Bottom line: Brevo's free plan sends 300 emails/day forever with unlimited contacts. Paid plans start at $9/mo (Starter, 5,000 emails) and $18/mo (Business, 5,000 emails + automation). Because billing is tied to emails sent — not contacts stored — Brevo stays cheap as your list grows.
1. Plans Overview
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) has 4 plans: Free, Starter, Business, and Enterprise. Unlike Mailchimp, all plans store unlimited contacts — you pay for how many emails you send per month, not how many people you store.
- Free: 300 emails/day (~9,000/mo), unlimited contacts, basic sending, Brevo logo in emails
- Starter ($9+): No daily limit, volume-based pricing, no branding
- Business ($18+): Automation workflows, A/B testing, landing pages, marketing CRM
- Enterprise (custom): Dedicated IP, SSO, sub-accounts, volume discounts
2. Full Pricing Table
| Emails / Month | Starter | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $9/mo | $18/mo |
| 20,000 | $18/mo | $29/mo |
| 40,000 | $29/mo | $45/mo |
| 100,000 | $65/mo | $80/mo |
| 300,000 | $175+/mo | $200+/mo |
Prices are monthly-billing list prices (2026); annual billing typically saves ~10%. Contacts are unlimited on every paid tier — the only thing that scales your bill is sending volume.
3. Free vs Paid: When to Upgrade
The free plan sends 300 emails/day — plenty for a newsletter sent once or twice a month to a few thousand subscribers. Upgrade when you hit one of these:
- Daily limit becomes a blocker: sending 300+ emails in a day on a regular basis
- You need automation: welcome sequences, abandoned carts, drip campaigns → Business plan
- You want A/B testing and landing pages: Business plan only
- You don't want the Brevo logo in your emails (remove via $9/mo add-on on Starter)
Realistic path: start Free → move to Starter ($9) when volume grows → add Business ($18) the day you build your first automation.
4. Hidden Costs & Add-Ons
- Remove branding: $9/mo add-on on the Starter plan (Business includes it)
- SMS credits: priced per message by country (~$0.01–$0.05) — a separate purchase, not included
- Sales add-ons: Sales Essentials $31/mo, Sales Advanced $64/mo (CRM seats on top of marketing)
- Extra contacts feature: paid plans cap contacts per campaign (Starter 1K, Business 10K) — marketing to a bigger list than the cap means splitting sends
- Prepaid email credits: alternative to monthly plans, from 5,000 credits — convenient for burst sending but watch per-email rates
5. Brevo vs Mailchimp: The Price Gap
Mailchimp bills by contact count; Brevo bills by volume. Here's the same business — 5,000 subscribers, 5,000 emails/month — on both platforms:
| Scenario | Brevo Business | Mailchimp Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 contacts, 5K emails/mo | $18/mo | $100/mo |
| 10,000 contacts, 10K emails/mo | $18–29/mo | $135/mo |
| 25,000 contacts, 25K emails/mo | $29/mo | $310/mo |
→ Save $984/year at 5K contacts. The gap widens as your list grows because Mailchimp's contact tiers scale steeply while Brevo's volume tiers stay flat. Full Mailchimp vs Brevo comparison →
6. FAQ
Is Brevo really free?
Yes — the free plan sends 300 emails/day with unlimited contacts, no credit card required. You get Brevo branding on emails and no automation, but for a small newsletter it's genuinely workable.
Does Brevo charge per contact like Mailchimp?
No. Brevo charges by emails sent per month and stores unlimited contacts on paid plans. This is the single biggest reason Brevo is cheaper for growing lists.
Which Brevo plan do I need for automation?
Business ($18/mo for 5,000 emails) — automations, A/B testing, and landing pages are Business features. Starter is for plain sending.
What happens if I exceed my monthly email allowance?
You can't — sending stops at your plan limit unless you add prepaid credits or upgrade. Monitor usage in the dashboard to avoid a hard stop mid-campaign.
Is Brevo good for a business with 100K+ contacts?
Yes, if you send to segments rather than everyone at once — per-campaign caps (10K on Business) mean you'll split large sends or go Enterprise for dedicated capacity.