Almost every email marketing platform advertises a free plan, but “free” means very different things: some let you email a few hundred people, others a few thousand; some remove automations or add their own branding. Below are the free plans of 11 popular tools as their vendors publish them (checked November 2026), what to look for, and when a free plan stops being enough.
The free plans, side by side
Limits as published on each vendor’s website. Plans change often — check the vendor’s pricing page before you decide.
| Tool | Free plan | Price grows with |
|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Free plan: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day), 1 audience, 1 user | Contact count (all contacts in audiences, tiered) and plan level; sends scale as a multiple of contacts |
| Brevo | Free plan: up to 300 emails/day once the account is approved; Brevo branding on emails; 1 marketing seat | Monthly email volume (Starter up to 100k, Standard up to 500k, Professional from 150k) and plan level; extra seats, landing pages and dedicated IP are add-ons |
| Klaviyo | Free: up to 250 active profiles, 500 email sends/month, plus $5/month each of Composer (AI) usage and mobile messages; Klaviyo branding; email support for first 60 days only | Active (emailable) profiles; unsubscribed and suppressed profiles are not billed. SMS/mobile messaging is a separate committed spend |
| MailerLite | Free: up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 2 seats, 1 landing page, 3 active forms; limited API (no sending) | Subscriber count (tiers from 500 to 200,000; Enterprise above); Comfort sends capped at 10x subscribers, Power unlimited under fair use |
| GetResponse | Free plan: up to 500 contacts, 2,500 newsletters/month, 1 landing page, signup forms; premium features only for the first 14 days; GetResponse badge on emails | Contact count (list size) and plan level |
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | Free (Newsletter): up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited sends, 1 user, no visual automations or sequences, Kit branding | Subscriber count (accounts move up tiers automatically); plan level |
| Zoho Campaigns | Forever Free: up to 2,000 contacts, 6,000 emails/month, 5 users | Contact count (Standard up to 100,000 contacts; Professional for larger lists); annual billing saves 25% |
| Mailmodo | Free signup offered ('Try Mailmodo for free'); trial length and limits not stated on the pricing page | Contact count, sending credits, active journeys, team seats and custom domains |
| Netcore Email (Netcore Cloud) | Email API product page lists no free plan (older help pages still describe a Forever Free plan of 3,000 emails/month) | Volume and modules/channels (quoted) |
| Pabbly Email Marketing | Free plan: 100 subscribers, 30-day trial, no card required | Subscriber cap (Standard 10,000 vs Unlimited); built-in SMTP daily limit; billing term (yearly saves 12%, 3-yearly 25%) |
| EmailOctopus | Starter: up to 2,500 subscribers, 10,000 emails/month, 1 user, 1 landing page and 1 form, EmailOctopus branding, reports kept 30 days | Subscriber count, with each list counted separately. Pro email allowance is about 10x subscribers. Custom quote above 500,000 subscribers. |
ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, Moosend don’t offer a free plan (some have a free trial instead).
What to check in a free plan
- Contacts and sends: how many people you can store, and how many emails you can send each month (and each day).
- Automation: whether welcome emails and simple sequences are included, or only one-off campaigns.
- Branding: whether the provider adds its logo or a footer to every email.
- Sending domain: whether you can send from your own domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- Forms and landing pages: whether you can grow the list from your website without paying.
- What happens at the limit: whether sending pauses, the account locks, or you’re moved to a paid plan.
When a free plan is enough
A free plan is a good fit while you’re testing whether email works for your business, sending an occasional newsletter to a small list, or learning a tool before you move a bigger list over.
It stops being enough when your list outgrows the contact limit, when you need automations like abandoned-cart or re-engagement emails, when you want reports on revenue, or when you need more than one person on the account.
Free plans and paying in India
When you do move to a paid plan, the currency matters. Plans billed in US dollars mean card forex charges and no Indian GST invoice; plans priced in rupees come with a GST invoice your accountant can use for input credit.
MailNesto has a free plan to start, and paid plans priced in rupees with GST invoices. You can compare it with each tool above on our comparison pages.
Questions
What is the best free email marketing software?
The one whose free limits fit your list and that lets you send from your own domain. Compare the contact and monthly send limits in the table above, and check whether automations are included.
Is Mailchimp still free?
Mailchimp has a free plan: up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day), 1 audience, 1 user (as published, checked November 2026). Check Mailchimp’s pricing page for the current limits.
Can I send bulk email for free?
Up to the free plan’s limits, yes. For larger lists you will need a paid plan; what matters then is whether the price grows with contacts, sends or both.
Does MailNesto have a free plan?
Yes. You can start free, and move to a plan priced in rupees with a GST invoice when you need more contacts, emails or features.