Free plans: where each one stops
Last updated 2026-09-25 · By Smart Pick Desk editors · How we check
Almost every email platform has a free plan, and almost every free plan has two ceilings: how many people you can keep, and how many emails you can send. These guides show where each one stops, in the company's own words, so you can tell which ceiling you will reach first.
The short table below quotes each free plan's two ceilings. The guides that follow explain what they mean in practice.
Guides in this section
-
What “free” actually means on 8 email platforms
Eight free plans, the two ceilings each one sets, and the arithmetic that tells you which one you reach first. Facts read 2026-09-20 and 2026-09-21.
Eight free plans side by side, with the arithmetic that turns two ceilings into one answer: how many times a month you can email everyone on your list.
-
Mailchimp alternatives with a free plan: where each one stops, checked on the pricing pages
Seven other free plans next to Mailchimp's, on contacts, monthly emails, automations and branding. Facts read 2026-09-20, 2026-09-21 and 2026-09-25.
On Mailchimp's free plan and outgrowing it? Where seven other free plans stop, sorted by whether you need a bigger list or free automations.
-
How to start an email list for free without a website
A hosted sign-up page on a free plan, the address you share, delivering a freebie, and the CAN-SPAM basics. Facts read 2026-09-25.
No website yet? Which free plans host a sign-up page for you, and the one legal line to add before your first email.
-
Kit vs MailerLite: where the free plans actually stop
The free plan limits, the automation line that decides most of it, and what each one costs at 500 to 10,000 subscribers. Facts read 2026-09-20.
The largest and one of the smallest free plans of the three, and why the smaller one can still be the right start.
-
Kit vs beehiiv: the point where the cheaper one changes
Two generous free plans built for different things, and the list size where the lower-priced paid plan swaps over. Facts read 2026-09-20.
Two large free plans built for different jobs: a list you collect, and a publication with its own website.
-
Systeme.io pricing, checked: what the free plan includes and when you start paying
Four plans, what the free plan includes, and three rules that are in the terms rather than on the pricing page. Facts read 2026-09-23.
A free plan that also covers sales funnels and a course, and what its terms say happens when you go over a limit on a paid plan.
The two ceilings, quoted
| Free plan | People | Sending |
|---|---|---|
| Kit | “Free—up to 10,000 subscribers” | “Unlimited email broadcasts” |
| MailerLite | “Up to 250 subscribers” | “2,500 monthly emails” |
| beehiiv | “Up to 2,500 subscribers” | “Unlimited Email Sends” |
| Sender | “Up to 2 500 subscribers” | “Up to 15 000 emails/month” |
| EmailOctopus | “2,500 subscribers” | “10,000 emails per month” |
| Omnisend | “250 contacts” | “500 monthly emails” |
| Loops | “The free plan includes unlimited contacts and up to 4,000 total emails to your 1,000 newest contacts” | “Up to 4,000 sends in any rolling 30 days” |
| Mailchimp | “Under 250 contacts? It's free.” | not printed on the pricing page |
Quoted from each company's pricing page: Kit, MailerLite and beehiiv were read on 2026-09-20; the others on 2026-09-21. Brevo is not listed because its free plan card did not show its limits when we read the page. Details and sources are in the eight-plan guide.