Schools guide · Updated October 7, 2026
Email software for schools, matched to admissions, parents and alumni.
For a school that runs admissions by email, the best starting pick is ActiveCampaign on its Plus plan, at $49 a month on the 1,000-contact starting size. Plus includes standard segmentation and landing pages, which are the two features an inquiry-to-enrolment path depends on: families split by year group and campus, each stage with its own follow-up, and an open-day sign-up page that writes to the same contact record.
By the editorial team at Email Marketing Software · Written for registrars, admissions staff, bursars and communications leads.
Who this guide is for
This guide is for the people who send school email. That means admissions officers following up open-day inquiries, registrars managing offer and enrolment reminders, bursars sending fee notices, and communications staff writing the weekly parent letter. Most schools have one or two people doing all of this without a marketing department behind them, so the practical question is which tool they can run well every term without a training course.
Prices below come from each vendor's own pricing page, as checked on 7 October 2026. Where a vendor prices by contact count, figures appear only at the sizes its pricing page states. Where no figure is stated for a size, the table says pricing on request, and you should confirm the number on the vendor page at your real list size before you commit.
What a school email tool has to do
School email has four jobs that pull in different directions. Admissions needs staged follow-up from the first open-day inquiry through to the enrolment deposit. Parent communication needs relevance, so a family with a Year 3 child at the north campus should never receive the sixth-form trip letter. Alumni relations needs a list that survives for decades, because leavers are the school's long-term supporters. Urgent notices need a route faster than email, since a closure announced at seven in the morning cannot wait for an inbox to be checked.
Before comparing tools, decide which of these jobs carries the most weight in your office. A school with a busy admissions cycle needs automation and landing pages. A school whose main problem is a weekly letter going out late needs a simple editor and a handful of templates. Choosing by the job rather than by brand avoids paying for funnel depth that sits idle for most of the year.
Three requirements apply to nearly every school. The first is segmentation by year group, campus, house and interest, because whole-school sends teach parents to ignore the sender. The second is a clean record of consent and unsubscribes, because school lists often include families who never chose to receive marketing. The third is a price that stays sensible as the list grows, because the alumni list only ever gets larger.
How the main tools compare for schools
Entry prices are the lowest paid plan named on each vendor's pricing page, with the billing view stated in the cell.
| Tool | Best for in a school | Entry price (plan, billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | Admissions follow-up with segmented parent and alumni journeys | $49/mo, Plus, at the 1,000-contact starting size | Price rises with contact count; takes longer to configure |
| Brevo | Large parent or alumni lists sent in modest daily volumes | Free for up to 100,000 contacts; Starter $9/mo for 5,000 emails | Free plan capped at 300 sends a day |
| MailerLite | Small schools sending a weekly parent letter | Free to 250 subscribers; Comfort $12/mo, or $10.80 billed annually | Free plan too small for a whole-school list |
| Mailchimp | Offices that want a familiar editor for the first term letter | Free to 250 contacts; Standard $20/mo at 500 contacts | Cost rises with every contact, alumni included |
| Constant Contact | Open days, concerts and fundraising invitations | Lite $12/mo, or $10.20 billed annually | No free plan; contact count sets the final price |
| GetResponse | Virtual open evenings with registration and replays | Starter $19/mo, or $15.58 billed annually | Starter includes one automation workflow |
| Kit | A headteacher's newsletter with open-day pages | Free to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $33/mo billed annually | Visual automations need the Creator plan |
| Campaign Monitor | Prospectus and viewbook emails with strong layouts | Lite $13/mo, or $11.70 billed annually, 500-contact band | Entry tier has a narrower feature set |
| AWeber | Plain term bulletins for a non-technical office | Lite $15/mo for 500 subscribers and 5,000 sends | Monthly send cap; no ongoing free plan |
| Moosend | Lean schools that want automation at low cost | Pro for 500 contacts, $9/mo or $7 billed annually | Extra email volume is sold in credit packs |
| Drip | Schools that also run an online merchandise shop | $39/mo for 1 to 2,500 people, unlimited sends | No free plan; priced by people count |
The tools, one by one
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign suits a school with a real admissions pipeline. Its automations can move an inquiry through an open-day attendance record, a visit booking, an application reminder and an offer, with a different message at each stage. Segmentation by year group and campus keeps parent communications relevant as the list grows, and the same contact record carries a family from first inquiry to enrolment. Plus at $49 a month is the tier to examine first, because it adds standard segmentation and landing pages on the 1,000-contact starting size. Starter at $15 a month, which also starts at 1,000 contacts, covers email marketing, marketing automation and standard CRM integrations, and suits a school that sends a regular newsletter and little else.
The weak points are cost and setup time. The price follows the contact count, so a whole-school list plus alumni can push the bill up quickly. Configuring the admissions path well takes several days, which is a poor fit for an office that only sends a monthly letter. Current tiers and contact bands are on the ActiveCampaign pricing page.
Brevo
Brevo has the most generous free tier on this list for a school with a large contact base. The free plan can hold up to 100,000 contacts, so an alumni archive can sit at no cost while the office sends to current families. The constraint is the daily ceiling of 300 emails. A list of 7,000 contacts at that rate needs 24 days to reach everyone once, which rules the free plan out for a term letter that must land on one morning. Starter at $9 a month removes the daily limit and covers 5,000 emails a month, and Standard at $18 a month adds automation, A/B testing and advanced reports.
Because Brevo prices by monthly email volume rather than by contact count, a school with a large list and a modest send rate will often find it predictable. Text alerts are a separate question, and the SMS terms are on the Brevo pricing page rather than in the plan figures above. Check the automation depth you need there before assuming admissions-style pipelines are included.
MailerLite
MailerLite is the simplest honest starting point for a small school. The free plan allows up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, enough for one year group, a new school or a parent association newsletter. Comfort at $12 a month, or $10.80 billed annually, starts at the 500-subscriber tier and includes a monthly email allowance ten times that ceiling. Power at $25 a month, or $22.50 billed annually, removes the monthly email limit at the same starting tier. The editor is gentle enough for a non-marketer to produce a term letter in an afternoon.
The limitation is depth. Once the whole school is on the list, the free plan no longer fits, and the admissions logic is lighter than ActiveCampaign's. For a school with a small admissions cycle that is acceptable. For a school that needs staged follow-up through to an offer, it becomes a constraint within a year. Current figures are on the MailerLite pricing page.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp makes sense where the office already knows the interface, or where a volunteer sends the newsletter. The free plan allows up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 sends in a single day. Standard starts at $20 a month at the default 500-contact selector, with up to 6,000 emails a month at that size. A 14-day trial of the Standard tier is offered.
Cost is the main issue for schools. Because the price follows the number of contacts, every alumni address raises the bill, and the list only grows. The admissions path also has to be assembled by hand, with more manual work than a tool built around staged pipelines. Check the Mailchimp pricing page at your real list size before choosing it for an alumni list.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is built around events and invitations. An office sending open-day invitations, concert notices and fundraising event reminders will find its event-style sends straightforward. Lite starts at $12 a month, or $10.20 billed annually, and includes email and social media tools. Standard at $35 a month, or $29.75 billed annually, adds automation, scheduling and A/B testing. Premium at $80 a month, or $68 billed annually, adds advanced automation, segmentation and reporting, along with 500 SMS a month. A free trial with no credit card is offered.
There is no free plan, and the logic for admissions follow-up is thinner than ActiveCampaign's. Prices depend on the contact count, so check the figures on the Constant Contact pricing page for your own size. Schools that want text alerts alongside invitations should compare the Premium SMS allowance with their expected volume.
GetResponse
GetResponse fits an admissions team that runs virtual open evenings. Starter at $19 a month, or $15.58 billed annually, includes unlimited monthly sends, a welcome series, landing pages and signup forms. Marketer at $59 a month, or $48.38 billed annually, adds unlimited workflows, advanced audience segmentation and sales funnels. Creator at $69 a month, or $56.58 billed annually, adds webinars, a website builder and a course creator.
The main limit is the workflow count. Starter includes one automation workflow, so a school that wants a full admissions sequence needs Marketer. There is no ongoing free plan, though paid plans carry a free trial. The GetResponse pricing page lists the current tiers.
Kit
Kit suits a headteacher's newsletter that sits alongside open-day pages. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers and includes unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, plus audience tagging and segmentation. Visual automations and email sequences start on Creator at $33 a month billed annually, which also adds A/B testing of subject lines and removes Kit branding. Pro at $66 a month billed annually adds unlimited users and deliverability reporting. A 14-day trial on paid plans needs no credit card.
Kit is strongest as a publishing tool. A school that needs staged admissions follow-up has to pay for Creator before automations are available, and its operations features are lighter than ActiveCampaign's. The Kit pricing page shows the current tiers.
Campaign Monitor, AWeber, Moosend and Drip
Campaign Monitor suits a school that puts real effort into its prospectus and viewbook. Lite is $13 a month, or $11.70 billed annually, in the 500-contact band, and Essentials at $31 a month, or $27.90 billed annually, allows unlimited email sends in the same band. A 30-day trial is available, limited to 500 contacts and 500 emails. The Campaign Monitor pricing page shows the higher bands.
AWeber is a plain option for a traditional office. Lite is $15 a month for 500 subscribers and 5,000 sends, and Plus is $30 a month for 500 subscribers and 6,000 sends. The monthly send cap matters for a whole-school list, so check it against your term-letter volume on the AWeber pricing page.
Moosend is the lowest-cost automation option here. Its Pro plan for 500 contacts is $9 a month, or $7 billed annually, with unlimited emails. Extra email volume is sold in credit packs, with 350,000 credits at $350 a month and 500,000 at $500 a month, so a heavy send pattern adds cost. Check the Moosend pricing page before committing.
Drip is priced by people count, with the entry band at $39 a month for 1 to 2,500 people and unlimited email sends. It suits a school that sells uniforms or spirit wear online and wants purchase-based workflows. It has no free plan, so use the 14-day trial to test the setup. See the Drip pricing page.
What it costs at real list sizes
Monthly prices are shown only at the list sizes each vendor's pricing page states. Annual figures appear in brackets where the page gives them. Pricing on request means the page does not state a figure at that size.
| Tool and plan | 500 contacts | 1,000 contacts | 5,000 contacts | 10,000 contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign, Plus | Pricing on request | $49/mo | Pricing on request | Pricing on request |
| Brevo, Free | $0 (300 sends a day) | $0 (300 sends a day) | $0 (300 sends a day) | $0 (300 sends a day) |
| Kit, Free (broadcasts) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| MailerLite, Comfort | $12/mo ($10.80 annual) | Pricing on request | Pricing on request | Pricing on request |
| Mailchimp, Standard | $20/mo | Pricing on request | Pricing on request | Pricing on request |
| Campaign Monitor, Essentials | $31/mo ($27.90 annual) | Pricing on request | Pricing on request | Pricing on request |
| Moosend, Pro | $9/mo ($7 annual) | $16/mo ($13 annual) | $48/mo ($38 annual) | $88/mo ($70 annual) |
| Klaviyo, email plan | $20/mo | $30/mo | $100/mo | $150/mo |
| Drip | $39/mo (1 to 2,500 band) | $39/mo (1 to 2,500 band) | $89/mo (4,501 to 5,000 band) | $154/mo (9,001 to 10,000 band) |
| Constant Contact, Lite | Pricing on request | Pricing on request | Pricing on request | Pricing on request |
Two patterns stand out. Tools that price per contact rise as the alumni list grows, so a school should add up its whole list, leavers included, before choosing. Tools that price by monthly email volume, such as Brevo, do not penalise a large list, but their daily or monthly caps decide how fast a send can go. A school with 8,000 families and one term letter for all of them should check the daily cap before it checks the monthly price.
Worked example: a school with 3,000 current families and 4,000 alumni has a 7,000-contact list. Moosend's readouts on the pricing page are shown at 5,000 ($48 a month) and 10,000 ($88 a month), so the exact figure for 7,000 has to come from the contact selector. On Brevo's free plan the same list sits inside the 100,000-contact limit at no cost, but a 300-send daily cap means one full send takes 24 days. The right choice depends on whether the school values a single-morning send or a free archive.
Free plans and where they stop
Free plans carry a small school further than most people expect, but each one stops at a different point, and that stopping point is what matters. MailerLite's free tier ends at 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Mailchimp's ends at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a daily ceiling of 250. Kit's free tier covers broadcasts for up to 10,000 subscribers, but automations and sequences wait for the Creator plan.
Brevo is the odd one out. It holds a list of up to 100,000 contacts at no cost, which suits an alumni archive, but the 300-email daily limit rules it out as the only tool for a term letter that must reach every family on the same morning. Many offices keep the archive on a free tier and send the term letter from a paid one.
A simple test helps. Divide your full list by the daily cap and check how many days the letter needs. Then compare your total with the contact ceiling on the free tier. If the letter needs more days than you can wait, or the list passes the ceiling, the free tier is no longer the answer, whatever the headline figures suggest.
Which tool for which school job
| If you need | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Staged admissions follow-up from inquiry to offer | ActiveCampaign, Plus | Segmentation and landing pages are included from $49 a month, and each stage can carry its own automation. |
| A free start for a school with under 250 families | MailerLite free plan | It allows up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month at no cost. |
| A large parent and alumni archive at no cost | Brevo free plan | It holds up to 100,000 contacts, but caps sending at 300 emails a day. |
| Open-day invitations and event reminders | Constant Contact, Lite or Standard | Event-style invitations and reminders are central to its design. |
| Virtual open evenings with replays | GetResponse, Marketer | Marketer adds unlimited workflows and sales funnels on top of Starter's landing pages and forms. |
| A headteacher's newsletter with open-day pages | Kit, Creator | Landing pages and forms are free, and Creator adds visual automations. |
| Automation at the lowest price for a small list | Moosend, Pro | Pro at 500 contacts is $9 a month, or $7 billed annually. |
| Merchandise and uniform purchase flows | Drip | Purchase-based workflows suit store-style sends, at $39 a month for up to 2,500 people. |
Setting up the school list
Most schools move a list from a spreadsheet or an older tool. The order below keeps consent and segmentation intact.
| Step | What to do | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clean the list | Remove duplicates, bounced addresses and anyone who has asked to leave. Do not import pupil records. | Only guardian and parent addresses remain |
| 2. Confirm consent | Record how each contact opted in. Keep families who agreed to school news, and separate the rest. | Every address has a recorded source |
| 3. Build segments | Create tags for year group, campus, house and interest. Create a separate leavers segment at graduation. | A test send reaches only the intended group |
| 4. Set up the admissions path | Build one sequence per stage: inquiry, visit, application, offer, enrolment. | Each stage has its own message and exit rule |
| 5. Test the sender details | Send to a staff test list with the school name, reply address and unsubscribe link visible. | The message renders correctly on phone and desktop |
| 6. Agree a send calendar | Decide who sends the term letter, when, and what happens if a daily or monthly cap is reached. | A named person and a backup are written down |
Parents, alumni and consent
Parents read school email for action items, so put the action first: a deadline, a form to complete or a change to pickup. Segment by year group so that the parent of a reception child does not receive the sixth-form prospectus. A short letter with one clear request tends to get more replies than a long newsletter with everything in it.
Alumni need a different tone and a separate list. Capture forwarding addresses at graduation, tag them as leavers, and send reunion invitations and giving appeals only to that segment. Keep an unsubscribe link on every message and honour it straight away. A tool that charges per contact will bill for every alumni address, so decide early whether every leaver stays on the list or only those who opt in.
Text alerts belong in a separate category. Closures, emergencies and pickup changes need a route that reaches people quickly, and text is usually the fastest. Keep texts for urgent, operational notices with consent on file, and never use them for promotion. SMS is priced separately from email on most platforms, so read the SMS terms on the vendor's pricing page.
Who should skip these tools
Several platforms in the wider market are built for other jobs. Klaviyo's email plan is priced by profile band, starting at $20 a month for 500 profiles and rising to $400 a month at 25,000, and its strengths are aimed at online shops. A school rarely needs that depth. Customer.io's Essentials plan starts at $100 a month, billed monthly, which is hard to justify for one school before any family joins a sequence. Loops offers a free tier of up to 4,000 sends in a rolling 30 days, with its paid Growing Audience plan at $99. It is aimed at product teams, and its feature set does little for a school office.
A district with several schools and a data team sees a different picture. Central data work can justify a larger platform, but that decision belongs to the district rather than to the office that sends the term letter.
How to choose
Start with the list. Count every family and every leaver you expect to email over the next twelve months, then check that number against the contact tiers on each pricing page. A tool that is cheap for 500 families can become expensive once alumni are added, and a free tier that holds 100,000 contacts may still be too slow to deliver a whole-school letter in one morning.
Next, look at the admissions cycle. If inquiries arrive at open days and need a visit booking, an application reminder and an offer follow-up, you need automation and landing pages. ActiveCampaign's Plus plan and GetResponse's Marketer plan both cover that. If admissions is a light part of the job, a newsletter tool with a free tier is enough, and paying for funnel depth will leave it unused for most of the year.
Then decide who will send the email. A single administrator with no training time needs a simple editor, which points toward MailerLite, Mailchimp or Constant Contact. A communications lead who will build sequences needs a proper automation builder, which points toward ActiveCampaign or Kit's Creator plan.
Last, check the send pattern. Term letters go to everyone on the same morning, so a daily cap can delay the send for days. Check the cap as well as the monthly price.
Summary
Admissions by email: ActiveCampaign Plus. A free start: MailerLite. A large archive at no cost: Brevo.
Match the tool to the job the office needs done this year, then confirm the price at your real list size on the vendor's pricing page.
School questions, answered
Questions registrars and comms leads ask before committing.
What is the best email software for a school?
For a school that runs admissions by email, ActiveCampaign on its Plus plan is the strongest starting pick, at $49 a month on the 1,000-contact starting size. Plus includes standard segmentation and landing pages, so inquiries can be split by year group and campus, and each stage of the admissions path can have its own follow-up. A school with a short newsletter and fewer than 250 families can begin on the MailerLite free plan and move up once the admissions workload justifies it.
Can a school run on a free plan?
Yes, for a small list and a modest send pattern. MailerLite's free plan allows up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Mailchimp's free plan allows up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with no more than 250 sends in a day. Brevo's free plan holds up to 100,000 contacts but limits sending to 300 emails a day, so a whole-school letter can take several days to reach everyone. Kit's free plan covers broadcasts for up to 10,000 subscribers, though visual automations and sequences need the Creator plan.
What does a list of 5,000 contacts cost?
It depends on the vendor. Moosend's Pro plan is $48 a month at the 5,000-contact readout, or $38 a month billed annually. Klaviyo's email plan is $100 a month at 5,000 profiles, and Drip's 4,501 to 5,000 band is $89 a month. Brevo prices by monthly email volume, and its Starter plan is $9 a month for 5,000 emails. ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, Constant Contact and Kit do not publish a figure at that exact size on their pricing pages, so confirm the number at your real list size before committing.
Do schools need SMS as well as email?
Many schools need text alerts for closures, pickup changes and trip logistics, and these are often handled outside the email tool. Constant Contact's Premium plan at $80 a month includes 500 SMS a month. The other plan figures in this guide do not include text messages, so check each vendor's pricing page for SMS terms. Keep texts for urgent, consented, operational notices and do not use them for promotion.
Should alumni sit in the same list as current families?
Keep them in separate lists or segments. Current parents need term calendars and action notices, while alumni need reunion invitations and giving appeals. A parent who receives a fundraising appeal in the middle of a term letter may unsubscribe from the school list altogether. Tag leavers at graduation, move them into their own segment, and check how each tool bills for that segment, because per-contact pricing counts every alumni address.
What personal data should go into an email tool?
As little as possible. An email tool needs a guardian or parent address, a first name and a segment such as year group or campus. Pupil records, medical details, safeguarding notes and fee balances belong in the school information system, not in a marketing product. Check your local data protection rules before importing any list, record how each contact opted in, and make unsubscribing easy on every message.
When should a school move from a free plan to a paid one?
Move when the free plan blocks a job the office needs done: more subscribers than the free cap, automation for admissions follow-up, or a daily send volume the free tier cannot meet. For many offices that happens at the first admissions cycle. Choose the plan from the missing feature rather than from list size alone, and confirm the price at your real list size on the vendor pricing page before upgrading.