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Campaign Monitor Pricing: What You Get on the Free Plan

Campaign Monitor starts at $13/month for the Lite plan with a 30-day free trial. Pricing scales by both features and contact count, which creates a double cost pressure as your business grows. I detail every plan's limits below and flag where costs accelerate.

$13/mo starting3 paid plans30-day free trialNo free plan13% below median
Prices verified Apr 20, 202636 tools compared in Email Marketing
Data from Buddy's database, updated regularly
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Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you sign up (at no extra cost to you). This never influences my ratings or recommendations.

Price Snapshot

How much does Campaign Monitor cost?

Campaign Monitor starts at $13/mo for a paid plan. That's 13% below median for Email Marketing tools. Annual billing saves 10% off.

#13 of 36 by priceCategory avg: $31.46/moMedian: $15/mo28 tools offer free plans
Campaign Monitor Pricing: What You Get on the Free Plan

Calculate before you commit

Email Marketing pricing at your contact count

Use my pricing calculator to see how Campaign Monitor compares with other Email Marketing software at the contact count you actually need. Every tool here is priced at the same volume, which is the comparison a vendor’s own pricing page cannot make.

contacts

At 500 contacts, Campaign Monitor costs $11.70/mo on Lite, which is #10 of 24 in Email Marketing. Mailchimp, the most-reviewed option here, costs $27/mo at the same volume.

Priced in another currency, so listed separately rather than ranked:

The vendor’s own price is on the left. The dollar figure is my conversion at rates taken on 2026-08-06, shown only to give a sense of scale. These vendors do not set their dollar price by converting, so the approximation is not what you would be charged and is not used for ranking.

Some tools do not publish a price at exactly 500 contacts. Those show the next tier up, which is what you would actually pay: EmailOctopus at 2,500, Flodesk at 1,000, beehiiv at 2,500, Loops at 1,000, Sender at 2,500, Buttondown at 1,000.

Compare all Email Marketing pricing by budget →

24 of 25 Email Marketing tools publish a price at this volume. Every figure is the vendor’s own published rate for monthly billing, read from their pricing page and last checked 2026-08-06. Nothing is estimated between published tiers.

WHAT THIS CATEGORY COSTS AS YOU SCALE

Email Marketing pricing by list size

The middle of the market at each level, across every Email Marketing tool on this site that publishes a price there. Going from 500 contacts to 100,000 contacts multiplies the typical bill by 37.5×. At 25,000 contacts, HubSpot costs 5.1× what Campaign Monitor does.

Campaign MonitorCategory medianHubSpot(most reviewed, 40,490)
500 contactsmedian $12.5014 of 36
Campaign Monitor$13
MMedian$12.50

Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$4/mo

1,000 contactsmedian $1916 of 36
MMedian$19
HubSpot$20

Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$7/mo

2,500 contactsmedian $3517 of 36
Campaign Monitor$47
MMedian$35

Cheapest here:Zoho Campaigns$17/mo

5,000 contactsmedian $6520 of 36
Campaign Monitor$75
MMedian$65
HubSpot$220

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

10,000 contactsmedian $10019 of 36
Campaign Monitor$117
MMedian$100
HubSpot$470

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

25,000 contactsmedian $22020 of 36
Campaign Monitor$241
MMedian$220
HubSpot$1,220

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

50,000 contactsmedian $37919 of 36
Campaign Monitor$397
MMedian$379
HubSpot$2,470

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

100,000 contactsmedian $46915 of 36
MMedian$469
HubSpot$5,350

Cheapest here:Ghost$18/mo

Each median is the middle price of the cheapest plan covering that level, across the 36 Email Marketing tools on this site. Tools that publish no price at a level are excluded from that row rather than estimated, which is why coverage varies. “Most reviewed” uses combined third-party review counts as a stand-in for popularity. These are list prices before overage, add-ons and seat charges.

Plans

Campaign Monitor plans and pricing

3 paid plans · Monthly rates shown, annual noted per plan · Verified Apr 20, 2026

Lite
$13/mo$11.7/mo billed annually

500 contacts base. Send cap ~5x subscribers/month (2,500 emails at 500 contacts). Annual = 10% off ($11.70/mo billed annually). Confirmed by SendX 2026 table + TMB published page (Apr 2026).

EssentialsRecommended
$31/mo$27.9/mo billed annually

500 contacts base, unlimited sends, 'best value'. Annual = 10% off ($27.90/mo). Confirmed by SendX + TMB published page.

Premier
$170/mo$153/mo billed annually

500 contacts base, unlimited sends, phone support + send-time optimization. TMB page shows $170/mo ($153 annual); SendX table shows $171 base. ~$1 rounding diff. Annual = 10% off.

Recommendation

Which plan should you choose?

+
LiteSmall businesses starting out

The Lite plan starts at $10/month and provides core email marketing features suitable for businesses sending their first campaigns. Campaign Monitor's drag-and-drop builder is straightforward, making it accessible even without design experience. Be aware of the 2,500 send limit on this tier, which can become restrictive as your campaigns ramp up. Consider the 30-day free trial to test whether the sending limits match your actual needs before committing.

+
EssentialsGrowing businesses

Essentials removes the Lite plan's send limits and adds AI features, giving growing businesses room to scale their email marketing without volume worries. Unlimited sends means you can run time-sensitive campaigns, weekly newsletters, and automated sequences without hitting a cap. The first-year pricing discount makes this tier particularly attractive for new customers. Move to Premier once you need phone support or agency tools for managing multiple accounts.

+
PremierLarge teams and agencies

Premier adds advanced features, phone support, and agency tools that support professional operations managing email marketing at scale. The dedicated phone support provides faster issue resolution than email-only tiers, which matters when campaigns are time-sensitive. Agency tools help manage multiple client accounts from a single interface. This tier makes sense when your operation requires dedicated support and the advanced features justify the higher monthly cost.

+
EssentialsE-commerce stores

Essentials includes unlimited sends and automation features that handle core ecommerce email workflows: promotional campaigns, abandoned cart sequences, and post-purchase follow-ups. For online stores where email drives repeat purchases, the ability to send without volume limits is essential for keeping customers engaged. The automation builder supports triggered sequences based on purchase behavior. If you need transactional email capabilities or more advanced ecommerce integrations, evaluate whether Campaign Monitor's feature set matches your store platform.

+
LiteBudget-conscious users

Lite at $10/month offers the lowest entry price in Campaign Monitor's lineup, covering the basics for small-scale email marketing. The trade-off is the 2,500 send limit, which means you need to plan your campaign frequency carefully. This plan works well if you send a couple of campaigns per month to a small list. If you find the send limits restrictive early on, the Essentials plan is likely a better long-term fit despite the higher cost.

Scaling Costs

How much as you grow?

Campaign Monitor uses contact-based pricing. Here's how costs change as your list grows.

On the Essentials plan, Campaign Monitor ranges from $31/mo at 500 contacts to $644/mo at 50,000 contacts. That's a 20.8x increase.

contactsEssentialsPremierLite
500$31$171$13
2,500$74$182$47
5,000$117$203$75
10,000$182$300$117
15,000$268$440$155
25,000$429$547$241
50,000$644$1074$397

Buddy's Take

On the Essentials plan, going from 500 to 50,000 contacts is a 20.8x price jump ($31 to $644/mo). Budget for this. Contact-based pricing always catches people off guard.

Editorial

My take on Campaign Monitor pricing

Joonas Rotko
Joonas RotkoAuthor & founder of That Marketing Buddy

Campaign Monitor's strength is its email templates. The design quality is a clear step above most email marketing platforms, and deliverability rates are consistently strong. For brands where email design directly impacts revenue (e-commerce, media, agencies), that visual polish has real value.

The pricing model is where Campaign Monitor loses appeal. The Lite plan caps you at 2,500 contacts with limited automation. Unlocking proper automation requires the $31/month Essentials plan, and serious features like send-time optimization need the $170 Premier tier. Compare that with ActiveCampaign, which offers advanced automation starting at $15/month.

Campaign Monitor is a solid choice if template design and brand consistency are top priorities. For businesses that need advanced automation or want to keep costs low while scaling, alternatives offer better value per dollar. The 30-day trial gives you plenty of time to test whether the design advantage justifies the premium.

Hidden Costs

What the pricing page doesn't tell you

1

Website Builder charged separately

The drag-and-drop website builder is an optional add-on that costs $10/month on all plans except Premier where it's included. This is separate from the base plan pricing.

2

Advanced features require paid add-ons on Essentials plan

On the Essentials plan, features like non-human click filter, engagement segments, countdown timer, and time zone sending are marked with '$' symbols, indicating they cost extra to access.

3

Automated email sends limited by monthly volume on Lite plan

The Lite plan limits automated emails to the monthly send volume of 2,500 emails, while higher plans offer unlimited automated emails.

4

Contact count pricing not clearly disclosed

All paid plans show 'Choose your contact count' but don't specify how pricing changes based on contact tiers (0-500, 501-2,500, etc.) or what happens when you exceed your selected tier.

5

AI features unavailable for Agency accounts

Select AI features (AI Email Booster and AI Segment Mapper) may not be available to Agency accounts at this time, despite being advertised as plan features.

6

Free plan severely limited compared to advertising

The free plan only allows 500 contacts and 500 emails for a 30-day trial, with limited reporting analytics, worldview reporting, signup forms, and dynamic content compared to paid plans.

Deals

Available discounts

%

Annual Discount

10% off Lite plan, 25% off first year for Essentials and Premier

Verdict

Is Campaign Monitor Worth the Price?

Campaign Monitor delivers premium email design and reliable deliverability, but you pay for that positioning at every tier. The dual scaling of contacts and features means costs can compound quickly. It fits brands that prioritize beautiful emails and have the budget to match. For most small businesses, more affordable platforms offer comparable results.

Read my full Campaign Monitor review or see how it compares against Mailchimp.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

No, Campaign Monitor doesn't offer a free plan. The lowest-cost option is the Lite plan at $10 monthly.

You pay based on the number of contacts in your list. Pricing tiers start at 0-500 contacts and scale up to 50,001+ contacts.

Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. Changes take effect at your next billing cycle.

No setup fees are mentioned. You can choose monthly or annual billing, with annual plans offering discounts.

You'll need to upgrade to the next contact tier to accommodate your larger list size.

Yes, it's $10/month add-on for Lite and Essentials plans, but included free with Premier.

No, phone support is only available with the Premier plan. Lower plans get email support only.

See the pricing for yourself

30 days free. No credit card. See which plan fits before you pay.

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More on Campaign Monitor

Joonas Rotko

Joonas Rotko

Author & founder of That Marketing Buddy

I score marketing software for AI-stack fit (MCP, API, agent-readiness), backed by 10+ years in digital marketing. Building the most trustworthy marketing software database so you can trust the pricing data on this site.

Pricing checked daily36 tools in databaseResearch-based pricing analysis

This page may contain affiliate links. I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never influences pricing data.

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