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Brevo brevo.com

Free alternatives to Brevo

Brevo costs $9/mo on the Starter plan, or $108 a year. Here are 5 free and open-source options, what each one does, and what you give up compared with paying.

Prices checked Aug 10, 2026Can AI replace it? Half-bot

01At a glance

AlternativeTypeWhere it runsWorks on
listmonkOpen sourceYou host itWeb, Your server
Loops FreeFreeHosted for youWeb
NotifuseOpen sourceHosted or self-hostedWeb, Your server
PlunkOpen sourceHosted or self-hostedWeb, Your server
Sender FreeFreeHosted for youWeb

02Each alternative, in detail

listmonkOpen source

Fast campaigns plus a transactional API and explicit subscriber states; the visual polish is utilitarian.

Versus paying: listmonk is fast and explicit about subscriber states, but it lacks Brevo's managed deliverability, broad automation suite, CRM-style contact tools, and polished visual workflow builder.

Setup: Docker Compose or a single release binary plus PostgreSQL

Watch for: You still need a PostgreSQL database and a trustworthy SMTP/API sender with authenticated DNS.

22,600 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

listmonk.app →
Loops FreeFree

Marketing and transactional email share one hosted account; the free ceiling is 1,000 contacts.

Versus paying: Loops Free unifies marketing and transactional email, but its 1,000-contact and 4,000-email rolling limits are tighter and its consent/list-management surface is narrower than Brevo's.

Setup: Hosted signup

Watch for: You must authenticate a sending domain and instrument your app or API before lifecycle emails become useful.

loops.so →
NotifuseOpen source

Campaigns, transactional API and subscription records in one compose stack; delivery still needs an SMTP provider.

Versus paying: Notifuse can hold contacts, campaigns, and transactional events, but you must supply and operate the hosting, object storage, and actual mail-delivery provider that Brevo bundles.

Setup: Notifuse Cloud signup or self-host with Docker

Watch for: Self-hosting needs Docker, PostgreSQL, object storage, a public domain, and a separately configured SMTP or email API provider.

2,038 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

notifuse.com →
PlunkOpen source

Transactional and campaign email with workflows; self-hosting is free, sending is not magic.

Versus paying: Plunk handles both transactional and campaign email, but self-hosting its multi-service stack and configuring SES is much less turnkey than Brevo's managed sending and compliance workflow.

Setup: Hosted signup or Docker Compose

Watch for: The self-host path needs Docker, several subdomains, DNS/TLS, and an AWS SES account with credentials and domain verification.

5,300 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

useplunk.com →
Sender FreeFree

Newsletters, transactional email and consent-friendly lists with 15,000 monthly sends; one seat means one cook.

Versus paying: Sender Free covers the core hosted job, but one free user, vendor branding, and its contact/send ceilings make collaboration and growth weaker than Brevo.

Setup: Hosted signup

Watch for: A custom sending domain must be verified with DNS records for reliable delivery.

sender.net →

03Brevo's own free plan

The vendor's own free tier does newsletters and transactional mail; 300 messages a day is the small print.

04What you give up by leaving Brevo

  • deliverability infrastructure, multichannel messaging, CRM, automation, and support
  • inbox-placement expertise
  • advanced automations
  • commerce integrations
  • recommendation and ad networks

People still pay for Brevo because newsletter operators pay for inbox placement, growth mechanics, and operational confidence on publication day. The recurring cost buys DNS authentication, reputation, bounces, complaints, unsubscribe compliance, templates, queues, analytics, backups, and support, not just the visible interface.

05Questions

Is there a free alternative to Brevo?

Yes. This page compares 5: listmonk, Loops Free, Notifuse, Plunk and Sender Free. 3 of them are open source, so you can run them yourself.

How much does Brevo cost?

$9/mo on the Starter plan (monthly), which is $108 a year. Prices checked Aug 10, 2026.

What do you give up with a free alternative to Brevo?

Most often: deliverability infrastructure, multichannel messaging, CRM, automation, and support, inbox-placement expertise, advanced automations and commerce integrations. Each alternative on this page lists its own gap under “Versus paying.”

Can AI build me my own version of Brevo?

Half-bot. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Brevo, send a low-volume newsletter and transactional messages with clear consent records. The hard boundary is deliverability infrastructure, multichannel messaging, crm, automation, and support, plus deliverability, growth network, and integrations.

Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.