Freemium
Runs newsletters from WordPress with signup forms, subscriber lists, WooCommerce emails, and automated new-post notifications.
Table of contents
- TL;DR
- MailPoet vs Brevo at a glance
- WordPress-native editing versus hosted marketing operations
- Sending infrastructure is bundled differently
- Pricing scales by different usage variables
- WooCommerce and transactional email
- Data ownership and migration
- Which operating model fits?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Practical decision notes
MailPoet and Brevo both cover email marketing for WordPress sites, but the similarity ends quickly. MailPoet keeps subscriber and campaign management inside WordPress and can optionally provide the sending service. Brevo is a hosted customer-communication platform that WordPress connects to for marketing email, transactional delivery, automation, forms, and additional channels.
TL;DR
MailPoet is the more WordPress-centered workflow: subscribers, newsletters, signup forms, WooCommerce email, and campaign editing live in the dashboard. Brevo is the broader hosted platform: email, transactional messaging, automation, SMS, WhatsApp, chat, and other channels can share one cloud account. The decision is local WordPress workflow versus cross-channel hosted infrastructure.
MailPoet vs Brevo at a glance
| Compare |  MailPoetFree Starter; paid plans from €7/month and scale by subscriber count |  BrevoFree; Starter from $9/month; Standard from $18/month |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free Starter; paid plans from €7/month and scale by subscriber count | Free; Starter from $9/month; Standard from $18/month |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| Sites included | 1 site on individual plans; Agency supports multiple sites | Not site-licensed; hosted Brevo account |
| Lifetime option | No | No |
| Refund policy | 30-day policy; sending plans have conditions | Generally no refunds except limited exceptions |
| Setup level | Beginner-friendly | Beginner-friendly |
| WordPress.org rating | 4.4/5 (1,432) | 4.1/5 (284) |
| Active installs | 500K+ | 100K+ |
| Best for | WordPress publishers and WooCommerce stores that want email marketing and subscriber management inside WordPress. | Businesses and ecommerce sites already using or planning to use Brevo for marketing email, SMTP, automation, forms, and multichannel customer communication. |
| Not ideal for | Teams that need a broader cross-channel CRM and marketing platform rather than WordPress-centered email workflows. | You want a completely WordPress-native email CRM with contacts and automation stored locally. |
| Tested version | 5.38.0 | 3.3.5 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-12 |
WordPress-native editing versus hosted marketing operations
MailPoet is attractive when the publishing team wants to stay inside WordPress. Subscriber lists, signup forms, newsletter design, automated post emails, WooCommerce customer messaging, and campaign analytics are managed close to the content and store.
Brevo treats WordPress as one connected source. Contacts and events feed a hosted platform that can handle marketing email, transactional email and SMS, automation, sales features, chat, web push, and other channels depending on plan. That is more useful when customer communication extends beyond the website.
Sending infrastructure is bundled differently
MailPoet’s sending plans combine the WordPress plugin with MailPoet Sending Service. Brevo is itself a hosted sending and marketing platform, so delivery, account limits, logs, and campaign execution live primarily in Brevo’s infrastructure.
Both approaches reduce the need to send bulk email directly from ordinary WordPress hosting. The difference is where the rest of the marketing system lives: WordPress for MailPoet, Brevo’s cloud for the broader Brevo workflow.
Pricing scales by different usage variables
Pricing checked September 25, 2026. MailPoet starts free for up to 500 subscribers and 5,000 monthly emails through its Starter sending plan, while paid plans scale by subscriber count and plan type.
Brevo’s current Free plan includes 300 email sends per day. Starter begins at $9/month and Standard at $18/month, with pricing tiers based on monthly email volume and contact storage. Professional starts much higher for larger multichannel marketing teams. Brevo generally does not refund used or unused credits except for limited documented exceptions.
WooCommerce and transactional email
MailPoet’s WooCommerce value comes from keeping products, customers, newsletter content, and store-email workflows inside WordPress. Brevo becomes more interesting when WooCommerce events need to connect with a hosted contact platform, transactional email, broader automation, SMS, WhatsApp, or other channels.
Data ownership and migration
MailPoet keeps the subscriber database in WordPress even when its sending service is used. Brevo keeps the broader contact and automation platform externally. Before migrating, audit consent, unsubscribes, custom fields, segments, WooCommerce data, transactional templates, SMTP settings, automation logic, sender authentication, and any SMS or multichannel workflows that do not have an equivalent destination.
Which operating model fits?
MailPoet fits publishers and WooCommerce stores that want email marketing to remain part of the WordPress workflow. Brevo fits businesses that want WordPress connected to a broader hosted communication platform. The right choice depends on whether email is mainly a WordPress publishing function or one channel in a wider customer-communication system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brevo a WordPress-native email plugin like MailPoet?
No. Brevo’s WordPress plugin connects the site to Brevo’s hosted customer-communication platform.
Does MailPoet keep subscribers in WordPress?
Yes. MailPoet manages its subscriber database inside WordPress, including when MailPoet Sending Service is used.
Which supports channels beyond email?
Brevo is the broader multichannel platform, with SMS, WhatsApp, chat, web push, and other capabilities depending on plan.
Which pricing model depends on subscriber count?
MailPoet’s paid plan cost scales with subscriber count and plan type. Brevo pricing is more directly tied to email volume, contact storage, features, and selected add-ons.
Practical decision notes
MailPoet is positioned around wordPress publishers and WooCommerce stores that want email marketing and subscriber management inside WordPress, while Brevo is positioned around businesses and ecommerce sites already using or planning to use Brevo for marketing email, SMTP, automation, forms, and multichannel customer communication. That difference is more useful than counting features: map the product to the workflow your site actually needs to run every week.
Watch the fit: MailPoet is less suitable when teams that need a broader cross-channel CRM and marketing platform rather than WordPress-centered email workflows. Brevo is less suitable when you want a completely WordPress-native email CRM with contacts and automation stored locally. Treat those limits as implementation checks rather than absolute drawbacks.
Before switching or buying: MailPoet currently lists Free Starter; paid plans from €7/month and scale by subscriber count; Brevo currently lists Free; Starter from $9/month; Standard from $18/month; the setup profiles are MailPoet: beginner-friendly and Brevo: beginner-friendly. Recheck the vendor pricing page, then test the actual payment, email, permissions, automation, and data-migration path your production site depends on.
Compare before you choose
Use structured feature, pricing, and editorial research to compare these WordPress plugins side by side.