Marketing Email Tools Compared: Pricing, Limits and Fit for 2026
For most small teams that want a mainstream email platform with a free starting point, Mailchimp is the best first pick. Its free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and the Standard plan starts at $20 a month for a 500-contact list billed monthly.
Which Tool Fits Which Job
- Small team, easy start: Mailchimp - free plan up to 250 contacts, then Standard from $20 a month at 500 contacts
- Gmail team reporting: EmailAnalytics - an analytics add-on for Gmail, not a sending platform
- CRM-led B2B marketing: HubSpot - Marketing Hub Starter from $7 a month per seat, with higher tiers at $800 and $3,600 a month
- Branching automation: ActiveCampaign - Starter from $15 a month at 1,000 contacts, no free plan
- Shopify and store data: Klaviyo - from $20 a month for 500 profiles, free up to 250 profiles
- Free small lists: MailerLite - free up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month
Comparison at a Glance
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (plan, billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Small teams new to email | Free to 250 contacts; Standard $20/mo at 500 contacts, monthly | Cost rises quickly as the list grows |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | B2B teams running CRM and marketing together | Starter $7/mo per seat, monthly; Professional $800/mo | Large jump between tiers |
| ActiveCampaign | Complex, branching automation | Starter $15/mo at 1,000 contacts, monthly or annual | No free plan; only a free trial |
| Klaviyo | Shopify and e-commerce stores | Email plan $20/mo for 500 profiles, monthly | Gets expensive with profile count |
| Brevo | Sending volume over list size | Free: 300 emails/day; Starter $9/mo from 5,000 emails a month | Automation is simpler than ActiveCampaign's |
| Constant Contact | Events, nonprofits, local businesses | Lite $12/mo monthly or $10.20/mo annual | No free plan; basic automation |
| Campaign Monitor | Agencies and design-led brands | Lite $13/mo monthly or $11.70/mo annual (500-contact band) | 30-day trial only; less powerful automation |
| AWeber | Bloggers and simple newsletters | Lite $15/mo for 500 subscribers, 5,000 sends a month | Basic automation; no CRM |
| GetResponse | Teams running webinars | Starter $19/mo monthly or $15.58/mo annual | Webinar features are basic; automation needs higher tiers |
| Drip | E-commerce automation by person count | $39/mo for 1 to 2,500 people | No free plan; higher than most alternatives |
| ConvertKit (Kit) | Creators and newsletter writers | Free to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $33/mo billed annually | Limited email design options; no CRM |
| Omnisend | E-commerce with email, SMS and push | Free to 250 contacts; Standard from $11.20/mo for 500 contacts | Basic email templates |
| Moosend | Budget automation on small lists | From $9/mo at 500 contacts monthly ($7 billed annually) | No SMS; smaller template library |
| MailerLite | Simple, low-cost email | Free to 250 subscribers; Comfort $12/mo at 500 subscribers | Limited advanced features; basic CRM |
| Benchmark Email | Multilingual teams | Free to 500 contacts; Pro from $19/mo (varies by region) | Basic automation; limited integrations |
How the Prices Are Charged
Before comparing numbers, check what each vendor charges for. Three models dominate this list, and they produce very different bills for the same business.
Contact-based plans price by the number of contacts or profiles you store. Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Moosend, MailerLite, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor and Drip work this way. Growing a list raises the bill even if you send the same number of emails.
Send-based plans price by monthly email volume. Brevo sets its paid tiers by emails sent, starting at 5,000 emails a month on Starter. Sender-heavy programs with small lists can cost less here than on contact-based plans.
Seat-based plans price by user. HubSpot Marketing Hub is priced per seat, so the number of people with access changes the bill as well as the tier.
Some plans are shown with annual discounts. Where a vendor shows both, the table and profile pages list monthly and annual rates. Where a vendor publishes no figure for your list size, this page says so rather than estimating.
Monthly Cost at Three List Sizes
| Tool and plan | 500 contacts | 5,000 contacts | 10,000 contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp (Standard) | $20/mo | $100/mo (2,501 to 5,000 band, up to 60,000 emails) | $135/mo (5,001 to 10,000 band, up to 120,000 emails) |
| Klaviyo (Email plan) | $20/mo (500 profiles) | $100/mo (5,000 profiles) | $150/mo (10,000 profiles) |
| Drip | $39/mo (1 to 2,500 people) | $89/mo (4,501 to 5,000 people) | $154/mo (9,001 to 10,000 people) |
| Moosend (monthly billing) | $9/mo ($7/mo billed annually) | $48/mo ($38/mo billed annually) | $88/mo ($70/mo billed annually) |
| MailerLite | $12/mo Comfort ($10.80 billed annually); $25/mo Power ($22.50 billed annually) | Not published for this size | Not published for this size |
| Omnisend (Standard) | $11.20/mo, the displayed introductory rate for the first three months | Not published for this size | Not published for this size |
The Full Breakdown
Mailchimp's free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a limit of 250 sends a day. That is enough to learn the editor and run a small welcome sequence. Standard starts at $20 a month for a 500-contact list, which includes up to 6,000 emails a month at that size.
Once the list passes 2,500 contacts the plan moves to a higher band: $100 a month for 2,501 to 5,000 contacts (up to 60,000 emails), and $135 a month for 5,001 to 10,000 contacts (up to 120,000 emails). Budget for those steps before the list reaches them.
Where it does well: drag-and-drop editing, a large template library, audience segmentation and A/B testing. It suits a team that sends newsletters and occasional promotions and wants the lowest learning curve in this list.
Where it falls short: the price rises quickly with list size. Advanced automation needs higher tiers, and support on free and lower plans can be slow.
Price: free to 250 contacts; Standard from $20 a month at 500 contacts. The Standard 14-day trial is offered on the pricing page.
HubSpot's email tools sit inside a CRM, so a campaign can be triggered by a deal stage, a support ticket or a form fill, and sales staff see the same contact record. For a B2B team this is the main reason to pay for it.
Marketing Hub Starter is $7 a month per seat. Professional is $800 a month and Enterprise is $3,600 a month. The Marketing Hub pricing is per plan with a per-seat model, so the total depends on how many people use it and which tier they need. Free Marketing Hub tools are available.
Where it falls short: the distance between Starter and Professional is large, and some features sit behind the higher tiers. For a team that only sends email, a simpler tool costs far less.
Best for: B2B teams that already run their pipeline in HubSpot and want marketing, sales and service data in one place.
ActiveCampaign's workflow builder supports conditions, splits and goals, so one program can respond differently to a click, a purchase or a missed step. A built-in CRM sits alongside the email tools.
Starting prices scale with the contact count. At 1,000 contacts the tiers are Starter $15, Plus $49, Pro $79 and Enterprise $145 a month. The pricing page lists the same monthly rate for annual billing.
Where it falls short: there is no free plan, only a trial. The interface takes time to learn, and the richer tiers are needed for advanced segmentation.
Best for: teams that want deep automation without moving to an enterprise suite.
Klaviyo is built for stores. Orders, browsing and cart events feed directly into flows, so abandoned-cart and post-purchase messages can be set up without custom code. The free plan covers up to 250 profiles and 500 emails a month.
The email plan is priced by profile count: $20 a month for 500 profiles, $30 for 1,000, $60 for 2,500, $100 for 5,000, $150 for 10,000 and $400 for 25,000. Email plus SMS bundles are listed on the pricing page without figures in the detail used here, so those costs should be read directly from that page.
Where it falls short: cost climbs with profile count, and it is less suited to non-commerce businesses. The interface can feel heavy for a simple newsletter.
Best for: stores that rely on product data and purchase history to decide who gets which message.
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, prices by monthly email volume rather than by contacts stored. The free plan allows 300 emails a day and storage for up to 100,000 contacts, which makes it one of the more generous free options here.
Starter is $9 a month from 5,000 emails a month with no daily limit. Standard is $18 a month and adds automation, A/B testing and advanced reports. Professional is $499 a month at monthly billing for 150,000 to 10 million sends; the yearly toggle on the pricing page shows $449.08 a month.
Where it falls short: its automation is simpler than ActiveCampaign's branching builder, and the email volume tiers need to be matched to actual sending patterns to avoid overpaying.
Best for: small and mid-sized businesses that want one platform for marketing and transactional email on a volume budget.
Constant Contact has tools for event invitations, registrations and donation pages. Lite includes email and social tools with monthly sends up to ten times the contact count. Standard adds automation, scheduling and A/B testing, with sends up to twelve times the contact count. Premium is $80 a month ($68 billed annually) and includes 500 SMS a month.
Where it falls short: there is no free plan, only a free trial that needs no card. Its automation is basic next to the more advanced tools here, and cost grows for larger lists.
Best for: organizations where events and phone support matter more than automation depth.
Campaign Monitor is known for its polished templates and a drag-and-drop builder. Pricing is set by a contact-count selector. Essentials at the 500-contact band is $31 a month ($27.90 billed annually) with unlimited sends. Premier is $171 a month ($153.90 billed annually) and adds phone support.
A 30-day trial includes 500 contacts and a 500-email limit. There is no ongoing free plan.
Where it falls short: automation is less powerful than ActiveCampaign's, the tier structure takes time to read, and the integration list is shorter than some rivals.
Best for: agencies and brands that put design quality first and run modest automation.
AWeber's Lite plan at 500 subscribers is $15 a month and includes 5,000 email sends. The Plus plan is $30 a month at the same subscriber level with 6,000 sends. A 14-day free trial is available, and the pricing page shows no ongoing free plan.
Where it falls short: automation is basic, the interface looks dated next to newer tools, and there is no CRM.
Best for: creators who want autoresponders, forms and landing pages without extra modules.
GetResponse's Starter plan at $19 a month includes unlimited sends, a welcome series, one automation workflow, landing pages and signup forms. Marketer is $59 a month ($48.38 billed annually) and adds unlimited workflows, advanced segmentation and abandoned-cart recovery. Creator is $69 a month ($56.58 billed annually) and adds webinars, a website builder and a course creator.
Where it falls short: the webinar feature is basic next to dedicated webinar platforms, and automation depth depends on the tier.
Best for: teams that already host webinars and want the email side in the same account.
Drip prices by people count. The 1 to 2,500 band is $39 a month, 2,501 to 3,000 is $49, 4,501 to 5,000 is $89, 9,001 to 10,000 is $154, 22,501 to 25,000 is $369 and 45,001 to 50,000 is $699. Lower bands include up to 50 workflows and unlimited sends.
The trial is 14 days with no card needed. There is no ongoing free plan.
Where it falls short: the price is higher than most alternatives at comparable sizes, the template set is limited and the tool is less suited to non-commerce use.
Best for: stores that need behaviour-based workflows and can pay for them.
ConvertKit, now branded Kit, has a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers with landing pages, forms, unlimited email broadcasts and tagging. Visual automations and sequences start on Creator, which is $33 a month billed annually and also removes Kit branding. Pro is $66 a month billed annually and adds deliverability reporting and unlimited users.
Paid plans come with a 14-day trial and no card required.
Where it falls short: email design options are limited, there is no CRM, and automation is less sophisticated than ActiveCampaign's.
Best for: a single creator or a small publishing team that sends newsletters and sells digital products.
Omnisend's free plan covers 250 contacts with 500 emails and 500 web push notifications a month. Standard is $11.20 a month for 500 contacts and 6,000 emails; that is the rate shown for the first three months under a 30% introductory offer. Pro is $41.30 a month for 2,500 contacts with unlimited monthly emails and SMS from $0.007 per message, priced by country and volume.
Where it falls short: advanced e-commerce analytics are less deep than Klaviyo's, and the email templates are basic.
Best for: stores that want SMS and push in one plan and prebuilt cart and order workflows.
Moosend prices by contact count. At 1,000 contacts it is $16 a month ($13 billed annually); at 5,000, $48 ($38 annually); at 10,000, $88 ($70 annually); and at 25,000, $160 ($128 annually). Email credit packs of 350,000 ($350 a month) and 500,000 ($500 a month) are also offered. A 30-day trial needs no card, and there is no free plan.
Where it falls short: no SMS, a limited template library, and a smaller integration list than the larger platforms.
Best for: small businesses that need visual automation on a tight budget.
MailerLite's free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. The paid Comfort tier starts at $12 a month for 500 subscribers ($10.80 billed annually), and its monthly email allowance is ten times the subscriber ceiling. Power is $25 a month ($22.50 billed annually) for 500 subscribers with unlimited monthly emails.
Where it falls short: advanced features are limited, the CRM is basic, some industries are restricted, and new accounts can wait for an approval step.
Best for: small teams that want a clean editor and a free start before paying.
The free plan allows 500 contacts and up to 2,500 emails a month, with one user, one domain, two API keys and 150 AI credits. Pro is $19 a month for 1,000 to 100,000 contacts; Pro pricing varies by region, so the pricing page should be read for your country.
The interface is available in nine languages, which helps teams that write in more than one.
Where it falls short: automation is basic, the template designs look dated, and the integration list is limited.
Best for: teams that run campaigns in several languages and want a free start.
EmailAnalytics: Not a Sending Platform
EmailAnalytics reads Gmail and Google Workspace activity and reports on response times, email volume, peak hours and team productivity. It does not send campaigns, run automations or manage subscriber lists, so it belongs next to an email platform rather than in place of one.
Its pricing is not listed in the figures used for this page, so the cost is shown as pricing on request. The product is limited to Gmail and Google Workspace; Outlook users need another option.
Best for: sales and marketing teams on Gmail that want to measure how quickly they reply to inbound leads.
Decision Table: If You Need X, Look at Y
| If you need | Start with | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A free plan and an easy editor | Mailchimp or MailerLite | Mailchimp's free plan covers 250 contacts; MailerLite's covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month |
| Product-driven emails for a Shopify store | Klaviyo | Store events and purchase data feed flows directly |
| E-commerce automation priced by people | Drip | Bands from 1 to 2,500 people at $39 a month, with unlimited sends |
| Branching automation with a CRM | ActiveCampaign | Conditional logic and built-in CRM, starting at $15 a month at 1,000 contacts |
| B2B pipeline and marketing in one system | HubSpot | Email triggers can use CRM records, at $7 per seat for Starter |
| Email, SMS and push for a store | Omnisend | All three channels in one plan, with a free tier to 250 contacts |
| A newsletter with paid products | ConvertKit (Kit) | Free to 10,000 subscribers, with digital product selling on the platform |
| Events, registrations and phone support | Constant Contact | Event tools and phone support on the Premier-level offer, with a free trial |
| Volume-based sending for a small list | Brevo | Starter from $9 a month at 5,000 emails, and a free plan at 300 emails a day |
| Automation on a tight budget | Moosend | From $9 a month at 500 contacts, $7 billed annually |
| Several languages in one account | Benchmark Email | Interface in nine languages, with a free plan at 500 contacts |
How to Choose
Start from your contact count and send volume
Write down your current contacts and the emails you send in a typical month. A 500-contact list that sends weekly is priced very differently from a 500-contact list that sends daily. Use the cost table above to compare two or three tools at the size you expect in twelve months, not only today.
Decide what the automation has to do
A welcome series needs little more than a free plan. A program that branches on purchases, cancellations and support tickets needs a visual builder with conditions, such as ActiveCampaign or Drip. Count the workflows you will run in the first six months and check that the plan you pick includes them.
Check where your data has to live
If the email program needs to read orders or support tickets, the integration matters more than the template library. Klaviyo and Omnisend are built around store data; HubSpot is built around a CRM record.
Plan for the step-up, not just the entry price
Mailchimp rises from $20 a month at 500 contacts to $100 a month at 2,501 to 5,000 contacts. MailerLite's Comfort and Power plans are priced at the same 500-subscriber level. Choose the tool whose next tier you can afford when the list grows.
Migration Checklist
| Step | What to do | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Export contacts | Export addresses, custom fields and consent status | Contacts without a clear opt-in history should not be carried over |
| 2. Match the plan | Confirm the new plan's contact limit and monthly send allowance | Contact-based and send-based limits differ; Mailchimp's Standard at 500 contacts allows 6,000 emails a month |
| 3. Authenticate the domain | Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for the new sender before importing | Unauthenticated sending can reach the spam folder |
| 4. Import suppressions first | Load unsubscribed and bounced addresses before any active contacts | Importing suppressed addresses as active breaks compliance |
| 5. Rebuild core automations | Recreate the welcome series, cart or renewal flow and re-engagement | Triggers rarely transfer; test each one with a test contact |
| 6. Warm up volume | Start with the most engaged segment, then widen | A large first send from a new account can hurt reputation |
| 7. Run both for one cycle | Keep the old account live for one full sending cycle | Avoid sending the same campaign from both platforms |
| 8. Cancel and archive | Cancel the old plan after the last send and keep a final export | Some plans bill until the end of the period |
The Bottom Line
For a small team that is starting out, Mailchimp is the most practical first pick: a free plan up to 250 contacts, then $20 a month at 500 contacts billed monthly. Its cost rises with the list, so price the 5,000-contact band before you commit.
Choose by job, not by brand. Klaviyo and Omnisend suit stores, ActiveCampaign suits branching automation, HubSpot suits CRM-led B2B work, and ConvertKit (Kit) suits creators. Moosend and MailerLite are the lowest-cost paths for small lists.
Prices here are the figures shown on each vendor's pricing page on 7 October 2026. Pricing changes, so read the pricing page for your region and list size before you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free marketing email tool?
It depends on list size and volume. Mailchimp's free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. MailerLite covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Brevo allows 300 emails a day and storage for up to 100,000 contacts. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, but its visual automations start on a paid plan.
Which tool has the best deliverability?
This page does not rank deliverability, because the figures used here do not measure it. Whichever tool you pick, authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, remove bounced and unsubscribed addresses, and watch complaint rates.
Which tool is best for automation?
For branching, multi-step programs across a whole customer lifecycle, ActiveCampaign is the strongest fit in this list, starting at $15 a month at 1,000 contacts. For e-commerce flows priced by people count, Drip starts at $39 a month. Customer.io is not in this list, but its Essentials plan is listed at $100 a month.
When should I move off a free plan?
Move when the contact count exceeds the free limit or when you need automations the free plan does not include. Entry prices on the paid side are $9 a month for Moosend at 500 contacts, $12 a month for MailerLite's Comfort tier at 500 subscribers and $20 a month for Mailchimp's Standard at 500 contacts.
Should I choose an all-in-one platform or a specialist tool?
All-in-one platforms such as HubSpot and ActiveCampaign add CRM and sales features, which helps when those records drive your emails. Specialist tools such as Klaviyo for stores or Kit for creators often fit their own use case at a lower total cost.
What is the difference between marketing and transactional email?
Marketing emails are newsletters, promotions and campaigns sent to subscribers who opted in. Transactional emails such as password resets and order confirmations are triggered by an action. Brevo handles both from one account; many other tools in this list focus on marketing sends.
How do I move my list to a new tool?
Export contacts with their consent status, match the new plan's limits, authenticate your domain, import suppressions before active contacts, rebuild the core automations, and send the first campaigns to your most engaged segment. The migration checklist above lists each step.