MauticvsActiveCampaign

Mautic vs ActiveCampaign

Open source flexibility vs polished automation

TL;DR

Mautic is open-source and self-hosted, offering unlimited contacts and complete control but requiring technical skills. ActiveCampaign is a polished SaaS platform with excellent automation, built-in CRM, and superior deliverability, but costs more as you scale. Choose Mautic if you have developers and want control. Choose ActiveCampaign if you want best-in-class automation without the maintenance.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Automation Quality
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign has spent years refining their automation builder. It is more intuitive, more powerful, and better documented than Mautic's. For pure automation capability, ActiveCampaign leads.

Total Cost of Ownership

Mautic is free to download but requires hosting, email services, and technical maintenance. At 10,000 contacts, ActiveCampaign is $155/month. Depending on your team costs, either could be cheaper.

CRM Integration
ActiveCampaign wins

ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with deal pipelines and sales automation. Mautic has basic contact management but nothing comparable. If you need sales tools, ActiveCampaign wins.

Data Control
Mautic wins

Mautic self-hosted means your data stays on your servers. ActiveCampaign stores data on their infrastructure. For compliance-heavy industries, Mautic offers more control.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts

Mautic
$0+/month

Self-hosted is free. Cloud from $500/mo. Add hosting and email sending costs.

Visit Mautic
ActiveCampaign
$155/month

Plus plan with CRM and automation. Professional starts at $386/mo.

Visit ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited emails, Stripe integration included.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Mautic
ActiveCampaign
Sequenzy
Marketing Automation
Visual Automation Builder
Good
Excellent
Good
Conditional Logic
Advanced
Advanced
Good
Lead Scoring
Predictive Sending
Split Testing in Automations
Basic
Advanced
CRM & Sales
Built-in CRM
Basic contact management
Full CRM
Contact management
Deal Pipelines
Sales Automation
Lead Assignment
Basic
Advanced
Technical & Control
Self-Hosted Option
Open Source
Data Ownership
Complete
Their servers
Their servers
API Flexibility
Full access
Good API
Good API
Setup Effort
Days to weeks
Hours
Hours
Channels
Email Marketing
SMS Marketing
Via plugins
Built-in
Site Messaging
Landing Pages

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Mautic if you...
  • Technical teams with DevOps resources
  • Organizations with data sovereignty requirements
  • Companies with large lists where per-contact pricing hurts
  • Agencies wanting to white-label or customize heavily
  • Teams with PHP/Symfony expertise
Choose ActiveCampaign if you...
  • Marketing teams wanting powerful automation
  • Companies needing combined CRM and marketing
  • Businesses requiring SMS and multi-channel marketing
  • Teams without technical staff for infrastructure
  • Users who value polished UX
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS companies with Stripe billing
  • Teams wanting managed service with payment triggers
  • Founders seeking simpler automation without CRM overhead

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

SaaS Revenue Triggers

Neither Mautic nor ActiveCampaign offers native Stripe integration. If your automations should respond to subscription events, Sequenzy is built for this.

Simpler Than Both

ActiveCampaign's power comes with complexity. Mautic requires technical skills. Sequenzy offers focused SaaS automation without either burden.

Cost Effective for SaaS

At 10,000 contacts, Sequenzy is $49/month vs ActiveCampaign's $155. For SaaS-focused features, it is better value.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Mautic and ActiveCampaign are both serious marketing automation platforms, but they serve different audiences. Mautic is open-source software you host yourself. ActiveCampaign is polished SaaS with a strong reputation for automation. See our detailed ActiveCampaign comparison for more alternatives.

Automation Capabilities

Both platforms offer sophisticated automation. ActiveCampaign's builder is more intuitive with features like predictive sending, advanced split testing, and site messaging. Mautic can achieve similar results but requires more technical setup. If automation power is your priority, ActiveCampaign has the edge in user experience.

The CRM Factor

ActiveCampaign includes a full CRM with deal pipelines, sales automation, and lead scoring. Mautic has contact management and basic scoring, but nothing comparable to ActiveCampaign's sales tools. If you need marketing and sales in one platform, ActiveCampaign is the clear choice.

Technical Requirements

Mautic requires PHP/MySQL knowledge, server administration, and ongoing maintenance. ActiveCampaign requires a credit card and 30 minutes to set up. This is not a small difference. Be honest about your team's capabilities before choosing Mautic.

Cost Analysis

At 10,000 contacts, ActiveCampaign costs $155/month for the Plus plan. Mautic self-hosted is "free" but you need hosting ($50-200/month), email delivery service, and technical time. At higher volumes, Mautic can be cheaper if you already have infrastructure.

For SaaS Companies

Neither platform has native Stripe integration. ActiveCampaign can connect via Zapier, but it is not the same as native payment event triggers. If you run a SaaS business, Sequenzy offers Stripe integration that responds to subscription events natively. See our pricing page for comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

In raw automation capability, they are comparable. However, ActiveCampaign's automation builder is more polished and easier to use. Mautic requires more technical skill to achieve the same results.

No, ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day trial but no free tier. Mautic self-hosted is free forever, though you pay for hosting and email delivery.

For email and basic automation, largely yes. Mautic lacks ActiveCampaign's built-in CRM, SMS marketing, and predictive features. It also requires more setup effort.

ActiveCampaign, by default. They manage sender reputation and deliverability for you. With Mautic, you build your own reputation, which takes time and expertise.

Yes, if you have technical resources. You can run multiple instances for clients without per-contact fees. The white-labeling options are also more flexible than ActiveCampaign.

Yes, ActiveCampaign has e-commerce integrations for Shopify and WooCommerce. Mautic has plugins but requires more setup. Neither is as e-commerce focused as Klaviyo.

Export your contacts from ActiveCampaign including all custom fields and tags. Set up Mautic on your server. Import contacts and recreate your segments. Rebuild automations in Mautic's campaign builder, noting that some ActiveCampaign features like predictive sending will not transfer. Configure your email sending infrastructure.

Export contacts from Mautic as CSV with all custom fields. Create your ActiveCampaign account. Import contacts and map fields to ActiveCampaign's structure. Rebuild your campaigns in ActiveCampaign's automation builder. You will likely find the migration simplifies some workflows due to ActiveCampaign's more polished tools.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

Start Free TrialSee All Features

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Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com