesn’t have yet: SMS, iOS and Android apps, a public API with webhooks, and 1,000+ integrations. UnifyLoop campaigns also have no email A/B tests, so every recipient gets the same version. If your growth runs almost entirely through email journeys and you rely on any of these, ActiveCampaign is the safer choice.
The real difference: what a sales team costs on each
ActiveCampaign prices by how many contacts you store, and the CRM is extra. On Plus at 1,000 contacts you pay $49 a month (billed annually) plus $39 a month for the Pipelines add-on: $88 a month for one user, with no calling, website or booking pages. At 5,000 contacts Plus alone is $145 a month annually ($179 monthly), before the add-on. UnifyLoop Starter is $49 a month for any number of users, with pipelines, 500 calling minutes, 3 dialer seats and 50,000 emails a month, and the price doesn’t change as your list grows.
- ActiveCampaign figures are list prices from its pricing page on 2026-10-20
- UnifyLoop bills monthly only, with no contract and no annual plan yet
- Phone numbers on UnifyLoop are $1.15/month each at cost, or bring your own Twilio
What switching from ActiveCampaign involves
Export your contacts (and deals, if you have the pipelines add-on) to CSV and import them with column mapping and a duplicates check. Tags come across as fields, which you can then filter on in saved views and segments. Automations don’t transfer from any tool, so you rebuild them: describe each one in plain English, review it, and run a test first, or start from one of 30+ ready-made follow-ups. Campaigns send from your own verified domain with DKIM, SPF and DMARC set up for you, so plan a gentle warm-up as you would anywhere.
Moving from ActiveCampaign, step by step.
Records come across by CSV with column mapping. Automations are rebuilt rather than translated, which makes the move a good moment to keep only the ones that earn their place.
- 01
Export from ActiveCampaign
Export your records from ActiveCampaign to CSV, one file per kind of record.
- 02
Set up your objects
Contacts, companies, and leads are already there. Add any custom objects and fields first, so every column has somewhere to land.
- 03
Import and merge
Import each file with column mapping, then clear likely matches on the duplicates screen before your team starts work.
- 04
Rebuild what matters
Automations don’t transfer mechanically. Rebuild the few you rely on, or describe them in words and review the workflow AI drafts.
Try it on the Free plan first: 1,000 emails a month from your own domain, no card. The ActiveCampaign specifics are in the FAQ.
Is UnifyLoop cheaper than ActiveCampaign?
Yes for most teams that need a CRM, because UnifyLoop includes pipelines and doesn’t charge by contact count. As of 2026-10-20, ActiveCampaign Plus at 1,000 contacts is $49 a month billed annually, plus $39 a month for pipelines, so $88 a month for one user. UnifyLoop Starter is $49 a month for unlimited users with pipelines, calling and 50,000 emails a month included. If you only need simple email for a small list, ActiveCampaign Starter at $15 a month (annual) is cheaper.
What does ActiveCampaign have that UnifyLoop doesn’t?
ActiveCampaign has SMS, iOS and Android apps, a public API with webhooks, Gmail and Outlook integrations, and 1,000+ integrations, none of which UnifyLoop offers today. It also has a longer track record in email automation, with predictive sending and split automations on Pro. UnifyLoop campaigns don’t support email A/B tests, and there’s no two-factor sign-in, SSO or SOC 2 report yet.
Can I move my data from ActiveCampaign to UnifyLoop?
Yes: export your contacts and deals as CSV files and import them into UnifyLoop with column mapping and a duplicates screen. Tags can come in as fields you filter on. Automations and email templates have to be rebuilt, which you can do by describing each automation in plain English and testing it before it runs.
Is there an ActiveCampaign alternative with a CRM included?
Yes, UnifyLoop includes the CRM on every plan, Free included: contacts, companies, leads, custom objects and Kanban pipelines on any object. On ActiveCampaign, deals and pipelines are a paid add-on that isn’t available on Starter at all. Your email campaigns, WhatsApp chats and calls all sit on the same contact record.
Can UnifyLoop send WhatsApp messages like ActiveCampaign?
Yes, UnifyLoop runs WhatsApp through the official Cloud API with your own Meta app, in a shared inbox on the contact record, and you pay Meta directly with no markup. One caveat applies to every provider, ActiveCampaign included: since April 2025 Meta has paused WhatsApp marketing template messages to US (+1) numbers. Conversations, replies and utility messages to US contacts work normally.
Will my email deliverability suffer if I leave ActiveCampaign?
Deliverability depends mostly on your domain and your sending habits, and nobody can honestly promise inbox placement. UnifyLoop sends from your own verified domain with DKIM, SPF and DMARC set up for you, and handles suppression and unsubscribes automatically. Warm up a new sending setup gradually, as you would on any platform.
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Evaluate UnifyLoop against ActiveCampaign on your own data. Every workspace starts with contacts, leads, and working pipelines, so you’re testing a real system from the first minute. No card, no call.
Free plan · No credit card · Every price on the site