Email marketing for beginners: pick your first ESP
Email marketing for beginners in 2026. How to choose your first ESP, why MailerLite wins on value, and how subscriber pricing actually works.
If you’re doing email marketing for beginners in 2026 and just want the right first pick, start with MailerLite. It pairs a clean editor, real automations, and landing pages with a free plan up to 250 subscribers, then charges $17.10/mo (annual billing) at 1,000 and $44.10 at 5,000, in the cheaper half of the 20 tools we price at 5,000. If you write a personal newsletter and want zero monthly cost while you grow, Kit (free to 10,000 subscribers) or a publishing-first tool like beehiiv is the better starting point.
The hard part of choosing your first email service provider (ESP) isn’t the feature list. It’s understanding how the price scales. Almost every ESP bills you by the number of subscribers you store, so a tool that looks free today can quietly become your biggest software bill at 5,000 contacts. This guide walks through the picks that matter for beginners, explains subscriber-based pricing in plain terms, and points you to a calculator so you can see your real cost before you commit.
How subscriber-based pricing actually works
Most ESPs charge by how many people are on your list, not by how many emails you send. Store 900 subscribers and you sit in one price band; cross 1,001 and you jump to the next. That matters more than the sticker price, because your list only grows, and the jumps get steep fast.
Two things trip beginners up:
- Unsubscribes and inactive contacts still count. On most platforms a subscriber on your list counts toward your tier even if they never open an email. Cleaning your list isn’t just hygiene. It’s a way to stay in a cheaper band.
- The same list size can cost very different amounts. At 5,000 subscribers, MailerLite is $44.10/mo (annual) while Mailchimp is $75/mo for comparable features. Same audience, about 70% more on the bill.
There are two exceptions worth knowing. Brevo bills by emails sent rather than by subscriber bands: its free plan shows no contact cap (but limits you to 300 emails a day), and its paid plans are priced by monthly email volume, with a contact allowance tied to each tier. And Substack-style newsletter tools charge nothing monthly but take a cut of paid subscriptions instead. More on both below.
Before you pick, run your expected list size through our pricing calculator. It shows the estimated monthly cost for each ESP at your subscriber count, which is the number that actually decides this.
The beginner picks, compared
| ESP | Free tier | Cost at 1,000 | Cost at 5,000 | Pricing model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Up to 250 | $17.10/mo | $44.10/mo | Per subscriber | Best all-round value |
| Kit | Up to 10,000 (1 automation) | $0 | $0 | Per subscriber | Newsletter creators |
| Brevo | No contact cap shown; 300 emails/day | $15.25/mo | $28.75/mo | Per email sent | Big list, infrequent sends |
| beehiiv | Up to 2,500 | $0 | $95/mo | Per subscriber + monetization | Growing a paid newsletter |
| Mailchimp | Up to 250 | $26.50/mo | $75/mo | Per subscriber (monthly only) | Familiarity + integrations |
MailerLite: the best first ESP for most people
MailerLite is where I’d send almost any beginner. The editor is genuinely friendly, automations and landing pages are included on low tiers (not gated behind a premium plan), and the free tier covers your first 250 subscribers. When you outgrow free, the climb is gentle: $17.10/mo at 1,000 and $44.10/mo at 5,000 on annual billing. That’s a low-cost path from “I have no list” to “I have a real one” with automations included, without re-platforming halfway.
The trade-off: MailerLite’s approval process can be strict at signup, and its templates, while clean, are fewer than Mailchimp’s sprawling library. Neither is a dealbreaker for a beginner.
Kit: free to 10,000 if you write a newsletter
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is built for creators who publish regularly. Its free newsletter plan reaches up to 10,000 subscribers, which is remarkable: you can grow a sizable audience before paying a cent. The catch is that the free plan holds back automations and sequences, the exact tools you’ll eventually want. Once you upgrade for those, Kit gets pricier than MailerLite at the same list size: its Creator plan is $33/mo (annual) at 1,000 subscribers against MailerLite’s $17.10. Start free on Kit if your priority is growing an audience first and monetizing later.
Brevo: when you have contacts but rarely email
Brevo is the odd one out because it bills by emails sent, not by subscriber bands. Its free plan shows no contact cap but limits you to 300 emails a day; paid plans are priced by send volume, from $8.08/mo (annual) for 5,000 emails a month, and they tie contact storage to the tier (500 contacts at that entry price), so a bigger list needs a bigger tier. In our data a 5,000-subscriber list costs $28.75/mo. That’s a great fit if you have a big list you mail occasionally (say a transactional or seasonal sender), but a poor fit if you email a small list daily, where per-subscriber tools win.
beehiiv and Substack: for newsletter-first creators
If the product is the newsletter itself, lean toward publishing-first tools. beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers and bundles growth and monetization features (recommendations, ad network, paid subscriptions) with a 0% take rate on subscriptions, though charging readers needs its Lite plan, which is priced by list size: $49/mo billed yearly at 1,000 subscribers, $95 at 5,000. Substack charges nothing monthly and gives you built-in discovery, but takes a 10% cut of every paid subscription: fine at the start, expensive once you’re earning real money. If paid subscriptions are the goal, see our companion guide on how to start a paid newsletter.
Mailchimp: familiar, but it scales pricey
Mailchimp is the name everyone knows, with the biggest integration library and a free plan up to 250 contacts. The problem is cost: $26.50/mo at 1,000 subscribers and $75/mo at 5,000 (Mailchimp has no annual discount), about 1.5-1.7x MailerLite for a similar feature set. Pick it if a specific integration you depend on only works well with Mailchimp. Otherwise, the brand recognition isn’t worth the premium for a beginner.
How to choose in five minutes
- Writing a personal newsletter? Start free on Kit or beehiiv.
- Building a small business list and want the best value? MailerLite.
- Big list you mail rarely? Brevo, since it bills by sends.
- Selling paid subscriptions from day one? beehiiv or Substack.
- Not sure? Run our short advisor and it’ll narrow the field from your answers.
Whatever you pick, check the real number at your target list size in the pricing calculator first. For the full field beyond beginner picks, see our roundup of the best email marketing software.
FAQ
What is the best email marketing tool for a complete beginner? MailerLite is the best all-round starting point: easy editor, automations and landing pages included on low tiers, free up to 250 subscribers, and a gentle price climb after that ($17.10/mo at 1,000, $44.10/mo at 5,000, annual billing). If you’re writing a personal newsletter rather than running a business, Kit (free to 10,000) or beehiiv may suit you better.
Is a free email marketing plan good enough to start? Yes, for most beginners. Kit (to 10,000) and beehiiv (to 2,500) let you build a real list at $0; MailerLite’s free plan is enough to test a signup form but stops at 250. The thing to watch is which features are held back on free (automations and sequences are commonly gated), so plan to upgrade once you want hands-off email flows.
Why does email pricing go up as my list grows? Most ESPs bill by the number of subscribers you store, so crossing a tier threshold (e.g. 1,000 or 5,000) bumps your price. Inactive and unsubscribed contacts often still count, which is why list cleaning saves money. Brevo is the main exception: it bills by emails sent, though its paid tiers include a contact allowance. Use the pricing calculator to see your real cost.
Mailchimp or MailerLite for a first list? MailerLite for almost everyone. It’s cheaper, easier, and includes automations on lower tiers. Mailchimp only makes sense if you specifically need one of its integrations, since it costs about 1.5-1.7x as much at the same list size ($26.50 vs $17.10 at 1,000; $75 vs $44.10 at 5,000).
Pick the tool that fits your list size and how you’ll grow, not the brand you recognize. Start with the advisor to get a personalized pick, then confirm the cost in the pricing calculator before you sign up.