Best email marketing for 500 subscribers
Five hundred subscribers is past every free plan on this page. MailerLite's free plan holds 1,000 subscribers, so this list stays at $0 until it doubles, and Comfort at $12 is the first paid step after that. Klaviyo's free plan covers 500 email sends a month rather than 500 people, so a weekly send runs out inside a fortnight. Mailchimp's free plan stops under 250 contacts, and Essentials at $13 is the block you land in at 500.
Short answer: MailerLite is the pick at 500 subscribers: the free plan covers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month at $0, so five hundred people costs nothing today and the Comfort tier is $12 once you double. Klaviyo's free tier is a 500-send allowance rather than a 500-person one, and Mailchimp's free plan ends under 250 contacts.
Which one should you pick?
- Pick MailerLite if this trade-off works for you: free at 500, free at 1,000. Visit MailerLite
- Pick Klaviyo if this trade-off works for you: revenue tracking per profile. Visit Klaviyo
- Pick Mailchimp if this trade-off works for you: the brand everyone recognises. Visit Mailchimp
Short answer, with every price read from the vendor on 2026-10-04.
Five hundred subscribers is past every free plan on this page. MailerLite's free plan holds 1,000 subscribers, so this list stays at $0 until it doubles, and Comfort at $12 is the first paid step after that. Klaviyo's free plan covers 500 email sends a month rather than 500 people, so a weekly send runs out inside a fortnight. Mailchimp's free plan stops under 250 contacts, and Essentials at $13 is the block you land in at 500.
The picks
Free at 500, free at 1,000: MailerLite
MailerLite's free plan holds 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month for $0, which is double the list on this page and room for a weekly send. Comfort at $12 per month opens the paid features with 3 user seats and 50 automations. Power at $25 per month is the tier that ends the send meter, with unlimited emails and unlimited seats.
See MailerLite pricingRevenue tracking per profile: Klaviyo
Klaviyo's free plan runs 500 email sends a month, and the Email tier at $20 per month is where a 500-name list lands once it writes weekly. What you get for that is profile-level revenue tracking, which is why shops tolerate the send meter at all. A list that hears from you once a month can sit on the free plan indefinitely.
See Klaviyo pricingThe brand everyone recognises: Mailchimp
Mailchimp's free plan covers under 250 contacts, so a 500-name list is already past it, and Essentials at $13 per month is the 500-contact block with scheduling and testing. Standard at $20 per month adds the higher monthly send allowance and automations, so it is the tier to look at once you send more than once a week.
See Mailchimp pricingWhich one fits you
Stay on the free plan that counts subscribers. MailerLite's Power tier at $25 per month removes the send ceiling and the seat limit, which is where a weekly writer should land.
MailerLite pricing (read 2026-10-05)
MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. Comfort starts at $12/mo and Power at $25/mo at 250 subscribers, and both rise with list size.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo, 2 user seats, 1 website, 1 landing page, 3 signup forms |
| Comfort | $12/mo, or $10.8/mo billed annually | Starts at 250 subscribers, 3 user seats, 50 automations, 10 websites and landing pages, 5 digital products |
| Power | $25/mo, or $22.5/mo billed annually | Starts at 250 subscribers, unlimited monthly emails, unlimited user seats, unlimited automations and landing pages |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom pricing above 200,000 subscribers |
Klaviyo pricing (read 2026-11-10)
Klaviyo is free up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month. The Email plan starts at $20/mo at 500 active profiles and rises with the profile count: $60/mo at 2,500, $100/mo at 5,000, $150/mo at 10,000 and $400/mo at 25,000 active profiles. SMS is billed separately on every plan. The Marketing list price is $25/mo at 500 active profiles. A limited-time offer makes the first month $1 on eligible Marketing plans up to 5,000 active profiles. That $1 is not the ongoing price. The page does not print an annual rate.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends a month, $5 a month of mobile messages and $5 a month of Klaviyo Composer usage included, email support for the first 60 days. |
| $20/mo | Starts at $20/mo for up to 500 active profiles and rises with the profile count (see the ladder below). No send or profile limits on the tier you buy. SMS messages cost extra. | |
| Marketing | $25/mo | List price at 500 active profiles. The card is marked Recommended. A limited-time offer makes the first month $1 on eligible Marketing plans up to 5,000 active profiles. That $1 is not the ongoing price. The list price climbs with active profiles. Reviews have no order limit. |
Mailchimp pricing (read 2026-10-04)
Mailchimp is free under 250 contacts. The free-plan column prints a max of 500 emails a month or 250 a day. Paid plans start at $13/mo for Essentials, $20/mo for Standard and $350/mo for Premium at the 0-500 contacts tier, and every price climbs as the contact count grows.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Under 250 contacts, core features. Sending pauses if the contact or email-send limit is exceeded. On 2026-10-14 the comparison table's Free column printed Max of 500/mo or 250/day. |
| Essentials | $13/mo | Starts at 0-500 contacts ('starts at' rate). Testing and scheduling features, 14-day free trial. Price rises with contacts. |
| Standard | $20/mo | Starts at 0-500 contacts ('starts at' rate), send up to 6,000 emails each month at that tier. Automations, personalization, optimization tools. 14-day free trial. |
| Premium | $350/mo | Unlimited contacts, advanced tools, priority support. Promo on the page: 15% off the first 12 months for 10,000+ contacts ($297.50/mo for 12 months). |
What changes the price
Each vendor meters something different, which is why two lists of the same size get two different bills. MailerLite counts subscribers. Mailchimp counts contacts and stops sending when you pass the block. Klaviyo counts sends, so a small list that writes often pays before a big list that writes rarely. The cheapest choice for 500 subscribers is the tool that counts the thing you have least of.
Worked cost: Best email marketing for 500 subscribers
| Case | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MailerLite at 500 subscribers | Free | Free plan covers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month; the paid step is $12 |
| Mailchimp at 500 contacts | $13 | Free plan stops under 250 contacts; the yearly rate is |
| Klaviyo at 500 profiles | Free | Free plan is 500 email sends a month; the paid step is $20 |
| MailerLite Power, unlimited sends | $25 | Unlimited seats and sends; the yearly rate is $22.5 |
Prices checked 2026-10-04.
Mailchimp, Brevo and Constant Contact: what they cost
Every email-marketing comparison starts with these three names, so here is what each one actually charges. Every price below was read on the vendor's own pricing page. The date on that pricing page is the last read. The link goes to the full plan tables and the fine print:
- Mailchimp is free under 250 contacts. The free-plan column prints a max of 500 emails a month or 250 a day. Paid plans start at $13/mo for Essentials, $20/mo for Standard and $350/mo for Premium at the 0-500 contacts tier, and every price climbs as the contact count grows.
- Brevo is free at 300 emails a day, then Starter is $9/mo, Standard $18/mo and Professional $499/mo billed monthly, with yearly billing taking 10% off. Brevo prices by monthly email volume, not by contact count.
- Constant Contact starts at $12/mo on Lite, $35/mo on Standard and $80/mo on Premium billed monthly, or $10.20 / $29.75 / $68 per month billed annually. There is no permanent free plan. Constant Contact's own landing page says the trial is 30 days and no credit card is required. A paid plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Cheaper first paid month: Brevo Starter at $9/mo is below the cheapest paid step among the picks above (MailerLite Comfort at $12/mo). Those entry prices are for the smallest list or send volume each vendor sells, so price them at your own size before you switch.
Compare these numbers against the picks above at your own list size: the cheapest tool for a 500-contact shop is rarely the cheapest at 10,000 subscribers, and the free tiers stop at very different places.
Questions
What is the cheapest option here?
MailerLite, because its free plan covers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month for $0, so a 500-name list costs nothing. Klaviyo's free plan is metered on sends rather than people, and Mailchimp charges $13 for a 500-contact block.
Is anyone actually free at 500 subscribers?
MailerLite is, because its free plan holds 1,000 subscribers. Klaviyo's free tier is 500 email sends a month rather than 500 people, and Mailchimp's free plan stops under 250 contacts.
What changes at 1,000 subscribers?
MailerLite's free plan ends there and Comfort at $12 per month takes over. That is the moment to look at Power at $25 per month if the list writes weekly, because it removes the send ceiling as well.
Do I need the yearly rate?
It is the cheapest way to hold any of these accounts for twelve months. MailerLite Comfort comes down to $10.8 per month on the yearly rate, and Mailchimp Essentials to , with the same subscriber allowance.
Which one sends the most email for the money?
MailerLite's Power tier at $25 per month includes unlimited monthly emails and unlimited seats, where Mailchimp's Standard tier at $20 caps the monthly send and Klaviyo's free plan stops at 500.
Prices and plan details were read from each vendor on 2026-10-04. How we check prices.
About this page
All prices here come from the vendors' own pricing pages on the check date above, with the monthly and yearly rates both shown. Every free tier on this page is sized in subscribers or sends, so the exact number on your list is what decides the row, and the top of each plan is worth reading on the vendor page.