BestSends Guide · Tested by Carlos Gil
6 Best HubSpot Alternatives for Email Marketing in 2026
HubSpot bundles email into a much bigger (and much pricier) marketing and CRM platform. If email is most of what you actually use, these are the tools worth switching to.
HubSpot is a genuinely strong platform, but Marketing Hub prices you for the whole suite — CRM, sales tools, service hub features — even when email marketing is the main thing your team touches every day. Costs climb quickly as your contact count and feature needs grow, and a lot of teams end up paying for modules they never open. If email and lightweight automation are most of your job, the tools below do that job for a fraction of the price. Below is the ranked list, with who each one actually fits.
At a glance
| Tool | Best for | From | Free plan | Rating | Try |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaignTop pick | Teams that still want CRM plus automation | $15/mo | 14-day trial | 4.8 | Visit → |
| Brevo | Cost-conscious teams | $9/mo | 300 emails/day | 4.7 | Visit → |
| Klaviyo | Shopify and DTC brands | $45/mo | 250 contacts | 4.7 | Visit → |
| Customer.io | Product-led companies with a developer | $100/mo | 14-day trial | 4.3 | Visit → |
| MailerLite | Teams that just need email done well | $10/mo | 1K subs | 4.5 | Visit → |
| GetResponse | Coaches and course sellers | $19/mo | 500 subs | 4.5 | Visit → |
What we love · what we don't
What we love
- Every alternative here is meaningfully cheaper than HubSpot Marketing Hub for an email-focused use case.
- You stop paying for service hub and sales suite modules you never open.
- Migration paths off HubSpot are documented for the major moves.
What we don't
- None of these fully replace HubSpot’s CRM and sales pipeline depth if you actually use it.
- Consolidated reporting across marketing, sales, and service disappears once you split tools.
The ranking
1. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign covers the ground most teams actually use HubSpot for: branching automation, a CRM with deal tracking, and email that does not feel like an afterthought.
It does not replace HubSpot’s service hub or full sales suite, so evaluate what you would be leaving behind before switching.
Pricing scales with contacts, but stays well under HubSpot’s equivalent tiers for marketing-focused teams.
Pros
- Deep automation builder
- CRM included
- Far cheaper than HubSpot Marketing Hub at scale
Cons
- No dedicated service hub
- Learning curve on the automation builder
Who it's for
Marketing teams that want CRM and automation without HubSpot’s full suite pricing.
Skip it if
You need HubSpot’s service hub or advanced sales pipeline tools.
2. Brevo
Brevo bundles email, a light CRM, and SMS in one account, covering the core of what smaller teams use HubSpot Marketing Hub for.
It bills by emails sent rather than contacts stored, which keeps costs predictable as your database grows.
It will not replace HubSpot’s sales pipeline depth or reporting, so this is a fit for email-first teams specifically.
Pros
- Pay-per-send pricing
- Light CRM and SMS included
- Generous free plan
Cons
- CRM is far less capable than HubSpot’s
- Fewer B2B-specific integrations
Who it's for
Small teams that mainly need email plus basic contact tracking.
Skip it if
You need serious CRM or sales pipeline functionality.
3. Klaviyo
If your HubSpot usage is mostly ecommerce email — abandoned cart, post-purchase, winback — Klaviyo is built specifically for that, with deeper Shopify integration and revenue attribution than HubSpot offers.
It is not a CRM or sales tool replacement, so this is a fit specifically for the email and automation side of the business.
Pros
- Best-in-class ecommerce flows
- Deep Shopify integration
- Revenue attribution reporting
Cons
- Not a CRM or sales tool replacement
- Pricier at scale
Who it's for
DTC and ecommerce brands.
Skip it if
You are not running a store or need CRM/sales tools.
4. Customer.io
Customer.io is built around events and attributes rather than form fills and page views, which suits product-led companies tracking in-app behavior more precisely than HubSpot does.
It expects a developer to send events, so factor in setup time before switching.
Pros
- Powerful event-based segmentation
- Multi-channel journeys (email, SMS, push)
- Scales without a contact-count tax on CRM features
Cons
- Needs developer setup
- No built-in CRM
Who it's for
Product-led teams with engineering support.
Skip it if
Nobody on your team can send custom events.
5. MailerLite
A lot of HubSpot Marketing Hub subscriptions are really just paying for email sends and basic automation — MailerLite covers that cleanly, with landing pages included.
You lose the CRM and sales pipeline entirely, so this only works if you are not relying on those features.
Pros
- Cleanest, simplest interface
- Free landing pages included
- Honest, low pricing
Cons
- No CRM or sales pipeline
- Lighter automation than ActiveCampaign
Who it's for
Teams whose HubSpot usage is essentially email and forms.
Skip it if
You use HubSpot’s CRM or sales tools regularly.
6. GetResponse
If you were using HubSpot alongside separate webinar and landing page software, GetResponse consolidates all of that into one subscription.
It does not have HubSpot’s CRM depth, so it fits marketing-only use cases better than sales-led ones.
Pros
- Native webinars
- Funnel builder included
- Good overall value
Cons
- CRM is minimal
- Wide feature set but shallower in each area
Who it's for
Coaches and course sellers running funnels and webinars.
Skip it if
You need a real CRM and sales pipeline.
Best for...
Best for most teams
ActiveCampaign
CRM plus automation at a fraction of HubSpot’s price.
Best for cost-conscious teams
Brevo
Email, light CRM and SMS, pay-per-send.
Best for ecommerce
Klaviyo
Deeper commerce automation than HubSpot offers.
Best for product-led teams
Customer.io
Event-based segmentation for in-app behavior.
Best for email-only needs
MailerLite
Does the email job without paying for the rest of the suite.
Best for funnels and webinars
GetResponse
Consolidates email, funnels and webinars in one tool.
Pricing at every list size
Estimated monthly cost on each platform's standard plan, billed monthly. Cheapest at each tier highlighted.
| Tool | 1,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | $15 | $800 | $3,600 | $3,600 |
| ActiveCampaign | $15 | $49 | $79 | $145 |
| Brevo | $9 | $25 | $65 | $179 |
| Klaviyo | $45 | $150 | $720 | $1,380 |
| MailerLite | $10 | $73 | $289 | $489 |
What these platforms cost right now
Tracked weekly from vendor pricing pages · updated October 5, 2026
| Platform | Cheapest paid plan | Free plan | Change since May | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hubspot | $7/mo | — | Unchanged | Visit → |
| ActiveCampaign | $15/mo | — | Unchanged | Visit → |
| Brevo | $8.08/mo | Up to 500 contacts | Unchanged | Visit → |
| Klaviyo | $1/mo | Up to 250 contacts | −97.8% | Visit → |
| Customer.io | $100/mo | Up to 5,000 contacts | Unchanged | Visit → |
| MailerLite | $10.80/mo | Up to 250 contacts | +8.0% | Visit → |
| GetResponse | $15.58/mo | Up to 1,000 contacts | Unchanged | Visit → |
Full methodology and 90-day price history: Email Platform Pricing Report 2026.
Should you actually switch?
HubSpot is worth the price if you genuinely use the full suite. Here is how to tell if you are paying for more than you need.
Switch if
- Email and basic automation are most of what your team actually does in HubSpot day to day.
- You rarely or never touch the sales pipeline, service hub, or advanced reporting tools.
- Your contact count is growing and HubSpot’s tiered pricing is climbing faster than your usage justifies.
- You want ecommerce-specific or event-driven automation that HubSpot treats as a secondary feature.
Stay put if
- Your sales team relies on HubSpot’s CRM and pipeline daily.
- You use the service hub or need cross-team reporting across marketing, sales, and support.
- You have deep custom integrations built on HubSpot’s ecosystem.
Step-by-step migration guides
Frequently asked questions
Mostly price. HubSpot Marketing Hub bundles CRM, sales, and service features into the same pricing, so a team that mainly uses email and automation ends up paying suite-level prices for a fraction of the suite.
Keep reading
Our top pick
ActiveCampaign leads our testing
Tested hands on against every platform in this guide, on real accounts and real campaigns.
Still deciding?
Put any two platforms head-to-head on price, automation, and deliverability.
Related reading
About the Author
Carlos Gil is the bestselling author of The End of Marketing, a LinkedIn Top Voice, and founder of The Best Network. He brings 15+ years in marketing to practical reviews of AI, SaaS, email marketing, and creator tools.
Read more about Carlos