Best Email Marketing Software for Small Businesses by Budget
At 50,000 contacts, Beehiiv Lite is the cheapest plan here at $2,988 for 12 months, about a third of Klaviyo Email's $8,640. Under 10,000 contacts, Brevo Starter and MailerLite Comfort cost less than Beehiiv.
For the lowest 12-month price on email marketing software for small businesses, pick ActiveCampaign Starter at 1,000 contacts, Brevo Starter at 10,000 and Beehiiv Lite at 50,000. Your list size picks the winner long before any feature does.
ActiveCampaign Starter costs $180 for 12 months at 1,000 contacts, about $15 a month. The same pricing page shows the plan stops at 25,000 contacts, so a growing list has to move to another plan. Every price below is a 12-month list price from the vendor’s own pricing page, read 2026-10-20.
Quick Picks: ActiveCampaign Starter at 1,000, Brevo Starter at 10,000, Beehiiv Lite at 50,000
Here “best” means the lowest 12-month list price for a paid plan, among the plans priced here at your list size. If two plans are close, the bigger monthly email allowance wins.
- 1,000 contacts: ActiveCampaign Starter at $180, or Brevo Starter at $183. For $0, Beehiiv’s free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers.
- 10,000 contacts: Brevo Starter at $497.04, priced for 4 emails per contact a month (40,000), the smallest stated allowance at this size. Sending more? MailerLite Comfort costs $961.20 and allows 100,000.
- 50,000 contacts: Beehiiv Lite, with unlimited monthly emails, has the lowest price in the table if you pay yearly.
- Steady pick: MailerLite Comfort. Of the three plans priced at every size, it is cheapest at 1,000 and 10,000 contacts and second at 50,000.
- Online store that also sends texts: Omnisend Standard costs $4,956 for 50,000 contacts and includes 600,000 emails a month.
How to Choose: Klaviyo’s Price Rises 24 Times Between 1,000 and 50,000 Contacts
Price the list you expect to have next year, not the one you have today. The reason is that plans get more expensive at very different speeds as a list grows.
- Klaviyo Email goes from $360 to $8,640, 24 times the price.
- MailerLite Comfort goes from $205.20 to $3,445.20, about 17 times.
- Beehiiv Lite goes from $588 to $2,988, about 5 times.
Of the five plans priced at 1,000 contacts, Beehiiv Lite costs the most. At 50,000 it costs the least.
The ranking on this page uses three checks, all taken from vendor pricing pages:
- The 12-month list price at 1,000, 10,000 and 50,000 contacts.
- The monthly email allowance at 50,000 contacts, divided by the number of contacts.
- Fees that end up on the same bill: billing term, SMS (text message) charges and payment processing.
For Stores, Omnisend Standard Costs $3,684 Less Than Klaviyo at 50,000 Contacts
E-commerce. If you sell online and want texts alongside email, Omnisend and Klaviyo both list a price per text. Omnisend lists a starting rate of $0.007 per text. Klaviyo charges $0.01 per US toll-free text plus carrier fees, the fees phone networks add to each message.
At 50,000 contacts, Omnisend allows 600,000 emails a month and Klaviyo allows 500,000. So on email, Omnisend charges less and allows more. Klaviyo is worth its higher price only if its plan page shows a feature you need that Omnisend lacks.
Paid newsletters. Beehiiv’s pricing page says it takes 0% of paid subscriptions; Stripe’s standard card fee of 2.9% + $0.30 still applies. The fixed $0.30 hurts cheap tiers most: on a $5 monthly subscription, the fee is about $0.45, roughly 9% of the payment.
Small lists. ActiveCampaign Starter has the lowest 1,000-contact price. At 10,000 contacts, though, its 12-month cost reaches $1,788, almost 10 times as much. If your list will pass 25,000 contacts, start on a plan that has a 50,000-contact price.
At 50,000 Contacts Beehiiv Lite Costs $2,988, $457.20 Less Than MailerLite
Read across a row to see what growth will cost you. Read down a column to see which plan is cheapest at your size. Prices are 12-month list prices from each linked page, read 2026-10-20.
| Plan | 1,000 contacts | 10,000 contacts | 50,000 contacts | Per month at 50,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign Starter | $180.00 | $1,788.00 | Not offered (cap 25,000) | — |
| Brevo Starter | $183.00 | $497.04 | — | — |
| MailerLite Comfort | $205.20 | $961.20 | $3,445.20 | $287.10 |
| Klaviyo Email | $360.00 | $1,800.00 | $8,640.00 | $720.00 |
| Beehiiv Lite | $588.00 | $1,428.00 | $2,988.00 (yearly billing) | $249.00 |
| Mailchimp Essentials | — | — | $4,620.00 | $385.00 |
| Omnisend Standard | — | — | $4,956.00 | $413.00 |
Rows run from cheapest to priciest at 1,000 contacts, and plans with no 1,000-contact price come last. A dash means this page has no price for that size, so each ranking covers only the plans priced at that size.
Klaviyo’s prices are billed monthly. ActiveCampaign’s, Brevo’s, MailerLite’s and Beehiiv’s are billed yearly. Omnisend’s page also offers 30% off if you pay 3 months upfront.
What 50,000 contacts buy each month (Brevo Starter at 10,000, its largest priced size):
| Plan | Emails a month | Emails per contact a month | Cost per 1,000 emails |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv Lite | Unlimited | Unlimited | Falls as you send more |
| MailerLite Comfort | 500,000 | 10 | $0.574 |
| Omnisend Standard | 600,000 | 12 | $0.688 |
| Klaviyo Email | 500,000 | 10 | $1.440 |
| Brevo Starter (at 10,000 contacts) | 40,000 | 4 | $1.036 |
Per email, Klaviyo costs about 2.5 times as much as MailerLite at this size. If you are choosing at the smaller sizes, see also Brevo vs Mailchimp 12-month cost at 1k and 10k contacts
Cost Traps: Monthly Billing Adds $600 to Beehiiv Lite, Texts Add Carrier Fees
- Billing term. Beehiiv Lite’s 50,000-contact price assumes you pay yearly. Paying monthly costs $3,588, $600 more.
- Send caps. Klaviyo Email and MailerLite Comfort allow 10 emails per contact a month at 50,000 contacts. A weekly newsletter fits under that cap. A daily one doesn’t.
- Texts. One text to 10,000 contacts costs $100 plus carrier fees at Klaviyo’s US toll-free rate, or from $70 at Omnisend’s starting rate.
- Payment fees. Beehiiv takes 0% of paid subscriptions, but Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 card fee comes out of each payment.
- Plan ceilings. ActiveCampaign Starter stops at 25,000 contacts, so a growing list forces a plan change.
Growth Plan Verdict: Beehiiv Lite Has the Lowest Price at 50,000 Contacts if You Pay Yearly
Verdict: Beehiiv Lite is the lowest-priced plan here for a list heading to 50,000 contacts, at about a third of Klaviyo Email’s price. This is a price pick, based on 12-month prices and send limits.
The flaw, and its fix: Lite is the priciest plan here at 1,000 contacts: $588, 3.3 times ActiveCampaign Starter’s $180. Its 50,000-contact price also needs yearly billing, and paying monthly adds $600. Fix: under 10,000 contacts, use Brevo Starter or MailerLite Comfort, then move to Lite on yearly billing as your list nears 50,000.
Strengths: Monthly emails are unlimited, so sending more often never raises the bill. At 50,000 contacts it costs $5,652 a year less than Klaviyo Email. Billed monthly, its $3,588 is still $240 less than MailerLite Comfort’s monthly-billed $3,828. Beehiiv also takes 0% of paid subscriptions.
Who should skip:
- If you run an online store and need texts → Omnisend Standard (texts from $0.007) or Klaviyo Email ($0.01 per US toll-free text plus carrier fees), per their pricing pages.
- If you’ll stay under 10,000 contacts → Brevo Starter if you send up to 4 emails per contact a month, or MailerLite Comfort (up to 10) if you send more.
Next step: If you run a store, compare the store-focused tools in drip email marketing software for e-commerce, ranked by 12-month cost.
FAQ: Cheapest Plans, Send Caps and Mailchimp’s Price
What is the cheapest plan at 1,000 contacts? ActiveCampaign Starter is the cheapest paid plan, at $180 for 12 months. Brevo Starter is close behind at $183. For $0, Beehiiv’s free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers. MailerLite’s free plan (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month) and Klaviyo’s (250 active profiles, 500 sends a month) are too small for 1,000.
Which plans state a monthly email allowance at 50,000 contacts? Omnisend Standard lists 600,000 emails a month. Klaviyo Email and MailerLite Comfort each list 500,000. Beehiiv Lite has no monthly cap.
Is Mailchimp Essentials cheaper than Omnisend at 50,000 contacts? Yes, by $336 a year. Mailchimp Essentials costs $4,620 for 12 months, and Omnisend Standard costs $4,956. Omnisend’s price includes a stated 600,000 emails a month.
