Cheapest Email Marketing Software 2026
"Cheap" email marketing falls into three tiers: permanently free plans, ~$10/month real tools, and DIY infrastructure that costs pennies. All seven below deliver actual value - not teaser pricing that jumps after month one.
The 7 Cheapest Ranked
1. Sender - best free plan
Free: 2,500 subscribers + 15,000 emails/month + full automation. Paid: ~$8/mo entry. The most generous permanent free tier alongside Brevo. Paid stays cheap. For real email marketing at $0, start here.
2. EmailOctopus - simplest cheap option
Free: 2,500 subscribers + 10,000 emails/month. Paid: ~$9/mo entry. Campaigns + welcome drips, nothing more. The budget pick when Sender feels like too much tool.
3. Brevo - unlimited contacts free
Free: unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, CRM included. Paid: ~$9/mo for 5,000 emails. Volume pricing favors big lists with rare sends - structurally different from per-contact pricing. For infrequent senders, near-free forever.
4. Moosend - automation on a budget
Trial only: 30 days. Paid: ~$9/mo entry. Deepest automation at the price point - scoring, visual workflows, e-commerce integration. No free plan but unbeatable paid value.
5. MailerLite - best UX at the price
Free: ~1,000 contacts + automation + landing pages. Paid: ~$10/mo entry. Best editor in the budget class + websites + digital products. Free tier is smaller than Sender's but the polish justifies paying sooner.
6. Mailjet - volume pricing + collaboration
Free: 200 emails/day (~6,000/mo), unlimited contacts. Paid: ~$17/mo for 15,000 emails. Unique real-time collaboration + unified transactional. For teams, worth the extra few dollars.
7. Amazon SES - DIY infrastructure
Free: 62,000 emails/mo if EC2-hosted. Paid: ~$0.10/1,000 emails. Not a marketing platform - raw sending infrastructure. Pair with open-source front-ends (Mautic, Listmonk) for near-free email at scale. Dev-required.
Free vs Cheap
| Tier | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| $0 forever | Sender or Brevo | Real capacity, real features |
| ~$10/mo | Moosend or MailerLite | Automation depth or UX polish |
| Pennies at scale | Amazon SES | Infrastructure pricing |
| Per-email billing | Brevo or Mailjet | Big list + light sends |
Verdict
Sender for the best free plan, EmailOctopus for simplest paid tool, Brevo for big-list economics, Moosend for automation value, SES for DIY-at-scale. Mailchimp and Constant Contact cost 3-10x more for equivalent sending - the budget tier has matured past them.
Related: Sender review | EmailOctopus review | Moosend alternatives
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