MakeSuccessOnline.

Brevo

Formerly Sendinblue — cheap, transactional-friendly email + SMS platform.

4.4/5 Free + paid · free plan Email Marketing
Visit website → Try free
Best for SMBs, developers, EU brands
Pricing Free + paid
Setup time Under 20 min
Learning curve Easy
Support Email, live chat, knowledge base
Company Sendinblue SAS
Launched 2012

About Brevo

Brevo is an email marketing platform built for SMBs, developers and EU brands. On the strengths side, free tier up to 300 emails/day (unlimited contacts); on the depth side, transactional email + SMS in one platform. The core workflow runs on Email marketing and Transactional email, with the rest of the suite plugging into those two. There's a genuinely free plan to start, with paid upgrades for teams that outgrow it. A strong budget-friendly alternative to Mailchimp, especially for SMBs with transactional email needs.

Available on

Web appiOSAndroidAPISMTP

Integrates with

ShopifyWordPressWooCommerceZapierSalesforceHubSpot

Who it's for

A quick filter before you spend time on Brevo — read both sides before committing.

Use it if…

  • SMBs wanting a cheap all-in-one email platform
  • Developers needing SMTP + marketing
  • EU brands wanting GDPR-first vendor

Skip it if…

  • Enterprise teams needing deep automation
  • US brands committed to Mailchimp
  • Teams wanting polished template editors

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free tier up to 300 emails/day (unlimited contacts)
  • Transactional email + SMS in one platform
  • Strong EU/French market support
  • Hits the core email marketing workflow without forcing a hunt for second tools
  • Pricing lands in the right band for its target buyer

Cons

  • Rebrand confused existing Sendinblue users
  • Template editor is weaker than Mailchimp
  • Daily send limits on cheap plans
  • Not the cheapest option in the category — the free alternatives cover basics
  • Advanced features sit behind higher-tier plans most small teams won't need

Features

The capabilities you actually get when you sign up for Brevo.

  1. 01

    Email marketing

    Templates, automations, broadcasts

  2. 02

    Transactional email

    SMTP relay + API for app notifications

  3. 03

    SMS marketing

    Promotional + transactional SMS

  4. 04

    Core workspace

    The main editor or dashboard where day-to-day email marketing work happens

  5. 05

    Integrations hub

    Connects to the tools your stack already uses so data doesn't live in silos

  6. 06

    Reporting and dashboards

    Built-in reports and exportable dashboards for stakeholder reviews

Pricing

A free plan to start, then paid tiers for the full set of features.

Free

$0

  • Unlimited contacts
  • 300 emails/day

Starter

$9 /mo

  • 5K emails/mo
  • No daily limit
  • A/B testing

Frequently asked questions

What people usually want to know before signing up for Brevo.

Why did Sendinblue rebrand to Brevo?

To signal expansion beyond email into a full-funnel CRM-adjacent platform.

Can Brevo replace SendGrid for transactional?

Yes, with similar reliability and cheaper pricing at low-to-mid volume.

How is pricing calculated — contacts or sends?

Usually contacts (every email in your list counts). A few tools price on sends, which is friendlier for inactive-heavy lists.

Can I migrate from Mailchimp without losing automations?

Lists and templates import cleanly. Automations have to be rebuilt — budget half a day per complex sequence.

Does it handle transactional email too?

Most ESPs separate transactional from marketing. Expect to pair with Postmark, Resend or an SMTP service for high-volume transactional sends.

Bottom line

Should you use Brevo?

A strong budget-friendly alternative to Mailchimp, especially for SMBs with transactional email needs.

Visit website → Try free