Best Email Marketing Platforms for Online Stores and Small Businesses (2026)
The best email marketing platforms compared by use case, with free plan limits and monthly prices at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts, checked November 2026.
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On this page
- How we compared them
- Monthly price at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts
- Free plans compared
- Best for online stores: Omnisend
- Best for deep store segmentation: Klaviyo
- Best for creators and big free lists: Kit
- Best budget at 10,000 contacts: EmailOctopus
- Best for email plus landing pages and webinars: GetResponse
- Best for automation depth: ActiveCampaign
- Best for budget sending with store tracking: Moosend
- Best for simple pricing: Benchmark Email
- Best for a big list you rarely email: Brevo
- The familiar names: Mailchimp and Constant Contact
- How to choose
- Methodology
- Key takeaways
- Frequently asked questions
The best email marketing platform depends on what you send and how big your list is. A store that lives on abandoned cart emails needs different things than a writer sending a weekly newsletter. This guide sorts eleven platforms by use case and prices each at the same list sizes, so you can compare the real cost as you grow. If you run a Shopify store, our best email marketing for Shopify list goes deeper on store-specific features.
How we compared them
All prices are in USD, monthly billing, regular list price, and come from each vendor’s public pricing page. We checked most pages on November 6, 2026; contact-band prices come from our own earlier pricing checks, which are dated in the notes below the table. Mailchimp’s tier prices are as of our October 29, 2026 check, and Constant Contact’s are from our November 5, 2026 check (its site was not reachable on November 6). This guide is based on published information, not hands-on testing. Our methodology explains how we weigh price, free plan limits and e-commerce features.
Monthly price at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts
| Platform and plan | 1,000 contacts | 5,000 contacts | 10,000 contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| EmailOctopus Pro | $13.50 | $31.50 | $44.50 |
| Brevo Starter (by emails sent)* | $17 | $32 | $32 |
| Moosend Pro | $16 | $48 | $88 |
| Benchmark Pro | $19 | $49 | $89 |
| GetResponse Starter | $19 | $54 | $79 |
| Mailchimp Essentials | $26.50 | $75 | $110 |
| Omnisend Standard | $20 | $81 | $132 |
| Kit Creator | $39 | $89 | $139 |
| GetResponse Marketer | $59 | $95 | $114 |
| ActiveCampaign Starter | $19 | $99 | $189 |
| Klaviyo Email | $30 | $100 | $150 |
| Mailchimp Standard | $45 | $100 | $135 |
| Constant Contact Lite | $30 | $80 | $120 |
| Constant Contact Standard | $55 | $110 | $160 |
Swipe to see the full table →
*Brevo prices by emails sent, not contacts: $17 buys up to 10,000 emails a month and $32 buys 20,000, so the 5,000 and 10,000 columns assume you send roughly four or two campaigns. More volume costs more. Brevo figures carry over from our November 2 check.
Notes on reading the table:
- Plans are not equal. Abandoned cart recovery starts on GetResponse Marketer, while Omnisend, Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign include it more broadly. Kit’s Creator figures are monthly-billing prices; its pricing page also shows a lower yearly rate.
- Mailchimp bills by contact band, so the 1,000 column is its 501 to 1,500 band. Its pricing page also offers 15% off the first 12 months for businesses with 10,000+ contacts (November 6, 2026), which we left out.
- Omnisend’s page quotes three months at a time, so we divide by three. Its Standard plan prices come from our Omnisend pricing guide.
- ActiveCampaign’s annual billing is lower; the figures here are month to month from our October 22 survey.
- More detail and history: our email marketing pricing tracker.
Free plans compared
| Platform | Free plan | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers | Visual automations and sequences need Creator |
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 subscribers, 10,000 emails a month | EmailOctopus branding; 1 landing page and 1 form |
| Benchmark | 500 contacts, 1,000 sends a month | Benchmark branding on emails and forms |
| Omnisend | 250 contacts, 500 emails a month, 500 web push a month | Omnisend branding |
| Klaviyo | 250 active profiles, 500 emails a month, $5 of mobile messages | Email support only for the first 60 days |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts, 500 sends a month | Daily send cap of 250 |
| Brevo | Up to 100,000 stored contacts | 300 emails a day (see our free plans guide) |
| GetResponse, Moosend, ActiveCampaign | Free trial only on the pages we read (14, 30 and 14 days) | Premium features end when the trial does |
Swipe to see the full table →
Best for online stores: Omnisend
Omnisend is built around store data. Its pricing page lists 335+ integrations, 24/7 support on every plan including free, and free web push. On our price check Standard starts at $16/month and reaches $81 at 5,000 contacts and $132 at 10,000.
Who it fits: small and mid-size stores that want welcome, cart and win-back flows without paying Klaviyo prices. Limits: at 10,000 contacts it costs more than Mailchimp Essentials ($132 versus $110), and SMS is billed separately (its pricing page says SMS starts at $0.007 per message). Drawback: the free plan is small (250 contacts, 500 emails). See Omnisend pricing for the tiers.
Omnisend
Best for storesBest for: Online stores that want abandoned cart and welcome flows without extra setup
- Free plan plus store flows on every plan
- 24/7 chat and email support, even on free
- Unsubscribed contacts are not billed
- Higher than Mailchimp Essentials at 10,000 contacts
- Free plan is limited to 250 contacts
Best for deep store segmentation: Klaviyo
Klaviyo is the default for many fast-growing brands. The free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 emails a month, and includes automations, segmentation and reports. Paid Email plans price by active profiles: $30 at 1,000, $100 at 5,000 and $150 at 10,000, with 10 times the profile count in monthly sends. Text messages are billed per send on top.
Who it fits: scaling brands with data and a team to use it. Drawback: it costs more than Omnisend at every size we priced. Compare them in Omnisend vs Klaviyo or read Klaviyo pricing explained.
Best for creators and big free lists: Kit
Kit’s free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, and its page says no plan has sending limits. Creator adds visual automations, sequences, SMS and branding removal, and lists at $39 a month at 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing ($89 at 5,000, $139 at 10,000). Kit also takes a small fee on digital product sales, and it lists abandoned checkout recovery for Shopify, Fourthwall and Wix on paid plans.
Who it fits: newsletter writers, course sellers and creators. Drawback: it is the most expensive contact-priced entry plan here at 1,000 contacts, and automations are paid-only. Read our Kit review and Kit pricing guide.
Kit
Creators and free planBest for: Creators who want to grow a large list before paying
- Free up to 10,000 subscribers
- No sending limits on any plan
- Free migration on paid plans
- No visual automations on the free plan
- Creator costs more than most rivals at 1,000 contacts
Best budget at 10,000 contacts: EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus Pro lists at $13.50 a month at 1,000 contacts, $31.50 at 5,000 and $44.50 at 10,000. The free plan is generous (2,500 subscribers, 10,000 emails a month, with no time limit), and Pro removes branding and adds unlimited landing pages, forms and users. When a list outgrows a plan, it moves you up automatically.
Who it fits: newsletters and small lists where cost matters most. Drawback: we could not confirm built-in store features such as abandoned cart, so it is better for broadcasts than for store automation.
EmailOctopus
Lowest list priceBest for: Newsletters and small lists on a tight budget
- Lowest contact-priced list price in this guide
- 2,500 subscribers free with no time limit
- Unlimited users on Pro
- Store features unconfirmed on its pricing page
- Branding shows on free emails
Best for email plus landing pages and webinars: GetResponse
GetResponse Starter lists at $19 a month for 1,000 contacts and $79 at 10,000, with unlimited monthly sends. Abandoned cart recovery, sales funnels and advanced segmentation start on Marketer ($59 at 1,000, $95 at 5,000, $114 at 10,000). Its page offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
Who it fits: businesses that want landing pages, funnels or webinars in the same tool. Drawback: store features need the pricier Marketer plan, and we found no confirmed permanent free plan on its pricing page. See GetResponse pricing.
GetResponse
Email plus funnelsBest for: Small businesses that want landing pages and funnels in one tool
- Unlimited monthly sends on paid plans
- Cheaper than Mailchimp Essentials at 10,000 contacts (Starter)
- 14-day trial, no card
- Abandoned cart needs Marketer
- Trial rather than a confirmed free plan
Best for automation depth: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign includes multi-step automation on every plan, plus Shopify, Square and WooCommerce integrations and abandoned cart. Starter lists at $19 month to month at 1,000 contacts, $99 at 5,000 and $189 at 10,000 (cheaper billed yearly). Pro adds predictive sending and attribution, with three users. SMS is an add-on. It offers a 14-day trial with no credit card and a 30-day results guarantee.
Who it fits: B2B teams and stores that want CRM-style automation. Drawback: price climbs fast, and it is the priciest entry plan at 10,000 contacts here. Details in ActiveCampaign pricing.
Best for budget sending with store tracking: Moosend
Moosend Pro lists at $16 at 1,000 contacts and $88 at 10,000, with unlimited email sends. Its page mentions product views, cart and purchase tracking, and 80+ integrations. There is a 30-day free trial with no credit card, and 20% off annual plans.
Who it fits: growing lists that want behavior tracking at a lower price. Drawback: trial only, no free plan, and the pricing page we read did not list specific store platforms or SMS.
Read the full Moosend review for plans, add-ons and what we could not verify.
See Moosend pricingBest for simple pricing: Benchmark Email
Benchmark says Pro perks are on every paid plan. The free plan covers 500 contacts and 1,000 sends a month; Pro is $19 at 1,000 contacts, $49 at 5,000 and $89 at 10,000, with sends capped at 10 times your contacts. Extra users cost $15 a month each.
Who it fits: small teams that want a plain tool that works with WordPress or Shopify forms. Drawback: Benchmark branding on the free plan, and we could not confirm abandoned cart automation.
See Benchmark pricingBest for a big list you rarely email: Brevo
Brevo prices mostly by emails sent, so $32 a month covers a 10,000-contact list for 20,000 emails. Its free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts but sends 300 emails a day. We cover it fairly, though we have no Brevo partnership.
Who it fits: large lists with occasional sends. Drawback: costs rise with volume, and it has less store-specific depth than Omnisend or Klaviyo. Its Starter figures here are from our November 2, 2026 check; today’s pricing page lists Starter from 5,000 emails a month. For plan limits and terms, see our Brevo review and Brevo vs Mailchimp.
The familiar names: Mailchimp and Constant Contact
Mailchimp. Free up to 250 contacts and 500 sends. As of our October 29, 2026 check, Essentials was $26.50 at 1,000 contacts, $75 at 5,000 and $110 at 10,000, and Standard was $45, $100 and $135. Unsubscribed contacts count toward your bill. It is general purpose rather than store first. See Mailchimp pricing and Mailchimp alternatives.
Constant Contact. No permanent free plan, but a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. As of our November 5, 2026 check, Lite was $30 at 1,000 contacts, $80 at 5,000 and $120 at 10,000, and Standard was $55, $110 and $160. Live phone and chat support comes on the entry plan. It costs more than Mailchimp at most sizes; our Mailchimp vs Constant Contact guide compares them tier by tier.
How to choose
- You sell products online: start with Omnisend; consider Klaviyo once your data and team grow. Our Shopify list goes deeper.
- You write a newsletter or sell courses: Kit’s free plan, or EmailOctopus for the lowest cost.
- You want landing pages and webinars: GetResponse.
- Your list is large but you email rarely: Brevo.
- You need complex automation: ActiveCampaign.
- You are unsure: use a free plan first. Compare plans in our free plans guide.
Methodology
We read official pricing pages and, where noted, earlier dated checks from our pricing tracker. We have not run paid accounts on these tools. We do not rank by commission; some vendors here pay us if you sign up, and others do not, and rankings follow price, free plan limits and store features. Vendors change prices often, so confirm before you buy.
For the practices that turn a platform into revenue, start with our email marketing best practices guide.
Key takeaways
- Omnisend is our pick for most online stores: e-commerce flows and 24/7 support on every plan, including a free plan for 250 contacts, at $81/month for 5,000 contacts.
- At 10,000 contacts on monthly billing, list prices run from $44.50 (EmailOctopus Pro) to $189 (ActiveCampaign Starter), and Brevo's send-based Starter is $32 for 20,000 emails.
- Kit has the largest free plan (up to 10,000 subscribers) but no visual automations on it; EmailOctopus allows 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month.
- The cheapest tool is not always the right one: abandoned cart recovery, SMS and automation depth sit on different plans at each vendor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email marketing platform for small business?
It depends on what you sell. A small online store should start with Omnisend, which builds abandoned cart and welcome flows into every plan. A creator or service business that mostly sends newsletters can start on Kit's or EmailOctopus's free plan. A business that also runs landing pages and webinars may prefer GetResponse.
Which email marketing platform is cheapest?
On list prices we checked, EmailOctopus Pro is the lowest of the contact-priced tools: $13.50 at 1,000 contacts, $31.50 at 5,000 and $44.50 at 10,000 on monthly billing. Brevo Starter is priced by emails sent rather than contacts, so a big list you email rarely can cost less there. Cheapest is not best if you need store automations.
Is there a free email marketing platform?
Yes, several. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, EmailOctopus allows 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, Benchmark allows 500 contacts and 1,000 sends a month, and Omnisend and Klaviyo each allow 250 contacts and 500 emails a month. Mailchimp's free plan covers 250 contacts. Free plans limit features, branding or sends, so check what you need first.
What is the best email marketing platform for ecommerce?
Omnisend and Klaviyo are the two store-first options. Omnisend costs less at the list sizes we checked; Klaviyo suits larger brands that want deeper segmentation and reporting. See our Shopify list for store-specific depth.
Do email marketing platforms charge for unsubscribed contacts?
It varies. Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your bill, while Omnisend says unsubscribed contacts are not billed. Check each vendor's counting rules before importing a large list.
What do email marketing reviews on Reddit say?
We don't use forum posts as evidence here. Threads are anecdotal and go stale as prices change. This guide relies on vendors' own pricing pages, and it is not based on hands-on testing, so treat forum opinions as a starting point and check current prices yourself.
Can I switch platforms without losing my list?
Generally yes. You can export contacts as a CSV and import them elsewhere. Export only people who opted in, and rebuild your key automations before you cancel the old tool. Some vendors, including Kit and Omnisend, advertise migration help.