MailerLite is the best email marketing software for small business in 2026, scoring 8.2 out of 10 on our six-dimension rubric, with full feature coverage from $12 per month and a free tier. AWeber (7.7) and Constant Contact (7.6) follow. Eight tools are ranked below on verified pricing, features, ease, support, integrations, and small-business fit.
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How these tools are scored
Every tool is scored on the same six-dimension rubric: pricing and transparency (25%), feature coverage (25%), ease of use (15%), support (15%), integrations (10%), and target fit for small business (10%). Pricing, feature, and integration scores project from facts verified against pages each vendor publishes, on the dates shown; ease, support, and fit are scored by a structured review of the materials each vendor publishes. A tool appears in the ranking only when its price is verified and at least four of six dimensions have evidence behind them. Otherwise it is listed as not yet fully evaluated, without a rank. Commercial partnerships never affect a score or a rank: several tools ranked on this page pay SoftwareSift nothing, and the buttons appear or disappear based on partner status while the scores do not move.
The ranking
| Rank | Tool | Score (0-10) | Starting price | Free tier | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MailerLite | 8.2 | $12/mo ($10.80/mo billed annually) | Yes (250 subscribers) | Visit MailerLite ($12/mo, $10.80/mo annually) |
| 2 | AWeber | 7.7 | $15/mo (Lite; $12.49/mo billed annually) | Not verified | Visit AWeber ($15/mo, Lite) |
| 3 | Constant Contact | 7.6 | $12/mo (Lite) | No (trial) | Visit Constant Contact ($12/mo, Lite) |
| 4 | Brevo | 7.6 | $9/mo (Starter) | Yes (300 emails/day) | |
| 5 | Kit (formerly ConvertKit) | 7.3 | $33/mo (Creator, 1,000 subscribers) | Yes (10,000 subscribers; no sequences or visual automations) | Visit Kit ($33/mo, Creator) |
| 6 | Moosend | 7.2 | from $7/mo billed annually (Pro) | No (30-day trial) | Visit Moosend (from $7/mo, Pro) |
| 7 | Mailchimp | 7.2 | $13/mo (Essentials) | Yes (250 contacts) | |
| 8 | beehiiv | 6.9 | $43/mo billed annually (Scale) | Yes (2,500 subscribers) | Visit beehiiv ($43/mo, Scale) |
| Unranked | Klaviyo | Not yet fully evaluated: pricing is calculator-only, so there is no published tier to score against | Calculator-based; no published entry tier | Yes (250 profiles) | See current Klaviyo pricing |
Scores are the six-dimension weighted rubric (0 to 10) projected from the stored, vendor-verified facts as of 2026-07-02. Prices are as published by each vendor on that date; billing basis is stated per row. Kit's free-tier entry was corrected on 2026-09-03 after confirmation from Kit's affiliate team; no score or rank changed.
What to know about each tool
1. MailerLite (8.2/10)
Top score in the cohort: full core feature set (segmentation, visual automations, reports on the free plan), public pricing from $12 per month, and a clean SMB fit.
2. AWeber (7.7/10)
The support standout: 24/7 support on every plan, the only entry tier here with round-the-clock help, from $15 per month ($12.49 per month billed annually). Automations cap at 3 on Lite; Plus unlocks unlimited segments and automations.
3. Constant Contact (7.6/10)
A strong all-rounder with 300+ integrations and phone plus chat support. Published support hours are business-hours, not 24/7.
4. Brevo (7.6/10)
Feature-complete (advanced segmentation, automation, 150+ integrations) with a generous free tier. Ranked on merit as a non-partner; entry-plan support is email-only.
5. Kit, formerly ConvertKit (7.3/10)
Built for creators: visual automations, unlimited broadcasts, 24/7 email and chat support on Creator. Adjacent for general SMB use, since its published personas are authors, podcasters, and YouTubers. Kit's free plan (renamed from the Newsletter plan) covers up to 10,000 subscribers but does not include sequences or visual automations, which are Creator and Pro features; new free-plan signups get a 14-day Creator trial, and anyone already on the Newsletter plan is unaffected. Confirmed with Kit's affiliate team, 2026-09-02.
6. Moosend (7.2/10)
The budget pick with a full feature core and a 30-day trial. Merchant-stated 82 integrations; entry pricing renders cleanly only on annual billing.
7. Mailchimp (7.2/10)
The category household name, with 300+ integrations and strong support tiers. Its entry-plan feature limits (4-step automations, 10x send cap) hold the feature score down.
8. beehiiv (6.9/10)
The newsletter-growth specialist with a big free tier (2,500 subscribers). Human support starts only at the $43 Scale tier, and pricing below that is creator-focused.
Klaviyo, not yet fully evaluated
Publishes calculator-based pricing with no named entry tier, which leaves its pricing dimension below our publishability floor, so it appears here unranked until that changes. Feature depth and its 350+ integration ecosystem are excellent.