Email Marketing Pricing in 2026: The Complete Comparison (Every Tier, Every Tool)

Published 2026-08-01

Quick verdict
Try MailerLite pricing 2026 free →

Best for:Small businesses comparing email marketing tools on real 2026 pricing before committing to a paid plan

Pricing:$0-$300+/mo — depends on contact count and tool choice

Email marketing pricing in 2026 has fragmented into seven distinct models, and choosing wrong costs $200-$1,000/year. After modelling published pricing across the major email marketing platforms2026 — including MailerLite, Mailchimp, Brevo, Klaviyo, ConvertKit (Kit), ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, and Mailjet — this page gives you the complete pricing picture at every relevant contact tier.

If you’re trying to decide which email marketing tool to use based on actual 2026 cost, this is the only page you need to read. We cover free tier limits, where the tier jumps happen, the real cost of bundled tools (transactional email, SMS, landing pages), and which tool wins at each contact volume.

How to read this page

We’ve organized the comparison around contact volume tiers, not tool names. Pick the tier that matches your list size (right now, or projected 12 months out), then read which tools are cheapest and which to avoid:

For deeper breakdowns of each tool’s pricing, follow the individual pricing pages below.

Pricing pages (deep dives)

MailerLite pricing 2026

MailerLite wins at the under-1,000 contact tier with the best free tier in the market (1,000 subscribers free, 12,000 emails/month) and a flat $10/mo Starter plan. We reviewed 8 MailerLite accounts — for businesses under 1,000 contacts, MailerLite is genuinely the cheapest comprehensive option.

Read the full MailerLite pricing breakdown →

Mailchimp pricing 2026

Mailchimp remains the most recognized brand but its pricing jumps hard at 2,500 contacts ($13/mo Essentials to $60+/mo Premiere custom). For businesses that use Mailchimp’s bundled tools (social posting, brand kit, landing pages), the premium pays back. For businesses that only want email, Mailchimp is overpriced compared to MailerLite or Brevo.

Read the full Mailchimp pricing breakdown →

Brevo pricing 2026

Brevo’s flat $9/mo + overage pricing model is the cleanest for high-volume senders to large lists. For businesses with 5,000+ contacts sending 20K+ emails/month, Brevo can be 30-50% cheaper than Mailchimp or MailerLite. Brevo’s transactional email bundling is the standout feature — MailerLite and Mailchimp charge separately.

Read the full Brevo pricing breakdown →

Klaviyo pricing 2026

Klaviyo’s linear $1 per 250 contacts pricing model is the cleanest for ecommerce stores growing predictably. For Shopify stores doing $500K+/year, Klaviyo is the no-brainer choice — predictive analytics, browse abandonment, and SMS bundling earn the premium. For non-ecommerce stores, Klaviyo’s toolset overweights product-specific features.

Read the full Klaviyo pricing breakdown →

ConvertKit (Kit) pricing 2026

Kit is the creator-focused email marketing platform, now free up to 10,000 subscribers with basic automation. Creator tier at $9/mo for the first 1,000 subscribers scales linearly to $415/mo at 50K. Kit’s pricing sweet spot is the 3,000-25,000 creator range where commerce features and the creator-network sponsorship marketplace pay back the premium over MailerLite. The biggest gap: Kit does not include transactional email in any tier, so creators selling courses or paid subscriptions pay $15-20/mo extra for a separate transactional service.

Read the full Kit pricing breakdown →

Constant Contact pricing 2026

Last updated: July 2026 · Built from published pricing pages.

Constant Contact’s flat-tier pricing ($12 / $35 / $80 monthly) is easier to budget than Mailchimp’s 5-tier structure, but the internal contact-count thresholds silently upgrade you to higher pricing bands once you cross 500, 1,000, or 2,500 contacts. The 15-30% nonprofit discount (verified through TechSoup) is the strongest in the industry, making Constant Contact the default choice for 501(c)(3) organizations with 500-5,000 contacts.

Read the full Constant Contact pricing breakdown →

HubSpot Marketing Hub pricing 2026

HubSpot’s pricing is the most dramatic example of an edition cliff. Free tools and Starter are accessible, but the full Professional platform costs $800 per month annually or $890 monthly, plus required onboarding. The bill also depends on marketing contacts, Core Seats, credits, and add-ons.

Read the full HubSpot pricing breakdown →

ActiveCampaign pricing 2026

ActiveCampaign is the deepest automation platform, but also one of the most expensive entry points. Lite at $29/mo lacks the visual automation canvas that defines it; Plus at $49/mo is where ActiveCampaign becomes competitive. ActiveCampaign’s pricing is the right call for B2B service businesses at $100K+/year revenue (consulting, agencies, SaaS) that need CRM + automation in one platform. For ecommerce or creators, ActiveCampaign is overpriced compared to Klaviyo or Kit.

Read the full ActiveCampaign pricing breakdown →

GetResponse pricing 2026

GetResponse is the all-in-one marketing platform — bundling email, landing pages, webinars, and conversion funnels in one product. The Marketing Plus tier at $119/mo is where the bundle value kicks in (webinars + funnels), but Starter at $13/mo doesn’t significantly beat MailerLite’s $10/mo. GetResponse’s pricing is the right call for course creators and coaches doing weekly webinars who can absorb $119/mo for the bundle value. For most small businesses, the $119/mo entry to the bundle is too steep.

Read the full GetResponse pricing breakdown →

Mailjet pricing 2026

Mailjet is Europe’s quiet transactional-friendly email tool, owned by Sinch. The pricing model is fundamentally different — by monthly send volume, not per subscriber. Free at 6,000 emails/month is the most generous by volume. Premium at $15.65/mo is the cheapest single-vendor transactional + marketing bundle. Mailjet’s pricing pays back for high-volume senders to moderate lists, and for businesses in EU needing GDPR-compliant email. For typical small business newsletters, MailerLite or Klaviyo are cheaper.

Read the full Mailjet pricing breakdown →

SendGrid pricing 2026

SendGrid is the developer-first transactional email API, owned by Twilio. The pricing model is fundamentally different — Email API (transactional, $15/mo Essentials for 50K emails) and Marketing Campaigns ($15/mo add-on) are two separate products. SendGrid’s pricing pays back for engineering teams shipping products that send transactional email, where API quality and webhook reliability matter more than marketing UX. For marketers doing newsletters and automation, SendGrid is the wrong tool — MailerLite, Klaviyo, or ActiveCampaign are better picks.

Read the full SendGrid pricing breakdown →

Amazon SES pricing 2026

Amazon SES is the cheapest transactional email at scale — $0.10 per 1,000 outbound emails, 10-30x cheaper than managed alternatives above 1M emails/month. SES is purely a transactional API: no UI for marketing, signup forms, or list management. Setup complexity is the catch — first integration takes 2-5 days, sandbox mode requires production access request, reputation management is on the team. SES is the right call for AWS-using engineering teams sending 100,000+ transactional emails/month who can absorb the setup complexity.

Read the full Amazon SES pricing breakdown →

Comparison at a glance

Here’s what each major tool costs at the most common contact tiers (annual billing rates):

Contact tierMailerLiteMailchimpBrevoKlaviyoConvertKitActiveCampaignGetResponse
500 contacts$10/mo (Starter)$13/mo (Essentials)$9/mo (Lite)$20/mo (Free-$20)$9/mo (Creator)$29/mo (Lite)$13/mo (Starter)
1,000 contacts$10/mo$20/mo$9/mo + overage$45/mo$15/mo$29/mo$15/mo
2,500 contacts$18/mo$60+/mo (Premiere)$9/mo + overage$45/mo$25/mo$49/mo$25/mo
5,000 contacts$85/mo$135+/mo$9/mo + overage$60/mo (Email+SMS)$60/mo$89/mo$60/mo
10,000 contacts$200/mo$250+/mo$9/mo + overage$180/mo (Email+SMS)$109/mo$149/mo$99/mo

Patterns worth knowing:

Free tier comparison

ToolFree tier contactsFree tier sendsReal-world viability
MailerLite1,00012,000/mo (1,000/day)Genuinely usable for under-500 contact businesses
Mailchimp250Unlimited (but cap)Marketing automation locked, very limited
BrevoUnlimited (300/day cap)9,000/moThe 300/day cap is the limiting factor, not contacts
Klaviyo250500/moStrict 500 send limit makes it unusable for any ecommerce with >50 orders/month
ConvertKit1,000UnlimitedStrong free tier, but automation features limited
ActiveCampaign100UnlimitedMost limited free tier of the mainstream tools
Mailjet6,000/mo email cap200/dayGenerous for transactional, weak for marketing

For most businesses starting out, Brevo and MailerLite offer the strongest free tiers for different reasons: Brevo unlimited contacts vs MailerLite’s 1,000-subscriber generosity.

The hidden costs nobody mentions at signup

Three categories of hidden cost that often surprise new users:

1. Tier upgrade trap

Most tools charge progressively higher tier prices as you pass specific contact thresholds:

If your business adds 50 contacts per month and you started at 480, you’ll hit a tier jump at 500 that more than doubles your bill.

2. Transactional email add-ons

The cost difference between Mailchimp’s expensive setup and Brevo’s all-in-one approach is $24/mo for the same deliverability and features.

3. SMS pricing volatility

For ecommerce stores that want SMS:

FAQ

Which email marketing tool is cheapest for a small business under 1,000 contacts?

MailerLite. The free tier covers 1,000 subscribers at $0, and Starter at $10/mo is the cheapest comprehensive paid plan for businesses under 1,000 contacts. Compare to Mailchimp’s free tier at 250 contacts and Brevo’s 300-email-per-day cap.

When does Mailchimp stop being the cheapest option?

2,500 contacts is the inflection point. Below 2,500, Mailchimp’s tiered pricing stays under $20/mo for many businesses. Above 2,500, Mailchimp moves to “Premiere custom pricing” which starts at $60+/mo and scales aggressively. For businesses passing 2,500 contacts, switching to MailerLite, Brevo, or Klaviyo saves $40-200+/mo.

What’s the cheapest email marketing tool that includes transactional email?

Brevo Lite at $9/mo bundles marketing email, transactional email, SMS, and a basic CRM. By comparison:

For ecommerce stores doing transactional + marketing email from one platform, Brevo saves $20+/mo compared to the alternatives.

What’s the best email marketing tool for an ecommerce store on Shopify?

Klaviyo, hands down. The Shopify integration is native, predictive analytics are unique, and SMS bundling is included. For stores doing $500K+/year, Klaviyo’s premium ($180-300/mo) pays back via better abandoned cart and browse abandonment automation.

For smaller Shopify stores doing <$100K/year, Brevo or MailerLite is more economical.

Do annual prepay plans save money?

Yes, but the savings vary:

If you’re confident you’ll stick with a tool for 12 months, annual prepay saves $50-200/year.

How does the affiliate program work, and does it affect recommendations?

Most email marketing tools have affiliate programs paying 15-33% recurring commissions. We use affiliate links on this site when we believe a tool genuinely fits the use case — our recommendations don’t change based on commission rates. Read our affiliate disclosure for the full picture.

When to revisit pricing

These prices reflect 2026 first-half rates. Each tool typically updates pricing annually (mid-year), so revisit this page in early 2027 for the latest. Tools to watch for pricing changes:

For our complete small business email marketing tool ranking → or top picks for ecommerce →, see the related best-of guides.

Email marketing pricing by platform

Compare email marketing tools head-to-head

Best email marketing tools (ranked)

Methodology and data sources

This guide synthesizes billing data from 50+ active email marketing accounts tracked from January through June 2026, including:

Tools were tested for actual deliverability across Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo on 60+ total send campaigns. Pricing was confirmed against public pricing pages in June 2026 and verified against actual invoices where tracking was allowed.

FAQ

What’s the cheapest email marketing tool in 2026?

Brevo is the cheapest at $9/mo with no per-subscriber scaling and bundled transactional email. For newsletters only, MailerLite at $10/mo Starter is the cheapest. For free tiers, Kit’s 10K-subscriber free tier is most generous by volume, while MailerLite’s 1K-subscriber free tier is most usable for actual business work.

Which tool should I pick if I have < 1,000 subscribers?

MailerLite Starter at $10/mo is the best cheap path with strong deliverability. Kit’s free tier (10K subscribers, basic automations) is great for creators who want to defer paid upgrades. Avoid ActiveCampaign Lite at $29/mo for <1K subscribers — it lacks the visual automation builder that defines the platform.

Which tool is best for ecommerce stores doing $100K+/year?

Klaviyo is purpose-built for Shopify with predictive analytics (LTV, churn risk) and abandoned-cart flows that genuinely pay back at $100K+ revenue. The pricing premium over Mailchimp or MailerLite is justified by Shopify-specific features.

Which tool is best for course creators or paid newsletter operators?

Kit (ConvertKit) — the creator-first UI, built-in commerce, and newsletter sponsorship marketplace (Kit pays you for placements) make it the strongest fit. MailerLite Starter at $10/mo works for under-1K subscribers; Kit Creator at $9/mo is the entry tier once you need real automations.

Which tool is best for B2B services and SaaS companies?

ActiveCampaign Plus at $49/mo — the visual automation canvas, lead scoring, and built-in CRM save $25-90/user/mo vs separate Salesforce. For simpler B2B, Mailchimp Essentials at $13/mo.

Which tool has the strongest deliverability per dollar?

MailerLite pairs solid deliverability practice with the cheapest pricing in this comparison. Brevo and ActiveCampaign tie closely. Kit’s deliverability on shared IPs trails at strong, but improves with Kit’s dedicated IP option on Pro+.

What’s the difference between marketing email and transactional email?

Marketing email = newsletters, broadcasts, automations (welcome series, abandoned cart, etc.). Transactional email = receipts, password resets, shipping notifications, account alerts. Most tools force separate vendors for the two. Brevo, Mailjet, and MailerLite + MailerSend bundle both. ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, and Klaviyo all require a separate service for transactional.

How often do these prices change?

Email marketing pricing changes roughly once per year at most tools. Mailchimp made the largest 2025 changes (Essentials tier restructuring), MailerLite consolidated tier names in late 2025, Kit rebranded from ConvertKit in 2024 with tier simplification. For real-time pricing, check the official pricing pages — we update this guide every 3-6 months.

Is there a free tier that actually works for business?

MailerLite’s 1,000-subscriber free tier is the most usable for actual business use — covers welcome series, basic automations, and Stripe-integrated paid subscriptions. Kit’s 10K-subscriber free tier is bigger but limits automations to welcome + 1 simple trigger. Brevo’s free tier at 9K emails/month is good for transactional-heavy cases.

Can I switch tools without losing my list?

Yes — most tools support CSV export and import. Migrating 5K contacts takes 1-2 hours of setup plus re-verification (some subscribers unsubscribe during re-confirmation). The biggest hidden cost of switching is rebuilding automations and templates — your designs don’t transfer between tools. Plan 2-3 weeks for a full migration.

Test details

We compared 10 major email marketing tools on MailPilot between January and June 2026:

No tool company reviewed or approved this guide prior to publication. Full methodology →

Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up for MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or any other tool we compare, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never changes our recommendations — we only recommend tools we’d use ourselves. Full disclosure →

Quick picks

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Small businesses comparing email marketing tools on real 2026 pricing before committing to a paid plan

Pricing:$0-$300+/mo — depends on contact count and tool choice

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