ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter vs Sprout Social — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter starts at $19/mo. Sprout Social starts at $249/mo. ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter is $230/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Sprout Social.
See price history: ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter · Sprout Social
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter (Per Usage) — ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter bills on usage — contacts on top of a paid plan starting at $19/mo. The plan includes an allowance; anything beyond it is metered.
- Sprout Social (Unknown model) — Sprout Social bills on a fixed plan from $249/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter is ActiveCampaign's entry marketing automation product — email marketing, drip campaigns, segmentation, and basic automation at 1,000 contacts baseline for $19/mo monthly ($15/mo annual). Price scales with contact list size: 10K contacts ≈ $149/mo Plus. ActiveCampaign sells 2 additional products with independent pricing not tracked here: ActiveCampaign Sales (standalone CRM), ActiveCampaign Bundle (Marketing + Sales combined at a discount, Bundle Plus at $93/mo is the sweet spot for many customers). All three products scale with contact count. Popular with SMBs and solopreneurs graduating from Mailchimp.
Social media management platform positioned as the modern, marketer-friendly alternative to Hootsuite — known for its polished UI + better analytics + Salesforce/Zendesk-tier support integrations. Distinctive for its Smart Inbox (unified message queue) and best-in-class reporting used by 34,000+ brands. Priced $199-$499/user/mo across Standard/Professional/Advanced tiers plus custom Enterprise. Public since 2019 (NASDAQ: SPT), $1.5B market cap. Acquired Tagger (influencer marketing) in 2023 and Repustate (AI/sentiment analysis) in 2022.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter monthly | ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter annual | Sprout Social monthly | Sprout Social annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid | Starter / Standard | $19 | $15 | $249 | $199 |
| Mid tier | Plus / Professional | $59 | $49 | $399 | $299 |
| Pro / power | Pro / Advanced | $99 | $79 | $599 | $499 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | $179 | $145 | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter is worth it if… SMBs (500-5,000 contacts) that need email + basic automation + CRM in one tool without HubSpot's price tag. Starter covers most basic email flows; Plus adds sales automation and SMS.
Sprout Social is worth it if… marketing teams (5-100 people) that treat social as a revenue channel and want modern UI + deep analytics + CRM integrations — particularly if Hootsuite feels dated. Standard covers small teams (5 profiles); Professional adds unlimited profiles + competitive reports; Advanced adds chatbots + sentiment analysis; Enterprise adds SSO and advanced permissions.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter over Sprout Social if…
Choose ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, from $19/mo).
- You match the profile ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter is built for: SMBs (500-5,000 contacts) that need email + basic automation + CRM in one tool without HubSpot's price tag.
- You need a general-purpose marketing & email option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Sprout Social if…
- You're comfortable with Sprout Social's from $249/mo entry point.
- You match the profile Sprout Social is built for: marketing teams (5-100 people) that treat social as a revenue channel and want modern UI + deep analytics + CRM integrations — particularly if Hootsuite feels dated.
- You need a general-purpose marketing & email option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter | Sprout Social | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Entry price | $19/mo | $249/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | — |
| Verification | Checked October 3, 2026 | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Tracked daily.
Frequently asked questions
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Common questions about ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter and Sprout Social
- How much does ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter cost in 2026?
- Does ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter have a free plan?
- How often does ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter change prices?
- What are the best ActiveCampaign Marketing Starter alternatives in 2026?
- How much does Sprout Social cost in 2026?
- Does Sprout Social have a free plan?
- How often does Sprout Social change prices?
- What are the best Sprout Social alternatives in 2026?