VendorClue research · software cost principles
Email marketing software for small teams: documented pricing and limits
Compare documented contact tiers, send allowances and team access across six email marketing tools, with prices and unknowns kept separate.
Product data changed. The editorial conclusion needs review. Catalogue classification or ownership disclosure changed; review interpretations.
- Evidence
- Sources linked below
- Source check
- 2026-10-06
- Author
- VendorClue
- Editor
- VendorClue
On this page
At a glance
The short answer
Start with your audience, monthly sending volume and team size. The category uses 5,000 contacts, two seats, four emails per contact and a visual builder. Add webhook or dedicated-IP requirements only when you need them. A newsletter and an event-driven integration can need different plans.
Start with your list, sending volume and team
Contact tiers and billing periods
A published monthly price is the recurring subscription charge for a documented tier. It is not proof of the total payable today. Taxes, setup and add-ons are modeled only when their terms are documented. Mailchimp uses a 1,500-contact tier above 500; we do not invent a 1,000-contact price. Annual snapshots use actual published annual charges for MailerLite and AWeber, rather than multiplying a discounted headline by twelve.
| Price | Period | Contact limit | Setup fee | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $49.00 | monthly | 5,000 | Unknown | unknown |
$49.00 / month
Tax unknown. Monthly billing. Unknown fees are not assumed zero.
- Initial modeled payment
- Unknown
- Recurring supplier charges
- $49.00 / month
- Annual prepayment
- Unknown
- Monthly equivalent
- $49.00 · not a monthly debit
- 12-month supplier charges
- Unknown
- Unknown setup fee; total due now and horizon total unavailable.
- Tax treatment unknown; modeled supplier charges only.
- Documentation-based modeled estimate; no performed product test implied.
Market: unspecified. Checked: Oct 6, 2026. Annual pricing is the billed annual amount.
The pinned table keeps the reviewed snapshot above. The current table resolves the latest verified offer with the same identity. Both currently refer to the same real observation; no historical price was fabricated to make them differ.
The current verified price is unchanged from the reviewed observation above. Checked 2026-10-06.
Sending limits change the shortlist
MailerLite Comfort has a monthly allowance tied to the subscriber tier. Its Power plan documents unlimited sending subject to fair use. AWeber Lite and Plus have different send multipliers; exceeding capacity can move an account to a higher tier. Mailchimp paid overages can add charges, whose exact amounts are unknown here. Brevo Free limits sends per day, so we have not converted it into a misleading monthly allowance.
The calculator now recognises documented unlimited sends separately from unknown allowances. Daily caps need a daily sending pattern, so a monthly total alone cannot confirm fit. Custom-quote plans have no invented price or contact capacity; known subscriptions remain visible when setup, taxes or add-ons prevent a complete total.
Seats and integrations need plan evidence
MailerLite Comfort includes three seats. AWeber Lite includes three users and Plus unlimited users. Mailchimp Essentials includes three seats and Standard five. Mailchimp application webhook actions require Standard or Premium; the existence of its Marketing API does not establish the same feature on Essentials. GetResponse Starter seat documents disagree, so that value remains unknown.
| Requirement | Mailchimp | MailerLite | AWeber |
|---|---|---|---|
| billable contacts | Not verified | 250 Free-plan limit, not a paid tier or a list-wide assumption. checked · MailerLite: official documentation | Not verified |
| buyer scope | Not verified | Email newsletters, campaigns and automations Documentation-based scope. checked · MailerLite: official documentation | Not verified |
| coverage limits | Not verified | Current paid amounts require resolving the interactive tier selector Do not substitute zero for an unreadable paid price. checked · MailerLite: official documentation | Not verified |
| sends | Not verified | 2500 A monthly allowance does not prove a same-day send limit. checked · MailerLite: official documentation | Not verified |
What remains unknown
Setup fees remain unknown except for ordinary AWeber account plans, whose billing FAQ explicitly states there is no setup fee. Tax treatment is unknown where the vendor evidence does not establish it. Exact ActiveCampaign prices, extra-seat charges, several webhook entitlements and dedicated-IP add-on terms are missing. Partial results remain visible but cannot win a full-cost ranking.
Use documented facts, then check the vendor
A visual email editor is useful for writing and arranging campaigns. Automation limits and webhook availability depend on the selected plan; neither establishes delivery performance or product quality. These records provide a starting point for vendor verification, not ratings, certificates or benchmark results.
Sources and updates
Each structured claim links to an official pricing or help page and carries a check date. Verified snapshots are immutable; a later price review must create a new snapshot. VendorClue publishes reviewed editorial revisions and marks dependent conclusions for review when their evidence changes.
MailerLite current Comfort and Power pricing · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
AWeber Lite and Plus documented prices · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Brevo plans, contact storage and send limits · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Mailchimp application webhook eligibility · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
GetResponse current plan features · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
ActiveCampaign current plan comparison · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Commercial independence
Build a shortlist from the work you actually do
Start with the next campaign, not a vendor ranking. Write down the audience that will be billed, the messages you expect to send and the people who need access. Add a feature requirement only when you can describe the job it performs. “Notify our service when this event happens” is more useful than a general preference for advanced automation.
Use the calculator for that same scenario across products. A documented subscription can still be useful when setup, tax or an add-on prevents a complete total. Keep the known amount and the unresolved part visible together. An unverified fit is a prompt to obtain evidence, not a reason to replace the unknown with zero.
Three different reasons to look beyond the starting price
For a frequent newsletter, compare the monthly sending allowance with the busiest month you expect. MailerLite Comfort has a tier-based allowance, while Power documents unlimited sends subject to fair use. GetResponse also documents unlimited sends on paid plans, but the catalogue's verified price coverage remains narrower than its range of tiers.
For a time-sensitive announcement, check daily restrictions independently. Brevo Free's storage and daily sending cap describe different capacities. A monthly scenario cannot prove that the whole audience can receive the message on launch day.
For a small team, count users and check the required workflow. Mailchimp's application webhook eligibility can change the relevant plan. AWeber Lite and Plus differ on users as well as subscription scope. ActiveCampaign remains worth assessing against documented requirements, but missing verified tier prices prevent a justified cost ranking here.
Finish with the questions the evidence leaves open
Ask for the exact tier, currency, billing period and included extras. Keep an introductory discount separate from renewal terms, and distinguish an annual monthly equivalent from the invoice due upfront. Save the scenario and source dates so another person can understand the comparison later.
None of these observations is a hands-on usability or deliverability test. Official screenshots illustrate an interface supplied by the vendor. They can help you decide what to investigate, but they do not prove that a workflow is easy, support is responsive or messages reach the inbox more often.
Try your own audience, sends and seats in the calculator
Read the ActiveCampaign profile
ActiveCampaign current plan comparison · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
GetResponse current plan features · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
GetResponse pricing and tax basis · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
GetResponse starting monthly charge · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
GetResponse current USD plan pricing · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
GetResponse current base monthly pricing examples · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Brevo plans, contact storage and send limits · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Brevo public pricing and custom Enterprise · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
AWeber Lite and Plus documented prices · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
AWeber plan feature comparison · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
AWeber ordinary account setup and tier changes · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
MailerLite current Comfort and Power pricing · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
MailerLite webhook configuration · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
MailerLite new paid plan rules · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Mailchimp Marketing pricing, USD · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Mailchimp plan limits · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Mailchimp application webhook eligibility · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026
Mailchimp visual email builders · Evidence: documentation · Oct 6, 2026