March 2026
Email Marketing Tools: Pricing & Strategy Report
We compared pricing across the 5 major email marketing platforms. Free tiers are shrinking, contact-based pricing is under attack, and AI is now table stakes.
| Tool | Free Plan | Entry Paid | Pricing Model | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | 250 contacts | $13/mo | Per contact | Deep |
| Kit | 10K subscribers | $39/mo | Per subscriber | Minimal |
| Beehiiv | 2,500 subs | $49/mo | Per subscriber | Strong |
| ActiveCampaign | None | $15/mo | Per contact (incl. inactive) | Deep (Pro+) |
| Brevo | Unlimited contacts | $9/mo | Per email volume | Strong |
Mailchimp (Intuit)
Free plan reduced again in Jan 2026 — now just 250 contacts, down from 500. Cumulative 20-30% price increases since the Intuit acquisition. At 5,000 contacts, you're paying ~$75-100/mo.
They count subscribed, unsubscribed, AND non-subscribed contacts toward billing. Still dominates with 60-72% market share and 11M+ users, but the free tier shrinking is creating a steady stream of users evaluating alternatives.
Intuit Assist ties into QuickBooks financial data for revenue intelligence — a unique moat no competitor can replicate.
Kit (fka ConvertKit)
Best free plan in the market: 10K subscribers, unlimited emails. Great deliverability at 99.8%. ~35% price increase coincided with the 2024 rebrand.
Launched an App Store (2025) and Creator Network for cross-promotion. Commerce features let you sell subscriptions and digital products directly.
The AI problem: Kit's AI features are limited to subject line generation and an AI support agent. Every competitor is shipping AI content generation, campaign builders, and automation assistants. If they don't close this gap in 2026, creator loyalty alone won't be enough.
Beehiiv
Fastest feature velocity in the market. Shipped in the last ~12 months: AI website builder (screenshot-to-site), podcast hosting, newsletter translation, AI social helper, commission-free digital product sales, and a Link in Bio tool.
0% revenue commission vs Substack's 10% cut. 55,000+ creators, 35 billion emails sent, $25M+ in publisher revenue in 2025.
Not just an email tool — they're building a full creator operating system that competes with Substack, WordPress, and Patreon simultaneously.
ActiveCampaign
Legacy users are seeing 30-63% annual price hikes. Now charges based on total contacts including inactive ones — bounces, unsubscribes, unconfirmed. You're paying for contacts that can never receive your emails.
Hidden add-on costs: CRM pipelines ($68/mo), SMS ($16.83+/mo), custom reporting ($159/mo).
Most powerful automation engine in this group — not close. 7 AI features on Pro plan including AI Campaign Builder and AI Automation Builder with natural language. But AI is locked behind Pro tier ($79+/mo), putting it out of reach for smaller teams.
Brevo (most disruptive)
Volume-based pricing (pay per email, unlimited contacts) directly attacks the per-contact model. Entry at just $9/mo for 5K emails/month — undercutting everyone.
Raised $583M in Dec 2025 — now a unicorn. Launched Aura AI Marketing Agent available even on the free plan. MCP server integration lets AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT) manage campaigns directly.
600,000+ customers, 20% YoY growth. The funding signals aggressive expansion plans and likely pricing competition ahead.
3 Trends Reshaping Email Marketing
- Contact-based pricing is dying. Brevo's volume model and Beehiiv's unlimited sends prove alternatives work. Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign are making per-contact pricing worse (counting inactive contacts), which accelerates the shift.
- AI is now table stakes. If your email tool doesn't have meaningful AI (content gen, automation builder, send-time optimization), you're at a disadvantage. Kit is the clearest example of what happens when you fall behind.
- Free tiers are bifurcating. Mailchimp/ActiveCampaign shrink free plans. Kit/Beehiiv/Brevo keep them generous. Where a platform sits on this spectrum tells you everything about their growth strategy.
ActiveCampaign Pricing by Contact Count
| Plan | 1K Contacts | 5K Contacts | 10K Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $15/mo | $79/mo | $149/mo |
| Plus | $49/mo | $145/mo | $189/mo |
| Pro | $79/mo | $205/mo | $375/mo |
| Enterprise | $145/mo | $375/mo | $589/mo |
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This report was produced by Flankr, a competitive intelligence service for SaaS companies. Data sourced from public pricing pages, press releases, and product changelogs as of March 2026.