Why Feature Tiers Matter More Than Base Price
A $13/mo plan sounds cheap until you realize automation requires the $20/mo tier and advanced reporting requires $350/mo. The base price tells you nothing. The tier gates tell you everything. Below is a platform-by-platform breakdown of exactly what unlocks at each level.
Mailchimp: 4 Tiers, Steep Jumps
| Tier | Price | Key Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 250 contacts, 500 sends/mo, 1 audience, basic templates, limited reporting. Limited automations (single-step only). |
| Essentials | $13/mo | 500 contacts, 5,000 sends/mo. Unlocks: email + chat support, A/B testing (subject lines), remove Mailchimp branding, 3 audiences, basic email templates. |
| Standard | $20/mo | 500 contacts, 6,000 sends/mo. Unlocks: advanced automations (Customer Journey Builder), send-time optimization, content optimizer, custom-coded templates, 5 audiences, advanced segmentation. |
| Premium | $350/mo | 10,000 contacts, 150,000 sends/mo. Unlocks: phone support, advanced segmentation (unlimited), multivariate testing, comparative reporting. |
The gate that hurts most: Advanced automations (Customer Journey Builder) require Standard at $20/mo. If you need automation, you skip Essentials entirely.
Kit (ConvertKit): 3 Tiers, Creator-Focused
| Tier | Price | Key Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter (Free) | $0 | 10,000 subscribers, unlimited sends. Landing pages, forms, subscriber tagging. No advanced automations, no third-party integrations, no live chat support. |
| Creator | $39/mo (1K subs) | Unlocks: visual automation builder, third-party integrations, live chat support, free migration from other tools, commerce (sell digital products). |
| Creator Pro | $79/mo (1K subs) | Unlocks: advanced reporting, subscriber scoring, newsletter referral program (SparkLoop-style), priority support. |
The gate that hurts most: Automations and integrations are gated behind Creator at $39/mo. The free tier is generous for sending but you cannot build sequences or connect other tools.
beehiiv: 3 Tiers + Enterprise, Newsletter-First
| Tier | Price | Key Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Launch (Free) | $0 | 2,500 subscribers, unlimited sends, custom domain, website builder. No ad network, no referral program, no A/B testing, beehiiv branding. |
| Scale | $49/mo ($43/mo annual) | Unlimited subscribers. Unlocks: ad network (Boosts), referral program, paid subscriptions, polls, A/B testing, premium themes, remove beehiiv branding, audience segmentation. |
| Max | $109/mo ($96/mo annual) | Everything in Scale plus: priority support, API access, advanced analytics, newsroom multi-publication support. |
The gate that hurts most: Monetization (Boosts, paid subscriptions, ad network) all require Scale at $49/mo. The free tier is for building an audience; monetization costs money.
ActiveCampaign: 4 Tiers, No Free Plan
| Tier | Price | Key Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $15/mo (1K contacts) | Email marketing, basic automations (limited), email templates, inline forms, segmentation, site tracking (limited). |
| Plus | $49/mo (1K contacts) | Unlocks: CRM with pipeline management, landing pages, lead scoring, SMS marketing, custom audiences (Facebook), deep data integrations. |
| Pro | $79/mo (1K contacts) | Unlocks: predictive sending, split automations, site messaging, attribution reporting, win probability. |
| Enterprise | $145/mo (1K contacts) | Unlocks: custom objects, HIPAA support, dedicated account rep, custom mail server domain, custom reporting. |
The gate that hurts most: CRM and lead scoring require Plus at $49/mo. If you want email + CRM in one tool, you are paying $49/mo minimum. Contact-tier pricing also scales steeply: prices multiply as your list grows beyond 1,000.
Brevo: 4 Tiers + Enterprise, Unlimited Contacts on Every Plan
| Tier | Price | Key Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Up to 100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day. Brevo branding on emails. Basic email editor, transactional emails, SMS (pay-as-you-go). |
| Starter | $9/mo | 5,000 emails/mo, no daily sending limit. Unlocks: basic reporting, remove daily cap. Brevo branding still present. |
| Standard | $18/mo | 5,000 emails/mo. Unlocks: marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced statistics, remove Brevo branding. |
| Professional | $499/mo | 150,000+ emails, dedicated IP, marketing automation, Facebook Ads integration, phone support. |
The gate that hurts most: Marketing automation and A/B testing require Standard at $18/mo. But $18/mo for automation with unlimited contacts is the cheapest automation-capable plan across all five platforms.
Side-by-Side: When Does Each Feature Unlock?
| Feature | Mailchimp | Kit | beehiiv | ActiveCampaign | Brevo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic email sending | Free | Free | Free | Starter $15 | Free |
| Advanced automations | Standard $20 | Creator $39 | N/A (not a marketing automation tool) | Starter $15 | Standard $18 |
| A/B testing | Essentials $13 | Creator $39 | Scale $49 | Starter $15 | Standard $18 |
| Remove platform branding | Essentials $13 | Free (no branding) | Scale $49 | Starter $15 (no branding) | Standard $18 |
| CRM / lead scoring | N/A | N/A | N/A | Plus $49 | Free (basic CRM) |
| Custom domain | Essentials $13 | Free | Free | Starter $15 | Free |
Bottom Line: Where the Value Is
Best free tier for subscribers: Kit Newsletter (10,000 subscribers, unlimited sends). No contest.
Best free tier for contacts: Brevo Free (100,000 contacts, 300 emails/day).
Cheapest automation: ActiveCampaign Starter at $15/mo or Brevo Standard at $18/mo.
Cheapest monetization: beehiiv Scale at $49/mo (unlimited subscribers, ad network, paid subscriptions, 0% platform cut on subscriptions).
Biggest tier jump: Mailchimp Standard ($20/mo) to Premium ($350/mo) — a 1,650% increase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which platform has the most generous free tier?
Which platform offers automation at the lowest price?
Why is ActiveCampaign's Essentials tier not listed?
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