Brevo has the most practical free plan. Unlimited contacts with 300 emails/day lets you run a real newsletter business at zero cost. Kit gives you the largest free subscriber ceiling (10,000) but limits you to one automation. Mailchimp’s 500-contact free plan is too small for anyone building a list. Here’s which free plan fits your growth path.
As of July 2026, Kit’s free Newsletter plan is the most generous by contact count, up to 10,000 subscribers. Brevo’s free plan offers unlimited contact storage. Mailchimp limits free users to 500 contacts. In real terms: Kit lets you grow for years without paying. Brevo lets you grow forever, you just can’t send more than 300 emails per day. Mailchimp forces an upgrade on anyone adding more than 8 subscribers per week.
Free plans at a glance
| Platform | Free Contacts | Free Emails/Month | Automation | Branding | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | 10,000 | Unlimited broadcasts | 1 basic | Kit logo | Creators, bloggers |
| Brevo | Unlimited | 300/day (~9K/mo) | Multi-step | Brevo logo | Budget, growing lists |
| Mailchimp | 500 | 1,000/mo (500/day) | None | Mailchimp logo | Tiny lists, learning |
| MailerLite | 500 | 12,000/mo | Yes, included | MailerLite logo | Simple, small lists |
| Beehiiv | 2,500 | Unlimited | None | Beehiiv logo | Newsletters |
| Mailjet | Unlimited | 6,000/mo (200/day) | None | None | Transactional + newsletters |
Verified July 2026 from official free plan pages. “Branding” refers to platform logo/watermark in outgoing emails.
Kit free plan deep dive
The math that matters:
Kit’s free Newsletter plan is the most generous by a wide margin. 10,000 subscribers, unlimited broadcasts, unlimited landing pages, unlimited forms. The only catch: one automation.
For a creator with a growing list who needs to send weekly broadcasts and build landing pages, Kit’s free plan genuinely works for years. At 100 new subscribers/month, you’d take 8+ years to outgrow it. Kit’s free plan generosity makes Mailchimp’s 500-contact limit look punitive by comparison.
What you get (free):
- 10,000 subscribers
- Unlimited email broadcasts
- Unlimited landing pages and forms
- Creator Network access
- Commerce (sell digital products, Kit takes 3.5% + $0.30/transaction)
What you don’t get (free):
- Multiple automations (only one basic sequence)
- A/B testing
- Third-party integrations
- Live support
- RSS campaigns
Kit’s free plan allows you to sell digital products with no monthly platform fee, just the 3.5% + $0.30 transaction fee. For a creator selling a $47 ebook, that’s roughly $1.95 per sale. Gumroad takes $4.70 per sale at the same price. On 100 sales, Kit saves you $275 in platform fees.
Verdict: Best free plan for creators who need a long runway and don’t need multi-step automations. The 10,000-subscriber ceiling means you can build a real audience before ever opening your wallet.
Brevo free plan deep dive
The math that matters:
Brevo’s free plan is structurally unique: unlimited contacts, 300 emails per day, multi-step automation included. For a weekly newsletter to 2,000 subscribers, 300/day is sufficient (you can send across a single day).
The real limit on Brevo’s free plan isn’t contacts or automations. It’s daily email volume. A daily newsletter with 1,000 subscribers sends 1,000 emails/day, well over the 300 limit. But a weekly newsletter to 2,000 sends ~285/day averaged, within limits.
What you get (free):
- Unlimited contact storage
- 300 emails/day (~9,000/month with consistent sending)
- Multi-step automation workflows
- 40+ email templates
- Web and event tracking
- GDPR-compliant EU hosting
What you don’t get (free):
- No daily cap removal (requires Starter at $9/mo)
- Brevo branding on outgoing emails
- A/B testing (requires Business at $18/mo)
- Landing pages (requires Business)
- SMS/WhatsApp (requires paid plan)
Brevo’s free plan with unlimited contacts and 300 daily emails handles a weekly newsletter to 2,000 subscribers at zero cost. Mailchimp’s free plan at 500 contacts forces a paid upgrade before you reach 1,000 subscribers. Adding 50 subscribers per month, Brevo’s free plan works for years while Mailchimp’s breaks in under 10 months. I’d argue Brevo’s is the only free plan that genuinely works as a long-term tool, not a trial balloon.
Verdict: Most practical free plan for anyone wanting multi-step automation and unlimited contact growth. The daily send cap is the only real constraint, and it’s generous.
Mailchimp free plan deep dive
The math that matters:
Mailchimp’s free plan was reduced to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly email sends (500/day cap). This is dramatically smaller than Kit’s 10,000 contacts or Brevo’s unlimited contacts.
For a creator adding 100 subscribers/month, Mailchimp’s free plan forces a paid upgrade within 5 months. The paid Essentials plan starts at $13/month for 500 contacts, escalating to $30/month at 1,000 contacts. That’s $30/month just 10 months in, when Kit is still free and Brevo is still free.
What you get (free):
- 500 contacts
- 1,000 emails/month (500/day)
- 100+ email templates
- Basic reporting
- Mailchimp domain for landing pages
- Signup forms and landing pages
What you don’t get (free):
- Email scheduling (requires paid)
- Automations (requires Standard at $20/mo)
- A/B testing (requires Standard)
- Remove Mailchimp branding (requires paid)
- Customer support (requires paid)
Mailchimp’s free plan covers 500 contacts with a 500-email daily cap and no automation. Kit’s free plan covers 10,000 contacts with unlimited broadcasts. Brevo’s covers unlimited contacts with multi-step automation. For a creator with a 2,500-person list sending weekly, Mailchimp costs $50/month. Kit’s free plan handles it. Brevo’s handles it. That’s $600/year in unnecessary costs.
Verdict: The free plan is a trial, not a tool. Use it to learn email marketing. Move on before you outgrow it, because you will, fast.
MailerLite free plan
- 500 subscribers, 12,000 monthly emails
- Automation included (unlike Mailchimp’s free plan)
- Clean, intuitive drag-and-drop editor
- 60+ email templates
- MailerLite branding on emails
- Free plan reduced from 1,000 to 500 in late 2025
Verdict: Better than Mailchimp for small, simple lists because automation is included.
Beehiiv free plan
- 2,500 subscribers
- Unlimited sends
- Referral program (grow your list)
- Ad network (monetize your newsletter)
- Paid subscriptions (0% platform fee)
- Beehiiv branding
Verdict: Best free plan if your primary product is a newsletter. Not a general-purpose email marketing tool.
The “how long is free?” calculation
| Platform | Starting Subs | Growth Rate (+100/mo) | Months Until Forced Paid Upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | 0 | 100/mo | 100 months (8.3 years) |
| Brevo | 0 | 100/mo | Never (daily cap only) |
| Mailchimp | 0 | 100/mo | 5 months |
| MailerLite | 0 | 100/mo | 5 months |
| Beehiiv | 0 | 100/mo | 25 months (2 years) |
At +200 subscribers/month, Mailchimp forces an upgrade in under 3 months. Kit stays free for 4+ years.
Hidden costs of free plans
| Cost | Affects |
|---|---|
| Platform branding | Kit (paid email footer), Brevo (logo in emails), Mailchimp (footer)—makes your emails look less professional |
| No A/B testing | All free plans. You can’t optimize subject lines, send times, or content |
| No custom domain on forms | Kit (creates you.kit.com), Mailchimp (yourmailchimp.com) |
| Limited reporting | Free plans give open/click data, not advanced metrics |
| No dedicated IP | All free plans share IPs, affecting deliverability |
Which free plan should you choose?
| If… | Pick |
|---|---|
| You’re starting a personal blog/newsletter and expect slow growth | Kit — 10K free ceiling gives you years |
| You have a large list and send infrequently | Brevo — unlimited contacts, per-email pricing |
| You’re testing email marketing for a tiny audience | Mailchimp — good learning tool, quick to outgrow |
| You want automation on a small list | MailerLite — automation at the lowest paid price |
| Your business is the newsletter | Beehiiv — built-in growth and monetization |
FAQ
Can I really run a business on free plans?
Yes, longer than you think. Kit’s 10,000-contact free plan supports a real creator business. Brevo’s free plan with 300 emails/day handles a weekly newsletter to 2,000 subscribers. The limitation isn’t contacts or sends. It’s features: no A/B testing, platform branding, fewer automations.
What hidden limit catches most people?
Unsubscribed contacts counting toward your plan cap. Kit and Mailchimp count total contacts including those who haven’t opened in months. Clean your list every 90 days: remove contacts unengaged for 60+ days. This single habit keeps you on free plans longer.
When should I upgrade from a free plan?
- When platform branding hurts your professional credibility
- When you need multi-step automations (Kit free gives you 1)
- When you exceed send limits (Brevo at >9K emails/month)
- When you need integrations (Kit free limits third-party apps)
- When deliverability drops and you need a dedicated IP
Can I switch platforms while staying on free plans?
Yes. Most platforms support CSV export/import. Start on Kit’s free plan. If you need automations, switch to Brevo or MailerLite’s paid tiers ($9–10/mo). Migration takes 2–4 hours.
How we tested
- Methodology: Registered for free plans on all 6 platforms. Tested core workflows: creating signup forms, sending broadcasts, building automations (where available), checking delivery rates. Calculated time-to-paid-upgrade at 3 growth rates.
- Data sources: Official free plan feature pages (July 2026), independent deliverability benchmarks (EmailToolTester 2025), hands-on testing.
- Last verified: July 2026.