Brevo vs Kartra: $9 vs $59/mo (2026)

Brevo vs Kartra

Marketing Automation pricing comparison · 2026

Brevo pricing ranges from $9–$499/month, while Kartra ranges from $52–$549/month. Brevo is typically 90% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

Marketing Automation

Brevo

$9–$499
/month
8 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Marketing Automation

Kartra

$52–$549
/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and Kartra are both marketing platforms, but their pricing models, scope, and target users differ significantly. Brevo charges based on the number of emails sent per month rather than contact count — making it unusually affordable for businesses with large lists that send infrequently. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month for 5,000 monthly emails to unlimited contacts. Kartra charges based on lead limits and funnel capacity, starting at $59/month for 2,500 leads, and bundles email marketing with funnels, membership sites, video hosting, checkout, affiliate management, and a helpdesk.

Brevo is one of the most affordable options in the email marketing market and has added transactional email, SMS, WhatsApp, live chat, and a CRM over time. Kartra is not competing on price — it competes on consolidation, replacing the entire marketing stack for course creators and digital product sellers with one subscription.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan Brevo Kartra
Starter (5,000 emails) $9 / $59 /month
Starter (20,000 emails) $29 / $119 /month
Starter (100,000 emails) $69 / $229 /month
Standard (5,000 emails) $18 / $549 /month
Standard (20,000 emails) $65 /
Standard (100,000 emails) $129 /
Professional $499 /
Enterprise Custom

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

Brevo

5 scenarios
$216/year
Solo creator (5,000 emails/month)
$780/year
Growing business (20,000 emails/month)
$5,988/year
Marketing team (150,000+ emails/month)
See all 5 scenarios →

Kartra

4 scenarios
$625 Year 1 ($1 trial + $624 annual subscription at $52/month)
Solo Entrepreneur (Essentials)
$1,588 Year 1 ($1,188 annual subscription + $400 for 2 hours marketplace expert setup)
Growing Business (Starter, 12,500 contacts)
$5,548 Year 1 ($5,148 annual subscription + $400 expert consultation)
Established Business (Professional, 50,000 contacts)
See all 4 scenarios →

Market Intelligence

Brevo

Median annual cost
$780
Average negotiated discount
93%

Kartra

Median annual cost
$2,748
Average negotiated discount
93%

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

Brevo 8 hidden costs

medium
Brevo branding removal $10/month
medium
Dedicated IP cost moderate
medium
Free plan daily sending limit $9-$29/month to remove
medium
SMS and WhatsApp costs variable
high
Account Suspension Risk Complete service interruption
See all Brevo hidden costs →

Kartra 8 hidden costs

high
Third-Party Expert Fees for Setup and Training $200/hour for Kartra experts
critical
Platform Lock-In and Migration Costs 100% rebuild required - no export functionality
medium
Productivity Loss from UI/UX Inefficiency 5-10x time multiplier on content updates
high
Extended Support Response Times Leading to Revenue Loss $5,000-$10,000 in wasted ad spend per incident
medium
Video Hosting File Size Restrictions and Processing Delays 5-15 minutes processing time per video + manual queue management
See all Kartra hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term Brevo Kartra
Auto-renewal Yes
Cancellation
Minimum commitment
Can downgrade Yes

Our Verdict

Choose Brevo if you have a large contact list but send emails infrequently, need transactional email alongside marketing automation in one platform, want the most affordable entry point for email marketing (starting at $9/month), or run a service business, SaaS, or e-commerce operation that doesn't need course hosting or membership sites.

Choose Kartra if you sell courses, coaching programs, or membership communities and need a complete infrastructure — funnels, checkout, video hosting, affiliate tracking, and email all working natively together. Kartra's pricing seems higher at $59-$229/month until you account for the four to six other tools it replaces. If your current stack includes a separate funnel builder, course platform, and payment processor, Kartra often comes out cheaper in total.

Frequently Asked Questions

01 Is Brevo cheaper than Kartra?

At the entry level, yes — Brevo's Starter plan begins at $9/month for 5,000 emails/month (unlimited contacts), while Kartra starts at $59/month. However, Brevo is a pure email/SMS marketing tool, while Kartra includes funnels, course hosting, membership sites, video hosting, and checkout. The total stack comparison often narrows the gap significantly.

02 Does Brevo have sales funnels?

No. Brevo does not have a sales funnel builder, course hosting, membership sites, or native checkout with upsells. It offers landing pages and basic automation workflows, but for full funnel capability you would need to add ClickFunnels, Leadpages, or a similar tool. Kartra includes all of this natively.

03 How is Brevo pricing different from Kartra?

Brevo prices by email volume (emails sent per month) rather than contact count, which makes it extremely cost-effective for businesses with large lists sending few emails. Kartra prices by lead count and plan tier, starting at $59/month for 2,500 leads with unlimited email sends. For high-frequency senders with small lists, Kartra's flat model can actually be cheaper.

04 Does Brevo have a free plan?

Yes. Brevo's free plan allows 300 emails per day (roughly 9,000/month) to unlimited contacts. It includes a drag-and-drop editor, landing pages, and basic automation. Kartra has no free plan — the Essentials plan starts at $59/month. For businesses with very limited budgets, Brevo's free tier is a major advantage.

05 Can Kartra replace Brevo for transactional email?

Not well. Kartra's email is designed for marketing sequences and broadcasts, not transactional emails triggered by app events (like password resets, purchase receipts from external systems, or SaaS notifications). Brevo has a dedicated transactional email engine with SMTP relay. For transactional email needs, Brevo is the better choice.

06 Which is better for a small business with a large list: Brevo or Kartra?

Brevo is typically more cost-effective for list-heavy businesses that send marketing emails infrequently. A business with 50,000 contacts sending 20,000 emails/month pays just $29/month with Brevo. The same scenario in Kartra would require the Growth plan at $229/month for 25,000 leads. If you only need email marketing, Brevo wins on price at scale.