# ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp: which do AI models recommend for email marketing, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Email marketing platforms. Five of fourteen models named ActiveCampaign first on the direct prompt; zero named Mailchimp. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/email-marketing/activecampaign-vs-mailchimp/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | 28% | #2 of 14 | 11% | 56 | 14 of 14 |
| Mailchimp | 2% | #8 of 14 | 52% | 50 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Mistral Small: activecampaign first (first choices: ActiveCampaign, HubSpot Marketing Hub)
- Llama 4 Maverick: activecampaign first (first choices: ActiveCampaign) (alternatives: Dotdigital, Salesforce Email Marketing)
- Kimi K2: activecampaign first (first choices: ActiveCampaign, HubSpot Marketing Hub)
- MiniMax M2.5: activecampaign first (first choices: ActiveCampaign) (alternatives: HubSpot Marketing Hub, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: activecampaign first (first choices: ActiveCampaign, HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: Adobe Marketo Engage)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Brevo, GetResponse)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Customer.io, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Outreach, Salesloft, ZoomInfo Marketing)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Adobe Marketo Engage, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, SharpSpring)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Klaviyo)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: Adobe Marketo Engage, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: HubSpot Marketing Hub) (alternatives: Adobe Marketo Engage, Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement)

## What the models said about ActiveCampaign

- "some tools look affordable at small list sizes but leave the budget bracket quickly as subscriber counts rise, including Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and Constant Contact" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "ActiveCampaign - known for its robust email automation and lightweight CRM functionality, making it popular among mid-sized B2B teams." (Llama 4 Maverick, direct prompt, first choice)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, ActiveCampaign provides the best balance of automation depth, ease of use, and pricing." (MiniMax M2.5, direct prompt, first choice)
- "If your priority is advanced automation and a robust all-in-one platform, ActiveCampaign is often the best choice." (Mistral Small, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Mailchimp

- "One comparison explicitly says to avoid it if many contacts unsubscribe or bounce, because you may still be billed for them." (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Criticized for charging for inactive or unsubscribed contacts, which can become expensive as your list grows." (Mistral Small, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Very small list (<500 contacts) & want forever‑free | Mailchimp (free) or SendinBlue (free daily limit) | Generous free tier, easy to upgrade later." (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Best Overall & Beginner-Friendly

### 1. Mailchimp
- Best for: Beginners and small businesses" (Kimi K2, comparative prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.