EmailOctopus
The cheapest serious option, with a large free tier
EmailOctopus is a low-cost email platform with an unusually generous free tier: 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 monthly emails at no charge. Paid plans start at $9 per month. It strips out the marketing suite and keeps sending, forms and simple automation, which suits newsletters watching every euro.
Pricing verified on 10 August 2026 · Entry last reviewed 10 August 2026
EmailOctopus at a glance
Features
- No: Paid subscriptions
- No: Referral program
- Yes: Landing pages
- Yes: Custom domain
- Yes: API
- No: A/B testing
Data and compliance
- No: EU hosting
- Yes: GDPR DPA
- Yes: List export
What EmailOctopus is
EmailOctopus is built on a simple bet: most people paying for an email marketing suite use about a fifth of it. So it ships sending, lists, signup forms, landing pages and light automation, and stops there.
The result is the cheapest credible option in this comparison and, for a plain newsletter, one of the least annoying. There is very little to configure because there is very little to configure.
Pricing
The free tier is the headline and it is genuinely large: 2,500 subscribers with 10,000 sends a month, no time limit. Most platforms here cap free plans at 250 subscribers, so EmailOctopus lets a newsletter reach a real size before costing anything.
What you accept in exchange is EmailOctopus branding on your emails and reports that disappear after 30 days. Paid plans start at $9 a month billed yearly and remove both.
What it does well
- The largest usable free tier here after Kit’s, and far more generous than most
- $9 a month is the price floor of this comparison for a paid plan
- Simple enough that setup takes minutes rather than an afternoon
- A proper API and clean deliverability despite the low price
Where it falls short
- Automation is basic: fine for a welcome sequence, not for funnels
- No A/B testing, no paid subscriptions, no referral programme
- Free plan puts EmailOctopus branding in your emails
- UK-based with US infrastructure, so no EU data residency
Who EmailOctopus is for
A good fit
Newsletters and small businesses that want reliable sending at the lowest possible price, with no suite attached.
- Newsletters under 2,500 subscribers, which run entirely free including 10,000 monthly sends
- Anyone whose budget is the deciding factor, since $9 a month is the floor of this comparison
- Publishers who want simple sending, forms and landing pages without learning a marketing suite
- Projects migrating off Mailchimp purely because the bill grew faster than the list
Not a fit
You need real automation, monetisation tooling or EU data residency.
- You need branching automation, a CRM or lifecycle logic , use ActiveCampaign instead
- You want EU data residency , use MailerLite instead
- The newsletter is the business and you need paid subscriptions and sponsorships , use Beehiiv instead
Alternatives to EmailOctopus
MailerLite
Simple EU-hosted email marketing for small businesses
$12/mo · Free plan: 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/monthButtondown
Minimalist markdown newsletter tool with an API and no bloat
$9/mo · Free plan: 100 subscribersBrevo
EU-hosted email marketing priced by sends, not contacts
$9/mo · Free plan: Unlimited contacts, 300 emails/dayEmailOctopus FAQ
Is EmailOctopus really free?
Yes, up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month. Free sends carry EmailOctopus branding, reports expire after 30 days and you get one landing page and one form, but there is no time limit.
How much does EmailOctopus cost?
Paid plans start at $9 per month billed yearly, which removes branding, keeps reports permanently and unlocks unlimited landing pages, forms and users. Prices scale with subscriber count from there.
Why is EmailOctopus cheaper than everyone else?
Because it does less. There is no CRM, no ecommerce suite, no deep automation builder and no discovery network. If you only need reliable sending and a signup form, you are not subsidising features you never open.
What is the catch with the free plan?
Branding on your emails and the 30-day reporting window are the real limits. The subscriber cap is high enough that many newsletters never hit it, which is unusual in this comparison.
EmailOctopus or MailerLite?
EmailOctopus is cheaper and has a far larger free tier. MailerLite has better automation, a nicer interface and EU data hosting. If budget decides, EmailOctopus; if you are in the EU or want to grow into automation, MailerLite.
Whichever platform you pick
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