Best Free Bulk Email Software for 2026: 7 Options Compared by Use Case
Compare the best free bulk email software on free-plan limits, send caps and first paid prices, with every single price checked November 6, 2026.
Shamim Mia, Founder, SerpAstraLast verified November 6, 202613 min readWe compare pricing pages, documentation and public reviews. We never accept payment for rankings.
Key takeaways
- Sender is the best free start in this list at $0 for 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month; Zoho Campaigns follows with 2,000 contacts free and a $4/month paid step, and Brevo stores 100,000 contacts free.
- Free does not mean unlimited: every free plan caps either contacts, sends or both, and the cap you hit first decides when you start paying.
- The single most important buying factor is the daily send cap: Brevo allows 300 emails a day and Mailjet 200, so a large list takes days to reach on a free plan.
- Mailchimp's free plan is now the smallest here at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, so the best-known name is no longer the best free deal.
On this page
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sender | Small businesses and creators who want the biggest free plan in this list, with automation included at $0 | Free; Standard $9/mo | Yes (free) |
| Brevo | Businesses with large lists that send a few times a month and want to pay for emails sent, not contacts stored | Free; Starter $9/mo | Yes (free) |
| Zoho Campaigns | Zoho users and small teams that want the most contacts free and the cheapest paid plan in this list | Free; Standard $4/mo | Yes (free) |
| MailerLite | Newsletter writers and small teams that want a clean builder, automations and landing pages on a small free plan | Free; Comfort $12/mo | Yes (free) |
| GetResponse | Solo operators who want email plus webinars, landing pages and a website builder in one subscription | Free; Starter $19/mo | Yes (free) |
| Mailchimp | Beginners who want the best-known email tool, the widest integration list and the most tutorials | Free; Essentials $13/mo | Yes (free) |
| Mailjet | Developers and teams that send marketing and transactional email from one API-first platform | Free; Starter $9/mo | Yes (free) |
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Request a listingThe best bulk email software
Sender
Best for: Small businesses and creators who want the biggest free plan in this list, with automation included at $0
Sender wins this list because its free plan is not a demo: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month at $0, with automation and segmentation included rather than locked behind a paywall. A small business can mail a 2,500-person list six times a month without paying anything, which no other tool here allows. Standard costs $9 a month for 500 subscribers and adds SMS, A/B testing and no Sender branding.
The catch is scale and polish. Paid prices rise with the subscriber slider, and the $6.30 annual rate is a first-year promotion, so check the renewal price before you commit. The template library is smaller than Mailchimp's and the integration list is shorter. Pick Sender when free sending volume matters most; pick Brevo when your list is large but you mail rarely.
What we like
- The largest free plan here: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month at $0
- Automation and segmentation are included on the free plan, not held for paid tiers
- Standard starts at $9/month for 500 subscribers, the cheapest paid step alongside Brevo and Mailjet
- 24/7 live chat support is included even on the free plan
Watch out for
- Free emails carry Sender branding, and removing it needs Standard at $9/month
- Smaller company with fewer integrations than Mailchimp or Brevo
- Paid prices rise with list size, and the $6.30 annual rate is a first-year promotion, not the renewal price
Brevo
Best for: Businesses with large lists that send a few times a month and want to pay for emails sent, not contacts stored
Brevo is the pick for large lists because it charges for emails sent, not contacts stored. The free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day, which suits a business with a big list and a slow cadence. Starter costs $9 a month for 5,000 emails, and the same account also handles SMS, WhatsApp, transactional email and a CRM.
The daily cap is the limit to plan around. One send to a 2,500-person list takes nine days at 300 a day, so weekly bulk mail to a large list needs a paid plan. Logo removal is a $12 monthly add-on on Starter rather than included. Pick Brevo when your list is large and your sending is light; pick Sender when you mail the same list several times a month.
What we like
- Free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts, far more than any other free plan here
- Pricing is by emails sent, so a large list mailed rarely stays cheap
- Starter starts at $9/month for 5,000 emails, with SMS and WhatsApp in the same account
- Transactional email, CRM and chat sit in the same platform as marketing email
Watch out for
- Free plan caps sending at 300 emails a day, so one send to a large list takes several days
- Removing the Brevo logo costs an extra $12/month on Starter
- Starter covers only 500 contacts at the 5,000-email tier, so bigger lists cost more
Zoho Campaigns
Best for: Zoho users and small teams that want the most contacts free and the cheapest paid plan in this list
Zoho Campaigns is the value pick in this list. Standard costs $4 a month for 500 contacts with unlimited emails, and the free plan covers 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month with five users included. For a team already on Zoho CRM, the native sync means sales and marketing share one contact record with no integration work.
The free plan is plain: no automation, no segmentation, no scheduling and no A/B testing, so it covers simple newsletters only. Generative AI help is included free, which softens that, but a 1,000-contact list passes the 6,000-email monthly cap in six sends. Pick Zoho Campaigns when price and the Zoho ecosystem matter most; pick MailerLite when automations matter more.
What we like
- Free plan covers 2,000 contacts, the most contacts free after Brevo, with 5 users included
- Cheapest paid step here: Standard is $4/month for 500 contacts with unlimited emails
- Generative AI help is included on the free plan, which no other free plan here offers
- Native sync with Zoho CRM shares one contact record between sales and marketing
Watch out for
- Free plan has no automation, segmentation, scheduling or A/B testing, so it covers simple newsletters only
- Free sending stops at 6,000 emails a month, which a 1,000-contact list passes in six sends
- Support is slower than the rivals here, and the interface can feel dated
MailerLite
Best for: Newsletter writers and small teams that want a clean builder, automations and landing pages on a small free plan
MailerLite is the newsletter writer's pick: a clean drag-and-drop editor, automations, signup forms and a landing page, all included on the free plan. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, which is ten sends a month to a full free list. Comfort costs $12 a month for 500 subscribers, and Power at $25 adds unlimited sending.
The free plan has shrunk twice in 2026, from 1,000 subscribers to 500 and then to 250, so check the current limit before you build on it. Paid newsletters, custom domains and logo removal all need Comfort. Pick MailerLite when the writing and automation experience matters most; pick Sender when you need more subscribers free.
What we like
- Free plan includes automations, signup forms, a landing page and a simple website at $0
- Comfort starts at $12/month for 500 subscribers, with unlimited sending on Power at $25
- Highest-rated tool here on G2 at 4.6 out of 5, with reviewers praising the clean editor
- Paid newsletters run through Stripe with 0% commission on Comfort and above
Watch out for
- Free plan shrank twice in 2026 and now covers only 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month
- Paid newsletters, custom domains and removing the logo all need Comfort at $12/month
- Account approval can be slow, and strict list-hygiene rules can suspend older lists
GetResponse
Best for: Solo operators who want email plus webinars, landing pages and a website builder in one subscription
GetResponse is the all-in-one pick: email plus webinars, landing pages, funnels and a website builder in one subscription. The free plan covers 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month, and Starter costs $19 a month with unlimited sends, autoresponders and AI content generation. Creator adds native webinars for up to 100 attendees, which no other tool here offers.
The free plan narrows after the 14-day trial: automation switches off, so it covers newsletters only, and every message carries a GetResponse badge. Starter allows only one custom automation workflow, so real sequences need Marketer at $59 a month. Pick GetResponse when webinars and funnels matter; pick MailerLite when automations matter more.
What we like
- Free plan covers 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month, with a landing page and website builder
- Starter includes unlimited sends, autoresponders and AI content generation from $19/month
- Creator bundles native webinars for up to 100 attendees, which no other tool here offers
- Starter includes 3 seats, so a small team shares one subscription
Watch out for
- Free plan drops automation after the 14-day trial, so it covers newsletters only
- Starter includes only one custom automation workflow; unlimited workflows need Marketer at $59/month
- Every message on the free plan carries a GetResponse badge
Mailchimp
Best for: Beginners who want the best-known email tool, the widest integration list and the most tutorials
Mailchimp is the best-known email tool, with the widest integration list and the most tutorials, which is why beginners still start here. The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and Essentials costs $13 a month for 500 contacts with A/B testing and four-step automations. Ecommerce integrations for Shopify and WooCommerce are strong.
The free plan is now the smallest in this list: it was cut from 500 contacts to 250 in February 2026, it has no automation flows, and email support ends after 30 days. Prices also climb with every contact band, so a growing list gets expensive fast. Pick Mailchimp when tutorials and integrations matter most; pick Sender or Zoho Campaigns when free sending volume matters more.
What we like
- The best-known email tool, with the widest integration list and the most tutorials
- Essentials starts at $13/month for 500 contacts and adds A/B testing and 4-step automations
- Free plan needs no credit card and covers landing pages and a basic website
- Strong ecommerce integrations for Shopify, WooCommerce and other stores
Watch out for
- Free plan is the smallest here: 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, cut from 500 contacts in February 2026
- Free plan has no automation flows and no A/B testing, and support ends after 30 days
- Prices climb with every contact band, so a growing list gets expensive fast
Mailjet
Best for: Developers and teams that send marketing and transactional email from one API-first platform
Mailjet is the developer's pick: one API-first platform for marketing and transactional email, with full API and SMTP relay access on the free plan. The free plan allows 6,000 emails a month to 1,000 contacts, and Starter costs $9 a month for 8,000 emails and 2,000 contacts with no daily cap. EU data storage and GDPR credentials suit European senders.
The free plan's 200-email daily cap is the catch: one send to a 1,000-contact list takes five days, so it suits low-frequency newsletters, not weekly bulk mail. Automation, landing pages and A/B testing wait for Premium at $29 a month, and there is no SMS or CRM. Pick Mailjet when transactional and marketing email share one system; pick Brevo when you need a CRM too.
What we like
- Free plan allows 6,000 emails a month with full API and SMTP relay access
- Starter starts at $9/month for 8,000 emails and removes the daily sending cap
- Marketing and transactional email run from the same account and the same sender reputation
- Strong GDPR and EU data-storage credentials for European senders
Watch out for
- Free plan caps sending at 200 emails a day, so a 1,000-contact send takes five days
- Automation, landing pages and A/B testing wait for Premium at $29/month
- No SMS, WhatsApp or CRM, so it is email only
The best free bulk email software lets you send real campaigns to a real list at $0, with a free plan that is a starting point rather than a demo. We ranked the seven tools below by fit for the most common buyer — a small business or creator sending newsletters and promotions to a growing list — starting with the largest free plan and ending with the most developer-focused option, and every price was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on November 6, 2026.
How to choose the best free bulk email software
- Count the contacts first, then the sends. A free plan caps one or both: Mailchimp stops at 250 contacts, Sender allows 2,500 subscribers, and Brevo stores 100,000 contacts but sends only 300 emails a day. The cap you hit first is your real limit.
- Check the daily cap, not just the monthly one. Brevo allows 300 emails a day and Mailjet 200, so one send to a 1,000-person list takes four or five days on a free plan. If you mail weekly, that matters more than the monthly total.
- Decide whether you need automation free. Sender and MailerLite include automations on their free plans; Zoho Campaigns, GetResponse and Mailchimp hold them for paid plans. A welcome sequence is not free everywhere.
- Look at the first paid step, not just the free plan. Zoho Campaigns Standard is $4 a month, Brevo, Mailjet and Sender start at $9, and GetResponse starts at $19. The cheapest free plan is not always the cheapest paid plan.
- Check what the logo costs you. Every free plan here adds the vendor's branding to your emails. Removing it needs a paid plan on all seven tools, so budget for that step if your emails go to customers.
A free plan is only useful if the emails land. Before you send your first campaign, check that your subject lines will display well — our free SERP snippet preview tool shows how titles and descriptions render in search, and the same discipline applies to subject lines. If you also send one-off blasts rather than regular newsletters, our guide to email blasting software covers the tools built for that job.
Whatever you shortlist, test it with your real list before you commit. The free plans in this list are long enough to run one genuine month — your contacts, your sending cadence, your content — and that month tells you more than any review can. Check two things in the trial month: that a full-list send finishes inside a day, and that your emails reach the inbox rather than the spam folder. Every tool here lets you leave free, so there is no reason to pay before the free plan has shown its limits.
Free bulk email software pricing: what you will actually pay
Take a 1,000-subscriber list mailed twice a month — 2,000 sends a month. On free plans, that costs $0 on Sender, Brevo, Zoho Campaigns, MailerLite, GetResponse and Mailjet, because each of their free caps covers 2,000 sends. Mailchimp is the exception: its free plan allows only 500 sends a month, so the same list needs Essentials at $13 a month. Two of the $0 answers need adjusting before they are real: Brevo's 300-a-day cap means one 1,000-person send takes four days, and Mailjet's 200-a-day cap means it takes five days.
Over a year, that same list costs $0 on Sender, Zoho Campaigns, MailerLite and GetResponse if you stay inside their free caps, $108 a year on Brevo Starter or Mailjet Starter or Sender Standard billed monthly, $144 on MailerLite Comfort, $156 on Mailchimp Essentials and $228 on GetResponse Starter. The same 1,000 subscribers and the same two sends a month cost $0 at the free end and $228 at the dear end — a gap that comes entirely from caps and automation, not from features.
Three costs sit outside every number above. First, the introductory discounts — 30% off first-year annual billing on Sender, a 15% promotional overlay on GetResponse annual billing — end, so budget on the list price. Second, logo removal: Brevo charges $12 a month extra for it on Starter, and the other tools bundle it into a paid plan. Third, SMS and transactional email, which are separate add-ons on most tools here. If you want a newsletter-first tool rather than a bulk sender, see our guide to email marketing platforms for newsletters.
Annual billing cuts the bill on most tools here: Zoho Campaigns Standard drops from $48 to $36 a year, MailerLite Comfort from $144 to about $130, GetResponse Starter from $228 to about $187 at the standard annual rate, and Brevo takes 10% off. Mailchimp Essentials has no published annual rate, so the monthly figure is the whole story. One more cost to check before you commit: a second audience or a second brand is a second subscription on the contact-priced tools here, so an owner with two lists pays double whatever the chart shows.
Know the difference: bulk email vs transactional email
The confusion in this category is between two kinds of sending. Bulk email software sends marketing campaigns to a list — newsletters, promotions and announcements, one message to many people at once. Transactional email sends one-to-one messages triggered by an action — order confirmations, password resets and receipts. They look similar in the inbox, but they are different jobs with different rules: marketing email needs consent and an unsubscribe link, while transactional email does not.
A second confusion is between a free plan and a free trial. A free plan never expires and never charges you; a trial ends after 14 or 30 days and then you pay or lose access. All seven tools here have permanent free plans, which is why this list exists — but three of them also run a 14-day trial of premium features on top, and when the trial ends the account drops back to the free plan's limits. Check which limits return before you build automations during a trial.
A third distinction worth knowing is contacts versus sends. Contact-priced tools (Mailchimp, MailerLite, GetResponse, Zoho Campaigns, Sender) charge by how many people you store; send-priced tools (Brevo, Mailjet) charge by how many emails you send. A large list mailed rarely is cheaper on Brevo or Mailjet; a small list mailed often is cheaper on Sender or Zoho Campaigns. Price your tool on your real list size and your real cadence, not on the headline free tier.
Quick comparison: tool type by need
| Buyer | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Biggest free plan | Sender | Free for 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with automation included |
| Large list, rare sends | Brevo | 100,000 contacts stored free, pay by emails sent from $9/month |
| Cheapest paid step | Zoho Campaigns | Free for 2,000 contacts, Standard is $4/month with unlimited emails |
| Newsletter writer | MailerLite | Clean builder with automations free, Comfort is $12/month |
| Email plus webinars | GetResponse | Free for 500 contacts, Starter is $19/month with webinars on Creator |
| Best-known tool | Mailchimp | Widest integrations, free for 250 contacts, Essentials is $13/month |
| Developer, API-first | Mailjet | Free for 6,000 emails a month with full API access, Starter is $9/month |
Mistakes to avoid
- Budgeting on the monthly total and ignoring the daily cap. Brevo's 300-a-day and Mailjet's 200-a-day caps mean a full-list send can take days. A free plan that covers your monthly volume can still fail your weekly cadence.
- Building automations during a trial, then losing them. GetResponse and Zoho Campaigns switch automation off when the 14-day trial ends. Build your welcome sequence on the plan you will actually keep, not the trial.
- Picking on the free tier, then finding the paid step is the expensive one. Mailchimp's free plan is small but its paid plans climb fast with list size, while GetResponse's free plan is generous but Starter is $19 a month. Price the step, not the start.
- Mailing a bought list on a free account. Bought lists trigger spam complaints and bounces, and every tool here can suspend a free account for them. Build the list yourself, with consent, from day one.
- Forgetting the logo. Every free plan here brands your emails with the vendor's logo. If your emails go to paying customers, count the paid plan that removes it in the price from day one.
How we chose
We checked each vendor's own pricing page and recorded the free-plan limits and the first paid price exactly as shown, including the annual-billing figure where the page lists one, and we ranked the tools by fit for the most common buyer — a small business or creator sending bulk email to a growing list — not by brand size. Direct page loads were unavailable from our network on November 6, 2026, so prices were verified against fresh search-index crawls of the vendors' own pricing pages (crawled November 2–5, 2026) corroborated by independent October–November 2026 reads of the same pages; the Mailjet $19 Essential and $29 Premium figures reflect the September 9, 2026 reprice, and the $17/$27 figures in older roundups are stale. Ratings come from fresh crawls of the exact G2 review pages, checked November 6, 2026. 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 free plan of your top pick and run one real month of campaigns through it. Check that a full-list send finishes inside a day and that your emails reach the inbox before you pay for anything. If the free plan covers your list, stay on it — there is no prize for paying early. If email is sorted but new customers are not finding you, our monthly SEO service handles the visibility side — or compare providers in our guide to email marketing software for small business. 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)
- Sender pricing — sender.net/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Brevo pricing — brevo.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Zoho Campaigns pricing — zoho.com/campaigns/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- MailerLite pricing — mailerlite.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- GetResponse pricing — getresponse.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Mailchimp pricing — mailchimp.com/pricing/marketing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Mailjet pricing — mailjet.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Sender.net reviews — g2.com/products/sender-net/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Brevo reviews — g2.com/products/sendinblue/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Zoho Campaigns reviews — g2.com/products/zoho-campaigns/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- MailerLite reviews — g2.com/products/mailerlite/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- GetResponse reviews — g2.com/products/getresponse/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Mailchimp reviews — g2.com/products/intuit-mailchimp-email-marketing/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Mailjet reviews — g2.com/products/mailjet/reviews (checked November 6, 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 free bulk email software?
Sender is the best free bulk email software for most senders: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month free, with automation included. Brevo is better for very large lists you mail rarely, since it stores 100,000 contacts free. Zoho Campaigns is the cheapest paid step at $4 a month.
Is there really free bulk email software, or is it just a trial?
Yes, all seven tools here have permanent free plans, not trials. Sender, Brevo, Zoho Campaigns, MailerLite, GetResponse, Mailchimp and Mailjet each let you send at $0 within a contact or send cap. The caps are real: Mailchimp stops at 250 contacts, while Sender allows 2,500 subscribers.
How many emails can I send for free each month?
It depends on the tool. Sender allows 15,000 emails a month, Brevo about 9,000 at 300 a day, Zoho Campaigns 6,000, Mailjet 6,000 at 200 a day, MailerLite and GetResponse 2,500 each, and Mailchimp 500. Check the daily cap too: Brevo and Mailjet limit how many you can send in one day.
What is the difference between bulk email software and transactional email?
Bulk email software sends marketing campaigns to a list, such as newsletters and promotions. Transactional email sends one-to-one messages triggered by an action, such as order confirmations and password resets. Mailjet and Brevo handle both from one account; Mailchimp, MailerLite and Sender focus on marketing campaigns.
Can I send bulk email for free without my emails going to spam?
The free plan itself does not decide deliverability. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your sending domain, warm up a new domain slowly, and keep your list clean by removing bounces and unsubscribes. Avoid bought lists entirely: they trigger spam complaints and can get a free account suspended on any tool here.
When should I switch from a free plan to a paid plan?
Switch when you hit a cap twice in a row, not the first time. If your list passes 2,500 subscribers, Sender's Standard at $9 a month is the cheapest step; if you need automation on a small list, MailerLite Comfort at $12 or GetResponse Starter at $19 covers it. Price the step at your real list size first.
Does free bulk email software include automation?
Sometimes. Sender includes automation and segmentation on its free plan, and MailerLite includes three automations free. Brevo includes automations for up to 2,000 contacts free. Zoho Campaigns, GetResponse and Mailchimp hold automation for paid plans, so check before you build a welcome sequence on a free account.
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