Brevo Free Plan 2026: Why It's the Best Free Email Tool
Detailed Brevo free plan review for 2026. 300 emails/day, 100K contacts, automation, and CRM — see why Brevo's free tier beats every competitor.
If you've ever signed up for a "free" email marketing tool only to discover you can store 500 contacts max and the moment you grow, you're hit with a $30/month bill — you're not alone. Most free plans in this category are aggressive trials in disguise. Brevo's free plan is different. After comparing every major platform's free tier in 2026, we kept coming back to one conclusion: Brevo's free plan is genuinely free, genuinely useful, and genuinely scales further than the alternatives. Here's exactly what you get and where the limits sit.
What you get on Brevo's free plan
Brevo's free forever plan includes:
- 300 emails per day — that's 9,000 emails per month if you send daily
- Unlimited contacts — store up to 100,000 contacts at zero cost
- Drag-and-drop email editor with 40+ professional templates
- Marketing automation for up to 2,000 contacts entering workflows
- Basic CRM including deal pipelines and contact management
- Transactional email for password resets, order confirmations, and other one-off sends
- SMS marketing with pay-as-you-go credits (no monthly fee)
- A signup form builder to grow your list
- Basic email analytics including opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes
That contact storage limit alone is remarkable. Mailchimp's free plan caps you at 500 contacts. ConvertKit's free tier limits you to 10,000 subscribers but charges immediately when you want sequences. Brevo simply doesn't lock contact storage behind a paywall.
Where the free plan limits hit
Honesty matters in a free plan review, so let's cover what you don't get:
- Brevo logo in your emails. Free senders show a "Sent with Brevo" footer. To remove it, you upgrade to any paid plan or buy the $9/month logo removal add-on.
- A/B testing. This unlocks on Standard ($18/mo). For most beginners, you don't need A/B testing in month one anyway.
- Landing pages. Standard plan onwards.
- Send-time optimization (AI feature). Standard plan onwards.
- Phone support. Free users get email support only. Response times are reasonable but not instant.
- Multi-user access. One user only on free. Standard adds up to 3 users.
- Advanced segmentation. Free includes basic segmentation; advanced behavior-based segments need Standard or Professional.
- 300 emails per day cap. If you have a 5,000-contact list and want to send a single newsletter to everyone, you can't. You'd need to upgrade to Starter ($9) to remove the daily cap.
For the vast majority of people just starting email marketing, none of these limits matter for the first 60–90 days.
Who Brevo's free plan is perfect for
- Solopreneurs building their first newsletter or product list
- Bloggers and creators with fewer than ~2,500 active subscribers
- Local businesses sending occasional promotions to under 300 customers per day
- Side projects validating whether email marketing matters for the niche
- Anyone learning marketing automation before committing budget
If you fit any of these descriptions, Brevo's free plan can carry you for 6–12 months easily.
Who should skip the free plan
- Daily senders to 1,000+ subscribers. The 300/day cap is too tight. Upgrade to Starter for $9.
- Agencies managing multiple clients. You'll need multi-user access from Standard.
- Ecommerce stores running aggressive cart recovery. Workflow contact limits will hit you fast.
- Anyone who needs phone support immediately. Standard and above include phone.
How Brevo's free plan compares to competitors
| Platform | Free Contacts | Free Emails/Month | Automation Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Unlimited (100K) | 9,000 (300/day) | Yes, up to 2K contacts |
| Mailchimp | 500 | 1,000 | Limited |
| MailerLite | 1,000 | 12,000 | Yes |
| HubSpot | 1,000,000 | 2,000 | Very limited |
| ConvertKit | 10,000 | Unlimited | Limited (one sequence) |
| GetResponse | 500 | Free 30 days only | After trial |
Notice the pattern. Some competitors give more sends; some give more contacts; almost none give you serious automation on free. Brevo balances all three.
Step-by-step: getting started on the free plan
Sign up at brevo.com — no credit card required. Verify your sender email via the confirmation link. Add your domain DNS records for DKIM, SPF, and DMARC so your emails actually land in inboxes (this matters more than any feature). Import or build a contact list of opt-in subscribers. Send your first campaign through the drag-and-drop editor. Set up a welcome workflow so every new subscriber automatically gets a great first email. Total time: under an hour.
When to upgrade from free
The clearest signals it's time to move up:
- You hit the 300/day cap regularly. Move to Starter at $9 — daily cap removed, 5,000 emails/month included.
- You want A/B testing or landing pages. Move to Standard at $18.
- You're scaling beyond 5,000 emails/month. Standard has multiple tiers (5K, 20K, 100K monthly emails); pick the right one.
- Your team needs multiple users. Standard up to 3 users; Professional up to 10.
- You want phone support. Professional and above.
Brevo pricing summary
| Plan | Monthly Price | Emails | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 300/day, 100K contacts | Everything to get started |
| Starter | $9 | 5K/month | No daily cap, no Brevo logo |
| Standard | $18 | 5K/month | Automation, A/B testing, landing pages |
| Professional | $499 | 150K/month | WhatsApp, AI, advanced segmentation |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | SSO, dedicated IP, custom SLA |
Verdict on Brevo's free plan
After months of testing every major free tier, Brevo's free plan remains our top recommendation for anyone starting email marketing in 2026. It's the only platform where "free" means "fully functional for as long as you need," not "free trial that expires the moment you find it useful." Combine that with the cheapest paid upgrade in the industry, and there's almost no reason not to start here.
Who should NOT start on Brevo's free plan
To be fair, the free plan isn't perfect for everyone. Skip it if:
You send daily newsletters to more than 300 subscribers. The 300/day cap will hit you on day one. You'll need Starter ($9/month) immediately, which is still cheap but no longer "free."
You need to remove the Brevo logo from email footers right away. The free plan shows "Sent with Brevo" in the footer. For most personal newsletters this is fine. For professional client work, it looks unprofessional. Starter or higher removes it.
You need phone support. Free and Starter plans get email support only. If you're running a business where every campaign matters and you need someone on the phone to troubleshoot, Professional ($499) is the entry point for phone support.
You're running a high-volume transactional system. The free plan's daily cap applies to all sends including transactional. If your app sends thousands of password reset and order confirmation emails daily, jump straight to a paid plan.
How Brevo's free plan compares to competitors
Mailchimp's free plan tops out at 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month — Brevo gives you 100,000 contacts and roughly 9,000 sends per month. Constant Contact has no free plan at all, only a 60-day trial. ConvertKit's free tier is generous on contacts (10,000) but limits you to basic broadcasts with no automation. MailerLite's free plan supports 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails/month — close to Brevo but with fewer features unlocked.
The standout features on Brevo's free plan that no competitor matches at $0: SMS marketing capability, transactional email API, basic automation workflows, and a built-in CRM. Most platforms charge $30+/month before unlocking any of those.
Real user scenarios where free works long-term
Side project newsletter (under 200 subscribers). Weekly send = 800 emails/month. Well under the 300/day cap. Free plan covers you for years.
Small ecommerce store under 500 customers. Monthly newsletter + transactional order confirmations. Around 1,500 emails/month total. Free plan works until volume grows.
Coaching practice with 100 clients. Monthly check-in emails + occasional broadcasts. Maybe 200 emails/month. Free forever.
Local restaurant with 800 loyalty members. Twice-monthly promotions = 1,600 emails/month, but spread across two send days. Right at the 300/day cap line — works if you batch sends carefully.
If your usage pattern fits any of these, you may never need to pay for Brevo. That's a strong long-term value proposition.