Email Marketing Pricing in 2026: The Real Cost at 1K, 10K, and 50K Subscribers

The Full Cost Comparison: 1K vs 10K vs 50K Subscribers

This table uses each platform's standard plan (not the cheapest tier — the tier where you get automation, A/B testing, and proper analytics). Prices are monthly billing unless noted.

* Brevo charges per email sent, not per subscriber. $18/mo covers 5,000 emails. If you send more than 5,000 emails/mo, you'll need additional email credits or a higher plan.

The rankings shift dramatically depending on your list size. At 1,000 subscribers, AWeber is the cheapest paid option at $15/mo. At 50,000, GetResponse and Kit tie at $299/mo while Mailchimp charges $385/mo — a $1,032/yr penalty for choosing Mailchimp at scale.

AWeber: Cheapest Entry, Expensive at Scale

AWeber Lite starts at just $15/mo for up to 1,000 subscribers ($12.50/mo on annual billing), making it the most affordable paid entry point. But AWeber's pricing scales steeply:

From 1K to 50K, AWeber's price increases 22x. The cost per subscriber actually gets worse as you grow: $0.015/sub at 1K becomes $0.0067/sub at 50K — better per-unit but the absolute dollar amount puts it behind GetResponse and Kit at scale.

AWeber's real advantage is the 98.7% deliverability rate — the second-highest we track. If email deliverability matters more than cost (and for sales-critical emails, it should), AWeber earns its keep. The Lite plan also includes web push notifications, which no competitor includes at this price.

Brevo: The Per-Email Disruptor

Brevo completely breaks the comparison because they don't charge by subscribers — they charge by emails sent. Their Standard plan at $18/mo gives you 5,000 emails per month with unlimited subscribers.

What this means in practice: if you have 50,000 subscribers and send one email per month, you need 50,000 email credits. The Standard plan's 5,000 emails won't cut it — you'd need to buy additional credits or move to Professional at $499/mo.

But if you have 50,000 subscribers and send a weekly newsletter to a 5,000-subscriber segment? Brevo's $18/mo covers that. Every other platform would charge $299-$385/mo for the same subscriber count regardless of how often you email them.

Brevo's sweet spot: Large lists with moderate sending frequency. If you email your full list weekly or more, the per-email model gets expensive fast and subscriber-based pricing is cheaper.

GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign: The Middle-Tier Battle

These two compete directly, and the pricing difference grows with your list:

GetResponse is cheaper at every tier above 1,000 subscribers. At 50K, the $90/mo gap means $1,080/yr in savings by choosing GetResponse over ActiveCampaign. And GetResponse includes webinar hosting (on the Creator plan at $69/mo) that ActiveCampaign doesn't offer at any price.

The counterargument for ActiveCampaign: its automation engine is the most powerful in email marketing. If you're building complex multi-step sequences with conditional logic, lead scoring, and CRM integration, ActiveCampaign's automation depth justifies the premium. For straightforward email campaigns and newsletters, GetResponse delivers more value per dollar.

Kit and Mailchimp: The Extremes

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) starts expensive at $33/mo for 1,000 subscribers on the Creator plan — nearly double AWeber's $15. But Kit's scaling is gradual: $99/mo at 10K and $299/mo at 50K. The real story is Kit's free Newsletter plan, which supports up to 10,000 subscribers with no automation. If you only need to send broadcasts to a large list, Kit is literally free while Mailchimp charges $115/mo for the same 10K contacts.

Mailchimp is the most expensive option at nearly every tier. At 10K subscribers, Mailchimp Standard costs $115/mo while GetResponse charges $79 and AWeber charges $65. At 50K, Mailchimp's $385/mo is the highest in the comparison — $86/mo more than ActiveCampaign and $86/mo more than Kit or GetResponse.

Mailchimp's advantage is its 600+ email template library and brand recognition. For businesses where visual email design is critical, the template library has real value. But you're paying a significant premium for it — $1,032/yr more than GetResponse at 50K subscribers for what amounts to prettier email templates.

The Free Plan Reality Check

Four of six platforms offer free plans. Here's what "free" actually means:

Kit's free Newsletter plan at 10,000 subscribers is the clear winner for anyone building an audience. Brevo's 100,000-contact allowance with 300 daily sends (~9,000/mo) is the most generous on raw contact capacity. Mailchimp's free plan at 250 contacts and 500 sends is essentially a demo — it exists so they can say "free plan available" on comparison sites.

The Bottom Line

1. At 1K subscribers: AWeber Lite at $15/mo or GetResponse Starter at $19/mo. If budget is zero, Kit Newsletter gives you room to grow to 10K for free.
2. At 10K subscribers: AWeber at $65/mo is cheapest. GetResponse at $79/mo includes webinar hosting. Kit's free Newsletter plan still works if you don't need automation.
3. At 50K subscribers: GetResponse and Kit tie at $299/mo. Brevo at $18/mo wins if you send infrequently. Avoid Mailchimp's $385/mo unless you need the template library.
4. Avoid Mailchimp unless visual templates are your top priority. It's the most expensive option at every subscriber tier we checked.

See all plans, features, and subscriber tiers: Email Marketing Pricing Comparison