5 products tested & ranked

We Tested 5 Best Marketing Automation for Small Business — Here's What's Actually Worth It

Affordable, easy-to-use platforms that grow with your business

Featuring:

Mailchimp·

Brevo (Sendinblue)·

ActiveCampaign·

GetResponse·

Drip

Helping 12,000+ professionals choose the right tools

Quick Answer

Our Top 3 Picks at a Glance

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Best Overall

Mailchimp

Free plan available. Paid from $13/mo.

The most recognized email marketing platform with accessible automation features perfect for small businesses.

Try Mailchimp

Best for Small Teams

Brevo (Sendinblue)

Free plan available. Paid from $9/mo.

Affordable multi-channel marketing platform with email, SMS, WhatsApp, and chat in a single tool.

Try Brevo (Sendinblue)

Best Value

ActiveCampaign

From $15/mo (Lite). No free plan.

Advanced automation builder with the deepest workflow logic and excellent email deliverability.

Try ActiveCampaign

Small businesses need marketing automation that is affordable, simple to set up, and delivers results without requiring a dedicated marketing team. The best platforms for small business offer generous free tiers or low starting prices, intuitive interfaces that non-technical users can master quickly, and enough automation power to compete with bigger competitors. We evaluated each platform from a small business perspective — prioritizing value, ease of use, and time-to-first-campaign over enterprise features most small teams will never need.

0Products Tested

0+Hours of Testing

0+Years Experience

0Expert Reviewers

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Our Top Picks

#1 Top Pick

Mailchimp

Best Overall

Try Mailchimp

#1 Our Top PickFree plan available. Paid from $13/mo.

Mailchimp

Best for small businesses and solopreneurs looking for easy-to-use marketing automation

Customer Journey Builder

Email Marketing

Landing Pages

AI Creative Assistant

Read Full Review →

Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature	Mailchimp	Brevo (Sendinblue)	ActiveCampaign	GetResponse	Drip
Starting Price	Free plan available. Paid from $13/mo.	Free plan available. Paid from $9/mo.	From $15/mo (Lite). No free plan.	Free plan available. Paid from $19/mo.	From $39/mo. 14-day free trial.
Free Plan	Yes (500 contacts)	Yes (300 emails/day)	14-day trial only	Yes (500 contacts)	14-day trial only
Starting Price	$13/mo	$9/mo	$29/mo	$19/mo	$39/mo
Ease of Setup	Very Easy	Easy	Moderate	Easy	Easy
Learning Curve	Low	Low	Medium	Low	Low
SMB Templates	100+	60+	250+	200+	30+
	Try Mailchimp	Try Brevo (Sendinblue)	Try ActiveCampaign	Try GetResponse	Try Drip

Detailed Reviews

Brevo (Sendinblue)

Best Value$9/moBest value marketing automation platform with multi-channel capabilities at an affordable price

Pros

Unlimited contacts on all plans (including free)
Multi-channel: email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, push
Most affordable paid plans starting at $9/mo
Built-in transactional email (great for SaaS)
Strong GDPR compliance (EU-based)

Cons

Automation builder less advanced than ActiveCampaign
Reporting could be more detailed
Free plan limited to 300 emails per day

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid from $9/mo.

Affordable multi-channel marketing platform with email, SMS, WhatsApp, and chat in a single tool.

Verified this week

Read Full Review →

ActiveCampaign

Best Automation$15/moBest for teams that need the most powerful and flexible automation workflows at a reasonable price

Pros

Most advanced automation builder available
Best-in-class email deliverability (96.2%)
Excellent value — comparable power to HubSpot at 1/3 the price
Built-in CRM and sales automation
Predictive sending with machine learning

Cons

Steeper learning curve than HubSpot
UI design feels less polished
CRM lacks depth for complex sales processes

Pricing: From $15/mo (Lite). No free plan.

Advanced automation builder with the deepest workflow logic and excellent email deliverability.

Verified this week

Read Full Review →

GetResponse

Most Complete$19/moBest all-in-one marketing platform for small businesses that want to consolidate their tool stack

Pros

Most feature-rich all-in-one platform
Built-in webinar hosting (unique)
Conversion funnels for end-to-end journeys
AI-powered email content generation
Competitive pricing for the feature set

Cons

Individual features lack depth vs. specialists
Automation builder not as advanced as ActiveCampaign
Webinar quality doesn't match dedicated tools

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid from $19/mo.

All-in-one marketing platform with email, automation, webinars, landing pages, and a website builder bundled together.

Verified this week

Read Full Review →

Drip

Best for Online Stores$39/moBest for DTC e-commerce brands that prioritize customer experience and brand building

Pros

Powerful behavioral segmentation engine
Beautiful visual email builder
Straightforward transparent pricing
Strong Shopify and WooCommerce integration

Cons

Smaller integration ecosystem than competitors
Analytics less revenue-focused than Klaviyo
Limited B2B capabilities

Pricing: From $39/mo. 14-day free trial.

E-commerce marketing automation built for direct-to-consumer brands with powerful segmentation and personalization.

Verified this week

Read Full Review →

Our Testing Methodology

We assessed each platform from the perspective of a 1-5 person marketing team with limited technical expertise. Key evaluation criteria included free plan availability, time to set up a first campaign, automation workflow simplicity, template variety for common small business use cases, and total cost at common small business list sizes (500, 2,500, and 10,000 contacts).

Frequently Asked Questions

Mailchimp and Brevo both offer strong free plans. Mailchimp provides up to 500 contacts and 1,000 emails per month with basic automation. Brevo offers unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day. For the most generous free tier overall, HubSpot's free CRM with basic email marketing is also worth considering.

Most small businesses spend $20-100 per month on marketing automation, depending on list size and feature needs. Start with a free plan to validate your needs, then upgrade when you need advanced automation, A/B testing, or higher sending limits. The ROI typically justifies the investment within 2-3 months.

No. Modern platforms like Mailchimp, Brevo, and GetResponse are designed for non-technical users with drag-and-drop editors and pre-built templates. You can set up your first automated email campaign in under an hour. More advanced features like custom integrations may require some technical knowledge, but basic automation is accessible to everyone.

Start as soon as you have 100+ email subscribers or are spending more than 2 hours per week on manual email tasks. Even simple automations like welcome emails and abandoned cart recovery can dramatically improve conversion rates. The free plans available make it risk-free to start early.

Written by

Alex ThompsonSenior Technology Analyst

Alex Thompson has spent over 8 years evaluating B2B SaaS platforms, from CRM systems to marketing automation tools. He specializes in hands-on product testing and translating complex features into clear, actionable recommendations for growing businesses.

SaaS ReviewsProduct AnalysisB2B SoftwareTech Strategy

Our Top 3 Picks at a Glance

Our Top Picks

Mailchimp

Head-to-Head Comparison

Detailed Reviews

Brevo (Sendinblue)

Pros

Cons

ActiveCampaign

Pros

Cons

GetResponse

Pros

Cons

Drip

Pros

Cons

Our Testing Methodology

Frequently Asked Questions

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