Pricing guides
Updated
What email marketing platforms really cost
Plans, free tiers and real monthly costs for popular email tools, read from each official pricing page and converted to cost per 1,000 emails.
- Platforms priced
- 8
- Platforms priced
- Last verified
- Oct 2, 2026
- Last verified
- Lumail per 1,000 emails
- $0.50
- Lumail per 1,000 emails
Priced by contacts
- Contact-basedMailchimp pricingFrom $13/month. Contact tier, with a monthly send cap per plan.
- Contact-basedKit pricingFrom $39/month. Subscriber tier; unlimited broadcasts.
- Contact-basedbeehiiv pricingFrom $59/month. Plan and subscriber tier; unlimited sends.
- Contact-basedKlaviyo pricingFrom $20/month. Active profiles; sends = 10× profiles.
- Contact-basedMailerLite pricingFrom $12/month. Subscriber tier, plus a send cap on Comfort.
- Contact-basedActiveCampaign pricingFrom $15/month. Contact tier, with a send cap per plan.
- Contact-basedSysteme.io pricingFrom $17/month. Contact cap per plan; unlimited emails.
Priced by email volume
Cost per 1,000 emails at 10,000 subscribers
The cheapest paid plan of each platform for a list of 10,000 subscribers receiving 4 emails a month (40,000 emails). List prices on monthly billing, except ActiveCampaign, which only shows annual billing.
| Platform | Plan | Monthly | Per 1,000 emails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Essentials | $110 | $2.75 |
| Kit | Creator | $139 | $3.47 |
| beehiiv | Lite | $139 | $3.47 |
| Klaviyo | $150 | $3.75 | |
| Brevo | Starter (no marketing automation) | $46 | $1.15 |
| MailerLite | Comfort | $89 | $2.23 |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter (billed annually) | $149 | $3.73 |
| Systeme.io | Webinar | $47 | $1.18 |
| Lumail | Premium | $20 | $0.50 |
Kit and beehiiv include unlimited sends, so their cost per email falls if you send more often. Kit Free also covers 10,000 subscribers, without automations.
Frequently asked questions
How were these prices collected?
Each price was read on the vendor's official pricing page on Oct 2, 2026, using the page's own contact or volume selector. Values the page did not show are marked "See official pricing".
What is the difference between contact-based and volume-based pricing?
Contact-based tools (Mailchimp, Kit, beehiiv, Klaviyo, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, Systeme.io) charge for the size of your list, whether or not you email it. Volume-based tools (Brevo, Lumail) charge for the emails you send, so a large list you email rarely costs less.
How is cost per 1,000 emails calculated?
For a list of 10,000 subscribers receiving 4 emails a month (40,000 emails), the monthly list price is divided by 40. Sending more often lowers the figure for contact-based tools.
Which email marketing platform is cheapest?
It depends on list size and how often you send. Every platform here except ActiveCampaign has a free plan, and Kit's covers up to 10,000 subscribers without automations. For 10,000 subscribers at 4 emails a month, the cheapest paid options in these guides are Lumail Premium at $20, Brevo Starter at $46 and Systeme.io Webinar at $47.
How much does Lumail cost?
Lumail is free for 3,000 emails a month. Premium is $20/month for 40,000 emails, then $0.60 per 1,000. Business is $200/month for 400,000 emails, then $0.40 per 1,000. Every plan has unlimited subscribers.
Pay for emails, not contacts.
3,000 emails a month free. Unlimited subscribers on every plan. Campaigns, automations and transactional email on one domain.