HOVSOL Technologies

Digital Marketing

11 Best Free Email Marketing Platforms to Grow Your Business in 2025 

Published by HOVSOL Technologies | December 16, 2024

Emails still remain one of the top marketing channels for reaching your audience directly, without any distractions like on social media. Email marketing platforms help you launch your campaigns, manage contacts and track performance easily. 

Having said that, email marketing platforms can be pricier and you may want to try the free plans before buying a paid plan. Or, maybe your business is still in the initial phase and a well-rounded free email marketing platform is all you need at this moment. 

That brings us to today’s topic—the best free email marketing platforms you can use without breaking your bank. 

To be honest, there are so many free email services out there, that we had to do stringent filtering to make this list. We tested the services based on various criteria like cost, deliverability, ease of use, analytics, automation, CRM integration, security, additional features, and support. 

So here’s the first entry in this list: 

1. Sender – Best Email Marketing Service with a Generous Free Plan

Sender is a standout email marketing platform with an impressive free plan. Its free plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails. Plus, it comes with automation features and free templates. 

Sender is designed with simplicity in mind. It’s intuitive and feels just perfect for those who prefer ease of use. 

The platform stands out for its clutter-free features and advanced automation options at affordable paid plans. In our opinion, Sender is an appealing option for small businesses and startups.

Best Features

  • Free plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month
  • Advanced automation options like abandoned carts and welcome sequences
  • Pre-built workflows for welcome emails, thank-you series, and eCommerce-specific campaigns
  • Access to over 60 free email and form templates 
  • Segment audiences based on eCommerce-specific triggers 

Drawbacks

  • Many users complain about deliverability issues and high bounce rate even with verified contacts 

Free Plan Limitations

  • The drag-and-drop editor lacks advanced elements 
  • Lacks A/B testing tools 
  • Limited design sophistication 

Pricing

  • Free Plan: Up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month.
  • Paid Plans: Start at $47.50/month for 10,000 subscribers and 120,000 emails, SMS features, and whitelabeling.

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

Brevo (formerly known as Sendinblue) offers a versatile suite of email marketing tools. It’s ideal if you want to combine marketing, sales, and transactional email services in one platform. 

This free email marketing service offers up to 100,000 contacts and 300 emails daily. Additionally, you can add a one time 2000 contacts in email automation. 

One stand out feature is that Brevo integrates email marketing with SMS campaigns, WhatsApp, and Facebook Ads, making it a convenient platform if you are running text marketing. 

Best Features

  • Personalize SMS and email campaigns 
  • Create automated, goal-driven workflows such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and more
  • Manage contacts, track deals, and organize customer data 
  • Supports email, SMS, WhatsApp, and Facebook Ads 
  • Group contacts for targeted campaigns
  • Craft device-responsive templates with drag-and-drop editor 
  • Send event-trigger based emails like password resets and order confirmations

Drawbacks

  • Plans become costlier as your email list grows 

Free Plan Limitations

  • Strict daily email cap of 300, regardless of monthly allowance
  • Lacks detailed reporting on email openers and clickers
  • Brevo branding is present on emails for free plan users 
  • Limited access to advanced features 

Pricing

  • Free Plan: 300 emails/day with 100,000 contacts 
  • Paid Plans: Start at $9/month for basic functionality, with options for 24/7 email support and advanced analytics 

3. Mailchimp – Best Free Email Marketing Platform for Growing Email Programs

Mailchimp is undoubtedly one of the most popular email marketing platforms with a free plan. It’s ideal for small businesses and start-ups aiming to scale their email marketing strategies. 

What makes mailchimp shine is its clean interface, quirky branding, and a robust suite of integrations. 

However, they recently capped the free plan capabilities to 500 subscribers and 1,000 emails per month (with a daily limit of 500). Despite this change, the free version still comes with reporting, landing pages, and basic templates to get started.

Best Features

  • Use contact tagging to create personalized campaigns 
  • Automatically resizes and adapts email designs based on brand assets
  • Store and manage photos, graphics, and other design elements 
  • Access conversions, social activity, email domain performance stats 
  • Landing page builder
  • Integrates with over 800 third-party apps
  • Experiment with A/B testing 

Drawbacks

  • Costly plans 
  • Users often complain emails going to spam 
  • May lack advanced data security 

Free Plan Limitations

  • No access to automations, advanced segmentation, or A/B testing
  • Email scheduling and time-zone-specific delivery not available
  • Free templates are limited and outdated
  • Mailchimp branding on all free plan emails

Pricing

  • Free Plan: Up to 500 contacts and 1,000 monthly emails (500/day)
  • Paid Plans: Start at $20/month with advanced features like retargeting ads, social post scheduling, and email automations

4. MailerLite – Best for Advanced Users

MailerLite is a highly versatile email marketing tool designed for both beginners and experienced marketers. 

Its “Free Forever” plan includes robust features such as automation, landing pages, and reporting, making it an ideal choice for businesses on a budget. However, its focus remains on simplicity, offering a streamlined, user-friendly experience.

MailerLite’s pre-built content blocks and photo editing features are useful for quickly creating engaging, professional campaigns. While the free plan has some limitations, it remains one of the top free email marketing platforms for creatives, bloggers, and small businesses.

Best Features

  • Pre-Built content blocks and drag-and-drop editor for fast campaigns creation 
  • Use pre-built workflows or design your own templates 
  • Run A/B tests 
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Built-in photo editor
  • Integration with Zapier for automate workflows 
  • Detailed Reporting and Analytics

Drawbacks 

  • Approval process feels a bit overkill 
  • Lacks advanced subscriber management features 
  • Doesn’t have direct migration assistance since it’s a self-serve platform 

Free Plan Limitations

  • No pre-made email templates
  • Basic automation features
  • Lacks spam and design testing capabilities
  • Includes MailerLite branding on emails 

Pricing

  • Free plan: MailerLite’s Free Forever plan offers up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month
  • Paid plan: Paid plans start at $10/month, adding features like promotion pop-ups, delivery by time zone, and unlimited email templates

5. Loops – Best for Automation

Loops is a dedicated email marketing platform built specifically for automation. 

The platform stands true to its name and uses automated workflows (loops) for email marketing tasks. Loops is particularly well-suited for SaaS businesses seeking automation solutions for user engagement, onboarding, and retention.

All of their features are available on the free email marketing plan. 

Best Features

  • Create as many automated workflows (loops) as needed, even on the free plan
  • Includes 17 pre-designed workflows tailored for SaaS use cases
  • Simple and clean user-friendly interface
  • Basic audience segmentation 
  • Supports Zapier integration

Drawbacks

  • Advance A/B testing and segmentation features could enhance user experience

Free Plan Limitations 

  • Restricted design flexibility, only a text editor is available 
  • Offers only plain text email templates
  • Free plan supports up to 1,000 contacts and 2,000 emails per month

Pricing

  • Free Plan: Up to 1,000 contacts and 2,000 email sends per month
  • Paid Plans: Starts from $49 for first 5000 contacts with scalable options available 

6. Benchmark – Best Free Email Marketing Platform for Diverse Teams 

Benchmark is known for its user-friendly email marketing platform, ideal for small businesses and teams with varying levels of expertise. 

It’s clean, minimalist and comes with intuitive tools that are perfect for creating polished and professional campaigns even if you don’t’ have advanced design skills. 

While the free plan offers essential features like automation, forms, and surveys, its email-sending capacity is limited. 

Best Features

  • Easy-to-use drag and drop editor 
  • Modern, mobile-friendly templates
  • Create interactive surveys and polls
  • Basic drip campaigns and list management tools 
  • Monitor real-time campaign performance 
  • Connects with over 1,500 thread party apps

Drawbacks 

  • Upgrades cost higher than similar tools 

Free Plan Limitations

  • Free plan supports only up to 500 subscribers
  • Send up to 250 emails per month
  • Access to only basic automation tools
  • Only 10MB of storage 
  • Limited options for sign-up forms and email designs

Pricing

  • Free Plan: Up to 500 subscribers and 250 emails/month
  • Paid Plans: Start at $10.50/month, offering advanced automation, A/B testing, and unlimited email sends

7. EmailOctopus – Best Free Email Marketing App with Affordable Upgrades

EmailOctopus is straightforward, and designed for budget-conscious marketers, small businesses, and nonprofits organizations. 

It’s known for simplicity and affordability. The free plan is one of the most generous ones that supports up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 monthly emails. 

While its features are a bit basic compared to other tools, it covers essential functions like email list management, basic automation, and audience segmentation.

On a side note, EmailOctopus began as part of Amazon SES and retains the option to leverage AWS infrastructure for sending emails, making it a cost saving option if you already use the service.

Best Features

  • Supports 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 monthly emails
  • Simple tools for adding fields, importing, and exporting lists
  • User-friendly drag-and-drop email editor 
  • Allows up to three workflows on the free plan
  • Includes a variety of pre-built templates 
  • Zapier integration available 

Drawbacks 

  • Limited automation features 
  • No AB testing option, users need to send separate emails 

Free Plan Limitations

  • Email performance metrics are stored for only 30 days
  • Offers only three workflow automations with limited customization 
  • Drag-and-drop editor can feel clunky at times 

Pricing

  • Free Plan: 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails/month
  • Paid Plans: Start at $9/month for 500 subscribers, with scalable option as your contact and email list grows 

8. HubSpot – Best Free Email Marketing Tool with CRM Integration

HubSpot is more than just an email marketing platform. It’s an all-in-one tool ecosystem with email marketing, CRM, landing pages, social media management, and analytics. 

With a generous free plan that supports 1 million contacts and up to 2,000 emails per month, HubSpot is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. The platform’s especially useful for teams dealing with marketing and sales operations. 

While the free tier has somewhat limited features for email design and automation, the robust CRM capabilities and tools are well enough to jumpstart your marketing funnel.

Best Features

  • Store and manage up to 1 million contacts in HubSpot’s CRM for free 
  • A user-friendly drag-and-drop email builder
  • Create sign-up forms and landing pages to boost lead generation
  • Manage and track Facebook, Instagram, Google, and LinkedIn ad campaigns 
  • Gain insights into email performance 
  • Insert personalized contact details into emails and landing pages 

Drawbacks

  • One of the most expensive platforms with only annual contracts accepted 

Free Plan Limitations

  • Up to 2,000 emails per month with a daily cap of 300
  • Limited to one newsletter or promotion template, no options to upload or code custom designs
  • Automations and advanced features like A/B testing are locked behind the paid plans
  • All free plan emails include HubSpot’s logo 

Pricing

  • Free Plan: 2,000 emails per month for up to 1 million contacts
  • Paid Plans: Starts at $45/month for 1,000 contacts

9. Zoho Campaigns – A Swiss Army Knife for Email Marketing

Zoho Campaigns stands out as part of the company’s extensive suite of marketing and sales tools. Its cohesive ecosystem for businesses makes it a viable option for small businesses looking to start email marketing. 

Zoho’s free plan offers up to 2,000 subscribers and 6,000 emails per month and comes with many other features. With modern templates, user-friendly editor, and basic CRM integration, it’s an excellent platform for managing email campaigns. 

In our opinion, Zoho Campaigns is best suited for small businesses or entrepreneurs who are already using Zoho products. 

Best Features

  • Offers a broad range of well-designed email and form templates 
  • User-friendly editor, includes columns, videos, polls, and direct access to Unsplash images
  • Audience segmentation options
  • Syncs with Zoho’s CRM
  • Provides essential campaign performance metrics 

Drawbacks

  • Initial setup may take some time
  • User often complain about bugs and errors 

Free Plan Limitations

  • Limited to 6,000 emails per month for up to 2,000 subscribers
  • Email automation is locked behind paid plan
  • Free plan doesn’t include A/B testing 
  • You can’t schedule emails for later on the free plan
  • Lacks a drag-and-drop interface

Pricing

  • Free Plan: 6,000 emails/month for 2,000 subscribers
  • Paid Plans: Starts from $5/month 

10. SendPulse – The Multichannel Messaging Platform

SendPulse is another versatile marketing platform that goes beyond email. It consists of a multichannel communication tool such as web push notifications, SMS, Viber, and transactional emails via SMTP

Its free plan stands out with a generous 15,000 emails per month and up to 500 subscribers. 

SendPulse suits businesses looking to integrate multiple messaging channels into their marketing strategies.

Best Features

  • Includes email, SMS, Viber, and transactional emails 
  • A unique feature is their web push notifications 
  • Advanced features like click heat maps and location-based open tracking 
  • Manage customer relationships and track interactions
  • Autoresponders and A/B testing tools 
  • Create landing pages and websites directly within the platform
  • Resend to non-openers

Drawbacks

  • Known to be slow and occasionally buggy

Free Plan Limitations

  • Limited to 500 subscribers
  • Automation setups can feel cumbersome 

Pricing

  • Free Plan: 15,000 emails/month for 500 subscribers
  • Paid Plans: Standard plan starts at $8/month 

11. Mailjet – Free Email Marketing Platform with High-Capacity 

Mailjet was originally designed for transactional emails, but it has evolved into a full-fledged email marketing platform. Platform offers all standard features like drag-and-drop editing, collaborative tools, and basic automation. 

The free plan supports unlimited contacts and a generous 6,000 emails per month, with a daily cap of 200 emails. Plus, you can enjoy the premium features like automation, segmentation, and A/B testing for 30 days as trial. 

Best Features

  • Add unlimited subscribers and send 6,000 emails per month 
  • Intuitive drag-and-Drop email builder
  • Teams can co-create and edit emails in real time
  • Facilitates high-speed, reliable email delivery through SMTP relay service 
  • Basic email performance analytics and reporting

Drawback 

  • User often complain about billing process and lack of robust customer support 

Free Plan Limitations

  • Restricted to 200 emails per day
  • Automation, segmentation, and A/B testing are available during a 30-day trial
  • Free plan users do not get online customer support

Pricing

  • Free Plan: 6,000 emails/month for unlimited subscribers (200/day limit)
  • Paid Plans: Starts at $17/month 

What about Free eCommerce Email Marketing Tools? 

Platforms like Mailchimp and Sender offer handy features for eCommerce email marketing, such as online store integrations and audience segmentation. If you’re looking for tools built specifically for eCommerce, Klaviyo and Omnisend are standout options. 

However, free plans significantly limit subscriber count and email sends.

Key Criteria We Checked in Above Free Email Marketing Tools

Subscriber and Send Limits

The best free plans should offer enough contact addition and email sending capacity to satisfy a business’ needs. Some platforms limit free users significantly, while others allow you to scale up to a certain level. 

Templates and Customization

In today’s era, professional email templates are crucial for engaging audiences. 

Free email marketing services should provide modern, pre-built templates as well as template editors for creating emails that fit the audience.

Segmentation and Automation

We believe platforms should include segmentation and automation features, even in their free tier as these are valuable features for businesses.

Scalability

Platforms should come with flexible upgrades to facilitate your business growth. 

Comprehensive Email Features

The best free platforms should cover the essential email marketing needs such as building landing pages, providence emails performance  insights, or allow eCommerce integration.

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Free Email Marketing Platform

  1. Are email templates included? Do they meet your design needs?
  2. Does the free plan offer customizable landing pages?
  3. Can you segment your audience? 
  4. Does it support email automation?
  5. Do reporting tools offer sufficient performance tracking?
  6. Does the free plan include platform branding, and is it intrusive?
  7. Does it support integrations with tools or platforms you already use, especially for eCommerce?
  8. What level of customer support is available for free accounts?
  9. Does the platform provide enough contact and email sending capacity?
  10. Do paid plans fit into your budget for upgrading from the free plan?

Email Marketing Services FAQ

Can I Start Email Marketing for Free?

Yes! You can choose a free plan from any of the above listed platforms to start your email marketing campaigns at zero cost. Just make sure that the free plans and the platform’s features satisfy your campaign needs. 

What Makes a Good Free Email Marketing Software?

The ideal free email marketing platform combines essential features with scalability. Look for email marketing platforms that offer:

  • Customizable email templates
  • Segmentation and automation capabilities
  • Generous subscriber and email send limits
  • Scalability for when you outgrow the free plan

Why Use Email Marketing Software?

Email still remains one of the most effective marketing channels with unparalleled ROI. Today, almost everyone who uses a digital device, uses emails, making it a universal tool for communication. An email marketing software streamlines campaign creation, automates workflows, and lets you check email performance results.

What Limitations Do Free Email Marketing Services Have?

As you can guess, free email marketing services plans come with their own set of restrictions, such as: 

  • Lack of advanced features like automations or A/B testing
  • Platform branding in emails
  • Limited analytics and reporting
  • No access to priority customer support

What is the Best Free Email Marketing Tool?

It depends on your campaign goals. However, some of the best email free marketing platforms are: 

  • Sender 
  • MailerLite 
  • EmailOctopus 
  • Zoho Campaigns 
  • Hubspot 

Which Email Marketing Software is Best for eCommerce?

Platforms like Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, and Omnisend are designed specifically for eCommerce. They integrate with eCommerce web builders like Shopify and WooCommerce and come with advanced features such as abandoned cart recovery, product recommendations, and revenue tracking. 

How Much Does an Email Marketing Software Typically Cost?

Pricing depends on the platform you choose to use, features you wish to use, contact list size and number of emails you will be sending per month. On average, popular email marketing platforms cost $5–$10 per month per 1,000 contacts. Scaled plans for larger businesses may cost $50+ monthly. It’s best to evaluate the platform’s features with a free plan to determine if the upgrades would align with your growth.

How Can I Send Unlimited Emails for Free?

There are no platforms that offer truly unlimited free emails. However, Mailjet offers unlimited subscriber addition and Moosend offers unlimited emails for up to 1,000 subscribers during its free trial.

What Features Do I Need to Get Started?

To begin an effective email marketing, look for: 

  • A template library for quick email creation
  • Customization options to tailor content
  • Audience segmentation 
  • A/B testing for campaigns
  • Subscription forms 

If you’re a small business owner or a start up in the beginning phase, a free email marketing tool makes the most sense as it saves costs while delivering results. A free plan helps you gauge the platform’s capabilities before you buy their paid plans, saving you from bad budget spending. 

We hope you will find a good fit for your campaigns from the free email marketing services we have discussed above. 

We are always on the look to find the best, budget friendly internet tools for businesses and marketers. Go ahead and check out our other tool review articles. 

If you think this blog helped you find the right email marketing platform, share it with your friends, family and kinsmen. That’d be the greatest compliment for us!