The effect of fabrication method on the structure of (100 − x) wt% BaTiO3 + x wt% La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 (BT + BLM) and (100 − x) wt% Na, Bi, Sr‐doped PZT + x wt% La0.65Pb0.35MnO3 (PZTNB‐1 + PLM) magnetoelectric ceramics was studied. Profound interdiffusion of two interacting phases occurs in nearly all cases. The BT + BLM and PZTNB‐1 + PLM ceramics exhibit low piezoelectric parameters even with small manganite contents (10–20 wt%). The increased content of the magnetostrictive phase complicates the polarization process due to the high conductivity of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3 and La0.65Pb0.35MnO3. Doping of BaTiO3 and PZTNB‐1 with small additions of manganite components affects piezoelectric properties, thereby lowering efficiency of the resulting material.