10 Best Email Advertising Software in 2026, Compared
The 10 best email advertising software tools compared on price, free plans and automation, with starting prices checked on pricing pages on November 4, 2026.
Shamim Mia, Founder, SerpAstraLast verified November 4, 202616 min readWe compare pricing pages, documentation and public reviews. We never accept payment for rankings.
Key takeaways
- Brevo is the cheapest way in at $9/month, Mailchimp is the best-known all-rounder from $13/month, and Constant Contact is the easiest for small local businesses from $12/month.
- The single most important buying factor is how the price scales with your list: every tool here charges by contacts or sends, so a $9 plan can become $48 a month at 5,000 contacts.
- Free plans are real — Brevo, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, GetResponse, HubSpot and Omnisend all let you start free — but send limits and branding vary.
- Automation is the dividing line: Brevo's $9 Starter has none, while Moosend includes full automation from $9/month.
- Every price below was checked against the vendor's own pricing page, with ratings from G2, on November 4, 2026.
On this page
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Small businesses that want the cheapest real entry point plus SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in one account | $9/mo | Yes (300/day) |
| Mailchimp | Small businesses that want the best-known email tool with the biggest template library and integration ecosystem | $13/mo | Yes (250 contacts) |
| Constant Contact | Small local businesses that want live phone support and simple email plus social tools in one place | $12/mo | No (60-day trial) |
| Klaviyo | Online stores on Shopify or WooCommerce that want purchase-behavior segmentation and deep automation flows | $20/mo | Yes (250 profiles) |
| ActiveCampaign | Marketing-led small teams that need visual automation and a built-in CRM without enterprise pricing | $15/mo (annual) | No (14-day trial) |
| GetResponse | Small businesses that want email plus webinars, landing pages, funnels and courses in one subscription | $15.58/mo (annual) | Yes (500 contacts) |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Teams that want email inside a full CRM, with ads, landing pages and reporting in one login | $20/mo per seat | Yes (free CRM) |
| Moosend | Budget senders who want full automation and unlimited sends at the lowest monthly price | $7/mo (annual) | No (30-day trial) |
| Omnisend | Online stores that want Klaviyo-style automation and SMS without Klaviyo prices | $16/mo | Yes (250 contacts) |
| AWeber | Creators and solo senders who want the simplest tool with the strongest phone and chat support | $12.50/mo (annual) | No (14-day trial) |
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Request a listingThe best email advertising software
Brevo
Best for: Small businesses that want the cheapest real entry point plus SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in one account
Brevo is the cheapest way into this list because it charges for emails sent, not contacts stored: $9 a month buys 5,000 sends, and the free plan stores 100,000 contacts while sending 300 emails a day. That model suits a business with a big list that emails infrequently — a monthly newsletter to 20,000 contacts costs $32 on Starter, where Mailchimp would charge $230 for the same list on Essentials.
The trade-off is automation. Starter has no marketing automation at all; that starts on Standard at $18 a month, and the Brevo logo stays on your emails unless you pay $12 a month extra to remove it. If you send broadcasts and want SMS and WhatsApp in the same account, start here; if you need welcome sequences on day one, pay for Standard or pick Moosend instead.
What we like
- Cheapest entry in this list: Starter is $9/month for 5,000 emails, with 10% off on annual billing ($8.08/month)
- Prices by emails sent, not contacts — the free plan stores 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day
- Email, SMS, WhatsApp, live chat and a sales CRM in one account, with an AI content generator on Starter
Watch out for
- No marketing automation on Starter — it starts on Standard ($18/month), so the cheapest plan is broadcast-only
- The Brevo logo stays on Starter emails unless you pay a $12/month add-on to remove it
- Paid tiers cap stored contacts by send volume (500 contacts at the $9 tier), so the list cannot grow without a higher tier
Mailchimp
Best for: Small businesses that want the best-known email tool with the biggest template library and integration ecosystem
Mailchimp is the default choice for a reason: the biggest template library in this list, 300-plus integrations, and a builder that a beginner learns in an afternoon. Essentials starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts, with email scheduling, subject-line testing and 24/7 email and chat support, and the free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
The bill is the complaint. Mailchimp charges for every contact including unsubscribed ones, so an uncleaned list inflates the price, and Essentials reaches $75 a month at 5,000 contacts and $110 at 10,000. Generative AI and multi-step automations need Standard at $20 a month. Buy Mailchimp for the templates and the ecosystem; buy Brevo or Moosend if the monthly price matters more than the polish.
What we like
- Largest template library and 300+ integrations in this list, with a drag-and-drop builder beginners learn fast
- Essentials starts at $13/month for 500 contacts with email scheduling, A/B testing of subject lines and 24/7 email and chat support
- Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and paid plans include a 14-day free trial
Watch out for
- Charges for every contact including unsubscribed ones, so an uncleaned list inflates the bill
- Price climbs steeply with list size — Essentials is $75/month at 5,000 contacts and $110 at 10,000
- Generative AI features and multi-step automations need Standard ($20/month), not Essentials
Constant Contact
Best for: Small local businesses that want live phone support and simple email plus social tools in one place
Constant Contact is the easiest tool here for a small local business, and the reason is support: live phone and chat help comes with every plan, including the $12 Lite tier, which no other tool at this price offers. Lite covers 500 contacts with email and social posting, sign-up forms, an AI copy generator and 300-plus integrations, and paying 12 months up front cuts it to $10.20 a month.
The limits are tight. Lite allows one user and one automation template, with no segmentation or A/B testing, and the price jumps from $12 to $30 a month the moment the list passes 500 contacts — the steepest first step in this list. There is no free plan, only a 60-day trial. Pick it when a real person on the phone matters more than automation depth.
What we like
- Live phone and chat support on every plan including Lite, which no other $12 tool here offers
- Lite starts at $12/month for 500 contacts, with a 15% prepay discount ($10.20/month) for paying 12 months up front
- Email plus social posting, sign-up forms, an AI copy generator and 300+ integrations on every plan
Watch out for
- No free plan — only a 60-day trial — so every serious user pays from day one
- Lite jumps from $12 to $30/month the moment the list passes 500 contacts, the steepest first step here
- Lite allows only one user and one automation template, with no segmentation or A/B testing
Klaviyo
Best for: Online stores on Shopify or WooCommerce that want purchase-behavior segmentation and deep automation flows
Klaviyo is the ecommerce standard because it segments on what shoppers actually do: purchases, browsing and predicted lifetime value, with revenue attribution built into every campaign. The Shopify integration syncs orders and browsing in close to real time, and the Email plan starts at $20 a month for 251 to 500 active profiles, with a free plan covering 250 profiles and 500 emails a month.
The billing model is the thing to understand before you commit. Klaviyo charges for every active profile — anyone you can email, whether you emailed them or not — so list bloat costs money directly, and the price jumps from $150 to $350 a month at 15,000 profiles. SMS is a separate credit meter. Buy Klaviyo when your store runs on Shopify; buy Omnisend when the same flows need to cost less.
What we like
- Deepest ecommerce segmentation here: flows trigger on purchases, browsing and predicted lifetime value, with revenue attribution built in
- Strongest Shopify integration in the category, syncing orders and browsing in close to real time
- Free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, with an AI subject-line generator included
Watch out for
- Bills on active profiles — every contactable profile counts whether you emailed them or not, so list bloat costs money
- No annual billing discount on self-serve plans, and SMS is a separate credit meter on top of the email price
- Price jumps sharply at 15,000 profiles (from $150 to $350 a month), so growing stores should budget the next tier
ActiveCampaign
Best for: Marketing-led small teams that need visual automation and a built-in CRM without enterprise pricing
ActiveCampaign has the best visual automation builder in this list, and it includes a standard CRM on every plan from Starter — the combination that makes it the pick for marketing-led small teams. Starter costs $15 a month billed annually ($19 month-to-month) at 1,000 contacts, with forms, landing pages, A/B testing and email support, and it scored the highest deliverability in EmailToolTester's 2026 benchmark at 94.2% inbox placement.
Starter is deliberately limited: automations cap at five actions each, only one user is included, and there is no free plan — just a 14-day trial. Since November 2025, new accounts are billed for all contacts, including unsubscribed and bounced ones. Real journeys need Plus at $49 a month billed annually. Choose it when automation is the job; choose Moosend when a $9 plan needs to automate too.
What we like
- Best visual automation builder in this list, with a standard CRM included on every plan from Starter
- Starter is $15/month billed annually ($19 month-to-month) at 1,000 contacts, with forms, landing pages and A/B testing
- Rated the strongest for deliverability in EmailToolTester's 2026 benchmark, at a 94.2% inbox placement rate
Watch out for
- Starter caps automations at 5 actions each and allows only 1 user, so real journeys need Plus ($49/month billed annually)
- No free plan, and new accounts are billed for all contacts including unsubscribed and bounced ones since November 2025
- Price rises fast with list size — Starter is $99/month at 5,000 contacts on monthly billing
GetResponse
Best for: Small businesses that want email plus webinars, landing pages, funnels and courses in one subscription
GetResponse is the all-in-one of this list: unlimited monthly sends on every paid plan, plus webinars, sales funnels, landing pages and an online course creator in the same subscription. Starter costs $19 a month for 1,000 contacts ($15.58 billed annually), with autoresponders, one automation workflow, an AI email generator and 24/7 chat support, and it bills only active subscribers — unsubscribes cost nothing.
The catch is that one automation workflow. Unlimited workflows need Marketer at $59 a month, and the price still climbs with contacts — Starter is $54 a month at 5,000 contacts. The template and integration library is also smaller than Mailchimp's. Buy GetResponse when webinars or courses are part of the plan; buy a dedicated email tool when you only need to send campaigns.
What we like
- Unlimited monthly email sends on every paid plan, with autoresponders, landing pages and an AI email generator on Starter
- Only tool here that bundles webinars, sales funnels and an online course creator into the same subscription
- Starter is $19/month for 1,000 contacts ($15.58 billed annually), and only active subscribers are billed — unsubscribes are free
Watch out for
- Starter allows only 1 automation workflow — unlimited workflows need Marketer ($59/month)
- No send cap is a plus, but the price still climbs with contacts: Starter is $54/month at 5,000 contacts
- Smaller template and integration library than Mailchimp, and the interface feels busier than the dedicated email tools
HubSpot Marketing Hub
Best for: Teams that want email inside a full CRM, with ads, landing pages and reporting in one login
HubSpot Marketing Hub is the only tool here where email sits on a real CRM: the free plan includes a CRM for a million contacts, 2,000 emails a month and live chat, so sales and marketing share one record from day one. Starter costs $20 a month per seat with 1,000 marketing contacts, HubSpot branding removed, email automation, landing pages and ad management — and new customers get a $7-a-seat annual promo.
Two costs need attention. Starter is priced per seat, so a three-person team pays $60 a month before any contact add-ons, and extra marketing contacts cost about $50 per 1,000 a month. Worse, the jump to Professional is a 45x cliff: $890 a month plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee. Buy HubSpot when the CRM is the point; buy a dedicated email tool when it is not.
What we like
- The only tool here where email sits on a free CRM with 1 million contacts, so sales and marketing share one record
- Starter is $20/month per seat with 1,000 marketing contacts, HubSpot branding removed, email automation, landing pages and ad management
- Free plan includes the CRM, 2,000 emails a month and live chat, and new customers get a $7/seat annual promo
Watch out for
- Priced per seat, so a 3-person team pays $60/month before any contact add-ons — the priciest entry here per user
- The jump to Professional is a 45x cliff: $890/month plus a mandatory $3,000 onboarding fee
- Extra marketing contacts cost about $50 per 1,000 a month, so the bill grows on two axes at once
Moosend
Best for: Budget senders who want full automation and unlimited sends at the lowest monthly price
Moosend is the cheapest automation in this list: the $9-a-month Pro plan includes full marketing automation workflows, landing pages, forms, SMTP, an AI Writer and A/B testing, with unlimited email sends. It bills only on unique email addresses, so a contact on two lists costs once, and Pro includes five team seats — more than ActiveCampaign's Starter or Mailchimp's Essentials.
There is no free plan, only a 30-day trial, so you pay before you can judge deliverability on your own list. The integration library is smaller than Mailchimp's or HubSpot's, there is no native SMS on Pro, and support is live chat and email only, with no phone option. For a small business that wants real automation at the lowest monthly price, it is the best value here.
What we like
- Full marketing automation, landing pages, forms, SMTP and an AI Writer on the $9/month Pro plan — no feature upsell to automate
- Unlimited email sends on Pro, billed only on unique email addresses, so a contact on two lists costs once
- Pro is $9/month billed monthly ($7 billed annually) at 500 contacts and includes 5 team seats
Watch out for
- No free plan — only a 30-day trial — so you pay before you can judge deliverability on your own list
- Smaller integration library than Mailchimp or HubSpot, and no native SMS on the Pro plan
- Support is live chat and email only, with no phone option at any tier
Omnisend
Best for: Online stores that want Klaviyo-style automation and SMS without Klaviyo prices
Omnisend is the pragmatic Klaviyo alternative: pre-built welcome, abandoned-cart and post-purchase flows, plus web push and popups, with automation included even on the free plan. Standard costs $16 a month for 500 contacts with 6,000 emails, and it undercuts Klaviyo at every list size — $20 against $30 at 1,000 contacts, and $132 against $150 at 10,000.
SMS is the wrinkle. For customers who signed up from May 4, 2026, Standard has no SMS at all, and Pro is the only plan that can add it, bought separately at volume rates — which narrows the price gap with Klaviyo for SMS-heavy stores. Omnisend also counts non-subscribers, like checkout customers, as billable contacts. Buy it for store email; buy Klaviyo if SMS sits at the center of the plan.
What we like
- Standard is $16/month for 500 contacts with 12 emails per contact a month, and automation is included even on the free plan
- Built for stores: pre-built welcome, abandoned-cart and post-purchase flows, plus web push and popups
- Cheaper than Klaviyo at every list size — $20 at 1,000 contacts against Klaviyo's $30, and $132 at 10,000 against $150
Watch out for
- SMS is a paid add-on on Pro only for customers who signed up from May 4, 2026 — Standard has no SMS at all
- Prices by billable contacts including non-subscribers, so checkout customers count even if they never opted in
- A 30% intro discount ($11.20 for the first 3 months) makes the real $16/month price easy to miss at signup
AWeber
Best for: Creators and solo senders who want the simplest tool with the strongest phone and chat support
AWeber has sent marketing email since 1998, longer than any other tool here, and that longevity shows in the support: G2 reviewers rate its quality of support 8.8 out of 10, and 24/7 help comes with every plan. Lite costs $15 a month billed monthly ($12.50 billed annually) at 500 subscribers and includes three team seats, with a 14-day free trial to try it first.
The limits are the tightest in this list: one list, three landing pages, three automations and one custom segment on Lite, and the automation builder lacks the branching and conditional logic that ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo treat as standard. The interface also looks dated next to newer tools. Pick AWeber when simplicity and a human on support matter most; pick Omnisend when automation depth matters more.
What we like
- Sending email since 1998 — the longest-running tool here — with 24/7 support that G2 reviewers rate 8.8 out of 10
- Lite is $15/month billed monthly ($12.50 billed annually) at 500 subscribers and includes 3 team seats
- Free migration is included, with 24/7 chat, email and phone support on every plan
Watch out for
- Lite allows only 1 list, 3 landing pages, 3 automations and 1 custom segment — the tightest caps in this list
- Automation builder lacks the branching and conditional logic that ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo treat as standard
- Interface looks dated next to newer tools, per multiple G2 reviewers, and analytics are basic
What email advertising software actually does
The best email advertising software does three jobs: it sends campaigns to a list, it automates the follow-up, and it reports what happened. You build a campaign in a drag-and-drop editor, pick who gets it, and the tool delivers it, tracks opens and clicks, and handles unsubscribes and bounces for you. The automation side is where the money is: a welcome sequence for new subscribers, an abandoned-cart series for a store, a win-back email for customers who went quiet.
People search for this category several ways — email marketing software, email advertising platforms and newsletter tools — and they mostly mean the same thing. The products differ in what they charge for and what they bundle: some price by contacts, some by emails sent, and a few bundle SMS, WhatsApp, landing pages or a CRM. One number shows the scale of the category: Brevo says more than 600,000 customers use its platform. The market is big enough that the cheapest plan is rarely the cheapest bill — the pricing model matters more than the headline price.
Free options first
If your list is small, you may not need to pay at all. Brevo's free plan stores 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day — the most generous free tier here by a wide margin. Mailchimp, Klaviyo, GetResponse and Omnisend all have free plans capped at 250 to 500 contacts, and HubSpot's free plan adds a CRM with 2,000 emails a month. The free tiers are honest products, not demos, but they cap out fast: the moment you pass 500 contacts, every one of these tools starts charging.
Four tools have no free plan at all: Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, Moosend and AWeber offer only a free trial — 60 days for Constant Contact, 30 days for Moosend, 14 days for ActiveCampaign and AWeber. For a single small list, start with a free plan and upgrade when the list grows past the limit. For anything client-facing, skip the free tier: the reporting, automation and branding controls start on the paid plans. Our guide to email marketing for local business walks through the same decision for a shop or practice starting from zero.
Dedicated email tools vs all-in-one suites
The 10 tools in this list split into two camps. The dedicated email tools — Brevo, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Moosend, AWeber and Omnisend — do one job and do it well. They send campaigns, they automate follow-ups, and they stay out of the way. They are usually cheaper per contact and faster to learn, and their entry plans start at $9 to $16 a month.
The suites — Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse and HubSpot — bundle email with something else: ecommerce data, a CRM, webinars and courses, or a full marketing platform. You pay more, but you replace two or three subscriptions. Klaviyo's segmentation runs on purchase behavior, ActiveCampaign pairs email with a CRM, GetResponse adds webinars and courses, and HubSpot puts email on top of a free CRM. The right camp depends on what you already pay for: if you own a CRM or a webinar tool, a dedicated email tool costs less; if you need the bundle, a suite costs less than the tools separately. And the price at your real list size is what decides it — at 5,000 contacts, Brevo Starter costs $32 a month, Moosend Pro $48, Mailchimp Essentials $75, Constant Contact Lite $80, ActiveCampaign Starter $99 and Klaviyo $100, all on monthly billing.
Ecommerce email and multichannel sending
Email stopped being a single channel years ago. Brevo, Klaviyo and Omnisend all send SMS from the same account, and Brevo adds WhatsApp and live chat — which is why a store can run its whole retention marketing from one login. The catch is that SMS is usually a separate meter: Klaviyo sells it as a credit bundle on top of the email plan, and Omnisend only offers it on Pro for customers who signed up from May 4, 2026, bought separately at volume rates.
For a store, the choice narrows to Klaviyo or Omnisend. Klaviyo has the deeper segmentation and the best Shopify sync; Omnisend has the same pre-built flows — welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase — for less money at every list size. Either way, the email list is the asset: unlike a social following or an ad account, it is the one audience you own outright, and the tool you pick is mostly a question of which pricing model punishes your list size least. If you want the campaigns to drive search traffic too, our monthly SEO service is built around exactly that kind of owned-audience growth.
Email advertising software pricing: what you will actually pay
Take a small business with 500 contacts sending regular campaigns. On monthly billing, Brevo Starter costs $9 a month, Moosend Pro $9, Constant Contact Lite $12, Mailchimp Essentials $13, AWeber Lite $15, Omnisend Standard $16, ActiveCampaign Starter $19, GetResponse Starter $19, Klaviyo Email $20, and HubSpot Starter $20 per seat. The cheapest and the dearest entry plans are $11 apart a month — $132 over a year — but that gap is not the real cost. The real cost is what each plan leaves out: Brevo's $9 Starter has no automation, HubSpot's $20 is per seat, so a three-person team pays $60 a month, and Klaviyo and Omnisend charge SMS separately.
Annual billing cuts the bill where it exists. Brevo drops from $9 to $8.08 a month, or $96.96 a year instead of $108; Constant Contact Lite drops from $12 to $10.20 a month, or $122.40 a year instead of $144; ActiveCampaign Starter drops from $19 to $15 a month, or $180 a year instead of $228; GetResponse Starter drops from $19 to $15.58 a month, or $186.96 a year instead of $228; Moosend Pro drops from $9 to $7 a month, or $84 a year instead of $108; AWeber Lite drops from $15 to $12.50 a month, or $150 a year instead of $180. Klaviyo, Mailchimp and Omnisend publish no annual discount on these entry plans, so the monthly price is the price. And the entry price is always the smallest tier: at 5,000 contacts, the same plans cost $32 to $100 a month on monthly billing, so price your real list size, not the 500-contact headline.
Know the difference: buying ad media vs paying for email software
The confusion in this category is in the name. "Email advertising software" sounds like advertising — buying ad space — but the ten tools in this list sell subscriptions, not ads. Brevo, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, HubSpot, Moosend, Omnisend and AWeber all charge a monthly or annual fee for the software that sends the email. None of them sells you the audience or the ad placement.
Buying ad media is a different purchase. Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager charge for the impressions and clicks your ads earn — you pay per click or per thousand impressions, and the meter runs only while the campaign is live. An email tool's meter runs every month whether you send or not, because you are paying for the software, the list storage and the sending infrastructure. The two can work together — an ad can drive sign-ups to the list, and the email tool can then send the follow-up — but the bill for the ads and the bill for the software are separate, and neither replaces the other. If a quote charges per click, it is media; if it charges per contact or per month, it is software.
Quick comparison: tool type by need
| Buyer | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small business on a budget | Brevo | $9/month, free plan, SMS and WhatsApp in one place |
| Best-known all-rounder | Mailchimp | $13/month, biggest template library and 300+ integrations |
| Local business that wants phone support | Constant Contact | $12/month, live phone support on every plan |
| Online store | Klaviyo or Omnisend | Deep Shopify data; Omnisend costs less at every list size |
| Automation-first team | ActiveCampaign or Moosend | Visual automation builder; Moosend includes it from $9/month |
| All-in-one with webinars | GetResponse | Webinars, funnels and courses from $19/month |
| Team that wants CRM plus email | HubSpot | Free CRM bundled, but priced per seat |
How to choose the best email advertising software
- Count your contacts first. Under 500, the free plans cover you. Over 5,000, the per-contact price decides — Brevo and Moosend win on cost, Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign lose.
- Pick your billing model. Per-contact pricing punishes a big, quiet list; per-send pricing punishes a small list emailed often. Brevo charges by sends, everyone else mostly by contacts.
- Check automation on the entry plan. Brevo's $9 Starter has none. If welcome sequences matter on day one, Moosend, Omnisend and Klaviyo include them from the entry plan.
- Decide suite or tool. If you already pay for a CRM or webinar software, buy a dedicated email tool. If you need the bundle, a suite is cheaper than the tools separately.
- Try before you pay. Every tool in this list has a free plan or a free trial. Send one real campaign and compare the open rate and the bill against your current tool before committing.
Before you send, build your tracking links with the free UTM builder — it shows exactly which campaign drove each sale in your analytics.
Mistakes to avoid
- Comparing entry prices without checking list size. The $9 headline is always the smallest tier. At 5,000 contacts the same plans cost $32 to $100 a month.
- Ignoring what counts as a contact. Klaviyo bills every contactable profile, Mailchimp bills unsubscribed contacts, and Omnisend counts checkout customers who never opted in. Clean the list before you count it.
- Paying for automation you do not get. Brevo's Starter has no automation at all — the feature starts on Standard. Read the plan table, not the headline.
- Trusting an intro price. Omnisend's $11.20 is a 30% discount for the first three months; the standing price is $16. HubSpot's $7-a-seat promo is for new customers only.
- Forgetting the trial ends. Set a reminder for the day the trial converts, and check the numbers against our marketing automation guide so you know what the tool should be doing.
How we chose
We checked each vendor's own pricing page and recorded the starting price exactly as shown, including the annual-billing figure where the page lists one. Mailchimp, Brevo, Klaviyo and Moosend render their prices inside a JavaScript calculator, so the dollar figures on those pages are confirmed against independent reads of the same vendor pages from October 2026, which all agree. Ratings come from G2 product pages, checked November 4, 2026. AWeber's own pricing page lists no free plan — only a 14-day trial — so it is shown here as trial-only, even though some 2026 roundups still describe a free tier. We ranked the tools by fit for the most common buyer — a small business sending regular promotional 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 path above: count your contacts, pick per-contact or per-send billing, and check automation on the entry plan. Then take the free plan or trial of your top pick and send one real campaign to your real list. If the open rate beats your current tool and the bill makes sense at your list size, you have your tool. 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 (20)
- Brevo pricing — brevo.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Brevo on G2 — 4.5/5, 2,776 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Mailchimp pricing — mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Mailchimp on G2 — 4.3/5, 12,998 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Constant Contact pricing — constantcontact.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Constant Contact on G2 — 4.1/5, 7,427 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Klaviyo pricing — klaviyo.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Klaviyo on G2 — 4.6/5, 1,360 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- ActiveCampaign pricing — activecampaign.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- ActiveCampaign on G2 — 4.4/5, 14,780 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- GetResponse pricing — getresponse.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- GetResponse on G2 — 4.3/5, 1,140 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, 16,038 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Moosend pricing — moosend.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Moosend on G2 — 4.7/5, 746 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- Omnisend pricing — omnisend.com/pricing (checked November 4, 2026)
- Omnisend on G2 — 4.6/5, 1,256 reviews (checked November 4, 2026)
- AWeber pricing — aweber.com/pricing.htm (checked November 4, 2026)
- AWeber on G2 — 4.2/5, 649 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 email advertising software in 2026?
Brevo is the best value for most small businesses: $9 a month, a free plan that stores 100,000 contacts, and SMS and WhatsApp in the same account. Mailchimp is the best-known all-rounder from $13 a month. Stores should compare Klaviyo ($20) with Omnisend ($16), and automation-first teams should look at ActiveCampaign or Moosend.
How much does email advertising software cost?
Entry prices run $9 to $20 a month at the smallest list size: Brevo and Moosend from $9, Constant Contact from $12, Mailchimp from $13, AWeber from $15, Omnisend from $16, and Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign and GetResponse from $19 to $20. Every tool prices by contacts or sends, so the same plan costs far more at 5,000 contacts — check the worked example in this guide before you buy.
Is there free email advertising software?
Yes, with limits. Brevo's free plan stores 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day; Mailchimp, Klaviyo, GetResponse and Omnisend all have free plans capped at 250 to 500 contacts. HubSpot's free plan adds a CRM with 2,000 emails a month. Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign, Moosend and AWeber have no free plan — only a free trial.
What is the difference between email marketing and email advertising?
Email marketing is the whole practice — newsletters, welcome sequences and retention campaigns sent to people who opted in. Email advertising usually means the paid side: sponsored placements, ads inside newsletters, or campaigns built to drive a specific offer. The tools in this list do the marketing side; the advertising results come from how you target and write the campaigns, not from a separate ad product.
Which email tool is best for an online store?
Klaviyo, for its purchase-behavior segmentation and the deepest Shopify integration. Omnisend is the cheaper alternative with the same pre-built store flows — welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase — from $16 a month instead of $20, and it beats Klaviyo on price at every list size. Both include automation on their free plans.
Can I switch email tools without losing my list?
Yes. Every tool in this list imports contacts by CSV, and most offer a free migration or an import wizard that maps your fields and keeps unsubscribes intact. Export your list, your suppression list and your templates before you cancel, and run the new tool alongside the old one for one campaign cycle so you can compare deliverability before you cut over.
What should I check before paying for email software?
Four things: how the price scales with your list (the entry price is always the smallest tier), what counts as a billable contact, whether automation is included or paywalled, and what the send limit is. Brevo's Starter has no automation, Klaviyo bills every contactable profile, and Mailchimp charges for unsubscribed contacts — all three surprise first-time buyers.
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