Mailchimp Alternatives (2026): Cheaper Email Tools Compared

TL;DR

On monthly billing, Mailchimp Essentials costs $26.50/month for 1,000 contacts and $75/month for 5,000 (prices checked October 21, 2026). Sender ($15 and $39), Moosend ($16 and $48), Brevo ($17 and $32), MailerLite ($19 and $49) and GetResponse ($19 and $54) all cost less at both sizes. Kit and beehiiv cost more on paid plans but have much bigger free plans: 10,000 and 2,500 subscribers.

How this article was made: This article is research-based. Every price and limit comes from each vendor's official pricing page, pricing data or help center, checked on October 21, 2026. Prices are in USD, on monthly billing, before tax. We have not tested these tools hands-on. Prices change often, so confirm on the vendor site before you buy.

Mailchimp is not the cheapest option once your list grows past its free plan. At 1,000 contacts, five tools on this list cost less than Mailchimp Essentials. At 5,000 contacts, the gap gets wider.

This guide prices each tool at two list sizes: 1,000 and 5,000 contacts. All prices use monthly billing, so you can compare them directly.

Quick picks

Lowest price at 1,000 contacts: Sender, $15/month.
Lowest price at 5,000 contacts: Brevo, $32/month.
Unlimited sends on a budget: Moosend, $16/month at 1,000 contacts.
Forms, landing pages and sites in one tool: MailerLite, $19/month at 1,000 contacts.
Biggest free list: Kit, free up to 10,000 subscribers.
Media-style newsletter with ads: beehiiv, free up to 2,500 subscribers.

Price at 1,000 and 5,000 contacts

Tool and plan	1,000 contacts	5,000 contacts	Emails per month (1k / 5k)	Best for
Mailchimp Essentials (baseline)	$26.50	$75	15,000 / 50,000	Teams already set up on Mailchimp
Mailchimp Standard (baseline)	$45	$100	18,000 / 60,000	Mailchimp users who need bigger automations
Sender Standard	$15	$39	12,000 / 60,000	Lowest price at small list sizes
Moosend Pro	$16	$48	Unlimited	Unlimited sends, no free plan needed
Brevo Starter	$17*	$32*	10,000 / 20,000	Large lists that send a few times a month
MailerLite Comfort	$19	$49	10,000 / 50,000	Forms, landing pages and a site in one tool
GetResponse Starter	$19	$54	Unlimited	Unlimited sends with a landing page builder
Kit Creator	$39	$89	Unlimited broadcasts	Creators who sell products by email
beehiiv Lite	$59	$109	Unlimited	Newsletters that want ads and paid subscriptions

Prices are per month, monthly billing, USD, checked October 21, 2026. Mailchimp bills 1,000 contacts at its 501–1,500 tier.

*Brevo prices by email volume, not contacts. The figure is the plan price plus the email tier you need to store that many contacts, taken from Brevo's published pricing data. Details are in the Brevo section.

Free plans compared

Tool	Free plan limit	Key catch
Mailchimp	250 contacts, 500 sends a month (max 250 a day)	1 seat, Mailchimp branding, email support for the first 30 days
Kit	Up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts	No visual automations or email sequences
Sender	Up to 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month	1 seat, Sender branding
beehiiv	Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends	No paid subscriptions, ads or automations (Lite and up)
Brevo	300 emails a day, up to 100,000 stored contacts	Brevo branding, 1 user
GetResponse	Up to 500 contacts, 2,500 newsletters a month	Scheduling and autoresponders only in the first 14 days
MailerLite	250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month	3 automations, 1 landing page
Moosend	No free plan	30-day free trial, no credit card

For more on free tiers, see best free newsletter platforms.

Mailchimp: the baseline

Mailchimp has four marketing plans: Free, Essentials, Standard and Premium. Essentials starts at $13/month for 500 contacts. Standard starts at $20/month. Premium starts at $350/month for 10,000 contacts.

Price rises fast with list size. Essentials is $26.50 at 1,500 contacts and $75 at 5,000. Standard is $45 and $100.

Essentials automations are capped at 4 flow steps. Standard allows up to 200 flows. Mailchimp also bills overages if you pass your contact or send limit.

The Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. That is enough to test the tool, not to run a growing list.

1. Sender: lowest price at 1,000 contacts

Sender Standard costs $15/month for 1,000 subscribers and $39/month for 5,000 on monthly billing. Monthly sends are 12 times your subscriber tier: 12,000 and 60,000.

Professional costs $20 and $79. It adds 10 seats, advanced automation and free SMS credits.

Sender's pricing page shows annual billing first, with 30% off the first year for first-time users. Pick monthly billing to see the prices above.

The Free plan is large for the price: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month. It includes automation, landing pages and signup forms. It has 1 seat and Sender branding.

Best for: small businesses that want the lowest bill at 1,000 contacts.

See Sender pricing

2. Brevo: lowest price at 5,000 contacts

Brevo prices paid plans by monthly email volume. Each volume tier also sets how many contacts you can store.

Per Brevo's help center, the 5,000-email tier stores up to 500 contacts. The 10,000-email tier stores up to 1,500. The 15,000-email tier stores up to 2,500. Tiers from 20,000 emails store up to 500,000.

That gives these monthly prices:

1,000 contacts: Starter $9 + $8 for 10,000 emails = $17/month. Standard $18 + $17 = $35/month.
5,000 contacts: Starter $9 + $23 for 20,000 emails = $32/month. Standard $18 + $51 = $69/month.

If you pass a tier's contact limit, Brevo moves you to the next tier and the price goes up.

The Free plan sends 300 emails a day and stores up to 100,000 contacts. Emails carry the Brevo logo. On Starter, removing the logo is a paid add-on. Standard has no logo and adds A/B testing and automation for unlimited contacts.

Best for: big lists that send a few times a month.

Brevo is also a common pick for EU-focused senders. See GDPR-compliant newsletter platforms.

See Brevo pricing

3. Moosend: unlimited sends on a budget

Moosend Pro costs $16/month for 1,000 contacts and $48/month for 5,000 on monthly billing. Every plan includes unlimited email campaigns and sends.

There is no free plan. Moosend offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card. During the trial you get 1 published automation workflow, and forms and landing pages stay unpublished.

Annual billing saves 20%. Biannual billing saves 15%.

Best for: senders who mail often and want a flat price per list size.

See our full Moosend review.

Try Moosend free for 30 days (affiliate link)

4. MailerLite: forms, sites and automations in one place

MailerLite Comfort costs $19/month for 1,000 subscribers and $49/month for 5,000. Monthly emails are 10 times the tier: 10,000 and 50,000.

Power costs $39 and $69. It adds unlimited monthly emails, unlimited automations, unlimited seats and live chat support.

Comfort includes 50 automations, 10 forms, 10 sites and 3 seats. Annual billing saves 10%.

The Free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations and 1 landing page.

Best for: small businesses that want signup forms, landing pages and a simple site without extra tools.

See our MailerLite review.

Try MailerLite

5. GetResponse: unlimited sends with a landing page builder

GetResponse Starter costs $19/month for 1,000 contacts and $54/month for 5,000 on monthly billing. All plans include unlimited monthly email sends.

Starter includes 1 custom automation workflow, a landing page builder and signup forms. Marketer costs $59 and $95 and adds unlimited workflows, abandoned cart recovery and sales funnels. Creator costs $69 and $109 and adds webinars, a website builder and courses.

Annual billing saves 18%. GetResponse lists prices as net amounts, so local tax may be added.

The Free account allows up to 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters a month. Premium features such as scheduling and autoresponders work only for the first 14 days. Emails carry a GetResponse badge.

Best for: senders who want unlimited sends and room to add funnels or webinars later.

See GetResponse pricing

6. Kit: the biggest free list

Kit Creator costs $39/month for 1,000 subscribers and $89/month for 5,000 on monthly billing. That is more than Mailchimp Essentials at 1,000 contacts.

Kit's case is the Free plan. It covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, forms and landing pages. You can sell digital products and subscriptions on Free.

Free does not include visual automations or email sequences. Those start on Creator. Annual billing saves 17%.

Best for: creators who sell products by email and want to grow a big list for free first.

See our Kit review and beehiiv vs Kit.

Try Kit free

7. beehiiv: for media-style newsletters

beehiiv Lite costs $59/month for 1,000 subscribers and $109/month for 5,000 on monthly billing. It is the most expensive paid plan here at both sizes.

What you pay for is publishing and earning. Lite adds paid subscriptions with a 0% take rate, the ad network and automations. beehiiv says website, podcast and community come with every plan.

The Free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends.

Best for: writers who want to run a newsletter as a media business.

See our beehiiv review and beehiiv Free plan explained.

Try beehiiv free (affiliate link)

How to pick

Start with your list size and how often you send.

Under 250 contacts: Mailchimp Free works. Kit Free and Sender Free give you far more room.
About 1,000 contacts, lowest bill: Sender ($15), Moosend ($16) or Brevo ($17).
About 5,000 contacts, lowest bill: Brevo ($32), then Sender ($39).
You send several times a week: pick unlimited sends. Moosend and GetResponse include them. MailerLite Power does too.
You want a free plan for a growing list: Kit Free (10,000 subscribers) or Sender Free (2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails).
You sell products or courses: Kit, or GetResponse Creator if you also want webinars.
You want ads and paid subscriptions: beehiiv.

Check the send cap, not just the price. Sender, MailerLite Comfort and Brevo cap monthly emails. A weekly newsletter to 5,000 people is about 22,000 emails a month. Sender (60,000) and MailerLite Comfort (50,000) cover that. Brevo's 20,000-email tier does not, so you would need its 20,001–30,000 tier: $9 + $30 = $39/month on Starter.

Before you switch

Export your contacts from Mailchimp, including tags and unsubscribes.
Rebuild signup forms and automations in the new tool. They do not move automatically.
Set up your sending domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) before your first campaign.
Start on monthly billing until you are sure. Switch to annual later to save.

New to email? Read how to start a newsletter.

Sources (checked October 21, 2026)

FAQ

What is the cheapest Mailchimp alternative?

At 1,000 contacts on monthly billing, Sender Standard is the lowest at $15/month. At 5,000 contacts, Brevo Starter is the lowest at $32/month, followed by Sender at $39/month. Mailchimp Essentials costs $26.50 and $75 at the same sizes. Prices checked October 21, 2026.

Which Mailchimp alternative has the best free plan?

Kit's Free plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts but no automations. Sender Free allows 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month. beehiiv Free allows 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends. Mailchimp Free stops at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.

How much does Mailchimp cost for 1,000 contacts?

Mailchimp bills 1,000 contacts at its 501–1,500 contact tier. On October 21, 2026 that was $26.50/month for Essentials and $45/month for Standard on monthly billing.

Does Moosend have a free plan?

No. Moosend offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card. After that, Pro costs $16/month for 1,000 contacts and $48/month for 5,000 contacts on monthly billing, with unlimited sends.

Why does Brevo price by emails instead of contacts?

Brevo's paid plans are priced by monthly email volume, and each volume tier sets how many contacts you can store. The 5,000-email tier stores up to 500 contacts, the 10,000-email tier up to 1,500, the 15,000-email tier up to 2,500, and 20,000 emails and up store up to 500,000. So a 1,000-contact list needs the 10,000-email tier.

Key takeaways

On monthly billing, Mailchimp Essentials costs $26.50/month for 1,000 contacts and $75/month for 5,000 (prices checked October 21, 2026).
Sender ($15 and $39), Moosend ($16 and $48), Brevo ($17 and $32), MailerLite ($19 and $49) and GetResponse ($19 and $54) all cost less at both sizes.
Kit and beehiiv cost more on paid plans but have much bigger free plans: 10,000 and 2,500 subscribers.

SourcesSee Sender pricing · See Brevo pricing · See GetResponse pricing · mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing

Last updated2026-10-21

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