What is the difference between ActiveCampaign and Loops?

ActiveCampaign is best for Businesses wanting advanced email automation and CRM, while Loops is best for SaaS companies wanting email for product-led growth. ActiveCampaign starts at $29/mo and Loops starts at Free.

Is ActiveCampaign or Loops cheaper?

ActiveCampaign starts at $29/mo. Loops starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to ActiveCampaign?

Yes, Loops offers a free tier (Free for 1K contacts).

ActiveCampaign vs Loops

ActiveCampaign is email marketing and CRM platform with sophisticated automation workflows and machine learning, while Loops is email platform built for SaaS with event-triggered emails and in-app messaging. The biggest difference up front: Loops is free, while ActiveCampaign starts at $29/mo. ActiveCampaign is built for businesses wanting advanced email automation and crm, whereas Loops targets saas companies wanting email for product-led growth.

At a glance

	ActiveCampaign	Loops
Best for	Businesses wanting advanced email automation and CRM	SaaS companies wanting email for product-led growth
Starting price	$29/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	—
Analytics	—	✓
Automations	✓	—
CRM	✓	—
Event Triggers	—	✓
Loops	—	✓
Segmentation	—	✓
Site Tracking	✓	—
Split Testing	✓	—

ActiveCampaign

Strengths

Built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
Includes CRM as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Pricing starts at $29/mo, which includes the full email marketing feature set
Established product with 23+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Starts at $29/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Deliverability depends on your sender reputation, which takes time to build
Per-user pricing at $29/mo makes it hard to justify for large teams

Try ActiveCampaign → Full review

Loops

Strengths

Includes Event Triggers as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Includes Loops as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Free for 1K contacts — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes segmentation alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Deliverability depends on your sender reputation, which takes time to build
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Loops → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Loops is completely free (Free for 1K contacts), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. ActiveCampaign starts at $29/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: ActiveCampaign offers Automations, CRM and Site Tracking that Loops lacks. Loops brings Analytics, Event Triggers and Loops that ActiveCampaign does not have.

Team fit: ActiveCampaign is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Loops is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: ActiveCampaign's biggest strengths are: built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments. includes crm as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows. Loops's biggest strengths are: includes event triggers as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows. includes loops as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows.

Watch out for: With ActiveCampaign, users commonly note that starts at $29/mo — on the expensive side, especially for small teams or solo users. With Loops, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose ActiveCampaign if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: businesses wanting advanced email automation and crm
You specifically need Automations and CRM
You care about includes crm as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile ActiveCampaign is designed for

Choose Loops if...

You need a tool built for saas companies wanting email for product-led growth
Budget is a hard constraint — Loops is free, ActiveCampaign is not
You specifically need Analytics and Event Triggers
You care about includes loops as a core feature, purpose-built for email marketing workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Loops is designed for