Best Email Marketing for Small Business in 2026
The best email marketing for small business in 2026: Brevo, MailerLite, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Kit, and Loops compared by price, list size, and fit.
Andrew Kim
For most small businesses in 2026, the best email marketing tool is Brevo or MailerLite on price, Mailchimp for an all-in-one suite, Constant Contact if you want phone support, Kit if you're a creator, and Loops if you sell software. Brevo starts at $9 a month and MailerLite at $12, while Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers. The right pick depends on your list size, how often you send, and what kind of business you run.
Last validated: September 2026. Email vendors change plans often; MailerLite, for one, cut its free plan and renamed its paid plans in June 2026. Confirm on each vendor's page before you buy.
Four questions that pick the tool
Answer these before reading a feature list. They'll narrow six options to two or three.
- How big is your list, and how fast is it growing? Most tools price by contact count. Check the price at your one-year target, not today's size.
- How often do you send? Some tools bill by subscriber with generous sending; Brevo bills mainly by email volume. Volume pricing tends to suit a big list you email rarely, and subscriber pricing tends to suit frequent sends. Brevo's cheaper tiers also cap stored contacts, so price both at your real numbers.
- How much time do you want in the dashboard? A clean editor and ready-made automations save hours. A do-everything suite can eat them.
- What kind of business are you? A creator, a dentist, and a SaaS founder shouldn't buy the same tool, even at the same list size.
How do the best small business email tools compare?
| Tool | Free plan | Paid starts at | Best for | Technical skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | 100,000 contacts, 300 sends/day | $9/mo (Starter: 5,000 emails, 500 contacts) | Big lists that send occasionally | Low |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 sends/mo | $12/mo (Comfort, 500 subscribers) | Clean design on a budget | Low |
| Constant Contact | None, free trial only | $12/mo (Lite, 500 contacts) | Owners who want phone support | Low |
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo | $13/mo (Essentials, 500 contacts) | An all-in-one marketing suite | Low |
| Kit | 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts | $39/mo (Creator; $33 billed yearly) | Creators, coaches, newsletters | Low |
| Loops | 1,000 contacts, 4,000 sends per 30 days | $49/mo (up to 5,000 contacts) | SaaS teams sending product and marketing email | Medium |
Small-business email tools: paid starts at
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Brevo | $9 |
| MailerLite | $12 |
| Constant Contact | $12 |
| Mailchimp | $13 |
| Kit | $39 |
| Loops | $49 |
The first five are built for any business with a list. Loops is built for software products. Most small business owners belong in the first group.
Brevo
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is usually the best value for a small business that watches costs. Its free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts but caps sending at 300 emails a day, which stretches a long way if you have a big list and email occasionally.
Paid plans are priced mainly by monthly email volume. Starter begins at $9/month and Standard at $18/month, both for 5,000 emails. Watch the contact caps: those entry tiers store only 500 contacts, rising to 1,500 at 10,000 emails and 2,500 at 15,000. Tiers from 20,000 emails store up to 500,000. Standard adds unlimited-contact marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced reporting, send-time optimization, and a landing page. Transactional email is included on every plan; SMS credits are extra.
Good fit: budget-focused owners, and anyone with a big list who sends in bursts.
Watch out for: the 300-a-day free cap and the contact caps on cheap paid tiers.
MailerLite
MailerLite is the pick for clean design and low cost without much fuss. The editor is pleasant, forms and landing pages are simple to build, and a non-technical owner can run it.
Its plans changed on June 16, 2026. The free plan now covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, down from 500 and 12,000. Paid plans are now Comfort, from $12/month for 500 subscribers, and Power, from $25/month. Comfort's monthly sending scales with your subscriber tier (10,000 emails a month on the 1,000-subscriber tier), while Power has unlimited sends under a fair-use policy. Annual billing saves 10%. For transactional email, MailerLite points you to its sister product, MailerSend.
Good fit: budget-conscious small businesses and newsletter publishers who want a tidy tool.
Watch out for: the smaller free plan, and a sign-up approval process that can be strict for new accounts.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact sells on support and simplicity. There's no free plan, only a trial. Lite starts at $12/month, Standard at $35, and Premium at $80, all for up to 500 contacts.
Watch the scaling. Lite rises to $30/month at 1,000 contacts and $50 at 2,500, so the entry price understates the cost of a growing list.
Constant Contact Lite: price by list size
| Contacts | Lite price per month |
|---|---|
| 500 contacts | $12/mo |
| 1,000 contacts | $30/mo |
| 2,500 contacts | $50/mo |
What you get is phone and chat support on every plan, with priority support on Premium. That matters to owners who'd rather call someone than search a help center. It also covers email, social posting, landing pages, and event tools.
Good fit: owners who value phone support and a familiar interface, with a stable list size.
Watch out for: no free plan and steep per-contact pricing.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp was the default free option for years. Not anymore: the free plan is limited to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a 250-a-day cap.
Essentials starts at $13/month for 500 contacts and 5,000 sends, and Standard at $20/month for 500 contacts and 6,000 sends. The real cost shows up as your list grows: at 5,000 contacts, Essentials is about $75/month and Standard about $100. Displayed prices can include promotional discounts. Transactional email is a paid add-on for Standard and Premium, and SMS is a paid add-on from Essentials up.
What you get is a mature suite: solid templates, an established automation builder, reporting, and a huge library of tutorials and integrations. If you get stuck, someone has already written the fix.
Good fit: small businesses that want one well-supported marketing platform and aren't chasing the lowest price.
Watch out for: the tiny free plan and steep pricing as your list grows.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit, which was ConvertKit until its 2024 rebrand, is built for creators: writers, coaches, and course sellers whose business is their audience. Its free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, plus landing pages and forms. For a creator who mostly broadcasts, that alone can carry you a long way.
Paid plans add email sequences, visual automations, and third-party integrations. Creator starts at $39/month for 1,000 subscribers ($33/month billed yearly), and Pro at $79/month ($66 yearly) adds advanced reporting and subscriber scoring.
Kit organizes subscribers with tags and segments instead of rigid lists, and includes tools for selling digital products and paid newsletters. If you think of subscribers as fans, it fits. If you run a dental office, it's overkill.
Good fit: creators, coaches, course sellers, and newsletter businesses.
Watch out for: paid tiers that start well above the budget tools.
Loops
Loops is the software-team option. It sends marketing and transactional email from one system, so a product team doesn't have to stitch two tools together. The free plan covers 1,000 subscribed contacts and 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days, with every feature and a small "Powered by Loops" footer.
Paid plans start at $49/month for up to 5,000 subscribed contacts, with unlimited marketing and transactional sends. Contacts who only receive transactional email don't count toward the tier.
Good fit: SaaS startups that want marketing and product email in one lightweight tool.
Watch out for: a higher entry price, and product emails that need a developer to wire up events from your app.
How to choose by business type
Local service business (salon, dentist, contractor, gym). Start with MailerLite or Brevo on a low-cost plan. If you'd rather call support than read a help center, Constant Contact is worth the premium. Skip software-focused tools.
Retail or online store. You need abandoned-cart flows, product blocks, and store integrations. Brevo is usually the value choice and Mailchimp the more featured one. For Shopify specifically, see our Shopify email app picks.
Creator, coach, or newsletter. Kit's free plan can carry you to 10,000 subscribers and includes tools for selling digital products. MailerLite is a cheaper alternative if you don't need Kit's creator-commerce features. Our guide to creating a newsletter covers setup.
SaaS or software product. Your emails should follow what users do in the product. Loops unifies marketing and transactional email; for a wider look, see our guide to email tools for startups. The general marketing platforms handle app-triggered email clumsily, if at all.
Just testing whether email is worth it. Start on a free plan. Kit's is best for broadcasting to a growing list, Brevo's for many contacts and rare sends, and MailerLite's is the most pleasant to use day to day, if 250 subscribers is enough.
Free-tier contact/subscriber caps
| Tool | Free contacts or subscribers |
|---|---|
| Mailchimp | 250 |
| MailerLite | 250 |
| Loops | 1,000 |
| Kit | 10,000 |
| Brevo | 100,000 |
A note on switching. Every tool here exports contacts as a CSV, so moving a list is easy. Automations and templates usually have to be rebuilt, and a new sending domain needs to warm up, so ramp up sending gradually after a move instead of emailing your whole list on day one. If you're weighing a move off the incumbent, our Mailchimp alternatives roundup goes deeper.
Where Dreamlit fits
Dreamlit, the company behind this blog, isn't a small business email tool. It takes activation email off your plate. Our experts find where users drop off, run the emails that turn signups into paying users, and own the results. The best fit is 500+ signups a month. If you run a shop, a practice, or a newsletter, pick from the list above. If you run a SaaS product at that scale, a free activation audit shows where users drop off and what it costs.
The short version
If you run a typical small business with a non-technical owner, your shortlist is Brevo, MailerLite, or Mailchimp, and the first two usually cost less. Creators should start with Kit. Owners who want a human on the phone should look at Constant Contact. Software teams should look at Loops. Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site, and don't pay for a suite you won't open.
References
- Brevo: About Brevo's pricing plans and Free plan limits
- MailerLite pricing and free plan update
- MailerLite: transactional email via MailerSend
- Constant Contact pricing
- Mailchimp pricing and plan details
- Mailchimp: Transactional email add-on
- Kit pricing and free plan
- Loops pricing and billing docs
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email marketing tool for a small business in 2026?
There isn't one winner. For a local service or shop with a non-technical owner, Brevo or MailerLite give you the most for the least money. Mailchimp suits owners who want an all-in-one suite, Constant Contact those who want phone support, Kit creators, and Loops software products.
Which email tool has the best free plan for small businesses?
Kit's free plan is the most generous for broadcasting: up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts. Brevo stores up to 100,000 contacts free but caps sending at 300 emails a day. Loops allows 1,000 contacts and 4,000 sends per 30 days. MailerLite (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month) and Mailchimp (250 contacts, 500 sends a month) are the tightest.
How much should a small business expect to pay for email marketing?
Entry plans cost $9 a month on Brevo, $12 on MailerLite and Constant Contact, and $13 on Mailchimp, each for about 500 contacts. Kit and Loops start at $39 and $49. Prices climb with list size: Mailchimp Essentials runs about $75 a month at 5,000 contacts. Prices checked in September 2026.
Is Mailchimp still worth it for small businesses in 2026?
It's capable and widely supported, but no longer the budget pick. The free plan is limited to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and paid pricing climbs quickly with contacts. It's worth it if you want a mature all-in-one suite; if price matters most, Brevo and MailerLite usually cost less.
Do I need a technical person to use these email tools?
Not for Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Constant Contact, or Kit, which all run from a dashboard. Loops is built for software teams, and triggering emails from your product usually needs a developer to send events or connect your app.
What's the best email tool for an online store?
You want abandoned-cart flows, product blocks, and store integrations. Brevo is usually the value pick, Mailchimp the more featured one, and Constant Contact works if support matters more than automation depth. For a Shopify-specific list, see our Shopify email app picks.
Can I switch email tools later without losing my contacts?
Yes. Every tool here exports and imports contacts as a CSV. Automations and templates usually need rebuilding, and a new sending domain needs warming up, so pick for where your list will be in a year.
Which tools include transactional email along with marketing email?
Loops sends marketing and transactional email from one system. Brevo includes transactional email on all plans. Mailchimp sells transactional email (formerly Mandrill) as a paid add-on for Standard and Premium, and MailerLite points transactional senders to its sister product MailerSend. Kit and Constant Contact focus on marketing email.
About the Author
Co-Founder & CTO
Andrew is Co-Founder and CTO of Dreamlit AI, which runs user activation for software companies. He previously built partner integrations at Netflix and led engineering at fintech startup Bonside. Full bio →
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