Brevo Review 2026: Pricing Free + From $9.00/mo

Quick Summary

Pricing: Free tier available · from $9.00/mo
Pricing Model: per month
Category: Email Marketing
Founded: 2012
Best For: All-in-one marketing platform with email, SMS, and chat
Top Features: Visual Builder

A/B Testing

Analytics

Template Library

Scheduling
Integrations: WordPress Shopify Zapier Salesforce WooCommerce

About Brevo

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a unified marketing and sales platform built on a multi-channel messaging architecture that spans email, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat from a single dashboard. Founded in 2012, the platform has evolved into a full CRM suite with marketing automation workflows, transactional email infrastructure via a dedicated SMTP relay and REST API, and a built-in sales pipeline with deal tracking. Its AI assistant helps optimize send times, generate subject lines, and predict engagement patterns across campaigns. In 2026, Brevo's enterprise tier includes advanced segmentation with predictive scoring, dedicated IP pools for high-volume senders, and sub-account management for agencies. The platform supports WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, and Zapier integrations natively, making it a practical hub for e-commerce and SaaS marketing teams. Brevo's transactional and marketing emails run on separate infrastructure, so bulk campaigns don't compromise deliverability for order confirmations or password resets — a meaningful architectural advantage over platforms that commingle both.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Free tier includes 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts, and SMS campaigns — no credit card required to start
Multichannel orchestration across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and chat from one automation workflow builder
Paid plans start at $9/month based on email volume, not contact count — far cheaper at scale than per-contact competitors
Built-in CRM with deal pipeline, eliminating the need for a separate sales tool for small teams
AI assistant for send-time optimization and subject line generation included on paid plans
Dedicated transactional email infrastructure separated from marketing sends, protecting deliverability

Cons

Free plan caps at 300 emails/day with Brevo branding — unsuitable for any serious sending volume
Automation workflows on the free and Starter plans are limited to basic sequences; advanced branching requires the Business tier at $18/month
Landing page builder and A/B testing are locked behind higher-tier plans, pushing costs up for conversion-focused teams
Reporting depth lags behind Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign, especially for e-commerce revenue attribution
SMS credits are purchased separately and vary by country — costs can escalate quickly for global campaigns

Expert Verdict

“Brevo is the strongest value pick for SMBs that need email, SMS, and CRM without juggling three vendors. The free tier with 300 emails per day is generous enough to validate campaigns before committing. Buy it if you want multichannel marketing and a built-in sales CRM at a fraction of what HubSpot or ActiveCampaign charge. Skip it if you need deep e-commerce automation rivaling Klaviyo, or if your sending volume demands the granular deliverability controls that Mailgun or Postmark offer at the transactional layer.”

— AppSage Editorial Team

Feature Checklist

Visual Builder: Available
A/B Testing: Available
Analytics: Available
Template Library: Available
Scheduling: Available
Mobile App: Available
Email Automation: Available
AI Assistant: Available

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Brevo's pricing compare to Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign for 50,000 contacts?

Brevo charges by email volume, not contact count, so storing 50,000 contacts is free on every plan. A Business plan at roughly $18/month covers 5,000 emails. In contrast, Mailchimp's Standard plan for 50,000 contacts runs over $350/month, and ActiveCampaign starts around $259/month at that tier. For businesses with large lists but moderate send frequency, Brevo's model saves substantially.

What are the hidden costs in Brevo's pricing model?

The main hidden costs are SMS credits (purchased separately at country-specific rates, e.g., ~$0.013 per SMS in the US), the Brevo logo removal which requires at least the Starter plan at $9/month, and dedicated IP addresses available only on the Business plan or as an add-on. WhatsApp campaigns also consume message credits priced per conversation. If you rely on multichannel, budget beyond the base email plan.

Can Brevo handle transactional emails alongside marketing campaigns without deliverability issues?

Yes. Brevo runs transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets) on separate infrastructure from marketing campaigns. This architectural separation means a bulk promotional send won't tank your transactional deliverability rates. You get a dedicated SMTP relay and REST API for transactional messages, with real-time delivery logs and webhook tracking independent of your marketing dashboard.

How does Brevo's automation compare to Klaviyo for e-commerce stores on Shopify?

Klaviyo offers deeper native Shopify integration with predictive analytics, revenue-per-recipient tracking, and pre-built flows tuned for e-commerce (abandoned cart, browse abandonment, winback). Brevo's Shopify integration covers order sync, abandoned cart emails, and product recommendations, but its automation builder is more generalist. Choose Brevo if you also need SMS, CRM, and chat in one platform at a lower price. Choose Klaviyo if e-commerce revenue attribution and advanced segmentation based on purchase behavior are your priority.

Does Brevo offer API access and what are the rate limits?

Brevo provides a full REST API and SMTP relay for transactional and marketing emails. The API supports contact management, campaign creation, automation triggers, and real-time webhooks. Rate limits on the free plan cap at 300 emails/day. Paid plans scale based on your purchased email volume. Enterprise accounts can negotiate dedicated sending infrastructure with higher throughput and custom rate limits.

Is Brevo's free plan viable for a startup launching its first email campaigns?

For early-stage startups with under 300 emails per day, the free plan is genuinely usable. You get unlimited contacts, basic automation workflows, the drag-and-drop editor, and access to SMS and WhatsApp campaigns (credits sold separately). The main limitations are the Brevo branding on emails and the daily send cap. Once you exceed 300 sends/day or need to remove branding, the Starter plan at $9/month is the logical upgrade.

Does Brevo charge per email or per contact?

Brevo uses a unique email-based pricing model — you pay based on the number of emails you send, not the number of contacts in your list. All plans include unlimited contacts. The free plan allows 300 emails per day. Paid plans start at $18/month for 5,000 emails/month. This model is significantly cheaper than contact-based tools like Mailchimp if you have a large list but send infrequently (e.g., monthly newsletters). However, if you send daily emails to a small list, contact-based pricing may be more cost-effective.

How much does Brevo cost?

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers a free plan with 300 emails per day and unlimited contacts. Paid plans start at $9/month (Starter, 5,000 emails/month), $18/month (Business, 5,000 emails + marketing automation + A/B testing), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Unlike Mailchimp, Brevo charges by email volume rather than subscriber count, making it significantly cheaper for large contact lists. For most small businesses, the Starter plan at $9/month covers daily email needs.

Is Brevo better than Mailchimp?

For budget-conscious teams with large subscriber lists, Brevo is often better than Mailchimp. Brevo charges based on emails sent (not contacts stored), so a list of 10,000 contacts costs $9/month on Brevo vs $100+/month on Mailchimp. Brevo also includes SMS marketing and WhatsApp campaigns in its platform. Mailchimp wins on template variety, integrations ecosystem, and brand recognition. Choose Brevo for affordability and multichannel marketing; choose Mailchimp for the largest template library and ecosystem.