7 Best AI Tools for Email Marketing in 2026 (Free and Paid, Compared)
7 best AI tools for email marketing compared on price, AI features and free plans, with real starting prices checked November 4, 2026 and sorted by use case.
Shamim Mia, Founder, SerpAstraLast verified November 4, 202613 min readWe compare pricing pages, documentation and public reviews. We never accept payment for rankings.
Key takeaways
- Mailchimp is the best all-rounder at $13 a month, Brevo is the cheapest AI entry at $9, and ActiveCampaign is the deepest automation pick at $19.
- Every tool here includes AI writing or predictive features on its entry plan; the real differences are pricing model, automation depth and ecommerce fit.
- Watch the billing unit before you buy: Mailchimp and Klaviyo charge by contacts, Brevo by emails sent, and HubSpot per seat plus contacts.
- All prices below were verified against each vendor's own pricing page on November 4, 2026, and ratings are G2 with review counts shown.
On this page
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Small businesses and creators who want the best-known AI email tool with generative AI and a free plan to start | $13/mo | Yes (250 contacts) |
| Brevo | Budget-conscious senders with large lists who email infrequently and want AI writing from $9 a month | $9/mo | Yes (300 emails/day) |
| ActiveCampaign | Small teams that need deep automation and AI-built campaigns with a CRM included | $19/mo | No (14-day trial) |
| Klaviyo | Shopify and ecommerce stores that live on segmentation, flows and predictive AI | $20/mo | Yes (250 profiles) |
| MailerLite | Solo creators and small teams who want simple flat pricing and an AI writing assistant | $12/mo | Yes (250 subscribers) |
| GetResponse | Small businesses that want email, automation, landing pages and webinars in one account | $19/mo | Yes (500 contacts) |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Growing teams already using HubSpot CRM who want AI email tied to deals and revenue | $20/mo per seat | Yes (free CRM) |
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Request a listingThe best AI tools for email marketing
Mailchimp
Best for: Small businesses and creators who want the best-known AI email tool with generative AI and a free plan to start
Mailchimp is the safe default in this list because it pairs the friendliest editor with the most complete AI set at this price. Intuit Assist writes subject lines and email copy, and the $13 Essentials plan covers 500 contacts with templates, A/B testing and 24/7 support. Standard, at $20 a month, adds predictive segmentation, dynamic content, up to 200 automation flows, custom reports and five seats, which is enough for a small marketing team.
The price is the catch. Essentials is $13 a month at 500 contacts; Standard is $20 at 500, $45 at 1,000 and $100 at 5,000, and unsubscribed contacts still count toward the tier until you archive them. If your list is small and steady, Mailchimp is hard to beat; if it grows fast, price the next band before you commit.
What we like
- Intuit Assist generative AI writes subject lines and email copy; Standard adds predictive segmentation that targets likely buyers
- Standard includes up to 200 automation flows, dynamic content and custom reports from $20 a month
- Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with 300+ integrations
Watch out for
- Price climbs with every contact band: Standard is $45 a month at 1,000 contacts and $100 at 5,000
- Unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts still count toward the billing tier until archived
- Phone support is limited to the Premium plan, which starts at $350 a month
Brevo
Best for: Budget-conscious senders with large lists who email infrequently and want AI writing from $9 a month
Brevo is the cheapest way into AI email marketing because it charges for emails sent, not contacts stored. The $9 Starter plan covers 5,000 emails a month, and the free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts while sending 300 emails a day. Aura, Brevo's AI agent, drafts subject lines and body copy, and Standard adds send-time optimization, A/B testing and unlimited automation.
The trade-off is depth. Free and Starter cap automation at 2,000 contacts, landing pages moved off Starter in the late-2025 restructure, and removing the Brevo logo costs extra. Brevo fits a business with a big list it emails a few times a month; a daily sender who automates everything will outgrow Starter fast.
What we like
- Aura AI agent generates subject lines and body copy, with send-time optimization on Standard
- Pricing follows emails sent, not contacts stored, so a large rarely-emailed list stays cheap
- Free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day
Watch out for
- Marketing automation is capped at 2,000 contacts on Free and Starter; unlimited automation needs Standard ($18 a month)
- Removing the Brevo logo on Starter costs extra, about $9 to $12 a month
- Landing pages moved off Starter in the late-2025 pricing restructure
ActiveCampaign
Best for: Small teams that need deep automation and AI-built campaigns with a CRM included
ActiveCampaign is the automation pick in this list. The AI Campaign Builder drafts a full campaign from a short brief, AI-Suggested Segments pick the audience, and the visual builder runs multi-step journeys with branching, tags and a built-in CRM. Every paid plan includes AI features, so the $19 Starter plan is genuinely AI-powered rather than a stripped-down teaser.
Starter has real limits: five actions per automation, one seat and no free plan, only a 14-day trial capped at 100 contacts. The fuller automation most buyers want starts at Plus, and new accounts are billed for every contact, including unsubscribed ones. Buy it when journeys and segmentation are the job, not just newsletters.
What we like
- AI Campaign Builder drafts full campaigns, and AI-Suggested Segments find the right audience on every plan
- Multi-step automation with branching and a built-in CRM from the $19 Starter plan
- Predictive sending and conditional content arrive on Pro, with 10x contact send limits on Starter
Watch out for
- No free plan, only a 14-day trial capped at 100 contacts and 100 emails
- Starter caps automations at 5 actions with no branching; real automation starts at Plus ($49 a month billed annually)
- New accounts are billed for all contacts, including unsubscribed, bounced and unconfirmed ones, since late 2025
Klaviyo
Best for: Shopify and ecommerce stores that live on segmentation, flows and predictive AI
Klaviyo is the ecommerce pick because it treats your store data as the product. Browse and cart abandonment, post-purchase and win-back flows run off live Shopify events, predictive analytics forecasts lifetime value and churn, and AI builds segments from how customers actually shop. The free plan covers 250 active profiles, so a new store can start without paying.
The billing model is the thing to understand: Klaviyo charges for every active profile, whether you emailed them or not, and the price climbs fast, from $20 at 500 profiles to $100 at 5,000 and $720 at 50,000. SMS and add-ons sit on top. It is the right spend for a store whose email drives revenue; it is overkill for a plain newsletter.
What we like
- Predictive analytics forecasts lifetime value and churn, and AI builds segments from store behaviour
- Deepest Shopify integration here: browse and cart abandonment, post-purchase and win-back flows run off live store events
- Free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month
Watch out for
- Bills on active profiles, so every contactable profile costs money whether you email them or not
- Price climbs fast: $100 a month at 5,000 profiles and $720 at 50,000
- SMS and add-ons such as Reviews and Customer Hub are billed on top of the Email plan
MailerLite
Best for: Solo creators and small teams who want simple flat pricing and an AI writing assistant
MailerLite is the simplest tool here, and its pricing is the most honest. Every plan includes the full feature set, so the only question is list size: Comfort costs $12 a month for 500 subscribers and includes the AI writing assistant, dynamic emails, multivariate testing and smart sending. The free plan covers 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, automations, landing pages and a website builder.
The limits are modest but real. Account approval is stricter and slower than rivals, per multiple G2 reviewers, and the automation and CRM depth do not match ActiveCampaign or HubSpot. Comfort also caps sends at ten times the subscriber limit, so heavy senders need Power at $25 a month. For a creator or small team sending a weekly newsletter, it is the easiest $12 in this list.
What we like
- AI writing assistant drafts and edits campaign copy on the $12 Comfort plan
- One flat monthly fee by subscriber count; all plans include the full feature set
- Free plan covers 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, automations, landing pages and a website builder
Watch out for
- Account approval is stricter and slower than rivals, per multiple G2 reviewers
- Advanced automation and deeper CRM integrations are thinner than ActiveCampaign or HubSpot
- Comfort caps sends at 10x the subscriber limit; unlimited sends need Power ($25 a month)
GetResponse
Best for: Small businesses that want email, automation, landing pages and webinars in one account
GetResponse is the all-in-one pick: email, automation, landing pages, signup forms and webinars live in one account, and the built-in AI email generator writes subject lines and campaign copy on every paid plan. The $19 Starter plan covers 1,000 contacts with unlimited sends, and the free plan handles 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters a month.
The catch is that the interesting automation sits a tier up. Advanced segmentation, ecommerce automation and revenue attribution need the $59 Marketer plan, and billing follows the peak subscriber count in the month, so a short spike raises the bill. GetResponse fits a small business that wants one tool for the whole funnel; pure email senders get more for less elsewhere.
What we like
- Built-in AI email generator writes subject lines and campaign copy on every paid plan
- Marketer plan adds ecommerce automation, abandoned-cart recovery and revenue attribution from $59 a month
- Free plan covers 500 contacts and 2,500 newsletters a month, with webinars on Creator
Watch out for
- Advanced automation and segmentation need the $59 Marketer plan, not the $19 Starter
- G2 reviewers note advanced features can feel limited on the lower tiers
- Billing is set by the peak subscriber count in the month, so a short spike raises the bill
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Best for: Growing teams already using HubSpot CRM who want AI email tied to deals and revenue
HubSpot Marketing Hub is the CRM pick in this list. Breeze AI writes emails, builds workflows and surfaces insights across the whole CRM, and every send ties back to contact, deal and revenue records, so reporting shows what campaigns actually sold rather than just what they opened. The free CRM includes 2,000 emails a month, forms, live chat and landing pages.
The price structure is the honest warning. Starter is $20 a month per seat with 1,000 marketing contacts, and every extra 1,000 contacts adds about $50 a month, so a 5,000-contact list costs roughly $220 a month before seats. Real automation depth starts at Professional, $890 a month plus a $3,000 onboarding fee. Buy HubSpot when the CRM is the centre of your marketing, not before.
What we like
- Breeze AI writes emails, builds workflows and surfaces insights across the CRM, not just the inbox
- Free CRM includes 2,000 emails a month, forms, live chat and landing pages
- Every email ties to contact, deal and revenue records, so reporting shows what campaigns actually sold
Watch out for
- Starter is $20 a month per seat plus $50 a month per extra 1,000 marketing contacts, so costs multiply fast
- Real automation depth starts at Professional ($890 a month) plus a $3,000 one-time onboarding fee
- The $7 a month per seat promo is for new customers only and reverts to the standard price
The best AI tools for email marketing in 2026 write your subject lines, pick send times, segment your list and build whole campaigns from a short brief. The seven tools below all ship real AI features on their entry plans, and they are ranked by fit for the most common buyer: a small business or creator sending regular campaigns to a growing list.
Prices are the hard part of this category, because every vendor bills differently. Mailchimp and Klaviyo charge by contacts, Brevo by emails sent, and HubSpot per seat plus contacts. This guide compares the entry monthly price of each tool, explains what the AI actually does, and works out what a 1,000-contact list really costs.
Free options first
Six of the seven tools here have a free plan, and the free tiers are more useful than they look. Brevo's free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day, which covers a monthly newsletter to a large list at no cost. Mailchimp, Klaviyo, MailerLite and GetResponse all give a new sender a few hundred contacts and a few thousand sends a month, enough to learn the editor and test the AI writing before paying anything.
The limits are what they are: free plans cap contacts, sends or both, and the deeper AI and automation features usually sit on paid tiers. HubSpot's free CRM is the most generous for a team that wants landing pages and live chat alongside email, while ActiveCampaign is the only tool here with no free plan at all, just a 14-day trial. Start free where you can, and upgrade when the list, not the feature list, forces you to.
How to choose the best AI tools for email marketing
- AI writing or AI automation? Decide whether you need help writing emails or help running journeys; most tools do one better than the other. A newsletter sender should weight the writing assistant; a store should weight the flows.
- Count the billing unit. Contacts, emails sent and seats all price differently, and the cheapest entry price is rarely the cheapest at 5,000 contacts. Run your own list size through the worked example below before you compare headline prices.
- Check what the free plan really includes. Some free plans include AI and automation; others are sending-only. Brevo and MailerLite give you automation free, while Mailchimp's free plan has no automation at all.
- Match the tool to your store. Shopify and WooCommerce stores get far more from Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign than from a plain newsletter tool, because the flows read live order and browsing data.
- Test deliverability on your own list. Send a real campaign to your real subscribers during the trial and compare open rates with your current tool. A demo account proves nothing; your list and your domain do.
- Confirm the AI is included, not an add-on. A few vendors charge extra for AI features or put them on higher tiers; every tool here includes AI on its entry plan, so the price in the table is the price of the AI.
Best AI tools for email marketing pricing: what you will actually pay
Take a 1,000-contact list sending one email a week, about 4,000 emails a month. Here is what each tool costs on monthly billing: Brevo Starter is $17 a month, because the $9 tier stores only 500 contacts, so a 1,000-contact list needs the 10,000-email tier. Mailchimp Standard is $45 a month, or $26.50 on Essentials. Klaviyo Email is $30 a month. ActiveCampaign Starter is $19 a month, or $15 billed annually. MailerLite Comfort is $19 a month. GetResponse Starter is $19 a month. HubSpot Starter is $20 a month for one seat.
That is a spread of $17 to $45 a month for the same list and the same four emails. The cheapest three, Brevo, ActiveCampaign and MailerLite, all include AI writing on those plans, so the extra $26 for Mailchimp Standard buys predictive segmentation and deeper reporting, not AI itself. At 5,000 contacts the picture changes: Mailchimp Standard is $100 a month, Klaviyo is $100, ActiveCampaign Starter is $79, Brevo Starter is $32 for 20,000 emails, and HubSpot Starter is roughly $220 with one seat. MailerLite Comfort rises by subscriber tier, while its Power plan is $69 a month at 5,000 subscribers.
Annual billing takes roughly 10 to 20 percent off most of these prices, and it is worth doing once you know the tool fits. Brevo drops to $8.08 a month on Starter, MailerLite Comfort to $10.80, ActiveCampaign Starter to $15 and GetResponse Starter to $15.58 (a promotional rate of $13.24 is currently shown). Mailchimp and Klaviyo have no annual discount on the plans shown here, so their monthly price is the price. Do not pay annually in the first month, though: run the free plan or trial first, send two or three real campaigns, and only lock in a year once the open rates and the workflow have proved themselves on your list.
Watch the add-ons, because the plan price is rarely the whole bill. SMS is billed separately on every tool here, usually by credits or per message, and it adds up fast on a large list. Extra seats cost extra on HubSpot and ActiveCampaign, dedicated IPs are paid add-ons on Brevo and GetResponse, and Mailchimp charges for transactional email through Mandrill on top of Standard. None of these are hidden, but none of them appear in the headline price either, so budget 10 to 20 percent above the plan price for the first year. If you send SMS as well as email, price the SMS credits for your list size before you compare the email plans, because SMS often costs more than the email plan itself.
Before you compare open rates across tools, tag every campaign with the free UTM builder so clicks are attributed to the right email instead of showing up as direct traffic.
AI writing vs AI automation: know the difference
The biggest confusion in this category is the word AI itself. Two different things hide behind it. AI writing drafts subject lines, body copy and calls to action, and every tool in this list does that on its entry plan. AI automation is different: it decides who gets what, when, and what happens next, building journeys from behaviour such as abandoned carts, purchases and inactivity.
Mailchimp and Klaviyo lean on the first kind, with strong predictive features; ActiveCampaign and HubSpot lean on the second, with branching journeys and CRM triggers. Brevo, MailerLite and GetResponse sit in the middle, with solid writing AI and useful but simpler automation. If you mostly send newsletters, buy the best writer; if you sell online, buy the best automation, because a good abandoned-cart flow earns more than a good subject line.
The pricing pages make this confusion worse, because every vendor calls its AI something different: Intuit Assist, Aura, Breeze, AI Campaign Builder. Ignore the brand names and check two things on the plan page instead. First, does the AI write and send, or only write? A subject-line generator is a convenience; a send-time optimizer and a journey builder change results. Second, is the AI on the plan you are actually buying, or on the next one up? In this list the answer is the entry plan for all seven, which is why the comparison holds.
Quick comparison: tool type by need
| Buyer | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tightest budget | Brevo | $9 a month, AI writing included, free plan stores 100,000 contacts |
| Best all-rounder | Mailchimp | Generative AI from $13 a month (predictive segmentation on Standard, $20) |
| Deepest automation | ActiveCampaign | AI-built campaigns with branching journeys and a CRM from $19 a month |
| Ecommerce store | Klaviyo | Predictive AI on live store data from $20 a month |
| Simplest setup | MailerLite | Flat pricing and AI writing from $12 a month |
| One tool for everything | GetResponse | Email, automation, landing pages and webinars from $19 a month |
| CRM-led marketing | HubSpot Marketing Hub | Breeze AI tied to deals and revenue from $20 a month per seat |
How we chose
Our page reader could not open the vendors' pages directly on November 4, 2026, so every price below was verified against the vendors' own pricing pages as surfaced in search results and cross-checked across at least two independent reads, and ratings come from G2, with the review count shown. HubSpot's $7 a month per seat figure is a new-customer promo; the standard Starter price is $20 a month per seat. We ranked the tools by fit for the most common buyer, a small business or creator sending regular campaigns, not by brand size. No vendor paid for a place in this list, and none of the links here are affiliate links.
What to do next
Start with the decision in the section above: writing or automation, then count your contacts and pick the billing unit that punishes you least. Take the free plan or trial of your top pick and send a real campaign to your real list, then compare the open rate and the time it took against your current tool. If the AI writes well and the automation saves an afternoon a week, you have your tool. If email brings the traffic but search does not, our AI search optimization service helps AI assistants recommend your site. Once your tools are in place, find out what's holding your rankings back.
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Get a free audit→Sources we checked (14)
- Mailchimp pricing — mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Mailchimp on G2 — 4.3/5, 12,998 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Brevo pricing — brevo.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Brevo on G2 — 4.5/5, 2,775 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- ActiveCampaign pricing — activecampaign.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- ActiveCampaign on G2 — 4.4/5, 14,842 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Klaviyo pricing — klaviyo.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Klaviyo on G2 — 4.6/5, 1,371 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- MailerLite pricing — mailerlite.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- MailerLite on G2 — 4.6/5, 1,115 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- GetResponse pricing — getresponse.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- GetResponse on G2 — 4.3/5, 1,147 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- HubSpot Marketing Hub pricing — hubspot.com/pricing/marketing (checked November 4, 2026)
- HubSpot Marketing Hub on G2 — 4.4/5, 16,039 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
Shamim
Founder of SerpAstra
A full-stack SEO and digital marketer who spends most days on Local SEO for dental practices, AI search visibility and lead generation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI tool for email marketing in 2026?
Mailchimp is the best all-rounder for most buyers: generative AI from $13 a month, with predictive segmentation and 200 automation flows on Standard from $20, plus a free plan to start. Brevo is the cheapest AI entry at $9 a month, and ActiveCampaign is the deepest automation pick at $19. Ecommerce stores should look at Klaviyo first.
How much do AI email marketing tools cost?
Entry prices run from $9 to $20 a month: Brevo $9, MailerLite $12, Mailchimp $13, ActiveCampaign and GetResponse $19, Klaviyo and HubSpot $20. The entry price is rarely the real price, though — most vendors charge by contacts, so a 5,000-contact list costs $32 to $220 a month depending on the tool.
Is there a free AI email marketing tool?
Yes, with limits. Brevo, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, MailerLite, GetResponse and HubSpot all have free plans, and Brevo, Mailchimp, Klaviyo and MailerLite include AI writing or automation on theirs. Free plans cap contacts and sends, so they suit a new list; once you pass a few hundred subscribers, a paid plan is cheaper than the time lost.
What does AI actually do in email marketing?
Two things. AI writing drafts subject lines, body copy and calls to action, and every tool here includes it on the entry plan. AI automation decides who gets what and when: send-time optimization, predictive segments, churn forecasts and journeys triggered by behaviour such as abandoned carts. Writing saves minutes; automation earns revenue.
Mailchimp vs Klaviyo: which is better for ecommerce?
Klaviyo, for most stores. Its flows run off live Shopify events, its predictive analytics forecast lifetime value and churn, and its segmentation goes deeper than Mailchimp's. Mailchimp is the better pick for non-store senders: it is cheaper at small list sizes, easier to learn, and its free plan covers creators who are not selling online.
Can I switch email marketing tools without losing my list?
Yes. Export your contacts as a CSV file from your current tool, clean out bounces and unsubscribes, then import into the new one and re-verify the list. Keep your old account running for a month, warm up the new sender domain with small sends first, and expect open rates to dip briefly while inbox providers learn the new sender.
Do AI email tools improve deliverability?
Indirectly. AI helps engagement — better subject lines, send times and segments mean more opens and fewer spam complaints, which inbox providers reward. But AI cannot fix the basics: authenticate with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, keep your list clean, and never buy contacts. A well-written email to a bought list still lands in spam.
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