Choosing an email marketing platform feels overwhelming. There are dozens of options, each claiming to be perfect for small businesses. Most of them aren't honest about their limitations.
Brevo is a good fit for small businesses that need affordable email marketing with built-in CRM, automation, and multichannel messaging—without paying for contacts they don't email. The platform works especially well for SMBs with growing email lists who want to avoid the per-subscriber pricing trap that Mailchimp and others use. However, Brevo isn't the right choice for everyone, and knowing when it fits matters just as much as knowing its features.
This guide gives you an honest assessment. We'll cover what makes Brevo for small businesses different from competitors, the specific signs that it matches your needs, situations where other tools work better, and how to get started if you decide it's right for you. No fluff—just practical information to help you decide.
📑 What's Inside This Guide
What Makes Brevo Different for Small Businesses?
Brevo charges based on emails sent, not the number of contacts in your list. This pricing model is the biggest difference from competitors like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and ConvertKit. Most email marketing platforms make you pay more as your list grows—even if you only email those subscribers once a month.
Here's a real example. Say you have 10,000 email subscribers. With Mailchimp, you'd pay around $100 per month just to store those contacts. With Brevo, you can keep unlimited contacts for free and only pay based on how many emails you actually send. For small businesses building lists but sending occasional campaigns, this difference adds up fast.
Pay-Per-Send Pricing
Store unlimited contacts free. Only pay when you actually send emails to them.
All-in-One Platform
Email marketing, CRM, SMS, WhatsApp, and chat in one dashboard. No extra tools needed.
Built-in Automation
Workflow automation included on free and paid plans. No premium upgrade required.
Transactional Email
Send order confirmations, password resets, and receipts from the same platform.
The All-in-One Advantage
Small businesses often juggle multiple tools for different marketing tasks. One platform for email newsletters. Another for customer data. A third for SMS. A fourth for live chat. Brevo combines these into a single system.
The built-in CRM tracks customer interactions across channels. When someone opens your email, clicks a link, responds to an SMS, or chats on your website—all of that shows up in one contact profile. You get a complete picture without switching between apps or paying for separate subscriptions.
Automation Without the Premium Price Tag
Marketing automation usually costs extra with other platforms. Mailchimp puts advanced automation behind its $350+ per month Standard plan. ConvertKit charges more for visual automation builders. Brevo includes automation workflows on every plan—including free.
You can set up welcome sequences, abandoned cart reminders, birthday emails, and re-engagement campaigns without upgrading. For small businesses that need automation but can't justify enterprise pricing, this matters a lot.
💡 Key Insight: A 5,000-contact list on Mailchimp costs roughly $75/month. The same list on Brevo costs $0/month until you send emails. If you send 20,000 emails monthly, Brevo's Starter plan runs $25—saving you $50 every month.
Signs Brevo Is a Good Fit for Your Small Business
Brevo works best for small businesses that have growing contact lists, send campaigns infrequently, need multiple marketing channels, and want to avoid paying for features they don't use. Here are the specific indicators.
Business Types That Benefit Most
Local Service Businesses
Contractors, salons, clinics with appointment-based models
Small E-commerce Shops
Online stores under $1M revenue needing cart recovery
Consultants & Coaches
Solopreneurs building personal brand newsletters
B2B Service Firms
Agencies, accounting firms, marketing consultancies
Course Creators
Online educators selling digital products
Hospitality SMBs
Restaurants, hotels, event venues with booking needs
Specific Fit Indicators
- Your contact list exceeds 2,000 subscribers — The pricing advantage kicks in significantly above this threshold. Below 2,000, most platforms cost roughly the same.
- You send newsletters monthly or bi-weekly — Infrequent senders save the most with Brevo's email-based pricing versus subscriber-based models.
- You want SMS and email together — Adding SMS marketing from the same platform simplifies campaigns and reduces costs.
- You need transactional email support — Order confirmations, shipping updates, and password resets work through the same account.
- Your budget is under $100/month — Brevo delivers more features per dollar in this price range than most alternatives.
- You're tired of paying for dormant contacts — Old subscribers who never open emails don't cost you anything on Brevo.
✅ Perfect Fit Example
A local yoga studio with 8,000 email subscribers sends a weekly class schedule newsletter and occasional promotional offers. They also want to text students about last-minute openings. On Mailchimp, this costs $110/month. On Brevo, it's $25/month for email plus SMS credits as needed.
Technical Requirements Brevo Handles Well
Small businesses without dedicated IT staff need tools that work out of the box. Brevo's drag-and-drop email editor requires zero coding knowledge. Responsive email templates look good on mobile automatically. Signup forms embed on any website with a simple copy-paste.
The platform also offers good deliverability infrastructure. Brevo handles SPF, DKIM, and authentication for shared IP users automatically. You don't need to manage technical email settings unless you want dedicated IP control for high-volume sending.
When Brevo Might Not Be the Best Choice
Brevo isn't ideal for businesses that need advanced e-commerce features, extensive template libraries, complex segmentation, or native integrations with niche industry tools. Here's when other platforms serve you better.
✅ Brevo Strengths
- Unlimited contacts on all plans
- Affordable multichannel marketing
- Built-in CRM at no extra cost
- Transactional email included
- GDPR compliance tools
- French/EU data hosting option
✗ Brevo Limitations
- Fewer email templates than Mailchimp
- Less advanced e-commerce automation
- Smaller native integration library
- Limited A/B testing on lower plans
- Basic reporting compared to Klaviyo
- No built-in landing page A/B testing
Situations Where Alternatives Win
E-commerce businesses doing over $500,000 in annual revenue often need deeper product integration than Brevo provides. Klaviyo connects more tightly with Shopify and offers predictive analytics for customer lifetime value. If product recommendations and purchase-based segmentation drive your strategy, Klaviyo justifies its higher price.
Content creators and bloggers sometimes prefer ConvertKit's creator-focused features. Its tagging system and visual automation builder feel more intuitive for managing subscriber journeys based on content consumption. The platform also offers better native integrations with membership platforms like Teachable and Patreon.
Businesses needing extensive design flexibility might find Mailchimp's template library and creative tools more satisfying. Mailchimp offers more pre-built designs and easier drag-and-drop customization. If email design matters more than cost savings, this trade-off could make sense.
| Feature | Brevo | Mailchimp | Klaviyo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited Contacts (Free) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Built-in CRM | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| SMS Marketing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| E-commerce Depth | Basic | Moderate | Advanced |
| Template Library | 40+ | 100+ | 50+ |
| Starting Price (5K contacts) | $25/mo | $75/mo | $100/mo |
⚠️ Honest Assessment
If you send 100,000+ emails monthly to small lists, Brevo's per-email pricing may cost more than subscriber-based alternatives. Run the math on your specific sending volume before committing.
How to Get Started with Brevo as a Small Business
Getting started with Brevo takes about 30 minutes for basic setup and a few hours for complete configuration. Here's the step-by-step process optimized for small business owners.
Create Your Free Account
Sign up at Brevo.com. No credit card required. You get 300 emails per day free forever.
Verify Your Domain
Add SPF and DKIM records to improve email deliverability. Brevo guides you through this.
Import Your Contacts
Upload CSV files or connect your existing email platform. Map fields to Brevo attributes.
Create Signup Forms
Build embedded or popup forms. Add them to your website to grow your list.
Set Up Your First Automation
Start with a welcome email sequence. Trigger it when new subscribers join.
Send Your First Campaign
Use a template or build from scratch. Test before sending to your full list.
Choosing the Right Plan
Free Plan
- Email campaigns
- Basic automation
- CRM included
- Signup forms
Starter Plan
- Everything in Free
- No Brevo branding
- Email support
- Basic analytics
Business Plan
- Everything in Starter
- A/B testing
- Advanced statistics
- Marketing automation
Most small businesses start with the free plan to test features. Upgrade to Starter once you exceed 300 daily emails or want to remove Brevo branding from messages. The Business plan makes sense when you need A/B testing and advanced reporting.
🎯 The Bottom Line
If you run a small business with a growing email list, need multiple marketing channels, and want to keep costs predictable—Brevo deserves serious consideration. Start free, grow into paid plans, and only pay for what you use.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brevo for Small Businesses
Yes, Brevo offers a free plan that includes unlimited contacts and up to 300 emails per day. Small businesses can use core features like email campaigns, signup forms, and basic automation without paying anything.
The free plan works well for businesses sending fewer than 9,000 emails monthly. Paid plans start at $25 per month for higher sending volumes. Unlike Mailchimp, Brevo never charges you based on how many contacts you store—only on emails sent.
Brevo often costs less than Mailchimp for small businesses with large contact lists. Mailchimp charges based on subscriber count, while Brevo charges based on emails sent. If you have many contacts but send infrequently, Brevo saves significant money.
However, Mailchimp offers more email templates, a larger integration library, and more familiar branding. Choose Brevo for cost savings and multichannel features. Choose Mailchimp if design variety and brand recognition matter more to your business.
Brevo works best for small businesses with 500 to 50,000 contacts who need email marketing, basic automation, and CRM features on a budget. Solopreneurs, local businesses, e-commerce startups, and service-based SMBs see the most value from Brevo's pricing model.
Very small businesses under 500 contacts might find any email platform affordable. Very large businesses over 100,000 contacts may need enterprise features Brevo doesn't offer. The sweet spot is mid-sized small businesses in growth mode.
Yes, Brevo integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other e-commerce platforms. You can set up abandoned cart emails, order confirmations, and product recommendations. The platform handles transactional emails like shipping notifications from the same account.
However, dedicated e-commerce platforms like Klaviyo offer more advanced product-focused features. If your entire business model depends on sophisticated product recommendations and purchase analytics, Klaviyo might justify its higher cost. For basic to moderate e-commerce email needs, Brevo performs well.
Ready to See If Brevo Fits Your Business?
Start with the free plan. Test the features that matter to you. Upgrade only when you need more sending capacity. No risk, no commitment.
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