Comparison · Email
Best email marketing tools for small businesses
Six tools, honest pricing, and the automation features actually worth paying extra for.
- 6 tools compared
- Real prices
- Automation notes
Best email marketing tools for small businesses: which one should you pick?
Six tools, honest pricing, and the automation features actually worth paying extra for. Mailchimp is the pick for small businesses wanting an all-in-one with a free tier at Free up to 500 contacts, paid from about $13 a month. We compare 6 options — Mailchimp, Klaviyo, MailerLite and others — on price and who each one suits. Prices are list prices as of 2026; check the vendor page before buying.
Last updated 3 August 2026
| Tool | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Small businesses wanting an all-in-one with a free tier | Free up to 500 contacts, paid from about $13 a month |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce stores wanting behaviour-based automation | Free up to 250 contacts, paid from about $20 a month |
| MailerLite | Budget-conscious founders who still want good automation | Free up to 1,000 contacts, paid from about $10 a month |
| ConvertKit (Kit) | Creators and solo founders selling directly to an audience | Free up to 10,000 subscribers (email only), paid from about $25 a month |
| Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) | Businesses that also want SMS and a CRM bundled in | Free up to 300 emails a day, paid from about $9 a month |
| ActiveCampaign | Small businesses ready for serious marketing automation | From about $15 a month |
Email marketing tools mostly do the same core job: build a list, send campaigns, run a few automations. The differences that matter for a small business are price per contact as your list grows, how good the automation builder is once you go beyond a welcome email, and whether support answers you without a call booked three days out.
Pick based on list size and how much automation you'll actually build in year one. Most small businesses overpay for features they never touch — below is what each tool is genuinely strong at.
How we judged them
What matters when you're small.
Pricing as your list grows
Most tools price by contact count, and the jump from 1,000 to 5,000 contacts can double your bill. Check the pricing table at the size you expect to be in twelve months, not today.
Automation builder depth
A welcome sequence is table stakes. Look for branching logic based on behaviour (opened, clicked, bought) if you plan to do more than a single drip.
Deliverability and sender reputation
Shared sending infrastructure on cheaper plans can hurt inbox placement. Check whether the tool supports a dedicated IP or domain authentication on your plan tier.
Ease of migrating out later
Small businesses outgrow starter email tools. Check how easy it is to export contacts and automation logic before you commit — some tools make this deliberately painful.
The picks
What each one is actually good at.
Mailchimp
Free up to 500 contacts, paid from about $13 a monthBest for: Small businesses wanting an all-in-one with a free tier
The default for a reason — good templates, decent automation, and a free tier that's genuinely usable. Pricing climbs fast once your list passes a few thousand, and support on cheaper tiers is slow.
Klaviyo
Free up to 250 contacts, paid from about $20 a monthBest for: Ecommerce stores wanting behaviour-based automation
Strongest automation builder for ecommerce specifically — abandoned cart, post-purchase flows and Shopify data sync are excellent. Overkill and pricier than needed if you're not ecommerce.
MailerLite
Free up to 1,000 contacts, paid from about $10 a monthBest for: Budget-conscious founders who still want good automation
The best value pick for a small list. Automation is more capable than the price suggests, and the editor is clean. Reporting is thinner than Mailchimp's.
ConvertKit (Kit)
Free up to 10,000 subscribers (email only), paid from about $25 a monthBest for: Creators and solo founders selling directly to an audience
Built for creators — tagging, segments and paid newsletter features are strong. Templates are plainer than Mailchimp's, which is fine if you're writing mostly text emails.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Free up to 300 emails a day, paid from about $9 a monthBest for: Businesses that also want SMS and a CRM bundled in
Prices by emails sent rather than contacts, which suits a large list that you email infrequently. The bundled CRM and SMS are handy but each is more basic than a dedicated tool.
ActiveCampaign
From about $15 a monthBest for: Small businesses ready for serious marketing automation
The most powerful automation builder on this list, with a built-in CRM. Worth it once you're building multi-step behavioural flows; a lot of tool for someone who just wants to send a monthly newsletter.
Skip
What we'd leave alone.
- Any tool advertising 'unlimited everything' at a flat low price with no contact caps mentioned — check the fine print on sending limits.
- Bundled all-in-one marketing suites if email is your only real use case — you'll pay for CRM and landing page features you never open.
- Free forever plans from unfamiliar providers with no clear deliverability track record — a cheap tool that lands in spam is worse than no tool.
Questions
Common questions.
How big does my list need to be before price becomes a real factor?
Around 2,000–3,000 contacts is where the gap between tools widens. Below that most options cost roughly the same; above it, contact-based pricing (Mailchimp, MailerLite) starts to diverge sharply from send-based pricing (Brevo).
Do I need a dedicated IP address?
Not until you're sending well over 50,000 emails a month. Below that, a shared IP on a reputable platform with good sender reputation performs fine.
Is Klaviyo worth it if I'm not on Shopify?
It integrates with WooCommerce and BigCommerce too, but the data sync is smoothest on Shopify. If you're not ecommerce at all, skip it — the pricing model assumes ecommerce-scale automation.
Can I switch tools later without losing my automations?
You'll keep your contact list and tags, but automation logic almost never exports cleanly — expect to rebuild sequences manually when you switch.
What's the real difference between the free tiers?
Contact limits, daily send limits, and whether automation is included at all. Mailchimp's free tier caps automation features; MailerLite's free tier includes more automation than most competitors' free plans.
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