Marketing automation software is what turns your email list from a broadcast channel into a machine: welcome sequences that fire the moment someone subscribes, cart recovery emails that go out while you’re asleep, and lead scoring that tells sales exactly when to call. The catch is that “automation” means wildly different things across platforms — from a single linear drip sequence to multi-branch workflows with predictive scoring.
We compared eight of the most widely used marketing automation platforms on what actually matters: triggers and branching depth, CRM integration, pricing transparency, free plans, and who each tool genuinely fits. All pricing below was cross-checked against official pricing pages and documentation available in September 2026 — where figures conflicted, we say so.
If you’re still learning the building blocks, start with our email automation guide first; it explains triggers, waits, and conditions in plain language.
What Good Marketing Automation Software Should Do
The checklist we scored the tools against:
- Behavioral triggers. Workflows should start on actions — a form submission, page visit, purchase, or tag — not just calendar dates.
- Branching and conditions. If/else splits (“opened the email? yes/no”) separate basic autoresponders from real automation.
- Wait steps with intelligence. Fixed waits (3 days) plus conditional waits (“wait until they visit the pricing page”) keep sequences relevant.
- Lead scoring. Points for engagement (opens, clicks, site visits) so sales knows who’s warm.
- CRM sync. Marketing activity should flow into sales records automatically — the whole point of automation is that nothing falls through cracks.
- Reporting beyond opens. Revenue attribution, per-step conversion rates, and automation-level analytics tell you which workflows actually pay.
- Transparent, predictable pricing. You should be able to estimate your bill at twice your current list size.
The 8 Platforms at a Glance
| Platform | Best for | Free plan | Starting price (verified Sept 2026) | Automation depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | Advanced multi-branch automation | No (14-day trial) | $15/mo per 1,000 contacts | Excellent |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | All-in-one with native CRM | Yes | $0 free; Starter $9/seat/mo (annual) | Excellent at Pro+ |
| Brevo | Budget automation, send-based pricing | Yes (300 sends/day) | $0 free; Starter from $9/mo | Good |
| Mailchimp | Beginners, simple campaigns | Yes (500 contacts) | $0 free; Essentials $13/mo | Basic–Moderate |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce email + SMS | Yes (250 profiles) | $0 free; Email from $20/mo | Excellent |
| Drip | Ecommerce behavioral automation | No (14-day trial) | $39/mo (up to 2,500 contacts) | Excellent |
| Omnisend | Ecommerce omnichannel on a budget | Yes (250 contacts) | $0 free; Standard from $16/mo | Good |
| Ortto | Mid-market journeys + CDP | No (free trial reported) | ~$199/mo per third-party sources | Excellent |
Pricing is per vendor pages and third-party pricing trackers read in September 2026; always confirm the current figure on the official page before budgeting. Figures listed are entry-level monthly prices unless noted.
1. ActiveCampaign — Best for advanced automation
ActiveCampaign is the reference point for automation depth. Every paid plan includes multi-step workflows with triggers (form submissions, tags, site behavior, dates, schedules), If/Else branching, wait conditions, and goals that pull contacts forward when they convert. The Starter plan caps automations at a limited number of actions per workflow, while higher tiers add split testing inside automations, predictive sending, and attribution.
Pricing is contact-based: Starter, Plus, Professional, and Enterprise list at $15/$49/$79/$145 per 1,000 contacts on the official page (“last updated August 2026” per our source data). There is no permanent free plan — just a 14-day trial — so it’s not the cheapest entry, but per feature it punches hard against tools costing five times more. One caveat: email send limits are a multiple of your contact count (10x on Starter/Plus, 12x on Professional, 15x on Enterprise), and exceeding your contact tier auto-upgrades your bill, so list hygiene matters. For a head-to-head with Brevo, see our Brevo vs ActiveCampaign comparison, and see the official platform overview for the current feature list.
Best for: teams that want serious workflow logic — branching, scoring, split tests — without enterprise pricing.
— Try ActiveCampaign (14-day trial).
2. HubSpot Marketing Hub — Best all-in-one with a native CRM
HubSpot’s pitch is that marketing automation lives inside the same CRM your sales team uses — no sync connectors, no data lag. Per HubSpot’s own pricing guide, the tiers run: Free ($0, up to 2 users, 2,000 emails/month, forms and basic chatbots); Starter ($9 per seat/month on annual billing, 1,000 marketing contacts, 5,000 emails/month, lead capture forms, ads, and basic automation); Professional ($800/month on annual billing or $890 monthly, plus a $3,000 onboarding fee — 3 core seats, 2,000 marketing contacts, 20,000 emails/month, landing pages, CTAs, social media, and full automation); and Enterprise ($3,600/month plus a $7,000 onboarding fee — 5 seats, 10,000 contacts, 200,000 emails/month, custom reports, journey analytics, and multi-touch attribution).
The strength is cohesion: workflows, lead scoring, landing pages, and reporting all read from one contact record. The weakness is the cliff — the jump from free/Starter to Professional is enormous, and costs grow with marketing contacts, seats, and add-ons. If you need the full workflow engine, budget Professional money or don’t start. Read our full HubSpot Marketing Hub review for the tier-by-tier breakdown, or see HubSpot’s own Marketing Hub pricing guide.
Best for: growing teams that want marketing, sales, and service data in one place and can afford Pro.
— Explore HubSpot Marketing Hub.
3. Brevo — Best value for automated email on a budget
Brevo’s send-based billing (pay by monthly email volume, not contacts) makes it the cheapest way to run automation over a large list. The free plan includes automation for up to 2,000 contacts at 300 sends/day; Starter starts from $9/month; Standard from $18/month unlocks unlimited-contact automation with A/B testing and send-time optimization; Professional (from $499/month) adds scoring and AI segmentation. You get the full picture in our Brevo review.
Automation-wise it’s solid rather than spectacular: multi-step workflows with triggers, conditions, and waits cover welcome series, abandoned carts, and post-purchase flows for most small businesses. The Brevo vs ActiveCampaign comparison is worth reading if you’re choosing between value and depth.
Best for: small businesses with big lists and modest sending who want real automation cheaply.
— Start free on Brevo (no credit card required).
4. Mailchimp — Best-known option for beginners
Mailchimp remains the default first tool for a reason: a free plan (500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month), a familiar editor, and templates everywhere. Automation exists but is gated and shallower than the specialists — simple customer journeys with basic branching on paid plans. Essentials starts at $13/month, Standard at $20/month, Premium at $350/month (figures from 2026 pricing trackers; confirm on the official page, as billing cadence and exact tiers shift).
Choose Mailchimp if your automation needs are “send a welcome email and a birthday discount.” Choose almost anything else above if you need branching logic or scoring. Its real cost problem is contact-based pricing at scale — large lists get expensive fast.
Best for: total beginners and tiny lists running simple sequences.
5. Klaviyo — Best for ecommerce email and SMS
Klaviyo is the default automation brain for Shopify-style stores: deep purchase-behavior triggers, predictive analytics (churn risk, expected order date), and prebuilt flows for abandoned carts, browse abandonment, and post-purchase. Pricing is profile-based: Free covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails/month; the Email plan starts at $20/month; Email + SMS starts at $35/month, scaling steeply with list size (around $100/month at 5,000 profiles per May 2026 pricing breakdowns). Since a 2025 billing change, every active profile counts — even unengaged ones — so list hygiene directly controls your bill.
Automation depth is excellent within ecommerce; outside ecommerce it’s a poor fit. SMS is metered separately on top of the email plan.
Best for: ecommerce stores that want revenue-attributed flows and predictive segmentation.
6. Drip — Best ecommerce automation without Klaviyo’s complexity
Drip targets direct-to-consumer brands with behavioral segmentation, visual multi-step workflows, revenue attribution per campaign, and native Shopify/WooCommerce integrations. Pricing is refreshingly simple — one plan scaled by contacts, with unlimited email sends at every tier: from $39/month for up to 2,500 contacts, ~$89/month at 5,000, ~$154/month at 10,000 (per 2026 pricing data). No free plan; a 14-day trial is available.
The trade-off: email template design options and reporting customization are weaker than Klaviyo’s, and there’s a real learning curve at setup. But if your world is abandoned carts and post-purchase sequences, it’s a focused, powerful pick.
Best for: DTC brands wanting deep behavioral automation with predictable single-plan pricing.
7. Omnisend — Best budget omnichannel automation
Omnisend bundles email, SMS, and web push with prebuilt ecommerce workflows at prices that undercut Klaviyo substantially. Free covers 250 contacts and 500 emails/month; Standard starts at $16/month (500 contacts, 6,000 emails); Pro starts at $59/month (2,500 contacts, unlimited emails, advanced reporting). SMS is available as a paid add-on. It won’t match Klaviyo’s predictive analytics, but for stores that want cart recovery and welcome flows without a $100+/month bill, it’s the value leader.
Best for: smaller ecommerce stores wanting email + SMS automation on a tight budget.
8. Ortto — Best for mid-market customer journeys
Ortto (formerly Autopilot) combines a customer data platform with a visual journey builder — think HubSpot-style journeys with stronger data unification, aimed at teams that find HubSpot too expensive and ActiveCampaign too email-centric. Third-party pricing data (G2, TrustRadius) puts entry pricing around $199/month with 5,000 contacts on month-to-month terms, scaling to Professional and Enterprise tiers; a free trial is offered. We could not verify current pricing on Ortto’s official page during this research, so treat figures as indicative and check the official page.
Best for: mid-market teams that want CDP-powered journeys and find enterprise clouds overkill.
How to Choose: Three Questions
- Where do your contacts live? If they’re mostly shoppers (Shopify, WooCommerce), Klaviyo, Drip, or Omnisend will feel native. If they’re B2B leads, ActiveCampaign or HubSpot fit better.
- How complex are your workflows? Linear sequences (welcome → offer) run fine on Brevo or Mailchimp. Branching logic, scoring, and split tests need ActiveCampaign, HubSpot Pro, Klaviyo, Drip, or Ortto.
- What does your list look like in two years? Contact-based pricing punishes growth; send-based (Brevo) rewards big, quiet lists. Model your bill at 2–3x your current size before committing.
Whichever you shortlist, our lead nurturing guide and the email deliverability guide are companion reads — the best automation fails if your emails land in spam.
The Shortlist
- Tightest budget, real automation: Brevo — send-based pricing and a genuinely usable free tier.
- Deepest workflows under $100/month: ActiveCampaign — branching, goals, and split tests that rivals reserve for enterprise tiers.
- Everything in one CRM: HubSpot Marketing Hub — if you can clear the Professional price jump.
- Ecommerce default: Klaviyo for predictive power, Drip for behavioral depth, Omnisend for value.
Start with a free plan or trial wherever one exists, build one real workflow (a welcome sequence is the perfect test), and measure what it earns before you pay for more. Automation compounds — the platform matters less than the sequences you actually ship.
— Try ActiveCampaign for advanced automation.
