Mailchimp's free plan is where many small businesses start, and where many hit a wall: it covers 250 contacts and 500 emails a month (no more than 250 a day) for one user. Its paid plans are priced by contact count and change with frequent promotions, so the alternatives below are worth a look before you upgrade.
Prices are from each vendor's pricing page at the time of our last update.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Free plan | Cheapest paid plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month, 2 seats | Comfort: $12 a month, or $10.80 billed yearly (500 subscribers) | Small businesses that want automation cheaply |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers | Creator: $390 a year for 1,000 subscribers | Creators and one-person newsletters |
| Constant Contact | None listed | Lite: $12 a month, or $10.20 billed annually (500 contacts) | Owners who want phone support |
| Mailchimp (for reference) | 250 contacts, 500 emails a month, 1 seat | Essentials, priced by contacts | — |
How many contacts the free plan keeps
Show the numbers
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Mailchimp | 250 |
| MailerLite | 250 |
| Kit | 10,000 |
MailerLite: best low-cost all-rounder
MailerLite's free plan covers 250 subscribers, the same cap as Mailchimp's free plan, but allows 2,500 emails a month with two user seats. Its paid plans, priced for 500 subscribers:
| MailerLite plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Monthly emails | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort | $12 a month | $10.80 a month | 10 × the top of your subscriber tier | 3 |
| Power | $25 a month | $22.50 a month ($270 a year) | Unlimited, fair use | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Unlimited |
Comfort already includes full API access, unlimited templates and removal of the MailerLite logo, with 50 automations, 10 forms and 10 sites. Power lifts those limits to unlimited automations, forms, sites and user seats. MailerLite gives nonprofits 30% off its paid plans.
Choose it if you want automations and signup forms without paying Mailchimp prices. Power is good value for small teams because seats are unlimited.
Kit: best free plan for a growing list
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) has the most generous free plan here: free for up to 10,000 subscribers, with unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, tagging and segmentation, and the ability to sell digital products and subscriptions.
The paid Creator plan costs $390 a year for 1,000 subscribers, which Kit shows as $33 a month (it says paying yearly saves 17%). The Pro plan for 1,000 subscribers is currently discounted to $593 for the first year, after which it renews at the standard rate.
Choose it if you publish a newsletter or sell courses and digital products. Kit is built for creators; a local shop sending promotions may find MailerLite or Constant Contact more natural.
Constant Contact: best if you want help on the phone
Constant Contact has no free plan, but every plan includes live phone and chat support, plus event tools and social posting. For up to 500 contacts:
| Constant Contact plan | Billed monthly | Billed annually |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | $12 a month | $10.20 a month |
| Standard | $35 a month | $29.75 a month |
| Premium | $80 a month | $68 a month |
Prices rise with your contact count: Standard for 1,001–2,500 contacts is $63.75 a month billed annually. See the full table in our Constant Contact pricing guide.
Choose it if you would rather call someone than read help articles, or you run events alongside your emails.
A free option inside a CRM
If you also want a CRM, HubSpot's free plan includes 2,000 marketing email sends a month for up to two users and 1,000 contacts, with HubSpot branding on every email. Paid HubSpot plans add up quickly, so read our HubSpot CRM pricing guide before you build your list there.
How to choose
- Under 10,000 subscribers and price matters most? Start on Kit's free plan.
- Need automations for a small business on a budget? MailerLite Comfort, or Power if several people need access.
- Want hand-holding? Constant Contact Standard, which adds scheduling, testing and automation templates.
- Already on Mailchimp and happy with it? Check what your contact count costs on its pricing page before switching; moving lists, forms and automations takes time.