Mailchimp is one of the best-known email tools, and it works well for many small businesses. Its free plan is small, though, and the price rises as your list grows. If you are looking around, here are five alternatives, what they cost and who each one suits.
Every price and limit below was checked on the vendor's own pricing page in October 2026. Prices are in US dollars unless noted. They can differ by country and by billing period, so check the page before you buy.
What Mailchimp offers today
As of October 2026, Mailchimp's pricing page lists a free plan with up to 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, with no more than 250 a day. Paid plans start at $13 a month for Essentials and $20 a month for Standard, for up to 500 contacts. At the time of writing, Mailchimp also offered 50% off for the first 12 months.
Two details are worth knowing before you compare:
- Mailchimp counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward your limit, according to its help page on contacts. Archived contacts do not count.
- The free plan does not include automation flows, such as a welcome series.
The short version
- MailerLite: a simple newsletter on a small budget.
- Brevo: a large list of contacts that you email now and then.
- Kit: a creator, coach or writer growing an audience.
- Constant Contact: you want live phone and chat support.
- Klaviyo: you run an online shop and want emails based on what people buy.
MailerLite
As of October 2026, MailerLite's free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. It includes 2 user seats, 3 active automations, 1 website and 1 landing page. Paid plans start at $12 a month for Comfort and $25 a month for Power. Paying yearly saves 10%.
Suits you if you want a clean editor and a welcome email on the free plan. Less of a fit if you want help from a person early on. Free plan support is community only, and email support starts on Comfort.
Brevo
Brevo prices its paid plans mainly by how many emails you send. As of October 2026, its pricing page says the free plan lets you send up to 300 emails a day once your account is approved for sending. Starter begins at $9 a month, billed monthly, for 5,000 emails a month. The Brevo logo is removed on Standard and above, or as a paid add-on on Starter.
Suits you if you have many past customers on file and email them a few times a year. Less of a fit if you want to send to a large list on the free plan, since the daily cap spreads a big send over several days.
Kit
As of October 2026, Kit's free plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms. Visual automations and email sequences need a paid plan. Creator costs $33 a month when billed yearly ($390 a year) for 1,000 subscribers.
Suits you if you are a creator who sells digital products and wants a big free allowance for plain newsletters. Less of a fit if you need automated sequences and do not want to pay for them yet.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact has no free plan, but you can start a free trial without a credit card. As of October 2026, its pricing page lists Lite from $12 a month, Standard from $35 and Premium from $80. The price depends on how many contacts you have. Prepaying for 12 months saves up to 15%. Every plan includes live phone and chat support, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Suits you if you want a person to call when you are stuck, or you run events. Less of a fit if you need a free plan while your list is small. There is a full side-by-side in Mailchimp vs Constant Contact.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo works closely with shop platforms such as Shopify. As of October 2026, its free plan covers up to 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month and $5 of mobile messages a month. Paid prices depend on your number of active profiles, and the pricing page has an estimator. Its Shopify integration syncs customers, orders and products.
Suits you if you run an online shop. Less of a fit if you run a service business that sends one newsletter a month. There is more in Mailchimp vs Klaviyo.
How to choose
- Count your contacts and how many emails you send each month.
- Check each free plan against those two numbers.
- List the two or three features you need now, such as a signup form and a welcome email.
- Try your top two choices by sending a real email to yourself.
- Before you move, export your list with the signup date and consent details for each person.
If you are still building your list, start with how to build an email list. Whichever tool you pick, what keeps people subscribed is an email worth opening. There is a guide to writing a newsletter people read.
Nive is being built for the part every one of these tools leaves to you: the writing. You describe how your business works once, and it drafts outreach in your voice for you to review. Join the waitlist to get the demo first.