Email Marketing Platform Pricing: An Unbiased Comparison for Small Businesses
If you've been putting off setting up (or switching) your email marketing platform, I get it. A lot of business owners are re-evaluating their subscriptions right now, and email marketing is one of those tools business need, but the since several have raised prices recently I thought it was a good time to take a quick peek at what’s available.
So here's a quick rundown of a handful of email marketing platforms and what they cost, to help you figure out what’s best for your business.
A few notes first:
I'm not an affiliate for any of these, and I'm platform-agnostic. I care about what works best for each client.
I primarily work with solo service providers and small teams, so I evaluated these through that lens: the core things most small businesses actually need are email sign-ups, landing pages, and automations. If you're running an e-commerce business or restaurant, your priorities (and the "right" platform) will be different.
This is based on what's published on each company's website in August 2026, so the comparisons aren't perfectly apples-to-apples. Features are named and bundled differently across platforms, and pricing pages change.
I looked at each platform's most basic starter tier, and then again at a larger list size, because starting on most of these platforms is often very cheap or even free. But it can get much more expensive as your list grows (and then you feel stuck because you don’t want to have to start over somewhere else.
Some had mid-tiers that unlocked features I was looking for, so I’ve included those where it made sense.I looked at the monthly cost (paid monthly) rather than the yearly cost. There’s a discount for annual plans, so it may be slightly cheaper if you go that route.
Email Marketing Platform Comparison List
Please use this as a starting point for your own research, not a final verdict.
I didn’t list every feature of every platform, but if something stood out to me, I did make a note of it (which doesn’t mean other platforms don’t have that feature…it just meant it wasn’t obviously listed on their sales page).
Pricing and features shift, so double-check current numbers directly with each platform before you commit. My best advice to use to the free trials to poke around and find a platform that you’re happy to work in - if you hate touching your email marketing because the platform is a hassle…you’re going to be less likely to send emails.
There's no single "best" platform on this list, and the most important thing is finding a platform that matches what your business needs right now and what you think it will need as you grow.
MooSend (Constant Contact)
$9/month for 500 subscribers
Unlimited landing pages
Unlimited forms
Unlimited automations
$24/month for 2,000 subscribers
MooSend stands out for putting automations and landing pages on unlimited access even at its lowest tier, which is unusual compared to most of the others on this list - for that reason alone it got my attention.
MailChimp
Free for 250 subscribers
No automation
No scheduling
1 audience
$13/month for 500 subscribers
Automation (4 steps per flow)
5 audiences/groups
Pop-ups
Landing pages
Forms
$60/month for 1,500–2,500 subscribers
Mailchimp is probably the name most people know. This is one of the more expensive options across the board.
FloDesk
$25/month Lite plan
Forms
Landing pages
Link-in-bio page
No automations
No ecommerce at this level
$28/month Pro plan (unlocks automations)
$32/month for 2,500 subscribers (Lite), $39/month for 5000 subscribers
FloDesk does have a free plan, but it doesn’t let you send emails…so it is essentially free to set up, but not free to use.
Mailerlite
Free for 250 subscribers
3 automations
1 website
1 landing page
1 product
3 forms
$12/month for 500 subscribers
Templates
50 automations
10 sites & landing pages
10 forms
5 products
$33/month for up to 2,500 subscribers
MailerLite’s free plan is generous, but most of my clients hit a limit with the single landing page. This is the platform I use for my business and have recommended for several years.
BirdSend
$9/month for 1,000 subscribers
Landing page functionality is limited to a very basic sign-up form - anything more robust requires a third-party tool.
Segments/groups don't exist here - tagging is the organizational system instead.
$14/month for 2,500 subscribers
BirdSend is one of the more affordable options, but if you need something that isn’t basic…I think you’ll get frustrated with the limits.
Email Octopus
Free for 2,500 subscribers
1 landing page
1 form
3 automations
1 pop-up OR form on site
30 days of reporting
$10/month unlocks everything
$20/month for 2,500 subscribers
Email Octopus has one of the more generous free tiers in terms of list size - 2,500 subscribers before you pay anything - though the feature set at that level is fairly limited (one of each, essentially). The jump to full features is affordable compared to others on the list.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Free for 1,000 subscribers
1 automation
Unlimited landing pages
Unlimited forms
No email sequences (like a welcome series)
$39/month plan unlocks most features
$59/month for 3,000 subscribers
Kit's free tier gives you unlimited landing pages and forms, which sounds great, but the lack of automation means it is more limited than it looks.
Active Campaign
$15/month for 1,000 subscribers
Automation
Some segmentation
No landing pages
Only basic forms
$49/month unlocks landing pages
$39/month for 2,500 subscribers (without landing pages)
$95/month for 2,500 subscribers (with landing pages)
ActiveCampaign is the most expensive option on the list (if you need landing pages)
Sender
Free for 2,500 subscribers
Automations
Transactional emails
Landing pages
Forms
Segmentation is listed as “Advanced” (not sure if that is an add-on or something else)
$10/month plan unlocks unlimited landing pages and templates as well as removing Sender branding.
$19/month for 2,500 subscribers
If you don’t mind Sender branding on your email marketing, this is a really good option - even at the free level.
Final Thoughts
"Free" doesn't always mean usable. A few of these free or entry tiers strip out automation entirely (Mailchimp, FloDesk's Lite plan) or skip welcome sequences (Kit).
As a marketing strategist, I think an automated welcome sequence is one of the highest-leverage things a small email list can have.
Landing pages aren't always included. Some platforms (MooSend, Kit) offer unlimited landing pages even at low tiers. Others (BirdSend, and ActiveCampaign at its entry price) either skip them or gate them behind a much higher-priced plan. If you plan to build opt-in landing pages as part of your list-growth strategy this is something to consider.
Starting is cheap, scaling gets spendy. Every platform here looks reasonable at the smallest tier. But when your list grows to 2,000–3,000 subscribers, prices can range from around $20/month to $95/month for a comparable list size. If you're picking a platform for the long term, price it out at the size you expect to be in a year or two, not just where you're starting.
Email marketing is a business expense and I don’t think it should always be free - but understanding what it will cost to maintain your list over time is an important consideration depending on your business model.
Match the platform to what you actually need, not what's most popular. Mailchimp is the name everyone knows, but "known" and "best fit for a solo service provider" aren't the same thing.
Picking a platform is just step one. Once you've settled on one (or decided to stick with what you've got), the results come from what you do with it.
If you're still convincing yourself this is worth the monthly cost, start here to learn why your business needs an email list.
Ready to grow your list? Here are 7 ways to do it.
And if you've already got subscribers but feel like your list isn't pulling its weight, this post will help you get better outcomes from your email list.
