Mailchimp
Email Marketing
Mailchimp is a veteran email marketing platform with automation, landing pages and a basic CRM.
★★★★☆4.0
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ ← All tools 
Best Email Marketing Tools in 2026: Pricing, Reviews & Picks
Email marketing in 2026 is won on the free tier and the price per contact. We compared the five tools in our directory against their official pricing pages (verified 2026-08-31, Brevo and Kit 09-05, Mailchimp and Klaviyo 09-09) on the axes that decide the pick for a growing audience: how many subscribers the free tier actually allows, the cheapest paid seat, and whether the tool is built for creators or for volume senders. Kit (ConvertKit) owns by far the most generous free tier: its Newsletter plan is free to 10,000 subscribers, and paid starts at Creator $39/month (1K subs, monthly) or $33/month equivalent annually, rising to Creator Pro $79/month ($66 annual equivalent) — prices scale with subscriber count and took a roughly 35% hike in September 2025. Beehiiv's Launch tier is free to 2,500 subscribers; Lite is $49/month billed yearly (2026-10-12 verified; the former Scale tier, Pro $95/month), climbing with list size to a 100,000-subscriber cap. Mailchimp's free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends/month, with a 14-day trial and Essentials from $13/month at 500 contacts — but unsubscribed contacts keep counting toward the contact tier, so list hygiene is a billing obligation, and headline rates are first-12-month promos. Brevo runs a free plan of 300 emails/day with no credit card; Starter is $9/month for 5,000 emails (a -10% yearly promo lands at $8.08/month) and Standard $18/month adds automation plus A/B testing. Klaviyo's free tier is 250 active profiles, 500 emails/month, $5 mobile-message and $5 Composer credits, email support for the first 60 days and its own branding; paid Email starts at $20/month at 500 active profiles billed month-to-month (no published annual discount, with Email + SMS from $35/month), and since February 2025 it bills by active profiles — suppressed and unsubscribed stop counting while imported-but-unengaged still do. The split is clear — the popular all-rounder is not the cheapest per contact, and the creator-native tool owns by far the most generous free tier.
How we rated
- Overall rating (independent scores)
- Free tier subscriber cap
- Cheapest paid plan (annual)
- Creator fit vs volume sending
Mailchimp
Best overall all-rounder★★★★4.0
The highest-rated all-rounder (4.0): free at 250 contacts (verified), Essentials from $13/mo with no annual discount, price scales with contacts. The safe, template-rich default for a small business.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $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))
Kit (ConvertKit)
Best for creators (free tier winner)★★★★3.9
The creator-native tool (3.9): the most generous free tier in the class at 10,000 subscribers (verified), Creator at $33/mo billed yearly ($390/yr, saves ~17%). The free tier decides it for audience-builders.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $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%))
Kit (ConvertKit)
Email Marketing
Kit (ConvertKit) is email marketing made for creators, with a generous free plan up to 10,000 subscribers and powerful automation sequences.
★★★★☆3.9
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ Brevo
Best budget volume sender★★★★3.8
The transactional + marketing hybrid (3.8): Starter at $9/mo (5k emails/mo, verified), free plan at 300 emails/day. The lowest paid floor here — cheap volume, not a big free subscriber cap.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $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
Email Marketing
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) mixes email, SMS and CRM in one platform with a genuinely friendly free tier.
★★★★☆3.8
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ Beehiiv
Best for newsletters & monetization★★★★4.0
Built for newsletter media (4.0): Launch free to 2,500 subscribers (verified), Lite at $49/mo billed yearly (2026-10-12 verified, the former Scale tier). The tool with monetization baked in — ads, boosts and a native web presence.
Free tier: Yes
Paid from: $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
Email Marketing
Beehiiv is a newsletter platform focused on growth and monetization, including paid subscriptions.
★★★★☆4.0
✓ Docs-based · verified against official site ↗ Klaviyo
Best for ecommerce stores★★★★4.0
Klaviyo (4.0/5) puts purchase history, predictive analytics (CLV, churn, next order) and revenue attribution inside the email tool — Email from $20/mo at 500 active profiles, Email + SMS from $35/mo. The fine print: month-to-month pricing with no published annual discount, imported-but-unengaged profiles still bill, and Klaviyo Reviews adds $25/mo.
Free tier: Yes · Free plan covers up to 60 days of support
Paid from: $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)
Bottom line
Bottom line: Mailchimp is the 2026 overall pick: the class-top rating (4.0) and the safe, template-rich default for small businesses — free at 250 contacts, Essentials from $13/mo. But the free tier is the real story this year: Kit (ConvertKit) gives creators 10,000 free subscribers against Mailchimp's 250 — a 40x gap — and Beehiiv's Launch free to 2,500 is the newsletter-native entry. Brevo is the volume option at $9/mo. Match the tool to the audience: a creator building subscribers should take the 10k free tier; a business sending reliable campaigns takes Mailchimp; a newsletter media play takes Beehiiv.
FAQs
Which email marketing tool is rated best in 2026?
Mailchimp and Beehiiv tie at 4.0/5, ahead of Kit (ConvertKit) at 3.9 and Brevo at 3.8. Mailchimp is the safe all-rounder; Beehiiv is the newsletter-native pick with the higher ceiling for a media play.
Which tool has the biggest free subscriber tier in 2026?
Kit (ConvertKit) — 10,000 subscribers free (verified), a 40x gap over Mailchimp's 250 contacts. Beehiiv's Launch is free to 2,500, Brevo's free plan covers 300 emails/day.
What is the cheapest paid email marketing plan in 2026?
Brevo Starter at $9/mo (5k emails/mo). Mailchimp Essentials from $13/mo (no annual discount), Kit Creator $33/mo billed yearly ($390/yr), Beehiiv Lite $49/mo billed yearly (2026-10-12 verified).