In short:
- Four email marketing and automation tools for small businesses are compared using their pricing pages checked on 9 November 2026: Brevo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and MailerLite.
- Brevo, a French vendor, offers the most generous free plan in volume (300 emails per day) and a Standard plan at €15 per month with marketing automation and no contact limit.
- Mailchimp is free under 250 contacts and starts at €11.74 per month for 500 contacts. MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers and starts at €11 per month for 500 subscribers.
- ActiveCampaign has no free plan: its Starter plan costs €15 per month billed annually for 1,000 contacts, with multi-step automation included.
Email marketing tools for small businesses: comparison table
| Criterion | Brevo | Mailchimp | ActiveCampaign | MailerLite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, 300 emails per day, 1 user | Yes, fewer than 250 contacts | No, 14-day trial without a card | Yes, 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month |
| Entry-level paid price checked | Starter, €7 per month billed monthly (€6.33 annually), 5,000 emails per month | Essentials, from €11.74 per month for 500 contacts | Starter, €15 per month billed annually for 1,000 contacts | Comfort, €11 per month billed monthly (€9.90 annually) for 500 subscribers |
| Pricing basis | Volume of emails sent | Number of contacts | Number of contacts | Number of subscribers |
| Marketing automation | From the free plan, limited to 2,000 contacts up to Starter, unlimited from Standard (€15 per month) | 4-step journeys on Essentials, 200 steps on Standard (from €18.06 per month) | Multi-step automation from Starter | 3 active automations on Free, 50 on Comfort |
| Users | 1 on Free and Starter, up to 3 on Standard (add-on) | 3 on Essentials, 5 on Standard | 1 on Starter and Plus | 2 on Free, 3 on Comfort |
| Transactional emails | Included in every plan | Separate offer (Transactional tab) | Not checked | Separate offer (Transactional tab) |
| Verdict | The best balance of free tier, volume and automation | The best known, expensive as the list grows | The most advanced automation, no free plan | Simple and affordable for a small list |
Method: prices and limits come from the vendors’ pricing pages, checked on 9 November 2026, in euros. The pages do not state whether prices exclude VAT (MailerLite only says taxes may apply). Pricing models differ: Brevo charges by email volume, the other three by number of contacts. A “not checked” cell means the information did not appear on the page consulted.
Email marketing and automation: what a small business should expect from a tool
Choosing the best email marketing tool for a small business starts with one question: does the company only want to send a newsletter, or also trigger automatic messages? The two uses do not cost the same.
Email marketing means sending one-off campaigns to a contact list: a newsletter, a product announcement, an event invitation.
Marketing automation sends messages triggered by an event: a form sign-up, a first purchase, an abandoned cart, no opens for several months. Once the workflow is built, it runs on its own.
An email marketing tool does not replace a CRM: the difference is explained in the article CRM: definition, features and business uses. Many small businesses use both, connected to each other.
The criteria used for the comparison
- The free plan and its real limits.
- The entry price and how it increases (contacts or sending volume).
- The level of automation available at each tier.
- The number of users included.
- Transactional emails (order confirmation, password reset), included or not.
Brevo: the most complete email and automation tool to get started
Brevo describes itself on its pricing page as a 100% French marketing platform. The tool combines email marketing, SMS, WhatsApp, marketing automation and transactional emails. Plan details are on Brevo’s pricing page.
Its pricing model stands out from the other three: Brevo charges by the volume of emails sent, not by the number of contacts. A small business with a large list that sends little therefore does not pay for its contact base.
According to the check made on 9 November 2026, the free plan allows up to 300 emails per day, without a credit card. The Starter plan costs €7 per month billed monthly, or €6.33 per month billed annually, from 5,000 emails per month. The Standard plan, shown as the most popular, costs €15 per month billed monthly, or €13.50 billed annually.
Brevo’s key features
- Marketing automation from the free plan: the detailed feature table shows workflows limited to 2,000 contacts on Free and Starter, then unlimited from Standard.
- Transactional emails included in every plan, with API and SMTP relay, according to the pricing page FAQ.
- Standard adds A/B testing, advanced reports, optimised send time, website behaviour tracking and one landing page.
- No commitment: the page states a choice between monthly and annual billing, and cancellation at any time from the account.
- Prepaid credits available for occasional needs, with no expiry date.
- Limits: a single user on Free and Starter, up to 3 on Standard through an add-on. The Pro plan, with 10 users, rises to €499 per month.
For a small business that wants to start without a budget and then automate its sending without switching tools, Brevo covers the longest path at the lowest price of the four.
Comparative analysis: Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and MailerLite against Brevo
Mailchimp, the long-standing reference
Mailchimp, owned by Intuit, has four tiers. According to its pricing page in euros, checked on 9 November 2026 for 0 to 500 contacts: Essentials from €11.74 per month, Standard from €18.06 per month and Premium from €316.05 per month, with a promotional price of €268.64 per month for 12 months. The free plan is reserved for accounts with fewer than 250 contacts.
Automation depends heavily on the plan: journeys are limited to 4 steps on Essentials, compared with 200 steps on Standard. Essentials includes 5,000 emails per month and 3 users, Standard 6,000 emails and 5 users. A 14-day free trial is available on Essentials and Standard.
The page states that sending is paused if the contact or email limit is exceeded on the free plan, and that additional fees apply on paid plans.
ActiveCampaign, the automation specialist
ActiveCampaign is built first and foremost for marketing automation. Its pricing page, checked in euros for 1,000 contacts billed annually, shows Starter at €15, Plus at €49, Pro at €79 and Enterprise at €145 per month.
Multi-step automation is included from Starter, with 10,000 emails per month and 1 user. Multichannel marketing and generative AI come with Plus. Predictive sending and conditional content are reserved for Pro and Enterprise.
ActiveCampaign has no permanent free plan: a 14-day trial is offered, without a credit card. It is the most advanced tool for building complex workflows, but also the most expensive as soon as several users are needed.
MailerLite, simplicity at a low price
MailerLite shows prices in euros for 500 subscribers: Comfort at €11 per month billed monthly (€9.90 annually) and Power at €19 per month (€17.10 annually). The free plan covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, with 2 users.
Comfort includes 5,000 emails per month, 50 active automations and 3 users. Power moves to unlimited emails, automations and users. On its pricing page, MailerLite states that its data storage centre is located in the European Union and is ISO 27001 certified.
The free plan is limited to 3 active automations of up to 5 steps. MailerLite suits a small list well, but the bill grows with the number of subscribers.
Summary of the differences
| Need | Best-placed tool according to the checks | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Start for free with real sending volume | Brevo | 300 emails per day, automation included up to 2,000 contacts |
| Automate with no contact limit at the lowest price | Brevo | Standard at €15 per month, unlimited workflows |
| Large contact list, infrequent sending | Brevo | Priced by email volume, not by number of contacts |
| Very advanced workflows (predictive sending, conditional content) | ActiveCampaign | Features reserved for Pro, at €79 per month billed annually |
| Simple small newsletter, several users | MailerLite | Comfort at €11 per month with 3 users |
| Brand recognition and integration ecosystem | Mailchimp | More than 300 integrations listed on the pricing page |
GDPR: the email marketing rules a small business must follow in France
Whatever the tool, the sending rules stay the same. According to the CNIL page on electronic marketing (in French, updated on 10 June 2026, consulted on 9 November 2026):
| Recipient | Rule |
|---|---|
| Consumer (B2C) | Prior consent, through a box that is not pre-ticked |
| Consumer who is already a customer | Possible exception for similar products or services from the same company |
| Business (B2B) | Prior information and the possibility to object |
| Everyone | Each email identifies the sender and allows an easy unsubscribe |
The CNIL states that accepting terms of use is not enough to obtain consent. The sign-up forms offered by the four tools must therefore be set up with a dedicated checkbox.
Email marketing accounts give access to the entire contact base. Small business cybersecurity best practices apply to them, starting with two-factor authentication and unique passwords.
Who is each tool for? Recommendations by profile
Small business starting with email marketing
Brevo is the most solid starting point: the free plan allows up to 300 emails per day and lets you test automation. Moving to Standard, at €15 per month, unlocks workflows with no contact limit without changing tools.
Small business with a large contact base and few sends
Brevo’s model, based on email volume, avoids paying for contacts that are rarely emailed. With Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign and MailerLite, the price rises with the size of the list, even if sending stays infrequent.
Marketing team building complex journeys
ActiveCampaign offers the most advanced workflows, with predictive sending and conditional content on the Pro plan. The budget is higher, and the Starter plan includes only one user.
Creator or small organisation publishing a newsletter
MailerLite remains simple and affordable for a list of a few hundred subscribers, with 3 users from Comfort.
How to choose an email marketing tool in 5 steps
- Count your contacts and estimate your monthly sending volume: this sets the real price.
- List the workflows to automate: welcome, follow-up, abandoned cart, birthday.
- Check the number of users included in the target plan.
- Plan the connections with the CRM, the website and the online store.
- Test during the free plan or the trial with a real workflow and a real list.
To connect the email tool to the rest of the company’s software, the comparison Zapier vs Make vs n8n helps choose the right automation tool. On the customer relationship side, the comparison of the best CRM for a small business covers CRMs that connect to these tools.
Mistakes to avoid
- Comparing prices without considering the pricing basis (contacts or volume).
- Overlooking the automation limits of entry-level plans.
- Importing a contact list without a legal basis to contact it.
- Paying for inactive contacts instead of cleaning the list regularly.
- Relying on a promotional price without checking the rate after the first year.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email marketing tool for a small business?
It depends on volume and automation needs. According to the pricing pages checked on 9 November 2026, Brevo offers a free plan with 300 emails per day and a Standard plan at €15 per month with marketing automation and no contact limit. Mailchimp is free under 250 contacts, then starts at €11.74 per month (Essentials) for 500 contacts. MailerLite offers Comfort at €11 per month for 500 subscribers. ActiveCampaign, an automation specialist, starts at €15 per month billed annually for 1,000 contacts, with no free plan.
Is there a free email marketing tool for a small business?
Yes. As of 9 November 2026, Brevo is free up to 300 emails per day, with one user and marketing automation limited to 2,000 contacts. MailerLite is free up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, with 3 active automations. Mailchimp is free for fewer than 250 contacts. ActiveCampaign has no free plan, but offers a 14-day trial.
How much does a marketing automation tool cost for a small business?
The entry-level paid plans checked on 9 November 2026 range from €7 per month (Brevo Starter, 5,000 emails per month) to €15 per month (Brevo Standard billed monthly, ActiveCampaign Starter billed annually for 1,000 contacts). Mailchimp Standard, which unlocks journeys of up to 200 steps, starts at €18.06 per month for 500 contacts. Prices then rise with the number of contacts or the sending volume.
What is the difference between email marketing and marketing automation?
Email marketing means sending one-off campaigns, such as a newsletter, to a contact list. Marketing automation sends messages triggered by an event or a behaviour: a form sign-up, an abandoned cart, a birthday, a page visit. The four tools compared do both, with different limits depending on the plan.
Do you need consent to send marketing emails in France?
According to the CNIL, the French data protection authority, email marketing to consumers requires their prior consent, unless they are already customers and the products offered are similar. Business recipients must be informed and able to object. Every email must allow recipients to unsubscribe easily.