Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) (Starter) review 2027

What problem does Brevo solve for a business with a big list?

Brevo prices by emails sent rather than by contacts stored, so a large, quiet list costs very little. At 5,000 contacts mailed four times a month the bill is $25, and the free plan carries no contact limit at all — 300 emails a day, unlimited contacts. That combination suits a business that keeps thousands of names on file but only mails them occasionally.

The extras are real rather than decorative: a transactional email API, SMS and WhatsApp, plus a built-in CRM and meetings tool, all inside the same account. The verdict for this review is that Brevo is best for large lists that mail rarely, and it stays right for big lists with low volume and for businesses that need transactional email alongside their campaigns.

How did we score Brevo, criterion by criterion?

Deliverability took 23 of 25 points. We measured inbox placement of four campaigns across 40 seed addresses at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo and iCloud, and also weighed the help Brevo gives with authentication setup. Our test put inbox placement at 94%.

Editor and automation scored 17 of 25. We judged the email editor, the templates, and how far the automation builder carried our welcome, cart-abandon and re-engagement flows. Segmentation and data scored 13 of 15, covering segments, tags, custom fields, ecommerce data and reporting depth. Ease of use scored 12 of 15, based on the time to a first campaign and how much the interface fought back. Value scored 18 of 20, weighing the monthly price at 5,000 contacts with automation and the free tier. The total is 8.3.

Where does Brevo stand out?

The price is the headline. Mailing 5,000 contacts four times a month costs $25, and the free plan has no contact limit. Transactional email and SMS live in the same account, so a business does not need a second vendor for order confirmations or text messages. A built-in CRM and meetings tool is included too.

Inbox placement of 94% across our seed panel is a solid result, and authentication setup help supports it. For a sender with a large list and a light sending schedule, those strengths line up with the way the pricing works.

What is in the Brevo account, and how is it built?

The plan structure is straightforward. At 5,000 contacts the price is 25 USD/mo. The free plan allows 300 emails a day with unlimited contacts. Automation sits on the Business plan, as do landing pages and forms. Ecommerce connections cover Shopify and WooCommerce. SMS is included, along with WhatsApp. Our measured inbox placement is 94%. Brevo describes the fit as businesses with big lists and low send volume.

How does Brevo compare with the rivals we tested?

MailerLite scored 9 and costs $39 at 5,000 contacts, with a free plan for 1,000 subscribers, multi-trigger workflows, Shopify and WooCommerce, landing pages and sites, no SMS, and 97% inbox placement in our test. It is ahead of Brevo on inbox placement and on automation at its price, while Brevo is cheaper and adds SMS.

ActiveCampaign scored 8.1 at $79, with no free plan, the most powerful automation builder in the test, Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce, landing pages on the Plus plan, SMS as an add-on, and 93% inbox placement. Brevo is cheaper and includes SMS, but ActiveCampaign's automation is deeper.

Klaviyo scored 8.3 at $100, with a free plan for 250 contacts, best-in-class flows, native Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Magento, forms but no page builder, SMS, and 96% inbox placement. Brevo undercuts it sharply and matches it on score, while Klaviyo goes further for online stores.

Where does Brevo fall short?

Automation is the main loss. It requires the $65 Business plan, and our score for editor and automation was 17 of 25. The editor is competent rather than inspiring. On the free plan, sending is capped at 300 emails a day, which limits volume even though contacts are unlimited.

Is Brevo good value at 5,000 contacts?

At 5,000 contacts the price is $25 a month, and value scored 18 of 20 — the highest share of any criterion in our breakdown. The free tier supports that score: unlimited contacts with a 300-a-day sending cap. For a business that mails its list four times a month, the measured cost is $25.

Who should buy Brevo?

Brevo stays right for big lists with low volume, and for businesses that need transactional email as well as campaigns. Its stated fit is businesses with big lists and low send volume. If your list is large but you mail it rarely, and you want transactional email, SMS and a CRM in one account, Brevo is built for that pattern. If you need automation on the entry plan, look at the rivals above instead.