Best Free Email Marketing Software and Services in 2026
By Carlos Gil · Updated · Free-plan limits checked Oct 7–8, 2026
The free email marketing platforms worth starting on, ranked by what the free plan actually lets you do: how many contacts, how many sends, whether automation is included, and what upgrading costs.
New to this? Start with how to pick a free plan below: the framework behind this ranking.
The top free plans at a glance
| Platform | Free allowance | Best for | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 MailerLite | 250 subscribers · 2,500 emails/mo | Ease of use | Capped at 250 subscribers |
| #2 Systeme.io | 2,000 contacts · Unlimited emails | Funnels + courses | Basic email editor |
| #3 Brevo | Up to 100,000 stored contacts · 300 emails/day | Large lists, occasional sends | 300 emails a day |
| #4 Kit (ConvertKit) | 10,000 subscribers · Unlimited broadcasts | Creators | No sequences or automations on free |
| #5 Mailchimp | 250 contacts · 500 sends/mo | Testing Mailchimp | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month |
MailerLite
Free: 250 subscribers · 2,500 emails/mo
The best balance of an easy editor, real automation and a clear upgrade path. The free plan includes the automation builder (3 automations), email A/B testing, a website and a landing page; the catch is the 250-subscriber cap.
Systeme.io
Free: 2,000 contacts · Unlimited emails
An all-in-one free plan for solopreneurs who need email alongside sales funnels (3), a course (1) and a custom domain. The email editor is basic next to the dedicated tools.
Brevo
Free: Up to 100,000 stored contacts · 300 emails/day
Stores a large list for free and adds transactional email and a free CRM. The 300-a-day cap means a campaign to more than 300 people goes out over several days.
Kit (ConvertKit)
Free: 10,000 subscribers · Unlimited broadcasts
The biggest subscriber allowance, with unlimited landing pages and forms, and you can sell digital products and paid newsletters (3.5% + 30¢ per sale). Sequences and visual automations need the paid Creator plan.
Mailchimp
Free: 250 contacts · 500 sends/mo
A familiar starting point with polished templates, but the free plan has no scheduling, no A/B testing and only a preview of automations, and the 250-contact cap fills quickly.
Every free email marketing plan compared
The ranked picks above plus the other free plans worth knowing about. Limits are what each vendor publishes for its free plan; prices are each vendor's lowest paid tier on monthly billing unless noted.
| Platform | Contacts | Sends | Automation on free | Branding | First paid plan | Sign up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers | 2,500/mo | Yes (3 automations, 5 steps) | MailerLite logo stays | Comfort from $12/mo | Try freeAffiliate |
| HubSpot | Free CRM (2 users) | 2,000/mo | Basic only | HubSpot branding stays | Starter from $20/mo per seat | Try freeAffiliate |
| Kit | 10,000 subscribers | Unlimited broadcasts | No sequences or visual automations | Kit branding stays | Creator from $39/mo ($33 annual) | Try freeAffiliate |
| Brevo | 100,000 stored | 300/day | Yes (2,000 contacts in automations) | Brevo branding stays | Starter from $9/mo (5,000 emails) | Try freeAffiliate |
| Sender | 2,500 subscribers | 15,000/mo | Yes, including branching | Sender branding stays | Standard from $15/mo (1,000 subs) | Try freeAffiliate |
| beehiiv | 2,500 subscribers | Unlimited | No (automations need Lite) | beehiiv branding stays | Lite from $49/mo annual ($59 monthly) | Try freeAffiliate |
| Systeme.io | 2,000 contacts | Unlimited | Systeme.io says all features are included | Not stated by Systeme.io | Startup $17/mo | Try freeAffiliate |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts | 500/mo (250/day) | Preview only | Mailchimp branding stays | Essentials from $13/mo (500 contacts) | Visit site |
| Klaviyo | 250 active profiles | 500/mo | Yes (flows) | Klaviyo logo stays | Email from $20/mo (500 profiles) | Visit site |
| Omnisend | 250 contacts | 500/mo | Pre-built workflows only | Omnisend branding required | Standard from $16/mo (500 contacts) | Try freeAffiliate |
Checked Oct 7–8, 2026 against each vendor's official pricing page or help center (links in Sources below). AWeber is no longer listed: its pricing page now shows paid plans with a 14-day trial only.
How to pick a free plan: find the cap that hits you first
Free plans don’t differ much on quality. They differ on what they cap, and there are only three limits that matter. Which one bites first depends on your list: 4,000 newsletter readers mailed weekly has a different problem from 200 customers mailed daily.
- Contact caps hurt fast-growing lists. If you add hundreds of subscribers a month, a 250-contact ceiling is a deadline, not a limit; look at Kit (10,000), Sender (2,500) or beehiiv (2,500), or plans that bill on sends.
- Send caps hurt frequent senders. A daily or monthly cap that is generous for a small weekly list can be unusable for a larger list on a schedule.
- Feature caps hurt everyone eventually. Automation is the most commonly paywalled feature, and it is the one that earns money: a welcome sequence you can’t build is revenue you never collect.
Before you import a single contact, confirm you can export your subscribers for free and that your signup forms aren’t so tied to the platform that leaving means rebuilding your site. Then price the upgrade at double your current list size, because that’s what you’re really signing up for. Our platform migration guide covers what moving involves.
Need a free CRM as well?
If you sell B2B and track deals, HubSpot’s free tools bundle a CRM with marketing email: up to 2,000 emails a month for 2 users, with every send attached to a contact record alongside forms and a deal pipeline. The trade-offs are HubSpot branding on emails and a steep jump once you need serious automation (Marketing Hub Starter is $20 a month per seat; Professional is $890 a month plus a $3,000 onboarding fee, checked October 8, 2026). For a newsletter or store, a dedicated email platform from the table above usually goes further for free.
What free plans usually leave out
- Your own branding. Every free plan in the table keeps the vendor's logo or "sent with" badge in your emails. Removing it is usually the first thing you pay for.
- Automation. MailerLite, Brevo, Sender and Klaviyo include automations on free. Kit, beehiiv and Mailchimp do not, which matters if you want a welcome sequence from day one.
- Send volume. Contact caps get the attention, but send caps bite first for active lists: Mailchimp allows 500 sends a month, and Brevo 300 a day.
- Testing and scheduling. Mailchimp's free plan has no scheduling or A/B testing; MailerLite's includes email A/B tests.
When to upgrade, and what it costs
Upgrade when the free plan stops you doing something that makes money: sending a welcome sequence, mailing your whole list in one day, or removing the vendor badge for a client-facing brand. The jump is small on most platforms: MailerLite Comfort starts at $12/month, Brevo Starter at $9/month for 5,000 emails, and Mailchimp Essentials at $13/month for 500 contacts.
Watch how each platform counts contacts as you grow: Mailchimp bills unsubscribed contacts too, while MailerLite, Kit and beehiiv bill active or confirmed subscribers only. For cost at larger list sizes, see the cheapest email marketing software and Mailchimp alternatives priced at 1k–25k contacts.
How we chose these platforms
We compared free-plan limits on contacts, sends and feature access from each vendor's published pricing and documentation, and ranked plans that are genuinely usable for building a list, not a stripped-down teaser. Scores are each product's BestSends review score; see how we review.
We also weighed each upgrade path, since a free plan should let you grow into paid features without forcing a migration.
Free email marketing software: FAQ
Is there completely free email marketing software?
Yes. MailerLite, Kit, Brevo, Sender, beehiiv, Systeme.io, Mailchimp, Klaviyo and HubSpot all publish ongoing free plans, not just trials. Each one caps something: contacts, sends or features, and all of them except Systeme.io (which doesn’t say) keep the vendor’s branding in your emails.
Which free email marketing plan allows the most subscribers?
Kit, free up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, though sequences and visual automations need its paid Creator plan. Brevo stores up to 100,000 contacts for free but sends only 300 emails a day.
Which free email marketing plans include automation?
MailerLite (3 automations), Brevo (2,000 contacts in automations), Sender (including branching) and Klaviyo (flows) include automation on their free plans. Kit, beehiiv and Mailchimp do not, which matters if you want a welcome sequence from day one.
Can I send unlimited emails for free?
Kit (unlimited broadcasts up to 10,000 subscribers), beehiiv (up to 2,500 subscribers) and Systeme.io (up to 2,000 contacts) publish unlimited sends on their free plans. Sender allows 15,000 emails a month and MailerLite 2,500.
Is Mailchimp still free?
Yes, but the free plan is small: 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day), with no scheduling, no A/B testing and only a preview of automations. Mailchimp Essentials starts at $13 a month for 500 contacts.
Sources
- MailerLite pricing (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- Kit pricing (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- Brevo free plan (help center) (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- Sender pricing (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- beehiiv pricing (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- Systeme.io pricing (checked Oct 8, 2026)
- Mailchimp pricing plans (help center) (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- Klaviyo pricing (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- Omnisend pricing (checked Oct 7, 2026)
- AWeber pricing (paid plans and 14-day trial only) (checked Oct 8, 2026)
Free: 2026 ESP Comparison Chart
Download the side-by-side comparison of the 19 email platforms in our chart