ActiveCampaign keeps raising prices.
We haven't.
ActiveCampaign users report bills doubling overnight — $1,400/mo to $2,800/mo, $588/yr to $1,800/yr — with 30 days notice and no grandfathering. As of November 2025, they now charge for unsubscribed and bounced contacts too. Simplero starts at $59/month with 0% transaction fees, predictable plan tiers, and email + courses + community + payments + CRM all in one.
The price-hike math.
And what it actually buys you.
At 5,000 contacts, on each platform's growth plan:
At 25,000 contacts, on each platform's pro plan:
Both platforms scale with contacts. The honest difference: Simplero's plan tiers are flat and predictable, your bill doesn't creep up monthly, you don't pay for unsubscribed contacts (as ActiveCampaign now does), and one Simplero plan replaces 4–5 separate tools.
ActiveCampaign is email + CRM.
Your business is more than that.
No course platform.
No way to host courses, drip lessons, gate content, or issue certificates. You need Teachable, Kajabi, or Thinkific on top — $39–$199/mo extra. Simplero hosts courses natively on every plan.
No community. No payments.
No native community forums. No checkout. No order forms. No subscription billing. You need Circle ($89+/mo), Stripe Checkout, and probably ThriveCart to actually sell something. Simplero does all of it.
No video hosting. CRM bolted on.
No video hosting — Vimeo or Wistia required. Sales CRM is a separate add-on at $49–$85/mo. Transactional email is $30 per 25K-email block. Simplero ships all of it without surcharges.
ActiveCampaign + Teachable + Circle + Vimeo + ThriveCart + Zapier = $300–$700/mo.
Simplero replaces all of them. $59/month.
In their own words.
“Every year the prices go up, and for what? The platform isn't offering anything that justifies these constant hikes anymore. We're in 2025 and our bill keeps climbing while features stay flat.”
“As of November 2025, ActiveCampaign now charges for ALL contacts including unsubscribed, bounced, and unconfirmed — same controversial practice as Mailchimp.”
“Real examples reported by users: $588/yr to $1,800/yr; $1,400/mo to $2,800/mo; $2,000/yr to $7,800/yr. Bills doubling, tripling, quadrupling on existing customers.”
“You sign up expecting to pay $15/mo billed annually. Then you add 5,000 contacts and discover the Starter plan costs $99/mo month-to-month — with a 5-actions-per-automation limit that makes the tool nearly useless.”
“Trustpilot rating of 2.8/5 from 1,358 reviews — billing complaints, cancellation horror stories, and users charged after cancelling.”
“The price climbs fast: at 5,000 contacts, you're already at $205/month. Larger lists can end up paying $549+/month, even before extras like SMS or sales pipeline tools — those are still add-ons.”
Side by side.
No spin.
| ActiveCampaign | Simplero | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans (1,000 contacts, annual) | Starter $15/mo · Plus $49/mo · Pro $79/mo · Enterprise $145/mo+ | Starter $59/mo · Scale $149/mo · Skyrocket $249/mo (flat — not per contact) |
| Pricing model | Scales with contact count. 5K contacts: ~$205/mo Plus. 25K: ~$549/mo Pro. | Flat per plan. Your list size doesn't change your bill. |
| Charges for unsubscribed/bounced contacts | Yes — changed November 2025 | No |
| Transaction fees | N/A — doesn't process payments | 0% on every plan, every processor, every sale |
| Email marketing | ✓ Strong (their core) | ✓ Full email + automations + segmentation |
| Marketing automation | ✓ Best-in-class — but Starter capped at 5 actions per automation | ✓ Native automations, no per-plan caps |
| CRM | ✓ Yes — Sales CRM is a paid add-on ($49–$85/mo extra) | ✓ Full native CRM included on every plan |
| Course hosting | — No — needs Teachable, Kajabi, or Thinkific | ✓ Native course platform on every plan |
| Community / forums | — No | ✓ Community forums included on every plan |
| Native checkout / payments | — No — needs ThriveCart, Stripe Checkout, or similar | ✓ Native checkout, subscriptions, order forms, upsells |
| Video hosting | — No — needs Vimeo or Wistia | ✓ Native video hosting on every plan |
| Affiliate program | — No | ✓ Native affiliate management on Scale and above |
| Website / page builder | Landing pages only — limited templates | ✓ Full drag-and-drop page builder, multi-site, blogs |
| Add-on charges | SMS, transactional email ($30/25K), Sales Engagement ($85/mo), custom reports | None. What's listed is what you pay. |
| AI features | Generative AI on higher plans | AI transcripts & subtitles, AI-enhanced search, custom AI bots, Simplero.coach AI coaching |
| Tools you still need | Course platform, community, video host, payment processor, affiliate tool — $300–$700/mo on top | None. Everything is in the platform. |
| Support | Email-only on Starter. Trustpilot 2.8/5 from 1,358 reviews — billing complaints common. | Real humans answer fast. 232 of 289 testimonials mention support. |
| Pricing history | Annual price increases. Bills doubled overnight on existing customers. November 2025: started charging for unsubscribed/bounced contacts. | Haven't raised prices in years while dramatically improving the product. |
| Company | Founded 2003. Private equity-owned (Silversmith, Susquehanna). | Founded 2009. Bootstrapped. Profitable. Independent. |
ActiveCampaign's automation builder is genuinely strong. But it's a one-trick platform. By the time you've added the 4–5 tools you need around it — plus paid for contacts you don't even email anymore — you're paying multiples more than Simplero, for a stack that breaks at every integration point.
Why their bills keep climbing.
And ours stay predictable.
ActiveCampaign bills per contact across every plan, then layers price hikes on top — and as of November 2025, charges you for unsubscribed and bounced contacts too. Simplero has three plan tiers (500 / 1,000 / 5,000 contacts included), and your bill is flat until you cross to the next tier. We don't bill for unsubscribed, bounced, or unconfirmed contacts. We haven't raised prices in years.
ActiveCampaign is one tool in a stack. To run an actual online business, you bolt on a course platform, a community, a video host, a payment processor, an affiliate tool, and Zapier to glue them together. Five subscriptions, five logins, five integrations to break. Simplero is the whole stack — by design, since 2009.
ActiveCampaign is private equity-owned and answerable to investors who want growth at any cost. That's why the prices keep climbing. Simplero is bootstrapped, profitable, and independent. We're answerable to customers — not to a quarterly board call. Founder still answers customer emails.
Founded 2009 · Bootstrapped · Proud of it.
Simple, honest
pricing.
Starter
$59 /mo
billed annually · or $70/mo monthly
10 products, 10 courses, 2 sites, 500 contacts. Email, courses, payments, website, automations, CRM — all in one place from day one. 0% transaction fees.
Choose StarterScale ✦
$149 /mo
billed annually · or $179/mo monthly
Unlimited products, courses, and sites. 1,000 contacts. Affiliates, help desk, upsells, text messages, API. Where most growing businesses land. 0% transaction fees.
Choose ScaleSkyrocket
$249 /mo
billed annually · or $299/mo monthly
Everything in Scale plus 5,000 contacts, unlimited storage, AI transcripts, AI bots, split testing, sales pipelines. The full power of the platform. 0% transaction fees.
Choose SkyrocketNeed more than 5,000 contacts? Add them in blocks — $15/mo per 2,500 above 10K. All plans include email delivery, video hosting, and zero transaction fees. Pay annually, save 17%.
Predictable bills.
Everything in one place.
14 days. Every feature unlocked. We'll help you migrate from ActiveCampaign, answer questions in plain English, and won't charge you a dime if it's not a fit. Three flat plan tiers. No surprise hikes. No charges for unsubscribed or bounced contacts. No add-on surcharges.
Founded 2009 · Bootstrapped · Proud of it.
Make it simplero™
