Brevo (formerly known as Sendinblue) has evolved into one of the most compelling all-in-one marketing platforms available today — especially for small and mid-sized businesses, ecommerce brands, and growth-oriented teams. Unlike many competitors that tie costs to contact lists, Brevo’s pricing model charges based on email volume and offers a blend of email marketing, automation, messaging, CRM, and analytics — all under one roof.
In this complete overview, we’ll explore:
- What Brevo is and who it’s for
- Core features and capabilities
- Pricing plans and how they compare
- Strengths and limitations
- How Brevo stacks up against alternatives
By focusing on practical value, real-world use cases, and up-to-date information, this article gives a thorough understanding of whether Brevo is the right tool for your marketing needs.
What Is Brevo?
Brevo is a cloud-based digital marketing platform designed to help businesses manage and automate their customer communications across multiple channels — including email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications, and live chat. It combines traditional email marketing with automation workflows, customer relationship management (CRM), and multi-channel messaging to support both acquisition and retention strategies.
Originally launched as Sendinblue, the company rebranded to Brevo to reflect its expanding suite of tools beyond email. The platform’s flexible pricing, contact-based features, and automation capabilities make it popular with startups, small and medium businesses, ecommerce stores, and agencies alike.
Who Is Brevo Designed For?
Brevo is well-suited for:
- Small and medium businesses (SMBs) looking for a cost-effective marketing platform
- Ecommerce brands that need email automation, transactional messages, and CRM in one place
- Agencies managing multiple clients with automated workflows and reporting
- Freelancers and solopreneurs who want easy-to-use tools without enterprise pricing
Brevo’s pricing model based on email volume — not number of contacts — is particularly attractive for businesses with large contact lists but moderate email sending needs.
Core Features of Brevo
Brevo offers a rich set of features that help businesses manage their email marketing and customer communications more effectively:
1. Email Campaign Builder
Brevo’s drag-and-drop editor allows users to create professional, responsive email campaigns without coding. It includes:
- HTML and plain text editor options
- A library of customizable templates
- Image and content blocks
- Responsive preview modes to ensure campaigns look great on mobile and desktop
This user-friendly design system makes it easy for beginners and seasoned marketers to build campaigns efficiently.
2. Marketing Automation Workflows
One of Brevo’s standout strengths is its automation engine, which lets marketers create triggered sequences based on user behaviors or events. Common automation workflows include:
- Welcome series for new subscribers
- Abandoned cart recovery emails
- Lead nurturing sequences
- Follow-up and re-engagement campaigns
Even users with limited technical skills can design workflows using Brevo’s visual drag-and-drop automation builder.
3. Segmentation and Personalization
Brevo’s segmentation tools allow audience lists to be broken down by behavior, engagement, demographics, purchase history, and custom attributes. This makes targeted communication far more effective, increasing open rates, engagement, and conversions.
Personalization tokens can insert recipient names, locations, and custom data throughout campaigns.
4. CRM and Contact Management
Unlike some email-only platforms, Brevo includes a built-in CRM system. This lets you:
- Store unlimited contacts
- Tag and categorize contacts
- Track activities and interactions
- Manage deals and pipelines
- Add notes and assign tasks
The integration between CRM and marketing tools enables tailored campaigns based on customer behavior.
5. Multi-Channel Messaging
Brevo isn’t limited to email; it supports:
- SMS marketing (credits vary by country)
- WhatsApp messages (included in higher plans)
- Web and mobile push notifications
These additional channels let businesses create cohesive, multi-touch customer journeys beyond traditional email campaigns.
6. Forms, Landing Pages & Chat
Lead capture tools are built in. Brevo includes options to:
- Create signup forms
- Build landing pages
- Deploy live chat and chatbots
These tools convert website visitors into subscribers and customers, feeding automation flows directly.
7. Reporting & Analytics
Detailed reporting dashboards provide visibility into campaign performance with statistics like:
- Open and click-through rates
- Bounce and unsubscribe rates
- Automation performance
- Conversion tracking
Real-time analytics help marketers adjust strategies faster.
Brevo Pricing Explained (2026)
Brevo’s pricing structure is flexible, but it’s important to understand how costs scale with email volume and features.
Free Plan
- $0/month
- 300 emails/day (≈9,000/month)
- Unlimited contacts
- Drag-and-drop builder and basic automation
- Brevo branding on emails
- Single user account
This plan is excellent for beginners, small newsletters, or testing features before upgrading.
Starter Plan — From $9/month
- From 5,000 emails per month
- Drag-and-drop editor and templates
- Advanced segmentation
- Basic reporting and analytics
- Email & SMS campaigns
- Option to remove Brevo branding (additional cost)
This plan removes daily caps and gives more control, making it ideal for small businesses and consistent senders.
Standard Plan — From $18/month
- All Starter features
- Marketing automation workflows
- A/B testing
- Landing pages
- Advanced statistics
- Priority phone support
The Standard plan adds optimization and automation tools for marketers focusing on conversion and efficiency.
Professional Plan — Around $449/month
- Advanced tools for larger teams and heavy senders
- WhatsApp, popups, mobile/web push
- Contact scoring and advanced ecommerce features
- Multi-user access
- AI-powered segmentation and analytics
This tier is designed for businesses with high sending volumes that require deeper automation and analytics.
Enterprise / Custom Plans
Brevo’s Enterprise tier provides enterprise-grade features like:
- Unlimited email volume and contacts
- Dedicated account manager
- Sub-account access
- SLA and security controls
Pricing is customized based on volume and needs.
Pay-As-You-Go Credits
Brevo also offers prepaid email credits that don’t expire — useful for occasional senders or peak campaigns. These credits are often cheaper per email than monthly plans and can help manage seasonal needs efficiently.
Real-World Use Cases
1. Small Business Newsletters
Local shops, freelancers, and community groups can start with the Free or Starter plan, regularly sending newsletters and updates without high costs.
2. Ecommerce Automation
Growing ecommerce stores benefit from abandoned cart sequences, post-purchase upsell flows, and personalized recommendations triggered by purchase behavior.
3. Lead Nurturing for B2B
Professional services can use automation workflows to nurture leads through education, scheduling, and conversion tracking.
4. Multi-Channel Campaigns
Multi-channel messaging — combining email, SMS, and WhatsApp — improves engagement especially for event reminders, promotions, and service updates.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
- Affordable entry pricing compared to many competitors.
- Pricing based on email volume, not contact list size.
- Built-in CRM and automation tools.
- Multi-channel messaging support.
- Flexible prepaid credit option.
Limitations
- Advanced features require higher-tier plans.
- Some users report delayed support response at lower tiers.
- Interfaces and automation can have learning curves for beginners.
Brevo vs Other Platforms
Compared to competitors:
- Brevo’s pricing flexibility — charging per email sent — often beats platforms that bill by contact list size.
- Its automation and CRM integration gives it an edge over simpler newsletter tools.
- For large enterprise workflows and advanced segmentation, top-tier tools like ActiveCampaign or HubSpot may offer deeper complexity — but at higher costs.
Final Thoughts
Brevo stands out in 2026 as an affordable, flexible, and powerful marketing platform suitable for businesses of many sizes. Its scalable pricing — a mix of free tier options, volume-based paid plans, and prepaid credits — gives marketers control over cost and capability. Brevo’s blend of email automation, CRM, segmentation, and multi-channel messaging makes it more than just an email marketing tool — it’s a central hub for customer engagement across channels.
For small businesses and growth teams that need feature breadth without excessive cost, Brevo is a compelling choice.
FAQ’s
1. Is Brevo free to use?
Yes, Brevo offers a free plan that allows users to send up to 300 emails per day (around 9,000 emails per month) with unlimited contacts. The free plan includes core features such as the drag-and-drop email editor, basic automation, and contact management. However, emails sent on the free plan include Brevo branding, and advanced features require upgrading to a paid plan.
2. How does Brevo’s pricing work?
Brevo’s pricing is primarily based on email sending volume rather than the number of contacts stored. This makes it cost-effective for businesses with large contact lists but moderate email activity. Plans scale based on monthly email limits and feature access, and Brevo also offers prepaid email credits that do not expire for occasional senders.
3. What features are included in Brevo’s marketing automation?
Brevo’s marketing automation includes workflow builders, behavioral triggers, email sequences, lead scoring, and segmentation tools. Users can create automated campaigns such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and re-engagement sequences. Higher-tier plans provide advanced automation features like A/B testing and multi-channel messaging.
4. Is Brevo suitable for small businesses and ecommerce stores?
Yes, Brevo is particularly well-suited for small businesses, startups, and ecommerce brands. Its combination of email marketing, CRM, SMS campaigns, automation workflows, and affordable pricing makes it a practical choice for growing companies that need scalable marketing tools without enterprise-level costs.
5. How does Brevo compare to other email marketing platforms?
Brevo stands out because it combines email marketing, CRM, automation, and multi-channel messaging in one platform. Unlike many competitors that charge based on contact list size, Brevo charges based on email volume. This pricing model can be more economical for businesses managing large subscriber lists while sending campaigns strategically.
