Campaign Monitor Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Campaign Monitor costs Free to $171 per month as of August 2026, with 5 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free (free), Lite at $13/month, Essentials at $31/month, and Premier at $171/month. Custom pricing is available on request. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Campaign Monitor offers 5 pricing tiers: Free, Lite, Essentials, Premier, Enterprise. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Lite at $13/month, Essentials at $31/month, Premier at $171/month. The Lite plan is small businesses and creators just getting started with email marketing who need basic campaigns and templates.
Yes, Campaign Monitor offers a free trial plan as of August 2026. The free tier includes 7 features with limits on emailspermonth and contacts. Paid plans start at $13/month (Lite). Pricing verified from 7 sources by CostBench.
Campaign Monitor's free offering is a time-limited trial to test the full product.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- 30-day free trial
- Up to 500 contacts
- Up to 500 emails during trial
- Drag-and-drop builder
- Customizable template library
- Basic segmentation
- Real-time reporting analytics
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- 5x subscriber emails/month (2,500 for 500 contacts)
- Custom coded email templates
- Unlimited signup forms
- AI Writer access
- Basic automated emails and pre-built journeys
- Transactional emails (limited to send volume)
- Basic analytics
- Email customer support
- Option to add website builder ($10/month)
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| emailsPerMonth | 500 | Unlimited/Higher |
| contacts | 500 | Unlimited/Higher |
| trialDays | 30 | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like 5x subscriber emails/month (2,500 for 500 contacts) or Custom coded email templates
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- 30-day time limit
- 500 contact cap
- 500 email send cap
- No automation access
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Lite Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | Lite $13/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 7 included | 10+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Campaign Monitor branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Evaluating Campaign Monitor with a 30-day free trial | Small businesses and creators just getting started with email marketing who need basic campaigns and templates |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Campaign Monitor free?
Yes, Campaign Monitor offers a free trial plan with 7 core features included. However, there are limits on emailspermonth, contacts that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Campaign Monitor's free plan?
Campaign Monitor's free plan includes: 30-day free trial, Up to 500 contacts, Up to 500 emails during trial, Drag-and-drop builder, Customizable template library, and 2 more features. Key limits include emailsPerMonth: 500, contacts: 500, trialDays: 30.
03 What's NOT included in Campaign Monitor's free plan?
The free plan excludes: 5x subscriber emails/month (2,500 for 500 contacts), Custom coded email templates, Unlimited signup forms, AI Writer access, Basic automated emails and pre-built journeys. You'll also have Campaign Monitor branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Campaign Monitor's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like 5x subscriber emails/month (2,500 for 500 contacts) or Custom coded email templates, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $13/month.
05 Is Campaign Monitor's free plan really free forever?
Campaign Monitor's free offering is actually a time-limited trial, not a forever-free plan. After the trial period, you'll need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the service.
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