Best Email Marketing Tools Compared 2026: Mailchimp vs Kit (ConvertKit) vs Brevo vs Beehiiv vs Klaviyo
- Best overall: Mailchimp (4.0/5)
- Best free: Kit (ConvertKit)
- Best for teams: Mailchimp
- Pricing last checked: 2026-10-12
Mailchimp takes the overall top spot (4.0/5) as the generalist default, while Kit leads the free tier at 10,000 subscribers — and ecommerce-native Klaviyo is the only one billing by active profiles instead of contacts or sends.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp Best overall Best for teams | 4.0/5 | Free $13/mo | Mailchimp is a veteran email marketing platform with automation, landing pages and a basic… |
| Kit (ConvertKit) Best free | 3.9/5 | Free $39/mo | Kit (ConvertKit) is email marketing made for creators, with a generous free plan up to 10,… |
| Brevo | 3.8/5 | Free $9/mo | Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) mixes email, SMS and CRM in one platform with a genuinely frie… |
| Beehiiv | 4.0/5 | Free $49/mo | Beehiiv is a newsletter platform focused on growth and monetization, including paid subscr… |
| Klaviyo | 4.0/5 | Free $20/mo | Klaviyo is the ecommerce email-and-SMS platform — Shopify-grade data, predictive analytics… |
Bottom line: Mailchimp is the safe all-rounder if you accept contact-based pricing; Kit wins for creators selling products (generous free plan, automations from $33/mo); Brevo is the volume escape hatch (5,000 emails/day free); beehiiv fits newsletter growth with its free-to-2,500 Launch plan New to the set: Klaviyo (4.0/5) is the ecommerce specialist — Email from $20/mo at 500 active profiles, flows and revenue attribution wired to Shopify-class store data; skip it for plain newsletters, which the others serve cheaper.
Pricing and details
Mailchimp · 4.0/5
Free plan available · $13/mo
Essentials (500 contacts); price scales with contacts, headline rates are first-12-month promos (post-promo price unpublished); free = 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo; 14-day trial (re-checked 2026-09-09 via 2026 roundups: Standard from $20/mo at 500 contacts; unsubscribed contacts keep counting toward the contact tier — list hygiene is a billing obligation)
Mailchimp is a veteran email marketing platform with automation, landing pages and a basic CRM.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Best dimension: Stability at 5/5 — backed by verification against the official site & pricing.
- Second strong point: Core features at 4/5.
- Pricing: free tier, paid from $13/mo — Essentials (500 contacts); price scales with contacts; no annual discount; free = 250 contacts
- Positioning: Mailchimp is a veteran email marketing platform with automation, landing pages and a basic CRM.
Cons
- Weakest dimension: Core features at 4/5.
- Weigh localization coverage outside core markets before committing.
Pricing verified 2026-09-09
Kit (ConvertKit) · 3.9/5
Free plan available · $39/mo
Newsletter (free) to 10,000 subs; Creator from $39/mo (1k subs, monthly) / $33/mo equiv annual; Creator Pro from $79/mo (1k subs) / $66/mo equiv annual; prices scale with subscriber count; Sep 2025 price hike (~35%)
$33/mo equivalent billed annually (1k subs, $396/yr)
Kit (ConvertKit) is email marketing made for creators, with a generous free plan up to 10,000 subscribers and powerful automation sequences.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Best dimension: Ease of use at 5/5 — backed by verification against the official site & pricing.
- Second strong point: Core features at 4/5.
- Pricing: free tier, paid from $33/mo — Creator (1k subs); billed yearly ($390/yr, saves 17%); free to 10k subs
- Positioning: Kit (ConvertKit) is email marketing made for creators, with subscriber forms and automation sequences.
Cons
- Weakest dimension: Collaboration at 3/5.
- Weigh setup effort before the first meaningful workflow before committing.
Pricing verified 2026-09-05
Brevo · 3.8/5
Free plan available · $9/mo
Starter $9/mo (5,000 emails/mo), yearly -10% promo $8.08/mo; Standard $18 adds automation + A/B; free plan 300 emails/day, no credit card; remove-logo add-on $10.80/mo
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) mixes email, SMS and CRM in one platform with a genuinely friendly free tier.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Best dimension: Core features at 4/5 — backed by verification against the official site & pricing.
- Second strong point: Ease of use at 4/5.
- Pricing: free tier, paid from $9/mo — Starter (5k emails/mo); yearly ~10% off; free plan 300 emails/day
- Positioning: Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) mixes email, SMS and CRM in one platform with a genuinely friendly free tier.
Cons
- Weakest dimension: Collaboration at 3/5.
- Weigh the documentation quality for self-serve onboarding before committing.
Pricing verified 2026-09-05
Beehiiv · 4.0/5
Free plan available · $49/mo
Lite; $49/mo billed yearly (2026-10-12 verified; prior Scale tier renamed Lite; Pro $95/mo yearly), rises with list size to 100,000-subscriber cap; Launch (Free) to 2,500 subs
Beehiiv is a newsletter platform focused on growth and monetization, including paid subscriptions.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Best dimension: Ease of use at 5/5 — backed by verification against the official site & pricing.
- Second strong point: Core features at 4/5.
- Pricing: free tier, paid from $49/mo — Lite; $49/mo billed yearly (Pro $95/mo, 2026-10-12 verified); Launch free to 2,500 subs
- Positioning: Beehiiv is a newsletter platform focused on growth and monetization, including paid subscriptions.
Cons
- Weakest dimension: Collaboration at 3/5.
- Weigh its free tier limits before committing.
Pricing verified 2026-10-12
Klaviyo · 4.0/5
Free plan available · $20/mo
Free: 250 active profiles, 500 emails/mo, $5 mobile-message + $5 Composer credits/mo, email support first 60 days, Klaviyo branding; Email from $20/mo at 500 active profiles (5,000 sends), ~$175/mo at 5,000, ~$150-175/mo at 10,000 across sources; Email + SMS from $35/mo at 500 profiles; billed by active profiles since Feb 2025 (suppressed/unsubscribed stop counting; imported-but-unengaged still count); no annual-billing discount published — pricing is month-to-month; Klaviyo Reviews is a separate $25/mo add-on; tier crossing capped at +25% per increase
Klaviyo is the ecommerce email-and-SMS platform — Shopify-grade data, predictive analytics and flow automation — billing by active profile with no annual discount.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Core scored 5/5 (research): predictive analytics (CLV, churn, next-order), revenue attribution per flow, and native Shopify/WooCommerce/BigCommerce data sync — all in one platform.
- Free plan (verified on the official pricing page): 250 active profiles, 500 emails/mo, plus $5 mobile-message and $5 Composer credits to test SMS.
- Email + SMS bundled from $35/mo at 500 profiles — messaging credits inside the same plan, not a separate product.
- Active-profile billing is hygienic in one direction: unsubscribed and suppressed contacts stop counting toward your tier (verified).
Cons
- Pricing scales steeply: ~$20/mo at 500 profiles but roughly $150-175/mo at 10,000 and reported ~$720/mo at 50,000 (2026 sources) — expensive for large lists.
- No published annual-billing discount — the ladder is month-to-month, priced by current active-profile count (verified 2026-09-09).
- Imported-but-unengaged profiles still count toward billing, and Klaviyo Reviews costs a separate $25/mo add-on.
Pricing verified 2026-09-09
Frequently asked questions
How many Email Marketing tools are compared here?
This page compares 5 Email Marketing tools, with Mailchimp as our top-rated pick. Pricing was last re-checked on 2026-10-12.
Which Email Marketing tool has the best free plan?
Kit (ConvertKit) is our free-tier pick among the tools compared.