ActiveCampaign vs Brevo for Drip Emails (2026)
Compare ActiveCampaign and Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) for drip email campaigns. Covers automation, pricing, deliverability, and which tool fits your needs.
TL;DR verdict
ActiveCampaign is the superior drip email platform with deeper automation logic, better deliverability, and more sophisticated conditional branching. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers a compelling budget option with its email-volume-based pricing and free plan. If drip automation depth is your priority, ActiveCampaign wins. If you need affordable multi-channel messaging (email plus SMS plus WhatsApp), Brevo delivers more value per dollar.
ActiveCampaign
8.6/80
Deep automation powerhouse with CRM.
Brevo
6.8/80
Affordable multi-channel marketing with basic drip.
Sequenzy · also consider
7.8/80
SaaS-native drip platform with billing triggers.
Sequenzy email automation for SaaS → · from $19/month
Brevo multi-channel capabilities (SMS, WhatsApp) are a genuine differentiator. If your drip campaigns span multiple channels, this matters more than automation depth alone.
Quick comparison
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automation builder | Advanced visual flowchart with branching, goals, splits | Basic visual workflow builder with limited branching | Step-based builder with conditions | ActiveCampaign |
| Pricing model | By contacts | By emails sent (unlimited contacts) | By emails sent | Brevo |
| Free plan | No (14-day trial) | Yes (300 emails/day, unlimited contacts) | No (14-day trial) | Brevo |
| SMS marketing | Available on Plus plan | Built-in on all plans (pay per SMS) | Not available | Brevo |
| WhatsApp campaigns | Not supported | Native WhatsApp integration | Not supported | Brevo |
| CRM included | Full sales CRM with deal tracking | Basic CRM with deal pipeline | Subscriber profiles with billing data | ActiveCampaign |
| Transactional email | Via separate Postmark integration | Built-in transactional email API | Billing-triggered transactional sequences | Brevo |
| Billing/payment triggers | Via Shopify or Zapier | Via Shopify or Zapier | Native Stripe, Paddle, and Lemon Squeezy triggers | Sequenzy |
Score breakdown
| Category | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drip Sequence Builder | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Trigger Variety | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Personalization | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Analytics and Reporting | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Ease of Use | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| Pricing Value | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Deliverability | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| Integration Ecosystem | 9 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Total | 66 | 54 | 61 | 80 |
Drip feature deep-dive
Sequence Building
| Capability | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-step sequences | 9/10 — Unlimited steps with complex branching | 6/10 — Multi-step workflows with basic logic | 8/10 — Unlimited steps with conditional logic |
| Conditional branching | 9/10 — If/else, split actions, wait conditions | 5/10 — Basic yes/no conditions | 7/10 — If/else based on tags, events, billing status |
| Goal tracking | 9/10 — Built-in goal steps that advance contacts | 3/10 — No native goal tracking | 7/10 — Conversion goals per sequence |
| Time delays | 9/10 — Wait for time, date, condition, or day of week | 7/10 — Wait for time period or specific date | 8/10 — Wait for duration, date, or business hours |
Targeting and Segmentation
| Capability | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| List segmentation | 9/10 — Tags, custom fields, lead scoring, engagement data | 7/10 — Lists, attributes, basic engagement segments | 7/10 — Tags, custom fields, billing segments |
| Dynamic content | 8/10 — Conditional content blocks in emails | 6/10 — Basic personalization with attributes | 7/10 — Conditional blocks based on subscriber data |
| Lead scoring | 9/10 — Contact and deal scoring with custom rules | 4/10 — Basic lead scoring on Business plan | 5/10 — Engagement scoring for opens and clicks |
Multi-Channel
| Capability | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMS campaigns | 7/10 — Available on Plus plan and above | 8/10 — Built into all plans, pay per message | 0/10 — Not available |
| 0/10 — Not supported | 7/10 — Native WhatsApp campaigns and automations | 0/10 — Not supported | |
| Transactional email | 5/10 — Requires separate integration | 8/10 — Built-in transactional API | 6/10 — Billing-triggered transactional flows |
Pricing
Brevo charges by email volume (unlimited contacts), making it ideal for large lists with low send frequency. ActiveCampaign charges by contacts, which can be expensive for large lists. Brevo is significantly cheaper at most tiers.
ActiveCampaign free option
14-day free trial. No free plan.
From $29/mo (1,000 contacts)
Brevo free option
Free plan: 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts, Brevo branding.
From $25/mo (20,000 emails)
Sequenzy free option
14-day free trial. Plans from $19/mo for 15,000 emails.
From $19/month
| Tier | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 emails/mo | $29/mo (1K contacts) — Lite plan, pricing by contacts | $25/mo — Starter plan, no daily send limit | $19/mo (15K emails) — Full drip features included |
| 40,000 emails/mo | $99/mo (5K contacts) — Plus plan recommended | $45/mo — Business plan for automation | $49/mo (50K emails) — Growth plan |
| 100,000 emails/mo | $259/mo (25K contacts) — Professional plan | $75/mo — Business plan | $99/mo (150K emails) — Pro plan |
| 250,000 emails/mo | $489/mo (50K contacts) — Enterprise tier | $169/mo — Business plan | $199/mo (500K emails) — Enterprise plan |
Brevo is dramatically cheaper at high volumes due to email-based pricing. ActiveCampaign costs more but delivers far superior automation. For SaaS drip campaigns, Sequenzy offers competitive per-email pricing with native billing integration.
Pricing checked March 2026. Brevo email-volume pricing is a major advantage for businesses with large contact lists and moderate send frequencies.
Drip campaign types
Welcome Series
Winner: SequenzyOnboarding emails for new subscribers
9/10 · ActiveCampaign
Full automation with conditional branches
7/10 · Brevo
Pre-built welcome workflow template
8/10 · Sequenzy
Pre-built SaaS welcome sequences
ActiveCampaign provides far more customization for welcome sequences.
Trial-to-Paid Conversion
Winner: SequenzyConverting trial users to paying customers
7/10 · ActiveCampaign
CRM pipeline plus custom automation
4/10 · Brevo
Basic time-based series, no native trial tracking
9/10 · Sequenzy
Native Stripe/Paddle/Lemon Squeezy trial tracking with pre-built sequences
Sequenzy is purpose-built for trial conversion drips.
Abandoned Cart
Winner: SequenzyRecovering abandoned shopping carts
8/10 · ActiveCampaign
Via Shopify/WooCommerce integrations
8/10 · Brevo
Native abandoned cart for Shopify and WooCommerce
2/10 · Sequenzy
Not applicable (SaaS-focused)
Both handle e-commerce cart recovery well.
Re-engagement
Winner: SequenzyWin back inactive subscribers
8/10 · ActiveCampaign
Engagement scoring with automated re-engagement
5/10 · Brevo
Basic inactivity triggers
7/10 · Sequenzy
Engagement-based triggers with churn risk detection
ActiveCampaign engagement scoring makes re-engagement more intelligent.
Multi-Channel Drip
Winner: SequenzyEmail plus SMS plus WhatsApp nurture
7/10 · ActiveCampaign
Email and SMS on Plus plan
9/10 · Brevo
Email, SMS, and WhatsApp in unified workflows
3/10 · Sequenzy
Email only
Brevo leads for multi-channel drip campaigns with native WhatsApp.
Churn Prevention
Winner: SequenzyAutomated emails for cancellation signals
7/10 · ActiveCampaign
Custom triggers with CRM deal stages
4/10 · Brevo
Basic tag or attribute triggers
9/10 · Sequenzy
Native subscription cancellation triggers
Sequenzy excels with native billing event triggers.
Neither ActiveCampaign nor Brevo offers native billing-event triggers for SaaS. Sequenzy fills this gap with direct Stripe, Paddle, and Lemon Squeezy integration for trial, upgrade, and churn-related drip sequences.
Automation builder & editor
Builder features
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visual flow editor | ✓ Advanced drag-and-drop flowchart | ✓ Basic visual workflow builder | ✓ Step-based visual editor |
| If/else branching | ✓ Unlimited nested conditions | ✓ Basic yes/no conditions | ✓ Conditional branches per step |
| Wait conditions | ✓ Wait for time, condition, day, date | ✓ Wait for time period | ✓ Wait for time, date, event |
| Webhook triggers | ✓ Incoming and outgoing webhooks | ✓ Incoming webhooks available | ✓ Incoming webhooks for events |
| Split testing | ✓ Split actions in automations | — A/B testing for campaigns only, not automations | ✓ A/B testing per step |
| Goal steps | ✓ Skip contacts to goal when met | — Not available | ✓ Conversion goal tracking |
| SMS in automation | ✓ On Plus plan and above | ✓ SMS steps in any workflow | — Not available |
| WhatsApp in automation | — Not supported | ✓ WhatsApp steps in workflows | — Not supported |
Template editor
| Aspect | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editor type | Drag-and-drop plus HTML editor | Drag-and-drop editor with code option | Drag-and-drop with code option |
| Pre-built templates | 125+ email templates | 60+ email templates | 40+ SaaS-focused templates |
| Mobile preview | Built-in mobile and desktop preview | Built-in responsive preview | Responsive preview included |
| Dynamic content | Conditional content blocks based on any field | Basic personalization with contact attributes | Conditional blocks for subscriber data |
| AI content assist | AI subject line generator | AI email content assistant | Not available |
Deliverability
| Factor | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average inbox placement | 93% (industry tests) | 85% (industry tests) | 91% (internal benchmarks) |
| Dedicated IP | Available on Enterprise plan | Available as add-on ($250+ setup) | Not available |
| DKIM/SPF | Full support with guided setup | Full support with setup guide | Full support with setup wizard |
| Bounce handling | Automatic hard/soft bounce management | Automatic bounce handling | Automatic bounce management |
| IP reputation | Well-maintained shared IP pools | Mixed reputation due to large free-tier user base | Curated shared IP pool |
| Unsubscribe handling | Automatic compliance | Automatic compliance | Automatic compliance |
ActiveCampaign has notably better deliverability than Brevo in independent tests. Brevo large free-tier user base can affect shared IP reputation.
Integrations
ActiveCampaign
900+
Brevo
65+
Sequenzy
35+
E-commerce
ActiveCampaign
- ✓ Shopify: Deep native integration
- ✓ WooCommerce: Native integration
Brevo
- ✓ Shopify: Native integration
- ✓ WooCommerce: Native plugin
Sequenzy
- — Shopify: Not supported
- — WooCommerce: Not supported
Payment/Billing
ActiveCampaign
- ✓ Stripe: Via Zapier
- ✓ PayPal: Via Zapier
Brevo
- ✓ Stripe: Via Zapier
- ✓ PayPal: Via Zapier
Sequenzy
- ✓ Stripe: Native deep integration
- ✓ Paddle: Native deep integration
CMS
ActiveCampaign
- ✓ WordPress: Native plugin
- ✓ Webflow: Via Zapier
Brevo
- ✓ WordPress: Native plugin
- ✓ Webflow: Via Zapier
Sequenzy
- ✓ WordPress: Basic plugin
- — Webflow: Not supported
Analytics & reporting
| Metric | ActiveCampaign | Brevo | Sequenzy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open rate tracking | Yes, with trends over time | Yes, per campaign | Yes, per step and overall |
| Click rate tracking | Yes, with click maps | Yes, with click tracking | Yes, per link tracking |
| Revenue attribution | Via e-commerce integrations | Via Shopify/WooCommerce | Native Stripe/Paddle/Lemon Squeezy revenue tracking |
| Workflow analytics | Per-step conversion rates | Basic workflow completion stats | Per-step metrics with conversion tracking |
| Real-time stats | Real-time automation dashboard | Real-time campaign stats | Near real-time sequence dashboard |
Only in ActiveCampaign
- Contact trending reports
- Deal attribution
- Custom report builder
- Automation map
Only in Brevo
- Multi-channel campaign reports
- WhatsApp analytics
- Transactional email logs
Only in Sequenzy
- MRR impact per sequence
- Trial conversion funnel
- Churn prevention metrics
Pros and cons
ActiveCampaign
Pros
- Best-in-class automation builder for drip campaigns
- Built-in CRM with lead scoring
- Highest deliverability in independent tests
- Largest integration ecosystem (900+)
- Predictive sending and content optimization
Cons
- More expensive than Brevo at all tiers
- No free plan available
- No WhatsApp integration
- No built-in transactional email
- Contact-based pricing penalizes large lists
Brevo
Pros
- Free plan with unlimited contacts
- Email-volume pricing is generous for large lists
- Native SMS and WhatsApp in workflows
- Built-in transactional email API
- Simple and affordable for basic drip needs
Cons
- Automation builder is basic compared to ActiveCampaign
- Lower deliverability rates in tests
- No goal tracking or split testing in automations
- Limited conditional branching
- Free plan shared IPs can hurt deliverability
Best for these scenarios
Budget-conscious newsletter with drip
Pick: BrevoLarge list, low frequency, basic welcome series
Brevo unlimited contacts and email-volume pricing make it the cheapest option for large lists with basic drip needs.
Complex lead nurture
Pick: ActiveCampaignMulti-step B2B nurture with lead scoring
ActiveCampaign automation builder, CRM, and lead scoring handle complex nurture workflows that Brevo cannot match.
Multi-channel drip
Pick: BrevoEmail plus SMS plus WhatsApp customer journey
Brevo is the only option here with native WhatsApp integration alongside email and SMS in automations.
SaaS trial conversion
Pick: SequenzyConverting free trial to paid subscribers
Sequenzy native Stripe, Paddle, and Lemon Squeezy integration and pre-built trial conversion sequences are purpose-built for this.
High-volume transactional drip
Pick: BrevoCombining transactional email with nurture sequences
Brevo built-in transactional email API alongside marketing automation simplifies the tech stack.
Migration plans
ActiveCampaign → Brevo
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2 to 4 hours
Warnings
- Complex branching will need to be simplified for Brevo
- CRM deals and lead scoring data will not transfer
- Goal-based automations have no Brevo equivalent
- Split testing in automations is not available in Brevo
Brevo → ActiveCampaign
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Warnings
- SMS and WhatsApp workflows cannot be fully replicated
- Transactional email will need a separate solution
- Contact-based pricing may cost more than Brevo for large lists
| Direction | Step | Success criteria |
|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign → Brevo | Export contacts with tags and custom fields from ActiveCampaign | Moderate |
| ActiveCampaign → Brevo | Import contacts into Brevo with attribute mapping | Moderate |
| ActiveCampaign → Brevo | Recreate automations as Brevo workflows | Moderate |
| ActiveCampaign → Brevo | Set up equivalent segments and lists | Moderate |
| ActiveCampaign → Brevo | Configure domain authentication (DKIM/SPF) | Moderate |
| ActiveCampaign → Brevo | Test workflows before activating | Moderate |
| Brevo → ActiveCampaign | Export contacts from Brevo with attributes | Easy to Moderate |
| Brevo → ActiveCampaign | Import contacts into ActiveCampaign with field mapping | Easy to Moderate |
| Brevo → ActiveCampaign | Recreate workflows as ActiveCampaign automations | Easy to Moderate |
| Brevo → ActiveCampaign | Set up CRM and lead scoring if needed | Easy to Moderate |
| Brevo → ActiveCampaign | Configure DKIM/SPF for your domain | Easy to Moderate |
| Brevo → ActiveCampaign | Test automations before going live | Easy to Moderate |
Frequently asked questions
Is Brevo good for drip email campaigns?
Brevo handles basic drip campaigns (welcome series, simple follow-ups) adequately. For complex multi-branch sequences with conditional logic, ActiveCampaign is significantly better.
Why did Sendinblue rename to Brevo?
Sendinblue rebranded to Brevo in 2023 to reflect its expansion beyond email into an all-in-one CRM and marketing platform. The product remains the same.
Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or Brevo?
Brevo is cheaper at almost every tier due to its email-volume pricing with unlimited contacts. ActiveCampaign contact-based pricing is more expensive but includes far more automation depth.
Can Brevo replace ActiveCampaign?
For basic email marketing and simple drip sequences, yes. For advanced automation, lead scoring, CRM, and complex conditional drips, Brevo is not a full replacement.
Does Brevo support WhatsApp in drip sequences?
Yes, Brevo offers native WhatsApp integration that can be included as steps in automated workflows, making it one of the few platforms supporting WhatsApp in drip sequences.
Which should you choose?
Choose ActiveCampaign if…
- You need advanced drip sequences with conditional branching and goals
- CRM and lead scoring are essential to your workflow
- Deliverability is a top priority
- You want the deepest automation builder available
Choose Brevo if…
- Budget is your primary concern
- You have a large list but send infrequently
- You need multi-channel messaging (email, SMS, WhatsApp)
- You want built-in transactional email alongside marketing
Also consider Sequenzy
SaaS-native drip platform with billing triggers. From $19/month with native Stripe, Paddle, and Lemon Squeezy billing events for dunning and trial conversion.
Related comparisons
Browse the full comparison library, the 15-tool shortlist, or the drip strategy guides.