Positive mentions of MailerLite

I’d use beehiiv.com. Its free-forever Launch plan supports 2,500 subscribers and unlimited sends, plus a website and newsletter tools—an unusually good fit for a small indie-creator newsletter. Beehiiv

• beehiiv: Best fit if you expect to grow past 1,000.
• MailerLite: Very beginner-friendly, but its free tier is now only 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails per month. mailerlite.com
• Buttondown: Extremely simple and creator-focused, but free only for the first 100 subscribers. marketing.buttondown.email

My pick: beehiiv for your specific situation.

If you’re a freelance marketer managing multiple clients, the key thing is not just the contact limit — it’s whether the free tier lets you keep separate audiences, workspaces, brands, or client projects without mixing data. Many email tools are designed for one business, so this is where the free plans differ. Zapier

Here are the strongest options to consider:

My shortlist for a freelance marketer

1. Best overall for multiple clients: Brevo

• Good for keeping client lists separated with different segments/lists.
• Works well when clients have small-to-medium databases.
• Free plan limitations are mostly around sending volume rather than storing contacts. Zapier Salesforce
• Best “agency-style” organization: HubSpot

• Better if you need to track leads, deals, forms, and client reporting.
• More of a CRM + marketing platform than just an email sender. StackFYI
• Best simple newsletter workflow: MailerLite

• Great if your clients mainly need newsletters, announcements, and basic automations. Zapier

One thing to watch: many platforms’ free tiers do not provide true client workspaces. If you need each client to have their own login, branding, billing separation, and isolated data, you may need an agency plan or a platform built for resellers/partners.

If you tell me whether you mean email newsletters, SMS marketing, social media management, or a full marketing CRM, I can narrow this down.

If you’re a freelance marketer managing multiple client lists, the key feature to look for is whether the platform supports separate audiences/lists, workspaces, or client accounts without forcing everything into one database. Many “free” email tools are designed for a single business, so they can become awkward for agencies.

Here are some options worth considering:

My shortlist for a freelance marketer

• Best overall for client newsletters: MailerLite — easy to hand off to clients, clean interface, and supports organizing audiences. MailerLite
• Best for many small clients on a budget: Listomo — its unlimited-list approach is closer to an agency workflow. Listomo
• Best if clients need CRM + marketing: HubSpot — stronger for sales pipelines and client relationship tracking.

One thing to watch: some platforms let you create multiple lists but do not provide separate client workspaces. If you need to log in and manage 10 different businesses without mixing branding, permissions, billing, and analytics, you may want an agency-oriented platform (often paid).

If you mean email marketing/newsletters, social media management, or CRM/client tracking, the best free options differ.

Yes. Brevo is probably the closest fit for what you're describing.

brevo.com offers a free-forever plan with:

• 300 email sends/day (about 9,000/month if you send every day)
• Email campaigns and basic automation
• SMS campaigns in the same platform
• Up to 100,000 stored contacts
• No credit card required Brevo Help Brevo Help

The catch is important: SMS isn't free. You purchase prepaid SMS credits, with pricing depending on the recipient's country and message length. Brevo Help

What I'd look at for a digital-product solopreneur

MailerLite's free plan is attractive for email—currently 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month—but its current plans separate SMS from the free email offering. MailerLite MailerLite

So if "email + occasional SMS" is the requirement, I'd start with Brevo. You can keep the email side at $0 and only pay when you actually send SMS.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how often you'd send SMS (e.g. 500 subscribers + 2 texts/month), I can compare the likely costs of Brevo vs. a couple of alternatives.

Yes — brevo.com is probably the best fit for what you described.

• Free email marketing: 300 emails/day, with a large contact allowance. Brevo Help Brevo
• SMS campaigns: SMS marketing is built into the same platform. The catch is that SMS itself isn't free; you purchase SMS credits/pay as you send. Brevo Help
• Good for a solopreneur: You get email campaigns, SMS, transactional messaging, and a drag-and-drop editor without needing a separate SMS platform. Brevo Help
• No credit card required to start on the free plan. Brevo

One important alternative

mailerlite.com is arguably nicer if your priority is selling digital products and building email automations. Its current free plan includes 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, visual automations, landing pages, and digital-product selling. MailerLite MailerLite

However, Brevo wins if SMS is a requirement, because SMS is native to the platform.

My pick for you: Start with Brevo if you want email + occasional SMS in one place. Start with MailerLite if SMS is only a "nice to have" and you care more about email funnels/digital-product selling.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how often you'd send SMS, I can tell you which one I'd choose for your specific setup.

For a nonprofit with very limited funds, I’d look first at Brevo and MailerLite, with Mailchimp as another option if familiarity and integrations matter.

Brevo's current free plan is unusually useful for a nonprofit because stored contacts aren't capped at a small number; the constraint is 300 emails per day. It includes a drag-and-drop editor, reusable sections, custom templates, basic analytics, and transactional email. Brevo Help

MailerLite is worth considering if design quality and easy-to-create donor appeals are your priority. However, its free plan changed in June 2026: it now allows 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails, down from its previous limits. MailerLite

Mailchimp remains attractive if you need its broad ecosystem of integrations. It also currently offers verified nonprofits and charities a 15% discount on paid plans. Mailchimp Mailchimp

My practical take

If your list is more than a few hundred donors, I'd seriously consider Brevo because its free plan's unlimited contact storage avoids immediately paying just because your donor database grows. If your list is under 250 people and presentation matters most, MailerLite's templates are worth a look.

One important caveat: deliverability isn't determined just by the platform. Authentication (SPF/DKIM), a clean opted-in list, avoiding purchased addresses, consistent sending, and removing inactive/bouncing addresses have a major effect on whether donor emails reach inboxes.

If you tell me roughly how many donors/subscribers you have and how often you email them, I can compare the free plans against your actual sending volume.

For a cash-strapped nonprofit, I’d focus on Brevo and MailerLite rather than choosing solely on brand recognition.

The important wrinkle is that MailerLite changed its free plan in June 2026, reducing the allowance to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails while adding more design features. MailerLite MailerLite

My practical choice

If you have ≤250 active donors: I'd lean toward MailerLite for its combination of easy-to-use designs, landing pages/forms, and nonprofit discount when you eventually need to pay. MailerLite MailerLite

If you have hundreds or thousands of contacts but send relatively infrequently: Brevo is particularly attractive because the free plan stores up to 100,000 contacts, although you're limited to 300 email sends per day. Brevo Help Brevo Help

For deliverability, don't assume the platform alone determines inbox placement. Use your nonprofit's own domain and authenticate it with DKIM/DMARC; Brevo specifically identifies domain authentication and sender reputation as important to deliverability. Brevo Help Brevo Help

If you tell me roughly how many donors are on your list and how often you email them, I can narrow this to the most economical setup.

For a local café, I’d look at MailerLite first.

• MailerLite: Free plan currently supports 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, 3 signup forms, and 3 automations. That’s enough to set up something like: customer signs up → instant welcome email → 3 days later, send a coupon. MailerLite MailerLite
• Brevo: Also has a genuinely free plan, with 100,000 stored contacts and 300 email sends/day, plus marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts. However, Brevo's free plan doesn't include popups or landing pages. Brevo Help Brevo Help

My practical pick: MailerLite if your main goal is a simple café signup form + welcome/coupon sequence. Brevo becomes interesting if you expect your list to grow substantially.

accounts.mailerlite.com

A simple café setup could be “Join our Coffee Club → get 10% off your next drink → automatically receive occasional specials.”

For a local café, MailerLite is probably the simplest fit.

mailerlite.com currently offers a free plan with:

• Up to 250 subscribers
• 2,500 emails/month
• 3 signup forms/pop-ups
• 3 visual automations
• A landing page and website
• No credit card required MailerLite MailerLite

That’s enough to set up something like:

QR code at the counter → email signup → instant “Thanks + 10% off your next drink” email → occasional café newsletter.

MailerLite also supports double opt-in and consent settings, which are useful for building a legitimate mailing list. MailerLite MailerLite

Another option: Brevo

brevo.com has a free plan with unlimited contacts, 300 email sends/day, and marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts entering automations. Its forms can trigger welcome-email workflows. help.brevo.com help.brevo.com help.brevo.com

For a small café starting from zero, I'd start with MailerLite because the signup-form → welcome-email workflow is straightforward and the 2,500 monthly sends give you plenty of room for a small list.

If you want, I can also lay out a free café email setup you can implement in ~30 minutes, including the QR-code signup offer and the first 3 automated emails.

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.

If tag-based segmentation and custom fields must both be available on the free plan, MailerLite is a strong fit.

• Tags: MailerLite calls them Interest Groups, and you can use them to organize subscribers and build segments. MailerLite
• Custom fields: You can create your own fields (text, number, date) for things like newsletter_type, industry, source, or subscription_level. MailerLite
• Segmentation: You can build segments using tags, subscriber data, engagement, and other criteria. MailerLite
• Free plan: As of 2026, the free plan is up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, with 3 automations. MailerLite MailerLite

mailerlite.com

Other options

Brevo is worth considering if your lists are large: its free plan allows up to 100,000 stored contacts, although sending is limited to 300 emails/day. Brevo Help

Kit can also work well for creator/newsletter workflows; its free tier supports tagging and segmentation, but the automation capabilities are more restricted. sender.net

For managing multiple newsletters specifically, I'd look at MailerLite vs. Brevo first. If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have across all newsletters and how many emails you send/month, I can narrow it down based on the actual free-plan limits.

If you need tag-based segmentation and custom fields for free, these are the strongest options to look at:

My shortlist for your use case (“manage multiple newsletters” + “tag-based segmentation”):

1. Kit — probably the simplest if you want one subscriber database with tags like:

• newsletter_a
• newsletter_b
• interested_in_ai
• customer
• event_attendee
• beehiiv — better if each newsletter is more like a publication and you want subscriber preferences/custom fields. Mr Review AI
• MailerLite — a good all-around choice if you need classic email marketing features (forms, fields, segments, automations) rather than a creator-first newsletter workflow. MailerLite

A setup I’d use:

• One master subscriber list
• Custom fields for stable data:

• name
• company
• role
• location
• Tags/groups for changing interests:

• subscribed_newsletter_1
• subscribed_newsletter_2
• clicked_topic_X
• attended_webinar

That avoids duplicating contacts across multiple newsletters.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and whether these are separate brands/newsletters or different topics to the same audience, I can narrow it down.

For a creator who sells merch, MailerLite is probably the strongest free starting point if your main goal is post-purchase/order follow-ups.

• MailerLite — Free up to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, with 3 automations. It integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, and PrestaShop, and supports ecommerce triggers such as a customer buying a product. MailerLite MailerLite MailerLite
• Brevo — A good alternative if your list is larger. Its free plan allows unlimited contacts but only 300 email sends/day, and includes marketing automation plus transactional email. Brevo Help Brevo
• Shopify Email — Worth considering if your merch store is already on Shopify. Shopify currently includes 10,000 free email sends/month, and everything lives inside your Shopify admin. Shopify

What I'd set up for merch

With MailerLite, you could have:

Order placed → Thank-you email → 7 days later → "How's your merch?" → 21 days later → related product/new drop

You can also create product-specific follow-ups—for example, someone who buys a hoodie gets a later email about matching products. MailerLite

One important caveat: MailerLite's free plan was changed in June 2026, reducing the limit from 500 to 250 active subscribers and from 12,000 to 2,500 monthly emails. MailerLite

If you tell me which store you use (Shopify, WooCommerce, Fourthwall, Etsy, etc.), I can narrow it down to the free option that actually gives you the order-triggered automation you want.

If you’re a creator who sells physical merch, I’d look at platforms that can connect to Shopify/WooCommerce and trigger emails from customer/order activity—not just newsletter tools.

Strong free options

• Brevo — probably the most flexible free option. Its free plan includes 300 emails/day, marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts, and transactional email. It also supports ecommerce integrations such as Shopify and WooCommerce. Brevo Help Brevo
• MailerLite — good if you want a creator-friendly newsletter plus ecommerce integrations. It supports Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace, and can sync ecommerce/customer data for automations. However, its free plan was changed in June 2026 to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, with 3 automations. MailerLite MailerLite
• Klaviyo — particularly focused on ecommerce behavior: orders, browsing, abandoned carts, post-purchase flows, etc. Its free tier is much smaller, so it's more useful if your merch store is still relatively small. Toolradar
• Kit — excellent for the creator/newsletter side and allows up to 10,000 subscribers free, but its free automation capabilities are less suited to sophisticated physical-product order follow-ups. Zapier

For your specific use case

If you want something like:

Customer buys merch → automatically wait 7 days → “How’s your merch?” → wait 14 days → “Here’s another design you might like”

I'd focus on Brevo, MailerLite, or Klaviyo, depending on which store you're using.

If you tell me whether your merch store is Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Fourthwall, Spring, etc., I can narrow it down to the free option that actually supports the order-triggered follow-ups you want.

If your priority is beginner-friendly onboarding + genuinely useful learning resources that remain free, I’d look first at MailerLite.

My shortlist

Why I’d pick MailerLite for a complete beginner: its Academy isn't just software documentation. It has a dedicated 13-lesson “Getting started with MailerLite” course covering account setup, importing subscribers, your first campaign, domain authentication, and more. MailerLite Academy MailerLite Academy

It also has free courses on sending emails, collecting leads, automation, landing pages, and e-commerce, with certificates available. MailerLite Academy MailerLite Academy

And the current free plan is actually usable for learning: up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, with campaigns, 3 automations, forms, a landing page, and a website. MailerLite MailerLite

Brevo is the strongest alternative if you care more about learning email marketing as a discipline rather than learning one particular platform. Its free Academy includes a beginner email-marketing course with 8 modules, 63 videos, 4 eBooks, and certification, covering topics such as deliverability, A/B testing, and GDPR. Brevo Academy

Bottom line

For someone saying “I'm completely new; teach me while I build my first email list”, I'd start with MailerLite. Its onboarding, product tutorials, and broader email-marketing education fit together particularly well.

academy.mailerlite.com

If you tell me whether you're a creator/newsletter, small business, freelancer, or e-commerce store, I can also compare the free plans of MailerLite, Brevo, Kit, and Mailchimp feature-by-feature for your situation.

If your priority is being genuinely new to email marketing and having the platform teach you as you go, I’d put MailerLite at the top of the list.

Why MailerLite stands out for beginners

• Dedicated beginner onboarding course: MailerLite has a free “Getting Started” course that walks through account setup, importing subscribers, creating your first campaign, domain authentication, and more. MailerLite Academy
• Actual email-marketing education, not just software tutorials: Its free Academy includes courses on fundamentals, sending emails, automation, and selling with email. Courses are self-paced and include certificates. MailerLite Academy MailerLite Academy
• Lots of step-by-step help: Its help center combines written tutorials, videos, community support, troubleshooting guides, and free training/webinars. MailerLite MailerLite
• Beginner-oriented product design: MailerLite explicitly emphasizes simplicity and provides drag-and-drop campaign creation and straightforward subscriber management. MailerLite
• It is actually free-forever: As of September 2026, the Free plan is $0, although it is now limited to 250 active subscribers and 2,500 monthly emails. MailerLite MailerLite

How I'd compare the main alternatives

Brevo is the closest competitor from a learning perspective. Its Academy is free forever and includes interactive courses, video tutorials, assessments, and certifications; its free platform allows up to 100,000 contacts, though sending is capped at 300 emails/day. Brevo Academy Brevo Help

Kit is particularly attractive if you're building a personal newsletter or creator business: its free tier supports up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, forms and landing pages, plus segmentation. However, sequences and visual automations require a paid plan, so it's less useful if your goal is to learn automation hands-on for free. Kit Help Center Kit

My practical recommendation

If you're starting from “I don't really know email marketing yet”, I'd choose MailerLite and work through its Academy alongside building your first list. The combination of structured marketing education + product-specific tutorials + beginner-friendly interface is unusually strong.

One caveat: its free-plan limits are quite small now—250 subscribers / 2,500 emails per month—so I'd choose it primarily for the learning experience, not because it has the most generous free tier. MailerLite

academy.mailerlite.com · mailerlite.com · academy.brevo.com

If you tell me whether you're doing a newsletter, selling products/services, or email marketing for a business, I can narrow this down further.

For a shoestring budget, I’d look first at Brevo, MailerLite, and Mailchimp. All three have free tiers and documented consent/data-export capabilities, though the details differ.

What I'd check before choosing

For actual GDPR compliance, a checkbox alone isn't enough. Ideally your tool should preserve:

• What the person consented to (specific purpose/newsletter)
• When they consented
• How/where they consented
• The relevant consent wording/version
• Double-opt-in evidence, if you use it
• Unsubscribe/withdrawal history
• Ability to export an individual's data
• Ability to delete/anonymize data when required
• A DPA and appropriate processor/subprocessor arrangements

One important distinction: “GDPR-compliant tool” doesn't make your email operation automatically GDPR-compliant. Your form wording, lawful basis, privacy notice, retention practices, international data transfers, and what you're actually emailing people still matter.

For a very small list: MailerLite is worth examining because its free tier includes forms, double opt-in and subscriber export. For particularly explicit built-in consent controls: Brevo's GDPR form functionality is documented very clearly. Brevo Help MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have (e.g. 100, 500, 2,000) and whether they're EU/EEA customers, I can narrow this to the genuinely free options and compare their limits and GDPR data-handling features.

For a shoestring GDPR setup, these free tiers have both consent-collection fields and contact export:

• Brevo — GDPR-specific consent checkbox/declaration fields; contacts can be exported as CSV. Brevo Help Brevo Help
• MailerLite — GDPR marketing-permission checkboxes on forms and CSV subscriber export. Current free tier: 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails per month. MailerLite MailerLite MailerLite
• Mailchimp — GDPR opt-in checkboxes plus exportable marketing permissions and opt-in timestamps/IP information. Mailchimp Mailchimp

Practical shortlist: Brevo is particularly useful if you expect a larger contact database; MailerLite is viable for a very small list; Mailchimp has particularly detailed consent evidence.

These features don't by themselves make an email program GDPR-compliant—you still need an appropriate legal basis, transparent privacy information, records of consent, and functioning unsubscribe/rights processes.

If your main requirement is free email sending + actual A/B subject-line testing, I’d start with MailerLite.

My pick: MailerLite

It's particularly suitable if you want to do something like:

Send Subject A to 20% → Send Subject B to 20% → automatically send the better-performing version to the remaining 60%.

MailerLite says its A/B testing can test subject lines, sender name, content, and sending time, and you can choose metrics such as opens, clicks, or conversions. www.mailerlite.com

Try MailerLite's free plan

One caveat: free-plan limits have changed recently, so I'd check the plan details when you sign up. The official page currently says 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails per month. www.mailerlite.comwww.mailerlite.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how many emails you send per month, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 free options for your situation.

If A/B subject-line testing needs to be genuinely free, I’d start with mailerlite.com.

• MailerLite: A/B testing is included on the free plan. You can test subject lines, sender name, content, and sending time, and have it automatically choose a winner based on opens or clicks. MailerLite MailerLite
• Free-plan catch: the free tier has relatively small sending/list limits, so it’s best if you’re starting small. MailerLite's current pages show A/B testing as a free feature, though its published free-plan limits appear to have changed recently, so I'd verify the limits when signing up. MailerLite MailerLite
• Brevo: has proper A/B testing for subject lines and content, but its A/B testing is currently not on the free plan. Brevo Help
• If you only need basic performance tracking: Brevo's free tier can still be attractive because of its larger contact allowance, but you'd need to pay for the A/B-testing feature. Omnisend

My practical pick

Try MailerLite first if your main requirement is:

“I want to send an email, test Subject A vs. Subject B, see which gets more opens/clicks, and do it for $0.”

It is unusually good at that specific requirement. MailerLite

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how many emails/month you send, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 free options for your situation.

If your priority is newsletter growth + automation workflows without hitting a paywall immediately, look for a platform that gives you either (a) usable automations on the free tier or (b) enough subscriber runway before you need to upgrade. The best fit depends on what kind of automation you mean (welcome sequences, tagging/segments, lead magnets, paid subscriptions, etc.). tajo.io

For a personal newsletter, I’d generally narrow it like this:

• You want a welcome sequence, lead magnet delivery, and a few automated emails now: look at MailerLite first; its free tier is built around basic automation, though the subscriber ceiling is lower. www.mailerlite.com
• You expect your list to grow quickly and mostly send newsletters: Kit or beehiiv give more room before paying. worklever.cowww.beehiiv.com
• You want newsletter + business workflows (CRM-style): consider Brevo. tajo.io

Before choosing, define your first 3 automations:

1. New subscriber → welcome series
2. Lead magnet download → follow-up sequence
3. Engaged reader → tag/segment → targeted emails

Many free plans can handle #1, but #2 and #3 are where upgrade limits usually appear. emailbump.com

If you tell me your expected list size (e.g., 500, 5k, 50k subscribers) and the automations you want, I can narrow it to the best match.

If your key requirement is real automation on a genuinely free plan, the field narrows considerably. As of September 2026:

What I'd look at for your use case

MailerLite is the straightforward option if you're still small. Its current free plan explicitly includes 3 visual automations, so you can build things like:

• New subscriber → welcome email
• Lead magnet → 3–5 email nurture sequence
• Link click → segment/tag → follow-up

The problem is that MailerLite's free limit was cut to 250 active subscribers in June 2026. Once you exceed that, automations and sending are paused until you reduce the list or upgrade. MailerLite

Brevo is more interesting if you're trying to scale the list while staying free. Its free tier allows a much larger contact database and supports workflow automation, although you're constrained by 300 emails/day and some advanced automation functionality. Mr. Review Ai

Kit looks attractive because the free limit is 10,000 subscribers, but that's misleading for your particular requirement: its current free plan does not include Visual Automations or the automation template library. Kit Help Center

beehiiv is similarly strong for free newsletter publishing, but its Launch plan doesn't let you actually activate automations without upgrading. Fayed - Fayedtion

Bottom line: if "automation without immediately paying" is non-negotiable, I'd investigate Brevo and MailerLite first. If your list is likely to grow beyond a few hundred subscribers quickly, Brevo's free contact capacity makes it particularly relevant; if you're under 250 and want a conventional newsletter automation builder, MailerLite gives you that directly.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and what automations you want (welcome sequence, lead magnet, weekly newsletter, paid-product funnel, etc.), I can narrow this down to the plans that won't force an upgrade at your next growth milestone.

For your use case, Kit and MailerLite stand out.

Kit's free plan is particularly notable: it currently includes 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages, unlimited forms, unlimited broadcasts, tagging/segmentation, and the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions. Kit Help Center Kit

For popups specifically, Kit's forms can be embedded as modal popups, sticky bars, slide-ins, or inline forms. Kit

MailerLite is also capable, but its current free plan is much more restrictive: 250 active subscribers, 2,500 monthly emails, one landing page, and three signup forms/popups. MailerLite MailerLite

My practical take

If you're managing paid subscriptions and occasional launches, I'd start with Kit. Its unusually generous free subscriber limit and unlimited landing pages/forms make it better suited to building a list before you know how large it will get. It also has native support for selling digital products and subscriptions. Kit Help Center

kit.com

MailerLite would make more sense if you're starting with a very small list and want a more traditional email-marketing/website builder experience. Its free plan does include popups and a landing page, but you'll hit the 250-subscriber ceiling quickly if list growth is a priority. MailerLite

mailerlite.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and what you're selling (newsletter, membership, digital product, course, etc.), I can narrow it down to the best free setup for your workflow.

For your use case—paid subscriptions + occasional product launches + list-growth popups and landing pages—I’d look closely at Kit (formerly ConvertKit).

Kit’s current free plan is unusually generous: up to 10,000 subscribers, unlimited landing pages and forms, unlimited broadcasts, segmentation, and native digital products/subscriptions. Kit Help Center Zapier

How the main free options compare

The big recent change is MailerLite: as of July 2026, its free tier dropped to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, although it still includes popups and a landing page. MailerLite

For what you described, Kit is particularly interesting because you can use a popup → landing page → email sequence → paid subscription/product flow without immediately hitting a tiny subscriber ceiling. Its free plan also supports selling digital products and subscriptions directly. Kit Help Center

help.kit.com

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have now and whether the paid subscription is recurring (e.g. $10/month) or one-time, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options for your exact setup.

Yes. If “free forever” + multi-step welcome sequences + a small list are the requirements, I’d look at these first:

• sender.net — currently the most generous fit: free forever for 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month, with unlimited automation workflows and a visual builder. It explicitly supports multi-step welcome sequences. Sender Sender
• mailerlite.com — good if your list is very small and you want a polished, simple interface. As of June 2026, its free tier is 250 active subscribers, 2,500 emails/month, and up to 3 automations. MailerLite
• kit.com — useful for creator/newsletter-style businesses. The free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers, but automation is restricted to one basic Visual Automation, so it's less attractive if you expect several separate sequences. Kit Kit
• brevo.com — free plan allows 100,000 stored contacts, but sending is capped at 300 emails/day. It's worth considering if your list may grow substantially, though the daily sending limit matters for sequences. Brevo Help

For your specific use case

If you mean something like:

Signup → immediately send Welcome #1 → wait 2 days → send Welcome #2 → wait 3 days → send “here's how to get started” → wait 4 days → send offer

Sender is probably the cleanest match, because its free tier explicitly includes unlimited automation workflows rather than putting the automation builder behind a paid plan. Sender

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have (e.g. 100, 500, 2,000) and whether you need just email or email + CRM/forms, I can narrow this to the 2–3 most suitable options and compare their free-tier restrictions.

If your main requirement is free forever + true multi-step welcome sequences, the list is shorter than many comparison articles suggest. Here are the strongest options for a small list:

Some well-known platforms have notable limitations:

• Mailchimp: Free plan is generally limited to a basic welcome automation rather than full multi-email nurture sequences. Automation Atlas StackFYI
• GetResponse: The free account lets you try automation initially, but advanced automation isn't permanently included on the free plan. GetResponse

My recommendations

If you're building a typical business welcome sequence (e.g. 3–7 emails over 2–3 weeks):

1. Sender — Probably the best free option today. You get:

• Visual workflow builder
• Multi-step welcome series
• Tags and segmentation
• Signup forms
• Plenty of headroom (2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month) Sender Sender
• MailerLite — Excellent if you value a polished, beginner-friendly experience. The free plan includes multi-step automations for smaller lists. Zapier Automation Atlas
• Brevo — Best if you expect your contact list to grow quickly because it doesn't cap stored contacts on the free plan, though the daily sending limit is 300 emails. Automation Atlas Zapier

For most small organizations, a welcome sequence like this works well:

• Email 1: Immediate welcome and expectations
• Email 2: Your story or mission (2 days later)
• Email 3: Most valuable resource (4 days later)
• Email 4: Customer success story or testimonial (7 days later)
• Email 5: Soft call to action (10–14 days later)

That type of sequence is supported by Sender, MailerLite, and Brevo on their free tiers. Sender Automation Atlas Zapier