Best free email marketing tools

Ranked by free-tier generosity

Each entry below tells you what "free" includes, the catch, and what else is notably bundled. Pick the one whose trade-off matches your situation.

1. 01
   Flodesk Free up to Unlimited subscribers

   Unlimited subscribers on the free tier; pay only when you upgrade for advanced features.

   The catch

   Free tier is real but feature-gated: workflows, checkout (digital sales), and analytics depth move you to paid.

   Notably included

   Forms and landing pages, designer email templates, audience segmentation. Better entry-point design than the budget alternatives.

   • Flodesk profile
   • Flodesk alternatives
2. 02
   Substack Free up to Unlimited subscribers , Unlimited

   Unlimited subscribers, unlimited free posts forever.

   The catch

   Substack takes 10% of all paid-subscription revenue, plus Stripe fees. Free for free newsletters; expensive once you monetize.

   Notably included

   Custom domain, recommendations network, built-in podcast hosting, discussion threads.

   • Substack profile
   • Substack alternatives
3. 03
   Kit Free up to 10,000 subscribers

   Up to 10,000 subscribers free with single-flow automation.

   The catch

   Only one automation sequence on free; tag-based segmentation is limited; no commerce checkout. Crosses to paid the moment you need a second flow.

   Notably included

   Tag-based subscriber organization (uncommon at this list size for free), unlimited landing pages, unlimited broadcasts.

   • Kit profile
   • Kit alternatives
   • Try Kit → sponsored
4. 04
   beehiiv Free up to 2,500 subscribers , Unlimited

   Up to 2,500 subscribers, unlimited email sends, custom domain on the free tier.

   The catch

   Caps at 2,500 subs (publication-scale, not creator-scale). The referral program and recommendations network upsell on Scale.

   Notably included

   Custom domain, basic referral program, basic newsletter monetization, web hosting included.

   • beehiiv profile
   • beehiiv alternatives
   • Try beehiiv → sponsored
5. 05
   MailerLite Free up to 500 subscribers , 12,000 sends

   Up to 500 subscribers, 12,000 sends/month.

   The catch

   Send cap is the binding constraint for engaged audiences (12k sends ÷ 500 subs = 24 sends/sub/mo, fine for weekly; tight for daily).

   Notably included

   Visual automation builder, drag-and-drop editor, landing pages, website builder. Most polished generalist UX in the budget tier.

   • MailerLite profile
   • MailerLite alternatives
6. 06
   Mailchimp Free up to 250 subscribers , 500 sends (or 250/day)

   Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month or 250/day.

   The catch

   Tightest free tier in the category. Designed to push you to Essentials ($13/mo at 500 contacts) within weeks of real usage.

   Notably included

   Largest integration ecosystem, polished onboarding, AI-assisted templates. Free is a try-before-you-buy, not a long-term home.

   • Mailchimp profile
   • Mailchimp alternatives
7. 07
   Omnisend Free up to 250 subscribers , 500 sends

   Up to 250 contacts, 500 sends/month, plus $1 in SMS credits (one-time).

   The catch

   Tight subscriber cap for an e-commerce-positioned tool; you'll outgrow it quickly if you're driving traffic from a real Shopify store.

   Notably included

   Pre-built e-commerce flows (cart, browse, post-purchase) and Shopify-native sync available even on free. The cheapest way to test if the e-commerce automation is worth the upgrade.

   • Omnisend profile
   • Omnisend alternatives
8. 08
   Buttondown Free up to 100 subscribers

   Up to 100 subscribers free, à-la-carte add-ons after.

   The catch

   100-subscriber cap is the most restrictive on this list. Budget tooling for tiny audiences only.

   Notably included

   Custom domain sending and rich-text or markdown editor on free (the markdown editor is the differentiator vs every WYSIWYG-only competitor).

   • Buttondown profile
   • Buttondown alternatives

Common questions

Which truly-free email tool has the highest subscriber cap?

Substack and Flodesk both advertise unlimited subscribers on free. Substack's catch is the 10% revenue cut on paid subscriptions; Flodesk's is feature-gating (workflows, checkout, deeper analytics live on Pro). Beyond those two, Kit's 10,000-subscriber cap is the next-largest hard number.

Are these free tiers permanent or trials?

All eight are permanent free plans, not free trials. They'll let you stay on free indefinitely if you fit within the limits. The hidden cost varies: revenue share (Substack), feature paywalls (Flodesk, Kit, Mailchimp, Omnisend), or tight subscriber caps (Buttondown, Mailchimp, Omnisend).

What's the most generous free tier for e-commerce?

Omnisend's 250-contact / 500-send free tier is tight on volume but ships pre-built abandonment, browse, and post-purchase flows out of the box (the Shopify-native automation a generic ESP gates higher). Mailchimp's free has Shopify integration too, but the 250-contact cap is identical and the e-commerce flow templates are less mature.

When does free stop making sense?

When you cross the cap, the page-to-paid math is different per tool. Mailchimp Essentials is $13/mo at 500 contacts; Mailerlite Growing is $10/mo at 1k; Kit Creator is $33/mo at 1k. The cheapest paid step is Mailerlite, but the right pick depends on what features you actually need post-upgrade.

How is this list ranked?

By free-tier subscriber cap, descending. Unlimited (Substack, Flodesk) at the top, then 10k (Kit), 2.5k (beehiiv), 500 (Mailerlite), 250 (Mailchimp, Omnisend), 100 (Buttondown). Ties broken alphabetically. We do not rank by 'best' because the right pick depends entirely on which trade-off you accept.