Best email marketing for a small business (2026)
No star ratings. Every platform we track, its real price at 1,000 subscribers, and who the vendor says it is for.
Short answer: If you want to start free, beehiiv and Kit (formerly ConvertKit) both publish a free plan that covers a small list. If you are already past a few hundred subscribers and want the cheapest paid tier, Brevo is the lowest published price at 1,000 subscribers in our 2026-08-24 check.
| Tool | Entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | $59 | Yes |
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | $39 | Yes |
| MailerLite | $19 | Yes |
| ActiveCampaign | custom quote | No |
| Mailchimp | $13 | Yes |
| Brevo | $9 | Yes |
| Constant Contact | $12 | No |
| AWeber | $15 | No |
| Klaviyo | $20 | Yes |
| Flodesk | $25 | Yes |
Prices checked 2026-10-23.
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works. How we check prices.
Which one should you pick?
- Pick beehiiv if this describes you: Newsletter operators who want an ad network and paid subscriptions built in. Visit beehiiv
- Pick Kit (formerly ConvertKit) if this describes you: Creators who want the most generous free tier in email. Visit Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
- Pick MailerLite if this describes you: Small lists that want a real free plan and cheap paid tiers. Visit MailerLite
- Pick ActiveCampaign if this describes you: Businesses that want serious automation and a CRM in one place. Visit ActiveCampaign
- Pick Mailchimp if this describes you: Small lists that want the brand-name tool, on a plan ladder that grows with contacts. Visit Mailchimp
- Pick Brevo if this describes you: Businesses that think in sends, not contacts - unlimited contacts on every plan, transactional email included. Visit Brevo
- Pick Constant Contact if this describes you: Shops, nonprofits and local orgs that want email, events and social in one place with real phone support. Visit Constant Contact
- Pick AWeber if this describes you: Freelancers and small lists that want phone support and a US-based team. Visit AWeber
- Pick Klaviyo if this describes you: Online stores that want email, SMS and storefront data in one place and are happy to pay by active profiles. Visit Klaviyo
- Pick Flodesk if this describes you: Senders who want designer templates and a simple subscriber-priced bill - Flodesk Lite is 1 seat with unlimited email sends and no send limit to watch. Visit Flodesk
Some buttons are affiliate links — how this works.
Email platforms for a small business, side by side
| Platform | Cost at 1,000 subscribers | Free plan | Best for | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| beehiiv | $59 | Yes | Newsletter operators who want an ad network and paid subscriptions built in. | Plain email marketing — you are paying for newsletter monetization you may never use. |
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | $39 | Yes | Creators who want the most generous free tier in email. | Anyone who needs advanced automation on the free plan — it is one basic automation. |
| MailerLite | $19 | Yes | Small lists that want a real free plan and cheap paid tiers. | Big lists — the free plan shrank to 250 subscribers and the ladder climbs fast. |
| ActiveCampaign | custom quote | No | Businesses that want serious automation and a CRM in one place. | Anyone who needs the price at a list size other than 1,000 email contacts, or a month-to-month dollar. The page we read prints only the annual starting rate at 1,000 contacts. |
| Mailchimp | $13 | Yes | Small lists that want the brand-name tool, on a plan ladder that grows with contacts. | Anyone watching cost as the list grows - every price steps up at each contact tier and the free plan stops at 250 contacts. |
| Brevo | $9 | Yes | Businesses that think in sends, not contacts - unlimited contacts on every plan, transactional email included. | Teams wanting a cheap all-you-can-eat seat count - Professional jumps to $499/mo just to get 10 seats and phone support. |
| Constant Contact | $12 | No | Shops, nonprofits and local orgs that want email, events and social in one place with real phone support. | Anyone who wants a permanent free plan or a big list at the starting price. A no-card trial is offered, and the price still climbs with the contact count. |
| AWeber | $15 | No | Freelancers and small lists that want phone support and a US-based team. | Senders who need a permanent free plan or more than one email list on the entry tier. |
| Klaviyo | $20 | Yes | Online stores that want email, SMS and storefront data in one place and are happy to pay by active profiles. | Anyone list-building on a budget - free stops at 250 active profiles and the paid steps get steep fast. |
| Flodesk | $25 | Yes | Senders who want designer templates and a simple subscriber-priced bill - Flodesk Lite is 1 seat with unlimited email sends and no send limit to watch. | Teams that want deep automation cheap - Flodesk puts unlimited workflows on Pro ($28/mo at 1,000 subscribers) and e-commerce on Everything ($54/mo at 1,000). |
Cost at 1,000 subscribers, monthly billing, read from each vendor's own page on 2026-08-24.
Start here if you have no list yet
beehiiv publishes a free plan (Up to 2,500 subscribers, 1 team seat, 1 publication, 30-day analytics lookback, unlimited email sends). Kit (formerly ConvertKit) publishes a free plan (Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, sell digital products). MailerLite publishes a free plan (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/mo, 2 user seats, 1 website, 1 landing page, 3 signup forms). Mailchimp publishes a free plan (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.). Brevo publishes a free plan (300 emails per day (printed in the pricing page FAQ), unlimited contacts, core features, no credit card needed.). Klaviyo publishes a free plan (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.). Flodesk publishes a free plan ($0/mo. Forms and landing pages, designer templates, audience segmentation, email sending.).
What actually costs you money later
Two things: your list size and your send volume. Every platform here prices on one or both, and the first paid tier is where a free plan stops being free. The table above shows the 1,000-subscriber price for exactly that reason.
How we picked
We did not. There is no score on this page. We listed every email platform we track, read its published price at 1,000 subscribers, and printed it next to who the vendor itself says the product is for. Pick the row that matches your list.
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 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: 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.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email marketing service for a small business?
It depends on your list size, which is why we publish the price at 1,000 subscribers rather than a star rating. The cheapest paid tier at that size in our 2026-08-24 check is Brevo.
Can I start with a free plan and move later?
Yes, and most people should. Every platform here lets you export your list, so the switching cost is mostly re-doing your automations.
Do I need a paid plan to send a newsletter?
No. Free tiers cover a small list and a monthly send allowance. You pay when you outgrow the subscriber cap or the send cap.
How current are these prices?
Read from the vendors' own pages on 2026-08-24, re-checked weekly.