The best email marketing software for small business is rarely the most powerful platform. They need one that makes it easy to send a good newsletter, set up a welcome sequence and an abandoned-cart reminder, and doesn’t triple in price the month their list grows. That’s the lens for this guide.
We compared six email marketing tools small businesses actually shortlist, using each vendor’s official pricing page on 5 November 2026. Email prices depend on list size, so where we quote a price we say which contact tier it’s for. If you’re weighing two specific tools, our ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign vs HubSpot comparisons go deeper.
How to choose the best email marketing software for small business
Four questions settle most decisions:
- How is it priced? Most tools charge by contacts. Brevo builds its plans mainly around how many emails you send each month, which can suit a business that emails occasionally.
- What does the free plan really allow? Free plans range from 250 contacts to 10,000 subscribers, and some cap automations or add the vendor’s branding.
- How much automation do you need? A welcome series and a few triggers are standard. Lead scoring, branching and site tracking push you toward ActiveCampaign.
- What else do you need to sell? Landing pages, digital products, webinars or courses may let you drop another subscription.
1
MailerLite: best email marketing software for small business overall
Best for: Small businesses that want good email without complexity
Free (250 subscribers) · Comfort from $12/mo · Power from $25/mo
MailerLite is the tool we’d recommend to most small businesses because it gets the basics right and keeps prices sensible. Its editor is clean, automations are easy to build, and websites, landing pages, signup forms and simple digital products come included. In 2026 it renamed its paid plans Comfort and Power.
The free plan now covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 active automations, 1 landing page and 1 website. Comfort starts at $12 a month (about $19 at 1,000 subscribers) and raises that to 50 automations, 10 landing pages and 3 user seats. Power starts at $25 a month and removes most limits, with live-chat support. Annual billing saves 10%.
✓ WHY SWITCH
Clean editor, fair pricing and websites and landing pages included.
✕ WATCH OUT
The free plan is now small, at 250 subscribers.
2
Brevo: best for businesses that email occasionally
Best for: Businesses that send a few campaigns a month, plus transactional email
Free (300 emails/day) · Starter $9/mo · Standard $18/mo
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) builds its plans around monthly email volume. Starter costs $9 a month, or about $8 on yearly billing, for 5,000 emails and 500 contacts, and removes the Brevo logo. Standard is $18 a month and adds reporting such as click heatmaps. The free plan allows up to 300 emails a day.
Brevo also does transactional email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns (WhatsApp on Professional), and it has a free sales CRM. That breadth is handy for a shop that needs order confirmations and marketing emails from the same account. The automation builder is capable but less refined than MailerLite’s.
✓ WHY SWITCH
Volume-based plans, transactional email and SMS in one account.
✕ WATCH OUT
Starter’s 500-contact cap is tight, and Professional jumps to $499.
3
Kit: best for creators and newsletter businesses
Best for: Creators, coaches and paid newsletters
Free up to 10,000 subscribers · Creator $33/mo yearly ($39 monthly)
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) has the most generous free plan here: up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions. Creator is $33 a month on yearly billing ($390 a year) or $39 monthly at 1,000 subscribers, and adds automated sequences and the visual automation builder, with a 14-day trial.
It’s built for people whose business is their audience. A local bakery or B2B services firm will find its creator-first language and features less relevant than MailerLite’s.
✓ WHY SWITCH
Free up to 10,000 subscribers, with paid newsletters and digital products.
✕ WATCH OUT
Sequences and the visual automation builder need a paid plan.
4
ActiveCampaign: best for advanced automation
Best for: Small businesses that live on automated follow-up
Starter $15/mo · Plus $49 · Pro $79 (yearly, 1,000 contacts)
When a small business outgrows simple sequences, ActiveCampaign is usually where it goes. Its automation builder handles goals, branching, lead scoring, site and event tracking and conditional content, and its Pipelines add-on (from Plus) adds deal tracking for service businesses. Prices at 1,000 contacts, billed yearly, are $15 (Starter), $49 (Plus), $79 (Pro) and $145 (Enterprise), with a 14-day trial based on Pro.
The value is in Plus and above: Starter has one user, no landing pages and a limit of five actions per automation. Prices rise steeply with list size: at 5,000 contacts, Plus is $145 a month on yearly billing. Compare it against an e-commerce specialist in ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo.
✓ WHY SWITCH
The deepest automation and segmentation in this group.
✕ WATCH OUT
Costs climb quickly as your list grows.
5
GetResponse: best for email plus webinars and courses
Best for: Educators and consultants who run webinars
Starter $19/mo · Marketer $59 · Creator $69 (1,000 contacts)
GetResponse is the one to look at if webinars are part of how you sell. Its Creator plan ($69 a month, or $56.58 billed yearly, at 1,000 contacts) bundles email, unlimited automation workflows, sales funnels, webinars, a website builder and a course creator for up to 500 students.
Starter ($19, or $15.58 yearly) is a basic email plan with one custom automation workflow and a landing page builder. Marketer ($59) adds unlimited workflows and sales funnels. That makes GetResponse less of a pure email tool and more of a lightweight all-in-one.
✓ WHY SWITCH
Webinars, funnels and courses alongside email on one plan.
✕ WATCH OUT
Starter is limited to one automation workflow.
6
Mailchimp: best known, easiest to start
Best for: Beginners who want a familiar, well-integrated tool
Free (250 contacts) · Essentials from $13/mo · Standard from $20/mo
Mailchimp is still the name most people know, and its integrations with e-commerce and website platforms are broad. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Essentials starts at $13 a month and Standard at $20, but those are the starting prices Mailchimp shows for the first 12 months, so check what you’ll pay after that before you commit. Standard is where its customer journeys become useful.
For the price, MailerLite and Brevo usually give a small business more. Mailchimp makes sense if a tool you already use connects best with it.
✓ WHY SWITCH
Familiar, polished and widely integrated.
✕ WATCH OUT
Starting prices are first-year offers; it gets expensive as lists grow.
What 1,000 subscribers costs on each
| Tool | Free plan | Paid price at 1,000 contacts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers | About $19/mo (Comfort, monthly) | Save 10% yearly |
| Brevo | 300 emails/day | $9/mo Starter covers 500 contacts; check the next tier | Priced mainly by emails sent |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers | $33/mo yearly or $39 monthly (Creator) | Free plan is enough for many |
| ActiveCampaign | None | $15/mo yearly (Starter); $49 Plus | 14-day trial |
| GetResponse | 500 contacts | $19/mo or $15.58 yearly (Starter) | Creator $69 adds webinars and courses |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts | Essentials from $13/mo (first 12 months) | Price rises with contacts |
Prices change often and depend on your exact list size, so treat this as a starting point and use each vendor’s pricing slider before you sign up.
Run a shop, salon or service business?
- Start with MailerLite
- Use its landing pages and simple automations
- Move to ActiveCampaign if follow-up gets complex
Building an audience or newsletter?
- Start with Kit’s free plan
- Grow to 10,000 subscribers free
- Upgrade for sequences and paid products
Need complex automation?
- Choose ActiveCampaign Plus or Pro
- Use lead scoring and site tracking
- Connect it to your CRM and store
How we chose the best email marketing software for small business
We focused on tools that small businesses commonly shortlist and that publish clear pricing, then compared free plans, entry prices, automation limits and extra features from each official pricing page on 5 November 2026. Where a price depends on list size, we’ve named the tier. This is a research-based guide; we haven’t run identical campaigns through all six tools to compare deliverability, so we don’t make deliverability claims. Read how we test and our affiliate disclosure.
Sources: MailerLite pricing, Brevo pricing, Kit pricing, ActiveCampaign pricing, GetResponse pricing, Mailchimp pricing.
OUR PICK
For most readers, MailerLite is the best email marketing software for small business.
It’s easy to use, fairly priced and includes landing pages, websites and simple automations. Creators should start with Kit’s free plan, and businesses that depend on complex follow-up should choose ActiveCampaign.
FAQ
What is the best email marketing software for small business?
For most small businesses, MailerLite, because it balances ease of use, features and price. Kit is better for creators and newsletters, and ActiveCampaign is better when you need advanced automation.
What is the best free email marketing software?
Kit has the largest free plan we found, at up to 10,000 subscribers. MailerLite’s free plan covers 250 subscribers with automations and a website, GetResponse’s covers up to 500 contacts, and Brevo’s free plan allows up to 300 emails a day.
Is Mailchimp still good for small businesses?
It’s easy to use and integrates widely, but its listed starting prices are first-year offers and costs rise quickly with your list. MailerLite and Brevo usually offer more for the money.
Which email tool has the best automation?
ActiveCampaign, with goals, branching, lead scoring and site tracking. MailerLite and Kit cover welcome sequences and simple triggers well.
How much does email marketing software cost?
Expect roughly $10 to $40 a month for 1,000 contacts on an entry or mid-tier plan, depending on the tool and billing period. Several tools, including Kit, MailerLite and Brevo, have free plans.