Email marketing pricing explained: what you pay as your list grows
Email marketing pricing is more confusing than it should be. Most tools charge based on how many contacts you store, but the thresholds and rates vary widely — and some tools charge for unsubscribed contacts, which can inflate your bill significantly. This guide explains how the pricing models work and what you'll actually pay at key list sizes.
Two pricing models
Contact-based pricing: you pay based on the number of contacts in your account, regardless of how many emails you send. Most tools (Mailchimp, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo) use this model. Your bill increases as your list grows.
Email-volume pricing: you pay based on how many emails you send each month, regardless of list size. Brevo uses this model. Good if you have a large list but send infrequently.
What you'll pay at common list sizes
At 500 contacts: Mailchimp Essentials ~$13/mo, Kit free ($0), Klaviyo free (250 contacts — see their site for paid rates), MailerLite free (up to 1,000). Kit is free at this size.
At 1,000 contacts: Kit Creator $33/mo, Mailchimp Standard ~$25/mo, ActiveCampaign Starter (request quote at activecampaign.com), MailerLite Growing Business $10/mo. MailerLite is cheapest with good features.
At 5,000 contacts: Kit price varies — check kit.com; Mailchimp Standard ~$55/mo; Klaviyo — check klaviyo.com/pricing; MailerLite ~$32/mo. MailerLite remains very competitive.
At 10,000 contacts: Mailchimp Standard ~$100/mo, Kit — check kit.com, MailerLite ~$73/mo. For ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo, visit their pricing pages directly for current rates.
All pricing from vendor pricing pages, October 2026. Email marketing pricing changes frequently — verify at each vendor's site before making a decision.
Watch out: unsubscribed contacts
Mailchimp's pricing counts unsubscribed contacts toward your plan limit. This means if someone unsubscribes, they still count toward your paid tier until you manually archive them. For a high-volume list with significant churn, this can inflate your bill meaningfully. Kit, MailerLite, and ActiveCampaign do not count unsubscribed contacts — you only pay for active subscribers.
Free plans worth knowing
Kit: free up to 10,000 subscribers (no automation). MailerLite: free up to 1,000 subscribers with automation. Mailchimp: free up to 250 contacts (limited features). Klaviyo: free up to 250 contacts. Brevo: free for unlimited contacts with 300 emails/day.
For most small businesses just starting out, Kit or MailerLite is the right free plan. Kit's limit (10,000) is unmatched.
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