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Quick picks
- Best free plan: Kit, which lets you send a newsletter to up to 10,000 subscribers for free.
- Best for beginners: AWeber, with a simple editor and a free plan for your first 500 subscribers.
- Best all-in-one on a budget: Systeme.io, which bundles email, sales funnels and online courses, free up to 2,000 contacts.
- Best automations: ActiveCampaign, once you're ready for emails triggered by what customers do.
- Best if you also need a CRM: HubSpot, which tracks leads and deals alongside your emails.
Side-by-side comparison
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | Creators & newsletters | Up to 10,000 subscribers | $39/mo (1,000 subs) |
| AWeber | Beginners | Up to 500 subscribers | $15/mo, $12.50 annually |
| Systeme.io | Funnels & courses | Up to 2,000 contacts | $17/mo |
| ActiveCampaign | Automations | 14-day trial only | $19/mo (1,000 contacts) |
| HubSpot | CRM + email | 2,000 sends/month | $20/seat/mo |
| MailerLite | Simple newsletters | Up to 250 subscribers | Low-cost tiers for small lists |
| Mailchimp | Brand recognition | 250 contacts, 500 sends/month | Varies by list size |
Prices are list prices for small lists as of October 2026. Most tools charge more as your list grows, and many offer discounts for paying yearly. Check each company's pricing page before you buy.
What actually matters when you're small
Feature lists for these tools run to hundreds of items. At the start, only four things decide whether a tool fits:
- How far the free plan takes you. A free plan that caps you at 250 subscribers means switching or paying within months. One that covers thousands lets you grow before spending anything.
- A welcome sequence. You need at least one automated series of emails that goes out when someone joins. Every tool here can do this, but some free plans allow only one.
- The price at 1,000 and 5,000 subscribers. That's where most small businesses land in their first year or two, and where the price gaps open up.
- Signup forms and landing pages. If you don't have a website builder that handles forms, you'll want the email tool to do it.
Kit: best free plan
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for creators and anyone whose business runs on a newsletter. Its free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, by far the most generous here.
The free plan is limited in other ways. You get one email sequence and one visual automation, no integrations with other apps, and Kit branding on your emails. That's enough for a weekly newsletter and a single welcome series. When you need more automations or want to connect your store, the Creator plan starts at $39 a month for 1,000 subscribers, which is on the high side.
Start here if your newsletter is the product
- Good
- Huge free allowance, clean editor, built for growing an audience
- Watch out
- Paid plans cost more than most rivals; no integrations on free
AWeber: best for beginners
AWeber has been around for decades, and it shows in the best way: the editor, templates and setup steps are straightforward for people who've never sent a marketing email. The free plan covers 500 subscribers on one list, with one automation and one landing page, and AWeber branding on your content.
The Lite plan costs $15 a month, or $12.50 a month billed yearly, and removes the branding, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to look professional once you outgrow the free plan.
Start here if you want the easiest setup
- Good
- Beginner-friendly, affordable first paid tier, landing pages included
- Watch out
- Free plan is limited to one list and one automation
Systeme.io: best all-in-one on a budget
Systeme.io isn't only an email tool. It combines email marketing with sales funnels, landing pages, online courses and checkout pages. If you sell digital products or plan to, it can replace three or four separate subscriptions.
The free plan includes up to 2,000 contacts. Paid plans start with Startup at $17 a month, then Webinar at $47 and Unlimited at $97. Its email editor is simpler than dedicated email tools, so it suits people who care more about selling than about beautifully designed newsletters.
Start here if you sell courses or digital products
- Good
- Email, funnels and courses in one place; generous free plan
- Watch out
- Email design options are basic
ActiveCampaign: best automations
ActiveCampaign is what many businesses move to once simple newsletters aren't enough. It can send different emails depending on what someone clicked, bought or browsed, and score leads by how engaged they are.
There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial capped at 100 contacts. The Starter plan is $19 a month for 1,000 contacts on monthly billing, or $15 a month billed yearly. It's not where most people should start, but it's often where a growing store ends up.
Upgrade here when your list is earning money
- Good
- Powerful behavior-based automations at a fair entry price
- Watch out
- No free plan; more to learn
HubSpot: best if you also need a CRM
HubSpot is best known for its free CRM, a system for keeping track of leads, customers and deals. Its free marketing tools let you send up to 2,000 marketing emails a month, with HubSpot branding on each one.
If you sell services, take sales calls or follow up with leads by hand, having email and your customer records in one place saves a lot of copy-pasting. Marketing Hub Starter lists at $20 per seat per month and removes the branding, and HubSpot frequently runs promotions on it.
Start here if you sell services or follow up with leads
- Good
- Free CRM plus email in one account
- Watch out
- Higher tiers get expensive fast
What about MailerLite and Mailchimp?
Both used to be the default answer for free email marketing. In 2026 their free plans got much smaller. MailerLite's free plan now covers 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, and Mailchimp's covers 250 contacts and 500 sends a month. Both are fine tools, but a free plan that small works better as a test drive than as a place to grow a list.
How to choose in two minutes
- You're starting a newsletter or building an audience: Kit.
- You've never done email marketing and want it simple: AWeber.
- You sell or plan to sell courses or digital products: Systeme.io.
- You run a store and your list already makes sales: ActiveCampaign.
- You sell services and track leads: HubSpot.
Whichever you pick, set up a welcome sequence on day one. Three emails that introduce you, deliver something useful and make one offer will do more for sales than any feature on this page. Our guide to getting your first 100 customers shows where email fits in.
Common questions
Is a free email marketing plan good enough?
For your first few hundred subscribers, yes. Pick a tool whose free plan leaves room to grow, so you're not forced to switch just as the list starts working.
How hard is it to switch tools later?
Moving subscribers is easy, since every tool lets you export and import a list. Rebuilding automations, forms and templates is the slow part, so it's worth choosing carefully at the start.
Do I need a website to start email marketing?
No. AWeber, Kit and Systeme.io all include landing pages you can use to collect signups before you have a site.
Prices and plan limits checked October 2026. Pricing changes often; confirm on each company's site.