Quick answer: The cheapest way to send email in 2026 is a genuine free tier plus low, predictable paid pricing. The most generous free plans right now: Kit up to 10,000 subscribers (kit.com), Brevo 300 emails/day with up to 100,000 stored contacts (brevo.com), and Sender 2,500 subscribers / 15,000 emails a month with automation included. Bluey Email is my pick for cheapest send-based value — Free at 500 sends, Spark from $7/mo, unlimited contacts on Grow — because you pay for emails sent, not for a list that just sits there. Written with AI assistance and reviewed against primary sources.
Full disclosure: Bluey Email is my own product, and it’s on this list. I’ve held it to the same yardstick as the others, cited each vendor’s own pricing, and said plainly where a competitor is the cheaper pick for your situation.
What makes an email service cheap?
Cheap isn’t just the sticker price — it’s how the price behaves as you grow. Most tools meter one of two things: subscribers/contacts or emails sent. Contact-metered tools can get expensive fast when your list grows even if you email it rarely. Encharge’s David Ch, who has tested these platforms for years, warns that with metered plans “you’ll start at $100/month, but that only covers 5,000 profiles. Every 5k bump adds ~$90–$100/month” (Encharge). So the cheapest tool for you depends on your ratio of list size to send frequency.
The most generous free plans in 2026
Free tiers are where cheap starts. Here are the real limits, verified on each vendor’s own page.
| Service | Free plan | Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Kit | Up to 10,000 subscribers, 1 automation | Subscribers |
| Brevo | 300 emails/day, up to 100,000 contacts | Sends |
| Sender | 2,500 subscribers / 15,000 emails/mo | Subscribers |
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 subscribers / 10,000 emails/mo | Subscribers |
| Bluey Email | 500 sends/mo | Sends |
| MailerLite | 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails/mo | Subscribers |
Kit’s free plan is the standout for subscriber count: up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited email sends, unlimited landing pages, and unlimited forms, though it caps you at a single automation and puts Kit branding on emails (kit.com). Brevo takes the opposite approach — it stores up to 100,000 contacts free but limits you to 300 sends per day, which suits large, low-frequency lists (brevo.com).
Watch out: MailerLite’s free tier shrank in 2026
If you saw an old guide praising MailerLite’s free plan, note that it changed. On June 16, 2026, MailerLite reduced its free plan from 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails down to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails per month, while unlocking more templates and features (MailerLite). It’s still a capable tool on paid plans (10% annual discount, 30% off for nonprofits), but its free tier is no longer the giveaway it once was — a good reminder to always check the vendor’s own page before trusting a roundup.
The cheapest paid entry points
When you outgrow free, entry pricing matters. Sender’s paid plans start around $7/mo, and EmailOctopus (built on Amazon SES) starts around $10/mo at 500 subscribers, scaling to about $44.50 at 10,000. Bluey’s Spark plan starts at $7/mo and runs about $14 at 10,000 sends, then Grow is $30/mo with unlimited contacts at roughly 50,000 sends. Kit’s paid Creator plan is $33/mo (billed annually, $390/year) at 1,000 subscribers, rising to about $139/mo at 10,000 subscribers (kit.com) — generous free tier, but the paid jump is steep for larger creator lists.
Which cheap email service is best for you?
Bluey ranks first here for one specific reason: it’s send-metered, so a large list you email occasionally doesn’t inflate your bill, and even the free and Spark tiers include marketing plus transactional email on one account. But the honest picture is that cheapest depends on your shape.
- Big list, rare sends — Brevo’s free 300/day with 100k stored contacts, or Bluey’s send-based Grow plan.
- Creator under 10k subscribers wanting free forever — Kit’s free plan is unbeatable on subscriber count.
- Small list wanting free automation and landing pages — Sender or EmailOctopus.
- Developers wanting rock-bottom volume pricing — Amazon SES at about $0.10 per 1,000 emails, though bare-bones. See our best transactional email services guide.
For the full field, see the best email marketing software pillar, our MailerLite alternatives, and Sender alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest email marketing service? For a free forever plan, Kit (10,000 subscribers) and Brevo (300 emails/day, 100k contacts) are the most generous; Bluey starts free at 500 sends and $7/mo on Spark (kit.com, brevo.com).
Is there a free email tool with automation? Yes — Sender’s free plan includes automation for up to 2,500 subscribers / 15,000 emails a month, and EmailOctopus includes basic automation on its free 2,500-subscriber plan.
Why did MailerLite’s free plan get smaller? MailerLite reduced its free tier to 250 subscribers / 2,500 emails on June 16, 2026, while adding more features; it says clearer limits keep the plan fast and protect deliverability (MailerLite).
Is send-based or subscriber-based pricing cheaper? It depends on your list-to-send ratio. Large lists emailed infrequently are usually cheaper on send-based pricing; small lists emailed often can be cheaper on a subscriber plan.
References
- Kit pricing — kit.com/pricing
- Brevo pricing — brevo.com/pricing
- MailerLite free plan update — mailerlite.com
- Encharge, Customer.io pricing (David Ch) — encharge.io
Related reading: MailerLite alternatives, Sender alternatives, best transactional email services, and the best email marketing software pillar.
— Shivam