Best email marketing software for small business: four picks
For a small team, MailerLite is the pick on price and seats: Comfort is $19 a month, billed monthly, at 1,000 subscribers, with 3 seats, and Power is $39 a month, billed monthly, with unlimited seats. It is the lowest-priced option here with 3 seats, so for a team of three it is the best email marketing platform for small business among these four.
| Platform | Price near 1,000 contacts and billing | Seats or users | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Comfort $19, Power $39 a month, billed monthly | Comfort 3, Power unlimited | 14 days of premium features, no card |
| Mailchimp | Standard $45 a month, monthly billing, at 501 to 1,500 contacts | Standard 5 | 14 days |
| ActiveCampaign | Pro $79 a month, billed annually, at 1,000 contacts | Pro 3 users | 14 days, email sign-up |
| Flodesk | Lite $25 a month, billed monthly | Lite 1 seat | Trial, no card; length not stated |
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Start a 14-day MailerLite trial →Seats and logins for a team
A seat is one person with a login to the account. The pages list these counts:
- MailerLite: Free 2, Comfort 3, Power unlimited. Adding more than two users needs Comfort or Power.
- Mailchimp: Free 1, Essentials 3, Standard 5.
- ActiveCampaign: Plus 1 user, Pro 3.
- Flodesk: Lite 1 seat.
On MailerLite the paid plans add more than seats. Comfort has 50 automations (emails that send on their own after a trigger), 10 signup forms and 10 websites and landing pages combined, and it removes the MailerLite logo. Power makes automations, forms and pages unlimited and adds 24/7 live chat alongside email support.
What each costs near 1,000 contacts
Billed monthly, MailerLite Comfort is $19 a month at 1,000 subscribers, Flodesk Lite $25 and Mailchimp Standard $45 at 501 to 1,500 contacts. Billed yearly, MailerLite Comfort is $17.10 a month, Flodesk Lite $19 and ActiveCampaign Pro $79 at 1,000 contacts, the only basis ActiveCampaign shows. Mailchimp shows monthly billing only, so it has no yearly figure here.
Mailchimp Essentials also has 3 seats, at $26.50 a month on monthly billing at 501 to 1,500 contacts. MailerLite vs Mailchimp and MailerLite vs ActiveCampaign go plan by plan. The wider shortlist is in best email marketing software.
Trials before you pay
MailerLite runs 14 days with premium features and no credit card required, limited to 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails. Mailchimp offers 14 days, and before a card is saved its trial sends only 100 emails. ActiveCampaign gives 14 days with an email sign-up. Flodesk lets you trial every paid feature with no card, and its page does not state the length.
Which small business should pick which
- MailerLite Comfort for a team of up to three at $19 a month, billed monthly.
- MailerLite Power for more people: unlimited seats at $39 a month, billed monthly.
- Mailchimp Standard for a team that needs five seats, $45 a month on monthly billing.
- ActiveCampaign Pro for three users on annual billing, $79 a month.
- Flodesk Lite for one owner, $25 a month, billed monthly.
Sources used for this page
The facts above come from the pages below, read on October 6, 2026. Prices and terms change, so confirm them on the vendor's site before you buy.
- Simple, Transparent Pricing - MailerLite — Vendor pricing page · mailerlite.com · read October 6, 2026
- How to add another user to the account — Vendor documentation · mailerlite.com · read October 6, 2026
- What is included in MailerLite's 14 day premium trial? — Vendor documentation · mailerlite.com · read October 6, 2026
- Mailchimp Pricing Plans | Get Started Today | Mailchimp — Vendor pricing page · mailchimp.com · read October 6, 2026
- Platform Pricing and Features | ActiveCampaign — Vendor pricing page · activecampaign.com · read October 6, 2026
- Flodesk Pricing | Plans for Every Stage of Growth — Vendor pricing page · flodesk.com · read October 6, 2026