Cheapest Email Marketing Software: What You'll Actually Pay

Looking for the cheapest email marketing software? Good. Let's skip the fluff and get straight to the numbers.

Here's the reality: the cheapest option isn't always the best value. A $4/month tool that lacks automation will cost you more in wasted time than a $10 tool that actually does the job. I've broken down the real costs, the hidden fees, and what each platform actually gives you at each price point.

Quick Price Comparison

Before we dive deep, here's what you're looking at for entry-level paid plans:

Now let's talk about what you actually get at each price point.

Best Free Email Marketing Options

If you're just starting out, several platforms offer genuinely useful free plans:

Sender (Best Free Plan Overall)

Sender's free plan is hard to beat: up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month at no cost. Unlike most free plans, you get full access to automation, segmentation, and templates. The paid plans start at just $7/month for 1,000 subscribers if you need to scale up.

The catch? You'll have Sender branding on your emails. But for a free tool, that's a fair trade.

MailerLite (Best for Beginners)

MailerLite's free plan covers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. You also get access to their landing page builder, automation, and a website builder. The interface is clean and beginner-friendly.

The downside: you'll need to display the MailerLite logo in your email footer, and some features like A/B testing are locked behind paid plans.

Brevo (Best for Large Lists)

Brevo takes a different approach—they don't charge based on contacts. Their free plan gives you unlimited contacts but caps you at 300 emails per day (roughly 9,000/month). If you have a big list but only send occasionally, this could work.

The limitation here is the daily sending cap. Time-sensitive campaigns spread across multiple days can be problematic. Check out our full Brevo pricing breakdown for more details.

Cheapest Paid Email Marketing Software

Zoho Campaigns: Absolute Cheapest

At $3-4/month for 500 contacts, Zoho Campaigns wins the price war. Their free plan also covers 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails/month with 5 user seats included.

What you get: Basic email templates, drag-and-drop editor, A/B testing, and decent reporting.

What you don't get: The Standard plan is very limited feature-wise. Advanced automation, pop-up forms, and dynamic content require the Professional plan at $6/month.

Best for: Businesses already in the Zoho ecosystem. If you're using Zoho CRM, the integration is seamless. Otherwise, you might find the interface clunky compared to dedicated email tools.

Sender: Best Value Under $10

Sender hits a sweet spot between price and features. At $7/month for 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails, you get automation, segmentation, and SMS capabilities—features that competitors lock behind higher tiers.

What stands out: Even on the free plan, you get full access to automation and segmentation. Most competitors limit these to paid users.

Best for: Small ecommerce stores that need product emails. Sender can automatically pull product images and prices directly from your site into email templates.

Brevo: Best for High-Volume Senders

Brevo's Starter plan begins at $9/month for 5,000 emails (unlimited contacts). If you have a large list but send infrequently, this pricing model can save you serious money.

The catch: The Starter plan keeps Brevo's branding on your emails. Removing it costs an extra $12/month. Their Standard plan at $18/month removes branding and adds landing pages and A/B testing. For a deeper look at what you'll actually pay, see our Brevo review.

Best for: Businesses with large contact lists but moderate sending frequency. If you have 10,000 contacts but only send 2-3 campaigns monthly, Brevo often beats contact-based pricing.

Moosend: Best Automation for the Price

Moosend's Pro plan starts at $9/month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails. You get conditional automation flows, advanced segmentation, and triggered campaigns—features that usually cost $50+/month elsewhere.

What you get: 90+ email templates, landing page builder, transactional emails, and solid reporting.

What's missing: No free plan (just a 30-day trial). The UI isn't the most modern. If you're brand new to email marketing, the learning curve is steeper than MailerLite or Sender.

Best for: Bootstrapped startups and ecommerce stores that want serious automation without paying enterprise prices.

MailerLite: Best Balance of Price and Usability

MailerLite's Growing Business plan starts at $10/month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails. The interface is genuinely easy to use, and the feature set is solid.

What you get: Unlimited emails, 3 user seats, email templates, automation builder, landing pages, and 24/7 email support.

Advanced plan at $20/month adds: Unlimited users, AI writing assistant, custom HTML editor, and live chat support.

Best for: Small businesses that want something that "just works" without wrestling with a complicated interface.

Why Mailchimp Isn't the Cheapest Anymore

Let's address the elephant in the room: Mailchimp used to be the go-to budget option. Not anymore.

Their free plan now caps at just 250 contacts and 500 emails per month—down from 2,000 contacts. The Essentials plan starts at $13/month for 500 subscribers, and you're limited to 5,000 sends.

Worse, Mailchimp charges for unsubscribed contacts too. Every person in your account counts toward your limit, even if they've opted out. This adds up fast.

For the same price as Mailchimp Essentials, you could get Brevo with 5,000 emails and unlimited contacts, or Sender with 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails. The math just doesn't work in Mailchimp's favor anymore.

If you're currently on Mailchimp and want to see all your options, check out our guide to the best email marketing software.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

The sticker price isn't always the full story. Watch out for these:

Contact-Based vs. Email-Based Pricing

This matters more than most people realize.

Contact-based pricing (MailerLite, Sender, Zoho) charges based on how many subscribers you have. Good if you email your list frequently.

Email-based pricing (Brevo, Mailjet) charges based on how many emails you send. Better if you have a big list but send sparingly.

Example: With 5,000 contacts sending 4 emails/month, contact-based pricing might run $30-50/month. Email-based pricing with 20,000 monthly sends could be $18-29/month.

Know your sending patterns before committing.

Best Cheap Email Marketing Software by Use Case

For Ecommerce

Go with Omnisend ($11/month for 500 contacts) or Sender. Both integrate with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other platforms. Omnisend has better ecommerce automation templates; Sender costs less but requires more setup.

For Newsletters

MailerLite or Brevo. Clean editors, straightforward pricing, and the core features you need without paying for ecommerce bells and whistles.

For Agencies/Multiple Brands

Brevo or Zoho Campaigns. Both offer multi-user access at reasonable prices. Brevo's Business plan at $18/month includes unlimited automation, which matters when managing multiple client accounts.

For SaaS/Startups

Moosend for behavioral automation on a budget. If you need more sophisticated lifecycle automation, you'll eventually outgrow cheap tools and need something like ActiveCampaign—but Moosend buys you time.

AWeber: Worth a Mention

AWeber's pricing starts at $15/month for 500 subscribers with their Lite plan. The Plus plan at around $30/month unlocks behavioral automation and detailed analytics.

AWeber isn't the cheapest, but they've been around since 1998 and have excellent deliverability. If your emails consistently land in spam with budget tools, AWeber might be worth the premium. We have a partnership with AWeber, so you can try AWeber here if you want to test it out.

The Bottom Line

If you're just starting out and need free: Sender (best limits) or MailerLite (best usability).

If you want the absolute cheapest paid option: Zoho Campaigns at $3-4/month.

If you want the best value under $10: Sender at $7/month or Brevo at $9/month.

If you want easy and reliable: MailerLite at $10/month.

Don't just chase the lowest price. A tool that saves you 30 minutes per campaign is worth an extra $5/month. Calculate what your time is worth, then pick the cheapest tool that doesn't waste it.

For more options and detailed comparisons, check out our guides to the best email marketing software and email marketing for small business.