Best Free Email Marketing Services

Email marketing is a powerful tool for connecting with customers and driving growth. One of its standout features is that you own the channel—unlike social media or other platforms, where the rules can change overnight. The best part? You don’t have to break the bank to get started. There are plenty of free email marketing tools that come loaded with features to help you launch and scale your campaigns.

I tested over 60 email marketing apps with free plans to find the top options for different needs and business types. Here are the seven best free email marketing services available today.

The Best Free Email Marketing Apps

• MailerLite: Best for advanced email marketers
• Brevo: Best for all-in-one marketing and sales
• Mailchimp: Best for growing email marketing programs
• Sender: Best for the most generous free plan
• Loops: Best for email marketing automation
• Benchmark: Best for teams with diverse skills
• EmailOctopus: Best for affordable upgrades

What Makes a Great Free Email Marketing Service?

When testing these apps, I focused on a few key criteria:

1. Generous Free Limits: How many subscribers and emails are included in the free plan? Some services offer thousands of sends per month, while others have more restrictive limits.

2. Email Templates and Customization: Pre-built templates help you start quickly. If templates aren’t available, the email editor should be user-friendly.

3. Automation and Segmentation: Effective email campaigns rely on sending the right message to the right audience at the right time. Automation and segmentation are crucial for this, so I favored tools that offer these features.

4. Scalability: As your business grows, your email marketing needs will evolve. I looked for services that offer smooth transitions from free to paid plans, with more features and higher limits.

5. Full Marketing Features: I prioritized apps that support a range of email marketing needs, from newsletters to transactional emails, rather than tools focused solely on one type of email.

The Best Free Email Marketing Platforms at a Glance

1. MailerLite: Best for Advanced Email Marketers

Pros:

• Dynamic pre-built content blocks
• Robust automation and segmentation
• Affordable upgrade options

Cons:

• No pre-made templates on the free plan
• Can't send emails from a Gmail address

MailerLite doesn’t offer pre-made templates in its free plan, but its dynamic content blocks make email creation fast and efficient. You can easily add interactive elements like product details, countdown timers, and RSS feeds. Plus, the free plan includes automation workflows and audience segmentation, making it a strong choice for experienced marketers.

Free Plan: Up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month.

2. Brevo: Best for All-in-One Marketing and Sales

Pros:

• Pre-built automation workflows
• Broad feature set, including CRM
• Great for multi-channel marketing

Cons:

• Strict 300 emails/day limit

Brevo, formerly known as Sendinblue, offers a comprehensive marketing platform with email, SMS, and WhatsApp campaigns, plus a full-featured CRM. It's ideal for businesses that want an all-in-one solution to manage both sales and marketing. The automation features are goal-oriented, making it easy to create effective workflows.

Free Plan: Up to 300 emails per day and 100,000 contacts.

3. Mailchimp: Best for Growing Email Marketing Programs

Pros:

• User-friendly interface
• Advanced features like A/B testing and customer journey mapping
• Scalable pricing as your business grows

Cons:

• Limited free plan compared to other options
• No automation on the free plan

Mailchimp is a household name in email marketing, and it’s an excellent choice for those looking to scale their email marketing efforts. The app offers features like list segmentation, retargeting ads, and detailed reporting. While the free plan is more limited than some, Mailchimp is ideal for businesses planning to grow quickly.

Free Plan: Up to 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month.

4. Sender: Best for the Most Generous Free Plan

Pros:

• Very generous free limits
• Includes segmentation and automation
• Reasonable upgrade costs

Cons:

• Clunky drag-and-drop editor

Sender offers one of the most generous free plans available, making it perfect for businesses that need more room to grow before upgrading. The platform includes automation workflows, audience segmentation, and over 60 email templates. While the editor isn’t as smooth as some, the sheer value of the free plan makes up for it.

Free Plan: Up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month.

5. Loops: Best for Email Marketing Automation

Pros:

• Unlimited automation workflows
• Simple, clean user interface

Cons:

• Only rich text and plain text templates

Loops is designed for automation. It comes with 17 pre-built workflows and allows for unlimited automations, even on the free plan. The platform is ideal for SaaS companies looking to streamline onboarding, retention, and engagement processes. However, it only offers basic email templates.

Free Plan: Up to 1,000 contacts and 2,000 email sends per month.

6. Benchmark: Best for Teams with Diverse Skills

Pros:

• Flexible email editors (drag-and-drop, plain text, and code)
• Scalable features

Cons:

• Low subscriber limit on the free plan

Benchmark is a well-rounded platform that provides flexibility with multiple email editors. It’s great for teams with varied technical skills, from coders to marketers who prefer drag-and-drop. The free plan includes email automation and segmentation, but with a lower subscriber limit.

Free Plan: Up to 500 subscribers and 3,500 emails per month.

7. EmailOctopus: Best for Affordable Upgrades

Pros:

• Generous free plan
• Very affordable upgrade options

Cons:

• Basic automation features
• Clunky drag-and-drop editor

EmailOctopus offers a generous free plan with 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month. It’s ideal for businesses looking to scale affordably, with low-cost upgrades. While the automation features are basic, they’re enough for small businesses to get started.

Free Plan: Up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month.

Get Started with Free Email Marketing Tools

Choosing the right email marketing platform depends on your specific needs, but any of the options listed above will give you a solid foundation to build your campaigns—without costing you a dime. Whether you're just starting out or scaling quickly, there's a free email marketing service that can help you reach your goals.