Nonprofit guide · Updated October 7, 2026
Email software for nonprofits, priced at real list sizes.
By the Email Marketing Software editorial team · Prices checked against vendor pricing pages on October 7, 2026
For most nonprofits, Brevo is the best first email platform. Its free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts and allows 300 email sends a day, so a small mission can keep its whole supporter list without paying anything. When the list needs more volume, the Starter plan is $9 a month for 5,000 emails a month, billed monthly or yearly. That combination matters for a budget that has to fund the mission first: you can grow the list for free and pay only when the sending volume demands it.
This guide is for organizations that send appeals, year-end letters, volunteer shift updates, event invitations and board reports from one place. It compares the email platforms that have a free plan, a free trial or a low entry price, and it shows what each one costs at specific list sizes. Where a vendor does not publish a price for the size you need, the table says so instead of estimating.
What a nonprofit actually needs from email software
A nonprofit sends to several different groups, and each one needs a different message. Donors receive appeals, impact reports and thank-you notes. Volunteers receive shift confirmations, briefing packets and day-of logistics. Event guests receive invitations and reminders. Board members and partners receive updates. Most small teams send all of this from one account, often with one part-time staff member, so the software has to be easy to use and cheap to keep.
Three things matter more than feature lists. First, the free or starting plan must hold your real list, because nonprofit lists grow over years and rarely shrink. Second, you need segments that keep donors and volunteers apart, since sending a shift reminder to a donor who only gave once is a poor use of their attention. Third, you need a clear price when the list passes a threshold, because most email tools price by contact count or by monthly send volume, and the jump can be large.
None of the tools below takes donations. If you collect gifts online, you will connect your giving platform to the email tool, so check the integration list before you commit. Ask whether the connection is native or built with a webhook, and whether it needs a paid plan.
Nonprofit email tools compared
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (plan, billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Small missions that want a free start and room to grow | Free up to 100,000 contacts; Starter $9/mo at 5,000 emails a month | Free plan capped at 300 sends a day |
| MailerLite | Grassroots groups with small lists | Free up to 250 subscribers; Comfort $12/mo monthly or $10.80/mo yearly at 500 subscribers | Free plan ends at 250 subscribers |
| Mailchimp | Teams that already know its editor | Free up to 250 contacts; Essentials $13/mo at 500 contacts | Price steps up quickly as contacts grow |
| Kit | Advocacy and storytelling lists | Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $33/mo billed yearly | Automations and sequences need a paid plan |
| Constant Contact | Galas, fundraisers and event promotion | Lite $12/mo monthly or $10.20/mo yearly; price set by contact count | No ongoing free plan; exact price depends on list size |
| ActiveCampaign | Development teams tracking major gifts | Starter $15/mo, starting price at 1,000 contacts | Depth exceeds what a basic appeal list needs |
| GetResponse | Education and webinar-led campaigns | Starter $19/mo monthly or $15.58/mo yearly | No ongoing free plan; price list size not stated on the pricing summary |
| AWeber | Member bulletins and traditional mailing | Lite $15/mo for 500 subscribers, 5,000 sends a month | Monthly send allowance caps volume |
| Campaign Monitor | Design-heavy invitations and appeals | Lite $13/mo monthly or $11.70/mo yearly, 500-contact band | Free trial only, no ongoing free plan |
Prices are the standard public prices on each vendor's pricing page at the list size shown. Confirm the current figure on the pricing page before you buy.
How to choose
Start with the job, not the brand. A food bank sending weekly volunteer shifts has a different problem from a university foundation running a major-gift program. The table below maps common nonprofit jobs to the platform that fits the job at the lowest cost.
| If you need | Start with | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A free start with a list over 250 people | Brevo | The free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts; you only pay when sends exceed the free allowance. |
| A free start under 250 subscribers | MailerLite or Mailchimp | Both have free plans with a 250-contact ceiling and a monthly send limit. |
| Automated donor or volunteer sequences | Kit (Creator) or Brevo Standard | Kit's visual automations start on Creator at $33/mo billed yearly; Brevo Standard is $18/mo at its starting email volume. |
| Advanced segments for major-gift tracks | ActiveCampaign Pro | Advanced segmentation is on the Pro plan at $79/mo. |
| Event invitations and gala promotion | Constant Contact | Its Lite and Standard tiers are built around email and social promotion, with automation added on Standard at $35/mo. |
| Unlimited sends at a fixed list band | Campaign Monitor Essentials | Essentials includes unlimited email sends in the 500-contact band at $31/mo monthly or $27.90/mo yearly. |
| Lowest cost for a small list with automation | Moosend Pro | Pro at 500 contacts is $9/mo monthly or $7/mo billed yearly. |
What it costs at real list sizes
Starting prices are misleading for nonprofits, because the list you will have in two years is the one that matters. The table below shows the published price for a named plan at the list size that price applies to. Where a vendor's pricing page does not state the price at a given size, the table leaves the cell as pricing on request rather than estimating.
| Tool | Plan | List size the price applies to | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Starter | 5,000 emails a month tier | $9/mo | Monthly or yearly |
| Brevo | Standard | 5,000 emails a month tier | $18/mo | Monthly or yearly |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter | 1,000 contacts | $15/mo | Monthly |
| Mailchimp | Essentials | 500 contacts | $13/mo | Monthly |
| Mailchimp | Contacts 2,501–5,000 | 2,501–5,000 contacts | $100/mo | Monthly |
| MailerLite | Comfort | 500 subscribers | $12/mo monthly, $10.80/mo yearly | Monthly or yearly |
| Kit | Creator | Any size up to 10,000 subscribers on the free plan; Creator adds automations | $33/mo | Billed yearly |
| Constant Contact | Lite | Price set by contact count; band not stated | $12/mo monthly, $10.20/mo yearly | Monthly or yearly |
| GetResponse | Starter | List size not stated | $19/mo monthly, $15.58/mo yearly | Monthly or yearly |
| AWeber | Lite | 500 subscribers, 5,000 sends a month | $15/mo | Monthly |
| Campaign Monitor | Essentials | 500-contact band | $31/mo monthly, $27.90/mo yearly | Monthly or yearly |
| Moosend | Pro | 500 contacts | $9/mo monthly, $7/mo yearly | Monthly or yearly |
| Moosend | Pro | 5,000 contacts | $48/mo monthly, $38/mo yearly | Monthly or yearly |
| Klaviyo | Email plan | 5,000 profiles | $100/mo | Monthly |
| Drip | Unlimited email sends | 4,501–5,000 people | $89/mo | Monthly |
A worked example makes the difference concrete. A mission with 2,500 to 5,000 contacts on Mailchimp's 2,501–5,000 tier pays $100 a month, which is 12 × $100 = $1,200 a year. The same list on MailerLite's Comfort plan at the 500-subscriber tier costs $10.80 a month billed yearly, which is 12 × $10.80 = $129.60 a year, but only if the list fits that tier. Before you choose, find the tier that matches your list on the vendor's pricing page and multiply it out for twelve months.
Ask about nonprofit pricing before you commit. The prices here are standard public prices. Any nonprofit rate has to come from the vendor, and it should be confirmed in writing.
The tools, one by one
Brevo: the free start that can grow
Price: free plan up to 100,000 contacts and 300 sends a day. Starter is $9/mo at 5,000 emails a month, Standard is $18/mo at the same starting volume. Monthly or yearly billing.
Good for nonprofits because the free plan lets a mission keep a large supporter list before it spends anything, and the paid tiers scale by email volume, which suits a team that sends in bursts around year-end and giving days.
Falls short where the 300-send daily cap blocks a big appeal to a large list on the free plan. Plan the send schedule or move to Starter before a campaign day.
MailerLite: a gentle builder for small lists
Price: free for up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Comfort is $12/mo monthly or $10.80/mo yearly at the 500-subscriber tier, where the monthly email allowance is ten times the subscriber ceiling. Power is $25/mo monthly or $22.50/mo yearly with unlimited monthly emails.
Good for nonprofits because a grassroots coordinator can build an impact letter in an afternoon and stay inside the free plan while the list is small.
Falls short once the list passes 250 subscribers, because the free plan ends there. Check the send allowance on the subscriber tier you move to.
Mailchimp: familiar, but priced by contact count
Price: free for up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a maximum of 250 sends a day. Essentials is $13/mo at 500 contacts, Standard is $20/mo at 500 contacts. At 2,501–5,000 contacts the price is $100/mo, and at 5,001–10,000 contacts it is $135/mo. Monthly billing.
Good for nonprofits because staff and volunteers who have used it before can start quickly, and the template range covers most appeals and newsletters.
Falls short because the price steps up as contacts grow, so a list that doubles can move a full tier. Forecast your list two years ahead before you choose.
Kit: audiences for advocacy and story-led campaigns
Price: free up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts. Creator is $33/mo billed yearly and adds visual automations and unlimited email sequences. Pro is $66/mo billed yearly. A 14-day trial is offered on paid plans with no credit card required.
Good for nonprofits because the free tier handles a large petition or newsletter audience, and advocacy groups can run sign-up pages and sequences from the same audience without buying a separate tool.
Falls short because automations and sequences are behind the paid plan, so a donor stewardship journey will cost $33/mo billed yearly from the start.
Constant Contact: event-led campaigns
Price: Lite from $12/mo monthly or $10.20/mo billed yearly. Standard is $35/mo or $29.75/mo yearly and adds automation, scheduling and A/B testing. Premium is $80/mo or $68/mo yearly and adds advanced automation, segmentation and reporting, with 500 SMS a month. The exact price depends on contact count. A free trial is available without a credit card.
Good for nonprofits because galas, fundraisers and community events are the core use case. The plans are organized around sending campaigns to a contact list on a schedule, which is the job an events committee needs.
Falls short because there is no ongoing free plan, and the donor-journey features that a year-round giving program needs arrive only on higher tiers.
ActiveCampaign: for teams that manage major gifts
Price: Starter $15/mo, with the starting price at 1,000 contacts. Plus is $49/mo and adds standard segmentation and landing pages. Pro is $79/mo with advanced segmentation. Enterprise is $145/mo with premium segmentation and a dedicated account team. A free trial is available; there is no ongoing free plan.
Good for nonprofits because a development officer tracking cultivation steps for a small number of major donors benefits from the segmentation and automation depth.
Falls short for grassroots groups, since most of the depth goes unused and the learning curve is real for a volunteer administrator.
GetResponse: webinars and education
Price: Starter is $19/mo monthly or $15.58/mo billed yearly and includes unlimited monthly sends, a welcome series, landing pages and signup forms. Marketer is $59/mo monthly or $48.38/mo yearly and adds unlimited workflows, advanced segmentation and abandoned-cart recovery. Creator is $69/mo or $56.58/mo yearly. A free trial is offered; there is no ongoing free plan.
Good for nonprofits because organizations that teach about a cause through webinars and then ask for support can run the teaching and the appeal in one account.
Falls short if webinars are not part of your work, because the extra features add cost without helping a standard appeal list. The pricing summary does not state the list size each price applies to, so check it against your count.
AWeber: steady member bulletins
Price: Lite is $15/mo for 500 subscribers and 5,000 email sends a month. Plus is $30/mo for 500 subscribers and 6,000 sends a month. A 14-day free trial is offered; there is no ongoing free plan.
Good for nonprofits because a membership organization that mails a regular bulletin to a stable list gets a predictable monthly bill and a plain editor.
Falls short because the monthly send allowance caps volume, so an organization that sends frequent appeals to a growing list will reach the cap sooner than the subscriber count suggests.
Campaign Monitor: design for invitations and appeals
Price: Lite is $13/mo monthly or $11.70/mo billed yearly in the 500-contact band. Essentials is $31/mo monthly or $27.90/mo yearly with unlimited email sends in the same band. Premier is $171/mo monthly or $153.90/mo yearly and adds premier support. A 30-day trial covers up to 500 contacts and 500 emails.
Good for nonprofits because prestige events and formal appeals benefit from the design-first editor, and Essentials gives unlimited sends in a fixed contact band.
Falls short because the free option is a trial only, and the price rises by contact band as the list grows.
Moosend: low-cost automation
Price: Pro at 500 contacts is $9/mo monthly or $7/mo billed yearly. At 1,000 contacts the price is $16/mo monthly or $13/mo yearly. At 5,000 contacts it is $48/mo monthly or $38/mo yearly. A 30-day trial is offered without a credit card.
Good for nonprofits because a small mission gets automation flows at a low monthly price, which suits a single welcome sequence for new donors.
Falls short because larger sends rely on email-credit packs, and the price grows with the contact band.
Klaviyo and Drip: built for shops
Klaviyo's email plan is $20/mo for 500 profiles and $100/mo for 5,000 profiles. Its free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month. Drip is $39/mo for 1 to 2,500 people with unlimited email sends, and $89/mo for 4,501 to 5,000 people. A 14-day trial is offered on Drip with no credit card required.
Both products are built around online stores. Choose them only if your organization sells merchandise or runs a shop that needs product-level data. For a donor-only list, the tools above are a better fit.
Workflows for donors, volunteers and event guests
Set up segments before you send anything. A donor who gave once should receive a thank-you with an impact update within a few days, then a second message a few weeks later that invites a repeat gift. A volunteer should receive a welcome, a shift confirmation, a briefing packet and a short thank-you after each shift. An event guest should receive an invitation, a reminder and a follow-up. These are three different journeys, and they should not share the same triggers.
Tags work well for a small team. Tag each contact by role (donor, volunteer, board, event guest) and by source (website sign-up, event sign-in sheet, paper form). Keep the consent status and the date of opt-in on every record, so you can prove that a contact agreed to hear from you. Review the tags once a year, and remove contacts who have unsubscribed or bounced.
Avoid one-size appeals. A monthly update for everyone is simpler, but it wastes the attention of volunteers who only want shift details and donors who want to hear about the cause. Segment by role first, and by giving or volunteering history second.
Setup and migration checklist
| Step | What to do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Export the list | Export contacts with consent status, opt-in date and source | You need proof of consent before you import anyone |
| 2. Clean the list | Remove bounced addresses and unsubscribed contacts | Clean lists protect your sending reputation |
| 3. Split by role | Create separate segments or audiences for donors, volunteers, event guests and board members | Each group needs different messages |
| 4. Check the plan limits | Compare your contact count and monthly sends with the plan you choose | Free and starter limits are the most common surprise |
| 5. Set up sending authentication | Add the sending domain and publish the records the vendor requests | Authenticated mail is more likely to reach the inbox |
| 6. Connect your giving platform | Confirm the integration on the vendor's integration page, then test it in a trial account | Donation data and receipts usually come from the giving platform |
| 7. Send a seed test | Send the first campaign to internal addresses across several inboxes | It catches broken links and layout problems before the real send |
| 8. Write down the review date | Note when you will check the list size against your plan | Prices step up with contact count, so review before the next tier |
The short answer
For most nonprofits, start with Brevo: the free plan holds a large supporter list, and the Starter plan is $9 a month when you need more volume. If your list is under 250 people and you want an even simpler start, MailerLite is the other realistic free option. Pick Constant Contact for event-led campaigns, ActiveCampaign when a development team manages major gifts, and Kit when advocacy and story-led audiences drive your work. Ask each vendor about nonprofit pricing, and check the price at the list size you will have next year before you sign.
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Frequently asked questions
Which email tool should a small nonprofit start with?
Brevo is the most practical start for most small missions because its free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts and allows 300 sends a day. When the daily cap becomes a problem, the Starter plan is $9 a month for 5,000 emails a month. MailerLite is a close alternative if your list stays under 250 subscribers.
Do these email tools process donations?
Generally no. Email platforms send messages, while donation processing and receipts usually run through a giving platform. Check each vendor's integrations page for the giving platform you use, and confirm the connection in a trial account before you migrate.
Should donors and volunteers be on the same list?
Keep them in separate segments, and ideally separate audiences when different staff members own each list. Donors and volunteers need different messages and have different consent expectations.
Is nonprofit pricing applied automatically?
Not necessarily. The prices in this guide are standard public prices from each vendor's pricing page. Ask each vendor directly whether it offers a nonprofit rate, and get the answer in writing before you sign.
How do we move supporters from a spreadsheet or an old tool?
Export your list with consent status and opt-in dates, remove bounced and unsubscribed addresses, and import in segments. Set up sending authentication, send a seed test, and then send the first campaign only to people who have a clear relationship with your organization.
When should a nonprofit move off a free plan?
Move up when the free limits block a planned campaign, when you need automations the free plan does not include, or when you need advanced segmentation. Compare the price at your real list size, because most tools price by contact count or send volume.