7 Best Mass Email Services in 2026: Prices, Pros and Cons Compared
Compare the 7 best mass email services for small businesses on price, free plans, send limits and automation, with every 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
- Brevo is the cheapest paid entry at $9 a month, MailerLite follows at $12, and Mailchimp is the default pick at $13 — all three have free plans, while ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact and AWeber do not.
- The single most important buying factor is what the price is tied to: Brevo charges by emails sent, the rest charge by contacts or subscribers, so a big quiet list is cheapest on Brevo and a small active list is cheapest almost anywhere.
- Free plans are small in 2026 — Mailchimp stops at 250 contacts, MailerLite at 250 subscribers — so check the first paid price, not the free tier, before you commit.
- Automation is the hidden upgrade: Brevo Starter has none, GetResponse Starter allows one workflow, and ActiveCampaign Starter caps each automation at five actions.
On this page
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Small businesses that want the biggest template library and integration ecosystem, with room to grow | $13/mo | Yes (250 contacts) |
| Brevo | Senders with large lists and light sending who want the lowest bill | $9/mo | Yes (300/day) |
| MailerLite | Small businesses and creators who want the cheapest simple plan with landing pages included | $12/mo | Yes (250 subscribers) |
| GetResponse | Small businesses that want webinars, funnels and landing pages in one subscription | $19/mo | Yes (500 contacts) |
| ActiveCampaign | Growing teams that need deep automation and a CRM in the same tool | $19/mo | No (14-day trial) |
| Constant Contact | Nonprofits, clubs and event organizers who want the simplest tool with phone support | $12/mo | No (30-day trial) |
| AWeber | Small businesses that want live human support and a simple setup | $15/mo | No (14-day trial) |
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Request a listingThe best mass email service
Mailchimp
Best for: Small businesses that want the biggest template library and integration ecosystem, with room to grow
Mailchimp is the default recommendation for a reason: it has the widest template library in this list, the easiest builder for a first campaign, and integrations with nearly every store, CRM and form tool a small business uses. Essentials costs $13 a month for up to 500 contacts and covers 5,000 sends a month, A/B testing and basic automation, while Standard at $20 adds multi-step journeys and dynamic content.
The catch is the contact counting. Unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts count toward your limit until you archive them, so a list with years of dead addresses costs real money, and the price climbs steeply: Essentials is $75 a month at 5,000 contacts. Buy Mailchimp when you want the biggest ecosystem and the easiest start; buy Brevo or MailerLite when the list is large and the budget is tight.
What we like
- The widest template library and integration ecosystem here — Shopify, WordPress, HubSpot and hundreds more connect in a few clicks
- Essentials adds A/B testing, scheduling and basic automation from $13 a month
- Free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, enough to test a real campaign
- Built-in landing pages, signup forms and audience insights on every plan
Watch out for
- Unsubscribed contacts count toward your limit until you archive them, so dead addresses cost money
- Price climbs steeply with list size — Essentials is $75 a month at 5,000 contacts
- Full automation and dynamic content wait for Standard at $20 a month
Brevo
Best for: Senders with large lists and light sending who want the lowest bill
Brevo flips the usual pricing logic: you pay for emails sent, not contacts stored, so a store with 25,000 contacts that mails twice a month pays far less than on a contact-priced tool. Starter costs $9 a month for 5,000 emails, or $8.08 billed annually, and the free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts while sending 300 emails a day. SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email all live in the same account.
The trap is the automation gap. Starter includes no automation at all, so welcome sequences and abandoned-cart emails need Standard at $18 a month, which makes $18 the real starting price for senders. The 5,000-email tier also stores only 500 contacts, so a bigger list pushes the price up. Pick Brevo when your list is large and your sending is light; pick Mailchimp when automation matters from day one.
What we like
- Cheapest paid entry here — Starter is $9 a month for 5,000 emails
- Bills by emails sent, not contacts stored, so large quiet lists stay cheap
- Free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts and sends 300 emails a day
- SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email live in the same account
Watch out for
- Starter has no automation at all — welcome sequences need Standard at $18 a month
- The 5,000-email tier stores only 500 contacts, so bigger lists push the price up
- Logo removal on Starter costs a $12 a month add-on
MailerLite
Best for: Small businesses and creators who want the cheapest simple plan with landing pages included
MailerLite is the cleanest cheap option here: a simple drag-and-drop editor, three email editors to choose from, and landing pages, signup forms and a small website builder in the same account. Comfort costs $12 a month and covers 50 automations, 10 forms and 10 landing pages, with sends capped at ten times your subscriber tier. The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month.
The limits to watch are the free-plan cut and the approval check. The free plan dropped from 1,000 subscribers to 250 in June 2026, so most growing lists pay sooner than they used to, and new accounts go through a manual approval check before their first send. Comfort also caps automations at 50, so heavy journey builders need Power at $25. Choose MailerLite when you want the lowest bill for a small list.
What we like
- The lowest honest bill for a small list — Comfort from $12 a month with a real free plan
- Three email editors, plus landing pages, forms and a small website builder in one account
- Free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month with automations included
- Comfort removes the MailerLite logo from your emails
Watch out for
- Free plan dropped from 1,000 subscribers to 250 in June 2026
- New accounts wait for a manual approval check before the first send
- Comfort caps automations at 50 — heavy journey builders need Power at $25 a month
GetResponse
Best for: Small businesses that want webinars, funnels and landing pages in one subscription
GetResponse is the all-in-one pick: email marketing, landing pages, a website builder, sales funnels and webinar hosting for up to 100 attendees all sit in one subscription, so it can replace two or three separate tools. Starter costs $19 a month for 1,000 contacts, or $15.58 billed annually, with unlimited sends, autoresponders and AI content generation included. The free plan covers 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month.
Starter is thinner than the price suggests. It allows only one automation workflow, so multi-step journeys need Marketer at $59 a month, and the free plan drops automation entirely after the 14-day trial, leaving newsletters only with GetResponse branding on every message. Pick GetResponse when webinars or courses are part of the plan; pick ActiveCampaign when automation depth is the priority.
What we like
- Webinars, landing pages, funnels and a website builder in one subscription
- Free plan covers 500 contacts and 2,500 emails a month with no card required
- Starter includes unlimited sends, autoresponders and AI content generation
- Three user seats included on Starter, rare at this price
Watch out for
- Starter allows only one automation workflow — multi-step journeys need Marketer at $59 a month
- Free plan drops automation after the 14-day trial and adds GetResponse branding to every message
- Price rises with contact count — Starter is $54 a month at 5,000 contacts
ActiveCampaign
Best for: Growing teams that need deep automation and a CRM in the same tool
ActiveCampaign has the strongest automation builder in this list: a visual canvas with branching, goals, split testing and contact scoring, plus a built-in CRM that tracks deals alongside campaigns. Starter costs $19 a month for 1,000 contacts, or $15 billed annually, and covers 10,000 sends a month, multi-step automations capped at five actions each, A/B testing and site tracking. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
The price climbs fast and the caps bite early. Starter covers one user and five actions per automation, landing pages wait for Plus at $59 a month, and CRM pipelines, SMS credits and extra users are all paid add-ons. Accounts created after November 2025 are also billed for every contact, including unsubscribed ones. Buy ActiveCampaign when automation is the business; buy GetResponse or MailerLite when the budget is fixed.
What we like
- The strongest automation builder here — branching, goals, split testing and contact scoring
- Built-in CRM tracks deals alongside campaigns, so sales and email share one record
- Starter covers 10,000 sends a month with A/B testing and site tracking included
- More than 100 integrations, including Shopify, Salesforce and Zapier
Watch out for
- No free plan — only a 14-day trial, and Starter covers a single user
- Landing pages wait for Plus at $59 a month; CRM pipelines and SMS are paid add-ons
- Starter caps automations at five actions each, and new accounts are billed for unsubscribed contacts
Constant Contact
Best for: Nonprofits, clubs and event organizers who want the simplest tool with phone support
Constant Contact is the simplest tool here for nonprofits, clubs and event organizers: a friendly drag-and-drop editor, ready-made templates, and event registration and surveys built in rather than bolted on. Lite costs $12 a month for up to 500 contacts, or $10.20 prepaid for a year, and covers sends of ten times your contact count, with phone support included.
There is no free plan, and the trial is thin. The 30-day trial allows only 100 email sends, and landing pages, surveys and events stay in draft until you pay, so it is a look around rather than a real test. Lite also carries Constant Contact branding, allows one user and one automation template, and the price jumps to $30 a month past 500 contacts. Pick it for events and simplicity, not for scale.
What we like
- The simplest editor here, with event registration and surveys built in
- Phone support included on every plan, and nonprofits get up to 30% off prepaid plans
- Lite covers sends of ten times your contact count at $12 a month
Watch out for
- No free plan, and the 30-day trial allows only 100 email sends in total
- Lite shows Constant Contact branding and allows one user and one automation template
- Price jumps to $30 a month once you pass 500 contacts
AWeber
Best for: Small businesses that want live human support and a simple setup
AWeber is the veteran of this list, sending email since 1998, and it shows in the support: 24/7 phone, chat and email help on every plan, including Lite, plus a free migration service that moves your list for you. Lite costs $15 a month for up to 500 subscribers, or $12.50 billed annually, and covers 5,000 sends a month, three automations, three landing pages and three users.
Lite is tightly capped and there is no free plan. One email list, three landing pages, three automations and one saved segment are the whole allowance, and AWeber branding cannot be removed on Lite, so growing senders move to Plus at $30 a month quickly. The editor and templates also look dated next to Mailchimp and MailerLite. Pick AWeber when live human support matters most; pick MailerLite when design and price matter more.
What we like
- 24/7 phone, chat and email support on every plan, including Lite
- Free migration service moves your list from another tool for you
- Lite includes three users, three automations and paid-subscription tools for creators
Watch out for
- No free plan — only a 14-day trial before Lite at $15 a month
- Lite allows one email list and three landing pages, and AWeber branding cannot be removed
- Editor and templates look dated next to Mailchimp and MailerLite
The best mass email service for a small business is the one that charges for what you actually use: your list size or your send volume, not both. The seven tools below all send bulk campaigns to thousands of subscribers, but they price that job in very different ways, and the cheapest headline is rarely the cheapest bill once your list grows. We ranked them by fit for the most common buyer — a small business sending a weekly newsletter or promotion to a few hundred to a few thousand subscribers — and every price was checked on the vendor's own pricing page on November 6, 2026.
How to choose the best mass email service
- Count your contacts first. Every tool except Brevo charges by list size, so price the tool at your real contact count, not the smallest tier. A 500-contact list costs $12–$19 a month here; the same list at 5,000 contacts costs $54–$80.
- Decide what the price is tied to. Brevo charges by emails sent, the rest by contacts or subscribers. A big list mailed rarely is cheapest on Brevo; a small list mailed often is cheapest almost anywhere.
- Check the automation on the entry plan. Brevo Starter has none, GetResponse Starter allows one workflow, and ActiveCampaign Starter caps each automation at five actions. If welcome sequences matter, the step-up plan is your real price.
- Check the free plan's real ceiling. Mailchimp stops at 250 contacts, MailerLite at 250 subscribers, and Constant Contact and AWeber have no free plan at all. A free plan that ends next month is a trial with better marketing.
- Check the send limit, not just the price. Mailchimp Essentials allows ten times your contact count in sends, MailerLite Comfort the same, and Brevo Starter a flat 5,000 emails. A weekly send to a large list can hit the cap before the month ends.
Email is one system in your stack, not the whole stack. If the business also needs to be found online, our guide to email marketing software for small business covers the visibility side of the same tools. And before you publish the landing pages your emails link to, run your titles through the free SERP snippet preview tool — it shows exactly how the title and description will look in Google.
Whatever you shortlist, try it with real data before you pay. The free plans and trials in this list are long enough to run one genuine campaign — your list, your template, your send — and that campaign tells you more than any review can. Check two things in the trial: that your emails land in the inbox rather than spam, and that the automation you need works on the plan you would actually buy. Every tool here except Brevo Starter includes at least basic automation on its entry plan, so test the workflow, not just the editor.
Mass email service pricing: what you will actually pay
Take a small business with 500 contacts that sends one email a week — about 2,000 sends a month. On list prices, the subscription costs $9 a month on Brevo Starter, $12 on MailerLite Comfort or Constant Contact Lite, $13 on Mailchimp Essentials, $15 on AWeber Lite, and $19 on GetResponse Starter or ActiveCampaign Starter. Every plan here covers that workload comfortably: the tightest send cap is Brevo's 5,000 emails, and 2,000 sends is well inside it.
Over a year, that is $97 on Brevo billed annually, $122 on Constant Contact prepaid for a year, $130 on MailerLite Comfort billed annually, $150 on AWeber Lite billed annually, $156 on Mailchimp Essentials, which publishes no annual rate, $180 on ActiveCampaign Starter billed annually, and $187 on GetResponse Starter billed annually. The same 500 contacts and the same weekly email cost $97 a year at the cheap end and $187 at the dear end — a $90 gap that comes entirely from the pricing model and the annual discount, not from features.
Three costs sit outside every number above. First, the list grows: at 5,000 contacts, Mailchimp Essentials is $75 a month, Constant Contact Lite is $80 a month on monthly billing ($68 prepaid), AWeber Lite is $60, and GetResponse Starter is $54 — and Brevo's 5,000-email tier stores only 500 contacts, so a bigger list needs a higher volume tier. Second, the automation step-up: Brevo Standard at $18, GetResponse Marketer at $59 and ActiveCampaign Plus at $59 are the real prices once welcome sequences and abandoned-cart emails matter. Third, SMS and transactional email, which are billed separately on every tool here. If you want the automation side in more depth, see our guide to email automation tools.
Annual billing cuts the bill on most tools here: Brevo Starter drops from $108 to $97 a year, MailerLite Comfort from $144 to $130, Constant Contact Lite from $144 to $122, AWeber Lite from $180 to $150, ActiveCampaign Starter from $228 to $180, and GetResponse Starter from $228 to $187. Mailchimp Essentials publishes no annual rate, so the monthly figure is the whole story. One more cost to check before you commit: a second list is not a second subscription on any tool here, but a second brand or business usually is — price the second set of sends before you commit to a tool for the first.
Know the difference: mass email service vs email marketing platform
The confusion in this category is between sending and marketing. A mass email service sends bulk campaigns to a list: templates, scheduling, delivery and reporting. An email marketing platform does that and adds automation journeys, segmentation, landing pages and often a CRM. Most tools in this list do both, which is why the entry-plan automation check matters more than the brand name — Brevo Starter is a pure sender, while ActiveCampaign Starter is a marketing platform with a small automation cap.
There is a second, quieter confusion: transactional email is not mass email. Receipts, password resets and order confirmations are one-to-one messages triggered by an action, and they belong on a transactional service with its own sending reputation. Sending them through a bulk campaign tool, or sending bulk campaigns through a transactional service, hurts deliverability on both sides. Brevo is the only tool here that genuinely covers both in one account, with transactional email as a separate product inside the same login.
A third distinction worth knowing is bulk email versus spam. The law and the inbox providers draw the line at permission: every address on your list must have opted in, every email must carry a working unsubscribe link and your physical address, and purchased lists are against the rules of every tool here — AWeber and MailerLite both enforce list hygiene strictly enough to suspend accounts over it. A mass email service is a tool for reaching people who asked to hear from you, not a way to buy an audience.
Quick comparison: tool type by need
| Buyer | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tightest budget, large list | Brevo | $9/month Starter, billed by emails sent, not contacts stored |
| Most small businesses | Mailchimp | The default choice, from $13/month, with the biggest ecosystem |
| Best value with landing pages | MailerLite | Clean editor and landing pages, Comfort is $12/month |
| Webinars and funnels in one | GetResponse | Webinar hosting and funnels included, Starter is $19/month |
| Deepest automation | ActiveCampaign | The strongest automation builder here, Starter is $19/month |
| Events and nonprofits | Constant Contact | Event tools and phone support, Lite is $12/month |
| Live human support | AWeber | 24/7 phone, chat and email help, Lite is $15/month |
Mistakes to avoid
- Budgeting on the free plan. The free plans here stop at 250–500 contacts, and Constant Contact and AWeber have none at all. Price the first paid plan — that is the bill you will actually pay within a few months.
- Buying on the headline price without checking what it is tied to. A $9 Brevo plan and a $13 Mailchimp plan are not the same job: one buys 5,000 emails, the other buys 500 contacts. Work out your list size and your send volume first.
- Assuming the entry plan automates. Brevo Starter has no automation, GetResponse Starter allows one workflow, and ActiveCampaign Starter caps each automation at five actions. If you need welcome sequences, the step-up plan is the real price.
- Sending bulk email from Gmail or Outlook. Personal inboxes cap at 500–2,000 sends a day, with no unsubscribe handling and no delivery reporting, and bulk sends can get the account suspended. Use a dedicated service.
- Forgetting the list will grow. Constant Contact Lite jumps from $12 to $30 a month past 500 contacts, and AWeber Lite from $15 to $25 at 1,000 subscribers. Price the tool at next year's list size, not today's.
How we chose
We checked each vendor's own pricing page on November 6, 2026 and recorded the starting 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 sending a weekly newsletter or promotion — not by brand size. Vendor pricing pages render prices in JavaScript sliders, so where the live page text could not be read directly we confirmed each figure against fresh crawls of the vendor's own pricing page and independent October–November 2026 reads. Ratings come from the G2 review pages opened on November 6, 2026, except Brevo, whose G2 page did not load that day — its rating is taken from a fresh search-index copy of G2's own data. 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 or trial of your top pick and send one real campaign to your actual list. Check that the emails land in the inbox, the reporting shows opens and clicks, and the automation you need works on the plan you would buy — not just the editor. If the emails are sorted but new subscribers are not finding you, our monthly SEO service handles the visibility side — or compare providers in our guide to email marketing platforms. 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 (checked November 6, 2026)
- Brevo pricing — brevo.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- MailerLite pricing — mailerlite.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- GetResponse pricing — getresponse.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- ActiveCampaign pricing — activecampaign.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Constant Contact pricing — constantcontact.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- AWeber pricing — aweber.com/pricing (checked November 6, 2026)
- Mailchimp on G2 — g2.com/products/mailchimp/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Brevo on G2 — g2.com/products/sendinblue/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- MailerLite on G2 — g2.com/products/mailerlite/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- GetResponse on G2 — g2.com/products/getresponse/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- ActiveCampaign on G2 — g2.com/products/activecampaign/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- Constant Contact on G2 — g2.com/products/constant-contact/reviews (checked November 6, 2026)
- AWeber on G2 — g2.com/products/aweber/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 mass email service?
Mailchimp is the best fit for most small businesses: the widest template library, the easiest builder and the biggest integration list, from $13 a month. Brevo is the better pick when the list is large and sending is light, since it charges by emails sent at $9 a month. MailerLite is the best value for a small list at $12 a month with landing pages included.
How much does a mass email service cost?
Entry prices run from $9 to $19 a month at small list sizes: Brevo Starter is $9, MailerLite Comfort and Constant Contact Lite are $12, Mailchimp Essentials is $13, AWeber Lite is $15, and GetResponse and ActiveCampaign Starter plans are $19. At 500 contacts, a year costs $97 on Brevo billed annually and $187 on GetResponse, so the same list and the same weekly send differ by $90 a year.
Is there a free mass email service?
Yes, with small limits. Mailchimp is free to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, MailerLite to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails, GetResponse to 500 contacts and 2,500 emails, and Brevo sends 300 emails a day with up to 100,000 contacts stored. ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact and AWeber have no free plan, only 14-day or 30-day trials.
What is the difference between a mass email service and email marketing software?
A mass email service focuses on sending bulk campaigns to a list: templates, scheduling, delivery and reporting. Email marketing software adds automation journeys, segmentation, landing pages and often a CRM on top of the same sending. Most tools here do both, so check whether the entry plan includes automation — Brevo Starter does not, and GetResponse Starter allows only one workflow.
Can I send bulk email from Gmail or Outlook?
You can, but you should not. Gmail caps sending at 500 emails a day on a free account and 2,000 on Google Workspace, Outlook is similar, and neither is built for bulk mail — no unsubscribe handling, no bounce management and no delivery reporting. Worse, bulk sends from a personal inbox trip spam filters and can get the account suspended. Use a dedicated service from this list instead.
How many emails can I send a month on the cheapest plans?
Brevo Starter covers 5,000 emails a month for $9, Mailchimp Essentials covers 5,000 sends at 500 contacts for $13, and MailerLite Comfort allows ten times your subscriber count — 5,000 sends at 500 subscribers for $12. GetResponse Starter has unlimited sends and ActiveCampaign Starter covers 10,000, but both cost $19 a month, so Brevo is the cheapest way to send 5,000 emails.
Which mass email service is best for a large list?
Brevo, because it charges by emails sent rather than contacts stored. A 25,000-contact list mailed twice a month costs the same on Brevo Starter as a 5,000-contact list mailed weekly, while Mailchimp Essentials charges $75 a month at 5,000 contacts and climbs from there. The catch is automation: Brevo Starter has none, so large-list senders who need journeys should price Standard at $18 a month instead.
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