What Is EmailOctopus? Low-Cost Newsletters, Email Only
By Joris van Huët · EmailOctopus's own site
The short answer: If your job is a newsletter to fewer than 2,500 people, EmailOctopus does it for nothing: the free Starter plan holds 2,500 subscribers and sends 10,000 emails a month, according to its pricing page. It is an email-only platform from Three Hearts Digital in London, for teams that want campaigns, forms and simple automations without SMS, a CRM or a sales pipeline attached.
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Before you sign up:
- Count each person once. Every list is billed on its own, so a subscriber on two lists counts twice, says the pricing article. For example, 1,800 people spread over overlapping lists of 1,200 and 900 bill as 1,200 + 900 = 2,100. One list with tags avoids the double charge.
- Bring the consent with the contacts. Imports through the dashboard get no confirmation email, so permission has to exist before the file goes in, per the double opt-in article.
- Decide which report you will read. Free-plan reports stay available for 30 days and Pro reports are kept for good, per the pricing page. Comparing issues across a quarter needs Pro or exports.
An email tool that stops at email
The homepage says it in four words, "Email marketing. Nothing else.", and rules out SMS by name (EmailOctopus). What is there: a drag and drop editor or your own HTML, more than 100 templates, tags and custom fields, forms and landing pages, a visual automation builder, an API, and integrations through Zapier and Make. The free plan allows three automations of up to five steps, ten fields and ten tags per list, one form, one landing page and one user, per the free plan article.
A second product, EmailOctopus Connect, sends through your own Amazon SES account with unlimited emails, Pro from $8 a month billed yearly for 500 subscribers (Connect pricing). Amazon bills the sending, $0.10 per 1,000 emails à la carte (Amazon SES pricing), and EmailOctopus aims it at users who already know SES (help centre).
Where it fits
A founder, editor or small team whose list is the asset: a weekly newsletter, product news, a members' update. Pro adds unlimited users, and nonprofits get a 20% lifetime discount (pricing page). It fits less well when marketing runs on SMS, product events or a CRM.
What it costs
Pro prices in USD, checked on 24 October 2026 on the EmailOctopus pricing page.
| Subscribers | Emails a month | Billed monthly | Billed yearly, per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 10,000 | $10 | $9 |
| 2,500 | 25,000 | $20 | $18 |
| 10,000 | 100,000 | $44.50 | $40 |
| 50,000 | 500,000 | $178 | $160 |
Above 500,000 subscribers the price is quoted. A growing list moves you up a tier at once; the "Optimise plan pricing" setting moves you down only at the next billing period, up to 12 months away on a yearly plan (pricing article). Billing follows growth fast and shrinkage slowly, so choose yearly only for a list you expect to keep.
How it compares
Mailchimp starts free at 250 contacts and 500 sends a month (Mailchimp help), a tenth of EmailOctopus's free allowance. It earns its price when you need store-connected flows such as abandoned cart emails.
MailerLite starts free at 250 subscribers and sells paid newsletters and digital products through Stripe on its paid plans (MailerLite pricing). A list meant to earn money directly points there; a list that only needs sending cheaply points here.
Getting started
Verify your domain, import a list you hold consent for, turn on double opt-in for new sign-ups, then schedule issue one. How to use EmailOctopus walks through those steps from the knowledge base.
FAQ
Is there a free trial?
No. EmailOctopus offers the free Starter plan instead, with no time limit and no card required, per the FAQ on its pricing page.
Do unsubscribed contacts count toward the bill?
No. Only subscribed contacts count; people who unsubscribed or were removed after a bounce or complaint do not, per the pricing article.
What does the free plan require in return?
A link to EmailOctopus in every campaign, which also works as its referral programme, according to the free plan article. Pro removes it.