How Much Does Email Marketing Cost?

Email marketing cost: software

Most platforms price by number of contacts. Small lists (under 500–1,000) are often free or under $30 a month. At 10,000 contacts, expect roughly $100–$200 a month; at 50,000+, $400 or more. E-commerce platforms like Klaviyo cost more but include powerful automation and revenue tracking. Prices change, so check each provider’s site.

Email marketing price for management

The email marketing price mostly depends on how many campaigns you send and whether design and copywriting are included.

Why email is worth the cost

Email reaches people who already know you, so it often has the highest return of any channel. For online stores, automated flows (welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase) run every day and commonly drive a meaningful share of revenue without extra ad spend.

How much does email marketing cost for a small business?

For many small businesses, how much does email marketing cost comes to $30–$100 a month in software plus a few hours of time for a monthly newsletter and a welcome series. Hiring help ($500+/month) makes sense once email becomes a sales channel.

Questions to ask an email marketing provider

1. Which flows will you set up first?
2. Who writes and designs the emails?
3. How do you protect deliverability (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)?
4. How will you report revenue from email?
5. Will the account stay in my name?

The flows that pay for themselves

Before spending on regular campaigns, set up the automated flows that run every day:

• Welcome series: 3–5 emails introducing your brand and best sellers or services.
• Abandoned cart and browse: reminders to people who left without buying.
• Post-purchase: thank-you, how-to-use, review request and cross-sell.
• Win-back: a nudge for customers who haven’t bought in a while.
• Lead nurture (service businesses): case studies and answers to common objections.

Setting these up well is usually the best-value part of the email marketing price.

Hidden costs to watch

• Paying for dead contacts: most platforms bill by list size, so clean inactive subscribers.
• Deliverability problems: without SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up, emails land in spam.
• Design time: custom-designed emails for every send add up; good templates save money.
• SMS add-ons: powerful but charged per message.

Example budgets

Local service business: about $50/month

Software for a 2,000-contact list, a welcome series and a monthly newsletter written in-house.

Growing online store: about $900/month

Klaviyo for 15,000 contacts plus managed flows and four campaigns a month.

Established brand: $1,500+/month

Email and SMS, segmentation by customer value, A/B testing and weekly campaigns.

How to keep email marketing costs down

1. Clean inactive contacts so you don’t pay for them.
2. Set up flows first; they work without ongoing effort.
3. Reuse templates.
4. Segment so you send fewer, better emails.

See our email marketing services.