Best email marketing software for a small business
Worked out for 1,000 subscribers, paying yearly, with segmentation.
The short answer
For 1,000 subscribers, the cheapest option with a fully published price is Systeme.io Free, which is free. Next is GetResponse Marketer at $48.38 a month, billed yearly.
3 tools (MailerLite, AWeber, Mailchimp) don't publish a price at this size, so we show their starting price instead.
We left one tool out. The reason is below.
Systeme.io Free
Free
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9 newsletter or email platforms that fit
Ranked by fit, then by how sure the price is, then by total cost.
Full price published
Number 1: Systeme.io Free
Free plan
Free
Why it's here
- Free plan that covers 1,000 subscribers
- Has segmentation
Limits to know
- Covers up to 2,000 contacts, then you need a bigger plan
- Sales funnels: 3
- Automation rules: 1
- Custom domains: 1
Number 2: GetResponse Marketer
14-day free trial
$48.38a month
$580.56 a year
Plan only, billed yearly, no extra fees.
Go to GetResponseAll GetResponse plansDetails
Why it's here
- Cheapest GetResponse plan for 1,000 subscribers
- Has segmentation
- Paying yearly saves $127 a year
Limits to know
- Covers up to 1,000 contacts. Prices above that aren't published
- Price changes with list size
- Automation workflows: unlimited
Number 3: ActiveCampaign Plus
14-day free trial
$49a month
$588 a year
Plan only, billed yearly, no extra fees.
Go to ActiveCampaignAll ActiveCampaign plansDetails
Why it's here
- Cheapest ActiveCampaign plan for 1,000 subscribers
- Has segmentation
Limits to know
- Covers up to 1,000 contacts. Prices above that aren't published
- 10,000 emails a month
- 1 team seat included
- Price changes with contact count
Starting price only. The price at your size isn't published
Number 4: MailerLite Comfort
Starting price14-day free trial
From $10.80a month
Price for 500 subscribers
Go to MailerLiteAll MailerLite plansDetails
Why it's here
- Cheapest MailerLite plan not ruled out for 1,000 subscribers
- Has segmentation
Limits to know
- 5,000 emails a month
- 3 team seats included
- Price rises with subscriber count
- Monthly emails: 5,000; resets monthly
- Price at your size not published: Prices above 500 subscribers are not published.
Number 5: AWeber Plus
Starting price14-day free trial
From $20a month
Price for 500 subscribers
Go to AWeberAll AWeber plansDetails
Why it's here
- Cheapest AWeber plan not ruled out for 1,000 subscribers
- Has segmentation
Limits to know
- Ecommerce transaction fee 0.6%
- Monthly email sends: 12x subscriber max; resets monthly
- Email lists: unlimited
- Landing pages: unlimited
- Price at your size not published: Prices above 500 subscribers are not published.
Number 6: Mailchimp Standard
Starting price14-day free trial
From $20a month
No published price at your size
Go to MailchimpAll Mailchimp plansDetails
Why it's here
- Cheapest Mailchimp plan not ruled out for 1,000 subscribers
- Has segmentation
Limits to know
- 5 team seats included
- Overages apply if contact or email send limit is exceeded
- Sending will be paused if contact or email send limit is exceeded
- 15% off for 5,000+ contacts
- Price at your size not published: Starting price for the lowest contact band; the band size and higher prices are not published.
Must-haves not confirmed. Full price published
Number 7: beehiiv Free
Free planFeature not confirmed
Free
Go to beehiivAll beehiiv plansDetails
Why it's here
- Free plan that covers 1,000 subscribers
Limits to know
- Covers up to 2,500 subscribers, then you need a bigger plan
- 1 team seat included
- No paid subscriptions
- Publications: 1
- Segmentation: the vendor's page doesn't list it for this plan, so we can't confirm it.
Number 8: Kajabi Basic
Feature not confirmed
$143a month
$1,716 a year
Plan only, billed yearly, no extra fees.
Go to KajabiAll Kajabi plansDetails
Why it's here
- Cheapest Kajabi plan for 1,000 subscribers
- Paying yearly saves $432 a year
Limits to know
- Covers up to 2,500 contacts, then $125 a month for each 25,000 more
- 2 team seats included
- Kajabi Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (US)
- Using a third-party payment provider: 2% fee (excludes PayPal)
- Segmentation: the vendor's page doesn't list it for this plan, so we can't confirm it.
Must-haves not confirmed. Provisional price
Number 9: Kit Creator
Provisional figureFeature not confirmed
$32.50a month
$390 a year
Plan only, billed yearly, no extra fees.
Go to KitAll Kit plansDetails
Why it's here
- Covers 1,000 subscribers
- Paying yearly saves $6 a year
Limits to know
- Covers up to 1,000 subscribers. Prices above that aren't published
- Segmentation: the vendor's page doesn't list it for this plan, so we can't confirm it.
- Provisional: the vendor's page doesn't state this clearly.
Left out: 1 tool doesn't fit what you asked for
- Substack
No prices recorded yet
Common questions
What is the cheapest newsletter or email platform for 1,000 subscribers?
Of the prices published for 1,000 subscribers, the lowest is Systeme.io Free, which is free. Next is GetResponse Marketer at $48.38 a month, billed yearly.
Is there a free newsletter or email platform for 1,000 subscribers?
Of the plans we've recorded, Systeme.io Free covers 1,000 subscribers for free, with segmentation confirmed. Free plans have limits, and we list each one's above. Some vendors' free plans aren't recorded yet.
Why do some tools show a "from" price?
MailerLite, AWeber, Mailchimp don't publish what 1,000 subscribers costs. We show the starting price and rank them below tools whose full cost is published.
How are these ranked?
Fit comes first. The plan has to cover your size, have your must-have features and fit your budget. Next comes how sure we are of the cost, then the lowest total. A tool we earn a commission from can be shown first only when two options are equal on all of that and both costs are fully published and within 5% of each other. The listing says when this happens.