Email Marketing Pricing Comparison — 2026
Every email marketing tool compared by price, pricing model, and what you actually pay at different usage levels. Real numbers, updated regularly.
Email Marketing Tools
| Tool | Cheapest Plan | Pricing Model | Free Tier | Pain Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FairMail | $0.001-0.003/email | Pay per use (per email sent) | Free actions on signup | FAIR |
| Brevo | $25-65/mo | Per-email-volume monthly (unlimited contacts) | 300 emails/day | LOW |
| ConvertKit | $29-79/mo | Per-subscriber monthly | 1,000 subscribers (limited features) | MODERATE |
| ActiveCampaign | $29-149/mo | Per-contact monthly with feature tiers | 14-day trial | HIGH |
| Constant Contact | $12-80/mo | Per-contact monthly | 60-day trial | HIGH |
| Mailchimp | $13-350/mo | Per-contact monthly (charges for dormant contacts) | 500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month | EXTREME |
What it actually costs to run
The infrastructure cost for email marketing — servers, APIs, storage, delivery — is roughly $0.0001/email. Brevo charges $25-65/mo.
Fair charges $0.001-0.003/email — cost plus a small margin.
How pricing models compare
Most email marketing tools use one of three models: per-seat (you pay per team member), per-tier (you pay for a bundle of features), or per-usage (you pay for what you use). Each has trade-offs.
Per-seat pricing
You pay for every team member whether they use the tool daily or once a month. Idle seats cost the same as active ones.
Common with: Zendesk, Salesforce, Calendly
Per-tier pricing
You pick a plan that bundles features and limits. Need one feature from a higher tier? Upgrade the whole plan.
Common with: Hootsuite, Mailchimp, SurveyMonkey
Per-use pricing (Fair)
You pay for what you use. Full features from the first use. Light month = small bill. Quiet month = $0.
One pricing model across all Fair tools
Related comparisons
Fair is the anti-subscription. 13 tools, one account, pay for what you use.