Mailrelay vs SendPulse (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Mailrelay: it is second in our ranking of email marketing and newsletter tools, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mailrelay grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mailrelay
Email marketing with a large free plan and SMS and WhatsApp add-ons
SendPulse
Email campaigns and automation in a wider multichannel suite
Which one is for you
Pick Mailrelay if
- Fits if you have a list under 20,000 and want to send for nothing
- Works for shops that need an SMTP relay and an API alongside newsletters
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you grow, as Standard goes from €48 at 100,000 emails to €260 at 1,000,000
- Tight if you want a clean footer, because removing the logo is a €4.95 a month add-on
- Watch out: transactional email is a 30-day trial then €14.95 a month, and WhatsApp a 10-day trial then €9.95
- Watch out: prices are in euros and priority queue, chat and phone support are on paid plans only
Pick SendPulse if
- Fits if you want chatbots, SMS or a CRM from the same vendor as your email
- Works for occasional senders, who can buy email packs from $48 for 10,000 that last a year
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free and your list is heading past 500 subscribers
- Pricey if a big team needs access, as unlimited users need Enterprise from 2,500 subscribers
- Not for you if you want SMS and receipt emails in your email plan, as they're priced as separate products
- Watch out: Standard has 3 users and Pro 10, and email verification and re-engagement emails need Pro
- Watch out: the free plan allows only 5 automated flows, and there's no trial of paid plans on record
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMailrelayVery good | 2.6GPASendPulseGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe free plan is large, but paid starts at €48 a month for 100,000 emails and climbs to €132 at 500,000, which is above the $20 category middle. | BStandard is $9.60 a month for 500 subscribers on yearly billing, or $12 monthly, right on the edge of the cheaper quarter of email tools. It includes unlimited emails and 3 users, and it's $78 a month billed monthly at 10,000 subscribers. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree forever: 80,000 emails a month to up to 20,000 recipients. The cost is a Mailrelay logo in the footer of every email. | CFree for 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with the builder, over 140 templates, forms and 5 automated flows. That's 30 emails per subscriber a month, but 500 subscribers is a cap you'll hit. |
| Features | BEditor with AI, email and SMS automations, segments, landing pages, forms, SMTP and API, and statistics. The listed extras are paid on top. | BA drag-and-drop builder with over 140 templates, automated flows, segments, A/B tests, forms, landing pages, payments inside emails and an AI assistant. That's the whole job. Transactional email and SMS are separate products. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a web app where you build the lists, templates and automations yourself. | CNo App Store rating on record. The email part sits inside a much bigger suite of chatbots, SMS and CRM, and you still build lists, flows and templates yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb app with an SMTP relay and API, plus Make.com and WooCommerce. No phone or desktop app is listed. | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps, with Zapier, Make, WordPress, Shopify and Creatio, an API and an MCP server. No desktop app, so it can't go above a B. |
| Best for | a big free email plan with a logo | email plus chatbots and SMS from one vendor |
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: Mailrelay and SendPulse. How we grade
Price against what you get
Mailrelay starts at about $53.63 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SendPulse starts at $9.60 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and SendPulse starts $44.03 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Mailrelay for less, and none scores higher than SendPulse 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
- Mailrelay also covers sMS marketing, transactional email and a/B testing.
- SendPulse also covers forms.
At a glance
| Mailrelay | SendPulse | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €48 per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly | $9.60 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed yearly |
| Free plan | Free forever: 80,000 emails a month to up to 20,000 distinct recipients, with a Mailrelay logo in the footer of emails. | Up to 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month, with the drag-and-drop builder, 140+ templates, sign-up forms, basic automation and open and click stats. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mailrelay | SendPulse |
| Price read from | mailrelay.com | sendpulse.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mailrelay
- Prices are in euros and rise with monthly email volume: €76 at 250,000 emails on Standard, €260 at 1,000,000.
- Transactional email on the free account is a 30-day trial, then €14.95 a month; WhatsApp is a 10-day trial, then €9.95 a month.
- Free accounts carry a Mailrelay logo in emails; removing it is a €4.95 a month add-on.
- A prepaid option sells email credits instead of a subscription; annual billing takes 10% off.
SendPulse
- The Free plan stops at 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails a month.
- Standard includes 3 users and Pro 10; unlimited users need Enterprise, which starts at 2,500 subscribers.
- Chatbots, SMS, web push, transactional email and the CRM are separate products with their own prices.
- Pay-as-you-go email packs start at $48 for 10,000 emails, valid for a year.
Key features
Mailrelay
- Drag-and-drop editor with AI
- A drag-and-drop email editor that can draft a basic template with AI, with scheduled delivery, conditional content and A/B tests.
- Automations by email and SMS
- A visual editor for workflows such as welcome, birthday and abandoned-cart messages. Automations are available on the free account.
- Segmentation
- Groups, tags, segments, custom fields and contact scoring for sending different content to different people.
- Landing pages and forms
- Subscription forms and landing pages that feed the same contact lists.
- SMTP and API
- A REST API, webhooks and an SMTP server for transactional email; the vendor lists Make.com and WooCommerce as integrations.
- Statistics
- Reports on open rate, click rate, a click heatmap, bounces and inbox placement.
SendPulse
- Email builder and templates
- A drag-and-drop builder with over 140 editable templates, plus payment processing inside emails on paid plans.
- Automation flows
- Event-triggered flows with 5 flows on Free, 10 on Standard, 50 on Pro and no limit on Enterprise.
- Segments and A/B tests
- Static segments from Standard and saved dynamic segments from Pro, with A/B tests of subject, content and sender.
- Forms and landing pages
- Multichannel subscription forms, 2 websites and 2 link-in-bio pages built with SendPulse's page builder.
- AI assistant and MCP
- SendPulse lists an AI assistant among its tools, and an MCP server connects AI tools such as chat assistants to your account.
- Mobile apps
- SendPulse links to iOS and Android apps from its homepage, alongside the web app.
Plans
Mailrelay
Free€0
80,000 emails a month, up to 20,000 contacts, normal sending queue and ticket support.
Standard€48
per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly
Priority queue, ticket and chat support, transactional email and WhatsApp included. Price rises with email volume: €132 a month at 500,000.
Enterprise€67
per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly
Everything in Standard plus phone support at the highest priority. Price rises with volume: €185 a month at 500,000.
SendPulse
Free$0
500 subscribers, 15,000 emails a month, 140+ templates, sign-up forms and 5 automated flows.
Standard$9.60
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed yearly ($12 monthly)
Unlimited emails, 3 users, A/B tests, scheduling, payments in emails, no branding. Price rises with the list: $78 a month billed monthly at 10,000 subscribers.
Pro$11.52
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed yearly ($14.40 monthly)
Re-engagement emails, dynamic segments, email verification, 10 users, 50 flows and guided onboarding. $93.60 a month billed monthly at 10,000 subscribers.
Enterprise$51.07
per month for up to 2,500 subscribers, billed yearly ($63.84 monthly)
Unlimited users, sender addresses and flows, full A/B testing and dedicated support; starts at 2,500 subscribers. $131.04 a month billed monthly at 10,000.
Ways to pay less
Mailrelay
- Annual discount
10% off with annual billing
The pricing page shows an annual billing option that takes 10% off the monthly price on Standard and Enterprise.
SendPulse
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
SendPulse's pricing page takes 20% off email plans billed yearly and 10% billed every six months: Standard at 500 subscribers is $9.60 a month instead of $12.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mailrelay or SendPulse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SendPulse is cheaper to start with: $9.60 a month, against about $53.63 a month for Mailrelay. Mailrelay starts at €48 per month for 100,000 emails, billed monthly, and SendPulse starts at $9.60 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed yearly.
Which has a free plan, Mailrelay or SendPulse?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Mailrelay and SendPulse have a free plan.
Which platforms do Mailrelay and SendPulse run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SendPulse lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.