Pricing guide
Small business
Email Marketing for Small Business in 2026: Official Prices, and When Each Plan Fits
Official USD prices and published limits for email tools small businesses actually compare — ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, MailerLite, Kit, Brevo, and GetResponse — checked on November 14, 2026. Honest about official free plans and when a paid step up is optional.
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The short answer
A small business shopping for email marketing is usually comparing official free-plan caps, a first paid price at a few hundred contacts, and whether a mid-market automation or CRM path is worth a higher official tier. Official ActiveCampaign can be a reasonable published option once a list is at or above 1,000 contacts and you want its Plus or Pro grid. It is not the only official starting point, and it is not automatically the cheapest.
On November 14, 2026 (America/Denver), official USD entry points were:
- MailerLite: official Free up to 250 subscribers, 2 seats, and 2,500 emails a month, plus campaigns, automations, a website, a landing page, and forms. Official Comfort starts at $12 a month ($10.80 yearly-billed) at 500 subscribers. Official Power starts at $25 ($22.50 yearly-billed).
- Mailchimp: official Free up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (250 a day). Official Essentials starts at $13 a month and official Standard at $20 at 500 contacts. See Mailchimp alternatives and ActiveCampaign vs Mailchimp.
- Kit (formerly ConvertKit): official Free up to 10,000 subscribers. Official Creator was $33 a month or $390 billed yearly at the 1,000-subscriber display. Official FAQ: no sending limits on any plan. See Kit (ConvertKit) alternatives.
- Brevo: official free-forever plan; official Starter $9 a month or $97 a year, from 5,000 emails a month; official Standard $18 or $194 a year. See Brevo alternatives.
- GetResponse: official Starter $19 a month or $15.58 annually, starting at 1,000 subscribers, with unlimited monthly sends; official Marketer $59 or $48.38 annually. See ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse.
- ActiveCampaign: no official free plan and a 1,000-contact minimum. At 1,000 contacts, official Starter is $19 a month or $15 yearly-billed; official Plus is $59 or $49. A 14-day trial (no credit card needed) and a 30-day money-back guarantee were advertised. The full ladder is in ActiveCampaign pricing.
This is a dated comparison of official rate cards, not a ranked “best software” score and not a hands-on test of every small-business workflow. Related keyword research treats “best email marketing software for small business” as a harder, broader term than this page’s use-case brief.
See ActiveCampaign's official plans
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How we researched this guide
On November 14, 2026, we recorded official prices and limits from activecampaign.com/pricing and the official USD catalog that page loads; mailchimp.com/pricing and Mailchimp’s official USD pricing API; mailerlite.com/pricing and the official FAQ and USD slider data on that page; kit.com/pricing; brevo.com/pricing; and getresponse.com/pricing. We did not invent prices, testimonials, or a winner for every kind of small business.
When an official lower-priced or free plan still fits
Start with the official published limits, not with a brand preference:
- Official free plans exist at several vendors. MailerLite Free (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month), Mailchimp Free (250 contacts, 500 sends a month), Kit Free (up to 10,000 subscribers, with official “no sending limits”), and Brevo’s free-forever plan are documented options. Official ActiveCampaign has no free plan on the pricing page we checked.
- Lists under 1,000 contacts can be quoted on official MailerLite Comfort ($12 or $10.80 yearly-billed at 500 subscribers), official Mailchimp Essentials or Standard ($13 or $20 at 500 contacts), official Klaviyo Email ($20 at 500 active profiles — see the ecommerce guide), or official Brevo Starter ($9 a month from 5,000 emails). Official ActiveCampaign does not publish a 500-contact price.
- Creators and newsletter-led businesses may want official Kit Free’s 10,000-subscriber cap, or official Creator at the 1,000-subscriber yearly display, rather than a mid-market CRM add-on path.
- Simple newsletters with a 10× send cap can fit official MailerLite Comfort or official Mailchimp Essentials. Official GetResponse Starter advertises unlimited monthly sends at $19 a month (or $15.58 annually) for 1,000 subscribers, which is a different official send rule.
If those official limits already cover the work, paying for official ActiveCampaign Plus is optional.
When official ActiveCampaign may fit a small business
ActiveCampaign is a reasonable official step up when the list is already at or above 1,000 contacts and you want the documented four-plan, yearly-billed ladder — especially official Plus items such as landing pages, generative AI, cross-channel marketing, and access to CRM or SMS add-ons, or official Pro items such as predictive sending and conditional content. Official Starter at 1,000 contacts ($19 or $15 yearly-billed, 10,000 sends) sits close to official MailerLite Comfort at the same size ($19 or $17.10) and below official Kit Creator’s yearly display ($33 or $390 a year). See ActiveCampaign review and ActiveCampaign CRM.
It is not an automatic upgrade. Official Starter caps — a 25,000-contact maximum, one included seat (two maximum), five lists, 15 business goals, five automation actions, and email only, with no official CRM add-ons — can be tighter than official MailerLite Comfort or Power, or official Mailchimp Standard, at a similar list size. Official ActiveCampaign also has no free plan.
Official prices at sizes small businesses actually quote
Mailchimp’s official paid ladder has no 1,000-contact Essentials or Standard row (it jumps from 500 to 1,500). ActiveCampaign’s official ladder has no 500-contact row. The table leaves those cells blank. Parentheses are official yearly-billed monthly equivalents where a vendor published them.
| List size | MailerLite Comfort | Mailchimp Essentials | Mailchimp Standard | ActiveCampaign Starter | ActiveCampaign Plus | Kit (official display) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 | Official Free ($0, 2,500 emails) if within Free caps | Official Free ($0, 500 sends/month, 250/day) if within Free caps | Official Free if within Free caps | No official AC tier below 1,000 | No official AC tier below 1,000 | Official Free up to 10,000 subscribers |
| 500 | $12 ($10.80 yearly-billed), 5,000 emails | $13, 5,000 sends, 3 seats | $20, 6,000 sends, 5 seats | No official AC tier | No official AC tier | Official Free still applies if you stay under 10,000 |
| 1,000 | $19 ($17.10), 10,000 emails | No official 1,000-contact row (next Essentials step: 1,500 contacts at $26.50) | No official 1,000-contact row (next Standard step: 1,500 contacts at $45) | $19 ($15), 10,000 sends | $59 ($49), 10,000 sends | Creator $33/month or $390 billed yearly, at the official 1,000-subscriber display |
| 5,000 | $49 ($44.10), 50,000 emails | $75, 50,000 sends | $100, 60,000 sends | $99 ($79), 50,000 sends | $179 ($145), 50,000 sends | Confirm the live official slider; we are not inventing a 5,000-subscriber Creator row from the 1,000-subscriber display |
Official MailerLite Power at 1,000 subscribers is $39 a month or $35.10 yearly-billed, with official unlimited emails under fair use — still below official ActiveCampaign Plus at the same size. Official GetResponse Starter ($19 or $15.58 annually) and Marketer ($59 or $48.38 annually) are framed from 1,000 subscribers with unlimited monthly sends. Official Brevo Starter and Standard ($9 or $97 a year; $18 or $194 a year) are framed from monthly email amounts, not a 1,000-contact row.
Compare official ActiveCampaign plans
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Official limits that change a small-business quote
- How the vendor counts a “contact” or “subscriber.” Official Mailchimp help counts subscribed, unsubscribed, and non-subscribed contacts; archived, cleaned, and deleted contacts do not count. Official MailerLite FAQ counts active subscribers; unsubscribed and bounced addresses do not, with a cumulative in-cycle rule. Official Kit FAQ counts unique, active subscribers. Official ActiveCampaign’s pricing page did not publish an equally short definition, so a “1,000-contact” row may not describe the same people at every vendor.
- Send caps. Official ActiveCampaign Starter and Plus are 10× contacts; official MailerLite Comfort is 10× the top of the subscriber tier; official Mailchimp Essentials is 10× and Standard is 12×, per official help. Official Kit states there are no sending limits. Official GetResponse Starter advertises unlimited monthly sends.
- Seats. Official ActiveCampaign Starter includes one seat (two maximum). Official MailerLite Free includes two seats; official Comfort includes three. Official Mailchimp Free includes one seat; Essentials three; Standard five.
- Trials. Official ActiveCampaign advertises a 14-day trial with no credit card and a 30-day money-back line. Official MailerLite FAQ: every new account gets 14 days to try premium features. Official Mailchimp pricing copy advertises a 14-day trial of Standard. Official Kit advertises a 14-day trial with no credit card. Those are vendor terms, not offers from this site. See ActiveCampaign free trial.
FAQ
What is the cheapest official paid email tool for a small list?
Among the official 500-contact or 500-subscriber paid rows we recorded, official MailerLite Comfort starts at $12 a month ($10.80 yearly-billed) and official Mailchimp Essentials starts at $13 a month. Official Brevo Starter is $9 a month, but the public card is framed from 5,000 emails, not from 500 contacts. Official ActiveCampaign has no 500-contact price.
Does a small business need official ActiveCampaign?
Only if official limits match the work. If official Free or Comfort/Essentials already covers the list and the send cap, a switch is optional. Official ActiveCampaign becomes a more natural published comparison at 1,000 contacts and on Plus or Pro.
Do you rank a single “best email marketing software for small business”?
No. This page records official prices and limits. It does not invent a scored #1 for every small business.
Do you offer coupons for these tools?
No. Official vendor discounts (yearly billing, official nonprofit request processes, and vendor trial terms) are the vendors’ offers. This site does not publish coupon codes. Official nonprofit and charity discounts we could verify are collected in email marketing for nonprofits.
Related: marketing automation for small business, CRM email marketing.
Sources and method
Checked November 14, 2026 (America/Denver): ActiveCampaign pricing and official USD catalog; Mailchimp pricing and official USD pricing API; official help, About Mailchimp Pricing Plans; MailerLite pricing; Kit pricing; Brevo pricing; GetResponse pricing.