Short answer
MailerLite has the highest-ranked free plan among the email marketing tools we rank (85/100): Free plan (250 subscribers); 14-day trial. 5 of the 6 tools in our email marketing tools ranking list a free plan.
Every tool here comes from our main email marketing tools ranking, which scores email marketing tools on 6 weighted criteria. This page keeps only the tools whose pricing page lists a free plan (not just a time-limited trial), in the same order, and shows what each free plan includes and where paid plans start.
Free plans compared
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid plans from | Score |
|---|
| 1 |  MailerLite | Free plan (250 subscribers); 14-day trial | $10.80/mo
Comfort, 500 subscribers, billed yearly ($12 monthly); $17.10 at 1,000 | 85/100 |
| 2 |  Klaviyo | Free plan (250 profiles, 500 emails a month) | $20/mo
Email, 500 active profiles, 5,000 emails a month; $30 at 1,000 | 84/100 |
| 3 |  Brevo | Free plan (300 emails a day) | $8.08/mo
Starter, 5,000 emails a month, billed yearly ($9 monthly); Standard $16.17 | 83/100 |
| 4 |  Mailchimp | Free plan (250 contacts); 14-day trial | $13/mo
Essentials, up to 500 contacts; $26.50 up to 1,500; Standard from $20 | 79/100 |
| 5 |  Kit | Free plan (up to 10,000 subscribers); 14-day trial | $33/mo
Creator, 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($390 a year) | 77/100 |
Starting prices are the cheapest paid plan on each vendor's pricing page on Oct 26, 2026, at the smallest list size shown, billed yearly where available. Prices rise with list size. Mailchimp and Klaviyo bill monthly; Brevo prices by monthly email volume rather than contacts.
The free plans
Free plan: Free plan (250 subscribers); 14-day trial.
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $10.80/mo (Comfort, 500 subscribers, billed yearly ($12 monthly); $17.10 at 1,000).
MailerLite is an email marketing tool with an automation builder, landing pages, websites and signup forms. Comfort includes 50 automations and 3 seats; Power ($22.50 billed yearly at 500 subscribers) adds unlimited emails, automations and seats, multiple automation triggers and 24/7 live chat support.
Strengths
- Free plan with 3 automations and a landing page
- Low prices that scale gently with list size
- Easy to learn
Watch-outs
- Multiple automation triggers need Power
- Free plan locks campaigns above 250 subscribers
Read our full MailerLite review →
Free plan: Free plan (250 profiles, 500 emails a month).
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $20/mo (Email, 500 active profiles, 5,000 emails a month; $30 at 1,000).
Klaviyo is a B2C marketing platform built on customer profiles that combine store, email and SMS data. Paid email plans are priced by active profiles, with 10 email sends per profile per month, and SMS, reviews and other products are billed on top.
Strengths
- Segments and flows built on real-time ecommerce data
- Predictive analytics on paid plans
- 350+ integrations
Watch-outs
- Price rises quickly with active profiles
- Email support on the free plan only for the first 60 days
- More than a B2B newsletter needs
Read our full Klaviyo review →
Free plan: Free plan (300 emails a day).
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $8.08/mo (Starter, 5,000 emails a month, billed yearly ($9 monthly); Standard $16.17).
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) combines email, SMS and transactional email, priced by monthly email volume rather than contacts. Standard adds unlimited multi-step automations, A/B testing, send-time optimization and a landing page, and removes the Brevo footer; Professional ($449.08 a month billed yearly) adds WhatsApp, 10 seats and phone support.
Strengths
- Priced by emails sent, not contacts
- Unlimited automations and A/B testing on Standard
- Free plan sends 300 emails a day
Watch-outs
- Starter has no automation or A/B testing
- Extra seats are a paid add-on on Standard; 10 included on Professional
- SMS credits sold separately
Read our full Brevo review →
Free plan: Free plan (250 contacts); 14-day trial.
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $13/mo (Essentials, up to 500 contacts; $26.50 up to 1,500; Standard from $20).
Mailchimp is an email marketing platform from Intuit with a drag-and-drop builder, 300+ integrations and plans priced by contacts. Essentials allows automation flows of up to 4 steps; Standard adds up to 200 flows, predictive segments and generative AI; Premium starts at $350 a month.
Strengths
- Polished editor and reports
- 300+ integrations
- 24/7 email and chat support on paid plans
Watch-outs
- Essentials limits automations to 4 steps
- Free plan has no automation flows and 250 contacts
- Costs more than MailerLite or Brevo at the same list size
Read our full Mailchimp review →
Free plan: Free plan (up to 10,000 subscribers); 14-day trial.
When you outgrow it: paid plans start at $33/mo (Creator, 1,000 subscribers, billed yearly ($390 a year)).
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is email marketing for creators. The free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms; Creator adds visual automations and sequences; Pro adds a newsletter referral system, deliverability reporting and advanced reporting.
Strengths
- Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers
- Paid newsletters and creator tools
- 14-day trial with no card
Watch-outs
- Automations and sequences need Creator
- Fewer B2B and ecommerce features
- Free plan has 1 user
Read our full Kit review →
FAQ
What are the best free email marketing tools?
MailerLite (Free plan (250 subscribers); 14-day trial) ranks highest among the email marketing tools we rank that offer a free plan. Klaviyo, Brevo, Mailchimp also have free plans.
Is there a completely free option?
Yes, each tool on this page lists a free plan on its pricing page. Free plans have limits, shown in the table above, and paid plans add more users, usage and features.
What do free plans usually leave out?
Free plans typically cap users, records or monthly usage and leave out advanced automation, reporting and admin controls. Check each tool's limits against your team size before you commit.
When should I move to a paid plan?
When you hit a limit in the free plan or need a feature it leaves out. The table shows where each tool's paid plans start; our full email marketing tools ranking compares the paid tiers.
Vettlo Editorial TeamResearched and written by the Vettlo editorial team using our methodology. Prices and plan details come from each vendor's public pricing page.