An ActiveCampaign alternative without the automation builder.
ActiveCampaign's strength is its automation builder and built-in CRM. Sequence takes the opposite approach: no builder at all, and an AI agent that sets up straight-line email and text sequences from a sentence. Here is where each one fits.
Rebuild our ActiveCampaign trial-nurture automation as a sequence: three emails over ten days, a text on day three, and stop when someone books a demo.
What your agent does
- Step 1
import_contacts
Brings contacts and fields over
Export contacts from ActiveCampaign as CSV. Custom fields become contact properties your templates and audiences can use.
- Step 2
import_opt_outs
Carries unsubscribes and SMS opt-outs
Email opt-outs and SMS opt-outs import separately, so each channel keeps its own consent.
- Step 3
create_sequence
Turns an automation into a sequence
One trigger, an optional filter, and exit events such as a booked demo. Branching automations split into separate sequences.
Excerpt of the call
{ "name": "Trial nurture", "trigger_type": "event", "trigger_event_name": "trial.started", "exit_events": [ { "event": "demo.booked" } ] } - Step 4
add_step
Adds emails and the text
Each step has its own wait. Texts go only to contacts with SMS consent.
- Step 5
get_step_stats
Compares versions
Each email step can run two versions; stats come back per version so you can keep the winner.
Sequence and ActiveCampaign, side by side.
ActiveCampaign facts come from ActiveCampaign's own pricing pages and documentation, checked on October 21, 2026. Sequence publishes this page; follow each source link to confirm what applies to your plan and country.
Pricing
- ActiveCampaign
- By contacts. Starter is $15 a month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts and 10,000 sends; Plus is $49, Pro $79 and Enterprise $145 at 1,000 contacts. Source
- Sequence
- Priced per brand, not per contact. Pro is $49 a month for 3 brands, 30,000 emails and 500 texts; Scale is $199 for 10 brands. Free covers 1 brand and 3,000 emails.
SMS
- ActiveCampaign
- A paid add-on sold as credits. Local sending numbers in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland. Source
- Sequence
- Included on Pro and Scale in the same sequence as email. US only, after a business registration your agent can start; carrier fees are passed through at cost.
Building
- ActiveCampaign
- A visual automation builder with a library of over 950 recipes, plus a built-in sales CRM with deals. Source
- Sequence
- No editor or workflow canvas. Your agent writes templates and builds sequences through the MCP server, and you review previews and test sends. No CRM; Sequence connects to Pipedrive and ServiceTitan instead.
AI and agents
- ActiveCampaign
- Active Intelligence AI credits on every plan. An official remote MCP server; the Help Center lists creating and sending campaigns and adding contacts to automations. Source
- Sequence
- Hosted MCP server whose tools cover brands, domains, contacts, audiences, templates, sequences, broadcasts, texting, social posts and reports. Connecting a social account needs a person to approve the sign-in.
Why teams look for an ActiveCampaign alternative
ActiveCampaign rewards people who enjoy building automations: goals, branches, waits and conditions on a canvas. Many teams find they maintain the builder more than they use it, and that a lead-nurture flow only needs a straight line of messages with a few clear exits.
In Sequence, those flows are sequences your agent builds from a description. Exits such as a reply, a booking or a purchase stop a contact cleanly, and texts run in the same sequence on Pro and Scale.
What moving from ActiveCampaign takes
Your agent handles the setup once you provide the exports.
- Contacts and fields
- Export as CSV and import. Tags you rely on can become a property or a static audience.
- Consent
- Import email and SMS opt-outs separately before the first send.
- Automations
- Describe each one. Branches become separate sequences; goals become exit events.
- Deals
- Sequence has no CRM. Connect Pipedrive or ServiceTitan to start sequences from deal changes.
Stay with ActiveCampaign if
You want marketing and a sales CRM in one product, rely on complex branching automations with goals, or send SMS outside the US. Sequence suits teams who want an agent to set up follow-ups and do not need a builder or a built-in CRM.
Questions
Can Sequence branch like ActiveCampaign automations?
No. Every sequence is a straight line. Use separate sequences with trigger filters, and exit events to stop contacts, instead of if/else branches.
Does Sequence include a CRM?
No. It connects to Pipedrive and ServiceTitan, or takes events from your own app.
Is SMS extra?
Pro includes 500 texts a month and Scale includes 2,500. Extra texts are 2 cents each, plus carrier registration fees at cost.
Can I A/B test?
Yes. Any email step can run two versions, and you can shift all traffic to the winner.
Ask your agent. Sequence sends.
Start free with one brand and 3,000 emails a month. No card needed.