ActiveCampaign vs SharpSpring: The Comparison Is Over
If you're reading an ActiveCampaign vs SharpSpring comparison that doesn't mention SharpSpring is discontinued, close that tab. That article is wasting your time. SharpSpring was acquired by Constant Contact in 2021, rebranded, and then shut down entirely. ActiveCampaign wins by default.
Here's the 30-second verdict: budget for ActiveCampaign Plus at $59/mo on monthly billing, not the $15 Starter plan that caps you at 5 automation actions. If you just inherited a SharpSpring instance and discovered it's dead, skip straight to the migration section below. And if your average deal size sits below $10k, ActiveCampaign Plus is probably the most automation you'll ever need - don't let anyone upsell you to Pro.
What Happened to SharpSpring
Constant Contact acquired by Constant Contact in 2021 for roughly $240 million. The product was sold for a time as "Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM." Then it was discontinued entirely - no new signups, no active development, no roadmap. TrustRadius confirms the product has been fully retired.
For historical context, SharpSpring's last-known pricing ran $449/mo for 1,000 contacts, $999/mo for 10,000 contacts, and $1,449/mo for 20,000 contacts. Expensive, but it included unlimited users, white-labeling, and a multi-client management console - features that made the price tag easier to justify for agencies managing a dozen accounts simultaneously. That era is over.
ActiveCampaign - Honest Breakdown
ActiveCampaign is the clear survivor here, and it's good at what it does. But the pricing page is designed to anchor you on a $15/mo number that doesn't reflect what you'll actually pay.
Real Pricing (Not the $15 Anchor)
The $15/mo Starter price is annual billing for 1,000 contacts. Here's what monthly billing actually looks like:
| Contacts | Starter (1 seat) | Plus (1 seat) | Pro (3 seats) | Enterprise (5 seats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $19 | $59 | $99 | $179 |
| 2,500 | $49 | $119 | $189 | $319 |
| 5,000 | $99 | $179 | $259 | $469 |
| 10,000 | $189 | $239 | $469 | $739 |
| 25,000 | N/A | $489 | $789 | $1,099 |
| 50,000 | N/A | $759 | $1,209 | $1,459 |
Then there are the add-ons. Pipelines Enhanced CRM costs $68/mo. Sales Engagement Enhanced CRM runs $111/mo. Custom reporting is $159/mo. SMS starts at $16.83/mo for 1,000 credits. These stack up fast - a mid-market team on Pro with CRM and SMS can easily hit $500-700/mo before they've sent a single campaign.
In our testing, the Starter plan's 5-action limit ran out within the first automation we built. ActiveCampaign does offer a 14-day free trial with Pro features, 1 user, 100 contacts, and 100 emails - use it before you commit.
Where It Shines
Automation is ActiveCampaign's core strength, and the numbers back it up. 98% of reviewers who mention automation praise it. Deliverability hits 94.2% in EmailToolTester's Jan 2024 test round - well above the 83.1% industry average. On G2, ActiveCampaign carries 14,000+ reviews and a 4.5 average rating. That's not a fluke.
Where It Falls Short
Let's be honest: the Starter plan is a trap. Five automation actions, one user seat, no landing pages - it's a demo tier dressed up as a real plan. Plus at $59/mo on monthly billing is the actual starting point for any team doing real work.
Beyond pricing, 77% of reviewers who mention training say it's tough and time-consuming. The UI can be glitchy and slow to load - 62% of users who comment on the interface say it isn't intuitive. We've seen teams take 4-6 weeks to get comfortable with the automation builder, which is longer than most expect. If real-time transactional SMS matters to your workflow, test it thoroughly during the trial because messaging speed draws consistent complaints.
ActiveCampaign's 94.2% deliverability means nothing if you import dirty data. Prospeo verifies emails at 98% accuracy with a 7-day refresh cycle - so you know which SharpSpring contacts are still valid before they ever hit your new platform.
Clean your lists at $0.01/email before ActiveCampaign penalizes you.
Historical Side-by-Side
For anyone who still wants the data from when both products existed:
| Feature | ActiveCampaign | SharpSpring |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active | Discontinued |
| Starting price | $59/mo (Plus) | Was $449/mo |
| Pricing model | Per contacts | Was per contacts |
| Users included | 1 on Plus, 3 on Pro, 5 on Enterprise | Was unlimited |
| Automation | Advanced, best-in-class | Was capable, not best-in-class |
| Enhanced CRM (Pipelines) | Add-on at $68/mo | Was included |
| Landing pages | Plus and above | Was included |
| Deliverability | 94.2% tested | Constant Contact scored 91.7%; SharpSpring had deliverability complaints in reviews |
| Recommend rate | 92% based on 6,420 reviews | Was 87% |
| Best for | SMB automation | Was agency use |
Here's the thing: SharpSpring's unlimited-users model was genuinely better for agencies than anything ActiveCampaign offers today. ActiveCampaign won this market by outliving the competition, not by building a better agency product. If you're an agency managing 10+ client accounts, ActiveCampaign's per-seat pricing will sting.
Migrating from SharpSpring Without Tanking Deliverability
ActiveCampaign is an automation platform, not a contact database. It sends emails to lists you build elsewhere. If you're migrating from a discontinued platform, your contact lists are stale - some of those addresses haven't been touched in months, and a chunk of them have gone bad.
Importing bad data into ActiveCampaign tanks your sender reputation on day one. That 94.2% deliverability rate means nothing if you're feeding it bounced addresses.
Here's what we recommend: export your SharpSpring contacts as a CSV, then run them through Prospeo's bulk email verification before importing anything. With 98% email accuracy and a 7-day data refresh cycle, you'll know exactly which contacts are still valid and which ones would have torched your domain. The free tier gives you 75 verified emails per month - enough to spot-check a segment before committing to a full list clean. If you want the deeper mechanics behind why lists rot, read our breakdown on contact lists are stale.
SharpSpring is dead and your contact data is aging by the day. Every week you wait, more emails go invalid. Prospeo's bulk verification catches bounces, spam traps, and honeypots - the exact things that tank sender reputation on day one of a migration.
75 free verifications. Zero contracts. Know your list quality in minutes.
FAQ
Is SharpSpring still available?
No. SharpSpring was acquired by Constant Contact in 2021, rebranded as Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM, and has since been fully discontinued. No new signups, no active development. If you're still on it, move now.
What's the cheapest usable ActiveCampaign plan?
Plus at $59/mo on monthly billing with 1,000 contacts. The Starter plan's 5-action automation limit and single user seat make it functionally a demo. Annual billing drops Plus to $49/mo for 1,000 contacts.
How do I migrate from SharpSpring to ActiveCampaign?
Export your contacts as a CSV from SharpSpring, then verify every email through a tool like Prospeo before importing - bad addresses tank deliverability immediately. There isn't a native one-click migration path, so you'll rebuild automations manually in ActiveCampaign's builder. Plan on 2-4 weeks for the full transition.
Skip ActiveCampaign if...
You're an agency managing 10+ client accounts and need unlimited user seats. ActiveCampaign's per-seat model gets expensive fast in that scenario. Look at HubSpot's Marketing Hub or a white-label platform like GoHighLevel instead.
