Best Free & Cheap Email Marketing Tools in 2026 - Complete Budget Guide

Free Tier Analysis: MailerLite offers the most generous free tier in email marketing: 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 monthly emails and full automation capabilities. This isn't a crippled trial - you get the automation workflow builder, landing pages, signup forms, and email campaigns for free. For comparison, Mailchimp's free tier only allows 500 contacts with no automation. MailerLite's free tier can legitimately power a small business's entire email marketing for months or even years. The main restrictions are: limited templates (you can still build custom emails), no newsletter selling features, and limited 24/7 support. But the core marketing functionality is complete. If you're validating an idea, building your first audience, or bootstrapping on a tight budget, MailerLite's free tier provides real, usable value.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: MailerLite's paid plans start at just $10/month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails, scaling to $15/month for 1,000 subscribers, $25 for 2,500, and $39 for 5,000. The cost per email depends on how often you send, but assuming 10 emails per subscriber monthly, you're looking at $0.001-0.002 per email - extremely competitive. The value extends beyond raw pricing: MailerLite includes landing pages, signup forms, automation workflows, A/B testing, and a website builder. Many competitors charge extra for these features. Dollar for dollar, MailerLite provides more marketing functionality than any tool in its price range. The interface is modern and intuitive, reducing the time cost of email marketing. For budget-conscious businesses needing real marketing automation, MailerLite delivers exceptional value.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: MailerLite has some hidden costs to consider. The "Advanced" tier roughly doubles prices and is required for features like custom HTML editor, Facebook integration, auto-resend to non-openers, and multiple automation triggers. If you need these capabilities, factor that into budgeting. The subscriber-based pricing can also catch you off guard - your costs increase as your list grows, even if you're not sending more emails. A fast-growing list can see bills increase significantly month-over-month. MailerLite also counts all subscribers, not just active ones, so clean your list regularly to avoid paying for dead contacts. Despite these considerations, MailerLite remains one of the more transparent providers, without the aggressive upselling or surprise charges common elsewhere.

Value for Money Verdict: MailerLite punches well above its weight class. For businesses that need traditional email marketing - newsletters, drip campaigns, landing pages, automation - it's hard to beat the value at $10-25/month. The free tier is genuinely useful for starting out, and paid tiers include functionality that competitors charge 3-4x more for. MailerLite is particularly good for: content creators, coaches, small e-commerce, and anyone needing marketing automation without SaaS-specific features like billing integration. If you need revenue tracking or native Stripe integration, Sequenzy is better. But for general-purpose budget email marketing, MailerLite sets the standard that others should match.

Free Tier Analysis: Brevo's free tier allows 300 emails per day, which translates to approximately 9,000 emails per month - quite generous for a free plan. Unlike subscriber-based limitations, this email-volume approach means you can have unlimited contacts and only pay when you send. The free tier includes marketing automation, transactional email capabilities, and even basic CRM functionality. The catch is the daily limit: you can't batch-send a large campaign on the free tier since you're capped at 300 per day. For steady, daily email operations (transactional emails, automated sequences, small daily newsletters), Brevo's free tier works well. For occasional large blasts, you'll hit limitations quickly. Still, 9,000 monthly emails with automation is more than many businesses need in their early stages.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: Brevo uses email-volume pricing: $25/month for 20,000 emails, $35 for 40,000, $65 for 100,000. This works out to $0.00125 per email at the base tier, decreasing at higher volumes. The value proposition extends beyond email: Brevo includes SMS marketing, WhatsApp campaigns, live chat, and CRM features in the platform. Pricing these as separate tools would easily exceed $100/month. For small businesses that need multiple marketing channels, Brevo's consolidation creates real savings and reduced complexity. The email features themselves - automation workflows, transactional API, campaign builder - are solid if not exceptional. You're trading best-in-class individual features for comprehensive coverage at an affordable price point.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: Brevo's hidden costs center around feature tiers and add-ons. The Starter plan ($25/month) removes the Brevo branding from emails. More advanced features like landing pages, A/B testing, and send time optimization require the Business tier ($65/month). SMS credits are purchased separately and can add up quickly for heavy users. The platform also offers various add-ons (phone support, dedicated IP, etc.) that increase costs. One significant hidden cost: Brevo's email builder and automation tools, while functional, are less intuitive than competitors, potentially requiring more time to achieve results. If you value simplicity, factor in the learning curve. Despite these considerations, Brevo remains competitively priced for its feature breadth.

Value for Money Verdict: Brevo offers the best value for businesses needing multiple marketing channels (email, SMS, chat) in one platform at a budget price. The all-in-one approach reduces tool sprawl and associated costs. However, if you only need email, platforms like Sequenzy or MailerLite provide better focused value. Brevo excels for: small businesses with diverse marketing needs, teams that want everything in one dashboard, and anyone doing SMS marketing alongside email. The free tier is useful for testing, and paid tiers are reasonable for the feature set. Just be aware that accessing all advertised features requires higher tiers than the base $25/month plan.

Free Tier Analysis: Amazon SES offers the most generous free tier in the industry - 62,000 emails per month when sending from an EC2 instance, completely free. This isn't a trial; it's a permanent benefit for AWS customers. Even without EC2, the pricing is so low that the free tier becomes less relevant - 10,000 emails cost approximately $1. For technical founders already using AWS, SES is effectively free email infrastructure. The catch is significant: SES provides infrastructure, not a product. There's no template builder, no subscriber management, no automation, no analytics dashboard. You're getting a raw email API that requires significant development to be useful. The "free" comes with substantial time investment to implement correctly.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: At $0.10 per 1,000 emails ($0.0001 per email), Amazon SES is the cheapest email sending option available at any volume. For comparison, sending 100,000 emails costs approximately $10 on SES versus $100+ on most marketing platforms. At scale, the savings are massive. However, the value calculation must include implementation costs. Building a proper email system on SES requires: template management, subscriber database, bounce/complaint handling, warm-up procedures, reputation monitoring, and analytics. A developer spending 40 hours building this at $100/hour has spent $4,000 - equivalent to years of a managed platform. SES makes sense when: you have existing AWS infrastructure, you need high volume (100k+ monthly), you have development resources available, or you're building something custom that requires raw email infrastructure.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: SES has several hidden costs beyond the per-email rate. Data transfer out is charged at $0.09/GB, which adds up for high-volume senders. Dedicated IPs cost $24.95/month each, and you may need multiple for proper warm-up. The sandbox mode requires requesting production access, which can delay projects. Most significantly, the time cost of configuration, maintenance, and monitoring adds up. Poor SES configuration can damage sender reputation, requiring expensive remediation. AWS support costs extra. And SES doesn't prevent bad practices - if you spam, you'll damage your reputation and deliverability. Hidden costs also include the opportunity cost of development time spent on email infrastructure instead of core product. For technical teams with capacity, SES is cheap. For everyone else, the hidden costs often exceed managed alternatives.

Value for Money Verdict: Amazon SES offers unbeatable value for the right user: technical teams sending high volumes who want complete control and minimal per-email costs. At scale, nothing touches SES pricing. However, for most businesses - especially those without dedicated DevOps - the hidden costs of implementation and maintenance eliminate the savings. If you're sending under 50,000 monthly emails and don't have AWS expertise, platforms like Sequenzy or MailerLite provide better overall value despite higher per-email costs. SES is a power tool that rewards expertise and punishes novices. Know which category you're in before committing.

Free Tier Analysis: Buttondown's free tier allows up to 100 subscribers - modest compared to competitors but sufficient for testing and early audience building. The free tier includes all core features without artificial restrictions: custom domains, API access, markdown editing, and RSS-to-email. You experience the full product before deciding to upgrade. For founders just starting to build an audience or testing newsletter ideas, 100 subscribers represents real validation. By the time you exceed that number, you've proven the concept and likely have enough engagement to justify the $9/month upgrade. Buttondown's philosophy is quality over quantity - they'd rather have fewer satisfied users than masses on a crippled free tier.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: Buttondown's pricing scales with subscriber count: $9/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, $29 for 5,000, and $79 for 25,000. Assuming weekly sends, cost per email ranges from $0.002-0.003 - not the cheapest, but competitive for a quality newsletter tool. The value proposition is focus and simplicity. Buttondown does newsletters exceptionally well rather than being mediocre at many things. The markdown-native editor is perfect for developers and writers. The clean aesthetic respects your readers. Analytics are simple but sufficient. What you won't find are elaborate automation workflows, sophisticated segmentation, or transactional capabilities. If you need those, look elsewhere. For pure newsletter publishing, Buttondown's value per dollar is excellent because you're not paying for features you won't use.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: Buttondown has minimal hidden costs - refreshingly transparent for the industry. All features are available at all tiers; you're simply paying for subscriber capacity. There are no upsells to unlock functionality, no premium support tiers, no surprise charges. One consideration: subscriber-based pricing can become expensive for large, infrequently-emailed lists. If you have 10,000 subscribers but only email monthly, you're paying $79/month for 10,000 emails - not great per-email economics. Buttondown also lacks some features competitors include: no landing page builder, limited automation, basic analytics. If you need these, you'll add other tools, increasing total cost. But for focused newsletter publishing, what you see is what you pay.

Value for Money Verdict: Buttondown offers excellent value for a specific use case: writers, developers, and founders who want a clean, simple newsletter tool without bloat. Built by a solo developer who understands the indie mindset, every pricing decision reflects respect for small publishers. If your email needs are newsletter-focused - weekly updates, product announcements, content distribution - Buttondown delivers great value. For marketing automation, transactional email, or complex segmentation, look elsewhere. Buttondown is a scalpel, not a Swiss army knife, and that focus makes it excellent at what it does.

Free Tier Analysis: Mailchimp's free tier has been steadily degraded over the years. Currently, it allows only 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly emails - significantly less generous than competitors like MailerLite (1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails). The free tier also severely restricts features: no automation workflows, limited A/B testing, basic templates only, and mandatory Mailchimp branding. For bootstrapped founders evaluating email tools, Mailchimp's free tier is no longer competitive. You'll hit limitations quickly and face an expensive upgrade path. The free tier now primarily serves as a lead generator for paid plans rather than a genuinely useful tool. Unless you have a specific reason to use Mailchimp, start elsewhere with more generous free offerings.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: Mailchimp's pricing has become the most expensive among mainstream email tools. The Essentials plan starts at $13/month for 500 contacts but escalates rapidly: $45/month at 2,500 contacts, $75 at 5,000, and over $100 at 10,000. At higher tiers, cost per email exceeds $0.01 - roughly 10x more than budget alternatives. The value proposition is increasingly hard to justify. Mailchimp's features, while comprehensive, are matched or exceeded by cheaper competitors. The interface has become cluttered with upsells. Deliverability, while good, is no better than specialized tools costing far less. The main value Mailchimp provides is brand recognition and extensive third-party integrations. For budget-conscious users, these benefits rarely justify the premium pricing.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: Mailchimp has numerous hidden costs that catch users off guard. The platform counts all contacts including unsubscribed and inactive users, inflating your bill. Audience features require expensive add-ons. The Standard plan (required for many features) is significantly more expensive than Essentials. Email support costs extra. A/B testing of journeys requires Premium. The pricing page is deliberately confusing, making it hard to predict actual costs. Perhaps the biggest hidden cost is lock-in: Mailchimp makes export difficult, and years of email history, automations, and integrations create switching costs. Many users realize too late that they're paying far more than necessary because migration seems too painful. Factor in long-term costs before committing.

Value for Money Verdict: Mailchimp no longer offers good value for budget-conscious users. The brand recognition and market position that once justified premium pricing are now liabilities as the platform has become enterprise-focused with pricing to match. For every dollar spent on Mailchimp, you can get more features and capacity from MailerLite, Sequenzy, or Brevo. The only reasons to choose Mailchimp are: specific integration requirements unavailable elsewhere, organizational inertia from existing usage, or enterprise needs that justify enterprise pricing. For new projects with budget constraints, skip Mailchimp entirely and invest your savings in growth.

Free Tier Analysis: SendGrid offers a permanent free tier with 100 emails per day - approximately 3,000 per month. Unlike trial-based free tiers, this is forever-free and includes both transactional API access and basic marketing features. For early-stage products, development, testing, and very small-scale usage, SendGrid's free tier provides legitimate utility indefinitely. The daily cap of 100 emails means you can't batch-send campaigns on the free tier, but for steady transactional needs or small newsletters, it works. The free tier also includes email validation (up to 100), basic templates, and deliverability analytics. For developers who need a reliable email API for projects that might not grow beyond small scale, SendGrid's free tier is genuinely valuable long-term.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: SendGrid's paid pricing starts at $19.95/month for 50,000 emails (Essentials plan), working out to approximately $0.0004 per email - quite competitive. The Pro plan at $89.95/month for 100,000 emails adds advanced features. At scale, SendGrid becomes very cost-effective, with enterprise plans offering sub-$0.001 per email pricing. The value extends beyond raw email: SendGrid provides enterprise-grade infrastructure, extensive documentation, mature APIs in every language, and years of deliverability expertise. The platform is battle-tested at massive scale. However, the interface shows its age compared to modern tools, and marketing features aren't as sophisticated as dedicated platforms. For developers prioritizing reliability and API quality over UI polish, SendGrid offers good value.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: SendGrid has some hidden costs to consider. The Essentials plan lacks features many consider basic: custom tracking domains, A/B testing, and automation require the Pro plan at $89.95/month - a significant jump. Dedicated IPs cost $89.95/month each. Phone support requires premium tiers. The platform's complexity means you'll likely spend more time on configuration than simpler alternatives. SendGrid's pricing page is reasonably transparent, but understanding which tier includes which features requires careful reading. One positive: SendGrid doesn't count subscribers, only email volume, avoiding the "inactive contact" tax common elsewhere. Overall, hidden costs are moderate but not insignificant.

Value for Money Verdict: SendGrid provides good value for specific use cases: developers needing reliable email infrastructure, high-volume senders, and enterprises requiring Twilio's backing. The forever-free tier is genuinely useful for small projects. At scale, per-email costs are competitive. However, for budget-conscious users needing marketing automation and a modern interface, platforms like Sequenzy or MailerLite offer better overall value at the sub-$50/month price point. SendGrid is best for developers who prioritize API quality and scale potential over marketing features and ease of use.

Free Tier Analysis: Elastic Email offers a free tier with 100 emails per day, translating to approximately 3,000 monthly emails. The free tier includes basic email API access and simple campaign features. While not the most generous free tier, it's sufficient for testing, development, and very early-stage projects. Elastic Email also offers pay-as-you-go pricing with no monthly minimum, meaning you can send emails for just the per-email cost without committing to a plan. For irregular senders or budget-conscious users who only need occasional campaigns, this flexibility is valuable. The free tier includes 14 days of email logs and basic analytics.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: Elastic Email is among the cheapest email services available. Pay-as-you-go pricing starts at $0.09 per 1,000 emails, making 10,000 emails cost just $9 - nearly as cheap as Amazon SES but without the infrastructure complexity. Monthly plans offer even better rates at higher volumes. This pricing makes Elastic Email attractive for high-volume senders, newsletters with large lists, or businesses with variable sending patterns. The value proposition is raw cost - Elastic Email won't win design awards for its interface or automation capabilities, but for users who primarily need to send emails cheaply and reliably, the value per dollar is excellent.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: Elastic Email has some hidden costs to consider. The base pricing doesn't include many features: email validation, dedicated IPs, and advanced automation require additional fees. The platform's cheaper shared IPs may have deliverability issues - paying $1/day for a private IP is recommended for serious usage. Customer support is limited on lower tiers. The interface and user experience aren't as polished as more expensive alternatives, potentially costing time. Email logs are limited to 14 days on lower plans. Despite these considerations, total costs remain low even with add-ons. The main hidden cost is really quality-of-life features rather than monetary charges.

Value for Money Verdict: Elastic Email provides excellent value for users who prioritize low cost over features. For high-volume senders, newsletters, or businesses with simple email needs, the per-email pricing is hard to beat outside of Amazon SES. However, if you need sophisticated marketing automation, beautiful templates, or SaaS-specific features like revenue tracking, Elastic Email falls short. Think of it as the budget airline of email - it gets you there cheaply, but don't expect premium amenities. Good for: high-volume transactional, simple newsletters, cost-conscious businesses. Less ideal for: marketing automation, SaaS lifecycle emails, users who value UI/UX.

Free Tier Analysis: Unlike most competitors, Moosend does not offer a permanent free tier - only a 30-day trial. This puts Moosend at a disadvantage for users wanting to test extensively before committing. However, the trial includes full access to all features without restrictions, allowing a comprehensive evaluation. After the trial, you must choose a paid plan or lose access. For businesses ready to commit to email marketing, the lack of a free tier isn't problematic, but for early-stage validation or side projects, platforms with permanent free tiers (MailerLite, Brevo) might be better starting points. Moosend compensates with aggressive entry-level pricing once you do commit.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: Moosend's Pro plan starts at just $9/month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails, scaling to $16/month for 1,000, $32 for 2,500, and $48 for 5,000. These prices are competitive with MailerLite and significantly below Mailchimp. The value proposition is strong: Moosend includes sophisticated automation workflows, landing pages, subscription forms, and transactional email capabilities. The automation builder competes with tools costing 3-4x more. For businesses that need real marketing automation without enterprise pricing, Moosend delivers impressive functionality per dollar. The interface is modern and intuitive, reducing time costs associated with email marketing.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: Moosend has relatively few hidden costs. All features are available at all price tiers - no functionality locked behind premium plans. The subscriber-based pricing can become expensive for large, inactive lists, so regular list cleaning is important. Custom reporting and dedicated account management require higher tiers or custom quotes. The platform is owned by Sitecore (since 2021), and some users report concerns about long-term direction, though pricing and features have remained stable post-acquisition. One hidden cost is the lack of a free tier - you must pay from day one after the trial, unlike competitors where you can operate indefinitely at small scale for free.

Value for Money Verdict: Moosend offers excellent value for businesses ready to commit to paid email marketing. The combination of sophisticated automation, modern interface, and aggressive pricing makes it competitive with MailerLite and far superior to Mailchimp on value. The lack of a permanent free tier is the main drawback - if you're validating an idea or running a side project, start with MailerLite or Brevo's free tiers and consider Moosend when you're ready to scale. For serious email marketing on a budget, Moosend deserves strong consideration.

Free Tier Analysis: SMTP2GO offers a genuine free tier with 1,000 emails per month - a reasonable allowance for testing, development, or very small-scale transactional needs. The free tier includes SMTP relay, REST API, detailed reporting, and email tracking. Unlike some competitors that time-limit their free tiers, SMTP2GO's is permanent. For small applications, side projects, or development environments, the free tier provides real utility. The main limitation is the volume cap - 1,000 monthly emails won't serve a production application with any meaningful traffic. But for evaluation and light usage, it's genuinely useful.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: SMTP2GO's paid plans start at $10/month for 10,000 emails, scaling to $20/month for 25,000 and $50/month for 100,000. This works out to $0.001-0.002 per email - competitive with other transactional email services. The value proposition is reliability and simplicity: SMTP2GO focuses on doing transactional email well rather than being a marketing platform. The service includes email tracking, detailed delivery reports, bounce handling, and dedicated IP options. For applications that need reliable email delivery without marketing features, SMTP2GO provides good value. The interface is straightforward, and setup is quick.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: SMTP2GO has minimal hidden costs. All plans include core features; you're primarily paying for volume. Dedicated IPs require higher-tier plans or additional fees. Premium support costs extra. The platform doesn't include marketing features - if you need automation or campaigns, you'll need a second tool, adding to total costs. One consideration: SMTP2GO is less well-known than competitors like SendGrid or Postmark, meaning fewer community resources and third-party integrations. Overall, the pricing is transparent and predictable.

Value for Money Verdict: SMTP2GO provides solid value for straightforward transactional email needs. If you need reliable SMTP relay without marketing features, the pricing is competitive and the service is dependable. The free tier is useful for testing. However, for SaaS businesses needing both transactional and marketing email, all-in-one platforms like Sequenzy or Brevo offer better total value. SMTP2GO is best for: dedicated transactional email, SMTP relay requirements, and applications where email is infrastructure rather than a marketing channel.

Free Tier Analysis: Zoho Campaigns offers a surprisingly generous free tier: 2,000 subscribers with 6,000 monthly emails. This is competitive with MailerLite and significantly more generous than Mailchimp. The free tier includes basic automation, campaign management, and A/B testing. For Zoho ecosystem users already using Zoho CRM, Books, or other products, the integration is seamless. The free tier does have limitations: Zoho branding on emails, limited templates, and restricted advanced features. But for early-stage businesses, especially those already in the Zoho ecosystem, it provides substantial free value.

Cost Per Email & Value Analysis: Zoho Campaigns has the lowest paid plan starting point: just $4/month for 500 subscribers with 2,500 emails. This is remarkably cheap for a full-featured email marketing platform. Scaling, however, is subscriber-based: $6 for 1,000, $15 for 2,500, and $25 for 5,000 subscribers. At higher subscriber counts, Zoho isn't dramatically cheaper than competitors. The value proposition is strongest for: small subscriber lists, Zoho ecosystem users who benefit from integration, and businesses wanting the absolute lowest entry price. The platform includes automation, templates, analytics, and A/B testing - full marketing features at budget pricing.

Hidden Costs Evaluation: Zoho Campaigns has some hidden costs to consider. The Standard plan ($4/month starting) has limited automation and templates - the Professional plan roughly doubles prices. Email credits are limited; exceeding them requires upgrades. The platform works best within the Zoho ecosystem; standalone usage lacks some integrations. The interface can feel dated compared to modern email tools. One significant hidden cost: Zoho's support resources and community are smaller than major competitors, meaning more self-service troubleshooting. For Zoho ecosystem users, these issues are minor. For standalone usage, factor in the learning curve and limited external resources.

Value for Money Verdict: Zoho Campaigns offers excellent value for a specific audience: Zoho ecosystem users and businesses wanting the absolute cheapest paid starting point. The $4/month entry price and generous free tier make it accessible to anyone. However, for standalone email marketing, platforms like MailerLite or Sequenzy offer more polish and better features at similar or slightly higher prices. Zoho Campaigns is best for: Zoho CRM users, micro-businesses with tiny budgets, and companies standardized on the Zoho suite. For general email marketing needs, evaluate whether the savings justify a slightly less refined user experience.