What Is Brevo?
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a customer communication platform founded in 2012 in Paris. It rebranded from Sendinblue in May 2023 to reflect its evolution from an email marketing tool into a multi-channel platform covering email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, CRM, and marketing automation. Brevo serves over 500,000 businesses worldwide and processes over 100 million emails daily.
What makes Brevo distinct in the crowded email marketing space is its pricing model: you pay for email volume, not contact list size. This means you can store unlimited contacts on every plan - including the free tier. For businesses with large lists but moderate sending frequency, this creates significant savings compared to Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or ActiveCampaign, all of which charge based on subscriber count.
Key Features
Email Marketing
Brevo's email builder includes a drag-and-drop editor, HTML editor, and 60+ responsive templates. The template library is functional but not as polished as Mailchimp's. A/B testing supports subject lines, sender names, and content variations. Send time optimization uses machine learning to deliver emails when each contact is most likely to open them.
Segmentation is powerful: filter by contact attributes, email engagement, purchase history, website activity, or custom events. Dynamic content blocks show different content to different segments within the same email. The preview tool shows desktop, mobile, and major email client renders before sending.
Marketing Automation
Brevo's automation builder uses a visual workflow editor with triggers, conditions, and actions. Common workflows include welcome series, abandoned cart recovery, re-engagement campaigns, lead scoring, and birthday emails. You can trigger workflows based on email opens/clicks, website visits, contact attribute changes, or custom API events.
The automation is genuinely capable - comparable to Mailchimp's Customer Journeys and competitive with ActiveCampaign for most use cases. Complex branching, wait steps, A/B split paths, and webhook actions are all supported. The main limitation is that some advanced conditions require the Business plan.
SMS and WhatsApp
Brevo includes SMS marketing and WhatsApp Business messaging natively - not as add-ons. SMS campaigns support personalization, scheduling, and delivery tracking. WhatsApp campaigns use approved templates with rich media (images, buttons, documents). Both channels integrate with automation workflows, so you can create multi-channel sequences that combine email, SMS, and WhatsApp.
SMS pricing is pay-as-you-go on top of your plan (starting at ~$0.01/SMS depending on country). WhatsApp messages are billed per conversation following Meta's pricing model. Having all channels in one platform eliminates the need for separate SMS providers.
Transactional Email
Brevo includes a full transactional email service on all plans. This covers order confirmations, password resets, shipping notifications, and any event-triggered email sent to individual recipients. The transactional API supports SMTP relay, REST API, and webhooks for delivery tracking. Deliverability is solid with dedicated IP options on higher plans.
This is a significant competitive advantage. Mailchimp requires Mandrill (a separate paid service) for transactional email. ConvertKit does not offer transactional email at all. Having marketing and transactional email in one platform simplifies your stack and billing.
CRM and Sales Pipeline
Brevo includes a basic CRM with contact management, deal tracking, and sales pipeline visualization. It covers the basics - create deals, assign to team members, track stages, set tasks - but lacks the depth of dedicated CRMs like HubSpot or Pipedrive. For small businesses that want lightweight deal tracking alongside email marketing, it works. For serious sales operations, you will outgrow it.
Pricing Breakdown
| Plan | Price (per month) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts, transactional email, basic automation |
| Starter | $9 (5K emails) | No daily sending limit, basic reporting, email support |
| Business | $18 (5K emails) | Marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced stats, multi-user, send time optimization |
| Enterprise | Custom | Dedicated IP, priority support, advanced integrations, sub-account management, SSO |
Volume scaling: Prices increase with email volume. Business plan at 20K emails is $35/mo, at 40K is $49/mo, at 100K is $69/mo. Compare this to Mailchimp Standard at 100K contacts: $605/mo. The savings are dramatic for list-heavy, moderate-send businesses.
SMS pricing: Pay-as-you-go credits starting at ~$0.01/SMS (US). WhatsApp follows Meta's conversation-based pricing. Both are billed separately from your email plan.
Start with Brevo Free - 300 Emails/Day, Unlimited Contacts
Start Free with BrevoPros and Cons
Pros
- Unlimited contacts on all plans - Pay for sends, not list size
- Transactional email included - No need for SendGrid or Mandrill
- SMS + WhatsApp native - Multi-channel without extra subscriptions
- Generous free tier - 300 emails/day with unlimited contacts
- Dramatically cheaper at scale - 80-90% less than Mailchimp for large lists
- Solid automation - Visual workflows competitive with mid-tier tools
- GDPR-compliant by default - EU-based, data stored in EU
Cons
- Templates less polished - Email designs are functional, not beautiful
- CRM is basic - Fine for small teams, not for serious sales
- Interface learning curve - Navigation can feel cluttered
- Reporting depth - Analytics are adequate but not Mailchimp-level
- Deliverability varies - Shared IPs on lower plans can impact inbox rates
- Landing page builder is limited - Basic compared to Mailchimp or ConvertKit
- Support on free plan - Email only, no live chat or phone
Our Verdict
Brevo - The Best Value Multi-Channel Marketing Platform
Brevo is the clear winner on value for businesses with large contact lists. The unlimited-contacts pricing model, included transactional email, and native SMS/WhatsApp support create a uniquely cost-effective stack. A business paying $605/month on Mailchimp Standard for 100K contacts could pay $69/month on Brevo Business for the same volume - that is a 89% savings.
Where Brevo falls short is polish. The templates, interface, and reporting lack the refinement of Mailchimp. The CRM is too basic for growing sales teams. And deliverability on shared IP plans requires careful list hygiene. These are real trade-offs, not minor quibbles.
Bottom line: Start with Brevo Free to test the platform. If your primary need is cost-effective email marketing with SMS/WhatsApp, Brevo is hard to beat. If you prioritize beautiful email templates, advanced analytics, or a polished user experience, Mailchimp or ConvertKit may justify their higher prices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brevo free to use?
Yes. Brevo's free plan includes 300 emails per day, unlimited contacts, transactional emails, and basic automation. It is one of the most generous free tiers in email marketing.
How does Brevo compare to Mailchimp?
Brevo is significantly cheaper for larger contact lists because it prices by email volume, not contacts. Brevo also includes SMS, WhatsApp, and transactional email at no extra cost. Mailchimp has better templates and a more polished interface.
What happened to Sendinblue?
Sendinblue rebranded to Brevo in May 2023. The product, team, and features are the same. The rebrand reflected expansion beyond email into a full communication platform including SMS, WhatsApp, chat, and CRM.
Can Brevo send transactional emails?
Yes. Brevo includes transactional email on all plans including Free. This is a major advantage since most competitors charge extra or require a separate service.
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