Email marketing software on a tight budget, priced at real list sizes.
For a tight budget, the best starting pick is Brevo. Its free plan allows 300 email sends a day and stores up to 100,000 contacts, and its Starter plan starts at 9 $ a month for 5,000 emails a month with no daily sending limit. That lets a small business send real campaigns at no cost and move up only when monthly volume grows.
By the site's editorial team, a pen name for the editorial group · Prices from each vendor's public pricing page, checked October 7, 2026
The short answer
Brevo: the best all-round free start. Free plan with 300 sends a day; Starter from 9 $ per month for 5,000 emails.
Kit: the best free plan for a large audience, up to 10,000 subscribers, if you do not need automation yet.
MailerLite: the best fit for a small newsletter, with a free plan up to 250 subscribers.
Moosend: the lowest paid entry for automation, at 9 $ per month for 500 contacts on monthly billing.
Klaviyo: the choice for an ecommerce store that expects to grow, with a free plan of 250 profiles.
What a budget price actually measures
A low headline price is only one line on the bill. Email software charges in a few different ways, and the cheapest plan on the pricing page is often the one that will be outgrown first. Before comparing tools, separate the five costs that matter for a tight budget.
The entry price. This is the number shown first on the pricing page, usually for the smallest contact band or send volume. It tells you what the cheapest paid plan costs, and nothing about what the second year will cost.
Contact-based or send-based billing. Some tools, such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Moosend and Drip, price by how many contacts or people you store. Others, such as Brevo, price by how many emails you send each month. A large list that is mailed rarely can be cheap on a send-based plan and expensive on a contact-based one. A small list mailed daily can be the reverse.
Feature gates. Free and entry plans often include sending but not the features that make email work: automation, A/B testing, detailed reports or workflows. Kit's free plan, for example, leaves Visual Automations and sequences to its Creator plan at 33 $ per month billed annually. Check the feature list for the plan you actually need, not the plan you hope to stay on.
Billing period. Monthly and annual prices differ, sometimes by 20 percent or more. The annual price looks better, but it only saves money if you are certain you will stay with the tool for the whole term.
Migration and hidden time. Moving a list from one provider to another takes hours of checking consent records, rebuilding automations and testing templates. That is a real cost when you switch tools on a budget, and it is the reason to choose carefully the first time.
Budget comparison at a glance
Each row shows the best use case, the starting price with its plan and billing period, and the main limitation a budget buyer should check. All prices are in US dollars, from each vendor's public pricing page.
Tool
Best for
Starting price (plan, billing)
Key limitation
Brevo
Small senders who want a permanent free plan
Free: 300 emails a day. Starter: 9 $ per month from 5,000 emails a month
Standard, with automation and A/B testing, starts at 18 $ per month
Kit
Creators building a large free audience
Free up to 10,000 subscribers
Visual Automations and sequences need Creator at 33 $ per month (annual billing)
MailerLite
Small newsletters
Free: 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Comfort: 12 $ per month from 500 subscribers
The free plan is small once the list passes 250 subscribers
No free plan; email credit packs are sold separately
Loops
Early product and SaaS teams
Early Stage: free for up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days
Growing Audience plan at 99 $ per month once sends outgrow the free plan
Klaviyo
Ecommerce stores with deep product data
Free: 250 profiles and 500 sends a month. Email, 500 profiles: 20 $ per month
Price rises steeply with profile count
Mailchimp
Users who want a familiar editor
Free: 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Standard: 20 $ per month at 500 contacts
Jumps to 100 $ per month in the 2,501–5,000 contact band
Campaign Monitor
Design-led small senders
Lite: 13 $ per month (11.70 $ billed annually), 500-contact band
Free trial only; no permanent free plan
AWeber
Beginners who want support
Lite: 15 $ per month for 500 subscribers and 5,000 sends
14-day trial; no ongoing free plan
GetResponse
Small sellers testing funnels
Starter: 19 $ per month (15.58 $ billed annually)
Starter includes one automation workflow; free trial only
Constant Contact
Users who prefer guided setup
Lite: 12 $ per month (10.20 $ billed annually)
Free trial with no credit card; no permanent free plan
Drip
Ecommerce with a list up to 2,500 people
1–2,500 people: 39 $ per month, unlimited sends
No free plan; 14-day trial
ActiveCampaign
Teams that will grow into deep automation
Starter: 15 $ per month, starting at 1,000 contacts (monthly or annual billing)
No free plan; price scales with contacts
Customer.io
Eligible early-stage startups
Essentials: 100 $ per month, billed monthly
Not a budget pick after the Startup Program period
What the price looks like at three list sizes
The table shows the published price for a list of about 500, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts, using the band each vendor lists. Where a vendor does not publish a price for a band, the cell says "pricing on request" and you should ask the vendor directly.
Tool
At 500 contacts
At 5,000 contacts
At 10,000 contacts
Brevo
Free (300 emails a day)
Starter: 9 $ per month for 5,000 emails a month
Priced by monthly sends; Standard from 18 $ per month for 5,000 emails and up
Kit
Free
Free (automations on Creator, 33 $ per month annual)
Free up to 10,000 subscribers (automations on Creator)
Loops
Free for up to 4,000 sends in 30 days
Growing Audience: 99 $ per month
Growing Audience: 99 $ per month
MailerLite
Comfort: 12 $ per month (10.80 $ billed annually)
Pricing on request
Pricing on request
Moosend
Pro: 9 $ per month (7 $ billed annually)
48 $ per month (38 $ billed annually)
88 $ per month (70 $ billed annually)
Mailchimp
Standard: 20 $ per month
100 $ per month (2,501–5,000 band)
135 $ per month (5,001–10,000 band)
Klaviyo
Email, 500 profiles: 20 $ per month
Email, 5,000 profiles: 100 $ per month
Email, 10,000 profiles: 150 $ per month
Drip
39 $ per month (1–2,500 people)
89 $ per month (4,501–5,000 people)
154 $ per month (9,001–10,000 people)
Campaign Monitor
Lite: 13 $ per month (11.70 $ billed annually)
Pricing on request
Pricing on request
AWeber
Lite: 15 $ per month (500 subscribers)
Pricing on request
Pricing on request
Prices shown are monthly unless noted. Band boundaries and send allowances change, so confirm the band that matches your list on the vendor's pricing page before you commit.
Tool by tool, for a tight budget
Best all-round free start
Brevo
Free plan, then 9 $ per month for 5,000 emails · Pricing page
Brevo is the pick for a small business that wants a free plan it can keep. The free plan allows 300 email sends a day and stores up to 100,000 contacts, so a list can grow well past the point where other free plans stop. The Starter plan at 9 $ per month adds 5,000 emails a month with no daily sending limit, and the price is set by send volume rather than by how many people are on the list.
For a budget buyer this is the main advantage. A dormant list of several thousand people does not raise the bill when it sits unmailed, and a campaign to a segment costs only the emails it sends.
Where it falls short. Automation, A/B testing and advanced reports start on the Standard plan at 18 $ per month, so a business that needs workflows will pay more than the 9 $ headline suggests. Its design and reporting are plainer than premium tools, and deeper lifecycle work will eventually outgrow it.
Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, plus tagging and segmentation. For a creator, newsletter writer or small publisher who wants to build an audience before paying for software, this is the most generous free plan in this group.
Where it falls short. Visual Automations and email sequences start on the Creator plan at 33 $ per month billed annually. A business that needs a welcome series from the first day will need to pay. Its ecommerce depth is limited compared with Klaviyo.
Who should choose it. Pick Kit when the audience matters more than the workflow and you can run broadcasts manually for a while. Once you need automation, compare the Creator price with Brevo's Standard plan before you decide.
Best for small newsletters
MailerLite
Free to 250 subscribers, then 12 $ per month · Pricing page
MailerLite's free plan allows up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. That is enough for a personal newsletter or a local club, and the paid Comfort plan starts at 12 $ per month for a 500-subscriber base (10.80 $ billed annually). The Power plan, at 25 $ per month, removes the monthly email cap.
Where it falls short. The free plan is small once the list passes 250 subscribers, and the next paid band is not priced publicly for larger lists in the information we read, so a list of 5,000 or more needs a direct quote. Automation depth is lighter than Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign.
Who should choose it. Writers and small organisations whose main output is a regular newsletter, not a sales funnel.
Lowest paid entry for automation
Moosend
Pro from 9 $ per month at 500 contacts · Pricing page
Moosend's Pro plan is 9 $ per month for 500 contacts on monthly billing, or 7 $ billed annually, with unlimited emails. For that price you get automation, which many entry plans hold back. The price scales steadily with contacts: 48 $ per month at 5,000 contacts (38 $ annually) and 88 $ at 10,000 contacts (70 $ annually).
Where it falls short. There is no free plan, only a 30-day free trial with no credit card needed. Email credit packs, such as 350,000 credits for 350 $, are sold separately from the contact plans, so check which one a large campaign draws on.
Who should choose it. A small business that needs real automation from the first paid month and has a list under a few thousand contacts.
Free early-stage product email
Loops
Early Stage free for up to 4,000 sends in 30 days · Pricing page
Loops offers a free Early Stage plan with unlimited contacts and all features included, up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days, sent to the 1,000 newest contacts. For a small SaaS or product team sending onboarding and product updates, that is a useful free start.
Where it falls short. The free plan adds a Loops footer, and once sends exceed the cap the Growing Audience plan at 99 $ per month becomes the next step. That is a big jump for a team with a few hundred paying users.
Who should choose it. Product and SaaS teams that want low-volume transactional and lifecycle emails with a clean API. Newsletter publishers will find it less suited.
Ecommerce with growth in view
Klaviyo
Free to 250 profiles, then 20 $ per month at 500 profiles · Pricing page
Klaviyo's free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month, plus 5 $ of mobile messages. Paid email plans start at 20 $ per month for 500 profiles and reach 100 $ at 5,000 profiles and 150 $ at 10,000. For an online store, the data tools that link email to purchases are the real reason to pay.
Where it falls short. The free plan is tight, and the price climbs quickly as profiles accumulate, so a store with a large inactive list pays for people who never buy. Most budget buyers will graduate from the free plan within a few months.
Who should choose it. An online store whose revenue depends on segmenting by purchase history, and that is ready to budget for profile growth.
Familiar editor, steep climb
Mailchimp
Free to 250 contacts, then 20 $ per month at 500 contacts · Pricing page
Mailchimp's free plan allows one audience, up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, capped at 250 sends a day. For a new business that wants a tool many people already know, that is a sensible start. The Standard plan is 20 $ per month at 500 contacts, with up to 6,000 emails a month at that size.
Where it falls short. The contact bands rise sharply. At 2,501–5,000 contacts the price is 100 $ per month, and at 5,001–10,000 it is 135 $. Budget buyers who grow past 2,500 contacts pay considerably more than the entry price suggests.
Who should choose it. A business that will stay small or that values the familiar editor over price.
Design polish on a small budget
Campaign Monitor
Lite from 13 $ per month (500-contact band) · Pricing page
Campaign Monitor's Lite plan is 13 $ per month on monthly billing or 11.70 $ billed annually, in the 500-contact band, with five times the subscriber count as the monthly email allowance. It is a good choice for a designer or brand that cares about how a template looks across devices.
Where it falls short. There is no permanent free plan; the free option is a 30-day trial capped at 500 contacts and 500 emails. Higher tiers, such as Essentials at 31 $ per month with unlimited sends, move the price up quickly.
Who should choose it. A small brand with a tight list that places a high value on template design.
Beginner support
AWeber
Lite from 15 $ per month for 500 subscribers · Pricing page
AWeber's Lite plan is 15 $ per month for 500 subscribers and 5,000 sends a month. The Plus plan is 30 $ per month with 6,000 sends at the same subscriber count. The company offers a 14-day trial, and the pricing page lists no ongoing free plan.
Where it falls short. There is no permanent free tier, and the interface is older than some newer tools. Growth beyond 500 subscribers moves the price along a traditional subscriber-based path.
Who should choose it. A first-time email sender who wants a simple setup and does not plan to rely on advanced segmentation.
Funnels for small sellers
GetResponse
Starter from 19 $ per month (15.58 $ billed annually) · Pricing page
GetResponse's Starter plan is 19 $ per month, or 15.58 $ billed annually, with unlimited monthly sends, a welcome series, landing pages and signup forms. It suits a small seller who wants a sales page and an email sequence in one place.
Where it falls short. The Starter plan includes one automation workflow. Unlimited workflows and advanced segmentation start on the Marketer plan at 59 $ per month, so the entry price understates the cost of a working automation setup. There is no ongoing free plan, only a free trial.
Who should choose it. A small seller who will use the funnel and landing page features in the first months.
Guided setup
Constant Contact
Lite from 12 $ per month (10.20 $ billed annually) · Pricing page
Constant Contact's Lite plan is 12 $ per month, or 10.20 $ billed annually, with email and social media tools and monthly sends up to ten times the contact count. The Standard plan at 35 $ per month adds automation, scheduling and A/B testing.
Where it falls short. There is no permanent free plan, only a free trial that needs no credit card. The entry tier has limited automation, and the Standard price is much higher than the entry tiers of the cheapest tools.
Who should choose it. A local business that prefers a guided setup and is willing to pay for it.
Drip's entry band is 39 $ per month for 1–2,500 people, with unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, onsite campaigns and up to 50 workflows. For a small online shop that wants workflow depth at the start, the price is clear and the feature set is complete for that band.
Where it falls short. There is no free plan. The price climbs to 89 $ per month at 4,501–5,000 people and to 154 $ at 9,001–10,000, so a growing list reaches a high monthly cost quickly.
Who should choose it. An ecommerce business with a list under 2,500 people that will use workflows from the first week.
Deep automation when you are ready
ActiveCampaign
Starter from 15 $ per month at 1,000 contacts · Pricing page
ActiveCampaign's Starter plan is 15 $ per month at its 1,000-contact starting point, with email marketing, automation, standard CRM and ecommerce integrations. The plans rise to 49 $, 79 $ and 145 $ per month as segmentation and support improve. A free trial is available, but there is no free plan.
Where it falls short. The price scales with contacts, and the more advanced segmentation sits on the higher tiers. A small business that does not need a CRM may pay for features it does not use.
Who should choose it. A team that expects to build complex automation within a year and is prepared to pay for it.
Not a budget pick
Customer.io
Essentials from 100 $ per month, billed monthly · Pricing page
Customer.io's Essentials plan is 100 $ per month, billed monthly, and profile-based plans start at 145 $ per month at 10,000 profiles. The pricing page also lists a 12-month Startup Program for eligible early-stage companies that have raised under 10 million dollars.
Where it falls short. Outside the Startup Program, the entry price is well above the other tools on this page. It is a strong product for behavior-based messaging, but it is not a low-budget choice.
Who should choose it. An eligible startup that qualifies for the Startup Program, or a team that already has a budget for event-based messaging.
Which tool for which budget problem
Start from the problem you need to solve, then check the tool's limit against your list and send volume.
If you need…
Pick
Because
Check first
A permanent free plan that can send daily
Brevo
Free plan with 300 sends a day and storage for up to 100,000 contacts
The 300-a-day cap and what automation costs
A large free audience, with no automation yet
Kit
Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers with landing pages and broadcasts
Automations need Creator at 33 $ per month (annual billing)
A newsletter for a few hundred readers
MailerLite
Free plan for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month
The free ceiling is low once the list grows
Automation at the lowest paid price
Moosend
Pro at 9 $ per month for 500 contacts, with automation included
There is no free plan; the price rises with contacts
Ecommerce segmentation for a small store
Klaviyo
Free plan for 250 profiles and purchase-based segmentation
The price per profile at your expected growth
A list under 2,500 people with workflows from day one
Drip
39 $ per month with unlimited sends and up to 50 workflows
No free plan; the next band starts at 4,501 people
A trial before any payment
Drip, GetResponse or Constant Contact
Each offers a free trial, with no ongoing free plan
What the trial includes compared with the paid plan
A cost model for a growing list
Brevo or Moosend
Brevo prices by send volume; Moosend publishes contact bands up to 100,000
Whether your sends or your contacts will grow fastest
How to choose on a tight budget
Start by writing down three numbers: the list size you have today, the list size you expect in twelve months, and how many emails you will send in a typical month. The first tells you which band to read on the pricing page. The second tells you whether a free plan will still work next year. The third tells you whether the tool's price is set by contacts or by sends, and which of the two is cheaper for you.
Next, check the feature you cannot do without. Many free and entry plans include sending but not automation, A/B testing or reporting. If a welcome series is essential from the first day, Kit's free plan will not cover it, and Brevo's automation starts on Standard. If you need automation at the lowest paid price, Moosend's Pro plan is a clear option.
Then compare the monthly and annual prices for the tool you are leaning toward. The savings are real but they only pay off if you will stay for the full term. Lock in an annual plan only after a trial or a free-plan month has shown the tool does what you need.
Finally, price the scenario you are most likely to reach, not the one you hope for. A contact-based price that looks cheap at 500 contacts can be the most expensive option at 10,000, while a send-based plan can cost more for a list that is mailed daily. The spreadsheet check takes twenty minutes and prevents the most common budget mistake.
Setup and migration checklist
Moving to a budget tool, or moving between two, takes a few predictable steps. The table shows what to do at each one and the budget check that goes with it.
Step
What to do
Budget check
1. Export
Export contacts with their consent status, source and last-engaged date
Count the contacts that would be billed on the new plan, including inactive ones
2. Clean
Remove hard bounces and people who have not opened in a long period, where your policy allows
A smaller list may fall into a cheaper band
3. Authenticate
Set up sending-domain authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) before the first send
Free plans may not include the same tooling, so check it is available
4. Import
Import into the new tool and confirm the consent field has carried over
Make sure the import does not count the same person twice
5. Rebuild
Recreate the welcome series and any automations, checking which feature needs which plan
Automation may sit on a higher tier than the one you are paying for
6. Test
Send a test campaign to a small internal list and check the render and the links
Use a free plan for testing where one exists
7. Overlap
Keep the old account active for one full campaign cycle before cancelling
Avoid paying for two plans longer than one billing period
Hidden costs that budget buyers miss
Idle contacts. On contact-based billing, people who never open an email still count toward the band. A list that has grown by old sign-ups, not by current customers, can move you into a higher price with no extra engagement. Clean the list on a schedule, and consider whether a send-based tool suits a large but rarely mailed list.
Band jumps. Price bands are the biggest source of surprise. Mailchimp moves from 20 $ per month at 500 contacts to 100 $ in the 2,501–5,000 band. Drip moves from 39 $ to 89 $ at 4,501–5,000 people. Plan for the next band before you reach it.
Feature gates. Automation, A/B testing and reporting often sit one or two tiers above the entry price. Read the feature list for the plan you need, and total the cost of that plan rather than the cheapest one.
Add-ons and credits. Email credit packs, extra users, dedicated sending and SMS are sold separately on several platforms. Moosend's credit packs and Klaviyo's mobile-message allowance are two examples. None of them is expensive alone, but together they can double the bill.
Migration time. Moving a list costs staff hours. Budget a day or more for a careful move, and avoid switching tools more often than the budget can afford.
When to upgrade from a free plan
Upgrade when a specific limit stops you from doing something that brings in revenue or readers. Examples include a list that has grown past the free subscriber cap, a welcome series you need on day one, or a send volume that the free plan cannot cover without delays. Avoid upgrading for features you may use later, because a paid plan you do not use is the most expensive line in a small budget.
When you do upgrade, pick the cheapest plan that includes the one feature you need, and check the next band before you sign. A plan that costs 10 $ more per month today but avoids a move at 2,500 contacts can save money over a year.
Deliverability on cheap plans
The cheapest plan is not always the one that reaches the inbox. Shared sending infrastructure can carry the reputation of other senders, and free plans sometimes limit how fast you can ramp volume. Set up sending-domain authentication from the first day, use double opt-in for new sign-ups where your audience allows it, and increase volume gradually rather than sending a large list in one go. Check where your emails land with seed lists or your provider's postmaster tools before blaming the content.
Budget verdict
Brevo for a permanent free start, Kit for a large free audience, MailerLite for a small newsletter.
Choose on the list size and send volume you expect in twelve months, read the price band that applies, and check which features sit on the plan you will actually pay for.
What is the best free email marketing software for a small list?
For a list under 250 subscribers that sends a newsletter, MailerLite's free plan covers the need. For a list that grows past that, or for a business that sends daily, Brevo's free plan (300 emails a day, storage for up to 100,000 contacts) is the more durable choice. Kit is the better free option if your priority is a large audience and you do not need automation yet.
Is a free plan enough to start?
It can be, if your plan fits its caps. Check the subscriber or contact ceiling, the monthly or daily send limit, and whether automations are included. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, but Visual Automations and sequences are on its Creator plan at 33 $ per month billed annually.
What is the cheapest paid email software?
On the published pages, Moosend's Pro plan at 500 contacts is 9 $ per month on monthly billing (7 $ billed annually), and Brevo's Starter plan is 9 $ per month for 5,000 emails a month. The two measure different things, so compare them against your own list size and send frequency before deciding.
Why do prices jump at certain contact counts?
Contact-based tools move you to a new price band when the list passes a threshold. Mailchimp's Standard plan is 20 $ per month at 500 contacts but 100 $ per month in the 2,501–5,000 band. Klaviyo moves from 20 $ at 500 profiles to 100 $ at 5,000. Model the band you will reach within twelve months, not only today's list.
How much does annual billing save?
The difference is modest but real. Moosend drops from 9 $ to 7 $ per month at 500 contacts when billed annually. GetResponse's Starter plan drops from 19 $ to 15.58 $ per month, and Campaign Monitor's Lite plan from 13 $ to 11.70 $. Annual billing only makes sense if you are sure you will stay with the tool.
Should I choose a tool for the list I will have later?
Choose for the next twelve months, and confirm that moving up a tier is simple. A tool that is cheap at 500 contacts but costs 150 $ or more per month at 10,000 contacts can cost more over a year than a tool with a higher entry price and a flatter volume price. Run the 10,000-contact scenario in a spreadsheet before you sign up.
Can I move my list without paying for two tools?
In most cases, yes. Export your contacts with their consent status, import them into the new tool, and keep the old account active until the first campaign has gone out from the new one. Free plans make a good test bed, because you can confirm imports and sending before a paid plan starts.