Question 1

What is the cheapest email marketing platform in 2026?

Accepted Answer

MailerLite is the cheapest at every standard subscriber tier: $15/mo at 1,000 subscribers, $73/mo at 10,000, and $289/mo at 50,000. The one exception is very large lists with low send frequency — Brevo charges per email sent rather than per subscriber, which makes it cheaper than MailerLite once you're managing large lists you email infrequently.

Question 2

How much does Mailchimp cost at 10,000 subscribers?

Accepted Answer

Mailchimp Standard costs $135/mo at 10,000 subscribers. But the true cost is closer to $155/mo because Mailchimp charges for unsubscribed contacts unless you manually archive them — a non-obvious billing quirk. MailerLite charges $73/mo for the same list size, a saving of $62/mo on list price alone. Factor in Mailchimp's billing for unsubscribed contacts and the true saving is closer to $82/mo.

Question 3

How much does Klaviyo cost at 10,000 subscribers?

Accepted Answer

Klaviyo Email costs $150/mo at 10,000 contacts. Unlike most platforms, Klaviyo bills against all profiles in your account — suppressed contacts, unsubscribes, and churned customers all count toward your tier unless you manually suppress them. If you also use SMS, add $15/mo minimum. Klaviyo's pricing is justified for high-volume D2C brands running deep segmentation and flows, but expensive if you're only sending broadcast campaigns.

Question 4

Is ActiveCampaign worth the price?

Accepted Answer

ActiveCampaign costs $189/mo at 10,000 subscribers (Starter plan). It's worth it if you're running 5 or more automations, need CRM functionality, or want deep lead scoring and site tracking. If you're sending straightforward email campaigns without complex automation, you're paying a 25-30% premium over platforms like MailerLite that cover basic automation at lower cost.

Question 5

Why do email marketing prices vary so much between platforms?

Accepted Answer

Three factors drive the variance: (1) Billing model — some charge per subscriber, others per email sent (Brevo), others per profile regardless of subscription status (Klaviyo). (2) What counts as a subscriber — Mailchimp charges for unsubscribed contacts, MailerLite doesn't. (3) Feature bundling — GetResponse includes landing pages, webinars, and a CRM at the base price; MailerLite does not. Comparing headline prices without understanding these differences leads to sticker-shock surprises after migration.

Question 6

What hidden costs should I watch for in email marketing pricing?

Accepted Answer

The biggest hidden costs by platform: Mailchimp adds ~15% if you don't archive unsubscribed contacts promptly. ActiveCampaign adds ~25% if you use SMS add-ons or CRM seats beyond your plan limit. Klaviyo adds ~10-20% if you let suppressed profiles accumulate without cleaning them. MailerLite has effectively zero hidden costs — you pay for active subscribers only and get most features on every paid plan.

Question 7

Should I switch email platforms to save money?

Accepted Answer

If you're on Mailchimp at 2,500+ subscribers, switching to MailerLite saves $62-161/mo depending on your tier. Migration typically takes 4-8 weeks to break even on time invested: exporting lists, rebuilding automations, re-verifying the domain, and warming up the new sending IP. The math tilts toward switching faster the larger your list. At 10,000 subscribers the annual saving is $744-972.

Question 8

How does Brevo pricing work differently from other platforms?

Accepted Answer

Brevo charges by email volume, not subscriber count. You can store unlimited contacts for free; you pay based on how many emails you send per month. The free plan allows 300 emails/day (9,000/mo). Starter plan begins at $9/mo for 5,000 emails. Standard at $18/mo adds automation and A/B testing. This makes Brevo unusually cheap for businesses with large lists they email infrequently — a 50,000-contact list you email once a month costs far less than the $289/mo MailerLite charges at that subscriber tier.

Question 9

What is the best free email marketing plan?

Accepted Answer

MailerLite Free is the best free plan for most small businesses: 500 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month, and automation included. Brevo Free gives you unlimited contacts with a 300 emails/day cap — useful if you have a large list you email lightly. Kit (ConvertKit) Free allows up to 10,000 subscribers but restricts automation to a single sequence and removes landing pages. Mailchimp Free dropped to 250 contacts after the Intuit acquisition, making it difficult to recommend as a starting point.

Question 10

How much does email marketing cost for a small business?

Accepted Answer

The median cost at 1,000-2,500 subscribers is $25-50/mo across platforms. MailerLite sits at the low end ($15-25/mo). GetResponse, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign cluster at $40-69/mo for the same list sizes. At 5,000 subscribers the range widens: MailerLite $39/mo vs. Mailchimp $100/mo vs. ActiveCampaign $99/mo. Annual pricing (available on most platforms) cuts 15-20% off these figures.

Question 11

Are email marketing pricing pages accurate?

Accepted Answer

Often not. Pricing pages typically show the lowest possible price at the lowest subscriber tier, exclude add-ons, and don't explain what happens to unsubscribed contacts. We verified every price in this comparison by logging into each platform's live pricing page in March 2026 and recording exact amounts at each subscriber tier. If a price on a vendor's site differs from what we show, check whether your actual plan includes features you didn't realise were add-ons.

Question 12

Can I embed this pricing comparison on my website?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Scroll to the embed section at the bottom of this page for an iframe snippet. The embed is free to use for non-commercial editorial use. If you publish a comparison that includes these prices, please link back to this page — every price is a living document we update as platforms change their pricing.