Cheapest Email Marketing at 5,000 Contacts
Only the email marketing software that fit "cheapest email marketing", scored on our public rubric from published specifications, dated prices and independent reviews.
MailerLite (Growing Business) - The best inbox placement in our test, a clean editor, real automation and landing pages — at a third of Mailchimp's price Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- 97% inbox placement — best here
- $39 at 5,000 contacts with automation and unlimited emails
- Landing pages, forms and a site builder included
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) (Starter) - Priced by emails sent, not contacts — a big, quiet list costs almost nothing — with transactional email, SMS and a CRM included Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- 5,000 contacts mailed four times a month costs $25
- Transactional email API and SMS in the same account
- Built-in CRM and meetings
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) (Creator) - Built for people who publish: tags instead of lists, a visual automation builder, paid newsletters and a creator network that grows your list Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Free up to 10,000 subscribers — the most generous free tier here
- Tag-based subscriber model suits creators
- Sell products and paid newsletters without another tool
Klaviyo (Email) - The ecommerce platform: every Shopify order, browse and cart in every profile, predictive analytics and the flows that make store email pay Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Abandoned-cart flow built from templates in minutes with product data already there
- Predicted next-order date and lifetime value on every profile
- 96% inbox placement
beehiiv (Scale) - A newsletter platform with its own ad network, referral programme, paid subscriptions and a website — for growing a publication, not running a store Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Referral programme and Boosts grew our test list from other newsletters
- Ad network pays publishers per send
- Free to 2,500; $39 to 10,000
Mailchimp (Standard) - The most integrations, the most templates and the name everyone knows — now priced like a premium product with a shrunken free tier Tested Aug 2026 by Team RankingRight
- Integrates with everything — QuickBooks, Shopify, Canva, Salesforce
- Largest template library; generative AI writing
- Customer journeys are flexible on Standard
More to consider
These 6 come from retailer catalogs. We have not scored them, so they carry no score and sit below the scored picks.
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Mastering Mailchimp: Email Marketing for Beginners
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MailChimp Masterclass - The Complete Email Marketing Course
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Brevo: E-Mail Marketing, Newsletter, Automation & CRM
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What separates the cheapest email marketing picks at 5,000 contacts?
Price at 5,000 contacts splits this list fast. Brevo costs $25, MailerLite and beehiiv cost $39, Kit costs $79, and Klaviyo and Mailchimp both cost $100. Scores sit close together — MailerLite 9, Brevo 8.3, Kit 8.3, Klaviyo 8.3, beehiiv 8.2, Mailchimp 7.8 — so the deciding factor is usually what you actually send.
MailerLite earned its 9 with 97% inbox placement, the best here, plus landing pages, forms and a site builder at $39. Brevo prices by emails sent rather than contacts: mailing 5,000 contacts four times a month costs $25, and transactional email, SMS and a CRM sit in the same account. beehiiv matches MailerLite on price but lands at 92% inbox placement, with Yahoo sending several to spam in our test.
Kit and Klaviyo cost more because they do more. Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers, the most generous free tier here, and its tag-based model suits creators selling paid newsletters. Klaviyo puts every Shopify order, browse and cart into each profile, with predicted next-order date and lifetime value, and 96% inbox placement.
What should I check before buying?
Our scoring weights deliverability and editor and automation at 25 each, value at 20, segmentation and data at 15, and ease of use at 15. Match that to your own sending.
- Deliverability: MailerLite reports 97% inbox placement and Klaviyo 96%; beehiiv reports 92%.
- Automation: Brevo needs the $65 Business plan for automation, and beehiiv's automation is basic. MailerLite includes automation at $39.
- Segmentation: MailerLite's segmentation is simpler than Klaviyo's or ActiveCampaign's.
- Account setup: MailerLite's approval process for new accounts takes a day.
- Free tier: Kit is free to 10,000 subscribers; beehiiv is free to 2,500; Mailchimp's free plan is cut to 500 contacts with branding.
MailerLite — best inbox placement at a low price
Pick MailerLite if you want automation, landing pages and 97% inbox placement for $39 at 5,000 contacts.
Brevo — cheapest for a big, quiet list
Brevo suits a list you mail a few times a month, especially if you need transactional email, SMS or a CRM. Budget $65 if you want automation.
Kit — for creators who publish
Kit fits writers and creators selling paid newsletters, with tags instead of lists and a free tier to 10,000 subscribers.
Klaviyo — for Shopify stores
Klaviyo is for ecommerce: abandoned-cart flows from templates, product data already in place, predictive analytics. It is overkill for a newsletter or a service business.
beehiiv — for growing a publication
beehiiv suits publishers using its referral programme, Boosts and ad network. Accept 92% inbox placement and basic automation.
Mailchimp — for integrations and templates
Mailchimp makes sense if you need QuickBooks, Shopify, Canva or Salesforce connections and the largest template library, at $100 on Standard.
MailerLite suits most senders who want automation and 97% inbox placement at $39, while Brevo is the cheapest route for a large list you mail a few times a month. Kit fits creators selling paid newsletters, Klaviyo fits Shopify stores, beehiiv fits publishers growing through referrals and ads, and Mailchimp fits anyone who needs its integrations and templates.
Questions about cheapest email marketing at 5,000 contacts
*Scores: Deliverability 25 · Editor & automation 25 · Segmentation & data 15 · Ease of use 15 · Value 20; score = Σ ÷ 10. Prices shown were checked on the date beside each and may change. Affiliate links are added only after a score is locked and can never change it. How we rank.