Best Email Marketing Platforms 2026: Top 8 Tools Ranked
Email marketing platforms price in three different ways: by contact count (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, Constant Contact and Klaviyo), by subscriber count (Kit and beehiiv), or by monthly email volume (Brevo, where the email tier you buy also sets how many contacts you can store). Free plans vary just as much, from 250 contacts on Mailchimp and Klaviyo to 10,000 subscribers on Kit and up to 100,000 stored contacts on Brevo.
We checked each vendor's US pricing in October 2026 and ranked the platforms for a typical small business on entry price, the list size that price covers, free-plan limits, automation depth and channel coverage. Specialists for e-commerce, creators and newsletters are ranked on how well they serve a general marketer, with notes on where each fits best.
The best Email Marketing tools in 2026 are Brevo (free plan; paid from $9/user/mo), Mailchimp (free plan; paid $13–$350/mo), and ActiveCampaign ($15–$145/mo). For most small businesses, start with Brevo (Free plan; paid from $9/user/mo) or Mailchimp (Free plan; paid $13–$350/mo). For deeper automation, ActiveCampaign's Starter is $15/month billed yearly at 1,000 contacts. Online stores should look at Klaviyo, creators at Kit, and newsletter publishers at beehiiv.
For most small businesses, start with Brevo (Free plan; paid from $9/user/mo) or Mailchimp (Free plan; paid $13–$350/mo). For deeper automation, ActiveCampaign's Starter is $15/month billed yearly at 1,000 contacts. Online stores should look at Klaviyo, creators at Kit, and newsletter publishers at beehiiv.
Compare the top 3 side-by-side
Drag the seat slider, lock a tier per product, see Vendr median pricing and hidden costs for Brevo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign.
Our Rankings
Brevo
Brevo's free plan sends up to 300 emails a day and stores up to 100,000 contacts, the largest free contact allowance on this list. Paid Starter and Standard plans are priced by monthly email volume, and the email tier you buy also sets how many contacts you can store, so small lists stay cheap while large lists need a higher email band.- Cheapest paid
- Starter: $9/month month-to-month (5,000 emails/month, 500 contacts); $97/year billed annually
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Free plan: up to 300 emails a day and up to 100,000 stored contacts
- Starter is the cheapest published paid entry on this list, priced by monthly email volume
- Campaign and transactional email share one monthly email allowance
- Yearly billing saves 10%
- At the lowest paid tiers the contact limit is small (500 contacts at the 5,000-email tier), so big lists need a higher email band
- Starter emails carry Brevo branding unless you buy the logo-removal add-on
- Professional is a large step up from Standard and starts at 150,000 emails a month
Mailchimp
Mailchimp prices by contact count and publishes a free plan plus three paid plans, so a small business can start free and move up without switching tools. Its free plan is now limited to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month; Essentials and Standard start at 500 contacts and include a 14-day free trial.- Cheapest paid
- Essentials: from $13/month for up to 500 contacts (5,000 sends/month)
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Free plan for up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month
- Essentials and Standard include a 14-day free trial
- Monthly send limits scale with list size (10x contacts on Essentials, 12x on Standard, 15x on Premium)
- Free plan is smaller than Brevo's, Kit's or GetResponse's
- The free trial requires payment details at sign-up
- Premium starts at 10,000 contacts and is a large step up from Standard
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign includes multi-step marketing automation and AI-assisted automation and campaign builders on every plan, including Starter. Pro adds predictive sending, conditional content and attribution tracking. Its pricing page lists annual billing only, starting at 1,000 contacts, and the 14-day trial needs no credit card.- Cheapest paid
- Starter: $15/month billed yearly ($180/year) for 1,000 contacts
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Multi-step automation on every plan, including Starter
- Pro adds predictive send times, conditional content and attribution tracking
- 14-day free trial with no credit card
- Pricing page lists annual billing only; no month-to-month price is published
- Starter and Plus include one user seat (Pro three, Enterprise five)
- Landing pages and cross-channel marketing start on Plus
Klaviyo
Klaviyo builds email marketing around customer profiles and store data, with revenue attribution for campaigns on every plan and predictive analytics and product recommendations on paid plans. The free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month; the paid Email plan is priced by active profiles, and SMS is billed per message.- Cheapest paid
- Email: $20/month for 500 active profiles (5,000 emails/month)
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Revenue attribution for campaigns, even on the free plan
- Predictive analytics and personalized product recommendations on paid plans
- Free plan includes a small monthly mobile-messaging credit for testing SMS
- Free-plan email support ends after the first 60 days
- SMS, MMS and WhatsApp are billed per message on top of the email plan
- Price rises with active profile count
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for creators who sell digital products and subscriptions to their audience. Its free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms; Visual Automations and email sequences require the paid Creator plan, which comes with a 14-day trial.- Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers, the largest subscriber allowance among the free plans here
- Sell digital products and subscriptions, even on the free plan
- 14-day free trial of paid plans with no credit card
- No automations or sequences on the free plan
- Paid plans scale with subscriber count
- Pro's lower first-year annual price is a limited-time offer
Beehiiv
beehiiv is built for newsletter publishers: every plan has unlimited email sends, and paid subscriptions (with a 0% take rate) and ad monetization start on Lite. The free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers, and Lite and Pro are priced by subscriber count with a free trial that needs no credit card.- Cheapest paid
- Lite: $59/month month-to-month or $49/month billed yearly, at 1,000 subscribers
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Unlimited email sends on every plan
- beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscription and digital product revenue (Stripe fees apply)
- Free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers
- Removing beehiiv branding requires Pro
- Paid subscriptions and ad monetization are not on the free plan
- Paid plans scale with subscriber count
GetResponse
GetResponse bundles email with landing pages, webinars, courses and automation, and every paid plan includes unlimited monthly email sends. Its free account is permanent for up to 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters a month, with premium features unlocked for the first 14 days.- Cheapest paid
- Starter: $19/month month-to-month or $15.58/month billed annually ($186.96/year), 1,000 contacts
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Unlimited monthly email sends on every paid plan
- Forever-free account for up to 500 contacts
- Paid plans priced by list size, with 18% off for 12-month billing
- Free account adds a GetResponse badge to messages and caps landing pages at 1,000 unique visits a month
- Marketer and Creator cost much more than Starter at the same list size
- Enterprise (MAX) is quote-only
Constant Contact
Constant Contact includes live phone and chat support on every plan and backs new plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which suits small teams that want help getting set up. It has no free plan, but you can start a free trial without a credit card; prices scale with contacts, and prepaying for 12 months saves up to 15%.- Cheapest paid
- Lite: from $12/month month-to-month or $10.20/month prepaid annually (starting price; contact tier not stated)
- Verified
- 2026-10-20 · vendor source
- Live phone and chat support on every plan
- Free trial with no credit card, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Nonprofits can save up to 30% by prepaying
- No free plan
- Sends beyond the monthly allowance are billed as overage
- Lite includes one user and one automation template
Evaluation Criteria
- pricing value
Entry price, the list size or email volume it covers, and how price scales as the list grows
- automation
Workflow complexity, triggers, and conditional branching capabilities
- deliverability
Deliverability tools and support documented by the vendor; we did not run our own inbox-placement tests
- ease of use
Template editor quality, onboarding experience, and learning curve
How We Picked These
We evaluated 8 products and ranked the top 8 (last researched 2026-10-20).
Published entry price, the list size or email volume it covers, and free-plan limits
Workflow builder depth, triggers, and conditional logic
Deliverability tooling and support the vendor documents (we did not run inbox-placement tests)
E-commerce, CRM, and third-party tool connections
Frequently Asked Questions
01 What's the best free email marketing platform?
It depends on your list. Brevo's free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts but caps sending at 300 emails a day. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts but no automations. beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers, GetResponse up to 500 contacts, and Mailchimp and Klaviyo up to 250 contacts with 500 sends a month. ActiveCampaign and Constant Contact offer free trials, not free plans.
02 How much does email marketing software cost?
Most platforms here publish an entry plan for a small list (500 to 1,000 contacts or subscribers) and raise the price as the list grows; Brevo instead prices by monthly email volume. Brevo's Starter is the cheapest published paid entry on this list and beehiiv's Lite the most expensive at its 1,000-subscriber starting point. ActiveCampaign publishes annual billing only, while most others offer month-to-month billing and a discount for paying yearly. See each ranking's price note for exact figures as of October 2026.
03 Which email marketing platform has the best deliverability?
We did not run our own inbox-placement tests, so we don't rank on deliverability. List quality, domain authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) and sending practices usually matter more than the platform. Some plans add deliverability help: Brevo's Professional plan includes deliverability specialist hours, and Kit's Pro plan includes deliverability reporting.
04 Is Mailchimp still worth it in 2026?
For a small business that wants a familiar all-round tool, yes, but its free plan is now limited to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Essentials and Standard start at 500 contacts and include a 14-day trial (payment details required). If you need a larger free plan, Brevo or Kit go further; for deeper automation, look at ActiveCampaign; for online stores, Klaviyo.
05 What email marketing platform is best for Shopify?
Klaviyo is the specialist pick for online stores, with revenue attribution, personalized product recommendations and predictive analytics built around store data. ActiveCampaign's Pro and Enterprise plans include premium e-commerce integrations for BigCommerce, Magento and Shopify Plus. Check each vendor's integration directory for your store platform before you buy.
06 What are the hidden costs of email marketing platforms?
Common extras are SMS and WhatsApp billed per message (Klaviyo and Brevo), logo removal on Brevo's Starter plan, overage charges when you exceed send or contact limits (Mailchimp and Constant Contact), and moving to a higher tier as your list grows. Brevo also ties the number of contacts you can store to the email-volume tier you buy. Price your plan at your expected list size and sending frequency.
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