# ActiveCampaign vs MailerLite: which do AI models recommend for email marketing, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, Email marketing platforms. Nine of twelve models named ActiveCampaign first on the direct prompt; zero named MailerLite. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/email-marketing/activecampaign-vs-mailerlite/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | 40% | #1 of 13 | 14% | 56 | 12 of 12 |
| MailerLite | 4% | #5 of 13 | 12% | 24 | 11 of 12 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

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

## What the models said about ActiveCampaign

- "Avoid Mailchimp/ActiveCampaign/Constant Contact at larger list sizes" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, hard negative)
- "| ActiveCampaign | Locks advanced features behind expensive tiers |" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, ActiveCampaign offers the best balance of sophisticated email automation, reasonable pricing, and scalability." (Mistral Small, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about MailerLite

- "its free plan is limited to only 250 subscribers... no longer the best option for those who want a free forever launchpad." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "you have outgrown basic, entry-level email tools (like standard Mailchimp or MailerLite)" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, scale prompt, soft negative)
- "Newsletters (free plan recently cut)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Generally Better Alternatives to Consider ... MailerLite — only counts active contacts; excludes unsubscribed/bounced addresses from billing" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt, first choice)
- "For most small businesses, MailerLite or Brevo offer the best balance of features, ease of use, and affordability." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all twelve 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.