Top 10 Cheap Email Marketing Platforms Compared [2025]

Running an online business means you’ve got some initial costs and ongoing expenses to think about. Since most companies use a bunch of different tools, those costs can really add up quickly. This can be a big deal for startups and growing businesses.

The good news is that there are plenty of affordable email marketing services out there that offer features just as good as the more expensive solutions. In this post, we’ll check out some of the cheapest email marketing platforms available and go over their key features and pricing details.

Cheap email marketing platforms at a glance

Before we dive in, let’s take a quick look at some of the cheapest email marketing services we’ll be checking out in this post. Here’s a rundown of their pricing, limits, and key features:

6 reasons to switch to a low-cost email marketing platform

If you’re thinking about moving to a more affordable email marketing platform, the short answer is yes — it’s worth it. Here’s why making the switch can be a great idea.

Reduce marketing costs

Premium email service providers can be pretty pricey, especially as your mailing list grows. The truth is, most businesses don’t need all those fancy features that come with expensive platforms and high-tier plans. Affordable email marketing solutions cover the basics like automation, segmentation, and analytics, meaning you can run solid campaigns without breaking the bank.

Scale smarter with flexible pricing

One major advantage of low-cost email marketing platforms is their flexible pricing models. Instead of charging based on how many subscribers you have, many only charge you for the emails you actually send. This is quite useful for seasonal campaigns, irregular sending schedules, or businesses still experimenting with their email frequency. This way, you can avoid high monthly fees when your email usage is actually low.

Try before you commit

Another benefit of cheap email marketing software is the opportunity to try before you buy. Many platforms offer generous free plans and trial periods that allow you to test deliverability, user interface, and ease of use without any upfront investment. This minimizes the risks associated with changing providers in the future.

For instance, SendPulse offers a free plan that includes up to 15,000 monthly emails, which is perfect for testing the waters.

Unlock more channels without premium costs

Email is still a key way to connect with customers, but nowadays, people use multiple channels. Many affordable email marketing services include SMS, push notifications, and messaging apps, letting you run multi-channel campaigns without juggling separate tools and paying enterprise prices.

Simplify your marketing toolkit

Expensive platforms can overwhelm smaller teams with all their features. At the same time, budget-friendly tools tend to focus on just what you need, so they are easier to onboard for non-tech-savvy users, and the learning curve is much shorter.

Stop paying for features you don’t use

Top-tier platforms often bundle in advanced tools like AI-driven segmentation, CRM integrations, or predictive analytics, but many businesses barely use these extras in their daily marketing efforts. As a result, spending on unused features can waste your budget. By switching to a more affordable email marketing service, you can ensure that your budget is allocated to tools that help you reach your goals.

3 considerations for choosing the right low-cost email marketing platform

Now that we’ve established why switching to a more affordable email marketing platform makes sense, let’s focus on how to choose the right one. Below are the key factors to consider when evaluating cost-efficient solutions so you get the best value for your investment.

Value over price

When comparing low-cost email marketing platforms, focus on what you get in each plan rather than the headline price. Review whether you’re charged per subscriber, per email sent, or based on features used. Look for transparent pricing: make sure there are no hidden fees like extra costs for automation, templates, or higher deliverability rates.

Essential features

Even on a tight budget, certain features are non-negotiable for running effective campaigns. Here’s what you cannot sacrifice:

• drag-and-drop builder;
• ready-to-use templates;
• entry-level automation (welcome series, abandoned cart, pre-set triggers);
• segmentation and personalization tools;
• sign-up forms and list management tools;
• GDPR compliance;
• reliable deliverability;
• responsive customer support.

Skipping these essentials may save you a few dollars initially, but can limit your ability to launch professional, results-driven campaigns.

Expected trade-offs

Budget-friendly email marketing tools come with compromises, so it’s best to set realistic expectations. You may find fewer design templates, limited customization options, or slower customer support. Advanced integrations or analytics may also be restricted.

Understanding these limitations upfront will help you choose a tool that fits your marketing strategy. When you focus on what matters most, even a low-cost email solution can deliver excellent results for your business.

10 of the cheapest email marketing services

Now that you know what to prioritize, it’s time to find the platform that checks all the right boxes; any of the solutions below will cost you less than $20 per month for 5,000 or more emails.

SendPulse

G2: 4.6 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.6 ⭐

SendPulse is an all-in-one marketing and automation platform that combines email, SMS, push notifications, and chatbots in a single tool. This low-cost email marketing service features an intuitive drag-and-drop email builder and over 100 professionally designed templates. You can easily personalize your emails with text, images, buttons, videos, and social media links.

The Automation tool lets you build sophisticated auto-flows that include multiple communication channels and cover different use cases. They can be triggered when you get a new subscriber, their data changes, or birthday comes. You can also set up eCommerce auto-flows for purchases, abandoned carts, or any custom event you create.

What’s more, you can segment your audience using tags and variables or dynamically – based on real-time user behavior or data updates. This affordable email marketing software also includes AI-powered tools to generate, translate, or improve your email copy.

In addition to email marketing and automation, SendPulse enables you to launch chatbots, websites, pop-ups, online courses, and even online stores. There is also an internal app marketplace with native and third-party integrations across various categories.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop and HTML email builders;
• 100+ email templates;
• multi-channel auto-flows;
• built-in spam checker;
• email verifier;
• dynamic segmentation;
• multilingual emails;
• AI content generation tools;
• A/B testing;
• API and webhooks;
• app and integration marketplace;
• bot-generated activity filtering;
• campaign performance insights (opens, CTRs, unsubscribes).

Pricing. SendPulse offers a free plan for up to 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month; it includes the email builder, templates, and basic automation. Paid plans start at $8/month (billed annually) for 500 subscribers and unlimited emails; it unlocks advanced features like saved segments and A/B testing.

MailerLite

G2: 4.6 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.7 ⭐

MailerLite is a reliable marketing platform that provides excellent value for money, especially for small businesses or individuals starting out with email marketing. With its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, customizable templates, pre-made content blocks, and free image library, you can design a variety of emails, surveys, quizzes, and more. You can also personalize your messages, set up automations, and launch A/B tests.

Beyond email marketing, MailerLite offers tools for creating landing pages and pop-ups. It also supports monetization through paid newsletters, eCommerce integrations, and digital products.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop, rich text, and HTML editors;
• 100+ customizable email templates;
• ready-to-use content blocks;
• automation builder with templates;
• dynamic content;
• subscriber segmentation;
• AI-powered email scheduling tool;
• AI text generator;
• eCommerce integrations;
• campaign auto-resend option;
• A/B testing.

Pricing. MailerLite offers a free plan with 500 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails, including access to its email editor, templates, and basic automation. Paid plans start at $9/month (billed annually) for the same number of subscribers, but with unlimited monthly emails and advanced features like dynamic content and multivariate testing.

Moosend

G2: 4.7 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.6 ⭐

Moosend is another cheap email marketing platform that empowers businesses to deliver targeted and effective campaigns. Its drag-and-drop editor lets you either start from scratch or choose from 130 responsive templates for eCommerce, SaaS, real estate, and other industries. With a wide range of features, including custom fields, conditional visibility content, and A/B testing, and a clear and simple interface, it’s perfect for newbie marketers but powerful enough for pros.

Beyond email tools, the platform supports behavior-based automation and offers pre-set automation recipes for cart abandonment, user onboarding, upsell and cross-sell, and other scenarios. You can customize them using various triggers, for example, when a system records a custom event or someone views a specific product, conditions, and actions.

Additionally, you can create landing pages and subscription forms and use Moosend’s AI Writer for your email copy and subject lines.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop email editor;
• 130+ email templates;
• custom-coded templates;
• automation workflow builder;
• pre-built automation templates;
• AI email assistant for copy and subject lines;
• AI product recommendations;
• personalization and segmentation;
• conditional visibility content;
• A/B testing;
• 40+ native integrations;
• real-time reporting and analytics.

Pricing. Moosend doesn’t offer a free plan, but there is a 30-day free trial with access to its core features. Its cheapest paid plan costs $7/month (billed annually) for 500 contacts and unlimited emails.

Zoho Campaigns

G2: 4.3 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.3 ⭐

Zoho Campaigns is a cheap email marketing service that strikes an excellent balance between features and usability, especially for small to mid-sized businesses. You have the flexibility to create a template from scratch, use an HTML code editor, or upload a file. Alternatively, the platform provides over 100 ready-made customizable templates for welcome emails, birthday campaigns, newsletters, and more.

You can drag and drop different components like text, images, buttons, tables, social widgets, etc. For example, the “Dynamic content” element lets you send unique content to each subscriber based on the data you’ve collected about them. Furthermore, you can embed polls in your newsletters to gather ratings, responses, or reactions from your audience.

As to automation tools, Zoho Campaigns can help you set both simple workflows triggered by actions like form submissions or signing up for a mailing list, as well as more complex, multi-layered flows that utilize data from integrations, advanced conditions, or specific contact activities. You can also use customer-based segmentation depending on geography (country, state, city), demography (age, gender), behavior, buying patterns, and more.

Lastly, the platform features customizable pop-ups, sign-up forms, and a bunch of integrations with other Zoho tools, popular CRM systems, and SMS gateways.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop, plain text, and HTML email editors;
• template library;
• 25+ automation components;
• polls, surveys, GIFs, and reply tracking;
• dynamic content;
• user segmentation;
• send-time optimization;
• AI-based product recommendations;
• bot filtering;
• A/B testing;
• reports and analytics.

Pricing. Zoho Campaigns provides a free plan with up to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails per month. It includes limited templates, basic contact management tools, and email marketing analytics. For €3/month, you’ll get 500 contacts and unlimited emails and unlock access to entry-level automation, basic segmentation, and advanced templates.

Sender

G2: 4.7 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.7 ⭐

Sender is an email and SMS marketing platform, spot on for small businesses looking to grow their audience and run campaigns without upgrading immediately. With this cheap email marketing software, you get an easy-to-navigate interface, a drag-and-drop email builder, and some professional templates to choose from.

You can customize your templates by adding various elements like custom HTML, video and GIFs, interactive blocks, review forms, and countdown timers, and adjust their sizes, colors, paddings, and other properties. Notably, the platform supports shoppable blocks so you can guide your audience to check out – you specify the link to your product from any online store, and Sender extracts key details like its name, description, price, quantity, and more for you to modify as needed. Additionally, you can incorporate personalization tags into your email subject lines and content.

This low-cost email marketing platform also features automation tools to build smooth customer journeys. Your flow can combine emails and SMS messages, be initiated by different triggers (the date, specific click, API call, etc.), and be branched depending on various conditions. For example, you can use automation to manage your mailing lists hands-free based on your subscribers’ recent activity.

Apart from email marketing, Sender lets you launch pop-ups, build landing pages, and integrate with popular CMS, CRM, and other eCommerce tools.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop, plain text, and HTML editors;
• 100+ pre-made email templates;
• custom HTML, video, and eCommerce blocks;
• pre-built automation workflows;
• triggers and automation steps;
• dynamic content like abandoned cart, billing info, order summary, etc.;
• pre-made basic and eCommerce segments;
• contact profiles and behavioral targeting;
• A/B testing;
• real-time campaign reports.

Pricing. Sender’s free plan lets you manage 2,500 subscribers and send 15,000 emails per month, though it includes Sender’s branding. It features most email content blocks and pretty vast automation capabilities. For $7/month, billed annually, you can unlock some advanced content blocks and features, but get fewer subscribers and email sends.

Mailjet

G2: 4.0 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.2 ⭐

Mailjet is an affordable email marketing platform that covers all the essentials, including templates, personalization, A/B testing, audience segmentation, automation, and analytics. With its drag-and-drop editor, you can build branded emails in no time and use the brand kit with pre-saved colors, fonts, and logos to ensure your campaigns look polished and consistent.

Another standout feature is real-time collaboration on email templates — multiple team members can edit, leave comments or suggestions, and preview changes directly within the editor.

Thanks to integrated AI-powered tools, you can also generate a template by specifying the type of email you need and providing some context like layout details, color schemes, or desired visuals. Besides, there is an AI writing assistant that gives you real-time text suggestions; it can help you fix grammar and spelling errors, rephrase or translate your copy, and adjust the tone of your message.

Mailjet offers basic automation options for your emails, allowing you to set up flows that start when a user subscribes to a mailing list or when their data changes. The platform also seamlessly connects with over 70 third-party integrations and enables you to create forms and landing pages.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop, HTML, and MJML editors;
• 100+ pre-designed templates;
• AI email tools;
• saved email sections;
• brand kit;
• personalization and segmentation;
• A/B testing;
• GDPR and ISO-27001 compliant forms;
• multi-user collaboration;
• statistics and monthly deliverability reports.

Pricing. Mailjet offers a free plan with 1,000 contacts and 6,000 emails per month, with a daily sending limit of 200 emails. This plan includes features like an advanced email editor, personalization, and basic statistics. The cheapest paid plan starts at $17/month (billed annually) for unlimited contacts and 15,000 monthly emails with no sending limits. It unlocks access to segmentation, AI-assisted content creation, and email validation.

EmailOctopus

G2: 4.1 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.8 ⭐

EmailOctopus is one of the cheapest email marketing services, perfect for creators, freelancers, and small or new businesses that want to send good-looking newsletters to a small list of subscribers without unnecessary complexity.

You can build emails using a drag-and-drop editor or customize one of 30+ responsive templates. There’s an option to set up your branding that will be applied to all templates, including your logo, a primary color for buttons and links, secondary colors, and a default font for your headers and body text.

This low-cost email marketing platform lets you create custom fields to store additional information about your subscribers and tags for internal purposes. You can also segment your lists based on subscriber data, campaign activity, or contact engagement. Additionally, the platform supports auto-responders and drip campaigns, triggered when a new subscriber is added to the list, when a tag is assigned or removed from a contact, on specific dates, etc.

Beyond email campaigns, EmailOctopus enables you to create landing pages and forms to help you capture more subscribers.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop email editor;
• HTML coding support;
• 30+ mobile-friendly templates;
• personalization and segmentation;
• custom fields for extra contact data;
• visual automation builder;
• API access;
• Google Analytics integration and real-time campaign reports.

Pricing. EmailOctopus offers a free plan with 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 monthly emails; it comes with the platform’s branding and includes an email builder, 3 automations, 10 custom fields, and reports that are available for 30 days. For those looking for more, the paid plan is available at $9/month for 500 subscribers and 10,000 emails, but without any branding and with fewer restrictions on certain features.

ActiveCampaign

G2: 4.5 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.6 ⭐

ActiveCampaign brings together email marketing, automation, CRM, and AI-powered tools in a single, versatile solution for growing businesses. Its drag-and-drop email designer lets you create professional-looking templates using flexible content blocks for text, images, buttons, videos, menus, and more.

You can also use the AI campaign builder – it generates a subject line, preheader, layout, images, content, and CTA for your campaign based on a text prompt that describes your desired email campaign, including colors, themes, and patterns. To maintain consistency, ActiveCampaign lets you create a brand kit with logos, colors, and fonts automatically extracted right from your website.

This low-cost email marketing platform also allows you to build “set-and-forget” automations tailored to each contact’s data, preferences, and behavior. Automations can be triggered in various ways, for instance, when a new contact joins your list, perfect for welcome or onboarding flows, when they click a link in your email to send follow-ups or apply tags, or after a purchase to send a thank-you message or collect feedback. Moreover, there are ready-made automation templates that include all the necessary actions, conditions, and logic for quick and intuitive setup.

Notably, the platform is equipped with many useful AI-powered features. For example, AI can predict the best days and times to send a campaign based on your account data or similar industries or suggest segments based on your user activity, behavior, and industry trends.

In addition, ActiveCampaign supports transactional emails, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns, and integrations with popular third-party tools.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop, plain text, and HTML editors;
• 250+ pre-built templates;
• dynamic and conditional content;
• AI-driven email text and image generation;
• AI-powered automation builder;
• multi-step cross-channel automation;
• AI-suggested segments;
• 900+ integrations, API, and webhooks;
• reporting and analytics.

Pricing. ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer a free plan, but you can test the platform during a 14-day free trial. The cheapest paid plan costs $15/month (billed annually) for 1,000 contacts and 10,000 emails and includes segmentation, limited AI-powered tools, 5 actions per automation, A/B testing, and other basics.

Constant Contact

G2: 4.1 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.3 ⭐

Constant Contact is another reliable yet affordable email marketing service that stands out for its user-friendly interface. Even if you have little or no design background at all, the platform’s drag-and-drop email editor makes it easy to create polished templates. There are also plenty of customizable, mobile-responsive templates to start from. Plus, you can save your brand colors, logo, and images in a brand kit to keep everything looking consistent across your campaigns and save time on design.

The platform’s automation path builder combines email and SMS messages to welcome new subscribers, recover abandoned carts, win back inactive customers, and more. You can also get started with a flexible, pre-built automation template that includes a specific trigger related to contact activity, date, and eCommerce activity, or, on the contrary, inactivity.

On top of that, Constant Contact features AI-powered tools that help you write email copy, generate subject lines, and repurpose your existing content for different campaigns. Beyond email, it supports SMS marketing and integrates with popular tools like Canva, Shopify, Vimeo, and Stripe.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop email editor;
• pre-designed email templates;
• AI content recommendations;
• subject line A/B testing and personalization;
• automations templates;
• resend to non-openers;
• engagement and eCommerce segmentation;
• individual and bulk contact management;
• 300+ integrations.

Pricing. Constant Contact doesn’t offer a free plan, but there is a 30-day free trial to test its main features. Paid plans start at $12/month for 500 contacts and 5,000 emails, including the drag-and-drop editor, templates, and AI writing tools. To unlock advanced features and get higher limits, you’ll need to upgrade to a more expansive plan.

AWeber

G2: 4.2 ⭐ | Capterra: 4.4 ⭐

AWeber is an affordable email marketing platform built for small businesses, creators, and eCommerce owners. It helps you capture leads with landing pages and forms, design engaging newsletters with its drag-and-drop builder, automate campaigns without coding, and monitor performance through detailed analytics and reports.

One of AWeber’s standout features is its mobile editor and Canva integration, which make email design more flexible and convenient. The platform also includes a Smart designer that automatically generates branded templates based on your website and an RSS-to-email option that lets you send newsletters whenever you publish a new post, video, or podcast.

AWeber’s AI writing assistant can help you brainstorm ideas, refine copy, and craft effective subject lines and preview text. Additionally, the platform supports sales — you can sell digital products and subscriptions with one-time or recurring payments through Stripe or PayPal.

Key features include:

• drag-and-drop email builder;
• 500+ email templates;
• AI subject line and copy assistant;
• theme settings;
• RSS-triggered and AMP emails;
• dynamic content;
• tagging and segmentation;
• email split testing;
• paid newsletters;
• subscriber and message analytics.

Pricing. AWeber doesn’t have a free plan, but offers a 14-day free trial to test its features. Paid plans start at $12.50/month (billed annually) for 500 subscribers, 5,000 emails, 3 automations, 1 mailing list, and 1 custom segment.

Summing up

Email marketing is a vital part of almost any online business strategy, and it’s up to you to decide how much you want to invest in it. Thankfully, there are affordable email marketing platforms that provide core features to help your emails look professional, reach inboxes, and deliver measurable results.

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution that eliminates the need for multiple tools and helps you connect with your audience across different channels, SendPulse is a great choice. With it, you can manage email campaigns, auto-flows, chatbots, SMS messages, pop-ups, and more — all from one intuitive interface. Plus, it offers a generous forever-free plan, so you can start building and automating right away.

Create your free SendPulse account today and see how easy affordable marketing can be.