Email Marketing Competitor Pricing Watchlist 2026

The complete pricing landscape for email marketing tools — 8 platforms compared by contact tier, pricing model, and recent price changes. Updated May 2026. Compare free tiers, subscriber limits, and total cost at scale.

4/8 Raised prices or cut free tiers

$15–$45 Typical cost at 1,000 contacts/mo

5 Tools with a free tier

+25% Klaviyo price increase (2023)

⚠️ Email marketing pricing trap: All tools price by contact count, but definitions differ. Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts. Klaviyo counts "active profiles." ConvertKit counts all subscribers. Always check what counts toward your limit — your "5K list" may bill as 7K.

Email Marketing Pricing Comparison — May 2026

Tool	Free Tier	Price at 1K contacts	Price at 10K contacts	Price Activity
Mailchimp	500 contacts (cut from 2K)	$20/mo	$100/mo	HOT +20% 2023
ConvertKit	1,000 subscribers	Free → $25/mo (Creator)	$79/mo	Stable
Brevo	300 emails/day (unlimited contacts)	$25/mo (20K emails)	$65/mo (100K emails)	Stable
ActiveCampaign	❌ No free tier	$49/mo (Starter)	$149/mo	+15% 2024
GetResponse	500 contacts	$19/mo	$59/mo	Stable
Klaviyo	250 contacts / 500 emails	$45/mo	$175/mo	+25% 2023
SendGrid	100 emails/day	$19.95/mo (50K emails)	$89.95/mo	Stable
Drip	❌ No free tier	$39/mo (2,500 contacts)	$154/mo	Stable

Prices shown for lowest paid tier or contact count specified. Monthly billing. Annual billing typically 15–20% cheaper.

Key Insights for Email Marketers

Brevo is the best value for volume senders. Unlike contact-based pricing, Brevo charges by email volume — unlimited contacts on all plans. If you have a large list but email infrequently, Brevo can cost 3–5× less than Mailchimp.

Mailchimp's free tier is now a bait-and-switch. They cut the free limit from 2,000 → 500 contacts in 2023, and price increases hit 20%+ on paid plans. Still the most popular, but no longer the best value for growing lists.

Klaviyo dominates e-commerce but prices for it. Deep Shopify integration and revenue-based segmentation is best-in-class. But at $175/month for 10K contacts, it's 2–3× more expensive than alternatives. Worth it if e-commerce revenue attribution justifies the cost.

ConvertKit is the creator/blogger pick. Free for 1K subscribers, simple interface, landing pages included. Designed for newsletters and course creators — not e-commerce or complex automation.

Which Email Tool Should You Choose?

Newsletter / creator

ConvertKit — free to 1K, built for content creators

E-commerce store

Klaviyo — deep Shopify integration, revenue attribution

High-volume sender

Brevo or SendGrid — volume-based pricing, not contact-based

Marketing automation

ActiveCampaign — best automation at mid-market scale

Get alerted when email marketing prices change

Mailchimp cut free tiers and raised prices without warning. Klaviyo raised prices 25%.
PricePulse monitors any pricing page 24/7 — free plan monitors 2 tools.

Set Up Free Email Tool Alert →

Want to explore more categories? Try the full Competitor Watchlist tool →