How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Startups on a tight budget should start with a free plan from HubSpot, Mailchimp, Brevo, Klaviyo, MailerLite or Kit, and only pay once the list earns its keep.
- The cheapest paid plan is not always the cheapest tool at scale, because most of these platforms bill by contacts or sends, and the bill climbs as the list grows.
- ActiveCampaign has the deepest automation builder in this list, but its Starter plan caps each automation at five actions, so most teams need the Plus plan.
- Brevo bills by emails sent rather than contacts stored, which makes it unusually cheap for startups with a large list that emails rarely.
- HubSpot is the only option here that pairs marketing automation with a full CRM, but the jump from Starter to Professional pricing is steep.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 HubSpot | Startups that want CRM plus marketing in one place | $20 per seat/month | Yes |
 Mailchimp | Simple email campaigns and ecommerce sends | $13 per month | Yes |
 ActiveCampaign | Deep multi-step automation | $15 per month | Free trial (14 days) |
 Brevo | Large lists on a small budget | $9 per month | Yes |
 Klaviyo | Ecommerce email and SMS | $20 per month | Yes |
 Zoho Marketing Automation | Multichannel journeys at a low price | See website | Free trial (14 days) |
 MailerLite | Low-cost email with automation | $10 per month | Yes |
 Kit | Creators selling digital products | $39 per month | Yes |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
#1HubSpot
Best for: Startups that want CRM plus marketing in one place1.5/5 on
Trustpilot (1,178 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit hubspot.com
Starting price$20 per seat/month
Free planYes
HubSpot is the safe default when a startup wants marketing automation tied to a real CRM rather than a standalone email tool. The free plan covers forms, basic email, live chat and contact management, which is enough to run early lead capture and a simple welcome sequence. As the team grows, paid tiers add landing pages, ad management, lead scoring and multi-channel campaigns.
The catch is the price cliff. Marketing Hub Starter is priced per seat, but Professional jumps to $800 per month with a mandatory onboarding fee, and there is no middle tier. Startups that only need better automation, not the full Professional feature set, often feel trapped between a Starter plan that is too thin and a Professional plan that is far too expensive. HubSpot also runs a startups program with large first-year discounts for qualifying companies, so check eligibility before paying list price.
What we like- Free CRM and marketing tools with no card required
- Marketing, sales and service data live in one system
- Large integration library and strong reporting
Watch out for- Professional plan costs $800 per month and adds a $3,000 onboarding fee
- Starter automation is limited to 10 actions
- Pricing rises with marketing contacts
#2Mailchimp
Best for: Simple email campaigns and ecommerce sends4.4/5 on
G2 (5,436 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit mailchimp.com
Starting price$13 per month
Free planYes
Mailchimp remains the easiest tool on this list to pick up. A founder can import a list, choose a template, set up a welcome flow and send a first campaign in an afternoon, with no training. Its ecommerce integrations with Shopify and WooCommerce make it a natural pick for startups that sell online, since purchase data can trigger abandoned cart and post-purchase emails without extra tools.
The billing model is the weak spot. Mailchimp charges for every contact in the audience, including unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts, and the free plan is now small at 250 contacts. Paid plans start at $13 per month for Essentials and $20 per month for Standard at 500 contacts, and both rise with list size. Clean the list often, archive contacts that no longer receive email, and the bill stays manageable.
What we like- Huge template library and 300 plus integrations
- Easy drag-and-drop builder
- Ecommerce features like abandoned cart emails
Watch out for- Free plan covers only 250 contacts and 500 emails per month
- Bills on every stored contact including unsubscribed ones
- Price climbs fast as the list grows
Starting price$15 per month
Free planFree trial (14 days)
ActiveCampaign is the tool to choose when automation itself is the product, not an add-on. Its builder handles branching conditions, wait steps, goals, split tests and CRM actions in one visual canvas, and it supports email, SMS and WhatsApp in the same flow. For a startup running onboarding sequences, lead scoring and win-back campaigns, few tools at this price match its depth.
Budget for the Plus plan, not the headline price. Starter costs $15 per month at 1,000 contacts on annual billing, but its five-action automation cap means a welcome series, a nurture flow or an abandoned cart journey quickly runs past the limit. Plus, at $49 per month at 1,000 contacts, removes the cap and adds the CRM, landing pages and predictive sending. Prices scale with contact count, and SMS credits are billed separately.
What we like- Best visual automation builder in this price range
- Built-in CRM with deal pipelines from the Plus plan
- Strong deliverability record
Watch out for- No free plan
- Starter limits each automation to five actions
- New accounts pay for all contacts including unsubscribed ones
#4Brevo
Best for: Large lists on a small budget4.5/5 on
G2 (2,747 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit brevo.com
Starting price$9 per month
Free planYes
Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, is the odd one out in a useful way. Most tools on this list charge per contact, so a startup with 20,000 subscribers pays a large monthly fee even in a quiet month. Brevo charges for emails sent instead, which keeps the bill low for teams that email a big list only a few times a month. The free plan sends 300 emails per day with Brevo branding.
Read the plan details before buying. The $9 per month Starter plan covers 5,000 emails a month but includes no automation at all, so a startup that needs welcome sequences and behavioral triggers must step up to Standard at $18 per month. SMS and WhatsApp messages are billed separately, and extra users cost extra on Standard. For the right sending pattern, though, Brevo is the cheapest serious option here.
What we like- Bills by emails sent, not contacts stored
- Free plan allows up to 100,000 contacts
- Email, SMS and WhatsApp in one account
Watch out for- Starter plan has no automation
- Contact caps apply on the cheapest tiers
- Automation starts on the $18 per month Standard plan
#5Klaviyo
Best for: Ecommerce email and SMS4.6/5 on
G2 (1,368 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit klaviyo.com
Starting price$20 per month
Free planYes
Klaviyo is built for stores, and it shows. Its Shopify integration syncs customers, products and orders in near real time, and its pre-built flows cover abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back campaigns out of the box. Revenue attribution is unusually detailed, so a startup can see exactly which flow or campaign produced each sale rather than guessing from open rates.
The pricing curve deserves respect. The free plan covers 250 active profiles and 500 sends per month, and the paid Email plan starts at $20 per month for up to 500 profiles, rising to about $100 per month at 5,000 profiles and $150 at 10,000. SMS is billed separately through a mobile messaging add-on. For a store where email drives a large share of revenue, the cost pays for itself. For a startup that does not sell online, cheaper general tools make more sense.
What we like- Deep Shopify integration with fast data sync
- Revenue attribution down to the individual product
- Predictive analytics and pre-built ecommerce flows
Watch out for- Costs climb steeply as active profiles grow
- SMS is a separate paid add-on
- Weaker fit for non-ecommerce startups
#6
Zoho Marketing Automation
Best for: Multichannel journeys at a low price
Visit zoho.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial (14 days)
Zoho Marketing Automation suits startups already inside the Zoho world, or teams that want multichannel campaigns without paying HubSpot prices. It covers lead generation, lead management, website behavior tracking, personalized journeys, SMS marketing and ecommerce marketing, and it hands leads to Zoho CRM with scoring attached. The journey builder handles multi-touch campaigns across email, social and SMS.
Two honest caveats apply. First, Zoho publishes different prices in different regions and through different bundles, including Zoho Marketing Plus, so the safest move is to check the pricing page for your country before budgeting. Second, there is no free plan, only a trial, so a startup cannot run on it indefinitely at no cost. For teams that value breadth over polish, it remains a strong value pick.
What we like- Email, social, SMS and web behavior tracking in one tool
- Lead scoring and journey builder included
- Pairs with Zoho CRM
Watch out for- Pricing varies by region and is hard to pin down from public pages
- Interface feels dated next to newer rivals
- No free plan
#7MailerLite
Best for: Low-cost email with automation4.6/5 on
G2 (1,114 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit mailerlite.com
Starting price$10 per month
Free planYes
MailerLite is the budget pick that still feels like a complete tool. The free plan covers 500 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month, and the Growing Business plan starts at $10 per month for 500 subscribers with unlimited monthly emails. Paid plans add advanced automation, campaign auto-resend, dynamic content and, on Advanced, an AI writing assistant and custom HTML editor.
The trade-off is depth. MailerLite handles welcome sequences, segmentation, landing pages and ecommerce triggers well, but it does not match ActiveCampaign for branching logic or HubSpot for CRM reporting. Support on the free plan is also limited after the first 30 days. For a startup that mainly needs good-looking email and solid automation at the lowest possible price, that trade is easy to accept.
What we like- Very low prices at every list size
- Paid plans include unlimited monthly emails
- Simple interface with landing pages and signup forms
Watch out for- Free plan covers only 500 subscribers
- Automation on the free plan is basic
- Fewer advanced features than ActiveCampaign or HubSpot
Starting price$39 per month
Free planYes
Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is made for creators rather than general startups: writers, course sellers, coaches, podcasters and newsletter publishers. Its free plan is the most generous in this list at up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, forms and landing pages, plus digital product sales. Paid plans add full visual automations, subscriber tagging, the Creator Network for cross-promotion, and free migration from another tool.
The paid pricing is the sticking point. Creator starts at $39 per month for 1,000 subscribers on monthly billing, or $33 per month billed annually, and climbs to $89 per month at 5,000 subscribers. That is several times what MailerLite charges at the same list size. Creators who monetize through digital products and paid newsletters often earn the difference back, but a startup that just needs email automation should compare Kit against cheaper options first.
What we like- Free plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers
- Built-in commerce for digital products and paid newsletters
- Visual automation builder on paid plans
Watch out for- Paid plans are pricey next to MailerLite and Brevo
- Free plan automation is limited to one basic sequence
- Not built for ecommerce stores
How we chose
We picked tools that exist today, fit startup budgets and team sizes, and offer real automation rather than simple newsletter sending. Prices and free tiers were checked against vendor pricing pages and recent pricing guides in October 2026, and every homepage in this list was opened to confirm it loads and belongs to the product named. We weighed automation depth, CRM and ecommerce connections, billing model, and how costs change as a list grows, since a tool that is cheap at 500 contacts can be expensive at 10,000.
What to check before you pay
Start with the billing model, not the headline price. Tools that bill per contact punish a messy list, so ask whether unsubscribed and bounced contacts count, and what happens when the list crosses into the next tier. Tools that bill per send, like Brevo, reward a large list that emails rarely, while tools with flat seat pricing, like HubSpot Starter, reward small teams with big lists.
Next, map the first three automations you actually need, such as a welcome sequence, an abandoned cart flow and a re-engagement series, and check whether the plan you can afford supports them. Several tools in this list gate multi-step journeys, branching or A/B testing behind higher tiers. Finally, confirm deliverability basics before the first big send: a custom sending domain, SPF and DKIM records, and a cleaned import list. A cheap plan that lands in spam costs far more than a pricier plan that reaches the inbox.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best marketing automation platform for a startup with no budget?
Start on a free plan from HubSpot, Mailchimp, Brevo, Klaviyo, MailerLite or Kit. HubSpot gives the most complete free toolkit including a CRM, while Kit gives the largest free subscriber allowance at 10,000. Move to a paid plan once the list or the automation needs outgrow the free limits.
How much should a startup expect to pay for marketing automation?
Most startups pay between $9 and $50 per month at small list sizes, with MailerLite and Brevo at the low end and ActiveCampaign Plus or Kit Creator in the middle. Costs rise with contacts or sends, so a list of 10,000 contacts can cost $73 to $150 per month depending on the tool. Always model the price at the list size expected in 12 months, not just today.
Is HubSpot too expensive for startups?
HubSpot is free or cheap at the start, but expensive at the Professional tier, which costs $800 per month plus a $3,000 onboarding fee. Startups that need only email and basic automation can stay on Starter, while teams that need lead scoring, multi-channel campaigns and advanced reporting should budget for the jump or choose a cheaper rival.
Does marketing automation replace a CRM?
Not on its own. Tools like HubSpot and ActiveCampaign include CRM features, but Mailchimp, MailerLite, Brevo and Kit are mainly email and automation tools that connect to a separate CRM. If sales follow-up and pipeline tracking matter, pick a tool with a built-in CRM or confirm the integration with the CRM already in use.
Can a startup run marketing automation on a free plan?
Yes, for basic needs. Free plans cover list building, simple campaigns and, on some tools, basic automation. Limits on contacts, sends, automation steps and branding usually force an upgrade once the startup sends regularly or builds multi-step journeys.
What is the biggest pricing trap in marketing automation?
Paying for contacts that cannot receive email. Several platforms bill on every stored contact, including unsubscribed and bounced addresses, so an uncleaned list inflates the bill every month. Archive or delete contacts that no longer receive mail, and check whether the chosen tool counts only marketable contacts before signing up.
Sources we checked (8)
- https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/marketing
- https://mailchimp.com/pricing/
- https://www.activecampaign.com/pricing
- https://www.brevo.com/pricing/
- https://www.klaviyo.com/pricing
- https://www.zoho.com/marketing-automation/pricing.html
- https://www.mailerlite.com/pricing
- https://kit.com/pricing
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.