ChatGPT answers, unedited

If your priority is low starting cost + reasonable scaling, I’d focus less on the absolute cheapest free plan and more on the pricing model once you hit a few thousand subscribers. The best fits are usually:

My shortlist by situation

• You expect to grow from 0 → 10k subscribers:

Pick MailerLite. It has a generous entry point, solid automation, and pricing that is usually predictable as your audience grows. MailerLite

• You expect a large list but don’t send every day:

Consider Brevo. Its contact storage and email-volume approach can be cheaper than subscriber-count pricing for some businesses. Brevo Help Brevo Help

• You send lots of campaigns (daily/weekly) to a modest list:

Brevo is often attractive because pricing is tied more to sends than just the number of contacts. Brevo Help

• You’re building a newsletter business:

Kit is worth considering because creator-focused features may matter more than raw cost.

A practical cost-conscious path

1. Start with MailerLite Free or Brevo Free while your list is small. MailerLite Brevo Help
2. Avoid platforms where you pay heavily for inactive subscribers you rarely email.
3. Before committing, check the price at your likely milestones: - 1,000 subscribers
4. 5,000 subscribers
5. 10,000 subscribers
6. 50,000 subscribers

For a typical small business or newsletter, I’d choose MailerLite first. If your growth plan involves a very large contact database or frequent sending, I’d compare MailerLite vs Brevo before deciding.

If your priority is low starting cost + pricing that doesn’t punish you as your list grows, I’d shortlist Brevo and MailerLite, with the better choice depending heavily on how often you email.

My pick: Brevo if you want the cheapest scaling

Brevo's unusual advantage is that your contact count doesn't directly drive the bill. Its free plan supports unlimited contacts with a 300-emails/day limit; paid plans start at $9/month and increase based on email volume. help.brevo.com

For example, current pricing research puts Brevo around:

• 5,000 emails/month → $9
• 10,000 → $17
• 20,000 → $29
• 40,000 → $39
• 100,000 → $69

So if you have 10,000 subscribers but only send 2 newsletters/month, you're sending ~20,000 emails and can be around $29/month—where a subscriber-priced service can be considerably more. mailcompared.com

The catch: if you're sending to your entire list several times a week, Brevo's costs rise rapidly. That's where MailerLite becomes more attractive.

MailerLite is probably the safer "set it and grow" choice

MailerLite's current plans are based primarily on active subscribers, and its paid Comfort plan gives you 10× your subscriber-tier ceiling in monthly sends. Its Power plan has unlimited monthly emails subject to fair use. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

That makes it particularly attractive if you're going to have, say, 5,000–25,000 subscribers and email them frequently.

One important wrinkle: MailerLite changed its pricing in June 2026, so some older comparisons you'll find online are now outdated. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

The simple rule I'd use

Choose Brevo if:

"I might have 20,000 subscribers, but I only email them 1–4 times per month."

Choose MailerLite if:

"I expect to send newsletters/automations frequently and want predictable costs as my list grows."

If you tell me roughly (1) your current subscriber count, (2) expected count in 12 months, and (3) how many emails you expect to send per subscriber per month, I can calculate the likely monthly cost at 1k / 5k / 10k / 25k / 50k subscribers and tell you which one wins.

If your priority is cheap to start + predictable cost as the list grows, I’d shortlist MailerLite and Brevo, with MailerLite my default pick for most small businesses.

My pick: MailerLite

MailerLite's current Comfort plan starts at $12/month, while its free plan covers 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails. Comfort gives you 10× your subscriber tier in monthly sends; its higher Power plan starts at $25/month and has unlimited monthly emails. www.mailerlite.com

The particularly nice part for your requirement is that you don't get hit with a nasty per-email overage. If you exceed your subscriber or sending threshold, MailerLite automatically moves you to the next tier, so costs are relatively predictable. www.mailerlite.com

When I'd choose Brevo instead

Brevo is potentially much cheaper if your list gets large but you don't email it constantly. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month and is structured around monthly email volume: 5,000 sends for up to 500 contacts, 10,000 for up to 1,500, 15,000 for up to 2,500, etc. help.brevo.com

So, for example, a 50,000-person list that you email only occasionally can make Brevo's pricing model considerably more attractive than a conventional subscriber-priced platform.

Rule of thumb:

• Growing list + regular newsletters: MailerLite
• Huge list + occasional campaigns: Brevo
• Creator/newsletter business: Kit or beehiiv
• Want the simplest predictable pricing: MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now, how many you expect in 6/12 months, and how many emails you send per month, I can calculate the approximate monthly cost for each at those sizes and identify the cheapest crossover point.

If your priority is low starting cost + reasonable scaling as the list grows, I’d shortlist Brevo and MailerLite first.

My pick: Brevo

The big advantage is its contact-list economics. Brevo's free plan allows up to 100,000 contacts, although you're limited to 300 emails/day. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month for 5,000 emails/month, and you can increase email volume without having the same subscriber-count penalty you'd get from a conventional list-based platform. help.brevo.com

For example, if you eventually have 20,000 subscribers but only send 2–4 newsletters a month, Brevo can be dramatically cheaper than a service charging primarily according to subscriber count.

MailerLite is the better alternative

MailerLite is attractive if you want a more traditional email-marketing experience. Its current Comfort plan starts at $12/month and gives you 5,000 emails/month at the 500-subscriber tier; the sending allowance scales at roughly 10× the upper subscriber limit of your tier. When you cross a subscriber tier, MailerLite automatically moves you to the next tier and charges accordingly. www.mailerlite.com

So I'd choose:

• Lots of subscribers, relatively infrequent emails → Brevo
• Smaller/growing list + frequent campaigns + automations → MailerLite
• Creator/newsletter business → Kit, particularly now that Kit's new free Newsletter plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers. kit.com

One important distinction: Kit's free plan is unusually generous, but its paid plans are subscriber-based. Its Creator plan currently starts at $33/month for 1,000 subscribers, so it can become substantially more expensive than Brevo as a general-purpose marketing list gets large. kit.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now (e.g. 1k, 5k, 10k, 25k) and how many emails you send per month, I can calculate the likely monthly cost at 5k/10k/25k/50k subscribers and show which one wins.

If your priority is low starting cost + predictable scaling, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Brevo if your sending volume is modest

Brevo's pricing is unusually attractive for a growing list because contacts and email volume are treated separately. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month, with tiers such as 5,000 emails/month for up to 500 contacts, 10,000 for up to 1,500 contacts, and higher sending tiers that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of contacts. help.brevo.com

That means if you have, say, 20,000 subscribers but only send one or two newsletters per month, Brevo can be dramatically cheaper than platforms that charge primarily by subscriber count.

MailerLite is the safer "grow with me" choice

MailerLite's current pricing is particularly straightforward: Free covers 250 subscribers/2,500 emails, Comfort starts at $12/month, and Power starts at $25/month with unlimited monthly emails. www.mailerlite.com

The catch is that MailerLite automatically moves you to the next subscriber tier when you exceed your limit rather than charging a small per-contact overage. www.mailerlite.com

So I'd think of it this way:

• Small list + occasional campaigns → Brevo
• Growing list + frequent newsletters → MailerLite
• Creator/newsletter business → Kit
• Absolute lowest-cost/simple email → EmailOctopus

One important distinction: "overage pricing" isn't necessarily the right metric. For email marketing, I'd compare the total monthly cost at your expected list sizes and send frequency. A service with a cheap $10 starting plan can become much more expensive at 25k subscribers, while another with a $20 starting price may stay cheap because it charges by sends.

If you tell me roughly your current list size, expected size in 1 year, and how many emails you send per month, I can calculate the likely monthly cost at 1k / 5k / 10k / 25k / 50k subscribers and identify the cheapest scaling curve.

If your priority is low starting cost + pricing that doesn’t get painful as your list grows, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Brevo

Brevo is particularly interesting if you expect your list to grow substantially. Its pricing is primarily tied to email volume rather than simply charging more for every additional contact. The free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts and allows 300 emails/day; paid Starter starts at $9/month, with higher sending-volume tiers. help.brevo.com

That means, for example, having 20,000 contacts isn't necessarily expensive if you only email them occasionally. That's a big advantage over traditional subscriber-tier pricing.

If you want straightforward subscriber pricing: EmailOctopus

EmailOctopus gives you 2,500 contacts + 10,000 emails/month free, and its paid Pro plan starts at $9/month when billed annually. As your list crosses a tier, it automatically upgrades you rather than charging some arbitrary per-contact overage. emailoctopus.com

Its published May 2026 comparison puts it around $28/month at 5,000 subscribers and $160/month at 50,000, versus $39/$340 for MailerLite in the same comparison. emailoctopus.com

One I'd avoid if cost is the main criterion: MailerLite

MailerLite is a very good product, but its new 2026 pricing is less attractive once you get into larger lists. It automatically bumps you to the next subscriber tier when you exceed your limit, and its Comfort plan reaches $319/month at 50,000 subscribers on monthly billing. www.mailerlite.com

Bottom line:

• <2,500 contacts: EmailOctopus or Sender are particularly attractive.
• 2,500–25,000: I'd lean Brevo, especially if you don't email your entire list constantly.
• 25,000–100,000+: Brevo becomes especially compelling because contact storage itself isn't the primary cost driver.
• Want the easiest traditional newsletter experience: MailerLite, but expect to pay more for growth.

If you tell me roughly your current list size + how many emails you send per month, I can calculate the likely monthly cost at 1k → 5k → 10k → 25k → 50k subscribers and show which one wins at each stage.

If your priority is low starting cost + pricing that doesn’t punish you as your list grows, I’d focus less on the cheapest free tier and more on the pricing model. The biggest difference is whether you pay by subscriber count or emails sent. www.etropo.com

Here are the strongest fits:

My picks by scenario

1. You’re starting with <5,000 subscribers and want simplicity
→ MailerLite is probably the best balance. It gives you professional features without the complexity of enterprise tools. www.mailerlite.com

2. You expect your list to grow to 25k–100k+ but won’t email constantly
→ Brevo is often the better economic choice because you aren’t paying heavily for stored contacts. www.sasanova.comhelp.brevo.com

3. You’re building a paid newsletter or creator business
→ Kit is worth considering because its audience-growth tools may matter more than raw email cost. www.sasanova.comhelp.brevo.com

A rough rule of thumb:

• 1k–10k contacts: MailerLite often wins on ease/value.
• 10k+ contacts with occasional sends: Brevo often wins on scaling economics.
• Complex sales funnels: ActiveCampaign may justify the higher price.

If you tell me your expected list size (e.g., 5k, 25k, 100k) and how often you’ll email (weekly, daily, automated sequences), I can narrow this to the cheapest long-term option.

If your priority is low starting cost + sane pricing as the list grows, I’d shortlist these three:

My pick: MailerLite

For a typical small business/newsletter, MailerLite has the best balance. Its current paid Comfort plan starts at $12/month for up to 500 subscribers, while Power starts at $25/month and includes unlimited email sending. As your subscriber count crosses a tier, it automatically moves you to the next tier rather than charging a punitive per-email overage. www.mailerlite.com

For example, MailerLite's current Power pricing is roughly:

• 500 subscribers — $25/mo
• 1,000 — $39/mo
• 5,000 — $69/mo
• 10,000 — $129/mo
• 25,000 — $239/mo

Those tiers include unlimited email sending. www.mailerlite.com

That's attractive if you expect your list to grow and you'll be sending newsletters frequently.

When I'd choose Brevo instead

Brevo is particularly interesting if you don't send to your entire list very often. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month and is structured around monthly sending volume—for example, 5,000 emails/month for up to 500 contacts, 10,000 for up to 1,500 contacts, etc. You can also buy additional prepaid email credits rather than necessarily jumping to a bigger subscription. help.brevo.com

So:

• Growing list + frequent newsletters: MailerLite
• Large list + relatively infrequent sends: Brevo
• Creator/newsletter business with sophisticated automations: Kit

One important distinction: "overage pricing" isn't really the same across these services. MailerLite and Kit primarily make you move into a larger subscriber tier, whereas Brevo lets you purchase additional email volume. help.brevo.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now, how fast you expect the list to grow, and how many emails you send per month, I can calculate which one is cheapest at 1k / 5k / 10k / 25k subscribers.

If your priority is cheap to start + predictable cost as the list grows, I’d shortlist Brevo and MailerLite, with Kit mainly if you’re a creator/newsletter business.

My pick: Brevo

Brevo is unusually attractive if your list might grow substantially but you don't email every subscriber constantly. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month and tiers are driven by monthly email volume; for example, 5,000 sends supports up to 500 contacts, 10,000 sends up to 1,500 contacts, and 15,000 sends up to 2,500 contacts. help.brevo.comwww.mailerlite.comhelp.kit.com

It also lets you buy prepaid email credits rather than forcing you into a bigger recurring plan, and those credits don't expire. help.brevo.com

Brevo pricing

MailerLite is probably #2

MailerLite is excellent if you're doing conventional newsletters/automations and want a very inexpensive starting point. Its current Comfort plan starts at $12/month and gives you 10× your subscriber tier in monthly emails; its Power plan starts at $25/month with unlimited monthly emails. www.mailerlite.com

One catch: MailerLite's pricing changed in June 2026, so older comparison articles can be misleading. www.mailerlite.com

MailerLite pricing

Kit is less attractive on price

Kit is compelling for creators because paid plans don't charge based on emails sent—only active subscribers. But the Creator plan starts at $39/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, which makes it substantially more expensive at the beginning. help.kit.com

Kit pricing

Bottom line: If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now, how many you expect in 1 year (e.g. 5k/10k/25k), and how many emails you send per month, I can calculate the estimated monthly cost for Brevo vs MailerLite vs 2–3 other cheap options at each growth stage.

If your priority is low cost at the beginning + reasonable scaling as your subscriber list grows, I’d focus less on the cheapest entry plan and more on the pricing model. The biggest cost trap is paying heavily per contact when your list grows but engagement stays the same.

Here are the strongest value picks:

My ranking for your criteria:

1. Best overall value: MailerLite
   • Great starting price.
   • Doesn’t feel “cheap” as you grow.
   • Good automations, landing pages, forms, segmentation.
   • A good fit for a small business, newsletter, or marketing list. www.mailerlite.com

2. Cheapest at scale: Brevo
   • Particularly attractive if you might have 25k–100k+ contacts but only send a few campaigns per month.
   • Because it focuses on send volume, a large inactive list is less painful than with many subscriber-priced tools. help.brevo.com

3. Best if you are a content creator: Kit
   • Excellent for newsletters, funnels, and creator monetization.
   • Less compelling if your only goal is minimizing email costs.

A rough rule:

• Under 5,000 subscribers: MailerLite is usually the sweet spot.
• 5,000–50,000 subscribers: Compare MailerLite vs Brevo; Brevo often wins on cost.
• 50,000+ subscribers: Brevo’s volume-based pricing becomes very attractive. help.brevo.comwww.etropo.com

I’d avoid starting with expensive enterprise-style platforms like Mailchimp unless you specifically need their ecosystem, because contact-based pricing can climb quickly as your audience grows. help.brevo.comwww.etropo.com

If you tell me your expected list size (e.g., 1k, 10k, 100k) and how often you’ll email (weekly, daily, occasional), I can narrow it to the cheapest realistic choice.

If your priority is low starting cost + sane scaling, I’d shortlist Brevo and MailerLite, with Kit mainly if you’re a creator/newsletter business.

My pick: Brevo

Brevo is particularly attractive if you have a large list but don't email everyone constantly. Its Starter plan begins at $9/month, and you choose an email-send volume; additional email credits can be bought separately rather than being forced into a much larger contact-based tier. help.brevo.com

For example, someone with 10,000 contacts who sends one newsletter a month can potentially pay substantially less with a volume-based system than with a platform that charges primarily by subscriber count.

MailerLite is my second choice if you want a more traditional, polished email-marketing experience. Its paid plans start at $12/month, include generous sending allowances, and automatically move you to the next subscriber tier when you exceed your current limit. www.mailerlite.com

One important wrinkle: MailerLite's free plan was reduced in June 2026 to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, so I'd no longer choose it primarily for its free tier. www.mailerlite.com

Kit is different: its paid Creator plan starts at $33/month for 1,000 subscribers and rises with subscriber count, but it doesn't charge based on emails sent. help.kit.com That's attractive if you're sending frequently, but less attractive if your main criterion is minimizing the bill as your audience grows.

Bottom line:

• Cheapest scaling for an infrequently/ moderately mailed large list → Brevo
• Best all-around inexpensive SMB option → MailerLite
• Best for a newsletter/creator business → Kit

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now (e.g. 1k, 5k, 10k, 50k) and how many emails you send per month, I can calculate the likely monthly cost at several list sizes and show which one wins.

If your priority is low starting cost + predictable scaling, I’d shortlist Brevo and MailerLite, with Kit as a niche option.

My pick: Brevo if your list will grow quickly

Brevo is unusual because its pricing is largely send-volume based rather than subscriber-count based. Its $9 Starter tier begins at 5,000 emails/month, and higher tiers increase the monthly email allowance while allowing up to hundreds of thousands of stored contacts. It also offers prepaid email credits if you occasionally need to send more. help.brevo.com

That makes it particularly attractive if, say, you eventually have 20,000 subscribers but only email them 2–4 times a month. You aren't necessarily paying a huge "20,000 contacts" fee.

MailerLite is probably better if you're sending frequently

MailerLite's current Comfort plan starts at $12/month, while Power starts at $25/month. Comfort's email allowance scales with your subscriber tier; Power provides unlimited monthly email sending subject to fair-use rules. Importantly, MailerLite automatically moves you into the next subscriber tier if you exceed your current limit rather than charging an arbitrary per-email overage. www.mailerlite.com

So I'd choose MailerLite if you want a more traditional newsletter/automation platform and expect to send frequently.

One thing I'd avoid

Kit is excellent for creator-focused newsletters, but its economics aren't especially compelling if "cheap as my list grows" is the primary criterion. Its Creator plan is $33/month at 1,000 subscribers and increases as the subscriber count grows; it doesn't charge based on emails sent. help.kit.com

Bottom line:

• Big list + modest sending → Brevo
• Growing list + frequent newsletters/automations → MailerLite
• Creator/newsletter business where features matter more than price → Kit

If you tell me roughly 1) your current list size, 2) expected size at 10k/50k, and 3) how many emails you'll send per subscriber per month, I can calculate the approximate monthly cost for each at those milestones and tell you which one wins.

If your priority is cheap now + predictable costs as the list grows, I’d shortlist Brevo, EmailOctopus, and MailerLite—with Brevo the strongest overall fit if you send frequently.

\*Brevo's exact tier depends primarily on monthly email volume rather than list size. Current Starter pricing starts at $9/month, with tiers based on monthly sends. help.brevo.com

My pick: Brevo

The important distinction is that Brevo doesn't punish you nearly as much for having a large database. You can store up to 100,000 contacts even on its free plan, while paid plans are primarily structured around how many emails you send. help.brevo.com

For example, if you eventually have 25,000–50,000 subscribers but only email them once or twice a month, a contact-based platform can become unnecessarily expensive. Brevo's email-volume model is much more favorable in that situation. One 2026 pricing comparison found Brevo substantially cheaper than Mailchimp, MailerLite, Kit, and ActiveCampaign at 25K–100K contacts. www.sasanova.com

EmailOctopus is my second choice if you want a more traditional newsletter platform. It starts at $10/month monthly ($9 annual) and has a generous 2,500-contact/10,000-email free tier. Its paid plans automatically move you to the next subscriber tier as your list grows, rather than charging an unpredictable per-email overage. help.emailoctopus.com

MailerLite is probably the nicest balance of ease-of-use and features, but its 2026 pricing makes it less compelling purely on cost. Its free plan is now only 250 subscribers, Comfort starts at $12/month, and Power starts at $25/month. www.mailerlite.com

Bottom line

• Want the lowest long-term cost: Brevo
• Want cheap + simple traditional email marketing: EmailOctopus
• Want the best UX/features and don't mind paying somewhat more: MailerLite
• Primarily a creator/newsletter business: Kit
• Trying to minimize costs: I'd avoid Mailchimp.

If you tell me roughly your current list size, how many emails you send per month, and where you expect the list to reach (e.g. 5K → 25K → 100K), I can calculate the likely monthly cost at each stage and identify the cheapest option.

If your priority is low starting cost + pricing that doesn’t punish you as the list grows, I’d shortlist Brevo and MailerLite, with Brevo probably the best fit.

My pick: Brevo

Brevo's big advantage is its email-volume pricing. Its free plan allows unlimited contacts but caps you at 300 emails/day. Paid Starter begins at $9/month and is based on monthly sends, with tiers such as 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, and higher monthly emails. help.brevo.com

That means if you have, say, 20,000 subscribers but only email them once or twice a month, you're not paying simply because your database is large. That's a very favorable model for a growing but relatively infrequent newsletter.

MailerLite is the runner-up

MailerLite is more conventional: pricing is tied to active subscribers, so your bill rises as your list grows. Its current Comfort plan starts at $12/month, while Power starts at $25/month; Power includes unlimited monthly emails subject to fair-use rules. www.mailerlite.com

The important distinction is that MailerLite doesn't really have an "overage" model—you automatically move to the next subscriber tier when you exceed your limit. www.mailerlite.com

Rough rule of thumb

• Sending frequently to a relatively small list: MailerLite can be attractive.
• Large list + relatively few campaigns: Brevo wins.
• Creator/newsletter business: Kit is worth considering.
• Want sophisticated automation/CRM: I'd look beyond these cheap options.

For context, a 2026 pricing comparison found Brevo substantially cheaper than most competitors once lists reach 10K–100K contacts, specifically because it charges based on email volume rather than contact count. www.etropo.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now, how many you expect in 1 year, and how many emails you'll send per month, I can calculate the likely monthly cost for Brevo vs MailerLite vs Kit at each stage.