Best Email Marketing Platforms: Choose by List Size and Sending Limits
Assessment: A low starting price does not tell you whether your whole list can receive a campaign. Compare Kit, MailerLite and Brevo by contacts, sending limits and the workflow you need before choosing a plan. [1] [2] [3]
SeekVero editorial · Published · Prepared with AI assistance; no hands-on testing claimed.
Affiliate disclosure: the optional Kit button is a referral link. SeekVero may earn a commission from a qualifying paid subscription. Official pricing and evidence links remain ordinary links. The comparison is based on published information, not hands-on testing; no earnings or best-product claim is implied.
Choose by the email job you need to finish
Assessment: This shortlist focuses on creators and small teams choosing a newsletter or campaign tool. It is not an exhaustive enterprise CRM or ecommerce comparison, and it does not rank deliverability. [1] [2] [3]
| Option or question | What to know |
|---|---|
| Creator newsletter and digital products — Kit | Assessment: Start here if broadcasts and selling digital products are central. Check the automation tier before paying for a sequence-heavy workflow. [1] |
| Small newsletter with a known sending schedule — MailerLite | Assessment: Evaluate its subscriber tier and monthly send allowance together. A small contact list alone does not establish that a free plan will cover your calendar. [2] |
| Campaigns with a clear volume budget — Brevo | Assessment: Compare the sending tier AND its contact allowance. Do not assume every paid tier has the same contact capacity as Free. [3] |
The plan boundaries that can change your decision
Assessment: Official pages checked on September 16, 2026. Starting prices are not quotes for your particular list. Confirm currency, billing term, add-ons and applicable taxes at checkout. [1] [2] [3]
| Option or question | What to know |
|---|---|
| Kit | Free: up to 10,000 subscribers. Creator adds unlimited visual automations and sequences. For 1,000 subscribers, the captured annual option states $390 billed yearly and displays a rounded $33/month equivalent; that is not a month-to-month quote. [1] |
| MailerLite | Free: 250 subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails. Comfort is listed from $12/month; its monthly send allowance is 10 times the subscriber-tier ceiling. For example, an up-to-1,000 tier allows 10,000 emails, not a promise that the $12 entry price buys that tier. [2] |
| Brevo | Free: 300 sends/day without carryover. Starter begins at $9/month. Its 5,000-send tier stores up to 500 contacts; the 10,000-send tier stores up to 1,500. Removing the Brevo logo is an add-on. [3] |
A concrete check: 1,000 subscribers and four campaigns
Assessment: Illustration, not observed usage: 1,000 recipients × four full-list campaigns = 4,000 sends before welcome emails, resends or other automation. This arithmetic is a planning example, not a revenue or delivery forecast. [2] [3]
| Option or question | What to know |
|---|---|
| Check contact capacity first | Assessment: MailerLite Free cannot hold this active list. Brevo Starter’s 5,000-send tier also falls short on contacts even though 4,000 campaign sends fit the headline email allowance. [2] [3] |
| Then check timing and features | Assessment: Brevo Free cannot send to all 1,000 recipients in one day under its 300/day cap. Kit Free’s listed subscriber capacity covers the example, but confirm the specific automation steps you need before choosing it. [1] [3] |
| Get a like-for-like quote | Assessment: Price the same list, schedule, required workflows and billing period in each official calculator. The cheapest advertised starting plan is not necessarily an eligible plan for this workload. [1] [2] [3] |
Before importing your list
Assessment: Use a list you are entitled to contact, and evaluate the real workflow before committing. The following is a purchase checklist, not a claim that any platform passed a test. [1] [2] [3]
- Assessment: Record active subscribers, peak-day recipients, monthly campaigns, automated messages and required team access. [1] [2] [3]
- Check how subscriber counting works: MailerLite counts addresses active at any point in the billing cycle, so deleting an address later does not immediately erase it from that cycle’s total. [2]
- Assessment: Build the welcome or sales sequence you actually need during evaluation. Confirm that its features remain on the plan after a trial ends; do not infer a paid feature is permanently free. [1] [2]
- Assessment: Check required integrations, export options and onboarding requirements directly. Migration effort and deliverability for your own list have not been measured in this comparison. [1] [2] [3]
Frequently asked questions
Which platform has the best free plan?
Assessment: It depends on list size, sending schedule and automation needs. Kit has the largest listed free subscriber allowance among these three; Brevo uses a daily send cap, while MailerLite specifies a small subscriber allowance and monthly sends. Those limits are different, so there is no universal free winner. [1] [2] [3]
Next step
Use the official pricing and plan sources below with your actual subscriber count and send schedule. These are ordinary links; no affiliate approval or tracking relationship is implied.
Compare official plans for your list