Best Email Marketing Software in 2026: Ranked by Job, Price, and Whether Unsubscribes Still Count
MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, Kit, and Klaviyo solve different jobs. We ranked 5 email platforms by contact-metered vs email-volume vs creator-free vs ecommerce-profile, and what a $0–$20 plan actually keeps after unsubscribes, checkout ghosts, and the 10× send cap.
Email marketing software is not a form builder. It is not an AI copy stack. It is a list, a send, an unsubscribe, and a bill that grows when the list grows — or when the vendor decides a ghost still counts. The Google query treats MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, Kit, and Klaviyo as rivals. They are not. One meters Active subscribers and ignores unsubscribes. One meters emails sent. One meters subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts, so people who left still raise the tier. One gives you 10,000 subscribers free and one automation. One bills checkout profiles that never opted in. Mix those jobs and you pay twice — once for the plan, and again when the tool is metering a contact the law will not let you mail.
Key Takeaways
- There is no overall best. Rank by job: cheap Active-only list, email-volume billing, incumbent with the unsubscribe trap, creator broadcasts, or ecommerce profiles.
- The market splits in five. MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, Kit, Klaviyo.
- The sticker is a billing unit, not a category. MailerLite Comfort starts at $12/mo; Power at $25. Brevo Starter is $9 monthly or $8.08 yearly from 5,000 emails; Standard is $18 / $16.17. Mailchimp Essentials is $13 and Standard is $20 at 500 contacts. Kit Newsletter is $0 up to 10,000; Creator is $33/mo or $390/yr at 1,000. Klaviyo Free is 250 profiles and 500 emails/mo.
- CAN-SPAM is why the footer exists. The FTC guide covers every commercial message, including B2B. Each violating email is subject to up to $53,088. You get 10 business days to honor an opt-out. A valid physical postal address is required.
- A signup form is not a list. A form collects the address. This product stores consent, sends, and bills the row.
What email marketing software is (and what it is not)
The product is a closed loop: capture → consent → send → unsubscribe → next send without a lawyer. That is not first-party data strategy (how you own the audience). Two jobs share the label and almost none of the checkout: a newsletter / campaign sender and an ecommerce engine (placed-order events, flows, revenue attribution). MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, and Kit are built for the first, with different meters. Klaviyo is built for the second. Buy the first for a Shopify catalog and you rebuild the flows. Buy the second for a weekly founder letter and you pay for profiles you never mail.
How we ranked
Five checks, not a composite score: job, whether a price is published, what the meter actually is, what the floor keeps, and real annual cost. Prices checked against official pages on 20 August 2026. Annual billed rates first where published.
Quick picks by job
A published list under $15 with unsubscribes off the meter. MailerLite Comfort from $12 a month. Free is 250 Active subscribers and 2,500 emails.
Pay for emails sent, not contacts stored. Brevo Starter at $8.08 a month billed yearly from 5,000 emails. Automation sits on Standard at $16.17.
The incumbent, if you already live there. Mailchimp Standard at $20 a month for 500 contacts and 6,000 sends. Essentials at $13 has four flow steps and no generative AI. Unsubscribed contacts still count.
Broadcasts to 10,000 people at $0. Kit Newsletter: unlimited landing pages and forms, one Visual Automation, one user. Creator is $390 a year at 1,000 subscribers.
Shopify / WooCommerce revenue attribution. Klaviyo Free at 250 profiles and 500 emails. A checkout email without an opt-in is still an active profile.
Comparison: 5 platforms
| Tool | Type | Starting price | Best for | Main trap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Contact-metered (Active only) | Free (250 Active, 2,500 emails); Comfort from $12/mo; Power from $25 | Small teams that refuse to pay for unsubscribes | Comfort send cap is 10× the tier ceiling; deleted Actives still count until the billing anniversary |
| Brevo | Email-volume billed | Free (300 emails/day); Starter $9/mo or $8.08 yearly (from 5,000 emails); Standard $18 / $16.17 | Fat list, thin send; marketing + transactional on one bill | Starter has no marketing automation |
| Mailchimp | Contact-metered (subscribed + unsubscribed + non-subscribed) | Free (250 contacts, 500 emails/mo); Essentials $13 (500 contacts, 10×); Standard $20 (12×) | Teams already in Mailchimp that need Standard automations | Unsubscribed and non-subscribed count; archive them or the tier rises |
| Kit | Creator broadcasts | Newsletter $0 (up to 10,000, 1 automation); Creator $33/mo or $390/yr at 1,000 | Newsletters, courses, paid subscriptions | Free is one automation and one user; Creator is priced at 1,000, not 10,000 |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce profiles | Free (250 profiles, 500 emails, $5 mobile); paid email is a profile + send tier | Stores that need placed-order flows | An active profile is anyone you can email, including checkout ghosts |
Cheap Active-only list: MailerLite
Right buy when the job is campaigns and a budget number, and you refuse to pay for people who left. Wrong buy as the Shopify revenue engine.
Free is $0 for 250 Active subscribers: 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats, 3 automations, 3 forms. Comfort starts at $12 a month (tiers 500–200,000; annual 10% off): 3 seats, 50 automations, send cap 10× the tier ceiling — 5,000 subscribers is 50,000 emails. Power starts at $25: unlimited emails (fair use) and seats. New pricing shipped 16 June 2026.
Trap: Unsubscribed and bounced do not count. Deleted Actives still do, until the billing anniversary. Delete on the 1st and bill on the 5th and the address still counts. Deleting and re-uploading to dodge the cap violates the terms. Power is the unlimited-send SKU, not a cheaper Comfort.
Email-volume billing: Brevo
Right buy when the list is large, the send is rare, and receipts can share the invoice. Wrong buy if the product is a 12-step nurture and you stopped at Starter.
Free is 300 emails a day. Starter is $9 a month, or $8.08 billed yearly from 5,000 emails. Logo-off is $10.80 extra. Standard is $18, or $16.17 yearly: marketing automation, A/B tests. Professional is $499, or $449.08 yearly from 150,000 emails, 10 seats.
Trap: Starter is not the automation plan. Journeys start on Standard. A 40,000-contact list that gets one campaign a month still fits 5,000 emails. The same list on Mailchimp is a contact-tier problem before the first send.
Incumbent, unsubscribe meter: Mailchimp
Right buy when the team already knows the editor, Standard automations are the job, and you will archive the dead. Wrong buy if you think Essentials at $13 is “email marketing.”
Free is 250 contacts and 500 emails a month (or 250 a day), 1 seat, no AI; sending pauses at the cap. Essentials is $13 at 500 contacts: 5,000 sends (10×), 4 flow steps, no generative AI. Standard is $20 at 500: 6,000 sends (12×), 5 seats, up to 200 flows. Premium is $350 at 10,000 contacts: 150,000 sends (15×).
Trap: Subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts all count. Archived, cleaned, and deleted do not. Essentials is testing and scheduling. Multi-step automation is Standard. The no-card trial caps you at 100 emails until you add payment.
Creator broadcasts: Kit
Right buy when the job is a newsletter or course and 10,000 people on one automation is enough. Wrong buy as the B2B lead-scoring CRM.
Newsletter is $0 up to 10,000 subscribers: unlimited broadcasts, landing pages, and forms, 1 Visual Automation, 1 user. Creator is $33 a month, or $390 billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers: unlimited automations, A/B subjects, 2 users. Pro is $66 a month, or $790 yearly at 1,000: unlimited users. Digital-product fees are 3.5% + 30¢ on every plan.
Trap: Free’s 10,000-subscriber cap is not the paid floor. Creator’s published price is 1,000 subscribers. Stay on Newsletter at 8,000 if one automation is the product. Leave when the product is a 12-email course. One user on Free is the agency deal-breaker.
Ecommerce profiles: Klaviyo
Right buy when the catalog is on Shopify or WooCommerce and the email has to know the cart. Wrong buy as a $0 newsletter host past 250 profiles.
Free is 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month, and $5 of mobile. Paid email is a profile + send tier. Klaviyo’s billing help (25 March 2026) bills active profiles, typically 10× sends. A help-center example is $100 a month at 5,000 profiles / 50,000 emails. Customer Hub ($20) and Helpdesk ($10) are not the email SKU.
Trap: An active profile is anyone you can still email, “regardless of consent status.” Checkout without an opt-in still bills. Suppressed profiles drop off once processed — the opposite of Mailchimp — but allow 72 hours, and be 24 hours ahead of the cycle. Marketing Analytics is a separate $100 from 13,500 profiles. Do not buy a CDP to get a newsletter.
Worked annual cost at published floors
Assumptions: U.S. company, annual billing where published. MailerLite Comfort floor. Brevo yearly. Mailchimp Standard at the 500-contact sticker. Kit Newsletter until 10,000. Klaviyo Free until 250; the 5,000-profile help-center example after that.
| Situation | MailerLite | Brevo | Mailchimp | Kit | Klaviyo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 people, light send | $0 (Free, 2,500 emails) | $0 (300/day) | $0 (Free, 500 emails) | $0 | $0 (500 emails) |
| 500 contacts, paid automations | $144 (Comfort $12 × 12) | $194 (Standard $16.17 × 12) | $240 (Standard $20 × 12) | $0 if 1 automation | Over Free |
| 5,000 store profiles | Comfort 10× = 50,000 emails | Email slider, not a profile tax | Contact tier + 12× | $0 on Newsletter if 1 automation | $1,200 ($100/mo example) |
| 10,000 newsletter names, broadcasts | Comfort/Power tier | Email volume | Premium $4,200 ($350 × 12) | $0 (Newsletter cap) | Profile tier |
At 10,000 broadcast names and one automation, Kit Newsletter is $0 and Mailchimp Premium’s 10,000-contact sticker is $350 a month. That is a meter gap, not a quality gap. At 5,000 store profiles, Klaviyo’s own example is $1,200 a year before SMS or Analytics.
When it breaks
The billing unit is not the job. MailerLite meters Active (unsubscribes off; deleted Actives on until the anniversary). Mailchimp meters subscribed + unsubscribed + non-subscribed. Brevo meters emails. Kit meters subscribers with a 10,000 free cap. Klaviyo meters profiles you can still email. A SaaS spend review that compares “$13 vs $12” without naming the unit is a fiction.
An unsubscribe that still costs money. Mailchimp keeps the row. Archive or the tier moves. MailerLite and Klaviyo (once suppression processes) do not charge it. CAN-SPAM still requires you to honor the opt-out. Deleting the person is not the same as stopping the bill.
Starter without journeys. Brevo Starter at $9 has no automation. Mailchimp Essentials has four flow steps. Kit Free has one. A welcome series needs MailerLite Comfort, Brevo Standard, Mailchimp Standard, or Kit Creator.
A Shopify storefront is not a newsletter. Agentic storefronts already show the catalog. Klaviyo mails the cart. Kit will send a campaign.
ActiveCampaign’s public page does not print a dollar until you pick a contact band. Starter is 5 automation actions and 1 user. If the RFP needs a published rate, stay in the table above.
CAN-SPAM is not a footer plugin. No B2B exception, 10 business days to honor opt-out, mechanism live 30 days after the send, truthful From/subject, physical postal address, $53,088 per violating email. Hiring a vendor does not contract the liability away.
A 15-minute way to choose
- Write the job: weekly newsletter, B2B nurture, or store flows tied to orders.
- Newsletter, cheap, unsubscribes off the bill: MailerLite Comfort from $12. Free only if 250 Active and 2,500 emails is the ceiling.
- Fat list, thin send, receipts on the same invoice: Brevo Starter at $8.08 yearly. Standard at $16.17 the minute you need a journey.
- Already in Mailchimp: Standard at $20 if you need automations. Archive unsubscribed and non-subscribed. Essentials at $13 is not that product.
- Creator list under 10,000, one automation: Kit Newsletter at $0. Creator at $390 a year when sequences are the product.
- Shopify / WooCommerce catalog: Klaviyo. Free until 250 profiles. Budget the profile tier, not the $0 row.
- Confirm the footer: physical address, working opt-out, 10-business-day honor window. Fail the meter, change lanes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best email marketing software in 2026?
There is not one. MailerLite Comfort from $12 for an Active-only list. Brevo Starter at $8.08 yearly when you bill emails (Standard at $16.17 for automation). Mailchimp Standard at $20 when you are already there and will archive the dead. Kit Newsletter at $0 up to 10,000 with one automation. Klaviyo when the email has to know the cart.
Does Mailchimp charge for unsubscribed contacts?
Yes. Official help: subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts count toward the monthly contact limit. Archived, cleaned, and deleted do not. MailerLite counts only Active. Klaviyo drops suppressed profiles after processing.
Is there a good free email marketing plan?
Kit Newsletter: 10,000 subscribers, one automation, one user. MailerLite Free: 250 Active, 2,500 emails. Mailchimp Free: 250 contacts, 500 emails. Brevo Free: 300 emails a day. Klaviyo Free: 250 profiles, 500 emails. A Gmail BCC is not email marketing software.
How is ecommerce email different from a newsletter?
A newsletter is a send to a list. Ecommerce email is a flow fired by checkout events, with revenue on the campaign. Klaviyo is built for the second. Kit and MailerLite host the first.
Methodology
We compared 5 platforms on job, published price, billing unit, floor, and annual cost. Prices from official pages checked on 20 August 2026: MailerLite Free (250 Active, 2,500 emails), Comfort from $12/mo (10× tier-ceiling sends; 10% annual), Power from $25; new pricing 16 June 2026; unsubscribed excluded; deleted Actives count until anniversary. Brevo Free (300 emails/day), Starter $9 or $8.08 yearly (from 5,000 emails), Standard $18 / $16.17, Professional $499 / $449.08. Mailchimp Free (250 contacts, 500 emails), Essentials $13 (10×, 4 flow steps), Standard $20 (12×), Premium $350 (10,000 contacts, 15×); subscribed + unsubscribed + non-subscribed count. Kit Newsletter $0 (10,000 subscribers, 1 automation), Creator $33/mo or $390/yr at 1,000, Pro $66 / $790. Klaviyo Free (250 profiles, 500 emails); billing help 25 March 2026: active profiles regardless of consent; $100/mo example at 5,000 profiles / 50,000 emails. ActiveCampaign: public page feature gates only (Starter 5 actions, 1 user). Primary source: FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business ($53,088 per email; 10 business days to honor opt-out; no B2B exception). No bake-off. Not legal advice.
