Shortlist by what you need
Start here if you know why you are leaving Firsthand.
Want the closest match?
Act-OnMost similar to Firsthand in what it does, its category and its price.
Visit (opens Act-On in a new tab)Need a free plan?
ScriptedHas a free plan, rated 3.7 out of 5. Firsthand has none.
Visit (opens Scripted in a new tab)Want to pay less than Firsthand?
ActiveCampaignFrom $15/mo, against from $26/mo for Firsthand.
Visit (opens ActiveCampaign in a new tab)Want the best rated?
IterableRated 4.4 out of 5 in our review, against 3.8 for Firsthand.
Visit (opens Iterable in a new tab)
At a glance
Green means better than Firsthand, red means worse. Prices are starting prices per month.
| Tool | Our rating | Starts at | Free plan | Best for | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 FirsthandBaseline | 3.8 | $26/mo | No | Brand agents that hold controlled, real-time conversations with consumers for marketers and publishers. | |
| Act-On | 4.2+0.4 | $900/mo$874 more | No | Lifecycle marketing automation platform for email, web, SMS and social, with AI Create for brand-compliant copy, Adaptive Send timing, predictive lead scoring, an InSite web agent and conversational data analysis. | vs Firsthand |
| ActiveCampaign | 4.4+0.6 | $15/mo$11 less | No | Bootstrapped for 13 years before taking outside funding, now a $3B company | vs Firsthand |
 QuickCreator | 3.8Same | $29/mo$3 more | No | Six named agents from brand voice through to publishing, for a one-person marketing team. | vs Firsthand |
| Scripted | 3.7−0.1 | Free | YesFirsthand has none | "Paige," an AI CMO, remembers your brand voice and audience, plans and drafts content end-to-end - with vetted human experts as backup for regulated-industry accuracy. | vs Firsthand |
| Iterable | 4.4+0.6 | Not listed | No | Nova: an intelligence layer aimed at non-linear customer journeys | vs Firsthand |
 Monetizebot | 3.4−0.4 | Not listed | No | Contextual ad placement inside AI chatbots - a three-sided marketplace for assistant developers, publishers and advertisers, AdSense-style but for conversational AI. | vs Firsthand |
The alternatives in detail
In order of how closely each one matches Firsthand.
Act-On
4.2$900/mo
vs Firsthand$874 more+0.4
Lifecycle marketing automation platform for email, web, SMS and social, with AI Create for brand-compliant copy, Adaptive Send timing, predictive lead scoring, an InSite web agent and conversational data analysis.
- AI Create for brand-compliant marketing copy
- Adaptive Send for per-contact send times
- Predictive lead scoring from engagement history
AI features are named and described one by one
Starts at $900 a month, high for small teams
ActiveCampaign
4.4$15/mo
vs Firsthand$11 less+0.6
Bootstrapped for 13 years before taking outside funding, now a $3B company.
- Active Intelligence carries memory across campaigns automatically
- Brand Kit maintains consistent voice, logo, and colors across generated content
- References a brand's own best-performing past emails automatically
Active Intelligence memory reduces repetitive brand-voice setup for new campaigns
Pricing increases as a contact list grows, a real cost consideration at scale
QuickCreator
3.8$29/mo
vs Firsthand$3 moreSame
Six named agents from brand voice through to publishing, for a one-person marketing team.
- Brand Positioning agent learning voice from your site
- Topic Strategy agent building a ranked roadmap
- Market Research agent producing reader personas
Learns voice from what you have published rather than a tone dropdown
1,500 credits is roughly five articles a month for $29
Scripted
3.7Free
vs Firsthand−0.1Free plan
"Paige," an AI CMO, remembers your brand voice and audience, plans and drafts content end-to-end - with vetted human experts as backup for regulated-industry accuracy.
- Paige AI CMO - end-to-end strategy, drafting, and publishing
- Brand Memory - learns and retains voice, audience, and positioning
- Performance Intelligence - automatic strategy adjustment from results
Human expert review is targeted at high-stakes content, not applied uniformly
Full pricing isn't shown on the homepage
Iterable
4.4Not listed
vs Firsthand+0.6
Nova: an intelligence layer aimed at non-linear customer journeys.
- Nova Agents for automated audience and journey building
- Nova Decisioning for real-time next-best-action suggestions
- Nova Insights for explaining optimization decisions
Nova's explainability focus addresses a common AI-decisioning trust concern
No free tier or transparent self-serve pricing
Monetizebot
3.4Not listed
vs Firsthand−0.4
Contextual ad placement inside AI chatbots - a three-sided marketplace for assistant developers, publishers and advertisers, AdSense-style but for conversational AI.
- Contextual ad placement inside AI chatbot conversations
- Three-sided marketplace: developers, publishers, advertisers
- Lead generation and conversion tools
Applies a familiar, proven ad-network model to a genuinely new AI surface
Ads inside AI conversations need clear labeling to avoid misleading users
FAQ
Questions people ask
Is Firsthand free?
Firsthand does not list a free plan. Paid plans start from $26/mo.
What is the best free alternative to Firsthand?
Scripted is the highest-rated alternative here with a free plan (3.7 out of 5).
What is the cheapest alternative to Firsthand?
Among paid plans, ActiveCampaign has the lowest starting price (from $15/mo). If you need it free, start with Scripted.
How did you pick these alternatives?
We match tools on what they do, their category and their price, using the details in our directory. Ratings come from our reviews and reader reviews.