Research report · Published 2026-04-24
2026 Q2 Email Marketing Pricing Report
An independent benchmark of 4 major email marketing platforms — Kit (formerly ConvertKit), Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Beehiiv — normalized at four subscriber-volume tiers. Every data point was verified against each vendor's public pricing page in April 2026. Volume-based pricing is the rule in this category, so comparing flat tier names is meaningless — we convert to cost-per-volume.
Across 4 email marketing platforms benchmarked Q2 2026, monthly pricing at 10,000 subscribers ranged from ~$49/mo (Beehiiv Scale) to ~$130/mo (Klaviyo Email at 10K). All 4 vendors offer free tiers capped at 250–2,500 contacts. Annual commitment typically saves 10–20% at Kit and Beehiiv; Klaviyo and Mailchimp do not discount annually in 2026.
All published tiers — per vendor
| Vendor | Tier | Monthly price | Contract | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beehiiv | Launch (Free, 2.5k subs) | Free/mo | monthly or annual | web |
| Scale | $49/mo | |||
| Scale annual | $43/mo | |||
| Max | $109/mo | |||
| Max annual | $96/mo | |||
| Enterprise (100k+ subs) | Custom | |||
| Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | Newsletter (Free) | Free/mo | monthly or annual | web |
| Creator (1k subs) | $39/mo | |||
| Creator annual (1k subs) | $33/mo | |||
| Pro (1k subs) | $79/mo | |||
| Creator 25k subs | $199/mo | |||
| Pro 25k subs | $279/mo | |||
| Klaviyo | Free | Free/mo | monthly | web, shopify, magento, bigcommerce |
| Email (501 profiles) | $20/mo | |||
| Email + SMS | $35/mo | |||
| Email @10k contacts | $130/mo | |||
| Email @25k contacts | $400/mo | |||
| Email @50k contacts | $720/mo | |||
| Mailchimp | Free (250 contacts) | Free/mo | monthly | web, mobile |
| Essentials (500 contacts) | $13/mo | |||
| Standard (500 contacts) | $20/mo | |||
| Premium (10k contacts min) | $350/mo |
All figures reflect publicly-listed pricing as of April 2026. Klaviyo's per-profile model means the exact price depends on your contact count — the tiers above are representative volume breakpoints.
Beehiiv wins headline pricing at 10K+ subscribers — $49/mo Scale covers most content-newsletter use cases at this volume. Kit (ConvertKit) is the choice when you need deep automation + creator-commerce (courses/products) at a paid-subscription-list scale. Klaviyo remains the default for Shopify ecommerce above $50K/mo revenue despite its higher per-volume cost because flow depth + Shopify integration tips TCO in its favor. Mailchimp's niche in 2026 has shrunk to small-biz/non-ecom.
Per-vendor pricing detail
Beehiiv
www.beehiiv.comNewsletter-first platform built for growth. Free Launch plan (2,500 subs, unlimited sends). Scale $49/mo ($43 annual). Max $109/mo ($96 annual). Enterprise at 100k+.
- Launch (Free, 2.5k subs): Free/mo
- Scale: $49/mo
- Scale annual: $43/mo
- Max: $109/mo
- Max annual: $96/mo
- Enterprise (100k+ subs): Custom
- Contract: monthly or annual
- Platforms: web
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
kit.comCreator-focused email platform. Free Newsletter plan up to 10,000 subscribers. Creator $39/mo, Pro $79/mo (1k subscribers). 50% recurring affiliate (first 12 months) — highest verified rate in 2026.
- Newsletter (Free): Free/mo
- Creator (1k subs): $39/mo
- Creator annual (1k subs): $33/mo
- Pro (1k subs): $79/mo
- Creator 25k subs: $199/mo
- Pro 25k subs: $279/mo
- Contract: monthly or annual
- Platforms: web
Klaviyo
www.klaviyo.comEcommerce-focused email + SMS + push. Free up to 250 profiles. Email $20/mo (500 profiles). Email+SMS $35/mo. Scales to $720/mo at 50k contacts. Dominant on Shopify.
- Free: Free/mo
- Email (501 profiles): $20/mo
- Email + SMS: $35/mo
- Email @10k contacts: $130/mo
- Email @25k contacts: $400/mo
- Email @50k contacts: $720/mo
- Contract: monthly
- Platforms: web, shopify, magento, bigcommerce
Mailchimp
mailchimp.comThe classic mass-market email platform. Free 250 contacts. Essentials $13/mo. Standard $20/mo. Premium $350/mo (200k contacts). Bills on unsubs + duplicates.
- Free (250 contacts): Free/mo
- Essentials (500 contacts): $13/mo
- Standard (500 contacts): $20/mo
- Premium (10k contacts min): $350/mo
- Contract: monthly
- Platforms: web, mobile
Methodology
Data collection window: April 15–24, 2026. Every tier price was pulled directly from each vendor's public pricing page or in-dashboard plan selector. Email marketing platforms price on subscriber volume, send volume, or both — this report captures published volume breakpoints and notes where custom tiers take over.
What's included: monthly cost per tier, contract length options (month-to-month vs annual), and platform compatibility (Shopify, WordPress, custom API). For volume-based vendors like Klaviyo, we capture the representative breakpoints (1K / 10K / 25K / 50K profiles).
What's excluded: transactional email pricing (handled separately by most vendors), SMS/WhatsApp add-ons (priced separately), overage fees for exceeding send-volume limits, premium support add-ons.
Klaviyo note: Klaviyo's sticker pricing is a step function, not linear. The actual cost at a given profile count is calculated at each send, so expect 10–20% variance vs the breakpoints shown. For Shopify Plus merchants, negotiated K:Partners pricing is materially better than headline.
Update cadence: quarterly. Q3 2026 refresh targeted for July 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.