ChatGPT answers, unedited

For an early-stage SaaS with a small list, you probably don’t need a full marketing automation suite yet. Look for:

• signup trigger → welcome email
• delays (“wait 2 days”)
• simple sequences (“day 0 / day 3 / day 7”)
• tags or segments
• basic analytics
• no credit card requirement

Some good free options:

For a tiny SaaS onboarding flow, I’d usually start with:

1. Brevo — if you need product emails plus marketing emails in one place.
2. MailerLite — if onboarding is mostly “welcome → educate → convert.”
3. EmailOctopus — if you have a very small list and want minimal setup.

A typical early SaaS sequence:

• Immediately: “Welcome + how to get started”
• Day 1: “Your first success step”
• Day 3: “Common mistake / best practice”
• Day 7: “Case study + ask for feedback”
• Day 14: “Need help? Reply to this email”

One thing to check: many “free” email tools limit automation triggers, not just subscriber count. If your onboarding starts from app events (e.g., “user created account but hasn’t invited a teammate”), you may eventually want a product-email tool like customer.io or loops.so, though their free tiers and limits change over time.

For a list under a few hundred users, I’d avoid overengineering and pick the tool that lets you ship the first 5–7 onboarding emails in an afternoon.

For a tiny SaaS list and basic onboarding automations, I’d look at these two first:

• mailerlite.com — Free plan has 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations, with no credit card required. That’s enough for a simple welcome/onboarding sequence. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — Free forever, no credit card, with automation available for up to 2,000 contacts. Its model is based more on emails sent than list size, which can be useful as your list grows. Brevo Help

For your use case

I'd structure the onboarding as something like:

1. Signup → immediate welcome email
2. Day 1 → getting-started email
3. Day 3 → key feature/use case
4. Day 7 → check-in / activation prompt
5. If they click X → send a relevant follow-up

MailerLite currently looks particularly well matched if you're under 250 subscribers, because its free tier explicitly includes visual automations and signup forms. MailerLite

One important 2026 wrinkle: MailerLite changed its free limits in June 2026, reducing the free subscriber ceiling to 250 and monthly sends to 2,500. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have (e.g. 50, 200, 500) and whether you need event-based triggers from your SaaS (e.g. “signed up but hasn't created a project”), I can narrow this down to the most suitable free setup.

Best fit: MailerLite. For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, it gives you onboarding sequences without requiring a credit card: its free plan includes up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, and 3 automations. MailerLite

Other solid options:

• Brevo — better if you expect the list to grow quickly; free plan has no credit card requirement, unlimited contacts, and automation features (with sending limits). Brevo Help
• Kit (ConvertKit) — good for creator-style onboarding, but less SaaS-focused.
• HubSpot Free — useful if you want CRM + email basics, though automation depth is limited.

For SaaS onboarding, I’d set up:

1. Signup trigger → welcome email immediately
2. Day 1 → “quick start” guide
3. Day 3 → feature tip
4. Day 7 → activation check-in
5. Inactive users → re-engagement email

For a tiny SaaS list, I’d start with MailerLite and switch only when you need advanced behavioral events (e.g., “created project but didn’t invite teammate”). MailerLite

Yes. For a tiny SaaS list + basic onboarding sequence + $0 + no credit card, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — best overall for your situation. Its free tier currently includes 3 visual automations, 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, forms, and a landing page, with no credit card required. MailerLite MailerLite
• loops.so — best if you're very SaaS/product-led. It is specifically designed around SaaS onboarding and product-triggered emails. The free tier is reported at 1,000 contacts, 4,000 sends/month, and unlimited automated workflows. Zapier
• brevo.com — good if your list will grow quickly. The free plan has no credit card requirement and supports up to 300 emails/day, but live marketing automation on free is the catch, so I wouldn't pick it specifically for onboarding sequences. Brevo Help Brevo

What I'd pick

For an early-stage SaaS, I'd choose Loops if your onboarding is triggered by product events, e.g.:

Sign up → Welcome → Didn't activate → Day 2 nudge → Used feature X → Day 5 tip → Trial ending

If you just want a simple signup → 3–5 email sequence that you can configure without much engineering, I'd choose MailerLite.

One important caveat: free-plan limits have changed substantially in 2026, so I'd avoid older comparison articles when making the decision. MailerLite's own current documentation confirms the 250-subscriber/2,500-email/3-automation limits. MailerLite

If you tell me how you currently collect signups (Stripe, your app, Webflow, etc.), I can tell you which of these will be the least painful to wire up.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — best fit if you want straightforward onboarding automation. The free plan currently gives you up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations, with no credit card required. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — better if your list will grow quickly. Its free tier has unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, and no credit card, but automation availability on the free tier is less attractive/has changed depending on the specific workflow, so I'd favor it less for onboarding sequences. Brevo Help Brevo
• kit.com — worth considering for a simple creator-style sequence, particularly if you expect the list to grow, but its free automation functionality is more limited than MailerLite's.

What I'd pick

MailerLite, assuming you're under 250 subscribers.

For a SaaS onboarding flow, you can comfortably build something like:

Signup → Welcome email → wait 1 day → setup tip → wait 2 days → feature/use-case email → wait 3 days → activation nudge

The 3-automation limit is plenty for a tiny early-stage product, and there's no credit card requirement. MailerLite

One caveat: MailerLite changed its free tier in June 2026, dropping the limit from 500 to 250 active subscribers and from 12,000 to 2,500 monthly emails. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly 50 / 100 / 250+ subscribers and whether you need behavior-based triggers (e.g. “if they haven't completed setup”), I can give you the cheapest 2–3 options specifically for SaaS onboarding.

Yes. For a tiny SaaS list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo.

• mailerlite.com — best overall for a simple SaaS onboarding sequence. Its current free tier is up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 automations, with no credit card required. You can build visual automations, signup forms, and landing pages. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — better if your list will grow quickly. The free plan has unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, and marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, with no credit card and no time limit. Brevo Help Brevo

For your use case, I'd pick MailerLite if you're talking about something like:

signup → immediate welcome → day 2 “get started” → day 5 tips → day 10 check-in

Its free tier is explicitly built around visual automations, and 250 subscribers is plenty for an early-stage SaaS validating onboarding. MailerLite

One caveat: MailerLite changed its free limits in June 2026, so you'll see older articles claiming 500 subscribers/12,000 emails. The current official limit is 250 / 2,500. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many users you have now (e.g. 50, 200, 1,000) and whether you need product-event triggers like “signed up but hasn't completed setup,” I can tell you which one I'd actually use.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d optimize for (1) no credit card, (2) signup-triggered sequences, (3) easy migration later. You probably don’t need a full marketing stack yet.

Good options:

My shortlist for your situation:

1. Non-technical founder / fastest setup: MailerLite

• Create: “Signed up → Day 0 welcome → Day 2 activation tip → Day 5 case study → Day 10 check-in”
• Use tags like trial_started, activated, converted.
• Technical SaaS with app events: Letter

• Better if you want emails triggered by things like: - created_workspace
• invited_team_member
• completed_setup
• used_feature_X
• It is designed around product events rather than just mailing lists. Letter
• Cheapest “just get onboarding running”: Brevo/MailerLite-style tools

• Avoid building infrastructure until you have enough users to justify it.

For a tiny SaaS list, I’d avoid:

• HubSpot (powerful but heavy)
• Customer.io (excellent, but usually better once you have volume)
• self-hosted tools (too much maintenance early)

A simple first automation is usually enough:

• Email 1 (immediate): Welcome + “do this one thing first”
• Email 2 (2 days): Show the core aha moment
• Email 3 (5–7 days): Help users who stalled
• Email 4 (10–14 days): Ask for feedback / convert

If you tell me your list size (e.g., 50 vs 500) and whether you need app-event triggers or just signup sequences, I can narrow it to one.

For a tiny early-stage SaaS, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — best overall. Free up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 automations, with no credit card required. That’s enough for a basic onboarding sequence like welcome → day 2 → day 7. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — best if you expect the list to grow quickly. The free tier allows unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, and marketing automations for up to 2,000 contacts; no credit card and no time limit. Brevo Help Brevo Help
• kit.com — good, but less ideal for SaaS onboarding. Its free plan goes up to 10,000 subscribers, but the current free tier has limited automation functionality; full email sequences and unlimited visual automations require the paid Creator plan. Kit Help Center Kit

My pick for you: MailerLite. If you're genuinely at a tiny list, its 250-subscriber ceiling is unlikely to hurt initially, and the free automation builder is much more useful for SaaS onboarding than Kit's free tier.

One caveat: 250 subscribers is the important MailerLite limit, not 2,500—2,500 is the monthly email-send allowance. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and what onboarding sequence you want, I can recommend the cheapest setup and map out the exact automation.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d avoid heavy marketing platforms and look for:

• free forever (not just a trial)
• no credit card
• basic sequences (welcome → activation nudges → check-in)
• simple signup/event triggers

Good options:

A few newer SaaS-focused tools also advertise free/no-card onboarding automation:

• letter.app — built specifically around SaaS lifecycle emails; its free tier says it supports up to 1,000 contacts with no credit card. Letter
• dripmetric.com — focused on SaaS onboarding events (signup, activation steps, stalled users); offers a free tier without a card. Dripmetric
• mailazy.com — positions itself around SaaS onboarding workflows and lists a free plan with contacts/email limits and no credit card. Mailazy

For your stage, I’d probably choose:

1. Non-technical founder: MailerLite or Brevo

• Build: “Welcome → Day 2 tip → Day 7 activation reminder”
• No engineering work
• Developer-led SaaS: Letter, Dripmetric, or Resend + automation

• Trigger emails from events like: - signed_up
• created_project
• invited_team_member
• hit_first_value_moment
• Tiny beta (<500 users): Don’t overbuild. A 5-email sequence is enough:

• Email 1 (immediate): welcome + first action
• Email 2 (day 1): explain the “aha” moment
• Email 3 (day 3): common mistake/tip
• Email 4 (day 7): case study or use case
• Email 5 (day 14): ask for feedback

If you tell me your stack (React/Laravel/Rails/etc.) and whether onboarding is signup-based or product-event-based, I can narrow it to the best 1–2 choices.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — best fit if onboarding automation is the priority. Its current free tier requires no credit card, includes 3 visual automations, and allows up to 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails per month. That’s enough for a basic sequence like: signup → welcome → wait 2 days → getting-started email → wait 5 days → activation nudge. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — worth considering if your list will grow quickly. Its free plan has no credit card requirement, is free indefinitely, and supports marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts. The tradeoff is a 300-email/day sending limit. Brevo Help
• kit.com — good if you're more content/creator-oriented. It has a generous free audience allowance, but I'd favor MailerLite for a conventional SaaS onboarding flow because its free automation offering is more directly suited to this use case. Kit

My pick

Start with MailerLite. For a tiny SaaS list, the important thing isn't maximizing contacts—it's getting a simple lifecycle running without paying. Its free tier gives you enough automation capacity to build several separate flows while you're validating the product. MailerLite

One caveat: MailerLite changed its free limits in June 2026, reducing the cap to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, so I'd keep an eye on that ceiling as you grow. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have (e.g. 50, 200, 1,000) and what onboarding you want (e.g. “welcome + 3 emails over 7 days”), I can tell you which free tier is the best fit.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d avoid heavy marketing platforms at first. You mainly need:

• signup trigger
• welcome email
• 3–7 day onboarding drip
• basic segmentation/tags
• maybe product-event triggers later

Good free/no-card options:

My shortlist for a tiny SaaS:

1. If you already have users signing up in your app: try Letter — it maps nicely to SaaS events like signed_up, completed_setup, invited_team, etc. Letter
2. If you just need “new signup → 5 emails over 14 days”: use MailerLite or Brevo.
3. If you’re pre-product / validating: use WelcomeFlow or a simple email tool and don’t over-engineer. Welcomeflow

A basic early SaaS onboarding flow I’d set up:

• Immediately: “Welcome — here’s the first thing to do”
• Day 1: show the core “aha” feature
• Day 3: common mistake + quick win
• Day 7: customer story/use case
• Day 14: ask for feedback or push upgrade

I’d only move to tools like Customer.io, Intercom, or HubSpot once you need behavioral branching and larger volumes.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: MailerLite

For a SaaS onboarding flow like:

Signup → immediately send welcome → wait 2 days → educational email → wait 3 days → activation nudge → tag as activated

MailerLite's free tier currently includes 3 visual automations, 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and explicitly requires no credit card. MailerLite MailerLite

accounts.mailerlite.com

Brevo is worth considering if your list is going to exceed 250 contacts quickly. Its free plan allows up to 100,000 stored contacts and includes marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, with no credit card required. The catch is the 300 emails/day sending limit. Brevo Help

brevo.com

I wouldn't choose Kit for this particular use case: although its free plan is unusually generous at 10,000 subscribers, Visual Automations and Email Sequences are paid features. help.kit.com

Bottom line: if you're under ~250 users right now, MailerLite is probably the simplest zero-cost answer for basic SaaS onboarding without entering a card.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: MailerLite

For a SaaS onboarding sequence like:

• Day 0: Welcome + “here’s how to get started”
• Day 1: Quick-start tutorial
• Day 3: Key feature/use case
• Day 7: “Need help?” / book a demo
• Day 14: Feedback or upgrade CTA

MailerLite's free plan currently includes 3 visual automations, signup forms, landing pages, and 2,500 monthly emails, with no credit card required. MailerLite MailerLite

The catch is important: MailerLite dropped its free limit to 250 active subscribers in June 2026, so I'd only choose it if your list is genuinely tiny for the foreseeable future. MailerLite

If you're expecting to go past 250 users fairly soon, I'd lean Brevo instead. Its free plan doesn't require a credit card and includes marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts. Brevo Help

Bottom line: For a tiny SaaS today → MailerLite. For a tiny SaaS that expects rapid signup growth → Brevo.

If you tell me roughly how many users you have now and what your onboarding sequence needs to trigger on (signup, trial started, activated, etc.), I can recommend the simplest setup.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d prioritize simple onboarding sequences + API/event triggers + room to grow rather than a huge marketing suite. These are good free/no-card options:

For a tiny SaaS list, I’d usually pick:

1. MailerLite if your onboarding is mostly:

• “User signs up”
• Day 0 welcome email
• Day 2 tips
• Day 7 check-in
• Newsletter/product updates
• Plunk or Elma if your onboarding depends on product events:

• created workspace
• invited teammate
• completed setup
• hit usage milestone
• trial ending

A basic SaaS onboarding flow you can build in almost any of these:

• Immediately: Welcome + “here’s the first thing to do”
• Day 1: Quick-start guide / activation tip
• Day 3: Feature discovery
• Day 7: Ask for feedback or highlight value achieved
• Day 10–14: Upgrade prompt (if trial-based)

I’d avoid starting with heavyweight tools like enterprise marketing platforms until you actually need segmentation, scoring, or complex lifecycle journeys. For a tiny list, the bottleneck is usually writing the sequence and tracking activation—not the email platform.

If you tell me whether your SaaS is B2B trial-based, freemium, or paid-from-day-one, I can narrow this down to the best 1–2 picks.

Yes. For a tiny early-stage SaaS, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo rather than Mailchimp.

My pick: MailerLite

mailerlite.com is probably the best fit if your onboarding is something like:

1. User signs up
2. Immediately send welcome email
3. Wait 1–2 days
4. Send “here’s how to get started”
5. Wait a few days
6. Send a nudge / feature education email

Its current free plan has 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 automations, and—importantly—no credit card required. MailerLite MailerLite

The downside is that MailerLite reduced the free tier to 250 subscribers in June 2026, so you'll hit the ceiling relatively quickly. MailerLite

Brevo is worth considering

brevo.com has a more generous contact allowance: its free plan supports unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day, and marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, with no credit card and no time limit. Brevo Help

I'd choose Brevo if your concern is growing past 250 users before you're ready to pay.

What I'd do for a SaaS

For <250 users: I'd pick MailerLite. It's straightforward and the visual automation builder is particularly well suited to a simple onboarding sequence. MailerLite

If you're likely to cross 250 users soon: I'd start with Brevo so you don't have to migrate your onboarding system prematurely.

I would not choose Kit for this particular use case; its free tier is attractive for a large subscriber list, but it's much more oriented toward creators/broadcasting than SaaS product onboarding.

If you tell me roughly how many signups you have now and what 3–5 onboarding emails you want to send, I can recommend the cheapest setup and map the exact automation for you.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d optimize for simple onboarding sequences rather than a full marketing automation suite. These are the best free/no-credit-card options:

My pick for a tiny SaaS:

1. Start with MailerLite if your flow is something like:

• Signup → welcome email
• Day 1 → “here’s how to get value”
• Day 3 → case study/tutorial
• Day 7 → check-in + upgrade prompt

It’s probably the closest match to “I need onboarding but don’t want to pay yet.” MailerLite

2. Use Brevo if you also need:

• password resets
• product notifications
• transactional emails
• marketing emails in one place

Brevo1. Avoid overbuying early: - hubspot.com is powerful but usually overkill for a tiny SaaS list.

• customer.io is excellent for product-led onboarding, but you’ll likely outgrow free options quickly.

A simple starter stack:

• App signup event → add user to email list
• Tag users by signup source/plan
• 5-email onboarding sequence
• One reactivation email after ~14 days inactive

For most early SaaS teams, that’s enough until you have hundreds or thousands of users.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d prioritize simple onboarding sequences + room to grow over newsletter features. These are good free/no-card options:

For a tiny SaaS list, I’d probably pick:

1. Loops if your emails are product-led:

• Day 0: “Welcome / get started”
• Day 1: “Complete your first setup step”
• Day 3: “Feature discovery”
• Day 7: “Ask for feedback / book a call”
• Plunk if you have a developer who wants API-triggered emails (signup events, trial milestones, etc.). Plunk
• Sender if you want a marketing tool that can later handle newsletters, lead magnets, and customer nurture. Sender

A basic SaaS onboarding stack can be:

• Signup event → add user to audience
• Trigger welcome email immediately
• Wait 2–3 days
• Send “did you finish setup?” email
• Branch based on activation (clicked/used product vs. inactive)

I’d avoid starting with a heavy CRM/email suite at your stage. The main thing is getting the first activation moment automated.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, you probably don’t need a full marketing stack. Look for:

• free forever (or generous free tier)
• no credit card required
• signup trigger → welcome email → delays → follow-ups
• basic segmentation/tags
• forms or simple integrations

Good options:

For a tiny SaaS, I’d probably shortlist:

1. Audienceful — closest fit if you want “new signup → onboarding sequence → done.” Audienceful
2. MailerLite — best if you also need newsletters/content marketing.
3. Brevo — best if you need both product emails and marketing emails.
4. Sequenzy — worth looking at if your emails are tightly tied to SaaS activation. Sequenzy

A minimal SaaS onboarding setup could be:

• Email 1 (immediately): Welcome + “do this first”
• Email 2 (Day 2): Show the core feature / aha moment
• Email 3 (Day 5): Case study or workflow example
• Email 4 (Day 10): “Need help getting set up?” + reply CTA

One caution: if your “tiny list” is mostly app users who signed up, not newsletter subscribers, make sure the tool supports event-based triggers (signup, trial started, completed setup), not just “added to list.” That distinction matters for SaaS onboarding. Audienceful

If you tell me your stack (Stripe? Webflow? React app? HubSpot? etc.) and list size (50 vs 500 vs 5,000), I can narrow it down.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, you probably want a real free plan (not a 14-day trial), a simple welcome sequence, and room to add onboarding emails later. These are the ones I’d shortlist:

For a SaaS specifically, I’d probably start with MailerLite unless you expect to pass a few hundred users quickly. A basic onboarding setup could be:

1. Signup trigger

• New user joins waitlist / creates account
• Email 1 (immediate)

• Welcome + what to do first
• Email 2 (day 1–2)

• Show the “aha moment” or key workflow
• Email 3 (day 5–7)

• Case study, tip, or prompt to activate
• Optional segment

• Trial started vs. never activated vs. active users

One caveat: if you mean product onboarding (events like “created project,” “invited teammate,” “hit activation milestone”), marketing email tools can feel limiting. You may eventually want a lifecycle tool such as customer messaging software, but for a tiny early list they’re often overkill.

My pick:

• <250 users: MailerLite
• Growing user base but still bootstrapped: Brevo
• Mostly founder-led updates/content: Buttondown

I’d avoid paying for HubSpot/Customer.io/Intercom at this stage unless you already have enough usage data to justify behavioral automation.

For a tiny early-stage SaaS, MailerLite is probably the best fit right now.

• mailerlite.com — Free up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations. Crucially, no credit card required. That's enough for a basic SaaS onboarding flow like: - Signup → welcome email
• +1 day → getting-started email
• +3 days → feature/activation email
• +7 days → “need help?” email

MailerLite MailerLite- brevo.com — Also genuinely free with no credit card, and its free tier includes marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts. You get 300 email sends/day, though, so it's less attractive if you're sending lots of onboarding messages. Brevo Help

• kit.com — Has a generous free subscriber allowance, but its current free plan doesn't include email sequences and most visual automation functionality is paid. It therefore isn't my first choice for SaaS onboarding. Kit Help Center

My pick

MailerLite → best simple starting point. You get enough automation to build a real onboarding sequence without entering a card, and the UI is relatively approachable.

Brevo → pick this instead if you expect your list to grow past 250 quickly or want broader transactional/multichannel capabilities.

One caveat: if by “onboarding automation” you mean product-triggered emails such as “user created account but hasn't completed setup within 24 hours”, rather than “user joined this email list”, I'd choose differently. That's an important distinction for a SaaS.

Yes. For an early-stage SaaS with a small list, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — best overall for a simple onboarding sequence. The free plan currently supports 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 automations, with no credit card required. That’s enough for something like “Welcome → Day 2 → Day 5 → Day 10.” MailerLite MailerLite
• sender.net — best if you expect the list to grow. Its free tier allows up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, with unlimited automation and segmentation, and no credit card. It explicitly supports SaaS onboarding/welcome sequences. Sender Sender
• brevo.com — best if you need lots of contacts but don't send often. The free tier allows up to 100,000 stored contacts and includes marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, but email sending is capped at 300/day. No credit card required. Brevo Help

What I'd pick

For “tiny SaaS + basic onboarding + don't want to think about this much”, I'd start with MailerLite.

For example, you could build:

1. Immediately: Welcome + “here's how to get value”
2. Day 1: One key feature/tutorial
3. Day 3: Common mistake or use case
4. Day 7: “Have you tried X?”
5. Day 14: Feedback/check-in

The important caveat is that MailerLite's free allowance was reduced in June 2026 from 500 to 250 active subscribers, so if you're already approaching a few hundred users, Sender is probably the better free-tier bet. MailerLite

I wouldn't bother with Mailchimp for this particular use case—the free tier is less attractive for automation now. Sender gives you considerably more automation headroom for $0. Sender

My ranking for your situation: Sender > MailerLite > Brevo.

Yes. For an early-stage SaaS with a small list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo, with an important distinction:

• mailerlite.com — best if you need actual onboarding sequences. Its current free tier is 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 active automations, with up to 5 steps per automation. No credit card required. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — best if your list may grow quickly. Free gives you up to 100,000 stored contacts, 300 emails/day, and automation for up to 2,000 contacts. It explicitly says no credit card and no time limit. Brevo Help Brevo
• Kit is worth considering if you're primarily sending creator/newsletter content, but I'd favor the two above for a SaaS onboarding flow.

What I'd pick

MailerLite if your immediate flow is something like:

Signup → Welcome → Day 2 tips → Day 5 "have you tried X?" → Day 10 activation nudge

Three automations is plenty for a tiny SaaS, and the visual builder makes this relatively painless. MailerLite

One caveat: MailerLite's free limit was recently reduced to 250 subscribers, so if you're expecting to cross that quickly, Brevo is the safer free starting point. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many signups you have now and what your onboarding sequence needs to do, I can tell you which one I'd use and how I'd structure the automation.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist two:

• mailerlite.com — my pick. Free up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 active automations with up to 5 steps each. No credit card required. That’s plenty for a basic SaaS onboarding sequence like signup → Day 1 → Day 3 → Day 7. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — better if your list may grow quickly. Its free plan allows unlimited contacts, 300 email sends/day, and marketing automations for up to 2,000 contacts. No credit card and no time limit. Brevo Help Brevo Help

What I'd choose

MailerLite if you're talking about, say, 50–200 early users and want the simplest setup. Its visual automation builder is particularly well suited to onboarding sequences, and the free plan explicitly includes automations. MailerLite

A simple setup could be:

1. Immediately: Welcome + "here's how to get value"
2. Day 1: Quick-start/use-case email
3. Day 3: Tips + common mistake
4. Day 7: "How's it going?" / activation CTA

One caveat: if by "onboarding" you mean transactional product emails such as password resets, verification emails, receipts, or event-triggered emails directly from your app, I'd use a transactional email provider rather than treating those as marketing automation. MailerLite itself distinguishes those use cases. MailerLite

Bottom line: start with MailerLite. It's unusually generous for a tiny SaaS and you can get the onboarding automation running without entering a card. MailerLite

Yes. For a tiny SaaS list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo.

My pick: MailerLite

For something like:

Signup → Welcome → Day 2 “get started” → Day 5 tip → Day 10 check-in

MailerLite's free plan gives you visual automations and 2,500 monthly emails, and explicitly requires no credit card. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

The big catch is that the free plan is now only 250 active subscribers. Once you exceed that, sending—including automations—is locked until you upgrade or reduce the active list. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

When I'd choose Brevo instead

If "tiny list" means you might go from 200 → 1,000 users fairly soon, Brevo is worth considering. Its free plan has no contact limit, no credit card, and supports marketing automation; the tradeoff is the 300-email/day sending ceiling. www.brevo.com

Bottom line: Start with MailerLite if you're comfortably under 250 users and want the easiest onboarding workflow. Start with Brevo if avoiding a subscriber cap matters more than having the simplest automation experience.

MailerLite free plan
Brevo free plan

Yes. For a tiny early-stage SaaS list, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — my pick. Free up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and includes 3 visual automations. No credit card required. That’s enough for a straightforward SaaS onboarding sequence like signup → welcome → day 2 → day 5 → activation nudge. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — best if your list may grow quickly. Its free plan is free forever, requires no card, and allows unlimited contacts, with 300 emails/day. It supports marketing automation, though the more advanced/unlimited workflow capabilities are on paid tiers. Brevo Help Brevo
• kit.com — worth considering if you're more creator/newsletter-oriented. Its free subscriber allowance is generous, but I'd favor MailerLite for a SaaS onboarding flow because automation flexibility is the more important constraint.

What I'd choose

MailerLite, assuming you're under 250 users right now. It's unusually well matched to your situation: cheap-to-free, simple UI, forms, segmentation, and enough automation to build a proper onboarding sequence without immediately getting pushed into a paid plan. MailerLite

One caveat: MailerLite's free tier is currently 250 subscribers, not 1,000+ as some older comparison articles claim. MailerLite

For a SaaS, I'd set up something as simple as:

• Signup → Welcome / getting started
• Day 1 → Your first key action
• Day 3 → Quick tip / use case
• Day 7 → “Need help?” / activation nudge
• Activated → stop onboarding sequence

If you tell me roughly how many users you have (e.g. 50, 200, 500) and whether you need events from your app to trigger emails (e.g. “signed up but hasn't created a project”), I can tell you which free option fits best.

Yes. For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

• mailerlite.com — best fit for basic onboarding. Its free plan currently supports up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations. It explicitly says no credit card required. You can trigger a workflow when someone joins a group, then add delays and follow-up emails—enough for a typical 3–5 email onboarding sequence. MailerLite MailerLite
• brevo.com — better if your list will grow quickly. The free plan has unlimited stored contacts, up to 300 emails/day, and marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, with no credit card required. Brevo Help Brevo
• kit.com — worth considering if you're more content/newsletter-led. It has a generous free subscriber allowance, but I'd favor MailerLite/Brevo for SaaS-style onboarding because their automation setup is a more natural fit.

What I'd pick

MailerLite, assuming you're comfortably below 250 users. It's unusually well matched to “tiny SaaS + simple onboarding”: signup → welcome email → wait 2 days → tips/use case → wait → activation nudge → exit when they convert.

One caveat: MailerLite's free subscriber limit is 250, not 500 or 1,000—the free tier has changed recently, so I'd use the current vendor pricing rather than older comparison articles. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and what your onboarding sequence needs to do (e.g. “signup → Day 1 → Day 3 → if they haven't activated → nudge”), I can tell you which one I'd use and how I'd structure it.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, MailerLite would be my first pick.

Why I'd choose MailerLite

Its current free plan gives you 3 visual automations, signup forms, segmentation, and 2,500 emails/month, with no credit card required. The catch is the 250-active-subscriber limit. www.mailerlite.com

That's plenty for something like:

Signup → Welcome → Day 2 "getting started" → Day 5 tip → Day 10 check-in

You can also branch based on behavior, e.g. "Did they click the setup link?" and send different follow-ups.

Brevo is the other one I'd seriously consider. Its free plan is forever, requires no card, and allows 300 emails/day; its marketing automation is available on the free tier. www.brevo.com

One important distinction: if by "onboarding" you mean product-triggered emails such as user signed up → send welcome, completed step 1 → send next email, etc., rather than just newsletter/signup automation, I'd lean toward Brevo or a transactional-email tool. If it's mostly a simple lifecycle sequence, MailerLite is the easiest starting point.

If you tell me roughly how many users you have now and what 3–5 onboarding emails you want to send, I can tell you which one I'd use and how I'd structure the automation.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, MailerLite is probably the best fit right now.

Why I'd pick MailerLite: its free plan explicitly includes a visual automation builder, signup forms, and up to 3 visual automations, with no credit card required. The current free limit is 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails/month. www.mailerlite.com

For a SaaS, you could easily build:

Signup → immediately: Welcome / “here's how to get started”
→ Day 1: Quick-start tip
→ Day 3: Feature/use-case email
→ Day 7: “How's it going?” / activation nudge
→ Day 14: Case study or upgrade CTA

One caveat: MailerLite recently tightened its free tier to 250 subscribers, so if you expect to blow past that quickly, Brevo may be the better long-term free starting point. Brevo's free plan has no credit card requirement and supports marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, although sending is capped at 300 emails/day. www.brevo.com

My recommendation: start with MailerLite if you're genuinely tiny and want the easiest onboarding sequence. Start with Brevo if your priority is avoiding a 250-contact ceiling.

If you tell me roughly how many users you have now and what “onboarding” means for your SaaS (e.g. signup → activate → trial → paid), I can suggest the simplest free setup.

For a tiny SaaS list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo.

I'd pick MailerLite

For an early-stage SaaS, you can do a perfectly respectable onboarding sequence on the free plan:

Signup → Day 0 welcome → Day 1 "here's how to get value" → Day 3 feature/use-case → Day 7 check-in

MailerLite currently gives you 3 active visual automations, up to 250 subscribers, and 2,500 emails/month, with no credit card required. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

One important caveat: MailerLite changed its free limits in June 2026, so older articles saying 500 subscribers/12,000 emails are outdated. The current limit is 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails, with the new feature limits enforced from August 13, 2026. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

Brevo is the alternative I'd test if you're already approaching 250 people. Its free plan is free forever, requires no card, allows unlimited contacts, and provides 300 email sends/day. www.brevo.com

Bottom line: if your list is genuinely tiny, start with MailerLite. It's probably the least annoying way to get a simple SaaS onboarding sequence running without paying or entering a card.

Yes. For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo.

🥇 I'd pick MailerLite

Its current free plan includes 3 visual automations, signup forms, segmentation, and 2,500 emails/month, with no credit card required. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

That is enough to build a pretty normal SaaS onboarding sequence:

Signup → immediately: Welcome / getting started
Day 1: “Here’s the one thing to do first”
Day 3: Feature/use-case education
Day 7: Tips + social proof
Day 14: “Anything stopping you?” / conversion email

The important caveat: MailerLite just reduced its free limit to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, with those limits being enforced starting August 13, 2026. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com So if “tiny list” means 50–150 users, you're in a very comfortable spot; if you're approaching 250, I'd choose differently.

🥈 Brevo if you want more room to grow

Brevo's free plan is free forever, requires no credit card, and allows unlimited contacts, with a 300-email-per-day sending limit. Its free tier includes marketing automation. help.brevo.com

That's particularly attractive for SaaS because you can have, say, 1,000 contacts sitting in the database without immediately hitting a subscriber cap—you just need to stay within the sending limit.

My recommendation:

• <250 users + want the simplest onboarding: MailerLite
• Potentially >250 users soon: Brevo
• Just need a very basic 3–5 email sequence: either is more than sufficient

I would not bother with Mailchimp for this particular use case; the free tier is considerably less compelling for automation.

For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d optimize for simple onboarding sequences + room to grow, not a huge marketing suite. These are the best free/no-card options:

For a tiny SaaS list, I’d probably start with MailerLite and set up:

1. Day 0: Welcome email + “here’s what to do first”
2. Day 1–2: Quick-start tutorial / activation step
3. Day 5: Feature discovery email
4. Day 10: Case study or use-case email
5. Day 14: Ask for feedback / book a call

A couple of things to check before committing:

• Does it trigger from your signup form or product events? (Many free email tools only know “subscriber joined,” not “user completed onboarding step.”)
• Can you tag users by behavior (e.g., “created project,” “invited teammate”)?
• Can you export your contacts easily?

If your SaaS onboarding depends heavily on in-app events (e.g., “user signed up but didn’t create a project”), you may eventually outgrow email marketing tools and move to a customer messaging platform. For a few hundred users, though, a simple email sequence is usually enough.

For a tiny early-stage SaaS list, I’d shortlist these:

1. Sender — my pick if your list is going to grow.
Its free plan allows 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, with unlimited automation and segmentation. It explicitly supports welcome/onboarding sequences and says no credit card is required. www.sender.netwww.sender.net
Sender pricing

2. MailerLite — my pick if you want the simplest setup.
The free plan gives you up to 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations. You can build a straightforward sequence like signup → welcome → day 2 → day 5 → activation nudge, with no credit card required. www.mailerlite.com
MailerLite free plan

3. Brevo — worth considering if you have lots of contacts but send infrequently.
Its free plan is free forever, requires no card, and includes marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts. The catch is the 300-email-per-day sending limit. help.brevo.com
Brevo pricing

What I'd choose for a SaaS

If you're talking dozens to a couple hundred users right now, I'd use MailerLite unless you specifically need more sophisticated automation. It's enough for:

• Welcome email immediately
• "Here's how to get started" after 1 day
• Feature/use-case email after 3 days
• "Need help?" after 5 days
• Activation/upgrade nudge after 7–14 days

If you expect the list to cross 250 fairly soon, Sender is the more compelling free starting point because its free subscriber limit is 10× higher while still giving you automation. www.sender.netwww.sender.net

One caveat: if by "onboarding" you mean product-triggered emails based on events inside your SaaS (e.g. created account → hasn't created project → send email), rather than simply joined list → timed sequence, I'd evaluate these differently.

For a tiny early-stage SaaS list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo.

🥇 Best fit: MailerLite

MailerLite

• Free: up to 250 subscribers
• 2,500 emails/month
• 3 visual automations on the free tier
• Signup forms + landing pages
• No credit card required www.mailerlite.com
• Good fit for a straightforward SaaS onboarding sequence: signup → welcome → day 2 → day 5 → activation nudge.

The main downside is the 250-subscriber ceiling.

🥈 Best if your list will grow quickly: Brevo

Brevo

• Free forever
• No credit card required
• Up to 300 emails/day
• Automation included, with automation supporting up to 2,000 contacts help.brevo.com
• Better contact capacity than MailerLite, though the daily sending limit can become annoying for a growing SaaS.

Also worth considering: Kit

Kit

Kit's free Newsletter plan supports 1,000 subscribers and one basic Visual Automation, including triggering a sequence when someone joins a form. kit.com

It's more creator/newsletter-oriented, though, so I'd favor MailerLite for a product-led SaaS.

My pick: start with MailerLite if you're comfortably under 250 users. It's probably the least-friction option for basic onboarding without paying anything. If you're already approaching 250 contacts, I'd start with Brevo instead.

For SaaS onboarding specifically, I'd also distinguish these from transactional email tools (e.g. password resets, invoices, verification emails). You can use one tool for marketing/onboarding and your app's email provider for transactional mail.

Yes. For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Loops

Loops is probably the best fit if by “onboarding” you mean something like:

User signs up → welcome email → wait 2 days → check whether they activated → send setup help → wait → follow up

Loops is explicitly designed around SaaS/product events: you can trigger workflows from events such as userCreated or trial_started, and its free tier currently includes 1,000 contacts and 4,000 emails/month, with no expiration. loops.so

If you don't need product-event integration: MailerLite

MailerLite is arguably the easiest choice. Its free plan includes 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations, and it explicitly says no credit card is required. loops.sowww.mailerlite.comhelp.brevo.com

It's particularly good if your onboarding is basically “joins list → send email 1 → wait → email 2 → wait → email 3” rather than deeply tied to what the user does inside the app.

Brevo

Brevo is worth considering if you want marketing email plus transactional email in one place. Its free plan is permanent and doesn't require a credit card; Brevo says marketing automation supports up to 2,000 contacts, while transactional email has a 300/day free sending allowance. help.brevo.com

For your situation, I'd rank them:

1. Loops — best if onboarding depends on SaaS events/activation.
2. MailerLite — best if you want dead-simple visual sequences.
3. Brevo — best if you want a broader all-in-one platform.

If you tell me what your onboarding sequence looks like (e.g. signup → verify → first action → activated), I can tell you which one I'd actually use and how I'd wire it up.

Yes. For a tiny SaaS list, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: MailerLite

For your situation, MailerLite is probably the sweet spot. Its current free plan gives you 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations. That's enough for something like:

Signup → Welcome → Day 2 “here's how to get value” → Day 5 tips → Day 10 check-in

It also supports signup forms, landing pages, segmentation, and a visual workflow editor. Importantly, MailerLite explicitly says the free signup requires no credit card. www.mailerlite.com

One caveat: MailerLite changed its free limits in June 2026, reducing the subscriber limit from 500 to 250 and the sending limit from 12,000 to 2,500/month. The 3-automation limit is being enforced as of August 13, 2026. www.mailerlite.comkit.com

When I'd choose the others

Kit is attractive if your onboarding is basically one straightforward sequence. Its free Newsletter plan supports up to 1,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, and one basic Visual Automation, with no credit card required. kit.com

Brevo is interesting if you're building a SaaS where you'll eventually want transactional/product emails alongside marketing email. Its free tier has 300 sends/day and no credit card requirement, plus API/SMTP access. www.brevo.com

Bottom line: for an early SaaS with a small list and a basic onboarding sequence, I'd start with MailerLite. It's more capable for this specific use case than you need, but still free—and you won't have to cobble together an automation system elsewhere.

For a tiny early-stage SaaS, I’d shortlist three:

I'd pick Sender for your situation. Its free plan explicitly includes automation, segmentation, premade workflows, and up to 15,000 emails/month, with no credit card required. www.sender.net

For a basic SaaS onboarding sequence, you could do:

Signup → immediately: Welcome / "here's how to get started"
Day 1: Quick-start tip
Day 3: Highlight the core value/feature
Day 7: "How's it going?" + help/CTA
Day 14: Case study or nudge to the next activation step

MailerLite is probably the nicer choice if you care more about a polished, simple UI than having lots of headroom. Its free tier includes three visual automations and 2,500 emails/month, with no credit card required. www.mailerlite.com

One caveat: if by "onboarding" you mean product-triggered emails such as user_created_account → wait → user_completed_setup → send X, rather than newsletter-style subscriber automation, I'd lean toward Sender or a transactional email provider/API instead. Sender specifically supports SaaS transactional email through API/SMTP as well as marketing automation. www.sender.net

Bottom line: Start with Sender unless you have a strong reason to prefer MailerLite's interface. You can get a surprisingly complete early-stage onboarding system running for $0.

Yes. For a tiny SaaS list, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo.

MailerLite is probably the sweet spot for you: its free plan currently includes signup forms, segmentation, 3 visual automations, and 2,500 emails/month, with no credit card required. www.mailerlite.com

For a SaaS onboarding flow, you could do something like:

Signup → immediate welcome → wait 2 days → "here's how to get value" → wait 3 days → feature/use-case email → wait 5 days → activation nudge

MailerLite explicitly supports workflows triggered when someone joins a group, followed by multiple email/action steps. www.mailerlite.com

Brevo is the alternative I'd pick if you're likely to exceed 250 contacts soon. Its free plan is genuinely free, requires no card, and includes marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, though sending is capped at 300 emails/day. help.brevo.com

Bottom line: start with MailerLite unless you expect to blow through 250 subscribers quickly. For a very early-stage SaaS, its free automation is unusually usable.

Yes. For an early-stage SaaS with a tiny list, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: MailerLite if you're under 250 users. Its free tier explicitly includes visual automations, and you can do things like:

Signup → Welcome email → Wait 2 days → "Get started" email → Wait 3 days → Tips/use case email

It currently allows 3 active automations and 5 steps per automation, with 2,500 emails/month, and signup is explicitly no credit card required. www.mailerlite.com

But if your list could quickly exceed 250, I'd choose Brevo. Its free plan allows up to 100,000 stored contacts and up to 2,000 contacts entering automations, with 300 emails/day. It's also free forever and requires no credit card. help.brevo.com

One important distinction for SaaS: if by “onboarding” you mean product-triggered emails like “user signed up → send email,” “user completed setup → send next email,” “user hasn't logged in for 3 days → nudge them”, rather than newsletter-style onboarding, I’d evaluate these a little differently.