Email marketing · 2026
Brevo·vs·Customer.io
Two solid choices in email marketing. Here's how they stack up on pricing, fit, and trade-offs — so you can decide in a minute.
Reviewed by Switchpoint Editors ·
Take on Brevo
Brevo's pricing on emails-sent rather than contacts-stored is genuinely better economics for any list with low send frequency. The product is broad and slightly cluttered — you'll use 40% of it. For dedicated newsletter publishers, Beehiiv is better; for SaaS transactional, Resend is better; for everything-in-one SMBs, Brevo is the value pick.
Contender A
Brevo
Email, SMS, and WhatsApp on send-based pricing.
- Large lists where most contacts are inactive — you pay per send, not per contact.
- Free 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts. Starter $9/mo for 5k sends.
Best for
Pricing
Pros
- Send-based pricing — duplicates and dormant contacts are free
- Includes SMS, WhatsApp, and a simple CRM in one plan
- Free tier has no contact cap
Trade-offs
- Drag-and-drop editor is less refined than Mailchimp's
- Daily send cap on free plan blocks bursty campaigns
Contender B
Customer.io
Event-driven messaging for product-led teams — the technical upgrade from ActiveCampaign.
- SaaS and product teams that want behavior-triggered email, SMS, and push driven by their own data.
- Essentials from $100/mo for 5,000 profiles. Premium from $1,000/mo for larger volumes.
Best for
Pricing
Pros
- Real event-based triggers — react to anything your product sends
- Best-in-class workspaces, branching, and A/B logic
- Email + push + SMS + in-app in one workflow
Trade-offs
- Starts at $100/mo — not for hobby projects
- Requires developer setup to send events; not a drag-and-drop marketer tool
The matrix
Side-by-side
Best for
Brevo
Large lists where most contacts are inactive — you pay per send, not per contact.
Customer.io
SaaS and product teams that want behavior-triggered email, SMS, and push driven by their own data.
Pricing
Brevo
Free 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts. Starter $9/mo for 5k sends.
Customer.io
Essentials from $100/mo for 5,000 profiles. Premium from $1,000/mo for larger volumes.
Top strength
Brevo
Send-based pricing — duplicates and dormant contacts are free
Customer.io
Real event-based triggers — react to anything your product sends
Biggest trade-off
Brevo
Drag-and-drop editor is less refined than Mailchimp's
Customer.io
Starts at $100/mo — not for hobby projects
The verdict
Which should you pick?
Large lists where most contacts are inactive — you pay per send, not per contact.
SaaS and product teams that want behavior-triggered email, SMS, and push driven by their own data.
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