What is the best free email marketing tool?

Brevo has a free forever plan, Mailchimp has a basic free plan, and Klaviyo's free plan covers up to 250 profiles. Creators often start on Kit or beehiiv, which also have free plans.

Which email marketing tool is open source?

Listmonk (AGPL-3.0) and Mautic (GPL-3.0) are open source and run on your own server. Mautic adds a visual campaign builder and lead scoring, while listmonk focuses on newsletters and transactional email.

Is ActiveCampaign good for newsletters?

ActiveCampaign is built for marketing automation and sales CRM. A newsletter writer may find Kit or beehiiv simpler, since they focus on publishing and monetization.

Best Email Marketing Software in 2026: Top 11 Ranked

The ranking

Top pickMailchimp91.5
Best with a free planKlaviyo90.5
Best open sourceMautic79.0

1
Mailchimp
A familiar platform with a basic free plan, customer journeys and SMS. The free plan has basic features only, and the price rises with contact count.
Best for Small businesses starting email marketing
WebiOSAndroidFree plan, paid upgrades
91.5of 100
Visit Alternatives
2
Klaviyo
The strongest ecommerce option here, with behavior-triggered flows, customer profiles and WhatsApp channels. Its price grows quickly with profile count, and it is more complex than a newsletter tool.
Best for Online stores that send triggered email and SMS
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
90.5of 100
Visit Alternatives
3
Brevo
Email, SMS, WhatsApp and a contact CRM under one account, with a free forever plan aimed at individuals. Paid plans charge by email volume and add channels and seats.
Best for Small businesses that want several channels in one account
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
89.0of 100
Visit Alternatives
4
ActiveCampaign
Multi-step automation, contact scoring and a sales CRM in one platform. It is sold as paid plans after a free trial, and it is more than a newsletter writer usually needs.
Best for Teams that combine marketing automation with sales
WebSubscription
88.0of 100
Visit Alternatives
5
Omnisend
Email and SMS campaigns built for ecommerce stores, with automations, loyalty tools and a free starting plan. Pricing grows with store size, and it is narrower than suite marketing tools for non-store businesses.
Best for Ecommerce brands that run email and SMS together
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
86.5of 100
Visit Alternatives
6
Kit
Landing pages, forms, visual automations and newsletter sending for creators, with a free plan for those just starting out. It is less suited to ecommerce data than Klaviyo.
Best for Creators and writers who sell digital products
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
85.5of 100
Visit Alternatives
7
beehiiv
Newsletters, publication websites, podcasts and paid subscriptions in one account, with a free plan for creators. It is built for publishing rather than ecommerce or SMS.
Best for Newsletter writers who want subscription income
WebFree plan, paid upgrades
84.0of 100
Visit Alternatives
8
GetResponse
Email campaigns, automation, landing pages and webinars in one account, with unlimited sends on some paid tiers. A 14-day trial is offered, no free plan is stated, and plan limits vary by tier.
Best for Creators and small teams that run webinars with email
WebSubscription
82.5of 100
Visit Alternatives
9
Substack
A newsletter platform where writers publish for free and can add paid subscriptions, with the mailing list kept by the writer. Its automation and design options are simpler than full email tools, so it suits publishing more than marketing.
Best for Writers building a paid newsletter audience
WebiOSAndroidFree plan, paid upgrades
80.0of 100
Visit Alternatives
10
Mautic
Open-source marketing automation under GPL-3.0, with a visual campaign builder and lead scoring. Operators handle hosting and upgrades, and the learning curve is steeper than for newsletter tools.
Best for Self-hosted marketing automation
WebSelf-hostedFree and open sourceOpen source
79.0of 100
Visit Alternatives
11
listmonk
A self-hosted newsletter and mailing list manager under AGPL-3.0 that keeps subscriber data on your server. It has no visual automation builder, and you run the mail server yourself.
Best for Self-hosted newsletters and mailing lists
WebSelf-hostedFree and open sourceOpen source
78.5of 100
Visit Alternatives

At a glance

Product	Score	Price	Platforms	Self-hosting	Channels	Visual automations
Mailchimp	91.5	Free plan, paid upgrades	WebiOSAndroid	No	Email, SMS, transactional	Yes
Klaviyo	90.5	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	No	Email, SMS, WhatsApp	Yes
Brevo	89.0	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	No	Email, SMS, WhatsApp, push	Yes
ActiveCampaign	88.0	Subscription	Web	No	Email, CRM, automation	Yes
Omnisend	86.5	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	No	Email and SMS	Yes
Kit	85.5	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	No	Email, landing pages, commerce	Yes
beehiiv	84.0	Free plan, paid upgrades	Web	No	Newsletter, website, podcast	Yes
GetResponse	82.5	Subscription	Web	No	Email, landing pages, webinars	Yes
Substack	80.0	Free plan, paid upgrades	WebiOSAndroid	No	Email and web posts	No
Mautic	79.0	Free and open source	WebSelf-hosted	Yes	Email and multi-channel	Yes
listmonk	78.5	Free and open source	WebSelf-hosted	Yes	Email newsletters	No

How to choose email marketing software

Audience: Online stores need customer profiles and behavior flows, as in Klaviyo; newsletter writers need publishing tools, as in beehiiv and Kit.
Channels: Brevo, Klaviyo and Mailchimp add SMS; Brevo and Klaviyo also add WhatsApp, while Kit and beehiiv stay on email and publishing.
Free limits: Free plans cap contacts, sends or features, so check the cap against your list size before you commit.
Hosting: Listmonk and Mautic run on your own server, so you own the data and the upkeep, including mail setup.

What the scores weigh

Campaign and newsletter tools
Automation depth
Channels and ecommerce fit
Hosting choice and data control
Free-plan limits and price

Scores are editorial, from 0 to 100, and use these criteria. Full method · Disclosure

About email marketing software

Email marketing products cover three jobs. Klaviyo is built for ecommerce, with customer profiles and behavior-triggered flows. Mailchimp, Brevo and ActiveCampaign are broad marketing platforms that add SMS, CRM and automation. Kit and beehiiv focus on creators and newsletters, with publishing tools and monetization.

Free plans differ. Mailchimp has a basic free plan, Brevo has a free forever plan, Klaviyo's free plan covers up to 250 profiles and 500 emails a month, and beehiiv has a free plan for creators. ActiveCampaign is sold as paid plans after a free trial. Costs rise with contact counts, so the free limit often decides the first choice.

Listmonk and Mautic are open source under AGPL-3.0 and GPL-3.0 respectively, and both run on your own server. They suit teams with technical staff who want subscriber data kept in-house. The scores are editorial judgments against the criteria, not measurements.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free email marketing tool?: Brevo has a free forever plan, Mailchimp has a basic free plan, and Klaviyo's free plan covers up to 250 profiles. Creators often start on Kit or beehiiv, which also have free plans.
Which email marketing tool is open source?: Listmonk (AGPL-3.0) and Mautic (GPL-3.0) are open source and run on your own server. Mautic adds a visual campaign builder and lead scoring, while listmonk focuses on newsletters and transactional email.
Which tool is best for an online store?: Klaviyo is built for ecommerce, with customer profiles and behavior-triggered flows. Mailchimp and Brevo also add ecommerce features and SMS.
Is ActiveCampaign good for newsletters?: ActiveCampaign is built for marketing automation and sales CRM. A newsletter writer may find Kit or beehiiv simpler, since they focus on publishing and monetization.