Mailchimp, owned by Intuit, is still the best-known email marketing tool, but the free plan has shrunk. The Mailchimp plan comparison caps the free plan at 250 contacts, with a maximum of 500 sends a month or 250 a day, one seat and one audience, and sending pauses when you pass a limit. Paid plans are priced by contacts. For the smallest list, Essentials starts at $13 a month and Standard at $20 a month, and Premium starts at $350 a month for 10,000 contacts, each for the first 12 months.
Costs climb fast as a list grows. At 2,500 contacts, Essentials runs about $45 a month and Standard about $60, per Mailmeteor's January 2026 Mailchimp pricing guide. The six picks below start with the tools that give a small list the most for free or for a few dollars, then cover creators and online stores.
Prices below are as of November 8, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Big lists that send a few campaigns a month | Free 300 emails/day; Starter $9/month | Web, iOS, Android |
| MailerLite | Small businesses that want a clean editor and automations | Free to 250 subscribers; Comfort from $12/month | Web, iOS, Android |
| Kit | Creators selling products to a newsletter | Free to 10,000 subscribers; Creator $33/month billed yearly | Web, iOS, Android |
| Sender | The biggest free plan for a small business | Free to 2,500 subscribers; Standard $9/month | Web |
| beehiiv | Newsletters that earn from ads and paid subs | Free to 2,500 subscribers; Lite $49/month billed yearly | Web |
| Klaviyo | Shopify and ecommerce stores | Free to 250 profiles; Email $20/month | Web, iOS, Android |
Brevo
Brevo, which used to be Sendinblue, prices plans by the number of emails you send each month, not by the size of your list. A shop with 8,000 contacts that mails twice a month pays for the sends only, which is where contact-based pricing gets expensive. It also includes SMS, a CRM and transactional email on the same account.
The Brevo pricing page offers a free plan that sends up to 300 emails a day. Starter costs $9 a month for 5,000 emails and $32 a month for 20,000, and Standard, which adds automation, A/B testing and a landing page, starts at $18 a month. Yearly billing saves 10%.
Best for: Businesses with a large list that send a few campaigns a month.
Pricing:
- Free: up to 300 emails a day
- Starter: $9/month for 5,000 emails, $32/month for 20,000
- Standard: from $18/month
- Professional: from $499/month; 10% off yearly
Watch out for:
- Starter emails carry the Brevo logo unless you pay $12 a month for the removal add-on. Standard includes logo removal.
Official site: Brevo.
MailerLite
MailerLite is the closest in feel to Mailchimp, with a drag-and-drop editor, automations, landing pages and sign-up forms, at lower prices.
The MailerLite pricing page lists a free plan for 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 users and 3 active forms. Comfort starts at $12 a month with 10 times your subscriber tier in monthly sends, and Power starts at $25 a month with unlimited emails under a fair use policy. Yearly billing saves 10%.
Best for: Small businesses that want Mailchimp's features at a lower monthly price.
Pricing:
- Free: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month
- Comfort: from $12/month
- Power: from $25/month, unlimited emails
- Yearly billing: 10% off
Watch out for:
- The free plan is no larger than Mailchimp's at 250 subscribers, so the saving only shows on paid plans.
Official site: MailerLite.
Kit
Kit, renamed from ConvertKit in 2024, is built for writers, coaches and creators. Tags replace Mailchimp's separate audiences, so one person is never counted twice, and you can sell digital products and paid newsletters from the same account.
Its free plan is the largest here, at up to 10,000 subscribers for one user. The Kit pricing page lists Creator at $33 a month billed yearly ($390) for 1,000 subscribers, about $39 month to month. Pro is $66 a month billed yearly ($50 a month in the first year with the current 25% offer). There are no sending limits on any plan, and sales carry a 3.5% plus 30 cent fee that includes card processing.
Best for: Creators who sell courses, downloads or paid newsletters.
Pricing:
- Free: up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 user
- Creator: $33/month billed yearly ($390/year) at 1,000 subscribers, about $39 month to month
- Pro: $66/month billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers ($50/month in the first year with the 25% offer)
- Commerce fee: 3.5% + 30c per sale
Watch out for:
- The free plan has one user and two-line subject tests. Creator, at $33 a month billed yearly for 1,000 subscribers, costs more than Mailchimp Essentials.
Official site: Kit.
Sender
If the goal is to stay free as long as possible, Sender is the answer. Its Free Forever plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, ten times Mailchimp's free list and thirty times its free sends, with sign-up forms and pop-ups included.
Paid plans are cheap too. The Sender pricing page lists Standard at $9 a month for 500 subscribers and 6,000 emails, and Professional at $15 a month with 12,000 emails. Prices exclude VAT, and a 14-day Professional trial is offered.
Best for: Small shops and nonprofits with lists under 2,500 people.
Pricing:
- Free Forever: 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month
- Standard: $9/month (500 subscribers)
- Professional: $15/month (500 subscribers)
- Prices exclude VAT
Watch out for:
- Free plan emails, forms and pop-ups carry Sender branding, per its pricing FAQ.
Official site: Sender.
beehiiv
beehiiv is built for newsletters as a business. Posts publish to a web archive, and paid plans add an ad network and paid subscriptions, with no commission on subscription or digital product sales beyond Stripe's 2.9% plus $0.30.
On the beehiiv pricing page, the free plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers. Lite costs $49 a month on yearly billing and adds ad monetisation and paid subscriptions, and Pro at $95 a month yearly removes beehiiv branding and adds webhooks and dynamic content. Yearly billing saves up to 20%.
Best for: Writers and media startups who want the newsletter to earn money.
Pricing:
- Free: up to 2,500 subscribers
- Lite: $49/month billed yearly
- Pro: $95/month billed yearly
- Enterprise: custom
Watch out for:
- It is a publishing tool, so ecommerce flows such as abandoned cart emails are outside what it does.
Official site: beehiiv.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is built for online stores. It pulls order and browsing data from Shopify and other platforms, so flows like abandoned cart and post-purchase emails trigger on real behaviour, and SMS sits in the same account.
The Klaviyo pricing page lists a free plan for 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month and $5 of SMS credit. The Email plan costs $20 a month at 500 profiles with 5,000 emails, and pricing rises with active profiles, meaning every contact you can market to.
Best for: Shopify and ecommerce brands that live on automated flows.
Pricing:
- Free: 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month
- Email: $20/month at 500 profiles (5,000 emails)
- Custom: over 150,000 profiles, via sales
Watch out for:
- Billing counts every marketable profile, so unengaged contacts cost money until you suppress them.
Official site: Klaviyo.
How to choose
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| A large list that only mails a few times a month | Brevo |
| Mailchimp-style features and editor for less money | MailerLite |
| Selling products to a newsletter audience | Kit |
| A free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers | Sender |
| A newsletter that earns from ads and paid subscriptions | beehiiv |
| Abandoned cart and post-purchase flows for a store | Klaviyo |
When to stay with Mailchimp
Stay with Mailchimp if you rely on its integrations, templates and reporting and your list is small enough to stay on the entry Essentials or Standard tier. Its huge integration directory and familiar editor save time a cheaper tool may cost you. If you also send app emails such as receipts and password resets, our SparkPost alternatives page covers transactional email services.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Mailchimp free plan limits?
Up to 250 contacts, 500 email sends a month with no more than 250 a day, one seat and one audience. Sending is paused if you pass a contact or send limit.
How much does Mailchimp cost for 500 or 2,500 contacts?
For the smallest list, Essentials starts at $13 a month and Standard at $20, in US dollars, for the first 12 months. At 2,500 contacts, Essentials runs about $45 a month and Standard about $60, per Mailmeteor's January 2026 figures.
What is the best free alternative to Mailchimp?
Kit for creators, with up to 10,000 free subscribers. Sender for small businesses, with 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month free. Brevo if your list is large but you send little, since its free plan counts emails, not contacts.
Is MailerLite cheaper than Mailchimp?
Yes, on paid plans. MailerLite Comfort starts at $12 a month and includes automations, while Mailchimp Essentials starts at $13 and Standard at $20 for the first 12 months. Both free plans stop at 250 contacts.
