Brevo
FreemiumThe most approachable CRM suite
About Brevo
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is an email and SMS marketing platform that competes on pricing — it charges by emails sent per month rather than by contact count, which makes it dramatically cheaper for businesses with large lists but lower send frequency. The free tier allows 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts stored, which is more useful than Mailchimp's 500-contact free cap for businesses building a list they don't email often. Paid plans start at $25/month (Starter) for 20,000 emails per month and $65/month (Business) for 120,000 emails plus automation and A/B testing. The platform covers email, SMS, WhatsApp campaigns, chat, and a basic CRM. The automation builder handles multi-step sequences with event triggers. Transactional email is also built in — you can send both marketing and transactional email from one platform. Reddit feedback is generally positive for the pricing model and API quality, with criticism focused on the email template editor being clunky and customer support being slow on lower-tier plans. For European businesses, Brevo's EU data storage and GDPR-first architecture is a significant compliance advantage.
Key Features
Pricing Plans
Free
- 300 emails/day
- Unlimited contacts
- Email templates
- CRM
Starter
- 20000 emails/month
- No daily limit
- Basic reporting
- Email support
Business
- Marketing automation
- A/B testing
- Advanced statistics
- Multi-user access
Enterprise
- Unlimited contacts and sends
- Sub-account management
- Advanced integrations
- Dedicated IP
Pros
- Unlimited contacts on all plans including free
- Email, SMS, and WhatsApp in one platform
- Built-in CRM at no extra cost
- Strong transactional email capabilities
- Very competitive pricing
- Good marketing automation builder
Cons
- Free plan has 300 emails per day limit
- Email editor is less polished than Mailchimp
- Advanced features require Business plan
- Deliverability can be inconsistent
- Reporting is basic on lower plans
- Customer support response times vary
Best For
- Businesses with large contact lists but low send frequency — the send-volume pricing model saves money
- European businesses needing EU data storage and strong GDPR compliance
- Startups wanting to store unlimited contacts on the free tier while the list is still early
- Teams sending both marketing and transactional email who want one platform
Not Ideal For
- High-frequency senders — per-email pricing gets expensive at large send volumes
- Teams needing advanced e-commerce segmentation based on purchase behavior
- Users who prioritize a polished email design experience — the template editor is functional but clunky
Potential Deal Breakers
- Email template editor is functional but clunky compared to Mailchimp or Klaviyo
- Customer support is slow on Starter plans — expect email-only with long response times
- Advanced automation and A/B testing require the Business plan at $65/month
Data & Privacy
French email marketing platform (formerly Sendinblue). Data hosted in EU. AI features process campaign content but no data used for training. GDPR compliant as French company. Full data export. ISO 27001 certified.
Who Is This For?
Hands-on tested May 2026
Signup Experience
Email signup with no credit card required. Free tier sends up to 300 emails per day with no subscriber limit. Dashboard covers email campaigns, SMS, automation, and CRM from a single interface. Email builder is drag-and-drop with a decent template library. Setup takes under 15 minutes.
For Home Users
Free tier with 300 emails/day and unlimited contacts is genuinely useful for small newsletters or personal projects. No subscriber cap on the free plan is a meaningful advantage over Mailchimp. EU hosting is a bonus for European users concerned about data residency.
For Business Users
Starter at $9/mo for 5K emails/mo is significantly cheaper than equivalent Mailchimp plans. Business at $18/mo adds A/B testing, send-time optimization, and multi-user access. SMS, live chat, and CRM in the same platform reduces tool sprawl. Template quality and deliverability lag slightly behind Mailchimp but the price gap is substantial enough to justify the trade-off for most small and mid-size teams.
Our Verdict
Brevo's contact-unlimited, send-volume pricing model is the main reason to choose it — if you have a large list but do not email it constantly, you will pay significantly less than with Mailchimp or Constant Contact. The platform covers the bases on automation and SMS without excelling anywhere. For European teams, the GDPR compliance story and EU data residency add real value beyond the pricing.