Email platform cost calculator
Mailchimp, Klaviyo and Brevo do not price the same way, so comparing their headline plans is misleading. Mailchimp and Klaviyo bill by how many contacts you store; Brevo bills by how many emails you send. Enter your list size and monthly volume and this shows which model is cheapest for your ratio, with every rate editable. The math runs in your browser, nothing is stored.
Cheapest at your contacts-to-sends ratio
Brevo~$32/mo
A send-based platform wins here: you have more contacts than you mail heavily.
Estimated monthly cost by platform
- Brevo (by emails sent)~$32/mo
- Mailchimp (by contacts)~$100/mo
- Klaviyo (by contacts)~$150/mo
This is a simple linear estimate. Real plans are tiered step functions, so treat these as a planning baseline, not a quote. Default rates are anchored to verified June 2026 reference points (Mailchimp Standard ~$100/mo and Klaviyo email ~$150/mo at 10k contacts; Brevo ~15 EUR per 20k sends) and are all editable, so put your own current tier in. The point is the axis: contacts versus sends decides who wins.
Two pricing axes, not one
The reason a like-for-like comparison is hard is that the platforms charge on different things. Mailchimp and Klaviyo price by contact count, so your bill climbs as your list grows whether or not you email those people. Brevo prices by emails sent, with unlimited contacts, so a large dormant list costs nothing extra until you mail it. That single difference is what flips the cheapest choice from one business to another.
Which one wins for you
The deciding number is your contacts-to-sends ratio. If you have a big list you mail occasionally, a send-based platform like Brevo is usually far cheaper, because you are not paying to store people you rarely contact. If you mail a smaller list heavily, with lots of automated flows hitting every contact, contact-based pricing can come out ahead and the per-contact features often suit that style. The calculator makes the crossover concrete instead of leaving it to a feature grid.
Honest limits
Real plans are tiered step functions, not the smooth linear rates used here, so this is a planning estimate to frame the decision, not a quote. The default rates are anchored to verified June 2026 reference points and are all editable, so the accurate move is to drop in your own current tier from each provider before you choose. Deliverability, automation depth and SMS pricing matter too, and are not modelled here.
Who this is for
Ecommerce and B2B teams choosing or switching an email platform, and anyone whose bill jumped after their list grew and wants to see whether a different pricing model would be cheaper. If you would rather watch a provider's pricing page than re-check it by hand, the Mue Watch Business service emails you the moment it changes.
Email platform pricing moves. Get told when it does.
Plans and tiers change, and that quietly changes which platform is cheapest for you. Watch a provider's pricing page and we will email you the moment it changes, with a one-line note on what moved. One confirmation link, nothing else until you click it.
Email platform cost questions, answered
Is Mailchimp, Klaviyo or Brevo cheapest?
It depends on your contacts-to-sends ratio. Mailchimp and Klaviyo bill by contact count; Brevo bills by emails sent. A big list you mail rarely favours send-based pricing; a small list you mail often favours contact-based.
Should I choose an email platform by contacts or by sends?
By whichever axis matches your ratio. Enter your list size and monthly send volume and the calculator shows which billing model, and which provider, is cheapest for you.
Related reading: which of the three is cheapest for your ratio, and where your email-marketing bill actually goes.
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