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Small businesses shopping for email marketing software in 2026 face a genuinely wide field — from free starter plans and $9/month focused senders to full multi-channel platforms pushing $890/month. The right pick depends on how many contacts you have, whether you need automation and landing pages or just reliable sends, and how much budget you can realistically commit. This guide covers ten tools with transparent pricing and grounds every recommendation in captured features and real costs — no filler, no guesswork.
Pricing at a Glance
| Tool | Entry Price | Top Published Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | $0/month (up to 250 contacts) | $350/month (from 10,000 contacts) | Scales with contact count |
| ConvertKit (Kit) | $0/month | $66/month | Free plan available |
| EmailOctopus | $0 (billed annually) | $9/month (billed annually) | Two-plan structure |
| beehiiv | $0 (billed annually) | $96/month (billed annually) | Enterprise: contact sales |
| Systeme.io | $0 (billed annually) | $97/month (billed annually) | Four-plan stack |
| Moosend | $9/month | $9/month (promo: $7/month) | Single published plan |
| AWeber | $12.49/month (billed annually) | $20/month (billed annually) | 0–500 subscribers entry tier |
| GetResponse | $15.58/month (billed annually) | $56.58/month (billed annually) | Enterprise: contact sales |
| HubSpot | $20/month (1 seat, 1,000 contacts) | $3,600/month (5 seats, 10,000 contacts, billed annually) | Steep jump after Starter |
| HighLevel | $97/month | $497/month | Agency-tier ceiling |
Best for Getting Started Free: Mailchimp or ConvertKit (Kit)
If you want to test the waters before committing a dollar, both Mailchimp and ConvertKit publish genuine $0 plans.
Mailchimp’s free tier supports up to 250 contacts, with paid plans starting at $13/month (from 500 contacts), $20/month (from 500 contacts), and $350/month (from 10,000 contacts) — all billed monthly. The platform covers email marketing, SMS marketing, AI marketing tools, marketing automations, content creation tools, social media marketing, reporting and analytics, lead generation, A/B testing, marketing automation flows, an email builder, landing pages, audience management, behavioral targeting, a marketing CRM, predictive demographics, dynamic content, generative AI, and a subject line helper. That’s a broad toolkit for a business growing its list. Some users report friction around customer support, ease of use, and invoicing.
ConvertKit (Kit) also starts at $0/month, with a Creator plan at $33/month and a Pro plan at $66/month (both billed monthly). Its captured features include email marketing, visual automations, landing pages, an email designer, analytics, Subscriber Signals, Kit + AI, a paid newsletter feature, newsletter sponsorships, paid recommendations, a course creator angle, an email template marketplace, and a Kit App Store. It’s positioned toward creators — newsletter writers, course builders, and people monetizing content directly. Some users report friction around customer support, ease of use, features and functionality, and invoicing.
Both are strong free-entry options; your choice comes down to which feature set matches your actual use case.
Best Budget Paid Plan: EmailOctopus or Moosend
When you’re ready to pay but want to keep costs minimal, these two sit at the bottom of the paid tier.
EmailOctopus charges $9/month (billed annually) on its PRO plan, with a free Starter plan also available (billed annually). Its captured features include forms & landing pages, and the site positions itself around email marketing made easy. It surfaces as an alternative to several larger platforms. Some users report friction around ease of use, customer support, and price/value — worth a close look during a trial. That said, at $9/month (billed annually), the cost of experimenting is low.
Moosend publishes a single Pro plan at $9/month (or $7/month at a promotional rate), billed monthly. Captured features include email marketing, transactional emails, marketing automation, email marketing AI, landing pages, subscription forms, audience management, and reporting & analytics — a solid spread for a small business sending regular campaigns. Some users report friction around customer support, ease of use, reliability, and invoicing — areas worth probing before committing.
Both land at the same $9/month entry point; Moosend’s feature list is more detailed in the captured data, while EmailOctopus’s pricing structure offers a free tier for absolute starters.
Best for AI-Powered Campaigns: GetResponse
GetResponse is the most AI-forward tool in this set based on captured features. Its positioning explicitly names AI-driven emails and automation, and the feature list includes an AI email generator, AI campaign generator, AI writing assistant, AI landing pages, AI website builder, AI autoresponders, and AI recommendations — all captured directly.
Beyond AI, it covers email marketing, autoresponders, send-time optimization, an email creator, newsletter templates, marketing automation with a visual workflow builder, web events, advanced triggering, prebuilt templates, web push notifications, SMS marketing, popups and forms, live chats, signup forms, ecommerce integrations, a popup creator, paid ads, an AI course creator, premium newsletters, a conversion funnel, and A/B testing.
Pricing runs $19/month (billed monthly) or $15.58/month (billed annually) on Starter; $59/month or $48.38/month annually on Marketer; $69/month or $56.58/month annually on Creator. Enterprise requires contacting sales. Some users report friction around invoicing and price/value — a fair thing to investigate if you’re evaluating the Marketer or Creator tiers.
Best for Newsletter Creators and Monetization: beehiiv
If your small business is built around a newsletter — or you want to build one as a revenue channel — beehiiv’s captured features speak directly to that use case: launching a fully-custom newsletter, creating a website to engage and grow an audience, scaling subscribers with built-in growth tools, monetizing with paid subscriptions and what it describes as “the industry’s largest native ad network,” and tracking clicks, engagement, and key metrics from a centralized dashboard.
Pricing: $0/month on Launch (billed annually), $43/month on Scale (billed annually), $96/month on Max (billed annually), with an Enterprise tier requiring a sales conversation. Some users report friction around price/value, ease of use, invoicing, customer support, and features and functionality — worth keeping in mind as you move up tiers.
Best All-in-One Business Platform: Systeme.io
Systeme.io positions itself as having all the tools you need to run your business online — specifically: sales funnels, marketing emails, websites, affiliate management, online courses, marketing automation, booking automation, community building, sub-account management, physical product sales, SMS marketing, pipeline management, automated webinars, a creator store, and white-label capability. That’s one of the broadest captured feature sets in this roundup.
Pricing is transparent and low: $0/month on Free (billed annually), $17/month on Startup (billed annually), $47/month on Webinar (billed annually), $97/month on Unlimited (billed annually). Notably, no recurring complaints stood out in the reviews we scanned — we’re not reading that as a glowing endorsement, just that no specific friction pattern repeated in our sample.
Best for Small Businesses Wanting Hands-On Setup: AWeber
AWeber positions itself explicitly around small business email marketing and captures features including email marketing, email automation, a landing page builder, web push notifications, an AI signup form builder, an AI writing assistant, a link in bio page, pre-written email campaigns, a landing page template gallery, free workshops, and a 24/7 email marketing master class. It also mentions a free account migration service and AWeber Certified Experts — useful if you’re moving from another platform and want guided support.
Pricing at the 0–500 subscriber tier: $12.49/month on Lite (billed annually), $19.99/month on Plus (billed annually), and $20/month on Done For You (billed annually). Some users report friction around ease of use, invoicing, and the mobile app.
A Word on HubSpot and HighLevel
HubSpot Marketing Hub deserves a mention because it’s a serious platform — but its pricing structure needs a clear-eyed look. The entry Starter plan is $20/month (1 seat, 1,000 contacts included), which is competitive. The Professional plan jumps to $890/month (3 seats, 2,000 contacts included), and Enterprise reaches $3,600/month (5 seats, 10,000 contacts included, billed annually). Because HubSpot’s feature data wasn’t captured in our research round, we can’t describe its specific capabilities here — check its feature page directly. We also have no third-party review data for it. The pricing alone tells a story: it’s a tool that makes sense if you’re growing into a larger marketing operation, but the jump from Starter to Professional is steep and worth stress-testing against your actual needs.
HighLevel runs $97/month (Starter), $297/month (Unlimited), and $497/month (Agency Pro), all billed monthly. Its feature page returned limited detail in our capture — the positioning mentions AI tools for business growth, and categories include Affiliates and Events, but deeper feature specifics weren’t available. Some users report friction around customer support, price/value, and features and functionality. Given the entry price and the thin captured feature detail, we’d recommend a thorough demo before committing.
How to Choose
- Zero budget to start: Mailchimp (up to 250 contacts) or ConvertKit — both have genuine $0 plans
- Lowest paid entry: EmailOctopus or Moosend, both at $9/month
- AI-first email marketing: GetResponse, with the deepest captured AI feature set
- Newsletter monetization: beehiiv, explicitly built around paid subscriptions and a native ad network
- Broadest all-in-one toolkit: Systeme.io, with the widest captured category list at a low price point
- Small business with guided setup needs: AWeber, which captures pre-written campaigns, free workshops, certified experts, and migration support
- Scaling into a full marketing platform: HubSpot — but go in with eyes open on the pricing jump