Pricing guide, prices checked 7 October 2026
AI Email Pricing in 2026
The best starting pick for most teams that want AI inside their email workflow is Customer.io on its Essentials plan, at $100 a month billed monthly. It is the lowest listed plan that includes AI Agent core skills and a visual workflow builder. If you have no budget yet, Loops is the better first step, because its Early Stage plan is free for up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days.
Comparison of the main sending tools
Each row names the free option, the lowest paid price on the vendor's pricing page, and the limit that matters most when you compare. All prices are in US dollars.
| Tool | Best for | Free option | Entry paid price | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer.io | Lifecycle messages triggered by user profiles and events | 12 months free through the Startup Program, for eligible early-stage companies that have raised under $10M | Essentials, $100/month, billed monthly | Essentials includes email and community support only; the 10k-profile band starts at $145/month |
| Loops | Early-stage SaaS email on a small budget | Early Stage: up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days, sent to the 1,000 newest contacts | Growing Audience, $99/month | The free plan shows a Loops footer and sends at up to 10 emails per second |
| Resend | Developers who send transactional and marketing email | 3,000 emails/month, 100 per day, 3 domains | Pro, $20/month for 50,000 emails | Marketing contacts are priced on a separate book from sends |
| Brevo | Small teams that want a free daily quota and a simple upgrade path | 300 email sends per day, up to 100,000 contacts | Starter, $9/month, starting at 5,000 emails a month | The Professional tier is $499/month for 150,000 to 10 million monthly sends |
| Klaviyo | Teams that segment by profile and want a free start | 250 profiles and 500 email sends a month | Email plan, 500 profiles, $20/month | The price climbs with each profile band, from $20 at 500 profiles to $400 at 25,000 |
| ActiveCampaign | Automation combined with a CRM and ecommerce integrations | No free plan; free trial available | Starter, $15/month at 1,000 contacts, billed monthly | Plans start at 1,000 contacts, so smaller lists still pay the base price |
| Mailchimp | Small lists that need a free start and a standard contact ladder | Up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with a maximum of 250 per day | Standard, $20/month at 500 contacts | The free plan's daily send cap limits bursts |
| MailerLite | Creators and newsletters on a low entry price | Up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month | Comfort, $12/month, or $10.80/month billed yearly | The monthly email allowance depends on the subscriber tier |
| Drip | Teams that want unlimited sends at one price on a growing list | No free plan; 14-day trial with no credit card needed | 1 to 2,500 people, $39/month, unlimited email sends | No ongoing free plan, so the first invoice follows the trial |
| GetResponse | Teams that want unlimited sends plus webinars or a website builder | No ongoing free plan; paid plans include a free trial | Starter, $19/month, or $15.58/month billed yearly | The list size each price applies to is not stated on the pricing page used here |
| beehiiv | Paid newsletters that need subscriptions and monetization | Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends, 1 publication | Lite, $49/month, up to 100,000 subscribers | Built around newsletters, so it fits list-first publishing better than product messaging |
| Omnisend | Online stores that combine email and SMS | 250 contacts, 500 emails and 500 web push notifications a month | Standard, $11.20/month for 500 contacts and 6,000 emails | Standard caps sends at 6,000 a month; Pro, at $41.30/month for 2,500 contacts, includes unlimited emails |
| MailerSend | Developers using an email API and SMTP relay | 500 emails a month with the Email API and SMTP relay | Hobby, $6.30/month billed yearly ($75.60 a year), for 5,000 emails | Sends above the tier allowance are charged per 1,000 emails as overage |
What you pay at three list sizes
Contact-based vendors price the same list very differently. The table below uses 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 contacts. Where a vendor has no band at exactly that size, the cell says so and names the nearest band that is listed.
| Vendor | 5,000 contacts | 10,000 contacts | 25,000 contacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer.io | No 5,000-profile band listed; the 10k-profile Essentials plan is $145/month, billed monthly | Essentials 10k profiles, $145/month, billed monthly (12 × $145 = $1,740 a year) | No 25,000-profile band listed; Essentials 30k profiles is $325/month, billed monthly |
| Klaviyo | Email plan, 5,000 profiles, $100/month | Email plan, 10,000 profiles, $150/month | Email plan, 25,000 profiles, $400/month |
| Drip | 4,501 to 5,000 people, $89/month, unlimited email sends | 9,001 to 10,000 people, $154/month, unlimited email sends | 22,501 to 25,000 people, $369/month, unlimited email sends |
| Resend (marketing contacts) | Pro marketing at 5,000 contacts, $40/month, unlimited broadcast sending | Pro marketing at 10,000 contacts, $80/month | Pro marketing at 25,000 contacts, $180/month |
| Loops | Growing Audience, $99/month, unlimited sends to subscribers | Growing Audience, $99/month, unlimited sends to subscribers | Growing Audience, $99/month, unlimited sends to subscribers |
| beehiiv | Lite at 5,000 subscribers: $109/month, or $95/month billed yearly | Lite at 10,000 subscribers: $139/month, or $119/month billed yearly | Lite covers up to 100,000 subscribers from $49/month; the exact 25,000 price is not listed |
| Mailchimp | Contacts 2,501 to 5,000, $100/month, up to 60,000 emails a month | Contacts 5,001 to 10,000, $135/month, up to 120,000 emails a month | Not listed; the last listed band, 10,001 to 15,000 contacts, is $230/month |
Confirm the band that matches your exact contact count on the vendor's pricing page before you commit. Tiers change without notice.
Which plan to pick
Start from the constraint that will cost you most, then pick the tool that handles it. Each row gives one pick per common need and the price behind it.
| If you need | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| An AI agent inside your send workflow | Customer.io Essentials | Includes AI Agent core skills and a visual workflow builder for $100/month, billed monthly |
| A free start with no card | Loops Early Stage | Free for up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days, to the 1,000 newest contacts |
| Pay by send volume rather than contacts | Resend Pro or MailerSend Hobby | Resend Pro is $20/month for 50,000 emails; MailerSend Hobby is $6.30/month billed yearly for 5,000 emails |
| Unlimited sends on a growing list at one price | Drip | Listed Drip tiers include unlimited email sends, from $39/month for up to 2,500 people |
| A paid newsletter with subscriptions | beehiiv Lite | $49/month covers up to 100,000 subscribers and includes paid subscriptions and automations |
| Automation with CRM and ecommerce integrations | ActiveCampaign Starter | $15/month at 1,000 contacts, and Starter includes standard CRM and ecommerce integrations |
| Email and SMS for a store | Omnisend Pro | $41.30/month for 2,500 contacts, with unlimited monthly emails and SMS from $0.007 per message |
Setup and migration checklist
Most surprises on an AI email bill come from setup decisions made in the first week. Work through these steps before you pick a plan and before you move a list.
| Step | What to check | Why it changes the cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Count the right number | Separate active contacts from every record you hold, including people who never open or click | Profile and contact tiers bill on the count you choose, so an inflated list lands you in a higher band |
| 2. Measure monthly sends | Add up campaigns, automations and transactional mail for an average month, and a peak month | Send-based plans such as Resend, Brevo and MailerSend bill on volume, and overage adds to the base price |
| 3. Export with consent status | Keep the opt-in source and suppression flags when you move a list | Importing unsubscribed or unconfirmed contacts inflates the band and can breach consent rules |
| 4. Check the free limits | Compare the daily cap, monthly cap and contact cap on each free plan | Mailchimp allows a maximum of 250 sends per day; Brevo allows 300 per day; Loops allows 4,000 in any rolling 30 days |
| 5. Compare billing terms | Check whether the plan is billed monthly or yearly | Yearly billing lowers the monthly rate on MailerLite, beehiiv, GetResponse and MailerSend, but you commit for the year |
| 6. Test before you move | Send one small campaign and one transactional message from the new account | Catching a band or limit problem early avoids paying for a larger tier you do not need |
Tool by tool
Each entry covers who the tool suits, where it falls short, the price and the vendor's own pricing page.
Customer.io
Customer.io suits teams that send messages triggered by what a user does in the product, such as onboarding steps, usage nudges and win-back flows. The Essentials plan includes AI Agent core skills and a visual workflow builder, so AI work sits inside the same workflows you already run.
Where it falls short: Essentials includes email and community support only. Premium, with custom profile volume, elevated AI Agent limits and premium support, is listed at $1,000 a month.
Price: Essentials, $100/month billed monthly. Profile bands run from $145/month at 10,000 profiles, $235 at 20,000, $325 at 30,000, $415 at 40,000 and $505 at 50,000 and above. Eligible early-stage companies that have raised under $10M can get 12 months free through the Startup Program. See the Customer.io pricing page and the Customer.io pricing guide.
Loops
Loops suits early-stage SaaS products that need onboarding emails, receipts and product updates without a large budget. Sending on the free plan is capped at 4,000 in any rolling 30 days, and only the 1,000 newest contacts receive them.
Where it falls short: The free plan adds a Loops footer and sends at up to 10 emails per second. When you need unlimited sends to all subscribers, you move to the Growing Audience plan.
Price: Early Stage, free. Growing Audience, $99/month, with unlimited sends to subscribers and transactional sends to users outside your audience. See the Loops pricing page and the Loops pricing guide.
Resend
Resend suits developers who send transactional and marketing email from one account. The free plan covers 3,000 emails a month, with a 100-per-day cap and 3 domains.
Where it falls short: Sends and marketing contacts are priced on separate books, so you need to estimate both. Marketing contacts are banded from 1,000 contacts upward.
Price: Free, 3,000 emails a month. Pro, $20/month for 50,000 emails. Scale, $90/month for 100,000 emails. Marketing Pro, $40/month at 5,000 contacts, $80 at 10,000, $180 at 25,000 and $250 at 50,000. See the Resend pricing page and the Resend pricing guide.
Brevo
Brevo suits small teams that want a free daily quota and a clear upgrade path. The free plan allows 300 email sends per day and up to 100,000 contacts.
Where it falls short: The daily cap on the free plan rules out bursts, and the Professional tier at $499/month is a large step up from Standard.
Price: Free. Starter, $9/month, starting at 5,000 emails a month with no daily sending limit. Standard, $18/month, adds automation, A/B testing and advanced reports. Professional, $499/month, for 150,000 to 10 million monthly sends and up to 2 million contacts. See the Brevo pricing page and the Brevo pricing guide.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo suits teams that segment audiences by profile and want a free start on a small list. The free plan includes 250 profiles, 500 email sends a month and $5 of mobile messages.
Where it falls short: The price rises with each profile band, and inactive profiles count toward the band you are on.
Price: Email plans from $20/month at 500 profiles, $30 at 1,000, $60 at 2,500, $100 at 5,000, $150 at 10,000 and $400 at 25,000 profiles. The Email+SMS plans are sold by profile band, and their prices are not shown on the page used here. See the Klaviyo pricing page and the Klaviyo pricing guide.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign suits teams that want automation alongside a CRM and ecommerce integrations. Its plans are built on a base of 1,000 contacts.
Where it falls short: There is no free plan, only a free trial, and smaller lists still pay the 1,000-contact base price.
Price: Starter, $15/month at 1,000 contacts. Plus, $49/month. Pro, $79/month. Enterprise, $145/month. All four start at 1,000 contacts and scale with the contact count you select. See the ActiveCampaign pricing page and the ActiveCampaign pricing guide.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp suits small lists that need a free start and a standard contact ladder. The free plan covers up to 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
Where it falls short: The free plan allows a maximum of 250 sends per day, which is a problem for bursts.
Price: Free. Standard from $20/month for 500 contacts, with up to 6,000 emails a month at that size. Contacts 2,501 to 5,000 are $100/month for up to 60,000 emails. Contacts 5,001 to 10,000 are $135/month for up to 120,000 emails. See the Mailchimp pricing page and the Mailchimp pricing guide.
MailerLite
MailerLite suits creators and small newsletters that want a low entry price. The free plan covers up to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month.
Where it falls short: On paid plans the monthly email allowance depends on your subscriber tier, so growth can push you into a higher band.
Price: Free. Comfort from $12/month billed monthly, or $10.80/month billed yearly. Power from $25/month, or $22.50/month billed yearly, with unlimited monthly emails. See the MailerLite pricing page and the MailerLite pricing guide.
Drip
Drip suits teams that want unlimited email sends at a flat price on a list that grows steadily. Each listed tier includes unlimited email sends, and the lower bands include up to 50 workflows.
Where it falls short: There is no free plan. The 14-day trial needs no credit card, and billing starts after it.
Price: From $39/month for 1 to 2,500 people, $49 for 2,501 to 3,000, $89 for 4,501 to 5,000, $124 for 7,001 to 8,000, $154 for 9,001 to 10,000 and $369 for 22,501 to 25,000. See the Drip pricing page and the Drip pricing guide.
GetResponse
GetResponse suits teams that want unlimited monthly sends and extras such as webinars, a website builder and a course creator on its upper tiers.
Where it falls short: There is no ongoing free plan, only a free trial. Pricing depends on list size, and the pricing page used here does not state the list size each price applies to.
Price: Starter, $19/month, or $15.58/month billed yearly. Marketer, $59/month, or $48.38/month billed yearly. Creator, $69/month, or $56.58/month billed yearly. See the GetResponse pricing page and the GetResponse pricing guide.
beehiiv
beehiiv suits paid newsletters that need subscriptions and monetization. The free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends and one publication.
Where it falls short: It is built around newsletters and subscriber lists, so it fits product-triggered messages less well than the other tools here.
Price: Free up to 2,500 subscribers. Lite, $49/month, up to 100,000 subscribers. Pro, $95/month, up to 250,000 subscribers. Yearly billing saves up to 20%: at 5,000 subscribers Lite is $109/month billed monthly or $95/month billed yearly. See the beehiiv pricing page and the beehiiv pricing guide.
Omnisend
Omnisend suits online stores that combine email and SMS. The free plan includes 250 contacts, 500 emails and 500 web push notifications a month.
Where it falls short: The Standard plan caps sends at 6,000 a month, so busier stores move up to Pro.
Price: Free. Standard, $11.20/month for 500 contacts and 6,000 emails. Pro, $41.30/month for 2,500 contacts with unlimited monthly emails. SMS pricing depends on country and volume, starting at $0.007 per SMS. See the Omnisend pricing page and the Omnisend pricing guide.
MailerSend
MailerSend suits developers who send through an email API or SMTP relay. The free plan covers 500 emails a month with the Email API and SMTP relay.
Where it falls short: Once you exceed your tier's allowance, overage is charged per 1,000 emails, so a busy month can cost more than the plan price.
Price: Free, 500 emails a month. Hobby, $6.30/month billed yearly ($75.60 a year), for 5,000 emails. Starter, $31.50/month billed yearly ($378 a year), for 50,000 emails. Professional, $99/month billed yearly ($1,188 a year), for 50,000 emails with 150 SMS a month. See the MailerSend pricing page and the MailerSend pricing guide.
AI inbox apps are a separate category
Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark and HEY are apps for managing your own inbox. They are not sending platforms, so they do not bill by contacts, profiles or send volume, and this page gives no price for them. Read each app's own pricing page before you buy, and compare features for your personal mail rather than for campaigns to a list.
How to choose
Start with what you will be billed on. Contact-based tools such as Klaviyo, Drip, Mailchimp and Customer.io grow with the people you store, so cleaning up inactive contacts lowers the bill directly. Send-based tools such as Resend, Brevo and MailerSend grow with volume, so a heavy newsletter or a product that sends many transactional messages raises the cost even on a small list.
Next, match the free plan to your stage. Loops and Resend let you send for free, but with caps. Mailchimp and Brevo give you a daily cap that suits small campaigns. Check the daily, monthly and contact limits on each vendor's pricing page, because they differ.
Then look at the features that change the price. Customer.io puts AI Agent core skills on its entry plan. ActiveCampaign includes standard CRM and ecommerce integrations from Starter. beehiiv's Lite plan includes paid subscriptions and automations. Choose the plan that includes the feature you need, not the cheapest plan that lacks it.
Finally, pick a billing view on purpose. Yearly billing lowers the monthly rate on MailerLite, beehiiv and MailerSend, but you commit for the year. Monthly billing leaves you free to change plans while your list is still growing.
Frequently asked questions
Which AI email tool costs the least to start?
Loops is the lowest-cost start for product email, with a free Early Stage plan that covers up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days to the 1,000 newest contacts. Resend's free plan allows 3,000 emails a month, and Brevo's allows 300 sends a day. Which one is cheapest depends on whether you send in bursts or steadily.
Is Customer.io's AI feature included in the base price?
Yes. The Essentials plan at $100/month, billed monthly, includes AI Agent core skills, a visual workflow builder and email and community support. Premium adds custom profile volume, elevated AI Agent limits and premium support.
Do yearly plans cost less?
On several tools, yes. MailerLite's Comfort plan is $12/month billed monthly or $10.80/month billed yearly. beehiiv's Lite plan at 5,000 subscribers is $109/month billed monthly or $95/month billed yearly. MailerSend's Hobby plan is $6.30/month billed yearly, which comes to $75.60 a year. A yearly plan is a commitment, so weigh that against how stable your list is.
Why does my bill jump when my list grows?
Contact-based pricing moves to the next band at each threshold. Klaviyo's email plan goes from $20/month at 500 profiles to $400/month at 25,000. Drip moves from $89/month at 4,501 to 5,000 people to $154/month at 9,001 to 10,000. Removing inactive contacts before you upgrade is often the cheapest fix.
Does a free plan include sending?
Yes, but with limits. Mailchimp's free plan allows up to 500 sends a month with a maximum of 250 per day. Brevo's free plan allows 300 sends a day. Loops' free plan allows up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days. Drip and ActiveCampaign have no free plan, only a trial.
Are these prices current?
The prices on this page were checked against each vendor's pricing page on 7 October 2026. Vendors change tiers without notice, so confirm the band and billing term on the official pricing page before you buy.
Can I compare AI inbox apps with these sending tools?
Not on the same basis. Sending platforms bill by contacts, profiles or volume, while inbox apps are used by individuals to manage their own mail. This page gives prices only for the sending tools listed above.