Email Marketing · head to head
ActiveCampaign vs OneSignal

ActiveCampaign
Email Marketing
CRM, marketing automation, and sales platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
OneSignal
Email Marketing
Customer engagement and messaging, without the complexity
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: ActiveCampaign starter tier capped at 5 automation actions per automation; unlimited actions require Plus tier or higher; OneSignal free plan email sends cap at 10,000 per month and web push is capped at 10,000 subscribers per send, per onesignal.com/pricing (Aug 2026)
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ActiveCampaign and OneSignal actually diverge.
| Attribute | ActiveCampaign | OneSignal |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Platforms | Cloud-based SaaS | Web |
| Category | Email Marketing | Unknown |
| Founded | 2003 | Unknown |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in ActiveCampaign
- Contact management
- Sales pipeline
- Marketing automation
- Email marketing
- Customer service
- Reporting
- Automation
- Zapier
Only in OneSignal
Nothing recorded that ActiveCampaign does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ActiveCampaign
- Businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, SMS, WhatsApp)not OneSignal
- Marketing teams needing AI-driven lead scoring and automationnot OneSignal
OneSignal
No use cases recorded yet. See the OneSignal review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ActiveCampaign
- Starter tier capped at 5 automation actions per automation; unlimited actions require Plus tier or higher
- Active Intelligence (AI features) limited or excluded in Starter and Plus tiers; Advanced Intelligence only available in Pro and Enterprise
- SSO and advanced CRM integrations only available in Pro and Enterprise tiers
- Multiple users scaling limited: Starter allows 1 user, Plus allows 3, Enterprise allows 5 users
OneSignal
- Free plan email sends cap at 10,000 per month and web push is capped at 10,000 subscribers per send, per onesignal.com/pricing (Aug 2026)
- Professional and Enterprise plans require custom annual contracts with no published rate, per onesignal.com; SMS/RCS messaging and dedicated IPs are gated behind the Professional tier
Pricing, plan by plan
ActiveCampaign
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the ActiveCampaign review.
OneSignal
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the OneSignal review.
Which should you pick?
Choose ActiveCampaign if
- You need contact management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
- You also want sales pipeline.
Questions people ask
- Is ActiveCampaign or OneSignal better?
- Neither clearly leads. ActiveCampaign starts at Free and OneSignal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or OneSignal?
- ActiveCampaign starts at Free and OneSignal at Free.
- Does ActiveCampaign or OneSignal run on more platforms?
- ActiveCampaign runs on Cloud-based SaaS. OneSignal runs on Web.
- Can I use ActiveCampaign for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is ActiveCampaign best used for?
- ActiveCampaign is most often used for businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, sms, whatsapp), marketing teams needing ai-driven lead scoring and automation. Of those, businesses automating cross-channel campaigns (email, sms, whatsapp) and marketing teams needing ai-driven lead scoring and automation are not what OneSignal is typically brought in for.
- What can ActiveCampaign do that OneSignal cannot?
- ActiveCampaign covers Contact management, Sales pipeline, Marketing automation, Email marketing.
Related pages
More on ActiveCampaign
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- ActiveCampaign vs Omnisend
- ActiveCampaign vs RD Station Marketing
- ActiveCampaign vs SendGrid
- ActiveCampaign vs Aircall
- ActiveCampaign vs Talkdesk
- ActiveCampaign vs Five9
- ActiveCampaign vs NICE CXone
- ActiveCampaign vs Twilio
- ActiveCampaign vs Vonage
- ActiveCampaign vs Whereby
- ActiveCampaign vs 8x8
- ActiveCampaign vs Dialpad
- ActiveCampaign vs Genesys Cloud
- ActiveCampaign vs RingCentral
- OneSignal vs AWeber
- OneSignal vs Brevo
- OneSignal vs EmailOctopus
- OneSignal vs Flodesk
- OneSignal vs GetResponse
- OneSignal vs Instantly
- OneSignal vs Klaviyo
- OneSignal vs Loops
- OneSignal vs MailerLite
- OneSignal vs Mailjet
- OneSignal vs Omnisend
- OneSignal vs RD Station Marketing
- OneSignal vs SendGrid
- OneSignal vs Aircall
- OneSignal vs Talkdesk
- OneSignal vs Five9
- OneSignal vs NICE CXone
- OneSignal vs Twilio
- OneSignal vs Vonage
- OneSignal vs Whereby
- OneSignal vs 8x8
- OneSignal vs Dialpad
- OneSignal vs Genesys Cloud
- OneSignal vs RingCentral
