Brevo vs Mailercloud (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Brevo grades higher than Mailercloud: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Brevo grades higher on value for money and features. Mailercloud grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Brevo
Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing priced by emails sent, with a CRM
Mailercloud
Email marketing platform priced by contacts with unlimited sends
Which one is for you
Pick Brevo if
- Fits if you have thousands of contacts but only email them a few times a month
- Works for apps or shops that need receipt and password emails as well as newsletters
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay on Starter, which has 1 seat, no automations and the Brevo logo unless you pay $12 more
- Pricey if you want WhatsApp, popups or push, which start on the $499 Professional plan
- Skip it if you mail a growing list every day, since the price follows the emails you send
- Watch out: Starter and Standard cap contacts by volume, at 500 for 5,000 emails a month and 2,500 for 15,000
- Watch out: the free plan stops at 300 emails a day, and SMS credits are bought separately by destination
Pick Mailercloud if
- Fits if you have a list under 1,000 contacts and send a lot of email
- Works for small shops on Shopify or WooCommerce
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 1,000 contacts and 1 advanced automation
- Pricey if your list grows: $50 a month at 10,000 contacts
- Skip it if you want a dedicated IP or single sign-on, which are Enterprise features
- Watch out: the Email API for transactional mail starts at $7 a month and is billed separately
- Watch out: unlimited sending on paid plans falls under a fair use policy
How we grade them
| 2.6GPABrevoGood | 2.4GPAMailercloudFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $9 a month for 5,000 emails, inside the cheaper quarter of email tools, and from 20,000 emails the contact cap jumps to 500,000. Automations and A/B tests need Standard at $18, and taking the Brevo logo off Starter is $12 a month more. | C$10 a month for 1,000 contacts is the cheap end of the category, but the price steps up with contacts to $50 at 10,000. Unlimited sending is subject to a fair use policy. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for good with no card: 300 emails a day, campaigns and transactional email by API. Once your list passes 300 people, though, a single newsletter can't all go out on the same day. | BA free plan with 1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails a month, no card needed, though it allows only 1 advanced automation. |
| Features | BCampaigns, transactional email, automations, SMS, segments, forms, AI writing and a sales CRM, all from one contact list. That covers the whole job. WhatsApp, popups and push wait for the $499 Professional plan. | CBuilder, automation, segmentation, A/B testing and AI subject lines. Dedicated IPs, SSO and an account manager are Enterprise features, and the Email API for transactional sending is billed apart from the marketing platform. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a big web app with campaigns, automations, a CRM and SMS in it, so you'll be setting things up before it earns its keep. | CA web app with no rating on record. You build lists, templates and automations yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Shopify, WordPress, Stripe, Zapier, ChatGPT and Claude connections and an API. No desktop or phone app is listed. | BWeb only, with Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento connections. |
| Best for | big lists you only email now and then | small lists on a free plan with room to send |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Brevo and Mailercloud. How we grade
Price against what you get
Brevo starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mailercloud starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3.
Brevo scores higher and starts $1 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, none scores higher than Brevo for less, and 8 score higher than Mailercloud for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Brevo also covers sales pipeline and live chat.
- Mailercloud also covers a/B testing.
At a glance
| Brevo | Mailercloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per month for 5,000 emails and up to 500 contacts, billed monthly | $10 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Up to 300 emails a day (campaigns and transactional), 1 marketing seat and transactional email by API and SMTP. No credit card needed. | 1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails a month, with the drag-and-drop builder and basic automation. No credit card needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Brevo | Mailercloud |
| Price read from | brevo.com | mailercloud.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Brevo
- Starter and Standard cap contacts by email volume: 500 contacts at 5,000 emails a month, 2,500 at 15,000, and 500,000 from 20,000.
- The Free plan is limited to 300 emails a day.
- Starter has a single seat and shows the Brevo logo unless you pay $12 a month; extra seats on Standard cost $12 a month each, up to 3.
- SMS credits are bought separately and priced by volume and destination; WhatsApp campaigns start at the $499 Professional plan.
Mailercloud
- Pricing steps up by contacts stored, and the contact slider runs from 1,000 to 500,000 before a custom quote.
- Unlimited sending on paid plans is subject to a fair use policy.
- Dedicated IPs, SSO and a dedicated account manager are Enterprise features.
- The Email API for transactional sending starts at $7 a month and is billed separately from the marketing platform.
Key features
Brevo
- Email campaigns and transactional email
- A drag-and-drop editor and templates for campaigns, plus transactional email over an API and SMTP relay on every plan, Free included.
- Marketing automation
- Standard and above allow unlimited multi-step workflows triggered by sign-ups, website activity and custom events.
- SMS and WhatsApp
- SMS campaigns are sold as credits priced by volume and destination on every plan. WhatsApp, popups and web and mobile push come with Professional.
- Sales CRM
- Sales seats add pipelines, deals and sales automation to the same contact database, sold as a separate monthly charge per seat.
- Segments and forms
- Paid plans can save unlimited segments filtered by website activity, campaign engagement and custom events, and build branded sign-up forms.
- AI tools
- An AI writer drafts subject lines and copy from Starter, send-time optimization comes with Standard, and Aura AI segmentation and data questions come with Professional.
Mailercloud
- Drag-and-drop builder and templates
- A template gallery, a drag-and-drop builder and a custom HTML editor, with AMP email support on Premium.
- Automation
- Basic workflows on Free; Premium adds advanced workflows, with 25 advanced automations on Premium and unlimited on Enterprise.
- Segmentation and contact rating
- Contacts can be segmented, monitored and rated, and a form builder collects signups.
- A/B testing and AI subject lines
- Premium includes A/B testing and an AI subject line generator.
- Reports and inbox tools
- Advanced reports, an inbox tracker, blacklist monitoring and delivery by time zone are listed among the features.
Plans
Brevo
Free$0
300 emails a day, 1 seat, campaigns and transactional email. Upgrading removes the daily sending limit.
Starter$9
per month for 5,000 emails and up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
1 seat, forms, segmentation and AI writing help; removing the Brevo logo costs $12 a month. Price rises with volume: $17 a month at 10,000 emails.
Standard$18
per month for 5,000 emails and up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
Automation workflows, A/B testing, send-time optimization, no Brevo logo, up to 3 seats. $69 a month at 20,000 emails, where the contact cap rises to 500,000.
Professional$499
per month for 150,000 emails, billed monthly
10 seats, WhatsApp, popups and push, contact scoring, AI segmentation, phone support and up to 2 million contacts.
EnterpriseCustom
For 1 million or more contacts: multiple brands under one account, dedicated IP, SSO and SAML, custom data integrations.
Mailercloud
Free$0
1,000 contacts and 12,000 emails a month, with basic automation (1 advanced automation) and email support.
Premium$10
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly
Unlimited emails (fair use), 25 advanced automations, A/B testing, AI subject lines, priority chat. The page's table lists $50 at 10,000 contacts.
EnterpriseCustom
Everything in Premium plus dedicated IPs, a dedicated account manager, SLA, SSO and custom integrations, priced to sending volume.
Ways to pay less
Brevo
- Annual discount
Save 10% with yearly billing
Brevo's pricing page takes 10% off Starter, Standard and Professional when billed yearly: Starter at 5,000 emails is $97 a year instead of $108.
Mailercloud
- Annual discount
25% off with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves 25% compared with paying month to month, charged once for the year.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Brevo or Mailercloud?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Brevo is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $10 a month for Mailercloud. Brevo starts at $9 per month for 5,000 emails and up to 500 contacts, billed monthly, and Mailercloud starts at $10 per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Brevo or Mailercloud?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Brevo and Mailercloud have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.