We tested every major platform. Here's what we'd actually pay for, by use case.
The automation builder is the best under $100/month. If you'll use it, it justifies the price and complexity.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Clean modern interface and competitive pricing initially looked promising, but the automation builder has a real workflow limitation: you can't easily add existing contacts to automations. This bites whenever someone downloads a freebie, signs up for a webinar, or buys a course before you've built the relevant sequence — they don't get the follow-up emails they should. Workarounds exist; none are clean. Worth knowing before you commit.
Substack. Excellent for writers building a paid newsletter audience from scratch, but it's a publishing platform, not an email marketing tool. No segmentation, no automations, no commerce layer beyond paid subscriptions, and Substack takes 10% of subscription revenue. Beehiiv does the same job, takes 0%, and gives you ownership of the audience.
GetResponse. Reasonable feature set with webinars and landing pages bundled in, but the tools each fall short of the dedicated alternatives. Better picks exist for every individual use case.
Klaviyo. Best-in-class for physical e-commerce, but built for product-based businesses — not digital products, courses, or services. If you sell physical goods through Shopify, see our e-commerce guide.
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ConvertKit free is the most generous — up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends. Beehiiv's free Launch plan covers 2,500 subscribers with unlimited sends. MailerLite's free covers 1,000 subscribers with full features. Mailchimp's free tier was slashed to 250 contacts and 500 sends/month, making it the weakest free tier of the major providers.
ActiveCampaign for complex behavior-based automation. ConvertKit for creators and newsletter operators. Mailchimp is the most familiar brand but its 2026 free tier is the weakest of the major providers. Most businesses start on ConvertKit or MailerLite free and migrate to ActiveCampaign when they need serious automation.
Full access to all automation features. No credit card.