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Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) charges by emails sent, not contacts stored. Unlimited contacts on every plan — including Free. Mailchimp charges by contact count and bills you for unsubscribed contacts. At 10,000 contacts, Brevo costs $25/month. Mailchimp costs $135/month. We broke down Brevo’s pricing model, its limitations, and when unlimited contacts actually saves you money.
All pricing verified March 2026 from brevo.com.
Every Brevo Plan
| Plan | Price | Emails/month | Contacts | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 300/day | Unlimited | Testing, tiny lists |
| Starter | $9/mo | 5,000 | Unlimited | Small senders |
| Business | $18/mo | 5,000 | Unlimited | Marketing automation |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | Unlimited | Large organizations |
The pricing scales with email volume, not contact count. Need more emails? Buy a higher volume tier:
| Monthly emails | Starter | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $9 | $18 |
| 10,000 | $16 | $25 |
| 20,000 | $25 | $35 |
| 40,000 | $35 | $49 |
| 60,000 | $49 | $69 |
| 100,000 | $69 | $99 |
$25 vs $135 /month
Brevo Business (20K emails): $35/month — unlimited contacts
Mailchimp Standard (10K contacts): $135/month — pays per contact
Brevo saves $100/month = $1,200/year at the same list size.
The bigger your list, the more Brevo saves.
The Unlimited Contacts Advantage
This is Brevo’s killer feature. Most email tools charge per contact:
- Mailchimp: $135/month at 10,000 contacts
- ActiveCampaign: $159/month at 10,000 contacts
- Kit (ConvertKit): $119/month at 10,000 contacts
- Brevo: $25/month with unlimited contacts
If you have a large list but send infrequently (monthly newsletter to 50,000 people), Brevo is dramatically cheaper than any per-contact tool. You store 50,000 contacts for free and only pay for the emails you send.
What Each Plan Includes
Free: 300 Emails/Day
Unlimited contacts, drag-and-drop editor, transactional emails, SMS marketing, WhatsApp campaigns. 300 emails/day = ~9,000/month. Brevo branding on emails.
The most generous free email plan available. Mailchimp Free: 250 contacts, 500 emails/month. Brevo Free: unlimited contacts, 9,000 emails/month.
Starter ($9/mo): Remove Branding
Removes Brevo logo, adds basic analytics and A/B testing. No automations, no landing pages. Good for newsletters only.
Business ($18/mo): Full Marketing
Marketing automation, landing pages, A/B testing, send time optimization, advanced analytics, Facebook ads integration. Multi-user access. This is the plan most businesses need.
Where Brevo Wins
- Pricing model — pay per email, not per contact. Large lists with low send frequency save 60-80% vs per-contact tools.
- Free plan — unlimited contacts + 9,000 emails/month. The best free email plan in the market.
- Built-in CRM — free CRM with deal pipeline included. Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign charge extra for CRM.
- SMS + WhatsApp — multi-channel messaging from one platform. Send SMS campaigns alongside email without a separate tool.
- Transactional emails — order confirmations, password resets, shipping notifications included. Most email marketing tools charge separately for transactional emails.
Where Brevo Falls Short
- Automation depth — Business plan automations work but aren’t as sophisticated as ActiveCampaign. Branching logic is basic. No split-testing entire automations.
- Templates — fewer and less polished than Mailchimp. The email builder works but designs need more manual refinement.
- Deliverability — historically slightly lower than Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign in independent tests. Improving but not best-in-class.
- Daily sending limit on Free — 300/day, not 9,000 at once. You can’t blast your entire list in one send on Free.
Brevo vs Alternatives
| Tool | 10,000 contacts cost | Pricing model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | $25-35/mo | Per email | Large lists, low frequency |
| MailerLite | $79/mo | Per contact | Simple + affordable |
| Mailchimp | $135/mo | Per contact | Templates + ease of use |
| ActiveCampaign | $159/mo | Per contact | Advanced automations |
Who Should Pick What
Large list, low send frequency: Brevo Business. 50,000 contacts with monthly newsletter = $35/month. Mailchimp would charge $350+/month for the same list.
Budget under $30/month: Brevo Starter or Business. Cheapest option at every list size above 2,500 contacts.
Need email + CRM + SMS in one tool: Brevo Business. Free CRM, SMS campaigns, and WhatsApp included. No other tool at this price bundles all three.
Need best automations: ActiveCampaign instead. Brevo’s automations are functional but not deep enough for complex multi-step sequences.
Need best templates and ease of use: Mailchimp instead. Brevo’s editor works but Mailchimp’s templates look better with less effort.
$0 budget: Brevo Free. Unlimited contacts + 300 emails/day. Best free email plan available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brevo really unlimited contacts?
Yes. Store 100,000 contacts for free. You only pay when you send emails to them. The per-email pricing model means your list size never triggers a price increase.
Is Brevo better than Mailchimp?
For price: yes, dramatically cheaper at scale. For ease of use and templates: Mailchimp is better. For automations: both are mid-tier. The choice depends on whether you prioritize cost savings or design polish.
What happened to Sendinblue?
Sendinblue rebranded to Brevo in 2023. Same company, same product, new name. All features and pricing structures carried over.
All pricing verified March 2026 from brevo.com.
