5 Best Campaign Monitor Alternatives (2026): Prices Compared

Full disclosure: Bluey Email is our own product, and it's on this list. We've applied the same criteria to every tool and said where each competitor beats Bluey.

Campaign Monitor is known for polished templates and an easy builder. It prices by contact bands with no free plan, only a 30-day trial (Campaign Monitor pricing), and it stayed with Marigold when Zeta bought Marigold's enterprise brands in 2025 (Zeta Global).

Why look for a Campaign Monitor alternative?

• Send caps and automatic upgrades. Lite caps monthly sends by contact band (2,500 a month up to 500 contacts), and going over the cap upgrades the account to the next tier, charged pro rata (Campaign Monitor help).
• Inactive accounts can be removed. The terms allow permanent removal of accounts inactive for over a year, and reviewers report deletions without notice (Trustpilot).
• Support and billing disputes. Trustpilot scores it 2.2 out of 5, with complaints about unanswered questions (Trustpilot).
• Ownership uncertainty. Marigold sold its enterprise brands in 2025 and kept Campaign Monitor in a smaller small-business unit.

To be fair to Campaign Monitor: strong, modern templates and a builder EmailTooltester rates easier than Constant Contact's (EmailTooltester), and well-regarded small-business support.

The best Campaign Monitor alternatives at a glance

Prices checked on each vendor's pricing page or a dated review on 9 November 2026, in US dollars, before tax. Confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.

1. Bluey Email: best for send-based pricing with automation and a CRM

Bluey bills on emails sent, not contacts stored: Free at 500 sends and 500 contacts a month, Spark from $7/mo for 6,000 sends, Grow at $30/mo for 50,000 sends with unlimited contacts and a built-in CRM, and Business at $300/mo with unlimited automations. Marketing and transactional email run on one account, and it bills in 128 currencies (Bluey pricing). Where it falls short: it is a newer platform with a smaller template and integration library than the long-established tools.

2. MailerLite: best for good design with a free plan

MailerLite offers a similar design focus with a permanent free plan (250 subscribers, 2,500 emails) and paid plans from $12 a month (MailerLite pricing). Trade-off: Comfort also limits sends relative to your subscriber tier.

3. Mailchimp: best for the largest integration library

Mailchimp is free for 250 contacts and 500 emails a month, with Essentials at $13 a month for 500 contacts (Mailchimp pricing; Mailchimp pricing explained). Trade-off: contact-based billing that climbs as your list grows.

4. Brevo: best for no contact-based price jumps

Brevo bills on emails sent and lets you store up to 100,000 contacts on the free plan, so list growth alone never forces an upgrade (Brevo). Trade-off: templates are less polished than Campaign Monitor's.

5. ActiveCampaign: best for deeper automation

If you've outgrown Campaign Monitor's journeys, ActiveCampaign's automation is much deeper. Starter is $15 a month billed yearly for 1,000 contacts, with a 14-day trial and no free plan (ActiveCampaign; ActiveCampaign pricing explained). Trade-off: a steeper learning curve.

How to choose a Campaign Monitor alternative

Hitting Lite's send caps? Move to send-based billing with Bluey or Brevo. Mainly want beautiful templates and a free start? MailerLite. Need integrations? Mailchimp. Need serious automation? ActiveCampaign.

Frequently asked questions

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