Mailchimp, Kit, Brevo, MailerLite and GetResponse — compared on the things that decide whether email actually brings customers back: what the AI can draft for you, how far the automation goes, how you are billed as your list grows, and what the free plan really allows.
Essentials plan at 500 contacts. The AI and automation tier most small businesses end up on, Standard, is from $20/mo.
Creator plan for 1,000 subscribers, billed annually ($39/mo monthly). Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers — without automations.
Starter plan, from 5,000 emails/month. Priced by emails sent, not by contacts stored. Automation starts on Standard (from $18/mo).
Comfort plan (formerly Growing Business) at 500 subscribers. Power (formerly Advanced) is from $25/mo.
Starter plan for 1,000 contacts, billed monthly ($15.58/mo billed annually). Unlimited email sends on paid plans.
| Mailchimp | Kit | Brevo | MailerLite | GetResponse | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Shops and local businesses that want one well-known platform | Creators, coaches and newsletter-led businesses | Businesses with a large list that email a few times a month | Very small teams that want simple, low-cost email | Sellers who also need funnels, landing pages or webinars |
| How you are billed | By contacts stored | By subscribers | By emails sent (contacts are not the pricing axis) | By subscribers | By contacts; paid plans include unlimited sends |
| Free plan | Yes — 250 contacts, 500 sends/month (250/day) | Yes — up to 10,000 subscribers, broadcasts only (no automations or sequences) | Yes — 300 emails/day, large contact allowance, Brevo branding | Yes — 250 subscribers, 2,500 sends/month, limited automations | No free-forever plan on the current pricing page — 14-day free trial |
| Paid plans from | $13/mo Essentials (500 contacts); AI tier Standard from $20/mo | $39/mo monthly / $33/mo billed annually — Creator at 1,000 subscribers | $9/mo Starter (from 5,000 emails/mo); Standard from $18/mo | $12/mo Comfort (500 subscribers); Power from $25/mo | $19/mo monthly / $15.58/mo billed annually — Starter at 1,000 contacts |
| AI features (published) | Generative AI writing, predictive segmentation, send-time optimization — mainly Standard and up; some assistant features are in beta | Not the headline feature: the product's strength is tagging, sequences and automation rather than a generative-AI suite. Check the current plan page for the latest AI additions | Aura AI: copy generation from Starter, AI send-time optimization on Standard, AI segmentation and a data analyst on Professional | AI writing assistant and smart (AI-timed) sending on Comfort and up | AI email and subject-line generators, AI campaign / landing-page builders — limited uses on Starter, unlimited from Marketer |
| Automation | Single-step on lower tiers; multi-step flows (up to 200 on Standard) as you move up | Visual automations and sequences on paid plans; none on Free | Full marketing automation from Standard; Free/Starter are campaign-focused | Workflow automations included; free plan is capped, paid plans widen triggers and steps | Welcome series + 1 custom workflow on Starter; unlimited workflows from Marketer |
| Repeat-business extras | E-commerce data, purchase-likelihood segments, SMS add-on | Digital-product sales, paid newsletters, referral features on higher tiers | Built-in CRM, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns, transactional email | E-commerce integrations, pop-ups and landing pages for lead capture | Abandoned-cart recovery, promo codes and sales funnels from Marketer |
| Watch out for | Unsubscribed / non-subscribed contacts can count toward billing unless archived; Premium jumps to $350/mo | Free plan cannot send even a welcome automation; paid pricing rises with list size | Removing Brevo branding on Starter is a paid add-on; Professional jumps to $499/mo | Free plan was reduced in 2026 (250 subscribers); plan names changed to Comfort / Power | The useful automation and AI allowances mostly start at Marketer ($59/mo), not Starter |
Prices are USD, before tax, at the smallest published list/volume tier, as published by the vendors in November 2026. Every tool reprices as your list or send volume grows — always confirm the price for your list size on the vendor's site before you buy.
Mailchimp (part of Intuit) is the most widely known email platform for small businesses: campaigns, landing pages, forms, automations and a large integration ecosystem. Its plan ladder is Free (250 contacts, 500 sends/month), Essentials from $13/mo, Standard from $20/mo and Premium from $350/mo at the smallest contact tiers. The features most relevant to repeat business — generative AI writing help, predictive segmentation (such as purchase likelihood), dynamic content and send-time optimization — are concentrated on Standard and above, and some newer assistant features are published as beta. For a shop or local business that wants one recognised platform and expects to use e-commerce data, Standard is the realistic starting point, not the free tier.
Kit (renamed from ConvertKit) is designed around an audience you write to regularly: tags instead of separate lists, email sequences, visual automations, landing pages, and selling digital products or paid newsletters from the same account. The Free plan is unusually generous on list size — up to 10,000 subscribers — but since 2026 it covers broadcasts only: automations and sequences require a paid plan. Creator is $39/mo monthly, or $33/mo billed annually, at 1,000 subscribers; Pro is $79 / $66 on the same basis. Kit's published strength is workflow and audience management rather than a generative-AI suite, so if AI drafting is your main reason for switching, compare its current feature page carefully against Mailchimp or GetResponse before deciding.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) flips the usual pricing model: you pay mainly for emails sent, not for how many contacts you store, which can suit a business with a large, quiet list that campaigns a few times a month. The Free plan allows 300 emails/day with a large contact allowance (with Brevo branding). Starter is from $9/mo (from 5,000 emails/month) and Standard from $18/mo adds marketing automation, A/B testing and AI send-time optimisation; Professional starts at $499/mo. Its AI layer is called Aura: copy generation is available from lower tiers, while AI segmentation and a plain-language data analyst sit on Professional. A built-in CRM, SMS, WhatsApp and transactional email make Brevo the widest “customer platform” of the five — and the one whose tier jump needs the closest look.
MailerLite focuses on doing the core job cleanly: a drag-and-drop editor, forms and landing pages, e-commerce integrations and workflow automations, without the depth (or complexity) of Mailchimp or GetResponse. In 2026 its paid plans were renamed: Comfort (formerly Growing Business) is from $12/mo at 500 subscribers and Power (formerly Advanced) from $25/mo. The free plan was reduced in 2026 to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month, so treat it as a trial-sized starting point. The AI writing assistant and smart sending (AI-chosen send times) are published as Comfort-and-up features. For a solo business sending a monthly offer and a welcome flow, Comfort covers the published essentials at the lowest paid entry price here alongside Brevo's Starter.
GetResponse bundles the widest set of acquisition tools into the email account itself: campaigns and autoresponders, a landing-page builder, sales funnels, webinars and online-course features. Pricing at 1,000 contacts is Starter $19/mo monthly ($15.58/mo billed annually), Marketer $59 / $48.38 and Creator $69 / $56.58, with unlimited monthly sends on paid plans and a 14-day free trial instead of a free-forever tier on the current pricing page. Its AI email and subject-line generators and AI campaign builder are limited to a few uses on Starter and unlimited from Marketer; likewise, automation goes from one custom workflow on Starter to unlimited workflows, abandoned-cart recovery and promo codes on Marketer. The honest summary: the headline value is on Marketer, so budget for that tier if funnels are why you're choosing it.
Bringing past customers back points to purchase-based segments and cart recovery (Mailchimp, GetResponse). Growing an audience you sell content to points to Kit. A monthly offer to a big, quiet list points to Brevo's send-based pricing. A simple newsletter plus a welcome flow points to MailerLite.
“AI included” usually means “on a mid tier.” Mailchimp's generative AI is mainly Standard and up, MailerLite's is Comfort and up, GetResponse's unlimited AI is Marketer and up, and Brevo reserves AI segmentation for Professional. Price the tier with the feature, not the cheapest tier.
Model the cost at 2–3× your current list. Contact-based tools (Mailchimp, Kit, MailerLite, GetResponse) rise with every subscriber; Brevo rises with how often you send. Also count add-ons: branding removal, SMS, extra seats.
Use the free plan or trial to build the exact flow you'll rely on — a welcome series, a reactivation email, a cart reminder — in your top two candidates. If the automation you need is locked on that tier, you'll find out before you migrate your list.
Based on the vendors' published features: draft email copy and subject lines from a prompt, suggest or build segments, choose send times per subscriber, and in GetResponse's case generate a starter campaign and landing page. These are drafting and suggestion tools — you still review and edit what goes to customers, and no tool here guarantees any specific sales or open-rate result.
It depends on your constraint. Kit's free plan holds the most subscribers (up to 10,000) but cannot run automations. Brevo's free plan sends up to 300 emails/day with a large contact allowance. Mailchimp (250 contacts) and MailerLite (250 subscribers) free plans are best treated as trials. GetResponse currently offers a 14-day trial rather than a free-forever plan.
Neither is universally cheaper. If your list is large but you email rarely, send-based pricing (Brevo) can cost less. If your list is small and you email often, contact-based plans with generous or unlimited sends (for example GetResponse's paid plans) can be simpler to predict. Model both at your expected list size and send frequency.
Subscriber lists can normally be exported and imported as CSV, and forms and landing pages can be rebuilt — but automation flows, templates and engagement history do not transfer cleanly. Switching is possible, yet rebuilding flows takes time, which is why Step 4 (build one real flow first) matters.
Because this guide is compiled from the vendors' published specifications and pricing, not from paid placements or invented testing. Where a judgment appears (for example, "simplest to learn"), it reflects widely documented characteristics of the tools, and the underlying facts are always shown next to it so you can judge for yourself.