Ranked
7 Best Email Marketing Software in South Africa (2026)
Seven email platforms priced at 1 000, 2 500 and 5 000 contacts, read at each vendor's site. MailerLite, Brevo, Mailchimp, Everlytic and more.
Almost every best email marketing platform you will find is an overseas business billing in US dollars. For a South African business the price you see is only the start: it arrives in dollars, your bank converts it, and the plan that looked cheap at 500 subscribers quietly doubles by the time your list is useful.
So I priced all seven at the list you are likely to have in a year, 1 000, 2 500 and 5 000 contacts, at each vendor's own site this week, in the currency each one bills you. With automation included, one platform is the cheapest at every one of those sizes, and the platform most people have heard of is not it.
How I ranked them
I have not run a campaign on all seven, so this ranking leaves out which editor feels nicest and uses the three things you can check before you sign up, which decide what the next year costs you.
The rand price at your list size
Priced at 1 000, 2 500 and 5 000 contacts, because the entry price on a pricing page is for a list you will outgrow in months.
Whether automation is included
A welcome series and an abandoned-cart email are why most businesses pay at all. Some cheap plans leave them out or cap them at a few steps.
How you pay, and who you call
A dollar charge on your card, a rand price, or a rand invoice from a South African company with a contract behind it.
The order below is for a small business that wants automations, paying monthly. The finder at the end reorders it for your own list.
The seven, priced at your list size
Read across to your own list size. Where a plan leaves out automation or bills annually only, the row says so, because that is where a cheaper number stops being the same product.
The plan each platform sells with automations, a month, at three list sizes. Monthly billing unless marked.
Email marketing software in South Africa, a month at three list sizes
| 1 000 contacts | 2 500 contacts | 5 000 contacts | Free plan | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1MailerLite Comfort | $19R317 | $33R550 | $49R816 | 250 subscribers | See it |
| 2Brevo Standard | $35R583 | $49R816 | $69R1 150 | 300 emails a day | See it |
| 3Mailchimp Standard | R690 | R1 010 | R1 540 | Under 250 contacts | See it |
| 4Everlytic Foundation | Quote | Quote | Quote | None, 12-month contract | See it |
| 5Omnisend Standard | $20R333 | $44R733 | $81R1 349 | 250 contacts | See it |
| 6Kit Creator | $39R650 | Scales with list | Scales with list | Up to 10 000 subscribers | See it |
| 7ActiveCampaign Plus | $49R816 | $95R1 583 | $145R2 416 | None, annual billing | See it |
Read at each vendor's own pricing page, in the currency each bills a South African, excluding VAT. Everlytic now quotes every plan on request; Brevo's figures are its 10 000, 15 000 and 20 000 email tiers, which carry those contacts.← scroll sideways on a narrow screen →
MailerLite is the cheapest with automations at every size. The rest cost more for a reason, and the reason is what each section below is about.
So the question is not which is cheapest. It is whether you need the thing the more expensive one sells.
Two cheaper plans are left out of that table on purpose. Brevo's Starter plan and Mailchimp's Essentials plan both cost less, but Starter has no multi-step automation and Essentials allows only four steps in a flow. They are fine for a newsletter, and both appear in their sections below.
1. MailerLite - the cheapest with automations, at every size
MailerLite is where I would start almost any South African small business. At 1 000 subscribers its Comfort plan is $19R317 a month, and that includes 50 automations, ten landing pages, 10 000 emails a month and no MailerLite logo on your emails. Nothing else in this ranking gives you automations for less at any of the three sizes I priced.
You can start on the free plan today and move up when you need to. It now covers 250 subscribers and 2 500 emails a month, down from the 1 000 subscribers most older reviews still quote.
1Cheapest with automations
MailerLite
Why it ranks first
MailerLite's Comfort plan includes 50 automations and ten landing pages from $19R317 a month at 1 000 subscribers.
- Free plan250 subscribers, 2 500 emails a month
- At 5 000$49R816 a month
- Sends10 times your list each month
- Best fora small business that wants a welcome series and a monthly newsletter
- Watch forComfort caps sends at ten times your list; Power is unlimited
MailerLite's offer today10% off when you pay for a year upfrontShown on mailerlite.com on 1 Oct 2026.
My recommendations on MailerLite's plans
Starting out? Start on Comfort. It's the cheapest plan in this ranking with automations, and at 1 000 subscribers it sends 10 000 emails a month, enough for a newsletter and a welcome series.
Growing or switching? Move to Power when you email daily or more than three people need to log in. It removes the send cap and the seat limit.
Next to Brevo? If you mail a very large list only once or twice a month and need no automations, Brevo's Starter can cost less, because it charges for the emails you send, not the size of your list.
Every plan includes email campaigns, automations, signup forms and 100+ integrations.
View all 3 MailerLite plans under 200 000 subscribersPriced at 1 000 subscribers, billed monthly
Mirrored from mailerlite.com These are MailerLite's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on MailerLite.
- Up to 250 subscribers
- 2 500 emails a month
- 3 automations
- 2 user seats
- The MailerLite logo stays on your emails
- Up to 1 000 subscribers
- 10 000 emails a month
- 50 automations
- 3 user seats
- MailerLite logo removed
- 24/7 email support
- Up to 1 000 subscribers
- Unlimited emails
- Unlimited automations
- Unlimited user seats
- 24/7 live chat and email support
Enterprise, for 200 000+ subscribers, is quoted. · Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on MailerLite's Comfort plan
Try every feature free for 14 days, no card needed.
you'll go to www.mailerlite.com
The cap to understand is sends. Comfort allows ten emails per subscriber each month, so 1 000 subscribers gets you 10 000 emails. That is a weekly newsletter plus a welcome series with room to spare. If you mail daily, MailerLite's Power plan removes the cap, at $39R650 a month at 1 000 subscribers.
Buy it if you are a shop, a service business or a practice that wants to email its customers every week or two and have new sign-ups welcomed automatically, without paying for a sales CRM it will never open. If you mail a big list only once or twice a month, the next pick can be cheaper.
2. Brevo - a big list, mailed rarely
Brevo prices by how many emails you send, and from 20 000 a month it stops charging for your list. Its Starter plan at 20 000 emails is $32R533 a month and includes 500 000 contacts. If you have 5 000 customers and mail them four times a month, that is the cheapest way on this page to reach all of them.
The catch is newer than most reviews know. On the smaller tiers Starter now pairs contacts with volume: 500 contacts at 5 000 emails, 1 500 at 10 000 and 2 500 at 15 000. And Starter has no multi-step automation, which starts on Brevo's Standard plan at $35R583 a month for 1 500 contacts.
2Cheapest for a big list
Brevo
Why it ranks here
Brevo's Starter plan includes 500 000 contacts from 20 000 emails a month, for $32R533.
- Free plan300 emails a day
- Starter from$9R150 a month, 5 000 emails, 500 contacts
- AutomationStandard plan, from $18R300 a month
- Also sendsTransactional email and SMS
- Best fora large customer list mailed a few times a month
- Watch forthe Brevo logo stays on Starter unless you pay extra to remove it
Brevo's offer today10% off when you pay yearlyShown on brevo.com on 1 Oct 2026.
My recommendations on Brevo's plans
Starting out? Start on Starter if your list is big and you mail it a few times a month. At 20 000 emails it's $32R533 a month, with up to 500 000 contacts on the list.
Growing or switching? Move to Standard when you want welcome emails sent automatically and your emails without Brevo's logo.
Next to MailerLite? If you mail every week and want automations from the start, look at MailerLite's Comfort first. It's priced by list size and includes 10 000 emails at 1 000 subscribers.
Every plan includes email and transactional sending, the drag-and-drop editor, templates and forms.
View all 4 Brevo plans below EnterprisePriced by emails sent each month, billed monthly
Mirrored from brevo.com These are Brevo's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on Brevo.
- 300 emails a day
- Email campaigns and signup forms
- Brevo's logo stays on your emails
- From 5 000 emails a month
- No daily sending limit
- Advanced segmentation
- Removing the Brevo logo is a paid add-on
- Email support
- From 5 000 emails a month
- Marketing automation
- A/B testing
- 1 landing page
- No Brevo logo
- From 150 000 emails a month
- WhatsApp, pop-ups and push
- 10 seats
- Phone support
Enterprise is quoted. · Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on Brevo's Starter plan
The free plan needs no card, so you can test sending first.
Read the reviewyou'll go to www.brevo.com
Buy it if you have thousands of past customers and a monthly promotion to send them, or if you also need order confirmations and SMS from the same account. If you want a welcome series and weekly mail on a list of 1 000, MailerLite does it for $16R267 a month less.
3. Mailchimp - priced in Rands, and the most connected
Mailchimp is the only global platform here that shows a South African a rand price. Its Essentials plan is R410 a month for up to 1 500 contacts and its Standard plan R690, and the price you see is the price on your card, with no exchange rate moving it. For a business that budgets in rands, that certainty is worth something.
3Billed in rands
Mailchimp
Why it's on this list
Mailchimp shows South African buyers a rand price: Essentials from R200 and Standard from R310 a month for 500 contacts.
- Free planUnder 250 contacts
- EssentialsR410 to 1 500 contacts, 4-step flows
- Standard at 5 000R1 540 a month
- Trial14 days on Standard
- Best fora business that wants a fixed rand price and connects many other apps
- Watch forEssentials limits flows to four steps
My recommendations on Mailchimp's plans
Starting out? Start on Standard if you want new subscribers welcomed automatically, because Essentials stops at four steps per flow. At up to 1 500 contacts that's R690 a month, billed in rands.
Growing or switching? Move to Premium only when a team needs unlimited seats and phone support. At R5 600 a month it's a different budget.
Next to MailerLite? MailerLite's Comfort does the same automation job for $19R317 a month at 1 000 subscribers. You'd pick Mailchimp for the rand bill and the apps that connect to it.
Every plan includes pop-up forms, pre-built templates, email scheduling and 300+ integrations.
View all 4 Mailchimp plansPriced in rands at up to 1 500 contacts, billed monthly
Mirrored from mailchimp.com These are Mailchimp's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on Mailchimp.
- Under 250 contacts
- Core email tools
- Move to a paid plan as your list grows
- 15 000 emails a month
- 3 seats
- Automation flows of up to 4 steps
- 24/7 email and chat support
- Mailchimp branding removed
- 18 000 emails a month
- 5 seats
- Up to 200 automation flows
- Generative AI features
- 24/7 email and chat support
- 1 onboarding session
- 150 000 emails a month
- Unlimited seats
- Up to 200 automation flows
- Phone and priority support
- R4 760 a month for the first 12 months on Mailchimp's current offer
Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on Mailchimp's Standard plan
Essentials and Standard start with a free 14-day trial.
you'll go to mailchimp.com
Buy it if you already run other tools that connect to Mailchimp, or simply want a rand amount on the statement every month. On price alone it costs about R373 to R724 a month more than MailerLite at the sizes I priced, and the next pick is the one to read if you would rather deal with a South African company.
4. Everlytic - the South African platform, with a contract
Everlytic is the one to choose if you want a South African supplier behind your email. It invoices in rands, its prices exclude VAT so a VAT-registered business claims it back, and SMS runs from the same account on its Accelerate plan. It no longer publishes those prices: every plan on its pricing page is now quoted at your list size, and Foundation is the one without SMS.
4South African supplier
Everlytic
Why it's on this list
Everlytic invoices in rands, excluding VAT, with SMS on its Accelerate plan and a local team, and quotes each plan on request.
- Contract12 months, setup fee waived
- At 5 000Quoted at your list size
- SMSAccelerate and up, charged extra
- BrandingEverlytic's on Foundation, yours on Accelerate
- Best foran established business that wants a local supplier and SMS
- Watch fora 12-month contract; its quoted prices are new-customer promotions
My recommendations on Everlytic's plans
Starting out? Ask for a Foundation quote first. It covers email, A/B tests, landing pages and basic automation for three users, invoiced in rands.
Growing or switching? Ask about Accelerate when you want your own branding and SMS from the same account.
Next to the dollar-billed tools? Everlytic asks for a 12-month contract, while every other platform in this ranking lets you leave next month.
Every plan includes email campaigns, A/B testing, landing pages and forms. Prices exclude VAT.
View all 3 Everlytic packagesEach one quoted on a 12-month contract
Mirrored from everlytic.com These are Everlytic's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on Everlytic.
- 3 users
- 10 audiences or segmented lists
- Email and SMS campaigns, A/B testing, landing pages and forms
- Basic workflows and automation
- Everlytic branding on your emails
- SMS and WhatsApp not enabled
- Email support
- 7 users
- 100 audiences or segmented lists
- Your own branding
- SMS enabled, charged extra
- Priority email and chat support
- 500 users
- 500 audiences or segmented lists
- Your own branding
- Up to 4 hours a month of specialist support
- SMS and WhatsApp enabled, charged extra
- Priority email, chat and phone support
Over 100 000 subscribers is priced separately. · Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on Everlytic's Foundation plan
Every package is quoted on a 12-month contract, with no setup fee for new customers.
you'll go to www.everlytic.co.za
Buy it if you have a few thousand customers, a finance team that wants a rand tax invoice, and a reason to send SMS as well as email. For a new business the contract is the drawback: every other platform here lets you leave next month.
5. Omnisend - built for online stores
If you sell online, rank the list by what recovers abandoned carts, and Omnisend moves up. It is built around the emails a store actually sends: abandoned cart, browse abandonment, order follow-ups and product recommendations, connected to WooCommerce and Shopify. Its Standard plan is $20R333 a month at 1 000 contacts.
5Best for online stores
Omnisend
Why it's on this list
Omnisend's Standard plan is built for store email, from $20R333 a month at 1 000 contacts.
- Free plan250 contacts, 500 emails a month
- At 5 000$81R1 349 a month
- Sends12 times your list each month
- SMSPro plan, priced per message
- Best fora WooCommerce or Shopify store that wants cart and order emails built in
- Watch forit costs more than MailerLite at every list size, $32R533 more at 5 000
Omnisend's offer today30% off your first three months when you pay for them upfrontShown on omnisend.com on 24 Sep 2026.
My recommendations on Omnisend's plans
Starting out? Start on Standard if you sell online. At 1 000 contacts it's $20R333 a month and sends up to 12 000 emails, with store emails built in.
Growing or switching? Move to Pro when your list passes 2 500 contacts and you want unlimited sends or SMS.
Not selling online? If you don't run a store, MailerLite's Comfort covers newsletters and welcome emails for a dollar a month less.
Every plan includes automations, unlimited segmentation, forms, the email builder and sales reports.
View all 3 Omnisend plansPriced at up to 1 000 contacts, billed monthly
Mirrored from omnisend.com These are Omnisend's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on Omnisend.
- 250 contacts
- 500 emails a month
- 500 web push notifications
- Every feature, with no time limit
- 1 000 contacts
- 12 000 emails a month
- Unlimited web push notifications
- 2 AI tools
- Emails up to 12 times your list
- From 2 500 contacts
- Unlimited emails
- SMS from $0.007 a message
- 5 AI tools
- Starts at the 2 500-contact tier
Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on Omnisend's Standard plan
Moving your automations, forms, segments and templates over is free and takes up to 5 days.
you'll go to www.omnisend.com
Buy it if you run a store whose email is mostly carts and order follow-ups rather than newsletters. It costs a dollar more than MailerLite at 1 000 contacts and $32R533 more at 5 000, so a store whose email is mostly a newsletter should price MailerLite against it first.
6. Kit - free for creators up to 10 000 subscribers
Kit, which used to be ConvertKit, has the most generous free plan here: up to 10 000 subscribers. It is built for people who sell their own work, a course, a newsletter or digital products, and the free plan includes unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms. You start paying when you want automated sequences, on Kit's Creator plan at $39R650 a month for 1 000 subscribers.
6Best free plan for creators
Kit
Why it's on this list
Kit's free plan covers up to 10 000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms.
- Free planUp to 10 000 subscribers
- Creator$39R650 a month at 1 000
- SellsDigital products and paid newsletters
- Best fora writer, coach or course creator growing a newsletter
- Watch forautomated sequences need the Creator plan
Kit's offer today17% off when you pay yearlyShown on kit.com on 1 Oct 2026.
My recommendations on Kit's plans
Starting out? Start on the free plan. It covers up to 10 000 subscribers with unlimited broadcasts, the most generous free plan in this ranking.
Growing or switching? Move to Creator at $39R650 a month when you want automated sequences, and to Pro when a team shares the account.
Not a creator? If you run a shop or a service business, you'll want sequences early, and MailerLite's Comfort at $19R317 costs less than Kit's Creator at $39R650.
Every plan includes unlimited landing pages, forms and broadcasts, with tagging and segmentation.
View all 3 Kit plansPriced at 1 000 subscribers, billed monthly
Mirrored from kit.com These are Kit's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on Kit.
- Up to 10 000 subscribers
- Unlimited broadcasts
- Unlimited landing pages and forms
- Sell digital products and subscriptions
- Kit branding stays on
- Unlimited visual automations
- Unlimited email sequences
- A/B testing of subject lines
- Kit branding removed
- 24/7 email and chat support
- Everything in Creator
- Unlimited users
- Deliverability reporting
- A newsletter referral system
- 24/7 priority email and chat support
Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on Kit's Free plan
Paid plans start with a 14-day free trial, no card needed, and moving your list over is free.
you'll go to kit.com
Buy it if your list is your business, and you send a newsletter and selling to the people who read it. For a shop or a service business, the free plan's lack of sequences sends you to a paid plan sooner, and MailerLite's is cheaper.
7. ActiveCampaign - the deepest automation, for B2B
ActiveCampaign is the one to pay more for when email is part of how you sell to other businesses. It has the deepest automation here, with lead scoring and sales pipelines as add-ons, and it is priced like it: $49R816 a month at 1 000 contacts on ActiveCampaign's Plus plan, billed annually. Its Starter plan is $15R250 but allows only five actions per automation.
7Deepest automation
ActiveCampaign
Why it's on this list
ActiveCampaign's Plus plan has unlimited automation actions and landing pages, from $49R816 a month at 1 000 contacts.
- Starter$15R250 a month, 5 actions per automation
- Plus at 5 000$145R2 416 a month
- BillingAnnual
- Add-onsSales pipelines and lead scoring
- Best fora B2B business whose email feeds a sales team
- Watch forannual billing, and the price doubles between 1 000 and 2 500 contacts
My recommendations on ActiveCampaign's plans
Starting out? Start on Plus. Starter allows five actions per automation, which a three-email welcome series with waits between them already uses.
Growing or switching? Move to Pro when a second or third person needs to log in, or you want to see which emails bring in sales.
Only need newsletters? If you don't need sales-style automation, MailerLite's Comfort covers newsletters and welcome emails for less than half of Plus's $49R816.
Every plan includes marketing automation, email marketing, and CRM and ecommerce integrations.
View all 4 ActiveCampaign email plansPriced at 1 000 contacts, a month, billed yearly
Mirrored from activecampaign.com These are ActiveCampaign's own plans, prices and limits, as its pricing page showed them on 1 Oct 2026. The “Pick it if” lines are ours. Choose a plan to see it on ActiveCampaign.
- Emails up to 10 times your contacts
- Marketing automation, 5 actions per automation
- Limited segmentation
- 1 user
- Emails up to 10 times your contacts
- Unlimited automation actions
- Standard segmentation
- Landing pages
- 1 user
- Emails up to 12 times your contacts
- Advanced segmentation
- Predictive and conditional content
- Attribution and conversion tracking
- 3 users
- Emails up to 15 times your contacts
- Premium segmentation
- Custom objects and single sign-on
- 5 users
- A dedicated account team
No free plan. · Checked 1 Oct 2026
Start on ActiveCampaign's Plus plan
Start with a free trial, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
you'll go to www.activecampaign.com
Buy it if you run a consultancy, agency or software business where an email opened today is a sales call next week, and the automation has to know which lead is warm. For a shop sending a weekly newsletter, it is a lot of machine to pay for up front.
Before you send your first campaign
First, the law. Section 69 of POPIAThe Protection of Personal Information Act, South Africa's data protection law. It sets rules for how a business collects, stores and protects personal information about people, and the Information Regulator enforces it.What it means for your email listA customer who bought from you and was offered an opt-out may get your newsletter about similar products. A list of 2 000 addresses bought from a data broker may not be mailed at all, whatever the platform allows. allows marketing email only to people who agreed to receive it, or to your existing customers about similar products, with a way to opt out on every message. A bought list or a scraped one breaks it, and email platforms suspend accounts that send to one.
Second, the inbox. Google's sender rules ask anyone sending more than 5 000 messages a day to Gmail addresses to authenticate their domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, offer one-click unsubscribe, and keep spam complaints under 0.3%. Each of these platforms has a domain-authentication step in its setup, and it is worth doing on day one even on a small list, because mail from an address at gmail.com is the first thing a spam filter distrusts.
So which one should you use?
All seven do what they promise. The differences are what you pay for and what you get for it: MailerLite sells the most automation for the least, Brevo sells sending rather than storage, Mailchimp sells a rand price and a huge library of connections, Everlytic sells a South African supplier, Omnisend sells store email, Kit sells a free start to creators and ActiveCampaign sells depth.
Bringing the seven together: take MailerLite if you are a small business that wants a newsletter and a welcome series, which is most readers of this page. Take Brevo if you have a big list and mail it a few times a month. Take Mailchimp if a fixed rand price matters more than the lowest one, and Everlytic if you want a local supplier and SMS on a contract. Take Omnisend if you run an online store, Kit if your newsletter is the business, and ActiveCampaign if your email feeds a B2B sales team.
Still between two? The four questions below are the four that decided this ranking: how big your list is, what you sell, how often you send, and how you want to pay. They give you the platform that fits, with the reason attached.
Four questions
Which email platform fits your business?
Answer for how your business works today, and the recommendation updates as you go.
1What does your business sell?
2How many people are on your list?
3How often do you email them?
4How do you want to pay?
Before you answer
MailerLite, for most small businesses
It is the cheapest here with automations included, at 1 000, 2 500 and 5 000 contacts.
The trade-off: you pay in dollars, and Comfort caps sends at ten times your list.
Prices read at each vendor's own site on 24 September 2026.
Questions people actually ask
Costs
What is the cheapest email marketing software in South Africa?
With automations included, MailerLite: its Comfort plan is $19R317 a month at 1 000 subscribers, and it stayed the cheapest at 2 500 and 5 000 contacts.For a large list mailed a few times a month without automation, Brevo's Starter plan at $32R533 for 20 000 emails includes 500 000 contacts. Checked 24 September 2026.
Is there free email marketing software?
Yes. Kit is free up to 10 000 subscribers, Brevo's free plan sends 300 emails a day, and MailerLite, Mailchimp and Omnisend have free plans for up to 250 contacts.The free plans leave out most automation and carry the platform's logo.
Which email marketing platforms charge in rands?
Mailchimp shows South African buyers rand prices, from R200 a month on Essentials.Everlytic, a South African company, invoices in rands excluding VAT on a 12-month contract, and quotes its prices on request. MailerLite, Brevo, Omnisend, Kit and ActiveCampaign charge in dollars, so the rand amount moves with the exchange rate.
Rules
Do I need consent to send marketing emails in South Africa?
Yes. Section 69 of POPIA allows electronic direct marketing only to people who have consented, or to existing customers about similar products or services, and every message must offer a way to opt out.Buying or scraping a list breaks it.
Is Mailchimp better than MailerLite?
Mailchimp has more integrations and bills South Africans in rands.MailerLite costs about R373 to R724 a month less at 1 000 to 5 000 contacts and includes 50 automations on its Comfort plan, where Mailchimp's Essentials plan limits flows to four steps. For most small businesses MailerLite is the better value.
