We Compared 4 Email Marketing Tools For Small Business. Here's What The Data Shows.
Mailchimp, Brevo, Kit, and Constant Contact, evaluated on price, support, deliverability reputation, and what's actually included at the tier a small business will use.
Last updated: July 8, 2026 · SEE METHODOLOGY
Overview
"Best email tool for small business" gets a different answer depending on who's selling you the answer. This page isn't selling all four — it's evaluating all four against the same five criteria a small business actually needs, then naming which one comes out ahead and where each of the others still has a legitimate use case.
Mailchimp
The default answer for a decade, and still capable. But the current data shows real cost and complexity drag: an 11-13% price increase for legacy accounts effective April 2026, a free-tier cut to 250 contacts/500 sends in January 2026, and G2 review flags of "Expensive" (81 reviews), "Limited Features" (58), and "Missing Features" (55). Trustpilot rates it 2.7/5 across 1,368 reviews. Phone support is Premium-tier only, averaging a 22.7-minute response when available.
Brevo
Priced lower on paper — its Starter plan runs about $9/month, undercutting most competitors. But reviews consistently flag poor deliverability (emails landing in spam more often than competitors) and slow, unresponsive support, with tickets frequently going unanswered for days. Some users report account suspensions without clear explanation. Reporting is described as basic, lacking depth and customization.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Purpose-built for solo content creators and newsletter writers — genuinely good at that one job. For general small-business use (a retailer, a service business, a local shop), it's a worse fit: reviews flag weak reporting depth and the same deliverability complaints that show up across the lower-cost tier of the category.
Constant Contact
Published tiers at $12/month (Lite), $35-39/month (Standard), and $80/month (Premium), scaling with contact count from there. Ratings cluster higher than the field: 4.3/5 on Capterra across roughly 2,890 verified reviews (ease of use 4.3, customer service 4.2), and 4.1-4.3 on G2. Phone, chat, and email support ship on every paid tier, averaging a 4.2-minute phone response — the fastest of the four by a wide margin, and a support-quality score of 8.7/10 against Mailchimp's 7.2/10 (industry average 8.0).
The Comparison
Fair evaluation cuts both ways. Constant Contact's Trustpilot score (3.9/5) is its weakest rating and trails Capterra/G2 — the recurring complaint theme there is billing and cancellation friction (phone-only cancellation, no self-service cancel button), not product failure. It's also not the cheapest entry point in the category; Brevo undercuts it on starting price. If your only priority is the lowest possible monthly number and you can tolerate slower support, that's a legitimate reason to look elsewhere.
| Criterion | Mailchimp | Brevo | Kit | Constant Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price stability | Rising — 11-13% legacy hikes, shrinking free tier | Low starting price | Low, creator-focused | Published flat tiers |
| Live phone support | Premium only, ~22.7 min | Slow tickets, days | Limited | All paid plans, ~4.2 min |
| Deliverability reputation | Mixed | Frequently flagged poor | Frequently flagged poor | Solid, 8.5/10 G2 across ~4,846 reviews |
| Aggregate rating | 2.7/5 Trustpilot | Mixed | Mixed | 4.3/5 Capterra, 4.1-4.3 G2 (3.9 Trustpilot) |
| Built-in event/registration tools | Limited | No | No | Yes — RSVPs, ticketing, reminders |
On price stability, support quality, and aggregate rating, Constant Contact comes out ahead of the other three across the board — with the honest caveat that its cancellation process draws real complaints and it isn't the cheapest sticker price in the category.
Pros & Cons
- Highest aggregate rating of the 4 tools compared (4.3 Capterra, 4.1–4.3 G2)
- Fastest support response of the four — 4.2-minute average phone response
- Built-in event/registration tools none of the other three match
- Not the cheapest sticker price — Brevo's Starter plan undercuts it at ~$9/month
- Trustpilot score (3.9/5) is its weakest rating
- Phone-only cancellation draws recurring complaints
Rating Details
| Source | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Capterra | 4.3 / 5 | ~2,890 reviews |
| G2 | 4.1–4.3 / 5 | vs Mailchimp mixed, Brevo/Kit mixed |
| Trustpilot | 3.9 / 5 | weakest of the four criteria |
| Deliverability (G2) | 8.5 / 10 | ~4,846 reviews |
Composite editorial score (4.2/5) blends these aggregator ratings — see Methodology.
Recommendation
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Conclusion
For a small business that values a live person picking up the phone and a platform that isn't quietly raising prices on a legacy plan, Constant Contact is the strongest match of the four evaluated here.
FAQ
Which email tool is cheapest for a small business?
Brevo has the lowest starting price (~$9/month), but reviews consistently flag deliverability and slow-support issues at that price point — cheapest isn't always cheapest in practice.
Which of the four has the best support?
Constant Contact, by a wide margin: a 4.2-minute average phone response versus Mailchimp's 22.7 minutes, with a support score of 8.7/10 against an 8.0 industry average.
Is Kit a good fit for a general small business?
Kit is purpose-built for solo creators and newsletter writers. For a retailer, service business, or local shop, reviews flag weaker reporting depth than the other options here.
Sources
Mailchimp pricing-change and review-complaint figures per 2026 pricing analyses (Benchmark Email, Retainful, GroupMail, MailBluster, EmailOctopus) and G2/Trustpilot 2026 listings. Brevo and Kit/ConvertKit complaint themes per 2026 comparison coverage (Campaign Monitor, Mailmodo, Capterra). Constant Contact rating figures per G2 and Capterra 2026 listings; support response-time and score comparison per EarnifyHub and Sender.net 2026 support comparisons; Trustpilot rating and complaint theme per Trustpilot 2026 listing.