Start with what your emails need to do
Most small-business email falls into three jobs: keep in touch with a regular newsletter, follow up automatically after someone signs up or books, and recover sales from a store. The best tool is the cheapest one that does your main job well. Paying for an ad network you will never use, or choosing a free plan that cannot send a welcome series, both waste money.
Prices below were read from official pricing pages on October 29, 2026, in USD, billed monthly unless marked.
Decision tree
- Service business (consultant, studio, clinic) under 250 subscribers: MailerLite Free, which allows three active automations. [1]
- Service business, 250 to 5,000 subscribers, needs follow-ups: MailerLite Comfort, $12 at 500, $19 at 1,000, $33 at 2,500, $49 at 5,000, with 50 active automations. [1]
- Online store needing cart abandonment and product recommendations: trial Moosend for 30 days and get its quote; both features are listed on its features page. [2] [3]
- Creator or coach sending broadcasts only, under 10,000 subscribers: Kit Free. [4]
- Creator who needs sequences: Kit Creator at $39 per month billed monthly for 1,000 subscribers, or MailerLite Comfort if budget matters more. [4] [1]
- Newsletter is the product, with ads or paid readers planned: beehiiv, Free up to 2,500 and Lite from $59 per month. [5]
Balanced comparison
| Tool | Free option | Price at 1,000 | Strongest at | Skip if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Free to 250 subscribers, 3 automations [1] | Comfort $19/mo [1] | Automations, forms, landing pages per dollar [1] | You need more than 250 subscribers free |
| Moosend | 30-day trial, no card [2] | Not shown on page [2] | Cart abandonment, product recommendations [3] | You need a published price before trialling |
| Kit | Free to 10,000 subscribers [4] | Creator $39/mo (implied), $33 yearly [4] | Creator broadcasts, digital products [4] | You need sequences but cannot pay Creator |
| beehiiv | Free to 2,500 subscribers [5] | Free $0; Lite $59/mo [5] | Publishing, referrals, ads [5] | Your emails are mainly sales follow-ups |
Worked examples
Hypothetical bakery with a local delivery list of 900 subscribers: a monthly newsletter and a three-email welcome with a discount code. Kit Free covers the newsletter but not the welcome sequence. [4] MailerLite Comfort at $19 per month runs both, which is $228 a year. [1]
Hypothetical online store with 3,000 customers and frequent abandoned carts: the cart email is the one that earns money, so trial Moosend, rebuild one cart flow and compare its quote with MailerLite Comfort at the 5,000 tier, $49 per month. [2] [1] Choose on whether the flow works, not the headline price.
Hypothetical consultant with a 4,000-reader industry newsletter and no automations: Kit Free covers it at $0. [4] beehiiv would need Lite above 2,500 subscribers, $109 per month billed monthly in the up-to-5,000 bucket. [5]
Who should skip each
- Skip MailerLite if your list is above 250 and you cannot pay anything yet; Kit Free or beehiiv Free will carry a broadcast-only list further. [1] [4] [5]
- Skip Moosend if you have no store data to automate on; its strengths are cart and product emails. [3]
- Skip Kit if you need many automations on a tight budget; sequences start on Creator. [4]
- Skip beehiiv if your emails are mostly transactional follow-ups; Free lists no automations and Lite allows 10 live custom automations. [5]
Before you sign up
- Count active subscribers and project 12 months ahead; budget for the tier you expect to reach by then, not today's tier.
- List every automated email you need and confirm the plan includes it.
- Check how each tool counts unsubscribes; MailerLite says unsubscribed and bounced subscribers do not count. [1]
- Use a free plan or trial to build one real email before you move the whole list.
- Recheck the pricing page on the day you buy.
Questions before you decide
What is the best free email marketing tool for a small business?
It depends on list size and features. Kit Free covers up to 10,000 subscribers with broadcasts and forms but no sequences. beehiiv Free covers up to 2,500 subscribers with no automations. MailerLite Free allows three active automations but only up to 250 subscribers.
Does Moosend have a free plan?
Moosend's pricing page lists a 30-day free trial with no credit card required rather than a free plan, with unlimited sends for up to 1,000 contacts during the trial.
How much should a small business budget for email?
At 1,000 subscribers, verified list prices on October 29, 2026 ranged from $0 on Kit Free or beehiiv Free (broadcasts only) to $19 on MailerLite Comfort, $39 on Kit Creator billed monthly and $59 on beehiiv Lite billed monthly.
Sources & verification
Product details and prices can change. Check the linked provider before buying.
- MailerLite pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Moosend pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Moosend features Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- Kit pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
- beehiiv pricing Accessed 29 Oct 2026
Sources link directly to providers. Product buttons may use separately labeled affiliate links. Read our disclosure.