Canny Picks / Email marketing
Email marketing for a small list
A local business with a few hundred customers on its list should pay very little to email them. The famous name is the expensive one.
Prices checked October 5, 2026 on each company's own pricing page. Written by Canny Software, Palm Desert.
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MailerLite, from $12 a month
The free plan covers 250 subscribers. Paid plans start at $12 a month on annual billing and include three seats, automation and a clean editor. The price climbs with your list in predictable steps, so check the calculator for your size.
Brevo, priced by emails sent
Brevo charges for how many emails you send, not how many contacts you store. The free plan allows 300 emails a day. If you have 2,500 contacts and write to them once a month, this is usually the cheapest route. Add the cost of removing their logo when you compare.
Mailchimp
The $13 Essentials and $20 Standard prices are for 500 contacts. The bill rises steeply as the list grows, the free plan has been cut to 250 contacts, and overages are billed automatically.
What a small list actually costs
| Tool | Entry price | Small list | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | $0 up to 250 subscribers | From $12 a month, 3 seats | Free plan is small. Price steps up with list size. |
| Brevo | $0, 300 emails a day | Check the current paid price | Logo removal is an add-on on the entry plan. 1 seat. |
| Mailchimp | $0 up to 250 contacts | Standard, from $20 at 500 contacts | Costs several times more by 2,500 contacts. |
| Constant Contact | $12 a month, 1 user | Standard, from $35 a month | No free plan. Send limits on the entry plan. |
Per-month prices in US dollars before tax. Annual-billing prices are shown as the monthly equivalent where the company lists them that way.
How to decide in two minutes
Send a monthly newsletter to a small list? Start on MailerLite's free plan and upgrade when you pass 250.
Large list, rare emails? Price Brevo. Already on Mailchimp and paying over $40? Export the list and compare. Moving takes about an hour.
Common questions
Can I just send from Gmail or Outlook?
Not to a list. Bulk mail from a normal mailbox lands in spam and can get the account suspended. These tools also handle unsubscribes, which the law requires.
Do unsubscribed contacts cost money?
It depends on the tool. Check how each one counts contacts and clean your list before you compare prices.
How often should a local business email its list?
Once or twice a month is plenty for most. A useful note beats a frequent one.
Paying for more than one of these?
List everything on the stack audit page and see a free draft of what to cut.