Brevo Review 2026: Affordable Email and SMS for Growing Lists

Quick verdict

Brevo is the email tool we recommend when you have a large contact list but don’t email it every day. Formerly known as Sendinblue, it prices plans by how many emails you send rather than how many contacts you store, so you’re not punished for a big list. It also handles SMS, WhatsApp campaigns, transactional email and a simple CRM from the same account.

The trade-off is depth. Brevo’s automation covers the essentials well, but it’s less flexible than ActiveCampaign’s, and some features you’d expect, like removing Brevo branding, depend on your plan. For small businesses, ecommerce shops and nonprofits that want solid email at a fair price, it’s an easy recommendation. Brevo is also a European company, which some buyers prefer when they think about where their contact data is handled.

Pros & cons

Pricing & plans

Brevo has a free plan and paid tiers that scale by monthly email volume. Starter covers regular newsletters, while Business adds the marketing automation, testing and reporting that growing teams need. Yearly billing is cheaper than monthly. See the current plans below.

Starter is our pick for most users because it removes the free plan’s daily cap and is enough for regular newsletters and promotions. Move to Business when automation becomes central to how you sell, for example if you run several nurture sequences, test subject lines routinely or want send-time optimization. Plan contents change from time to time, so check the feature list on Brevo’s pricing page before you upgrade.

How email-volume pricing works

Most email tools charge by the number of contacts on your list. Brevo charges by the number of emails you send each month, and you can store a large list without paying more for it. That’s a real advantage if you collect many contacts but email them weekly or monthly rather than daily.

It works the other way too. If you email a small list several times a week, a contact-based tool may cost about the same or less. Before choosing, multiply your list size by how many campaigns you send in a month and compare that against both pricing models. SMS and WhatsApp messages use prepaid credits on top of your plan, so budget for them separately.

Feature checklist

Here’s how Brevo covers the features we look for in an email marketing platform.

Ease of use

Brevo is approachable for first-time email marketers. Importing contacts, building a campaign with the drag-and-drop editor and scheduling it is straightforward. The automation builder uses clear trigger, condition and action steps, though it has fewer advanced options than tools built mainly for automation.

• Templates give you responsive email designs to adapt to your brand.
• Automation workflows cover welcome series, abandoned carts and birthday emails.
• Forms and landing pages help you grow your list without another tool.
• Sales CRM tracks deals and tasks alongside your contacts.

The interface has grown as Brevo added channels, so some menus take a moment to find. Set up your sender domain authentication early, keep your segments simple, and you’ll have a reliable setup with little ongoing effort. Domain authentication matters more than any design choice, because it decides whether your emails reach the inbox or the spam folder, and Brevo’s setup screens walk you through the records you need to add.

Integrations

Brevo connects natively with common ecommerce and website platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress, so you can sync customers and trigger order-based emails. Its SMTP relay and API make it a popular choice for sending transactional email from apps, and Zapier fills in the rest. Developers will find clear API documentation, while non-technical users can rely on the ready-made plugins for the major site builders.

Who Brevo is for

Brevo alternatives

See all Brevo alternatives ranked, or read our ActiveCampaign vs Brevo comparison if you’re weighing lower sending costs against deeper automation. Most people who leave Brevo do so because they want more advanced automation, not because of price. If a sales pipeline matters more than campaigns, our HubSpot CRM review covers a strong free option.

Frequently asked questions