MailerLiteBest overall for small businesses
Automations, websites, landing pages and digital product sales for $12 a month at 500 subscribers and $89 at 10,000; the free plan is now just 250 subscribers.
Email marketing software
Email marketing software is a service that stores your subscribers, sends campaigns and runs automated sequences such as welcome series and abandoned-cart reminders. Our email marketing software reviews price nine tools at four list sizes and check how each one counts contacts, caps sends and proves deliverability, using prices listed in October 2026.
BrevoBest for large lists that email occasionally
Charges by emails sent, not contacts: about $46 a month for 10,000 contacts mailed four times on Starter, and a free plan that stores up to 100,000 contacts.
GetResponseBest for courses and webinars
Unlimited sends from $19 a month, $79 at 10,000 contacts, unlimited landing pages, and webinars, courses and paid newsletters on Creator; no free plan.
KlaviyoBest for ecommerce stores
Store-event flows, segmentation and SMS on unified customer profiles, with the only 5/5 in EmailToolTester's 2026 deliverability rating; about $150 a month at 10,000 profiles.
KitBest for creators
Free up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts and landing pages, plus digital products, paid newsletters and a recommendation network; paid plans start at $39 a month.
ActiveCampaignBest for advanced automation
The deepest automation builder and the best January 2024 seed-list result (94.2%), at a high price: Plus costs $239 a month at 10,000 contacts.
MailchimpBest for teams already using it
A polished editor, multivariate testing and a Mailchimp-built Shopify integration, but it bills unsubscribed contacts and costs $110 a month at 10,000 contacts on Essentials.
beehiivBest for paid newsletters
0% platform fee on paid subscriptions, an ad network and a website on every plan; prices rose on October 1, 2026, with Lite from $59 a month.
Constant ContactBest for live phone support
Phone and chat support, events, polls and surveys on every plan; custom automations need Premium and Standard costs $160 at 10,000 contacts.
Compare side by side
Every score and price in one table. Select a column to sort. Prices are US list prices; hover a price for the full terms.
| MailerLite | 8.6 | 9.2 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 8.4 | $12/mo | Yes | – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | 8.5 | 9.3 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 8.2 | $9/mo | Yes | – |
| GetResponse | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.4 | $19/mo | – | – |
| Klaviyo | 8.3 | 6.6 | 9.4 | 9.0 | 7.6 | 9.6 | About $20/mo | Yes | – |
| Kit | 8.1 | 8.0 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 8.8 | $33/mo | Yes | – |
| ActiveCampaign | 7.9 | 6.4 | 9.6 | 9.0 | 7.4 | 8.2 | $15/mo | – | 30 days |
| Mailchimp | 7.6 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 8.0 | $13/mo | Yes | – |
| beehiiv | 7.5 | 7.0 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 9.0 | $49/mo | Yes | – |
| Constant Contact | 6.9 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 6.6 | $12/mo | – | 30 days |
What does email marketing software do?
It keeps your list and mails it. Beyond that, most tools now build signup forms and landing pages, and many add SMS, a simple website or a checkout for digital products and paid newsletters.
The products differ more than their pricing pages admit. MailerLite charges by subscribers, Brevo by emails sent and Klaviyo by every active profile, whether you mail it or not, which is why a tool that costs $12 a month at 500 contacts can cost $300 or more at 50,000.
Which email marketing tool fits you?
Don’t trust the entry price. Start with what you sell and how often you send, then price the plan you need at the list size you expect in a year, because the cheapest tool at 500 contacts is rarely the cheapest at 10,000.
- If you run a small business with a weekly newsletter: MailerLite Comfort. It costs $12 a month at 500 subscribers and $89 at 10,000, with automations, landing pages and a website included.
- If your list is big but you mail it once or twice a month: Brevo, because it charges for emails sent, about $46 a month for 10,000 contacts mailed four times on Starter.
- If you sell through Shopify or another store: Klaviyo. Its flows run on store events, and it was the only tool rated 5/5 in EmailToolTester’s 2026 deliverability rating.
- If you are a creator selling products or a paid newsletter: Kit, free up to 10,000 subscribers.
- If you run webinars or courses: GetResponse Creator. Sends are unlimited.
- If your automations branch: ActiveCampaign Plus, at $239 a month for 10,000 contacts.
| Contacts | MailerLite Comfort | GetResponse Starter | Mailchimp Essentials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $12 | $19 (1,000 tier) | $13 |
| 10,000 | $89 | $79 | $110 |
| 50,000 | $319 | $299 | $385 |
When should you not pay for email marketing software?
Skip the paid plans while your list is small and you only send broadcasts. Kit’s free plan covers 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, and Brevo’s free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts but sends only 300 emails a day.
Don’t bother paying for automation you won’t build. In practice, a welcome email and a monthly newsletter run fine on a free tier, and the jump to a plan with branching workflows, such as ActiveCampaign Plus, only earns its cost when sequences actually drive sales. Most people miss that MailerLite’s and Klaviyo’s free plans now stop at 250 contacts.
What catches email marketing buyers out?
How contacts are counted. Then send caps. Then price changes nobody announced loudly.
- Billed contacts. Mailchimp bills unsubscribed contacts, and Klaviyo bills every active profile. If you’ve got a cold list, clean it before you import it.
- Send limits. Several plans cap monthly sends at 10 to 15 times your list. When you email daily, per-email pricing turns against you.
- Entry-plan limits. ActiveCampaign’s $19 Starter caps automations at five actions, and GetResponse’s Starter allows one custom workflow.
Recent changes matter too. beehiiv raised prices on October 1, 2026, and Kit moved automations off its free plan in September 2026. When you renew, check the tier your list has grown into, since MailerLite and Kit move you up automatically.
Does deliverability depend on the tool?
Less than vendors claim, and the public evidence is thin. EmailToolTester’s last seed-list round, from January 2024, ranged from 94.2% for ActiveCampaign to 88.3% for Brevo among our picks. In practice your own setup counts for more. Google requires anyone sending over 5,000 messages a day to Gmail to authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, offer one-click unsubscribe and keep spam complaints below 0.30%, and in the US the CAN-SPAM Act gives you 10 business days to honour an opt-out.
How we build our email marketing software reviews
Our email marketing software reviews are research scores. We read official pricing data, plan pages and help documentation, check them against dated independent sources, and price every tool at 500, 2,500, 10,000 and 50,000 contacts. We don’t send test campaigns.
When you read a score, keep your list size in mind. Price carries the most weight, so a tool that ranks lower overall can still be the cheapest at your volume. Commissions never change a score; Klaviyo and Mailchimp have no public affiliate program. See also SEO tools and the wider marketing and SEO section.
How we score email marketing tools
Every product here is scored 0 to 10 on the same criteria, using published evidence. The overall score is the weighted average.
Price at your list sizeMonthly cost at 500, 2,500, 10,000 and 50,000 contacts on the plan most buyers need, how contacts are counted (unsubscribed, inactive, duplicates), send caps and overage fees, yearly discounts, and how far the free plan goes.weight30%
Automation & segmentationVisual automation builder, triggers, branching and goals, limits per plan, segmentation depth, A/B and multivariate testing, and predictive features.weight20%
Deliverability evidenceDated, published third-party evidence only: EmailToolTester's seed-list inbox results (latest round January 2024) and its 2026 feature-based deliverability rating, plus authentication support and dedicated IP options.weight15%
Forms, pages & ease of useSignup forms and pop-ups, landing pages and websites by plan, editor quality, templates, seats and support channels, and how fast a non-specialist can send a first campaign.weight15%
Commerce & creator toolsStore integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce and others), abandoned-cart and product flows, SMS, paid newsletters, digital product sales and fees, referral programs and recommendation or ad networks.weight20%
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest email marketing software?
It depends on list size and send frequency. Free: Kit up to 10,000 subscribers, Brevo up to 300 emails a day. Paid at 500 contacts: MailerLite and Constant Contact at $12 a month. At 10,000 contacts with unlimited sends, GetResponse Starter costs $79. For big lists mailed rarely, Brevo's per-email pricing usually wins.
Is there a good free email marketing tool?
Yes. Kit's free plan covers 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, though automations moved to paid plans in September 2026. Brevo stores up to 100,000 contacts free but caps sends at 300 a day. MailerLite and Klaviyo free plans stop at 250 contacts, so don't use them as more than a trial.
Why do email marketing prices vary so much between tools?
They bill on different units. MailerLite charges by subscribers ($89 a month at 10,000), Brevo by emails sent (about $46 for 10,000 contacts mailed four times on Starter) and Klaviyo by active profiles (about $150 at 10,000). Mailchimp also counts unsubscribed contacts, and Brevo's Starter plan tops out at 100,000 emails a month. Price your own list size and sending frequency before you compare.
Do I need SPF, DKIM and DMARC for email marketing?
Yes, if you send in volume. Since February 2024 Gmail and Yahoo require bulk senders to authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, offer one-click unsubscribe and keep spam complaints under 0.3%. Don't skip it: authenticate your own sending domain in whichever tool you pick, because the platform's reputation can't cover for yours.
Which email marketing software is best for ecommerce?
Klaviyo, if automated store emails bring in a meaningful share of revenue. Its flows use store, web and messaging data, it adds SMS and WhatsApp, and it earned the only 5/5 in EmailToolTester's 2026 deliverability rating. It costs about $150 a month at 10,000 profiles and moves you up a tier at the next billing cycle once active profiles pass your limit. On a tighter budget, look at GetResponse Marketer.