Top 6 Campaign Monitor Alternatives in 2026
Campaign Monitor is easy to outgrow on automation. Senders who want behavioral targeting or ecommerce depth move to more capable tools. Paid plans start at $11.70/mo for 500 contacts. 2 of the 6 tools below start cheaper. Mailchimp ($13/mo) is the familiar all-rounder, priced by audience size. Constant Contact ($10.20/mo) suits small businesses and nonprofits, with event tools and phone support. MailerLite ($10.80/mo) does the essentials cleanly at a low price.
01Quick Comparison
| Tool | Entry price | Free plan | Value score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | $13/mo | Yes | 4.5/5 |
| Constant Contact | $10.20/mo | No | 4.2/5 |
| MailerLite | $10.80/mo | Yes | 4.6/5 |
| ConvertKit | $33/mo | Yes | 4.1/5 |
| ActiveCampaign | $15/mo | No | 4.2/5 |
| Klaviyo | $20/mo | Yes | 4.3/5 |
| Campaign Monitor (current) | $11.70/mo | No | 4.1/5 |
02The Alternatives
Mailchimp
From$13/moValue score4.5/5
Compared with Campaign Monitor: Starts at $13/mo, $1.30 a month more than Campaign Monitor; it has a free plan, which Campaign Monitor does not.
Mailchimp is the email tool most small businesses try first. It covers campaigns, templates, basic automation, landing pages and forms, and connects to almost everything. It is a generalist: good at getting a newsletter out, less convincing once you need advanced automation, and priced by the size of your audience.
- Best for
- SMBs that want a familiar general-purpose email platform
- Pricing
- Essentials plan, billed monthly, 500 contacts at this price. Free plan: 250 contacts and 500 sends a month.
- Key features
- Email campaigns and templates, Audience segmentation, Marketing automation journeys
Where it falls short: The price rises with every contact you add, the free plan is small, and automation is shallower than in specialist tools.
Constant Contact
From$10.20/moValue score4.2/5
Compared with Campaign Monitor: Starts at $10.20/mo, $1.50 a month less than Campaign Monitor.
Constant Contact is a long-standing choice for small businesses and nonprofits. Beyond email it handles event registration, social posting and surveys, and it backs them with phone support and plenty of guidance. Automation is basic, and there is a trial instead of a free plan.
- Best for
- Small businesses that want straightforward email marketing
- Pricing
- Lite plan, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), 500 contacts at this price.
- Key features
- Email templates and campaigns, Audience segmentation, Event marketing tools
Where it falls short: Automation and segmentation are limited, and you pay from the start.
MailerLite
From$10.80/moValue score4.6/5
Compared with Campaign Monitor: Starts at $10.80/mo, $0.90 a month less than Campaign Monitor; it has a free plan, which Campaign Monitor does not.
MailerLite is a simple, inexpensive email tool with a clean editor. Newsletters, landing pages, forms and straightforward automations are all there, and the free plan is usable. It leaves out the heavier features, which keeps both the interface and the bill small.
- Best for
- Small businesses and creators that want value and simplicity
- Pricing
- Comfort plan, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), 500 subscribers at this price. Free plan: up to 250 subscribers.
- Key features
- Newsletter builder, Automation workflows, Landing pages and websites
Where it falls short: Automation, reporting and integrations are lighter than in the bigger platforms.
ConvertKit
From$33/moValue score4.1/5
Compared with Campaign Monitor: Starts at $33/mo, $21.30 a month more than Campaign Monitor; it has a free plan, which Campaign Monitor does not.
ConvertKit, now called Kit, is email marketing for creators: writers, podcasters, course sellers and newsletter operators. Subscribers are organized with tags instead of lists, automations are drawn as simple visual flows, and you can sell digital products and paid subscriptions from the same account. Emails are plain and text-first by intent.
- Best for
- Creators and newsletter businesses focused on audience building
- Pricing
- Creator plan, billed annually ($39 billed monthly), 1,000 subscribers at this price. Free plan: up to 10,000 subscribers.
- Key features
- Visual automations, Landing pages and forms, Creator commerce tools
Where it falls short: Design options and reporting are limited, and it is not built for stores or sales teams.
ActiveCampaign
From$15/moValue score4.2/5
Compared with Campaign Monitor: Starts at $15/mo, $3.30 a month more than Campaign Monitor.
ActiveCampaign is an automation tool that also sends email. Its visual builder handles branching logic, lead scoring, site tracking and conditional content, and a sales CRM can be added on. It asks for more learning than its simpler rivals and repays it for businesses whose marketing depends on timing and behavior.
- Best for
- Businesses that prioritize automation and segmentation
- Pricing
- Starter plan, billed annually ($19 billed monthly), 1,000 contacts at this price.
- Key features
- Advanced automations, Segmentation and personalization, Built-in CRM
Where it falls short: There is no free plan, the learning curve is real, and the cost climbs with both contacts and tier.
Klaviyo
From$20/moValue score4.3/5
Compared with Campaign Monitor: Starts at $20/mo, $8.30 a month more than Campaign Monitor; it has a free plan, which Campaign Monitor does not.
Klaviyo is built for online stores. It pulls order and browsing data from platforms such as Shopify and uses it for segmentation and automated flows: abandoned carts, post-purchase follow-ups, win-backs. Email and SMS run from the same data. It is the specialist’s choice for ecommerce and priced like one.
- Best for
- Ecommerce brands prioritizing retention and customer lifecycle revenue
- Pricing
- Email plan, billed monthly, 251-500 active profiles at this price. Free plan: up to 250 active profiles and 500 sends a month.
- Key features
- Behavior-based segmentation, Ecommerce automation flows, SMS marketing
Where it falls short: Pricing follows the number of active profiles and rises quickly, and it offers little to a business that is not selling online.
03FAQ
What is the closest alternative to Campaign Monitor?
Mailchimp. Mailchimp is the email tool most small businesses try first. Starts at $13/mo, $1.30 a month more than Campaign Monitor; it has a free plan, which Campaign Monitor does not.
What is the cheapest alternative to Campaign Monitor?
MailerLite: free plan, then $10.80/mo. Comfort plan, billed annually ($12 billed monthly), 500 subscribers at this price. Free plan: up to 250 subscribers.
Which Campaign Monitor alternatives have a free plan?
Mailchimp, MailerLite, ConvertKit and Klaviyo. Free plans differ a lot in what they limit, so check the plan tables on each tool’s pricing page.
Is Campaign Monitor still worth using?
Yes, if you care most about how your emails look, or manage email for clients. Its strength is well-designed campaigns, and managing email for multiple clients. The weakness: there is no free plan, automation is simple, and integrations are fewer than Mailchimp’s.
04Bottom Line
If cost is why you are leaving Campaign Monitor, start with MailerLite. If you want the least disruption, Mailchimp is the closest in spirit: it is the familiar all-rounder, priced by audience size. And if Campaign Monitor never did enough, Klaviyo goes deepest.