Self-hosted, one-time license

The self-hosted ActiveCampaign alternative

ActiveCampaign is a powerful hosted automation suite, but you can’t self-host it, and its per-contact pricing rises as your list grows. Broadcast runs on your own server for a one-time license: own your data, escape per-contact billing, and keep the email automation most teams actually use.

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At a Glance

Hosting
ActiveCampaign: SaaS only
Broadcast: Self-hosted
Pricing
ActiveCampaign: Monthly, per contact
Broadcast: $250 one-time
Data & residency
ActiveCampaign: Their US servers
Broadcast: Your server
Best at
ActiveCampaign: Deep CRM/automation
Broadcast: Owned, focused email

Straight answer: there’s no self-hosted edition of ActiveCampaign: it’s SaaS only. If you specifically want to run email automation on your own infrastructure and stop paying per contact, Broadcast is the closest self-hosted, buy-once option. If you rely on ActiveCampaign’s deep CRM, lead scoring, and multi-channel journeys, it’s still more powerful, and this page is honest about that trade.

Feature Comparison

Where Broadcast and ActiveCampaign each pull ahead

Feature Broadcast ActiveCampaign
Self-hostedYes, your serverNo (SaaS only)
Pricing$250 one-timeMonthly, scales w/ contacts
Subscribers/contactsUnlimitedTiered by count
Drip / automationsBuilt-in (conditions)Advanced
CRM / salesNoYes
Lead scoringNoYes
Multi-channel (SMS, etc.)Email-focusedYes
SegmentationTags, lists, custom fieldsAdvanced
ESP choiceSES, Postmark, any SMTPBuilt-in only
Data ownership / residencyYour server (EU-friendly)US-based SaaS
Setup & maintenanceYou self-hostFully managed

ActiveCampaign genuinely out-features Broadcast on CRM, scoring, and multi-channel. The question is whether you’ll use that depth, and whether owning your platform and dropping per-contact billing matters more.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Broadcast if you…

  • • Want to self-host and own your data (ActiveCampaign can’t be self-hosted)
  • • Are tired of per-contact pricing that climbs with your list
  • • Need solid email automation, not a full CRM
  • • Care about EU data residency / GDPR control
  • • Prefer a one-time license to a monthly subscription

ActiveCampaign may be better if you…

  • • Need a built-in CRM and sales pipeline
  • • Rely on lead scoring and complex multi-channel journeys
  • • Want a fully managed tool with no server to run
  • • Use its large ecosystem of native integrations

Frequently Asked Questions

No. ActiveCampaign is a hosted SaaS only: there’s no self-hosted edition. If self-hosting is a requirement, you need a different platform; Broadcast is a self-hosted alternative you run on your own server.
For email campaigns and drip automation, yes. For a built-in CRM, lead scoring, and multi-channel journeys, no: Broadcast is focused email marketing, not a sales-and-marketing suite. Replace ActiveCampaign with Broadcast when email is the part you actually use.
Yes. Export your contacts, tags, and custom fields to CSV and import them into Broadcast. You’d rebuild the automations you actually use. Because you self-host, your data stays yours throughout.
Self-hosting lets you keep subscriber data on your own EU server. See our ActiveCampaign & DSGVO assessment for the Schrems II / US-transfer details.

Own your email automation

Self-hosted, buy-once, no per-contact billing.

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Related

ActiveCampaign & DSGVO
EU data-transfer assessment
Pay Once, Not Monthly
The one-time-license case
Best Self-Hosted Email Software
All options compared

Still deciding?

Comparisons cover the tradeoffs. How To covers whether Broadcast does the specific thing you need, organized by what you are trying to accomplish rather than by feature name. If the answer is no, it says no.

Browse How To Segment subscribers Branch a sequence Bring an existing list