Best free Mailchimp alternatives
In January 2026 Mailchimp cut its free plan to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, and removed automation from it entirely. These platforms give you far more for nothing — here's exactly what each free tier includes.
"Free" means different things across email tools — some cap contacts, some cap sends, some cap features. Below are the free tiers worth taking seriously in 2026, ranked by how much real work you can do without paying. All figures compiled July 2026 from each vendor's pricing page; check for current terms.
| Platform | Free contacts / subs | Free sends | Automation on free? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Unlimited stored | 300 emails/day | ✓ basic | Big lists, SMS, transactional |
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 | 10,000 emails/mo | ✓ | Simple & cheap sending |
| beehiiv | 2,500 | Unlimited | limited | Newsletters, growth tools |
| Kit (ConvertKit) | 1,000 | Unlimited to list | 1 basic | Creators, digital products |
| MailerLite | 250 | 2,500 emails/mo | ✓ | Closest all-round swap |
| Mailchimp (baseline) | 250 | 500 emails/mo | removed Jan 2026 | The incumbent |
Official pages: Brevo · EmailOctopus · beehiiv · Kit · MailerLite
How to choose the right free tier
- Big or dormant list → Brevo. Unlimited stored contacts and a per-day send cap means a huge list costs nothing to keep — you only pay when you send a lot.
- You just want to send campaigns cheaply → EmailOctopus. 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month is the most generous "just email" free tier.
- You run a newsletter → beehiiv. 2,500 free subscribers, unlimited sends, plus referral and growth tools built for publishers.
- You're a creator selling products → Kit. 1,000 free subscribers and commerce baked in.
- You want the Mailchimp workflow for free → MailerLite. Same contact cap as Mailchimp but 5× the sends and it keeps automation.
If you outgrew Mailchimp's free plan, Brevo and EmailOctopus are the two biggest jumps in what you get for $0 — Brevo for large lists, EmailOctopus for straightforward sending. For newsletters, beehiiv; for the least-disruptive switch, MailerLite.
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