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Last updated: October 29, 2026
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Best Email Marketing Software for Small Business in 2026
MailerLite is the best email marketing tool for most small businesses on a budget: from $12 a month with 50 automations. Kit is best for creators, with a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers. ActiveCampaign is best for advanced automation, Klaviyo and Omnisend for online stores, Brevo for large lists that send rarely, and GetResponse for webinars and funnels. Mailchimp is still capable, but its free plan is small and its intro prices rise after 12 months.
- Best value: MailerLite (from $12/month; free for 250 subscribers).
- Best free plan: Kit (up to 10,000 subscribers, no automations).
- Best automation: ActiveCampaign (about $15/month at 1,000 contacts on Starter) *.
- Best for ecommerce: Klaviyo (free for 250 profiles) and Omnisend (from $16/month).
- Best for big lists: Brevo (priced by emails sent; 300 emails/day free).
- Best for webinars: GetResponse (Marketer about €44/month at 1,000 contacts, annual).
Comparison table
| Tool | Free plan | Entry paid price | Priced by | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month | from $12/month | Subscribers | Small budgets |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers | $33/month at 1,000 (Creator, annual) | Subscribers | Creators |
| ActiveCampaign | No (14-day trial) | about $15/month at 1,000 * | Contacts | Advanced automation |
| Klaviyo | 250 profiles, 500 emails/month | about $30/month at 1,000 * | Active profiles | Online stores |
| Omnisend | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | from $16/month (500 contacts) | Contacts | Online stores on a budget |
| Brevo | 300 emails/day | from about $9/month * | Emails sent | Big lists, few sends |
| GetResponse | Limited after trial | about €13/month at 1,000 (Starter, annual) | Contacts | Webinars and funnels |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | $13/month (12-month intro) | Contacts | Integrations |
* From 2026 pricing guides.
1. MailerLite: best value
A clean editor, landing pages, forms and 50 active automations with up to 100 steps on its entry plan from $12 a month. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month. The best all-round choice for a small business that wants good tools without paying for complexity.
2. Kit: best for creators
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is free for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, and lets you sell digital products and paid newsletters. Automations start on Creator at $33 a month at 1,000 subscribers on annual billing.
Start MailerLite free → Our pick for most small businesses
3. ActiveCampaign: best automation
950+ automation recipes, an AI automation builder and CRM features. Starter limits automations to 5 actions; Plus removes the limit. Best when nurture sequences drive sales. See ActiveCampaign pricing.
4. Klaviyo: best for online stores
Ecommerce flows (welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase) and deep segmentation. Free for 250 active profiles; billed on active profiles after that. See Klaviyo pricing.
5. Omnisend: best budget ecommerce option
Email, SMS and push in one builder. Standard starts at $16 a month for 500 contacts; Pro at $59 a month for 2,500 contacts with unlimited emails under fair use and SMS from $0.007 per message.
6. Brevo: best for large lists
Priced by emails sent rather than contacts, so a large list that receives a few campaigns a month costs little. The free plan allows 300 emails a day with Brevo branding. See Brevo alternatives.
7. GetResponse: best for webinars and funnels
Webinars, landing pages and funnels in one tool. Starter includes 1 automation workflow; Marketer adds ecommerce triggers and unlimited workflows.
8. Mailchimp: best for integrations
The best-known name, with a large integration ecosystem. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, and paid prices are 50%-off offers for the first 12 months. See Mailchimp pricing.
Best free email marketing software
| Tool | Free limit | Automation on free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Kit | 10,000 subscribers | No |
| Brevo | 300 emails/day | Yes |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month | 3 automations |
| Klaviyo | 250 profiles, 500 emails/month | Yes (ecommerce flows) |
| Omnisend | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | Yes |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts, 500 emails/month | No |
Which tool for which business?
| Business | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Local service business | MailerLite | Simple, cheap, enough automation |
| Newsletter or course creator | Kit | Huge free plan, sells digital products |
| B2B company with a sales team | ActiveCampaign | Automation and CRM |
| Shopify store | Klaviyo or Omnisend | Ecommerce flows |
| Association or media with a big list | Brevo | Priced by emails sent |
| Coach selling through webinars | GetResponse | Webinars built in |
How to choose in 5 steps
- Count subscribers now and in 12 months.
- Count emails per month you plan to send.
- List the automations you need (welcome, abandoned cart, nurture).
- Compare the price at your list size, including year-2 prices for intro offers.
- Test the top two with a real welcome sequence.
Also read marketing automation examples and email deliverability.
Common mistakes
- Choosing on the free plan alone. Check what you'll pay at 2,000 and 5,000 subscribers.
- Ignoring how the tool bills. Subscribers, contacts, active profiles and emails sent lead to very different bills.
- Skipping domain authentication. It affects deliverability on every tool.
- Migrating without re-permission. Only move contacts who opted in.
Price at 1,000 subscribers: quick comparison
| Tool | Monthly price at about 1,000 subscribers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Kit | $0 (Free, no automations) or $33 (Creator, annual) | Free up to 10,000 |
| MailerLite | from $12 | Check the calculator at 1,000 |
| ActiveCampaign | about $15 (Starter, annual) * | 5 actions per automation |
| Klaviyo | about $30 * | Active profiles |
| GetResponse | about €13 (Starter, annual) | 1 workflow |
| Brevo | from about $9 * | Priced by emails sent |
* From 2026 pricing guides.
Switching email tools without losing your audience
- Export subscribers with tags, consent status and unsubscribes.
- Import into the new tool and suppress anyone who unsubscribed.
- Authenticate your sending domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
- Rebuild your welcome series first.
- Warm up gradually with your most engaged subscribers.
Our verdict
There is no single best email tool, but there is a best tool for each kind of small business. Most service businesses will be happy with MailerLite: affordable, simple and generous with automations. Creators should start on Kit's free plan and upgrade when automations matter. Online stores should choose between Klaviyo for depth and Omnisend for price. Companies whose sales depend on nurture sequences should look at ActiveCampaign, and organizations with large lists that send occasionally will often pay least with Brevo. Whatever you choose, authenticate your domain and plan for your price at twice your current list size.
How we compiled this page
We compared email marketing tools — MailerLite, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Omnisend, Brevo, GetResponse and Mailchimp — using each vendor's official pricing and documentation, checked on October 29, 2026, and focused on what matters to small teams: a welcome sequence and the price at 1,000 and 5,000 subscribers. Where a vendor hides its prices behind a calculator or a sales call, we used recent pricing guides and marked those figures with an asterisk. Prices and plans change often, so check the vendor's page before you buy, and tell us if something here is out of date.
FAQ
What is the best email marketing software for small businesses?
MailerLite for most small businesses on a budget; Kit for creators; ActiveCampaign for advanced automation; Klaviyo or Omnisend for online stores.
What is the best free email marketing software?
Kit, which is free for up to 10,000 subscribers without automations. Brevo's free plan allows 300 emails a day with automation.
Is Mailchimp still good?
Yes, especially for integrations, but its free plan stops at 250 contacts and its intro prices rise after 12 months. See Mailchimp alternatives.
How much does email marketing software cost?
From free to about $15–35 a month for a list of 1,000 subscribers on most tools.
Can I use two email tools at once?
You can, for example one for marketing and one for transactional emails, but avoid splitting the same audience across two marketing tools: it complicates consent, reporting and deliverability.
How many emails should a small business send?
Most small businesses do well with one to four campaigns a month plus automated sequences. Consistency matters more than volume, and frequent senders should check their plan's monthly send limit.
Which email tool is easiest for beginners?
MailerLite and Kit are generally the easiest to learn, with clean editors and simple automation builders.
Sources
mailerlite.com/pricing, kit.com/pricing, omnisend.com/pricing, klaviyo.com/pricing, getresponse.com/pricing and mailchimp.com/pricing, checked October 29, 2026. ActiveCampaign, Brevo and Klaviyo paid prices from 2026 pricing guides.