Best Email Marketing Software (2026)
An honest ranking for marketers and growth teams who care about automation, deliverability, and what the tool actually costs as your list grows.
For most marketing and growth teams, ActiveCampaign is the best all-round pick in 2026 because its visual automation and built-in CRM go deeper than anything else here, as long as you can handle the learning curve and rising cost. If you want the same reach for less money, Brevo is the value winner: a real free tier, email plus SMS, and pay-by-send pricing that stays cheap on big lists. GetResponse is the strong all-in-one alternative if you also need landing pages, webinars, or ecommerce flows in one place.
Key facts6 tools compared: ActiveCampaign, Brevo, GetResponse, Moosend, Campaign Monitor, AWeber…
- 6 tools compared: ActiveCampaign, Brevo, GetResponse, Moosend, Campaign Monitor, AWeber Communications
- Brevo (best for: Budget all-in-one with large lists): From $9/mo (Starter, 5,000 emails, up to 500 contacts); free plan with 300 emails/day
- GetResponse (best for: Creators and ecommerce wanting one tool): From about $16/mo (Starter, 1,000 contacts); 14-day free trial, no free plan
- Moosend (best for: Small teams wanting cheap automation): From roughly $9/mo (Pro, 500 contacts); 30-day trial, no free plan
Every one of these tools can send a newsletter. The real decision is what happens after the send: how well automations branch on behavior, whether messages land in the inbox, and how fast the bill climbs as your list grows past 10,000, then 50,000 contacts.
Marketers overpay for automation they never build, or underbuy and hit a wall six months in. This guide ranks six established platforms by who they genuinely fit, with concrete pricing and the real weaknesses of each, so you buy once instead of migrating in a year.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | From $15/mo (Starter, 1,000 contacts, billed annually); 14-day trial, no free plan | Teams that run automated emails based on subscriber behavior |
| Brevo | From $9/mo (Starter, 5,000 emails, up to 500 contacts); free plan with 300 emails/day | Budget all-in-one with large lists |
| GetResponse | From about $16/mo (Starter, 1,000 contacts); 14-day free trial, no free plan | Creators and ecommerce wanting one tool |
| Moosend | From roughly $9/mo (Pro, 500 contacts); 30-day trial, no free plan | Small teams wanting cheap automation |
| Campaign Monitor | From about $11/mo (Lite, smallest list); free trial, no free plan | Teams that want polished emails more than deep automation |
| AWeber Communications | From $12.49/mo (Lite, billed annually); 14-day free trial | Solo creators and small businesses |
Pricing read from each vendor's own published pricing page, checked Sep 2026. Every vendor here publishes a price.
Best for: Teams that run automated emails based on subscriber behavior
PricingFrom $15/mo (Starter, 1,000 contacts, billed annually); 14-day trial, no free plan
Best for: Budget all-in-one with large lists
PricingFrom $9/mo (Starter, 5,000 emails, up to 500 contacts); free plan with 300 emails/day
Best for: Creators and ecommerce wanting one tool
PricingFrom about $16/mo (Starter, 1,000 contacts); 14-day free trial, no free plan
Best for: Small teams wanting cheap automation
PricingFrom roughly $9/mo (Pro, 500 contacts); 30-day trial, no free plan
Best for: Teams that want polished emails more than deep automation
PricingFrom about $11/mo (Lite, smallest list); free trial, no free plan
Best for: Solo creators and small businesses
PricingFrom $12.49/mo (Lite, billed annually); 14-day free trial
What it is
Email marketing software lets you collect subscribers, design campaigns, and send them at scale without landing in spam. The modern versions do more than blast newsletters: they segment your list by behavior, trigger automated sequences (welcome, abandoned cart, re-engagement), test subject lines, and report on opens, clicks, and revenue.
Most bundle signup forms and landing pages for list growth, and the stronger ones add a CRM, SMS, and a visual automation builder so marketing and sales work from the same contact record.
Why it matters
Email is still the highest-ROI channel most teams own outright, and the platform you pick sets the ceiling on it.
Choose badly and you feel it three ways: deliverability drops and opens quietly fall, the automation builder can't express the flow you need so you hand-send instead, or per-contact pricing balloons as you grow and you're stuck migrating tens of thousands of contacts mid-quarter.
A good fit compounds the other way: better inbox placement, flows that run while you sleep, and costs that scale with revenue instead of ahead of it.
Key features to look for
Pricing
All six tools publish a starting price, and only GetResponse Enterprise is custom. The cheapest credible entries are Brevo and Moosend, both from roughly $9/mo. Brevo charges by monthly email volume, with a contact cap per tier, and includes a free plan.
Moosend charges per contact, has no free plan, and saves about 20% on annual billing. Costs jump above the starter tier and as the list grows: ActiveCampaign at 1,000 contacts, billed annually, runs from $15/mo to $145/mo, and GetResponse goes from about $16/mo to around $62/mo.
Campaign Monitor starts at about $11/mo on Lite, then Essentials and Premier scale by contacts, with Premier notably pricier, while AWeber Lite is $12.49/mo and Plus is $19.99/mo, both billed annually, after a 14-day trial.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign Starter | From $15/mo, billed annually | 1,000 contacts, 14-day trial, 30-day money-back |
| ActiveCampaign Plus | $49/mo, billed annually | 1,000 contacts, then the price scales up |
| ActiveCampaign Pro | $79/mo, billed annually | 1,000 contacts, billed annually |
| ActiveCampaign Enterprise | From $145/mo, billed annually | 1,000 contacts, then scales as the list grows |
| Brevo paid plans | From roughly $9/mo | Billed by emails sent, SMS and CRM included |
| GetResponse Starter | From about $16/mo | Unlimited monthly sends on paid plans |
| GetResponse Marketer | Around $54/mo | Unlimited monthly sends on paid plans |
| GetResponse Creator | Around $62/mo, annual | Annual billing, unlimited monthly sends |
| GetResponse Enterprise | Custom quote | No list price, unlimited sends on paid plans |
| Moosend Pro | From roughly $9/mo (about 20% off annual) | 500 contacts, unlimited emails, scales by list size |
| Campaign Monitor Lite | From about $11/mo | Smallest list tier, free trial, no free plan |
| Campaign Monitor Essentials | Scales by contacts | Priced by list size above Lite |
| Campaign Monitor Premier | Scales by contacts | Notably pricier than Lite and Essentials |
| AWeber Lite | From about $12.49/mo | Scales by subscriber count above the free plan |
| AWeber Plus | From about $19.99/mo, annual | Annual billing, scales by subscriber count |
The bottom line
Pick ActiveCampaign if automation and a built-in CRM are the point and you can grow into the price; it is the strongest engine here for lifecycle and behavioral marketing. Choose Brevo if you want most of that reach for far less, especially on a large list, thanks to pay-by-send pricing and a real free tier.
GetResponse is the all-in-one for creators and ecommerce who also need landing pages and webinars. Moosend wins on price for simple automation, Campaign Monitor for teams who care most about polished design, and AWeber for solo creators who value support over depth.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.
- ActiveCampaign pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Brevo pricingchecked Sep 2026
- GetResponse pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Moosend pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Campaign Monitor pricingchecked Sep 2026
- AWeber Communications pricingchecked Sep 2026
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