Email Marketing Pricing Varies Wildly - Here's How to Navigate It
Email marketing pricing spans from completely free to $300+ per month depending on your contact list size, feature requirements, and sending volume. A solo creator might pay nothing on Mailchimp's free tier. A growing SaaS company might commit $100+ monthly to ActiveCampaign. The difference isn't just the sticker price-it's understanding how each tool charges for list size, which features unlock at each tier, and where the hidden scaling traps hide.
This guide compares the leading email marketing tools side by side so you can forecast costs accurately before you sign up.
Email Marketing Pricing at a Glance
The email marketing market segments into four clear pricing tiers:
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- Free tiers: Mailchimp, Brevo (Sendinblue), MailerLite (no credit card required for thousands of subscribers)
- SMB pricing: $10–$30 per month (Brevo, MailerLite, Constant Contact starter plans)
- Mid-market pricing: $50–$150 per month (ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot Email)
- Enterprise pricing: $200+ per month (ActiveCampaign advanced tiers, bespoke integrations)
Free options let you start with up to 500–1,000 subscribers and send unlimited emails. SMB plans scale to 10,000–50,000 subscribers. Mid-market tools handle 100,000+ subscribers and include automation, segmentation, and advanced analytics. Enterprise solutions offer custom limits and white-label deployment.
Top Email Marketing Tools by Starting Price
PROTECT_2 starts completely free for up to 500 contacts and 10,000 sends per month. This is the most permissive free tier in the industry. The Standard plan begins at $13/month and scales to $300+/month as your list grows. Mailchimp charges based on subscriber count: $13/month for 500–1,000 subscribers, $20/month for 1,000–2,500 subscribers, and continues climbing. See how Mailchimp stacks up in our Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign comparison.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers a free tier with unlimited contacts but limits you to 300 emails per day. This makes it ideal for small-list testing but unsuitable for high-volume sending. Paid plans start at $20/month for the Essentials plan, with no subscriber limits. Brevo's strength is that they charge by sending volume (emails per month) rather than list size, making it cost-predictable. Compare their pricing models in our Brevo vs Mailchimp breakdown.
MailerLite provides a free tier for up to 1,000 subscribers with unlimited sends. This is one of the most generous free plans available. Paid plans start at $10/month for 1,000 subscribers. MailerLite's pricing scales clearly: $10 for 1,000 subscribers, $20 for 5,000, $40 for 10,000, and so on. Their flat-rate structure makes forecasting straightforward.
ConvertKit is built for creators and charges $25/month for up to 1,000 subscribers (no free tier). The focus is automation, landing pages, and subscriber segmentation. ConvertKit's pricing tier jumps as follows: $25 (1,000 subscribers), $29 (5,000), $45 (10,000), $65 (25,000), and $100+ for larger lists. This is more expensive than generalist tools but includes robust automation for creators.
PROTECT_5 starts at $9/month for up to 500 contacts (no free tier, requires credit card). However, this entry-level tier only includes basic email sending. Professional automation features unlock at the Lite plan ($49/month) and Pro plan ($149/month+). ActiveCampaign is an excellent choice for sales teams and businesses needing advanced CRM integration but expect to pay for the feature depth.
Constant Contact begins at $20/month for up to 500 contacts. Like Mailchimp, pricing scales with list size. The Email plan at $20/month covers unlimited emails for up to 500 contacts. The same tool might cost $45–$60/month at 5,000 subscribers. Constant Contact is strong on customer support and includes forms, landing pages, and basic automation in all paid plans.
Klaviyo is the premium e-commerce email tool, starting at $20/month for up to 500 email contacts (plus SMS contacts charged separately). Klaviyo targets Shopify stores and e-commerce businesses willing to pay for segment-based automation and predictive analytics. Pricing climbs to $100+ for larger lists and additional SMS contacts. Expect Klaviyo to be the most expensive option if you run a high-volume online store. If you're weighing budget options, check our Klaviyo vs MailerLite comparison.
Free Email Marketing Tools Worth Testing
If you want to avoid committing budget from day one, several tools offer meaningful free tiers:
- Mailchimp Free: 500 contacts, 10,000 sends per month, basic automation, basic reporting. The free tier is genuinely useful and doesn't expire-many small businesses stay on it indefinitely.
- Brevo Free: Unlimited contacts, but capped at 300 emails per day (roughly 9,000 per month). Ideal for testing workflows if you have a small list and don't need daily sends.
- MailerLite Free: 1,000 subscribers, unlimited sends, landing pages, automation, and segmentation. This is arguably the most feature-complete free tier available.
Use free tiers to onboard your first email list, test automation workflows, and validate that the tool's editor and sending experience match your needs. Free tiers are ideal for validating product-market fit before you commit budget to automation features.
The Hidden Scaling Trap: Per-Contact vs Flat-Rate Pricing
Email marketing tools use two fundamentally different pricing models, and the choice between them can make a $50/month difference as you scale:
Per-contact (list-size) pricing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Constant Contact, and Klaviyo charge based on how many subscribers you have. You might pay $13/month for 500, but $45/month for 5,000. The trap: if you import a large list but only email active subscribers, you still pay for the entire imported list. This model rewards segmentation and list hygiene but can feel expensive as your contact database grows.
Per-send (volume) pricing: Brevo charges based on emails sent, not contacts stored. You pay $20/month for 10,000 emails or $40/month for 30,000 emails, regardless of list size. This model rewards bulk sending and is predictable if you know your monthly sending volume. The trap: it can become expensive if you email your entire list daily. See how these models compare in our ActiveCampaign vs Brevo pricing breakdown.
For a business sending to 50,000 subscribers once per month, per-send pricing is far cheaper. For a business with 50,000 subscribers but only emailing 5,000 active subscribers weekly, per-contact pricing is fairer. Evaluate your actual sending patterns before choosing a tool.
How to Choose by List Size
Your contact list size should drive your tool selection:
Under 1,000 contacts: Start free. Mailchimp, MailerLite, or Brevo free tiers will cost nothing and include enough automation for most small businesses. Test your email strategy without committing budget.
1,000–10,000 contacts: MailerLite or Constant Contact are excellent choices here. MailerLite's $10–$20/month pricing in this range is hard to beat, and both tools include automation and landing pages. Brevo is also viable if you prefer per-send pricing.
10,000–50,000 contacts: Consider ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, or Klaviyo depending on your use case. If you're a creator, ConvertKit's creator-first features justify the $45–$65/month cost. If you're an e-commerce business, Klaviyo's segment-based automation makes the $50+/month cost worthwhile. For general SaaS companies, ActiveCampaign's Pro plan ($149+) unlocks CRM features that other tools don't match. If you're also evaluating CRMs, see our best CRM pricing guide.
50,000+ contacts: You're in enterprise territory. Most tools require custom pricing or custom contracts. ActiveCampaign's most expensive tier, Klaviyo's enterprise plans, and bespoke tools like Eloqua or Marketo are your peers. At this scale, negotiate directly with sales teams rather than relying on published pricing tiers.
Key Factors Beyond Sticker Price
1. Automation depth: Brevo and MailerLite offer basic automation free. ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit include sophisticated automation starting at their base tiers. HubSpot Email includes automation only in professional plans.
2. Segmentation capabilities: All major tools include list segmentation. The question is how granular. For advanced behavioral segmentation and predictive sending, Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign are best-in-class.
3. Integrations: If you use Shopify, Wix, or WordPress, check that your email tool integrates natively. Klaviyo is built for Shopify. Brevo integrates with WordPress natively. ActiveCampaign connects to 1,000+ apps via Zapier.
4. Template quality: Most tools include responsive email templates. MailerLite's drag-and-drop editor is widely praised as the most intuitive. Constant Contact's templates are optimized for SMBs with limited design skills.
5. Deliverability: Sending email from a spammy list damages your sender reputation. Mailchimp and Brevo both monitor list quality. ConvertKit and Klaviyo have exceptional reputations for inbox placement.
Our Recommendation
Start with your list size, not your budget. If you have under 5,000 subscribers, MailerLite's free or $10/month plan is hard to beat for automation depth. If you're running an e-commerce store with Shopify, Klaviyo is the clear choice despite premium pricing. If you're an agency managing multiple clients, look at Constant Contact or Brevo for white-label options.
Before upgrading from a free tier, use CompareTiers' email marketing category to compare features side by side. Run a specific comparison between your top 2–3 contenders with your actual subscriber count and sending frequency. Most tools offer pricing calculators-use them to forecast your annual spend at your expected list growth rate.
And remember: cost per email sent becomes negligible at scale. The real question is which tool will help you grow your subscriber list and improve open rates. An expensive tool that achieves 25% open rates beats a cheap tool that achieves 15%. Choose for deliverability and engagement first, price second.
For a complete startup tool stack, check our startup SaaS stack pricing guide.
Ready to compare? Browse our email marketing category to see free tiers, automation features, and pricing side by side.
Sources and References
- Mailchimp Pricing Page - Official contact-based pricing and free tier details
- ConvertKit Pricing - Creator-focused pricing structure and subscriber tiers
- Brevo Pricing - Email volume-based pricing and feature comparison
- ActiveCampaign Pricing - CRM integration plans and automation tiers
- Klaviyo Pricing - E-commerce email and SMS pricing with segment-based automation
