Answers that do not mention MailerLite

If you're on a tight budget, the strongest free options right now are:

• Shopify Messaging — If your store is on Shopify, this is the simplest zero-extra-cost route. It includes abandoned-cart automations, customer segmentation, and 10,000 emails/month. Shopify
• Omnisend — Its free tier supports ecommerce automation and abandoned-cart recovery, with a 250-contact limit. Omnisend
• Klaviyo — Free for up to 250 profiles and includes sophisticated ecommerce segmentation and automation, although the free sending allowance is relatively tight. Omnisend
• Brevo — Free tier allows 300 email sends/day and supports abandoned-cart automation and store segmentation. Omnisend

For a small Shopify shop: I'd start by looking at Shopify Messaging because you can avoid adding another paid platform while still getting both abandoned-cart automation and segmentation. If you need more sophisticated customer behavior segmentation, compare it with Omnisend or Klaviyo.

If you tell me Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, or another platform and roughly how many email subscribers you have, I can narrow this down to the free tier that fits your store's limits best.

For a small ecommerce shop on a tight budget, I’d look first at Omnisend.

• Free plan: Yes.
• Abandoned-cart emails: Included in the free tier, with prebuilt ecommerce workflows. Omnisend Omnisend
• Segmentation: Included, including behavioral/customer segments. Omnisend
• Free-tier scale: Current comparisons put it around 250 contacts and 500 emails/month. Omnisend
• Ecommerce focus: It integrates with platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce and is designed around cart, purchase, and lifecycle events. Omnisend

omnisend.com

My budget ranking

1. Omnisend — best fit if abandoned-cart automation + segmentation are must-haves on $0.
2. Klaviyo — stronger/deeper segmentation, but its free tier is also limited to roughly 250 profiles/500 emails, so I'd choose it if advanced customer-data targeting matters more. Omnisend
3. Brevo — attractive if you have a large contact list but relatively low sending volume, though its free tier isn't as straightforward for ecommerce abandoned-cart automation. Nexa
4. Mailchimp — I wouldn't pick it specifically for this use case; its free automation capabilities are much more restricted. Omnisend

Bottom line: If you're starting small and want to spend nothing, Omnisend is probably the best match because the free plan actually gives you the two features you care about rather than making abandoned-cart automation a paid-only feature.

If you tell me whether you're on Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, or something else, I can narrow it down to the cheapest option for your exact setup.

If you mean CRM/client-management platforms where an agency can set up a realistic pilot, import a small sample of contacts, and test the workflow before migrating everyone, there are several genuine free-forever options.

What I'd test before touching client data

For an agency, I'd create a synthetic 50–100-contact dataset and run the same test in each platform:

• CSV import and field mapping
• Custom fields and tags
• Duplicate detection/merging
• Contact → company → deal relationships
• Pipeline stages
• User permissions
• Automated follow-ups/workflows
• Email integration
• Forms/lead capture
• CSV/API export back out
• Deleting the test account and confirming what data can be recovered/exported

That last pair is particularly important: don't evaluate only how easily you can get client lists in; test how easily you can get them back out.

For example, Zoho explicitly supports spreadsheet import/export on its free plan and says its Free Edition is permanent rather than a trial. Zoho Zoho HubSpot currently advertises its CRM as free forever, with unlimited users and up to 1 million contacts. HubSpot

For a migration pilot, I'd start with HubSpot + Zoho CRM side-by-side, using the exact same sanitized dataset and workflow. That gives you a useful comparison between a very generous contact/user allowance and a more explicitly capped but fairly feature-rich free CRM.

If you tell me what platform you're migrating away from (e.g. Salesforce, GoHighLevel, Keap, ActiveCampaign, another CRM) and roughly how many client records/users, I can narrow this to the platforms whose free tiers let you test the specific migration features you care about.

If you mean CRM/customer-management platforms with a genuinely free-forever tier—so an agency can build a sandbox, import a sample client list, and test workflows before committing—these are the main ones I’d put on the evaluation list as of September 2026:

The vendor pages confirm that HubSpot currently advertises its free CRM as permanent, with unlimited users and 1 million contacts; Zoho explicitly offers its CRM free forever for three users and supports spreadsheet import/export. HubSpot Zoho Bitrix24 likewise currently advertises free-forever CRM with unlimited users and contacts. Bitrix24 Bitrix24

For an agency, I'd test them differently

Rather than importing an entire client database immediately, create a representative sandbox of perhaps 50–200 contacts and run the same test in each platform:

• Import contacts with custom fields.
• Deduplicate records.
• Create multiple pipelines/client stages.
• Assign records to different agency users.
• Test permissions and visibility between clients.
• Create a few automations/workflows.
• Test email/calendar integrations.
• Export everything back out to CSV.
• Test API/integration capabilities if you'll connect it to your agency stack.
• Check exactly which features disappear when you hit the paid boundary.

Zoho is particularly useful for this kind of controlled pilot because its free edition explicitly includes spreadsheet import/export, workflows, custom email templates, reports and API access, while remaining limited to three users. Zoho Zoho

HubSpot is useful if the eventual system needs to accommodate a large contact database, since its current free offering advertises 1 million contacts and unlimited users. HubSpot

Bitrix24 is worth testing if the agency wants CRM plus internal project/collaboration tooling, rather than CRM alone. Its current site advertises unlimited free CRM users and contacts. Bitrix24

One important caveat: don't assume "free forever" means the production workflow will remain free forever. The most important evaluation isn't the headline contact limit; it's whether the specific features your clients depend on—automation, permissions, integrations, reporting, bulk email, API access, etc.—are included at $0. Free-tier limits can change, so verify the vendor's current pricing page immediately before migration. freestackfinder.com agence-deliver.com

If you tell me what kind of client lists/workflows the agency manages (e.g. marketing leads, real-estate clients, nonprofits, service businesses, email subscribers), I can narrow this to 3–4 platforms and give you a migration-risk test matrix.

If you’re an agency testing CRMs before migrating real client lists, I’d prioritize platforms with a genuine free tier, contact import, enough workflow functionality to run a realistic pilot, and—critically—an easy exit.

My agency shortlist

1. HubSpot — best first pilot.
It supports importing existing contacts and gives you a broad ecosystem around CRM, sales, service and marketing. HubSpot's current site advertises a free-forever core CRM with no credit card required, although its public pages currently show somewhat inconsistent contact/user limits, so I'd verify the limits presented during account creation before loading a client database. HubSpot HubSpot

2. Zoho — best if you want to test actual CRM depth.
The free edition is particularly attractive for an agency because you can test leads, deals, fields, tasks and basic workflow without immediately paying. Current comparisons put it at 3 users and roughly 5,000 records on the free plan. InterObservers Free Alternatives To

3. Brevo — best if the migration is really CRM + email marketing.
It is worth testing when your clients' contact lists are primarily used for campaigns and follow-ups rather than complex sales pipelines. Current comparisons report a free plan supporting a very large contact database, while limiting daily email volume. Tajo Deliver by Make Sense

4. Freshsales — good specialist pilot.
I'd test this when phone/email interaction is central to the agency's workflow. Its free tier is aimed at small teams and includes contact, account and deal management plus communication capabilities. InterObservers

5. Bitrix24 — test cautiously.
Its combination of CRM, projects, chat and collaboration can be compelling for an agency, but free-tier restrictions around exports and other functionality make it less attractive if your priority is easy migration back out. Dupple

How I'd run the agency evaluation

Don't immediately upload an entire client list. Take 100–500 representative records and test:

• CSV import and field mapping
• Duplicate detection
• Custom fields
• Multiple pipelines/client types
• Tags, segments and saved views
• Email/calendar integration
• Automations and follow-up tasks
• User permissions
• Client-by-client separation if you're managing multiple accounts
• API/Zapier/Make connectivity
• Full data export back to CSV
• Deletion of the test data

The export test is especially important. A platform can be "free forever" yet still make leaving painful. Independent 2026 comparisons specifically flag export restrictions as a potential source of lock-in, particularly with Bitrix24. InterObservers Dupple

For an agency, I'd start with HubSpot + Zoho, put the same anonymized 200-record dataset into both, and have your team perform the same 5–10 workflows. That will tell you far more than feature-comparison tables.

3. Brevo — best if the migration is really CRM + email marketing.
It is worth testing when your clients' contact lists are primarily used for campaigns and follow-ups rather than complex sales pipelines. Current comparisons report a free plan supporting a very large contact database, while limiting daily email volume. Tajo Deliver by Make Sense

4. Freshsales — good specialist pilot.
I'd test this when phone/email interaction is central to the agency's workflow. Its free tier is aimed at small teams and includes contact, account and deal management plus communication capabilities. InterObservers

5. Bitrix24 — test cautiously.
Its combination of CRM, projects, chat and collaboration can be compelling for an agency, but free-tier restrictions around exports and other functionality make it less attractive if your priority is easy migration back out.

How I'd run the agency evaluation

Don't immediately upload an entire client list. Take 100–500 representative records and test:

Yes. For a student-run organization, there are a few genuinely free options, but they solve slightly different problems.

1. Zoho Mail — probably the simplest student-org option

zoho.com offers a free plan with 5 user accounts, 5 GB per user, custom-domain hosting, and 2FA. Zoho Zoho

So you could have:

• president@yourorg.org
• vicepresident@yourorg.org
• treasurer@yourorg.org
• secretary@yourorg.org
• outreach@yourorg.org

Each person gets their own login, rather than everyone sharing one password.

Catch: the free plan is limited to 5 users, and availability of the free plan varies by region. Zoho

2. Google Workspace for Nonprofits — potentially much better if you qualify

If your organization can qualify for Google for Nonprofits, Google currently offers Google Workspace for Nonprofits at no charge, including custom email, Drive, Calendar, Docs, Meet, shared drives, and centralized administration. It can support up to 2,000 users. Google Help

google.com

This is particularly attractive if your organization has lots of volunteers and needs accounts that can be handed off each academic year.

One important distinction: being a student organization doesn't automatically mean you qualify as a nonprofit. Your university may also have its own Google/Microsoft system that is available to student organizations.

3. HubSpot — good if you mean a shared team inbox

hubspot.com has a free shared-inbox capability where multiple people can view and respond to team email, assign conversations, and see who has handled messages. HubSpot

The limitation is that the free version is quite small—current comparisons put it at 2 users and 1 shared inbox. Drag

So it's useful for something like contact@studentorg.org, but less useful if you want 10 volunteers to have individual organization accounts.

4. Gaggle Mail — excellent for a volunteer mailing list

gaggle.email is free for up to 200 members, with unlimited groups. Members use their existing Gmail/Outlook/etc. accounts, so you don't have to create accounts for everyone. Gaggle Gaggle Mail

For example:

volunteers@yourorg.gaggle.email

could distribute messages to everyone on the volunteer team.

However, it's not really an organizational email-hosting solution: the free plan doesn't provide a custom domain, and there are restrictions on sending directly from your own inbox. Gaggle Mail Help Center

What I'd consider for a student organization

If you mean "We have 10–30 student volunteers and want several people to manage organizational email", I'd look at these in this order:

1. Google Workspace for Nonprofits — if your organization qualifies.
2. Your university's existing Google/Microsoft system — often overlooked and potentially completely free to student organizations.
3. Zoho Mail — if you need a small number of actual organizational accounts.
4. Gaggle Mail — if the main need is distributing messages to a large volunteer group.
5. HubSpot — if the main need is managing a shared contact@... inbox rather than giving everyone an email account.

*Google's 2,000-user figure is the current limit stated for the Google Workspace for Nonprofits edition, not the ordinary free Gmail/Google Workspace offering. Google Help

If you tell me roughly how many volunteers/officers you have (e.g. 5, 15, 50) and whether you already own a domain like yourorg.org, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 options that actually fit.

This is particularly attractive if your organization has lots of volunteers and needs accounts that can be handed off each academic year.

One important distinction: being a student organization doesn't automatically mean you qualify as a nonprofit. Your university may also have its own Google/Microsoft system that is available to student organizations.

3. HubSpot — good if you mean a shared team inbox

hubspot.com has a free shared-inbox capability where multiple people can view and respond to team email, assign conversations, and see who has handled messages. HubSpot

The limitation is that the free version is quite small—current comparisons put it at 2 users and 1 shared inbox. Drag

So it's useful for something like contact@studentorg.org, but less useful if you want 10 volunteers to have individual organization accounts.

4. Gaggle Mail — excellent for a volunteer mailing list

gaggle.email is free for up to 200 members, with unlimited groups. Members use their existing Gmail/Outlook/etc. accounts, so you don't have to create accounts for everyone. ww.gaggle.email gaggle.email

For example:

volunteers@yourorg.gaggle.email

could distribute messages to everyone on the volunteer team.

However, it's not really an organizational email-hosting solution: the free plan doesn't provide a custom domain, and there are restrictions on sending directly from your own inbox.

What I'd consider for a student organization

If you mean "We have 10–30 student volunteers and want several people to manage organizational email", I'd look at these in this order:

Yes. For a student-run organization with rotating volunteers, there are a few genuinely free options, but they solve slightly different problems.

1. Google Workspace for Nonprofits — potentially the strongest fit

If your organization is eligible for Google for Nonprofits, Google offers Workspace at no charge, including custom organizational email, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Meet, and centralized administration. Google currently says the nonprofit edition can support up to 2,000 users. Google Help

For example, you could have:

• president@organization.org
• treasurer@organization.org
• events@organization.org
• volunteers@organization.org

This is particularly useful when volunteers graduate or leave because the organization can retain control of the accounts rather than having everything tied to someone's personal Gmail.

google.com

Important: eligibility is based on Google's nonprofit requirements; simply being a student organization doesn't necessarily qualify.

2. Zoho Mail Free — good if you only need a few people

Zoho currently offers a free plan for up to 5 users, with a custom domain and 5 GB of mail storage per user. The free tier is web-only and doesn't include IMAP/POP/ActiveSync. Zoho Zoho

So if you have, say, a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and communications lead, this could work without paying anything.

zoho.com

3. Gaggle Mail — excellent for a volunteer mailing group

Gaggle Mail is different: it isn't really individual organizational mailboxes. Its free plan supports up to 200 members and unlimited groups, with everyone participating through their existing email accounts. Gaggle Gaggle Mail

For example:

student-org@gaggle.email

could reach 50 volunteers, and replies can go back to the group. That's useful for committee/volunteer coordination, but it isn't a replacement for president@yourorg.org accounts.

gaggle.email

What I'd look at for a student organization

If your goal is "10–50 student volunteers should each have an organizational account", I'd first investigate Google Workspace for Nonprofits if you have nonprofit eligibility.

If you only need 2–5 officers to have official email addresses, Zoho Mail Free is much simpler.

If what you really want is one shared email address that distributes messages among volunteers, Gaggle Mail is worth considering.

One important distinction: "multiple users" and "shared inbox/team seats" aren't the same thing. If you tell me something like "we have 20 volunteers, want @ourorg.org, and need everyone to access shared inboxes like info@ and events@", I can narrow this down to the free options that actually support that setup.

Yes. If you mean one organization email address (e.g. president@... or volunteers@...) that several volunteers can access, there are some genuinely free options.

Best options

Maxdesk is unusual because its $0 plan advertises unlimited agents, with everyone working from the same shared inbox. Maxdesk

For a student organization, I'd narrow it down this way:

• Need 5–50 volunteers to access the same inbox: Maxdesk is worth looking at first.
• Only 2–3 officers need to manage email: Zoho Desk or Smailor are simpler choices.
• Mostly sending announcements to volunteers/members: Gaggle Mail is probably a better fit; its free plan supports up to 200 members and unlimited groups. Gaggle Gaggle Mail
• Already using Google Workspace: Google Groups/Collaborative Inbox can provide a free shared workflow, although it is less sophisticated than dedicated help-desk software. Drag

One important distinction: if by "multiple users" you mean each volunteer gets their own individual email account (e.g. alex@organization.org, sam@organization.org) rather than everyone sharing contact@organization.org, the choices are different. Free custom-domain email with multiple individual mailboxes is much harder to find.

If you tell me roughly how many volunteers need access (e.g. 5, 20, 100) and whether you need individual email accounts or just a shared inbox, I can give you the best 2–3 choices.

For a boutique ecommerce store with under 500 contacts, I’d look at these three:

What I'd choose for your use case

Brevo is worth considering if your priority is staying free as your contact list grows. Its free plan doesn't cap stored contacts and allows 300 emails/day, while its paid tiers add more sophisticated segmentation based on demographics, website activity, campaign engagement, and custom events. Brevo

Mailchimp is a straightforward choice if you're genuinely going to stay below 500 contacts and want an ecommerce-oriented email marketing workflow. But because you're already close to its free contact ceiling, you'll need to watch your list size. Mailchimp HubSpot Blog

HubSpot makes more sense if by "segmentation" you also mean CRM-style customer management—customer records, interactions, and sales information—rather than primarily ecommerce email marketing. HubSpot Blog

One important distinction: if by ecommerce analytics you mean things like revenue per campaign, purchase history, abandoned carts, repeat-purchase behavior, and RFM/customer-value segmentation, the answer changes. Those features are considerably more ecommerce-specific than ordinary email open/click analytics.

If you tell me whether your store is Shopify, WooCommerce, Etsy, Squarespace, or something else, I can narrow this to the best free option for your exact setup.

For a boutique store with under 500 contacts, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Brevo

brevo.com

Brevo's free plan gives you up to 100,000 stored contacts, basic segmentation and reporting, and 300 email sends per day. Brevo Help Brevo Help

However, if by “ecommerce analytics” you specifically mean revenue per campaign, products purchased, customer purchase behavior, etc., I'd lean toward Klaviyo or Mailchimp. Mailchimp's free tier includes ecommerce data/reporting, although its free plan is capped at 500 contacts and 1,000 emails/month according to recent comparisons. HubSpot Blog

For a boutique, I'd choose:

1. 🥇 Klaviyo — if Shopify/ecommerce data + customer segmentation are the main priority.
2. 🥈 Brevo — if you want the most generous free plan and simple segmentation.
3. 🥉 Mailchimp — if you want straightforward ecommerce reporting and don't expect to exceed 500 contacts soon.

If you tell me whether your store is Shopify, WooCommerce, Squarespace, or something else, I can narrow it down to the best actually-free option for your setup.

brevo.com

Brevo's free plan gives you up to 100,000 stored contacts, basic segmentation and reporting, and 300 email sends per day.