Brevo vs ActiveCampaign
Last updated October 2026
Looking for a European alternative to ActiveCampaign? Here's how Brevo compares, on EU hosting, GDPR and what it does.
Our pick for a European buyer: Brevo. We weight data residency, GDPR and EU jurisdiction above everything else — that is the constraint this directory exists to solve.
What it is
French all-in-one marketing platform with EU-hosted data and ISO 27001 certification
Marketing automation, email marketing, and CRM platform for businesses.
Headquarters
🇫🇷 FR
🇺🇸 US · 2003
EU data residency
Yes, for all customersEU (France)
Available on some plansEU data residency is available on Enterprise plans or by request.
DSGVO / GDPR
Yes
Yes
Certifications
ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II
Price from
$10.80/mo
$29/mo
Free plan
Yes
No
Open Source
No
No
Ratings
Integrations
WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, PrestaShop +29
Shopify, Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, Make (Integromat) +5
Where each one wins
Brevo
Strengths
- +Intuitive interface and ease of use, with seamless contact importing and drag-and-drop automations
- +Pricing model based on email volume rather than contact count, with a generous free tier (300 emails/day)
- +All-in-one platform combining email marketing, CRM, and multi-channel inbox (WhatsApp, email, social DMs)
- +Strong deliverability and reliability compared to competitors like Mailchimp
- +Built-in technical features like automatic unsubscribe headers, SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication, and bounce processing
Limitations
- −Customer support is slow, often provides canned responses, and struggles with complex technical issues
- −UI is buggy, with outdated documentation and limited template customization options
- −API and transactional email workflows can be frustrating to implement
- −Steep learning curve for advanced features like automations and contact attributes
ActiveCampaign
Strengths
- +Highly customizable automation workflows
- +Strong CRM integration with marketing tools
- +Excellent deliverability rates
- +Comprehensive reporting and analytics
Limitations
- −Steep learning curve for beginners
- −Higher cost for larger contact lists
- −Complex interface for non-technical users
- −Limited free plan features
Data residency & compliance
Brevo
ActiveCampaign
EU data residency
Yes, for all customersEU (France)
Available on some plansEU data residency is available on Enterprise plans or by request.
Transfer mechanism
Not required — data stays in the EU
Standard Contractual Clauses
Certifications
ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II
Pricing
Brevo
- Free Free per monthUp to 300 emails per day after account approval · Best for individuals and solopreneurs · No credit card required
- Starter $10.80 per month (monthly billing)From 5,000 emails per month · Email & SMS (SMS credit sold separately) · Drag & drop editor, templates, AI content generator
- Standard (Most Popular) $27.92 per month (monthly billing)Includes everything in Starter plus: · Marketing automation (unlimited workflows) · A/B testing and advanced email reporting (heatmaps, geography, device)
- Professional $58.50 per user / month (monthly billing)From 150,000 emails per month · Includes everything in Standard plus: · WhatsApp, popups, mobile & web push
- Enterprise On request Custom pricing for large-scale needs · Multi-account management and custom objects · Brevo Mobile Wallet and custom loyalty engine
Pricing varies based on email volume and add-ons (e.g., SMS credits, sales tools).
ActiveCampaign
- Lite $29 per monthUp to 500 contacts · Email marketing and automation · Basic CRM features
- Plus $49 per monthUp to 500 contacts · Advanced automation and CRM · Custom branding
- Professional $149 per monthUp to 500 contacts · Advanced reporting and analytics · Custom user permissions
- Enterprise On request per monthCustom contact limits · Dedicated account representative · EU data residency available
Pricing varies based on the number of contacts. Discounts available for annual billing.
Features
Brevo
- Marketing & Campaigns
- Email marketing with drag & drop editor, templates, and AI content generator, SMS and WhatsApp marketing campaigns, Custom embeddable forms for lead capture, Web and mobile push notifications
- Sales & CRM
- Customizable sales pipelines for deal tracking, Phone calls, contact info, and call recordings, Workflow automation for sales tasks, Shared inbox for team email, tasks, and notes
- Customer Conversations
- Real-time live chat for websites, Chatbot for automated replies, Universal inbox for email, WhatsApp, live chat, and social media, Visitor intelligence to trigger messages based on visitor data
- Data & Analytics
- Import from multiple sources (databases, APIs), Universal data model with standard business objects, Identity resolution for deduplication and single customer ID, No-code data cleaning with custom rules
- Transactional Messaging
- 99% email deliverability rate, Dynamic templates for personalization, Fast setup with SDKs, APIs, and developer guides, SMTP relay, webhooks, and CMS plugins
ActiveCampaign
- Marketing Automation
- Drag-and-drop automation builder, Pre-built automation templates, Conditional logic and branching, Lead scoring and tagging
- Email Marketing
- Customizable email templates, A/B testing for campaigns, Advanced segmentation, Dynamic content personalization
- CRM & Sales
- Contact and deal management, Pipeline visualization, Task and activity tracking, Integration with sales tools
- Analytics & Reporting
- Campaign performance tracking, Custom reports and dashboards, Revenue attribution, Automation performance metrics
- Integrations
- Native integrations with 900+ apps, Zapier and Make (Integromat) support, API access for custom integrations, Webhook support