Cheapest Email Marketing Services in 2026 (Real Pricing, No Tricks)

Published 2026-08-01

Cheap email marketing is easy to find. Cheap email marketing that actually delivers, has a usable editor, and doesn’t lock you in once you grow — that’s harder. Most “cheapest” lists online are written by tools that want you to sign up for their free tier and then surprise you when the bill jumps at 2,500 subscribers.

This list is different. We compared 14 platforms on real subscriber-tier pricing, what the free tier actually includes, and where the price traps are. These seven are the ones we’d trust with our own list in 2026.

Quick answer: who’s this guide for?

• You’re starting a newsletter or side-project and don’t want to pay $30+/mo
• You have under 5,000 subscribers and expect to stay there for 12+ months
• You send newsletters, basic automations, and the occasional broadcast
• You want predictable pricing — no surprise tier jumps at 2,500 contacts
• You’d rather have a free tier that actually works than a “free trial” that expires in 14 days

If you have 10,000+ subscribers, send 100k+ emails per month, or need advanced automation, jump to our best email marketing tools for small business guide instead.

How we picked these seven

We started with every email marketing tool that markets itself as “cheap” or “free” and filtered to these seven based on:

1. Free tier must include sending, not just a 14-day trial
2. No subscriber-tier jumps above 5,000 contacts that more than double the price
3. Hidden costs called out: SMS charges, transactional email metered separately, image hosting fees
4. Deliverability above best-in-class on inbox placement tests
5. Active development: company is shipping features in the last 6 months
6. English-language support: ticket response or chat, not just docs

The seven below survived. MailerLite wins overall, but the others beat it for specific use cases.

The 7 cheapest email marketing services in 2026

1. MailerLite — Cheapest option for 0–1,000 subscribers (free)

Pricing: Free up to 1,000 subscribers · $10/mo for 1,001–2,500 · $20/mo for 2,501–5,000

The default answer for anyone starting a newsletter or side-project in 2026. Free tier actually includes automations, landing pages, and a drag-and-drop editor — no asterisks. Pricing scales linearly as you grow, no surprise tier jumps.

Why it’s the cheapest real option:

• Free tier covers 1,000 subscribers (4x Mailchimp’s 250)
• No image hosting fees (unlike ConvertKit’s old plan)
• Automation, A/B testing, and signup forms included free
• Stripe checkout, payment links, and a digital product seller built in

The honest downside:

• Free tier requires a confirmed business domain (not gmail.com)
• Landing page templates look slightly dated compared to ConvertKit
• No native transactional email — pair with Brevo or Mailgun if you need receipts

Best for: Anyone starting out who expects to stay under 1,000 subscribers for the first 6–12 months.

2. Brevo — Cheapest for transactional + marketing combined

Pricing: Free up to 300 emails/day (not subscribers) · $9/mo Starter · $18/mo Standard

Brevo used to be Sendinblue. The pricing model is fundamentally different from everyone else: you pay per email sent, not per subscriber. That’s a massive win if you email a list of 50,000 subscribers once a month (only pay for 50,000 sends), and a disaster if you email 1,000 subscribers 30 times.

Why it’s cheap for the right user:

• Free tier is 300 emails/day — enough for a 2,000-subscriber weekly newsletter
• Transactional email (receipts, password resets) included in the same dashboard
• SMS and WhatsApp campaigns on the same plan

The honest downside:

• Per-email pricing punishes daily senders
• Marketing automation workflows are clunkier than ActiveCampaign
• The brand change from Sendinblue still confuses some users (and Google search)

Best for: SaaS companies, e-commerce shops, and anyone who needs transactional email alongside marketing email on one bill.

3. Mailchimp — Cheapest recognized brand (if you stay under 500 contacts)

Pricing: Free up to 250 subscribers · $13/mo Essentials (500 contacts) · $20/mo Essentials (1,000 contacts)

Mailchimp’s free tier is the most generous in terms of brand recognition — every freelancer and small business owner knows the name. It’s also the least generous in terms of subscriber count: 250 free contacts vs MailerLite’s 1,000.

Why people still pick it:

• Best-in-class deliverability for a “free” tool (consistently above best-in-class)
• Deep integrations: Shopify, Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Canva
• Brand templates and creative assets included
• Mobile app actually works (most competitors’ don’t)

The honest downside:

• $20/mo at 1,000 contacts is 2x MailerLite
• Pricing jumps non-linearly above 2,500 contacts — gets genuinely expensive
• Some “free” features are trial-only (send time optimization, multivariate testing)

Best for: People who want the most recognized name and stay under 500 subscribers. Or people already in Mailchimp’s ecosystem.

4. Mailjet — Cheapest high-volume transactional sender

Pricing: Free up to 6,000 emails/month · $15/mo for 30,000 emails · $35/mo for 50,000 emails

Mailjet is the cheapest dedicated option if you send transactional email in volume (password resets, receipts, shipping notifications). It has marketing email capabilities too, but the company’s strength is SMTP and API delivery.

Why it’s cheap for transactional:

• Dedicated SMTP relay at $15/mo handles 30,000 emails — Mailgun and Postmark charge 3-5x
• Real-time API, webhooks, and event tracking built in
• Free tier (6,000 emails/month) covers most small SaaS apps

The honest downside:

• Marketing email features are basic compared to MailerLite or Brevo
• No landing pages, signup forms, or visual automation builder
• Deliverability is fine but not best-in-class for marketing sends

Best for: Developers running SaaS apps who need transactional email cheap and don’t care about newsletter features.

5. Moosend — Cheapest mid-tier paid plan ($9/mo flat)

Pricing: Free for 30 days (no free tier after) · $9/mo for up to 500 subscribers (no subscriber cap up to 1,000) · Custom pricing above

Moosend’s pricing is unusual and worth understanding: the $9/mo Pro plan covers up to 500 subscribers, with no per-subscriber pricing until you hit 1,000+. For someone on a tight budget who expects to grow past MailerLite’s free tier, Moosend stays at $9/mo longer than anyone else.

Why it’s cheap:

• $9/mo flat for up to 500 subscribers (compare: Mailchimp $13, MailerLite $10 at 1,000)
• Automation workflows included on the Pro plan
• AI subject line generator and send-time optimization built in

The honest downside:

• No permanent free tier — only 30-day trial
• Smaller ecosystem of integrations than Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign
• Greek company, support hours may not match US/EU business hours

Best for: Budget-conscious users who want predictable flat pricing for the first year.

6. AWeber — Cheapest legacy tool with no subscriber-tier jumps

Pricing: Free up to 500 subscribers · $13.16/mo for 500–2,500 · $32.99/mo for 2,500–5,000

AWeber has been around since 1998 and is one of the original email marketing tools. Their pricing is straightforward: free for the first 500 subscribers, then a flat monthly fee up to 5,000 contacts regardless of where you land in that range.

Why it’s cheap for established users:

• Free tier with 500 subscribers and no daily send cap
• Flat pricing within tiers — paying for 500 contacts is the same as paying for 2,500
• 30+ year track record (literally)

The honest downside:

• Interface feels dated compared to MailerLite or Kit
• Automation builder is functional but less polished
• Per-subscriber pricing above 5,000 contacts gets expensive fast

Best for: Long-time users who don’t want to migrate, and people who value a 30-year track record over modern UI.

7. GetResponse — Cheapest if you want webinars included

Pricing: Free up to 500 subscribers · $13/mo Email Marketing (1,000) · $19/mo Marketing Automation (1,000) · $99/mo includes webinars

GetResponse’s differentiator is that webinars and conversion funnels are bundled in, not sold as separate add-ons like Zoom and ClickFunnels would. If webinars are part of your funnel, this is genuinely cheaper than buying separately.

Why it’s cheap for webinar users:

• Webinars included on the $99/mo plan — Zoom Webinars alone is $79/mo for 100 attendees
• Conversion funnels (landing page → email → checkout) included
• Free tier with 500 subscribers and unlimited newsletters

The honest downside:

• The free tier requires you to confirm via phone (some friction)
• Webinar UI is less polished than Zoom or Demio
• Above 5,000 subscribers, pricing becomes uncompetitive vs ActiveCampaign

Best for: Course creators, coaches, and consultants who run webinars as part of their sales process.

The comparison table

Service	Free tier	Paid starts	1,000 subs	5,000 subs	Best for
MailerLite	1,000 subs	$10/mo	$10/mo	$50/mo	Best overall
Brevo	300/day emails	$9/mo	~$15/mo	~$60/mo	Transactional + marketing
Mailchimp	250 subs	$13/mo	$20/mo	$100/mo	Recognized brand
Mailjet	6,000 emails/mo	$15/mo	~$25/mo	~$80/mo	High-volume transactional
Moosend	30-day trial	$9/mo	$9/mo	Custom	Flat pricing
AWeber	500 subs	$13/mo	$13/mo	$33/mo	Established users
GetResponse	500 subs	$13/mo	$19/mo	$89/mo	Webinars included

How to choose: a 4-question decision tree

Q1: Do you send transactional email (receipts, password resets)?

• Yes → Brevo or Mailjet
• No → Continue

Q2: Do you run webinars as part of your funnel?

• Yes → GetResponse
• No → Continue

Q3: How many subscribers do you have today?

• Under 250 → Mailchimp (if brand matters) or MailerLite (if features matter)
• 250–1,000 → MailerLite
• 1,000–5,000 → MailerLite or Moosend
• 5,000+ → See our small business guide

Q4: Are you a developer building a SaaS app?

• Yes → Mailjet for transactional, Brevo for marketing
• No → MailerLite

What we don’t recommend (and why)

• MailerLite alternatives like Sender: cheaper upfront but deliverability reports are inconsistent
• Constant Contact’s free tier: 60-day trial only, no permanent free option
• HubSpot’s free marketing hub: 1,000 contacts but the UX is built for sales teams, not email marketers
• Sendgrid’s marketing campaigns: confusing pricing, hidden per-email charges after the first 50k
• Omnisend: 500 free emails only, designed for e-commerce shops not newsletters
• Substack: free but you don’t own your list, and they take 10% of paid subscriptions

The cheapest path for most people

For 80% of readers starting a newsletter or side-project in 2026, the answer is MailerLite’s free tier. It covers 1,000 subscribers with no asterisks, automations are included, and when you grow past 1,000 the $10/mo paid tier is the cheapest in the category.

The exceptions:

• If you send transactional email too → Brevo
• If you’re a developer → Mailjet for transactional
• If webinars are part of your funnel → GetResponse

Frequently asked questions

Is free email marketing actually good?

Yes, for the most part. MailerLite, Brevo, and Mailchimp all have genuinely usable free tiers in 2026 — none of them are crippled “trial” versions. The catch is subscriber caps and per-email sending limits, which work fine until you grow.

What is the cheapest email marketing tool for under 500 subscribers?

MailerLite’s free tier (1,000 subscribers), AWeber’s free tier (500 subscribers), and Mailchimp’s free tier (250 subscribers). All three work. MailerLite wins on features, Mailchimp wins on integrations, AWeber wins on track record.

How do email marketing services make money if the free tier is so generous?

They make money on the assumption that some free users will grow and convert to paid. MailerLite’s conversion rate from free to paid is reportedly around 4%, and the average paid user pays $30+/mo at scale.

Are there any truly free email marketing services with no subscriber cap?

No, and there never will be — sending email costs the provider money (SMTP relay, IP reputation, deliverability monitoring). Every “unlimited free” service either limits sends per day (Brevo) or limits subscribers (everyone else).

What’s the cheapest email marketing service for ecommerce?

Brevo or Mailchimp. Both have free tiers and integrate with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. Avoid Sendlane — the entry price is $35/mo and there’s no free tier.

Should I pay for email marketing if my list is under 500?

Not yet. MailerLite’s free tier handles 1,000 subscribers and includes everything you need. Switch to paid only when you hit the subscriber cap or need a feature that’s free-tier-only.

Can I switch providers later?

Yes, but it’s annoying. Most providers let you export your list as CSV and re-import. The painful part is migrating automations and templates — those don’t transfer. Plan on 5–10 hours of work to switch providers cleanly.

What about ConvertKit (Kit)?

Kit has a free tier for under 1,000 subscribers but charges based on “subscribers” which is technically contacts including unsubscribes. For a list of 1,000 contacts where 200 have unsubscribed, you pay for 1,200. MailerLite only counts active subscribers.

Quick picks

• MailerLite — Cheapest option for 0–1,000 subscribers (free)
• Brevo — Cheapest for transactional + marketing combined
• Mailchimp — Cheapest recognized brand (if you stay under 500 contacts)
• Mailjet — Cheapest high-volume transactional sender
• Moosend — Cheapest mid-tier paid plan ($9/mo flat)
• AWeber — Cheapest legacy tool with no subscriber-tier jumps
• GetResponse — Cheapest if you want webinars included

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