Best Email Marketing Platforms 2026
Tested, ranked by fit not by commission. Updated May 2026.
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Honest broker: We earn affiliate commission from 8 of the 12 platforms below. We rank by fit, not commission rate — and we'll tell you when the cheapest pick isn't one of our partners (it often isn't). See our methodology.
Platform comparison — 2026
Price column shows cost at 5K contacts. Click "Start free" to go to the platform's trial.
| # | Platform | Best for | At 5K contacts/mo (varies by list size) | Free option | Score / 10 | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brevo Per send | Volume senders, nonprofits, infrequent sends | ~£25/mo (per-send) | ✓ Unlimited contacts, 300/day | 9.2 | Start free |
| 2 | MailerLite Per contact | Beginners, ease of use, free-tier longevity | ~£32/mo | ✓ 1K contacts, 12K/mo | 9.0 | Start free |
| 3 | GetResponse Per contact | All-in-one: landing pages, webinars, automation | ~£59/mo | ✓ 30-day trial | 8.7 | Start free |
| 4 | ConvertKit (Kit) Per contact | Creators, newsletters, paid subs | ~£66/mo | ✓ 10K contacts (limited) | 8.5 | Start free |
| 5 | ActiveCampaign Per contact | B2B automation, SaaS lifecycle, advanced flows | ~£145/mo Plus | ✓ 14-day trial | 8.9 | Start free |
| 6 | Klaviyo Per contact | Shopify/ecommerce stores $50K+/mo revenue | ~$100/mo | ✓ 250 contacts | 8.7 | Start free |
| 7 | Mailchimp Per contact | Brand recognition, large integration library | ~$75/mo Standard | ✓ 250 contacts only | 7.8 | Start free |
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Start the quiz →The pricing fault line nobody talks about
Every top-10 SERP page sorts email marketing platforms by "best overall" or "best for use case." Almost none segment the decision on the actual pricing-model fault line.
The real question is: per-contact billing (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Kit, ActiveCampaign) vs per-send billing (Brevo). Your list size and sending frequency determine which model is cheaper — and the difference can be 30–60% of your annual bill.
Under 2K contacts, sending monthly → per-send wins decisively. Above 50K contacts on Shopify → Klaviyo's revenue attribution often justifies the premium. In the middle? Features become the tiebreaker. Read the full breakdown →
Platform reviews
Brevo
Best for: Volume-based pricing — best for infrequent senders and large lists
£0/mo (unlimited contacts, 300 sends/day) · £9/mo Starter (20K sends/mo)
The only major platform that bills on send volume, not list size. A 5K-contact nonprofit sending monthly pays £9/mo vs £45+/mo on Mailchimp.
MailerLite
Best for: Best free tier in the market — automation + custom domain + editor on the free plan
£0/mo (1K contacts, 12K sends) · £32/mo at 5K contacts
'Free for life' plan is genuinely usable. EmailTooltester's Best Ease of Use award 2025 and 2026. The natural Mailchimp replacement for small businesses.
GetResponse
Best for: All-in-one — landing pages, webinars, autoresponders bundled at no extra charge
~£59/mo at 5K contacts (Marketing Automation plan)
33% recurring affiliate commission (highest of the top 3). We have a bias — but the product genuinely earns it for teams who want webinars + landing pages + email in one bill.
ConvertKit (Kit)
Best for: Creators, newsletter operators, course funnels — tag-based segmentation
£0 (10K contacts, limited) · £66/mo Creator at 5K contacts
September 2025 pricing jump from $15 → $39/mo (160% increase) has sent creators shopping. Kit still wins on creator-native architecture if the budget holds.
ActiveCampaign
Best for: B2B lifecycle automation, SaaS product-trigger emails, advanced multi-branch flows
~£145/mo Plus at 5K · ~£386/mo Professional at 5K
The standard choice for B2B SaaS email: conditional splits, goal tracking, CRM-grade contact records. Real-world cost at the tier that does justice to the platform is £145–£550/mo.
Klaviyo
Best for: Shopify/ecommerce stores doing over $50K/mo revenue
$20/mo (500 active profiles) · ~$100/mo at 5K
Active-profile billing (introduced Feb 2025) means dormant subscribers still count until you manually suppress them. Worth it above $50K/mo store revenue. Below that, Omnisend is cheaper.
Mailchimp
Best for: Large integration library, brand recognition, specific donor-CRM connectors
£0 (250 contacts only, stripped automation) · ~$75/mo Standard at 5K
Free tier went from 2,000 contacts (2022) to 250 (2026). Automation stripped from free mid-2025. Still the right call if you need DonorPerfect/Bloomerang integrations or your team won't switch.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email marketing platform in 2026?
The honest answer: it depends on your list size and sending frequency. Brevo wins if you have a large list and send monthly or less (volume-based pricing). MailerLite wins for beginners who want a genuinely usable free tier. Klaviyo wins for Shopify stores over $50K/mo revenue. ActiveCampaign wins for B2B teams who need deep automation.
Which platform has the best free plan?
MailerLite: 1,000 contacts, 12K sends/month, automation and custom domain included. Brevo: unlimited contacts, 300 sends/day — best free option if your list is over 1K but you send infrequently. Mailchimp's free tier is now 250 contacts with automation stripped — avoid it in 2026 unless you genuinely have under 250 contacts.
Per-contact vs per-send pricing — which is cheaper?
Under 2K contacts, sending monthly or less: per-send (Brevo) wins decisively. 2K–10K, sending weekly: roughly even — features become the tiebreaker. 10K+ contacts: per-send often saves 30–60% on the annual bill. We've written a full breakdown: per-contact vs per-send pricing.
Should I switch from Mailchimp?
Probably, if your list is over 500 contacts and you're paying $20+/mo. Brevo or MailerLite cover most small-business use cases at 30–60% of Mailchimp's price. Migration takes 6–10 hours — we've mapped the full process at our Mailchimp migration guide. Take the decision wizard first to confirm the right destination.