Free alternatives to EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus keeps things deliberately small: no CRM, no SMS, just campaigns, with a free plan of 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month (as of July 2026). People move on for a few reasons. The two separate limits catch small lists that send often, the editor is basic, there are no paid-newsletter features, and Pro pricing still scales with subscriber count. If you want more free sending, a nicer editor, or a different pricing model, here is where to look.
Facts checked as of July 2026Read our EmailOctopus review
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Sender
Best Free Alternative ToEmailOctopusSame 2,500-subscriber free plan, but 15,000 emails instead of 10,000, with automation
Sender is the closest match to EmailOctopus with a more generous free plan. It covers the same 2,500 subscribers but allows 15,000 emails a month instead of 10,000, and it includes automation, landing pages, forms, and popups on the free tier (as of July 2026), where EmailOctopus keeps things barer. The editor is comparable, functional rather than beautiful. Paid Standard starts around $7 a month.
- Free plan, paid from $7/month (as of July 2026)
- Lithuania
Lithuania- Best for:
- EmailOctopus users who want more free sending and built-in automation
- The catch:
- Sender has no Amazon SES routing option, so at very high volume EmailOctopus Connect can end up cheaper.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: 15,000 free emails a month versus EmailOctopus's 10,000
- Worth knowing: Same 2,500 free subscribers
- Advantage: Automation, landing pages, and popups included free
- Advantage: Entry paid pricing around $7 a month
- Tradeoff: No Amazon SES routing for wholesale rates
- Tradeoff: Free plan is single-seat
- Tradeoff: Lower brand recognition and thinner integrations
Stores up to 100,000 contacts free, escaping EmailOctopus's subscriber cap
Brevo suits you if EmailOctopus's 2,500-subscriber ceiling is the problem. It stores up to 100,000 contacts free and prices on emails sent (as of July 2026), so a big list is not a cost. The free plan sends 300 emails a day, about 9,000 a month, with a builder, forms, automation, a CRM, and transactional email. Paid Starter starts at $9 a month for 5,000 emails.
- Free plan, paid from $9/month (as of July 2026)
- France
France- Best for:
- People with a large list who send infrequently and want no per-contact charge
- The catch:
- Brevo's 300 is a daily cap, so unlike EmailOctopus's 10,000 monthly pool you cannot send one large campaign at once for free.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: Up to 100,000 free contacts versus EmailOctopus's 2,500
- Advantage: Priced on sends, so list size never raises the bill
- Advantage: Built-in CRM and transactional email
- Tradeoff: 300-a-day cap versus EmailOctopus's 10,000 monthly pool
- Tradeoff: Removing branding is a paid add-on even on Starter
- Tradeoff: Busier interface than EmailOctopus's simple one
A far better editor, plus paid-newsletter features EmailOctopus lacks
MailerLite answers EmailOctopus's two weakest points: the basic editor and the missing paid-newsletter features. Its builder is the nicest in the budget tier, and it supports paid subscriptions and digital product sales. The free plan is smaller though: 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month (as of July 2026). Paid Comfort starts at $12 a month.
- Free plan, paid from $12/month (as of July 2026)
- Lithuania
- Best for:
- Newsletter writers who want a nicer editor and the option to charge readers
- The catch:
- MailerLite's free plan holds 250 subscribers against EmailOctopus's 2,500, so you will pay sooner.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: Much nicer editor and templates
- Advantage: Paid newsletters and digital product sales built in
- Tradeoff: 250 free subscribers versus EmailOctopus's 2,500
- Worth knowing: Same 2,500 free emails a month as EmailOctopus
- Tradeoff: Only 3 active automations on free
- Tradeoff: No Amazon SES routing option
Bills on active subscribers and sends from your own domain
Buttondown is an even simpler, writer-first take than EmailOctopus. Markdown editor, custom sending domain, hosted archive. It bills on active subscribers, not everyone stored. Free covers your first 100 subscribers and about one email a day (as of July 2026), so it is smaller than EmailOctopus on the free tier. Analytics and paid subscriptions are $9-a-month add-ons.
- Free plan (as of July 2026)
- United States
United States- Best for:
- Solo writers who want the simplest possible tool and to pay only for active readers
- The catch:
- 100 free subscribers is far below EmailOctopus's 2,500, and features come as separate add-ons.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: Bills only on active subscribers
- Advantage: Markdown editor and custom sending domain
- Advantage: Sends from your own domain, no forced vendor branding
- Tradeoff: 100 free subscribers versus EmailOctopus's 2,500
- Tradeoff: About one email a day at published prices
- Tradeoff: Analytics and segmentation are separate paid add-ons
Self-hosted with no limits, and you already understand SMTP
listmonk is a natural step for EmailOctopus users comfortable with Amazon SES, since it uses the same idea taken further. It is a self-hosted, AGPL-3.0 binary with no subscriber or send limits, and it queues to an SMTP provider you supply, exactly the SES setup EmailOctopus Connect wraps. You just run the interface yourself. There is no vendor cost, only your server and per-email SMTP rate.
- Completely free (as of July 2026)
- India
- Open source (AGPL-3.0)
India- Best for:
- Technical EmailOctopus Connect users who want to drop the vendor entirely
- The catch:
- You give up the hosted interface and support, and you own all of deliverability rather than sharing it with EmailOctopus.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: No subscriber or send limits versus 2,500 and 10,000
- Advantage: Same SES-style sending, without the EmailOctopus fee
- Advantage: Full ownership of subscriber data
- Tradeoff: Requires running a server and Postgres yourself
- Tradeoff: You own deliverability entirely
- Tradeoff: No hosted support, just GitHub and a forum
Adds transactional email on one contact record, for SaaS
Loops is a different shape from EmailOctopus, built for software companies that want marketing and transactional email together. One plan, every feature, priced by contact count. Free covers under 1,000 contacts and 4,000 sends per 30 days (as of July 2026). The paid plan is $49 a month for 5,000 contacts with unlimited sends. Pick it for the product fit, not the free plan.
- Free plan, paid from $49/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
- Best for:
- SaaS teams who want product and marketing email in one place
- The catch:
- 1,000 free contacts and 4,000 sends is smaller than EmailOctopus's free plan, and the jump to $49 a month is steep.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: Transactional email on the same contact record
- Advantage: One plan with every feature
- Tradeoff: 1,000 free contacts versus EmailOctopus's 2,500
- Tradeoff: 4,000 sends per 30 days versus 10,000, transactional included
- Tradeoff: First paid tier is $49 a month
- Tradeoff: Built for products, not simple newsletters
More capability and integrations, at incumbent prices
Mailchimp is here for context. It is more complete than EmailOctopus, with deep reporting, a big integration catalogue, and customer journeys. The free plan is 250 contacts and 500 emails a month (as of July 2026), smaller than EmailOctopus on both counts, and paid plans price on total contacts. Essentials starts at $13 a month.
- Free plan, paid from $13/month (as of July 2026)
- United States
- Best for:
- Ecommerce teams who use Mailchimp's integrations and journeys
- The catch:
- You would only move from EmailOctopus to Mailchimp for capability, since the free plan and pricing model are both worse for a simple newsletter.
Compared to EmailOctopus
- Advantage: Deeper reporting and far more integrations
- Advantage: Strong ecommerce journeys
- Tradeoff: 250 free contacts and 500 emails versus 2,500 and 10,000
- Tradeoff: Prices on total contacts
- Tradeoff: Free plan cut repeatedly
How to choose
Sender is the closest match with more room, the same 2,500 subscribers but 15,000 emails a month and automation included. Brevo suits a large list you send to infrequently, since it never charges for contacts. MailerLite fixes the editor and adds paid subscriptions, Buttondown bills only on active readers, and listmonk removes every limit if you already run Amazon SES yourself. Loops and Mailchimp fit narrower cases, SaaS and ecommerce respectively.