Editorial review — prices checked 7 October 2026
Drip Pricing Guide 2026
For a team with up to 2,500 people that wants behavioral email automation without a per-send meter, Drip is the pick on this page. The entry plan is $39 a month, billed monthly, for 1 to 2,500 people, and it lists unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, onsite campaigns and up to 50 workflows. Drip sets the bracket by how many people you hold, and the entry plan includes unlimited sends.
Who this guide is for
This guide is for people choosing a platform that emails a list and runs automated sequences off events such as signup, trial start, purchase, abandoned cart or long inactivity. Drip belongs in that category. It is a marketing automation platform, and its pricing follows that job: a monthly bracket based on how many people you keep in the account, with sending included on the entry plan.
This guide is not for people looking for a personal AI inbox. Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark and HEY are built around the mailbox of one person. They sort incoming mail, summarize threads and help draft replies. They do not manage a subscriber list, run workflows across thousands of contacts or send segmented campaigns. If that is the job, Drip is the wrong category, and the inbox section further down explains how to think about those products.
How the main options compare
The table covers the four platforms in this guide that have published plan figures. Each row gives the entry price with its plan and billing basis, and the limitation that matters most for that audience.
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (plan and billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drip | Behavioral workflows for SaaS and ecommerce lists under 2,500 people | $39 a month, 1 to 2,500 people, unlimited email sends; billed monthly, no annual rate listed | The price climbs bracket by bracket with people count, and the largest brackets cap sends |
| Kit | Creators and small publishers who want a free broadcast plan first | Free up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator at $33 a month billed annually for automations | Visual Automations and sequences are not included on the free plan |
| Sender | Small lists that want a free sending plan | Free Forever: 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month; Standard at $6.30 a month | The free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers, and paid tiers are sized by subscribers and emails together |
| Ghost | Publishers running a newsletter or paid membership on their own site | Starter at $15 a month for up to 1,000 members; billed monthly or annually at the same price | Member caps step up quickly; Ghost is a publishing platform, not a workflow builder |
Prices are from each vendor's pricing page as checked on 7 October 2026. Confirm current figures on the pricing page before you commit.
What Drip's plans include
The first bracket, 1 to 2,500 people at $39 a month, lists unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, onsite campaigns and up to 50 workflows. The 2,501 to 3,000 bracket at $49 a month lists unlimited email sends. From 4,501 to 5,000 people at $89 a month, email support is added. From 9,001 to 10,000 people at $154 a month, chat and email support is listed. The 22,501 to 25,000 bracket at $369 a month adds free migration and personalized onboarding.
Two of the largest brackets change the sending picture. The 37,501 to 40,000 bracket at $609 a month includes 480,000 email sends, and the 45,001 to 50,000 bracket at $699 a month includes 600,000 email sends. Those are stated allowances, not unlimited sends. If your list sits in one of those brackets, compare your expected sends with the stated figure before you assume the plan covers your volume.
Drip's marketing also describes split testing across workflow paths, AI insights, smart segments and revenue reporting. Those items do not appear in the tier descriptions used for the prices in this guide. Treat them as product claims to confirm on the pricing page before you put them in a budget or a team process.
Drip offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. There is no ongoing free plan.
What Drip costs at real list sizes
Drip's price is set by the bracket your people count falls into. Between two brackets the price does not move, and once you cross a line the next figure applies to the whole account. The table below shows the monthly price for representative sizes, with the Kit alternative beside it for comparison.
| People in account | Drip plan and monthly price | Kit plan and billing |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 2,500 | 1 to 2,500 bracket: $39 a month, unlimited email sends, up to 50 workflows | Free for broadcasts up to 10,000 subscribers; Creator at $33 a month billed annually for automations |
| 2,501 to 3,000 | $49 a month, unlimited email sends | Free for broadcasts; Creator at $33 a month billed annually for automations |
| 4,501 to 5,000 | $89 a month, unlimited email sends, email support | Free for broadcasts; Creator at $33 a month billed annually for automations |
| 9,001 to 10,000 | $154 a month, unlimited email sends, chat and email support | Free for broadcasts; Creator at $33 a month billed annually for automations |
| 12,501 to 15,000 | $209 a month, unlimited email sends | Pricing on request |
| 17,501 to 20,000 | $289 a month, unlimited email sends | Pricing on request |
| 37,501 to 40,000 | $609 a month, 480,000 email sends included | Pricing on request |
Derived annual figures: 12 × $39 = $468 a year at the entry bracket; 12 × $154 = $1,848 a year at 10,000 people; 12 × $609 = $7,308 a year at 40,000 people. For Kit's Creator plan, 12 × $33 = $396 a year when billed annually.
Drip in detail
What it does well for this audience. Drip suits a small SaaS or ecommerce team that wants trigger-based sequences and segments without a per-send meter. At the entry bracket you can test send cadence freely, add trial-to-paid and win-back flows, and keep sending volume unrestricted while the account stays in that bracket. For a team that mostly needs to get sequences right rather than count emails, that is the main reason to pick it.
Where it falls short. The price is set by people, not by activity, so a dormant list costs the same as an engaged one at the same count. The entry bracket lists up to 50 workflows, which may be tight for a team with many separate journeys. Two of the largest brackets cap sends at a stated allowance, so unlimited sending is not a given at every size. Drip's pricing details are monthly, and this guide has no annual rate to compare. Finally, the AI and testing features in Drip's marketing are not itemized in the tier descriptions used for pricing, so they should be checked before you plan around them.
Price. $39 a month for 1 to 2,500 people, billed monthly, with unlimited email sends and up to 50 workflows listed. Full bracket prices are in the table above and on the Drip pricing page.
Kit in detail
What it does well for this audience. Kit's free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers and includes unlimited landing pages, forms and email broadcasts, plus tagging and segmentation. Creators and small publishers who mainly send newsletters and sell a few digital products can run on it without paying. It is the most sensible starting point when automation is not yet the core need.
Where it falls short. Visual Automations and sequences are not on the free plan. They start on Creator, which is $33 a month billed annually. Once you need a branching workflow, Kit's cost is the Creator fee, not a bracket on your list size, but the automation features arrive only with that plan. Its Pro plan, at $66 a month billed annually, adds subscriber signals, unlimited users, deliverability reporting and a referral system, which matters mainly to larger teams. Kit's listed pricing does not give a figure above the 10,000-subscriber free limit beyond the Creator and Pro plans, so bigger lists need a direct check.
Price. Free up to 10,000 subscribers. Creator at $33 a month billed annually, and Pro at $66 a month billed annually. Details are on the Kit pricing page.
Sender in detail
What it does well for this audience. Sender's Free Forever plan covers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, which is enough for a small list that sends regularly but does not need complicated journeys. It is the cheapest route to a working list at zero cost.
Where it falls short. The free plan stops at 2,500 subscribers. Paid tiers are sized by both subscriber count and email volume, so a large list with low sending and a small list with heavy sending both need careful matching to a tier. Standard at $6.30 a month lists 6,000 emails and 500 subscribers, and Professional at $10.50 a month lists 12,000 emails and 500 subscribers, so read the subscriber allowance closely against your actual list before you choose. Sender is a lower-cost sending option rather than a deep workflow builder.
Price. Free Forever, Standard at $6.30 a month and Professional at $10.50 a month. Check the Sender pricing page for the current subscriber brackets before you decide.
Ghost in detail
What it does well for this audience. Ghost is built for publishers. Its tiers bundle a website, an email newsletter and member management, and the Publisher plan adds custom themes, paid subscriptions and analytics. A writer or small media business that wants the newsletter tied to its own site, with memberships, has a clear use for it.
Where it falls short. Member caps are the main constraint. Starter and Publisher both cover up to 1,000 members, and Business covers up to 10,000 at $199 a month. Ghost is a publishing platform, so it is not the place to build behavioral workflows for a SaaS trial or an ecommerce cart. Ghost(Pro) is the managed hosting option on the pricing page, and the underlying software is separately open source, which matters if you plan to self-host.
Price. Starter at $15 a month, Publisher at $29 a month and Business at $199 a month, all billed monthly or annually at the same rate as listed. See the Ghost pricing page.
AI inbox clients are a different category
Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark and HEY all use AI on the mailbox of one person. The typical features are triage, thread summaries, reply drafts and quicker search across a personal account. They are useful to executives, founders and operators who spend hours in email. None of them is a bulk sender, and none of them keeps a subscriber list, runs workflows for thousands of contacts or reports on campaign revenue. Drip does none of the inbox work.
This guide does not list verified prices for those four products, so no figures are given here. Pricing on request is the position for this comparison. If you are choosing between an inbox client and a sender, decide first who owns the mailbox. A personal inbox tool helps one person handle mail. A sending platform like Drip helps a team reach a list on purpose and measure what happens.
Some teams use both. An operator may run an AI inbox client for personal triage and Drip for lifecycle mail to customers. The two do not overlap, so you do not need to pick one over the other for the same job.
How to choose
- Count the people you would pay for. Drip prices by people in the account. Count everyone you would store, including dormant contacts, because they sit in the bracket even when they never open.
- Decide whether you need workflows or just broadcasts. If you need trigger-based sequences from day one, Kit's free plan is not enough, and Drip's entry bracket includes up to 50 workflows. If you only send newsletters, the free broadcast tiers of Kit or Sender may be enough.
- Compare send volume with the stated allowance. Drip's entry and mid brackets list unlimited sends. The 37,501 to 40,000 bracket lists 480,000 email sends, and the 45,001 to 50,000 bracket lists 600,000. If you send more than that, ask Drip directly before you sign.
- Check the billing basis. Drip's details here are monthly. Kit's Creator and Pro figures are billed annually. Ghost's prices are the same either way. Put the same billing basis in each row before you compare totals.
- Test the workflow you actually need during the trial. Drip's 14-day trial needs no credit card. Build one real sequence, such as a trial-to-paid journey, and see whether it fits the bracket before you commit.
Decision table: which tool for which job
| If you need | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral workflows with unlimited sends, up to 2,500 people | Drip | The $39 a month entry bracket lists unlimited email sends and up to 50 workflows |
| Newsletters now, automations later, on a free plan | Kit | Free up to 10,000 subscribers for broadcasts; Visual Automations start on Creator at $33 a month billed annually |
| Free sending for a small list at low volume | Sender | Free Forever covers 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month |
| A paid newsletter or memberships on your own domain | Ghost | Publisher includes paid subscriptions, custom themes and analytics |
| Large list between 37,501 and 40,000 people | Drip, with a sends check | The $609 a month bracket lists 480,000 email sends, so confirm your volume fits |
| Triage, summaries and reply drafts in a personal inbox | Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark or HEY | They manage one person's mailbox, not a subscriber list; pricing on request |
Setup and migration checklist
Moving to Drip is mostly about the contact list and the workflows. The checklist below orders the steps so the bracket is set by real, active people rather than by old data.
| Step | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Export contacts and consent | Export every list with its consent source and the date each person joined | Consent history decides who is safe to import and who should be left behind |
| 2. Clean the list | Remove hard bounces and long-dormant contacts before import | The people count sets the bracket, so a clean list keeps the price honest |
| 3. Map fields and tags | Match plan names, lifecycle stages and tags to Drip's segments | Segments built on wrong fields send the wrong message to the wrong group |
| 4. Rebuild the top three workflows | Start with the flows that earn the most, such as trial-to-paid, post-purchase and win-back | Rebuilding by hand lets you check trigger logic instead of copying it blindly |
| 5. Reconnect integrations | Re-authorize each store, checkout or product feed, and confirm the events arrive | A disconnected source produces a quiet failure that looks like a working flow |
| 6. Run both systems for one cycle | Keep the old platform live through one full billing or purchase cycle | It lets you compare results and avoid a gap in sending |
| 7. Cut over and cancel | Switch sending to Drip only, then cancel the old subscription | Running two systems for long causes double-mailed contacts |
Trigger semantics differ between platforms. A flow that fires on "trial started" in one tool may fire on "account created" in another, so rebuild the logic rather than cloning it click for click. Test each rebuilt workflow on a small internal group before you let it reach real contacts.
Plan the cutover around the bracket. If you import a large list and only later clean it, you pay for dormant contacts in the meantime. Clean first, then import, then add workflows.
Worked bills
Early SaaS, 2,000 people. $39 a month, billed monthly, with unlimited email sends and up to 50 workflows. That is $468 a year. A trial-to-paid journey and a win-back flow both fit inside that bracket, so the price stays flat while the list stays under 2,500 people.
Growing list, 10,000 people. $154 a month with unlimited email sends and chat and email support. That is $1,848 a year. Each dormant person you keep counts toward that bracket, so cleaning the list is the main budget lever at this size.
Large list, 40,000 people. $609 a month in the 37,501 to 40,000 bracket, with 480,000 email sends included. That is $7,308 a year. Check that your monthly sends stay within the stated allowance, because this bracket does not list unlimited sends.
Small creator on Kit for comparison. A creator with 2,000 subscribers can run broadcasts free on Kit. Adding Visual Automations means Creator at $33 a month billed annually, which is $396 a year. That is a lower total, but the automation scope is different, so the comparison only holds if the workflow needs are light.
Related
- AI-native email tools overview, with Drip in the broader list.
- Pricing overview, with all the platforms compared side by side.
Frequently asked questions
What does Drip cost to start?
The entry bracket is $39 a month, billed monthly, for 1 to 2,500 people. It lists unlimited email sends, dynamic segments, onsite campaigns and up to 50 workflows. No annual rate is listed in the pricing details used for this guide.
Is there a free Drip plan?
No. Drip has no ongoing free plan. It offers a 14-day free trial, and no credit card is required to start it.
Does Drip include unlimited sends at every size?
Not at every size. Most brackets list unlimited email sends, but the 37,501 to 40,000 bracket includes 480,000 email sends and the 45,001 to 50,000 bracket includes 600,000 email sends. Compare your expected volume with the stated figure for your bracket.
What counts toward the price?
The bracket is set by the number of people in the account. Sending volume matters only in the largest brackets, where a stated send allowance is listed.
Is Kit cheaper than Drip for a small list?
For broadcasts, Kit is free up to 10,000 subscribers. For automations, Kit needs Creator at $33 a month billed annually. Drip's entry bracket is $39 a month and includes workflows and unlimited sends. The better choice depends on whether you need automations at launch.
Can Drip replace an AI inbox client like Superhuman or Shortwave?
No. Drip sends email to a list and runs workflows. Superhuman, Shortwave, Spark and HEY help one person manage a personal mailbox. They solve different problems, and some teams use both.
Does Drip support Drip's AI features in every plan?
The tier descriptions used for the prices in this guide do not itemize AI insights or split testing. Confirm which AI and testing features your plan includes on the pricing page before you rely on them.