★ Hands-on ranking

The best free email plans, starting with the MailerLite free plan

By the Newsletter Town teamUpdated July 2026Pricing re-checked this month

The MailerLite free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 email sends per month, with an automation builder, a landing page, and one website included, which is unusually generous for a free tier in 2026. The main catches are MailerLite's logo on your emails and a manual approval step before your account can send. If those limits pinch, Beehiiv, Brevo, and MailChimp each free-plan the problem differently, and the right pick depends on whether you care most about list size, monthly send volume, or growth tools.

★ Our Top Pick

★★★★★ 4.7/5 · Small lists wanting real features free

MailerLite

MailerLite's free plan is the reason it tops this list for the exact query: 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly sends, plus the drag-and-drop automation builder, a landing page, and one hosted website. Most competitors lock automations behind a paid tier, so getting a real workflow builder for free is the standout here. The honest catch is that new accounts go through a manual approval review before sending, and the free plan stamps a MailerLite logo on your emails until you upgrade.

Visit MailerLite →

#	Tool	Best for	Free plan	From
1	MailerLite	Small lists wanting real features free	1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/mo	~$10/mo (Growing Business)	Try free
2	Beehiiv	Content creators focused on growth	Up to 2,500 subscribers	~$39/mo (Scale)	Try free
3	Brevo	Large lists that send occasionally	Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/day	~$9/mo (Starter)	Try free
4	MailChimp	Testing before you commit	500 contacts, 1,000 emails/mo	~$13/mo (Essentials)	Try free
5	AWeber	Small businesses wanting phone support	500 subscribers, 3,000 emails/mo	~$15/mo (Lite)	Try free
6	Kit (ConvertKit)	Creators planning to monetize later	Up to 10,000 subscribers	~$25/mo (Creator)	Try free

MailerLite

Small lists wanting real features free

★★★★★ 4.7/5

Pros

Automation builder and a landing page included on the free tier
Clean, genuinely easy editor that beginners get productive in fast
24/7 email support even on free during your first 30 days

Cons

New accounts face a manual approval step that can delay your first send
MailerLite branding on emails until you move to a paid plan

Visit MailerLite →

Beehiiv

Content creators focused on growth

★★★★★ 4.6/5

Beehiiv gives you up to 2,500 subscribers free, a higher list cap than MailerLite, and it's built specifically for newsletter creators rather than general email marketing. The referral program, recommendation network, and website tools are the draw if audience growth is your priority. The trade-off is that automations and the ad network sit on paid tiers, and Beehiiv leans away from classic ecommerce and transactional email, so a store owner will feel the gaps.

Pros

Highest free subscriber cap here at 2,500
Built-in referral program and recommendations network for growth
Solid free website and archive for your newsletter

Cons

Automations and monetization tools require a paid plan
Not designed for ecommerce or transactional email

Try Beehiiv free →

Brevo

Large lists that send occasionally

★★★★☆ 4.4/5

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) flips the usual model: your contact list can be unlimited on the free plan, but you're capped at 300 emails per day. That makes it the best free option when you have a big list you email rarely, or when you need transactional email and SMS in the same account. The daily cap is the obvious ceiling, and the email editor feels more utilitarian than MailerLite's.

Pros

Unlimited contacts on the free plan
Transactional email, SMS, and CRM in one place
Pay-as-you-go credits available instead of a monthly plan

Cons

300 emails/day limit makes big single sends impossible free
Editor and templates feel dated next to MailerLite

Visit Brevo →

MailChimp

Testing before you commit

★★★★☆ 4.1/5

MailChimp's free plan has shrunk over the years to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly sends, so it's more of a trial than a home base now. Where it still earns a spot is the mature template library, reporting, and the sheer number of integrations that assume MailChimp support. Costs climb quickly as your list grows because you're billed on total contacts including unsubscribes unless you clean them out.

Pros

Massive integration ecosystem and app marketplace
Polished templates and reporting
Familiar interface many teams already know

Cons

Only 500 contacts free, the tightest cap on this list
Pricing scales up faster than most competitors

Visit MailChimp →

Is the MailerLite free plan worth it in 2026?

What the MailerLite free plan actually gives you

As of 2026, the MailerLite free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. That email cap works out to roughly 12 sends to a full 1,000-person list, which is plenty for a weekly newsletter and enough headroom for a solo creator or a small business getting started. You get the drag-and-drop editor, a decent selection of email templates, basic automation (welcome sequences, simple triggers), signup forms, and one landing page site with up to 10 pages.

The free plan is more generous than it first looks because MailerLite does not cripple deliverability on it. Your emails go through the same sending infrastructure as paying customers, and MailerLite's delivery rates are genuinely strong in this price bracket, competitive with the paid tiers of tools that charge from day one. For comparison, Mailchimp's free plan sits at 500 contacts and 1,000 sends a month with Mailchimp branding, and Beehiiv's free tier goes to 2,500 subscribers but pushes you toward its own ecosystem. MailerLite lands in a practical middle: real limits, real features, no nasty surprises in the inbox.

The catch is approval. MailerLite manually reviews new accounts before you can send, and it is stricter than most about affiliate-heavy content, crypto, and anything that smells like a purchased list. Expect a short wait and a few questions if your use case is unusual.

Where the free plan holds you back

The single biggest gap is automation depth and multi-trigger workflows. Free accounts get basic automations, but advanced features like the drag-and-drop automation builder with multiple triggers, custom HTML editor, and unlimited monthly emails are reserved for paid. If you plan to run behavioral sequences or ecommerce flows, you will outgrow free quickly.

The other limits worth knowing: the free plan includes MailerLite branding in the footer, caps you to a single user seat, and gives you 24/7 email and chat support only for the first 30 days, after which free users drop to email support with slower response. You also lose access to the paid newsletter templates and dynamic content blocks. None of these are dealbreakers for a hobby list, but a growing business feels them.

Pricing when you upgrade is reasonable. As of 2026 the Growing Business plan starts around 9 dollars a month for 500 subscribers (billed annually), scaling with list size, and the Advanced plan adds features like Facebook integration, custom HTML, and promotion pop-ups. At 5,000 subscribers you are looking at roughly 30 to 40 dollars a month, which undercuts Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign at the same list size.

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose the MailerLite free plan if you are a solo creator, writer, or small business under 1,000 subscribers who sends a weekly or biweekly newsletter and wants clean design plus reliable delivery without paying yet. It is also a smart landing spot for Substack switchers who want to own their list and add signup forms and automation that Substack does not offer.

Skip it if you need advanced automation now, run an ecommerce store with abandoned-cart and product flows (Klaviyo or Omnisend serve you better), or expect to blow past 12,000 monthly emails fast because you send daily. In those cases you are paying within a month anyway, so evaluate the paid tier directly.

The common mistake buyers make is treating the free plan as a permanent home and then panicking at migration time. Moving thousands of subscribers, re-warming a sending reputation on a new provider, and rebuilding automations is genuinely painful, so pick a tool you can grow into. MailerLite's paid pricing is affordable enough that most people who start free stay, which makes the free plan a low-risk way to commit rather than a trap.

Frequently asked questions

What are the exact limits of the MailerLite free plan?

As of early 2026 the free plan covers up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 email sends per month. It includes the drag-and-drop editor, automation builder, one landing page, and one website. Emails carry a MailerLite logo until you upgrade to a paid plan.

Does the MailerLite free plan include automations?

Yes, and that's its biggest advantage. You get the visual automation builder on the free tier, which most competitors reserve for paid plans. You can build welcome sequences and trigger-based workflows without spending anything.

Why was my MailerLite account not approved right away?

MailerLite manually reviews new accounts before allowing sends, which protects deliverability across its network. Approval usually takes a business day or two if your signup details and content look legitimate. Vague account info or spammy-looking content can cause delays or rejection.

Is MailerLite or Beehiiv better on the free plan?

MailerLite is better if you want automations and a general-purpose email tool free, since Beehiiv gates those behind paid tiers. Beehiiv is better if you're a content creator focused on audience growth, because its free plan allows 2,500 subscribers and includes referral and recommendation tools. Match the choice to whether you value features or list size more.

How do I move from MailerLite's free plan to a paid one, or migrate elsewhere?

Upgrading within MailerLite is instant and unlocks removal of branding, more sends, and extra sites. If you migrate to another tool, export your subscribers as a CSV and re-import them, though you'll typically rebuild automations and templates by hand. Warm up sending on the new platform gradually to protect deliverability.

Which free plan should you pick?

If you want the most usable all-around free plan for a small list, MailerLite is the one to start with, since you get automations and a landing page without paying. Pick Beehiiv instead if you're building a content newsletter and care about growth and referral tools, or Brevo if your list is large but you send infrequently. Pricing here is directional as of early 2026, so confirm current limits on each provider's site before you commit.

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