"Free" email marketing usually means one of two things: a genuinely usable free tier, or a trial wearing a free costume. The seven tools below are the first kind. Each one lets you build a real list and send real campaigns without a credit card, and each earns that free plan differently: some cap daily sends, some cap subscribers, some trade branding for the price of zero. Here is what each free plan actually gives you, what it quietly withholds, and which one fits your situation.
The Quick Answer
| Tool | Free plan headline | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|
| Brevo | 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts | You want the best all-round free plan |
| MailerLite | Up to 1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month | You want automation on a free plan |
| Kit | Free up to 10,000 subscribers | You are a creator or newsletter writer |
| HubSpot | Free email tool inside a free CRM | You want email plus CRM in one account |
| EmailOctopus | Around 1,000 subscribers, 10,000 emails/month | You want simple and cheap as you grow |
| Sender | Generous free tier with automation | You want the least-known dark horse |
| Mailchimp | Small free tier, shrinking over the years | You already know it and send rarely |
1. Brevo: The Best Free Plan Overall
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) takes a different approach from everyone else on this list: instead of capping how many subscribers you can store, it caps how many emails you can send each day (300 on the free plan) and lets you keep unlimited contacts. For a small business that sends a weekly newsletter or occasional promotions, 300 a day is usually plenty, and you never face the classic free-tier punishment of being forced to delete subscribers or upgrade just because your list exists.
The free plan also includes signup forms, a decent drag-and-drop editor, and basic automation with a limited number of workflows. The catches: emails carry Brevo branding, advanced statistics and A/B testing are paid features, and the daily cap makes Brevo wrong for big one-shot sends like a launch blast to 5,000 people. For everyday relationship email, it is the strongest free starting point, and the paid tiers are among the cheapest upgrades in the category. Check Brevo's current free plan limits before signing up, since they adjust the numbers occasionally.
2. MailerLite: Best Free Automation
MailerLite's free plan carries up to 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 emails a month, and the remarkable part is what comes included: automation workflows, a visual automation builder, signup forms, and a landing page. Most competitors hold automation back as the upgrade carrot. MailerLite gives you the real thing while your list is small, which means you can build proper welcome sequences and tagging logic from day one instead of rebuilding everything when you finally pay.
The limits: 1,000 subscribers arrives faster than you think if you grow steadily, the free plan allows a single user, and some interface polish (unsubscription workflows, advanced reports) sits in paid tiers. MailerLite is also strict about approving new accounts, which protects deliverability but means your first send may wait a day for review. If automation is the reason you want email marketing at all, start here.
3. Kit: Free Up to 10,000 Subscribers
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) offers the single most generous subscriber cap in the category: the free plan runs all the way to 10,000 subscribers. There is a trade, and it is a fair one: the free plan only includes a limited number of email sends (one broadcast to your whole list plus basic sequences, with Kit branding), and most advanced automation is paid. But if you are a writer, coach, or creator whose entire strategy is "build a big newsletter audience and occasionally write to them," nothing else comes close at zero cost.
Kit's creator-first design shows everywhere: subscriber tags instead of lists, clean plain-text-style emails that land well in inboxes, and paid newsletter monetization built in. If your business is e-commerce or traditional marketing campaigns rather than audience building, the design will feel unusual. For newsletters specifically, it is the default right answer, and Kit's free plan costs nothing to try.
4. HubSpot: Free Email Plus a Free CRM
HubSpot's free email tool is the side door into its whole ecosystem: you get email sending (up to 2,000 emails per month with HubSpot branding), forms, and crucially a free CRM underneath, so every subscriber is also a contact with a full activity timeline. If you are a small business that wants email marketing and customer tracking to be the same system rather than two tools stitched together, this is the most capable free combo available.
The trade: HubSpot's free email is deliberately modest (the 2,000 monthly send cap is the tightest on this list relative to list size), branding is prominent, and the interface regularly reminds you that paid hubs exist. Treat it as a free CRM with a usable email wing, not a dedicated email platform, and it earns its place. Our HubSpot free tools overview covers the full bundle.
5. EmailOctopus: The Simple, Cheap Grower
EmailOctopus does one thing and does it without ceremony: straightforward email campaigns and basic automations at prices that undercut everyone. The free plan covers roughly 1,000 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month with EmailOctopus branding, and the paid plans that follow are among the cheapest in the industry, which makes it the tool you are least likely to resent upgrading.
The limits are honestly stated: fewer templates and integrations than the big names, basic reporting, and a support team that is smaller than the giants. Nothing here is fancy, and that is the point. If your needs are "send a nice newsletter, grow the list, pay almost nothing," EmailOctopus deserves a look alongside MailerLite.
6. Sender: The Dark Horse
Sender is the least famous name on this list and one of the most generous: its free plan supports a healthy subscriber count (in the low thousands) with a large monthly sending allowance, plus automation workflows, popup and form builders, and SMS in the same account. Deliverability is solid, and the interface, while plainer than Mailchimp's, is fast and unpretentious.
The reasons it stays a dark horse: the brand is young and its integration library is thinner, third-party tutorials are scarce, and the template collection is serviceable rather than inspiring. For a hands-on owner who values generous limits over polish, Sender quietly outgives several better-known free plans. Verify current limits on their site, as they have adjusted them as the company grows.
7. Mailchimp Free: The Famous One, With Honest Caveats
Mailchimp's free plan still exists and still works: a decent builder, basic email, and the largest integration library in the business. But it is now the smallest and most restrictive free tier among the big names: the contact allowance sits in the low hundreds and the rules around which contacts count toward it have changed more than once, so verify the current numbers on Mailchimp's site. Advanced automation and A/B testing are paid features, and the free plan allows a single user.
Why include it at all? Familiarity and ecosystem are real assets: if you already know Mailchimp, send rarely, and value the tutorials and integrations, the free tier remains usable. But for most new lists, Brevo, MailerLite or Kit give you more room to grow before money enters the conversation. The full story is in our Mailchimp review.
How to Choose Among Free Plans
- What is your bottleneck, list size or send volume? Growing a big list you email occasionally favors Kit. Small list, frequent sends favors Brevo or MailerLite.
- Do you need automation now? MailerLite and Sender include real workflows free. If automation is your whole strategy, that decides it.
- Is a creator audience your business? Kit, and it is not close.
- Do you want CRM underneath? HubSpot's free bundle replaces two tools with one account.
- How much does branding matter? Every free plan brands your emails. If that is unacceptable, you are shopping for a paid plan; the cheapest paid upgrades here are EmailOctopus and Brevo.
When free tiers stop fitting, the paid landscape is its own decision: our best email marketing software guide ranks the full field, paid plans included.
The bottom line: match the free plan's constraint to your situation and "free" stops being a compromise. Big audience, occasional sends: Kit. Steady small business email: Brevo or MailerLite. Email plus CRM in one: HubSpot. Every one of them is a real tool you can run a real list on, and upgrading later is a CSV export away.
