Home / Shortlists / Best Email Marketing for Musicians
Best Email Marketing for Musicians
A musician's list is tour dates, releases and merch drops - that needs unlimited broadcasts and a way to sell, not a fancy CRM. This shortlist compares four email tools with free plans, priced from real vendor pages, so a mailing list can start at $0 and stay cheap as fans subscribe. The specifics worth knowing sit under "What to watch".
Prices last re-checked 2026-10-04. Numbers are read from each vendor's own pricing page; any exception is flagged under "What to watch".
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Kit (formerly ConvertKit) if you need the best pick overall. Visit Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
- Pick Brevo if you need the cheapest paid entry. Visit Brevo
- Pick Mailchimp if this trade-off works for you: the newsletter pick. Visit Mailchimp
- Pick Systeme.io if this trade-off works for you: the all-in-one pick. Visit Systeme.io
Some buttons are affiliate links — how this works.
The short answer
Short answer: Best pick overall: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) Kit was built for creators: its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts and selling digital products at $0/mo. Creator is $39/mo when a band wants unlimited visual automations. Prices were read from each vendors own page on our last weekly check.
| Tool | Entry price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $9/mo, or $8.08/mo billed annually | From 5,000 emails per month. Email & SMS (SMS credits sold separately), drag & d |
| Standard | $18/mo, or $16.17/mo billed annually | Everything in Starter plus marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced reporting |
| Professional | $499/mo, or $449.08/mo billed annually | From 150,000 emails per month, 10 seats included, WhatsApp / popups / push, cont |
| Enterprise | $2499/mo | 'Starting from' rate. 1M+ contacts, multi-account management, custom objects, de |
Prices checked 2026-10-04.
Best pick overall: Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit was built for creators: its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts and selling digital products at $0/mo. Creator is $39/mo when a band wants unlimited visual automations.
See Kit (formerly ConvertKit) pricingCheapest paid entry: Brevo
Brevo's free plan sends 300 emails a day at $0/mo, and Starter is $9/mo for 5,000 emails a month with unlimited contacts - so a gig list that grows does not jump in price.
See Brevo pricingThe newsletter pick: Mailchimp
Mailchimp's free plan covers a small fan list under 250 contacts at $0/mo, and Essentials is $13/mo to start once the list crosses that line.
See Mailchimp pricingThe all-in-one pick: Systeme.io
Systeme.io's free plan covers 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels and 1 course at $0/mo, and Startup is $17/mo for 5,000 contacts and 10 funnels - good when merch and lessons need a checkout.
See Systeme.io pricingThe prices, plan by plan
Brevo
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.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 300 emails per day (printed in the pricing page FAQ), unlimited contacts, core features, no credit card needed. |
| Starter | $9/mo, or $8.08/mo billed annually | From 5,000 emails per month. Email & SMS (SMS credits sold separately), drag & drop editor, AI content generator, forms, email support. |
| Standard | $18/mo, or $16.17/mo billed annually | Everything in Starter plus marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced reporting, web & event tracking, landing pages, AI send-time optimization. |
| Professional | $499/mo, or $449.08/mo billed annually | From 150,000 emails per month, 10 seats included, WhatsApp / popups / push, contact scoring, phone support, deliverability specialist. |
| Enterprise | $2499/mo | 'Starting from' rate. 1M+ contacts, multi-account management, custom objects, dedicated IP, SSO & SAML, tailored onboarding. |
Prices checked 2026-10-04.
What to watch: Brevo prices by monthly email volume rather than contact count: the numbers above are the page's 5,000 emails/month default and rise with the volume slider. SMS credits cost extra. The 'no Brevo logo' add-on is $10.80/mo on Starter.
Source: https://www.brevo.com/pricing/, read 2026-10-04.
See Brevo pricingKit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers on the Newsletter plan. At 1,000 subscribers Creator is $39/mo billed monthly or $390/yr and Pro is $79/mo or $790/yr. Yearly billing also prints an extra 25% off Pro for the first year only: $50/mo, $593 billed, then it renews at the standard rate. Both plans scale with list size (Creator $169/mo at 15,000, Pro $249/mo).
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free (Newsletter) | Free | Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, sell digital products |
| Creator | $39/mo, or $32.5/mo billed annually | Everything in Free plus unlimited visual automations, unlimited sequences, A/B subject lines, SMS, remove Kit branding |
| Pro | $79/mo, or $65.83/mo billed annually | Everything in Creator plus Subscriber Signals, engagement analytics, unlimited users, deliverability reporting, newsletter referral system. Yearly billing at 1,000 subscribers prints an extra 25% off the first year ($50/mo, $593 billed). The page says that discount is the first year only and the plan then renews at the standard rate. |
What to watch: Free / Creator / Pro were read from kit.com/pricing itself, at 1,000 email subscribers, on 2026-10-12. The monthly toggle prints Creator $39/mo and Pro $79. The yearly toggle prints Creator as $33/mo ($390 billed yearly); that $33 is the page's rounding of $390/12, so the table keeps $32.50. The same yearly view prints an extra 25% off Pro for the first year ($50/mo, $593 billed) with $66 struck through, and says the plan renews at the standard rate after that year. The card does not print the standard Pro yearly total of $790. Kit's paid plans scale with list size, so the price shown is the price at 1,000 subscribers, not a flat rate. Both paid plans say the trial is 14 days and that no credit card is required.
Source: https://kit.com/pricing, read 2026-10-05.
See Kit (formerly ConvertKit) pricingMailchimp
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 to watch: Mailchimp prices are per contact tier and the page quotes 'starts at' rates: move the contacts slider and every number changes. On 2026-10-14 the comparison table's Free column printed Max of 500/mo or 250/day. The page prints no annual-billing rates - only a 15%-off-for-12-months promo for 10,000+ contacts.
Source: https://mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing/, read 2026-10-04.
See Mailchimp pricingSysteme.io
Systeme.io is free up to 2,000 contacts, then $17/mo Startup, $47/mo Webinar and $97/mo Unlimited on monthly billing. Annual billing gives you two months free. Every plan includes unlimited email sends, unlimited sub-accounts, and 0% transaction fees. The free plan never expires and does not require a credit card.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 2,000 contacts, 3 funnels, 1 course, unlimited emails. Never expires, no credit card. |
| Startup | $17/mo, or $14/mo billed annually | 5,000 contacts, 10 funnels, 5 courses |
| Webinar | $47/mo, or $39/mo billed annually | 10,000 contacts, 50 funnels, 20 courses, evergreen webinars |
| Unlimited | $97/mo, or $80/mo billed annually | Unlimited contacts, funnels, courses, and automation rules |
What to watch: Monthly rates $17, $47, and $97 were read on systeme.io/pricing on 2026-10-13, in the page's own FAQ. That FAQ prints Webinar as 50 funnels and 20 courses, Unlimited as unlimited courses and automation rules, and every plan as unlimited email sends, unlimited sub-accounts, and 0% transaction fees. The free plan never expires and does not require a credit card. The same FAQ lists extra free-plan caps of 1 blog, 1 affiliate program, 1 custom domain, 1 automation rule, 1 email campaign, and 500 students. The pricing page prints Annual billing and 2 months free. The page HTML does not print the annual dollar amounts. Those dollars stay the 2026-10-05 reading from systeme.io's own affiliate page.
Source: https://systeme.io/pricing, read 2026-10-05.
See Systeme.io pricingMailchimp, 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 and is re-checked weekly - 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: Mailchimp Essentials at $13/mo, Brevo Starter at $9/mo and Constant Contact Lite at $12/mo are below the cheapest paid step among the picks above (Systeme.io Startup at $17/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 people ask
What is the cheapest option here?
Brevo. Its free plan is $0/mo for 300 emails a day with unlimited contacts, and Starter is $9/mo for 5,000 emails a month. It prices by monthly sends instead of list size, which is what a growing fan list wants.
Which one is built for musicians?
Kit. Its free Newsletter plan covers unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and selling digital products at $0/mo - tour dates one week, a beat tape or a lesson package the next.
What if my fan list is tiny right now?
Mailchimp. The free plan covers a list under 250 contacts at $0/mo, and Essentials is $13/mo once the list crosses that - though paid tiers keep stepping up with contacts.
Can I sell merch or lessons from the same tool?
Systeme.io. Its free plan includes 3 funnels and 1 course at $0/mo, and Startup is $17/mo for 10 funnels and 5 courses. Kit also sells digital products on its free Newsletter plan.
Which one won't punish me when the list grows?
Brevo. It prices by monthly email volume - Starter is $9/mo for 5,000 emails and Standard is $18/mo - and every plan includes unlimited contacts.
Do I need automation for release announcements?
Kit. Creator is $39/mo and unlocks unlimited visual automations, while the free Newsletter plan handles simple broadcasts. Brevo Standard is $18/mo if automation on a smaller budget matters more.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for placement, and the price tables are generated from the same dataset we re-check weekly. Full disclosure. How we check prices.