How to Read This Table
Prices shown are monthly costs on each platform's most popular paid tier (the tier most users land on). Mailchimp uses Standard, Kit uses Creator, beehiiv uses Scale, ActiveCampaign uses Plus, and Brevo uses Standard. Brevo prices by emails sent (not contacts), so costs depend on send frequency. Brevo figures assume 4 sends/month per subscriber.
Monthly Cost by Subscriber Count
| Subscribers | Mailchimp Standard | Kit Creator | beehiiv Scale | ActiveCampaign Plus | Brevo Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $20/mo | $39/mo | Free (Launch) | $49/mo | $18/mo* |
| 1,000 | $35/mo | $39/mo | Free (Launch) | $49/mo | $18/mo* |
| 2,500 | $60/mo | $59/mo | Free (Launch) | $99/mo | $29/mo* |
| 5,000 | $100/mo | $79/mo | $49/mo | $149/mo | $39/mo* |
| 10,000 | $150/mo | $119/mo | $49/mo | $229/mo | $59/mo* |
| 25,000 | $270/mo | $199/mo | $49/mo | $389/mo | $99/mo* |
| 50,000 | $410/mo | $329/mo | $49/mo | $489/mo | $169/mo* |
| 100,000 | $800/mo+ | $599/mo | $49/mo | $700/mo+ | $499/mo* |
*Brevo prices by emails sent, not contacts. Estimates assume 4 emails/month per subscriber and the corresponding volume tier. Brevo allows unlimited contacts on all plans.
Mailchimp, Kit, and ActiveCampaign prices scale by contact tiers and are approximate — check vendor pricing pages for exact figures at your count. beehiiv Scale is flat $49/mo regardless of subscriber count.
Key Takeaways by List Size
Under 2,500 subscribers
beehiiv Launch (Free) and Kit Newsletter (Free, up to 10K) are the clear winners. Mailchimp Free only covers 250 contacts. Brevo Free gives 300 emails/day with unlimited contacts.
2,500 to 10,000 subscribers
beehiiv Scale ($49/mo flat) becomes the best value. Mailchimp Standard starts climbing steeply ($60–$150/mo). Brevo Standard stays affordable at $18–$59/mo depending on send volume.
10,000 to 50,000 subscribers
beehiiv's flat $49/mo becomes dramatically cheaper. At 50K subscribers, Mailchimp costs $410/mo (8.4x more). ActiveCampaign costs $489/mo (10x more). Kit at $329/mo is 6.7x more.
100,000+ subscribers
beehiiv at $49/mo is still flat. Every other platform is $500–$800+/mo. The annual savings on beehiiv vs Mailchimp at 100K subscribers is approximately $9,000/year.
The Contact Counting Trap
Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts. If someone unsubscribes, they still count toward your contact limit unless you manually archive or delete them. This can inflate your bill by 20–40%.
ActiveCampaign counts all contacts. Every contact in your account counts, including unsubscribed. Clean your list regularly.
Kit counts active subscribers only. Unsubscribed and cold subscribers are excluded from your plan limit.
beehiiv counts subscribers on Scale. But since Scale is flat pricing with unlimited subscribers, it does not matter.
Brevo does not count contacts at all. You pay by emails sent. Even Free allows 100,000 contacts.
Annual Cost Comparison (Popular Paid Tier)
| Subscribers | Mailchimp | Kit | beehiiv | ActiveCampaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $1,200/yr | $948/yr | $516/yr | $1,788/yr |
| 25,000 | $3,240/yr | $2,388/yr | $516/yr | $4,668/yr |
| 50,000 | $4,920/yr | $3,948/yr | $516/yr | $5,868/yr |
Annual prices assume annual billing where available. beehiiv Scale annual is $516/yr ($43/mo).