PLATFORMS
Brevo, where the bill follows sends, not contacts
Unlimited contacts; you pay for the emails you actually send.
Brevo inverts the usual model: contacts are free and you pay for the emails you send. That makes it the cheapest option for a large list emailed occasionally, and an expensive one for a small list sent daily. Its free plan is real but capped at 300 emails a day, which rules out serious campaigning.
Choose Brevo for
- Big lists emailed occasionally: volume pricing beats contact pricing
- Campaigns and transactional email in one account
Look elsewhere if
- Daily senders with small lists: volume pricing works against you
- Free-plan campaigning: 300 emails a day rules out real sends
Priced by volume, not by list
| Brevo | 5,000 emails/mo | 10,000 emails/mo | 20,000 emails/mo | 40,000 emails/mo | 100,000 emails/mo | 150,000 emails/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free plan: 300 emails a day, unlimited contacts | |||||
| Starter | $9/mo · $8.08/mo annual | $17/mo · $15.25/mo annual | $32/mo · $28.75/mo annual | $46/mo · $41.42/mo annual | $82/mo · $73.75/mo annual | · |
| Standard | $18/mo · $16.17/mo annual | $35/mo · $31.50/mo annual | $69/mo · $62.08/mo annual | $89/mo · $80.08/mo annual | $139/mo · $125.08/mo annual | · |
| Professional | · | · | · | · | · | $499/mo · $449.08/mo annual |
Priced by monthly email volume with unlimited contacts; annual billing saves 10%. Pay-as-you-go credits exist as an alternative. Current amounts: the official Brevo pricing page.
Every rung above is a monthly email volume, not a contact count: you can hold a hundred thousand contacts on the free plan and pay only when you send. Standard adds unlimited automation and A/B testing over Starter; Professional jumps to multi-channel and phone support at a much higher volume. Because the unit is different, compare Brevo to the others in the cost calculator, which prices it on your estimated sends.
When volume pricing wins
Brevo is the value winner in one clear case: a big list you email a few times a month. Ten thousand contacts emailed twice is twenty thousand sends, which sits low on Brevo's ladder while a contact-priced rival charges for all ten thousand contacts every month. Flip the cadence to daily and the maths reverses, which is exactly what the calculator shows.
The free plan's real ceiling
Brevo's free plan keeps unlimited contacts but caps sending at 300 emails a day across campaigns and transactional. That is fine for testing and low-volume transactional mail, not for a newsletter of any size. There is no automatic overage: you move up a volume tier or buy pay-as-you-go credits, so a spike does not silently inflate the bill.
Inside Brevo
Ready to try Brevo?
Free plan: 300 emails a day, unlimited contacts · free plan, paid from $9/mo. Price it against the whole shortlist first if you are unsure.
Questions people also ask
How is Brevo cheaper than everyone else sometimes?
Because it charges for emails sent, not contacts stored. A large, rarely emailed list pays for a handful of sends instead of thousands of contacts. The calculator prices Brevo on your estimated monthly volume so the comparison is fair.
Can I really keep unlimited contacts for free?
Yes; the free plan's limit is 300 emails a day, not a contact count. The constraint is how much you send, not how many people you store.
Does Brevo do transactional email too?
Yes, in the same account as marketing, which is one of its draws. Transactional volume counts toward the same daily cap on the free plan.