Plan details checked September 25, 2026 on each vendor's own site. US dollars, before tax. Prices below are for small lists (around 500 contacts) unless stated. Vendors change plans and promotions often, so confirm before you buy.
Email is still the channel a small business owns outright: no algorithm decides who sees your message. An email marketing tool handles the list, the sign-up forms, the templates and the automated follow-ups. Most of these tools price by list size, so the number you see on a pricing page depends on how many contacts you have. This guide covers five widely used options, starting with the free plans, and ends with a short method for choosing.
How this guide was built: it draws on each vendor's own pricing page. We have not hands-on tested every product, so we give no ratings or scores. Where a page doesn't state something, we say so instead of guessing.
1. Start with the free plans
MailerLite. The Free plan covers up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month and 2 user seats, with 3 automations, 1 website and 1 landing page, and 3 signup forms. Paid features can be tried free for 14 days with no credit card.
Mailchimp. The Free plan covers up to 250 contacts. Mailchimp says sending is paused if you go over the contact or email send limit.
Brevo. Brevo's Free plan is free forever with no credit card. Its FAQ says that once your account is approved for sending, you can send up to 300 emails a day.
HubSpot. Marketing Hub has a Free plan for up to 2 users, with no credit card required.
Constant Contact doesn't list a free plan on its pricing page. It offers a 30-day money-back guarantee instead.
2. Paid plans, tool by tool
Brevo. Brevo prices by monthly email volume rather than contacts. Starter is $9 a month, or $8.08 a month billed yearly, for 5,000 emails a month (500 contacts included at that level), with a drag-and-drop editor, templates, an AI content generator, segmentation and forms. Removing the Brevo logo from Starter emails is a $10.80-a-month add-on. Standard is $18 a month, or $16.17 billed yearly, and adds marketing automation, A/B testing, send-time optimization, one landing page and no Brevo logo. Professional starts at $499 a month and adds 10 user seats and more channels.
MailerLite. Every paid plan includes the full feature set; you pay more for a bigger list or more sending. For up to 500 subscribers, Comfort is $12 a month, or $10.80 a month billed yearly ($129.60 a year), with 5,000 emails a month, 3 user seats, 50 automations, 10 landing pages, an AI writing assistant and no MailerLite logo. Power is $25 a month, or $22.50 billed yearly ($270 a year), with unlimited emails, unlimited seats, unlimited automations and 24/7 live chat.
Mailchimp. Essentials starts at $13 a month and Standard at $20 a month, each after a free 14-day trial. Premium starts at $350 a month. Monthly sends are capped at 10 times your contacts on Essentials, 12 times on Standard and 15 times on Premium. Essentials includes 3 user seats and up to 4 automation flow steps, and Standard includes 5 seats, up to 200 automation flows and Mailchimp's generative AI features. Businesses with 10,000 or more contacts get 15% off for the first 12 months.
Constant Contact. Prices start at $10.20 a month for Lite, $29.75 for Standard and $68 for Premium, billed annually, and rise with your contact count. Monthly sends are capped at 10 times your contacts on Lite, 12 times on Standard and 24 times on Premium. Constant Contact says extra sends aren't blocked but are billed at $0.002 each ($2 per 1,000). Lite includes the email editor, an AI copy generator and 1 automation template. Standard adds email scheduling, subject line testing, 3 automation templates and resends to non-openers. Premium adds unlimited and custom automations and 500 SMS messages.
HubSpot Marketing Hub. Starter is $7 per seat per month billed annually, or $20 billed monthly, and includes 1,000 marketing contacts, email marketing without HubSpot branding, simple marketing automation and ad management. HubSpot's pricing page says its special Starter pricing is for new customers only, with select offers for a limited time. Professional starts at $800 a month billed annually ($890 billed monthly) for 3 core seats and 2,000 marketing contacts, plus a required one-time onboarding fee of $3,000. HubSpot is the pick to consider if you also want its CRM in the same system. See our CRM comparison and our social media tools guide.
Watch the extras
- List size drives price: Mailchimp, MailerLite and Constant Contact all rise as your list grows. Brevo prices by email volume instead, which suits a large list you email rarely.
- Send caps and overages: Mailchimp pauses sending on the Free plan when you hit a limit. Constant Contact bills $0.002 per extra send. Check what happens on your plan before a big send.
- Branding: Brevo's Starter plan carries the Brevo logo unless you pay $10.80 a month to remove it. MailerLite removes its logo from Comfort up.
- Onboarding fees: HubSpot Marketing Hub Professional requires a one-time $3,000 onboarding fee.
- Promotions: HubSpot's Starter pricing and Mailchimp's 15% discount are both introductory offers. Check what the price becomes when they end.
How to choose
- Start free. MailerLite, Mailchimp, Brevo and HubSpot all have free plans, which is enough to set up forms and send your first campaigns.
- Check your list size and sending frequency. A weekly newsletter to 500 people and a monthly promotion to 20,000 point to different tools.
- Decide whether you need automation. Welcome series and abandoned-cart emails are where these tools differ most. Compare automation limits, not just price.
- Count the people who need access. Seats range from 1 to unlimited depending on the plan.
- Add up the whole first-year cost. Include branding add-ons, overages, onboarding fees and the end of any introductory offer.
Quick math for a 500-contact list, at each page's displayed price:
- Brevo Starter: $9 a month ($8.08 billed yearly), plus $10.80 if you want the Brevo logo removed. Standard, with no logo, is $18 ($16.17 billed yearly).
- MailerLite Comfort: $12 a month, or $10.80 billed yearly.
- Mailchimp Essentials: from $13 a month. Standard is from $20.
- Constant Contact Lite: from $10.20 a month, billed annually.
- HubSpot Marketing Hub Starter: $7 per seat per month billed annually ($20 billed monthly), with 1,000 marketing contacts included.
Treat these as list-price comparisons. Features, seats and send limits differ between these plans, so the cheapest one may not cover what you need.
FAQ
Is there a free way to start? Yes. MailerLite and Mailchimp each cover up to 250 contacts for free, Brevo's free plan allows up to 300 emails a day, and HubSpot's covers 2 users.
Which one is cheapest? For a small list, Brevo Starter, Constant Contact Lite, MailerLite Comfort and HubSpot Starter (billed annually) all start around $7 to $12 a month. The right pick depends on automation, seats and send limits.
What happens if I go over my limit? It depends on the tool. Mailchimp's Free plan pauses sending, while Constant Contact keeps sending and bills $0.002 per extra email.
This guide contains no affiliate links.