GUIDE
Which free email plan actually lasts
A durable free plan is not a free trial. Kit stays free to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, Sender to 2,500 subscribers, MailerLite to 250, and Brevo keeps contacts unlimited but caps you at 300 emails a day. Moosend, GetResponse and ActiveCampaign offer trials, not standing free plans. Pick by which limit, subscribers or daily sends, you hit last.
Free plan versus free trial
The word free hides two very different things. A permanent free plan runs your list at zero cost within a ceiling, indefinitely. A free trial is a countdown: full features for a few weeks, then a bill or a lockout. Of the nine platforms here, Kit, Sender, MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp and Omnisend offer a standing free plan, while Moosend, GetResponse and ActiveCampaign give trials only. If your goal is to run a real list for free rather than to evaluate one, the trial platforms are off the list before you compare a single ceiling.
The roomy ones: Kit and Sender
Kit (free plan, paid from $39/mo) has the highest free ceiling here, up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends, which lets a creator grow a genuine audience before paying anything. Sender (free plan, paid from $9/mo) is the next most generous at 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with transactional email included and only Sender branding as the cost. For most people building a list from scratch, these two are where free actually lasts long enough to matter, rather than expiring the moment the list gets interesting.
The capped ones: MailerLite and Brevo
MailerLite (free plan, paid from $12/mo) is free to 250 subscribers, enough as a standing sandbox next to a paid account but not to run a real list. Brevo (free plan, paid from $9/mo) flips the limit: contacts are unlimited, but you may only send 300 emails a day, so a large list works if you drip rather than blast. Mailchimp and Omnisend both cap free at 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, which is trial-sized in practice. The shape of the cap matters as much as its size.
Pick by what runs out first
Ask which ceiling your usage hits first. Growing past a few thousand subscribers favours Kit. A modest list mailed often favours Sender. A big list mailed sparingly can live on Brevo's daily cap. Enter your real subscriber count and cadence in the cost calculator to see when free ends and what the first paid tier costs, and if the goal is simply low spend rather than zero, read the budget guide.
Questions people also ask
Which free plan holds the most subscribers?
Kit, at up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited sends. Sender is next at 2,500. MailerLite, Mailchimp and Omnisend cap far lower, and Brevo limits daily sends instead of subscriber count.
Is Brevo's free plan good for a large list?
It can be, because contacts are unlimited. The catch is 300 emails a day, so a large list only works if you send in drips rather than one campaign to everyone at once.
Do Moosend, GetResponse or ActiveCampaign have a free plan?
No, they run free trials rather than standing free plans. If you need a durable free tier rather than a few weeks of evaluation, start from Kit, Sender, MailerLite or Brevo instead.