ChatGPT answers, unedited

Yes. If the goal is specifically a free-forever plan that can run a multi-step welcome sequence, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation

MailerLite is probably the easiest fit if you're starting with a genuinely small list. Its current free plan gives you 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 active automations, and 5 automation steps. That's enough for something like:

1. Welcome email immediately
2. Wait 2 days
3. Helpful resource
4. Wait 3 days
5. Product/service introduction

MailerLite explicitly supports welcome sequences and other trigger → delay → email workflows. MailerLite MailerLite

mailerlite.com

If 250 subscribers feels too restrictive, I'd look at Sender next. Its free tier is substantially more generous for a growing list, and independent comparisons currently identify it as one of the stronger free options for automation. Freestack MailToolFinder

Brevo is interesting if you expect to have many contacts but relatively low daily sending volume: its free plan has no time limit, allows up to 100,000 contacts, and provides 300 email sends/day. Brevo Help Brevo Help

brevo.com

One important 2026 caveat: MailerLite changed its free plan in June 2026, reducing it from 500 to 250 active subscribers and from 12,000 to 2,500 monthly emails. MailerLite

Bottom line: For a small business starting a welcome sequence today, I'd pick MailerLite unless you expect to exceed 250 subscribers fairly soon; then Sender is worth a serious look.

Yes. If your main requirement is a genuinely free-forever plan with multi-step welcome sequences, the strongest options I’d look at are:

🥇 Best fit: Sender

Sender is unusually generous for this use case. Its Free Forever plan currently allows 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, and includes unlimited automation workflows. You can build a sequence such as:

Signup → Welcome email → 2-day delay → Email #2 → 3-day delay → Email #3 → condition/branch → follow-up

Sender specifically confirms that welcome series and multi-step nurture sequences are available on its free plan. www.sender.net

🥈 MailerLite — better if your list is very small

MailerLite has a nice visual automation builder and supports welcome sequences, delays, branching, lead magnets, etc. www.mailerlite.com

The catch is that its free tier has recently become much smaller: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 active automations with 5 steps each. www.mailerlite.com

My recommendation

If you're starting with, say, 50–2,000 subscribers, I'd choose Sender. You get considerably more room to grow without having to rebuild your sequences when you cross 250 subscribers.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and how many emails you want in the welcome sequence (e.g. 5 emails over 14 days), I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options and flag the important free-plan catches.

Yes. For a small list + welcome sequence + $0 forever, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: MailerLite

For something like:

Signup → immediately send Welcome → wait 2 days → send “Start here” → wait 3 days → send best resources → wait 4 days → send offer

MailerLite's free plan supports visual automations, and its current documentation says the Free plan allows 3 active automations and 5 automation steps. It also gives you 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, with no time limit on the free plan. MailerLite MailerLite MailerLite

That's probably the cleanest fit if your list is genuinely small.

When I'd choose Brevo instead

Brevo is more attractive if you're expecting to exceed 250 subscribers soon. Its Free plan currently allows 100,000 stored contacts, and up to 2,000 unique contacts can enter active automations. The catch is the 300-email-per-day sending limit and Brevo branding on free emails. Brevo Help Brevo Help

It also has proper multi-step workflows with triggers, delays, conditions, and actions, including welcome sequences. Brevo Help Brevo Help

Bottom line: If you're under ~250 subscribers and want the easiest free welcome sequence, I'd start with MailerLite. If you're likely to grow beyond 250 quickly, Brevo is the more generous free option for contacts.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and how many emails you want in the welcome sequence, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 options.

For a small list + automated welcome sequence, I’d focus on tools that include multi-step workflows on the free tier (many “free” email tools only give you broadcasts or a single welcome email). Here are the strongest options:

My shortlist:

1. Best overall for a small business welcome series: MailerLite
   • Easy visual automation builder
   • Good signup forms/landing pages
   • Clean email editor

2. Best if you want the most room before paying: Sender
   • Generous subscriber limit
   • Built-in workflows for welcome emails, re-engagement, etc. www.sender.net

3. Best simple sequence structure:
   • Email 1: immediately → “Welcome + what to expect”
   • Email 2: day 2 → helpful resource/story
   • Email 3: day 5 → case study or best content
   • Email 4: day 10 → offer, consultation, or next step

I would avoid starting with tools where “automation” means only a single autoresponder email. For a true nurture sequence, you want delays, branching/conditions, tagging, and multiple emails.

If you tell me your list size (e.g., 50, 500, 5,000 subscribers) and whether this is for newsletter, SaaS, ecommerce, coaching, or a local business, I can narrow it down.

Yes. If “free forever” + multi-step welcome sequences are the key requirements, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Sender

Sender pricing

Sender is unusually generous for this use case: its Free Forever plan supports 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, while automation workflows are unlimited. Its automation builder supports triggers, delays, conditions and multiple email steps, so you can build something like:

Signup → immediately send Welcome #1 → wait 2 days → Welcome #2 → wait 3 days → educational email → wait 4 days → offer/CTA

Sender explicitly says welcome series can be built on the free plan without automation feature gating. www.sender.net

Brevo is the runner-up

Brevo pricing/features

Brevo's free plan is also genuinely free forever and includes marketing automation, but only 2,000 unique contacts can enter active automations. It also limits sending to 300 emails/day. help.brevo.com

I'd skip MailerLite for this particular requirement

MailerLite free plan

MailerLite has a nice visual automation builder, but the free tier is more constrained: 3 visual automations, 2,500 emails/month, and a relatively small subscriber allowance. www.mailerlite.com

Bottom line: If you have, say, 100–1,000 subscribers and want a proper 4–10 email automated welcome sequence without paying, I'd start with Sender. It's the clearest match between “small list,” “multi-step automation,” and “free forever.”

Yes. If “free forever” + multi-step welcome sequences is the requirement, I’d shortlist these:

🥇 My pick: Sender

Sender is particularly attractive for what you're describing. Its Free Forever plan supports 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails/month, and unlimited automation workflows, including welcome series, lead nurturing, cart recovery, and win-back sequences. www.sender.net

So you could do something like:

Signup → immediately: Welcome + resource
Day 2: Helpful tip
Day 4: Your story / positioning
Day 7: Case study
Day 10: Soft offer

…and keep that running without a monthly subscription.

🥈 MailerLite

MailerLite is probably the nicer choice if your list is very small and you care more about ease of use/design. As of August 2026, though, its free tier is only 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, with 3 active automations and 5 steps per automation. www.mailerlite.com

That's still plenty for a basic welcome sequence.

One important distinction

I would not choose Kit just because you see “10,000 subscribers free” in comparison articles. Its free tier can be generous for newsletters, but the automation requirements can push you toward paid features. Also, several older comparison articles have outdated MailerLite limits—their free plan changed in June/August 2026. www.mailerlite.com

Bottom line: If your list is under ~2,500 and the priority is genuine multi-step automation without ever paying, I'd start with Sender. If you're under 250 and want the simplest, most polished experience, MailerLite is a strong alternative.

Yes. For a small list + true free-forever + multi-step welcome sequence, the standout right now is Sender.

1. Sender — my recommendation

Sender's Free Forever plan currently gives you up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, with email automation included. More importantly for your use case, Sender explicitly says the free tier supports unlimited automation workflows, including welcome series. www.sender.netwww.sender.net

So you could do something like:

Signup → immediately: Welcome + promised resource
+1 day: Your story / what to expect
+3 days: Helpful educational email
+5 days: Case study / social proof
+7 days: Offer or next step

And you don't have to worry about hitting a tiny automation-count limit.

2. MailerLite — polished, but the free tier got much tighter

MailerLite still has a genuinely free plan and supports welcome sequences, but as of August 13, 2026, its free plan is limited to 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 active automations, and 5 steps per automation. www.mailerlite.com

I'd choose it if your list will stay under ~250 people and you particularly like its interface.

3. Brevo — huge contact storage, but not ideal for a welcome sequence

Brevo's free plan is technically free indefinitely and can store up to 100,000 contacts, but you're limited to 300 email sends per day. help.brevo.com

For example, if 500 people enter your welcome sequence, the 300/day sending ceiling can become annoying quickly.

Bottom line: If you're starting with a small list and want to build a real 5–10 email automated welcome sequence without paying, I'd start with Sender. Its free tier is unusually generous specifically for this use case. www.sender.netwww.sender.net

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and how many you expect within a year, I can also compare the likely long-term cost of Sender vs. MailerLite vs. Brevo.

For a small list where you specifically want automated multi-step welcome sequences (for example: “Day 0 welcome → Day 2 resource → Day 5 case study → Day 10 offer”), the free-forever options are more limited than tools that only offer a single autoresponder. Here are the strongest fits:

automationatlas.io

My shortlist for your use case:

1. MailerLite — probably the best match if your priority is a simple, true welcome sequence builder. It is designed around small businesses and newsletters, with forms, landing pages, and automation workflows. www.lead4pro.com
2. Kit — best if you are a creator (newsletter, coaching, courses, audience building), though you should verify exactly how many sequences/automations the current free tier includes before committing. www.lead4pro.comfreestack.tools
3. Brevo — worth considering if you care more about keeping contacts than building many complex journeys. automationatlas.io

For a typical small business welcome funnel, I’d look for these minimum features:

• signup-form trigger
• 3–7 email sequence steps
• delays between emails
• tags/groups or segmentation
• ability to branch later (clicked link → different follow-up)
• easy export of subscribers

A simple stack that works well:

• Lead magnet signup
• Email 1: deliver resource immediately
• Email 2: story/education after 2 days
• Email 3: proof/case study after 4–5 days
• Email 4: offer or next step after 7–10 days

If you tell me your list size (e.g., under 100, 500, 2,000) and whether it’s for a business, newsletter, course, or SaaS, I can narrow this down.

Yes. For a small list + multi-step welcome sequence + genuinely free forever, I’d shortlist these:

🥇 I'd pick Sender

Sender — Free Forever plan

Sender explicitly includes unlimited automation workflows on its free tier, including welcome sequences. The free plan supports up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, with no daily sending limit. www.sender.net

So you could build something like:

Signup → immediately: Welcome email
+1 day: Helpful resource
+3 days: Your story/value proposition
+5 days: Product/service introduction
+7 days: Call to action

…and keep that running without paying as long as you stay within the free limits.

MailerLite is a good alternative

MailerLite pricing

Its free plan currently allows 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, and includes a visual automation builder. The free tier is limited to 3 visual automations, though, so Sender is substantially more generous if you're planning several sequences. www.mailerlite.com

One caveat with Brevo

Brevo

Brevo's free plan is unusual because it allows up to 100,000 contacts, but you're limited to 300 email sends per day. help.brevo.com That's potentially excellent for a large dormant contact database, but less attractive if you're building active multi-email sequences.

Bottom line: For a small business starting automated welcomes today, Sender is probably the strongest free-forever choice. If your list is under 250 people and you prefer a particularly polished/simple interface, I'd also consider MailerLite.

For a small list + automated welcome sequence, the key feature is not just “autoresponders” but a visual workflow builder with multiple steps, delays, tags/segments, and triggers. These free-forever options are worth looking at:

A few others are often mentioned but have caveats:

• GetResponse has a free plan, but its full marketing automation features are more limited after the trial period; it is not as automation-friendly on the permanent free tier. www.getresponse.com
• Some “free forever” tools focus more on cold outreach sequences rather than subscriber welcome journeys, so check whether they support opt-in lists and newsletters rather than sales follow-ups. automailer.io

For a typical welcome flow like:

1. Immediately: “Welcome + resource download”
2. Day 2: “Best tips / getting started”
3. Day 5: “Case study or success story”
4. Day 10: “Offer / next step”

I’d start with:

• Sender if you want the easiest setup.
• Mailercloud if you expect to build more complex journeys.
• Mailaway if you want something simpler and creator-focused.

Before choosing, check three things:

1. Does the free tier allow automation workflows, not just newsletters?
2. Can you trigger a sequence when someone joins a list/form?
3. Can you add wait steps and conditions (opened, clicked, tagged, etc.)?

Those are the features that make a welcome sequence genuinely automated.

Yes. Sender is probably the strongest fit right now if your priority is free forever + genuine multi-step welcome automations + a small list.

Sender: Its Free Forever plan explicitly includes unlimited automation workflows, up to 2,500 subscribers, and 15,000 emails/month. Their automation builder supports welcome series and other multi-email sequences. www.sender.netwww.sender.net

Sender — Free Forever plan

MailerLite: Also a good choice, especially if you want a polished, beginner-friendly interface. The current free plan supports 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 active automations, and 5 automation steps per automation. www.mailerlite.com

MailerLite — Free plan

Brevo: Its free tier is unusually generous on contacts—up to 100,000—but you're limited to 300 email sends per day, so it's less attractive for a growing welcome sequence if you need substantial daily volume. help.brevo.com

My pick

For something like:

Signup → immediately send Welcome → wait 2 days → send helpful tip → wait 3 days → send case study → wait 4 days → send offer

I'd start with Sender. It gives you considerably more breathing room on the free tier than MailerLite, while explicitly allowing unlimited automation workflows. www.sender.netwww.sender.net

One caveat: MailerLite's free plan changed in June 2026, so older recommendations saying it supports 1,000 subscribers or unlimited automation steps are outdated. www.mailerlite.com

Yes. If your priority is free forever + multi-step welcome automations + a small list, there are a few good options—but they differ quite a bit.

1. Sender — probably the best match

Sender's free plan is unusually generous: 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails/month, and unlimited automation workflows at $0. Their automation builder supports triggers, delays, conditions, and multi-email sequences, so you can do something like:

Signup → immediately send Welcome #1 → wait 2 days → Welcome #2 → wait 3 days → educational email → wait 4 days → offer

Sender explicitly says welcome series can be built on the free plan. www.sender.net

The main catch is Sender branding on the free plan. www.sender.net

2. Brevo — good alternative

Brevo has a genuinely free-forever tier with automation. The important distinction is that while you can store up to 100,000 contacts, only 2,000 unique contacts can enter active automations on the free plan. It also limits sending to 300 emails/day. help.brevo.com

For a list of, say, 100–500 people, that's quite workable.

3. MailerLite — nice, but I'd put it third

MailerLite has a very good visual automation builder, but its current free tier is much tighter: 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and 3 visual automations. www.mailerlite.com

So if you're specifically looking for "we can set up a welcome sequence and leave it running without paying", I'd choose Sender first.

My ranking for your use case:

1. 🥇 Sender — best combination of free limits + unlimited multi-step automation
2. 🥈 Brevo — better if you value the broader CRM/multichannel ecosystem
3. 🥉 MailerLite — excellent interface, but the free limits are now quite small

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have (e.g. 100, 500, 2,000) and whether you need forms/landing pages too, I can narrow it down to the best one.

For a small list + automated welcome sequences, the strongest free-forever options are limited, but a few are genuinely usable:

My shortlist

1. MailerLite — probably the best fit

• Free plan supports up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month. www.mailerlite.com
• Includes visual automations on the free plan, with multi-step workflows (for example: welcome email → wait → follow-up email → tag/segment). www.mailerlite.com
• Good beginner workflow builder.
• Good for:
  • lead magnet delivery
  • 3–7 email welcome series
  • newsletter onboarding
  • basic segmentation

Example welcome flow:

1. Signup form submitted
2. Immediately send “Welcome + download” email
3. Wait 2 days
4. Send “How to get the most value” email
5. Wait 3 days
6. Send case study/customer story
7. Tag engaged subscribers

2. Brevo — good if you expect more sending

• Free plan allows up to 300 emails/day. www.brevo.com
• Stronger if you need email plus SMS or transactional messaging.
• Its more advanced multi-step marketing automation features are generally positioned in paid tiers. www.brevo.com

3. EmailOctopus — good lightweight alternative

• Nice if you want a simple, inexpensive-feeling tool without lots of marketing extras.
• Better for straightforward sequences than complex branching funnels.

What I’d pick:

• Under ~250 subscribers: MailerLite.
• Need more daily sending or SMS: Brevo.
• Want the simplest possible drip emails: EmailOctopus.

For a small list, I’d avoid tools that advertise “free” but lock automations behind trials—many popular platforms only give automation temporarily. www.brevo.com

A few questions would change the recommendation:

1. How many subscribers do you expect in the next 6–12 months?
2. Is the welcome sequence for a newsletter, lead magnet, course, or product/service sales funnel?
3. Do you need integrations with something like WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, or a CRM?

For a small list and automated welcome sequences, you’ll want a platform that has drip/multi-step workflows, not just autoresponders. These are some of the better free-forever options:

My shortlist:

1. Best simple choice: SendFox
   • Good if your welcome sequence is something like:
     • Email 1: “Thanks for joining”
     • Wait 2 days
     • Email 2: “Here’s your guide”
     • Wait 5 days
     • Email 3: “Best resources”
   • Very lightweight. sendfox.comfreestack.tools

2. Best automation features without paying: Sender
   • Better if you want branching, segmentation, and more “marketing automation” style workflows. www.sender.net

3. Best if you’ll grow into a creator/newsletter business: Kit
   • Strong tagging and automation model, especially for lead magnets and courses. freestack.tools

A few others that look free but may not fit:

• GetResponse Free has a free plan, but the more advanced automation features are more constrained after the trial period. www.getresponse.com
• Self-hosted options like Octeth Community License can be truly free but require technical setup. octeth.com

For a welcome sequence for fewer than 1,000–2,000 subscribers, I’d start with SendFox (simple) or Sender (more automation power). If you tell me your use case (newsletter, SaaS onboarding, course, local business, ecommerce, nonprofit, etc.), I can narrow it down.