Brevo vs EmailOctopus
Both are on our shortlist for course creators. They part company on a couple of things that matter more than the monthly price.
Brevo
EmailOctopusWhich one, for whom
- A list already in the thousandsEmailOctopusEmailOctopus stays free to 2,500 subscribers and can email all of them at once. Brevo stores 100,000 free but sends only 300 emails a day.Start free on EmailOctopus
- Worried about being locked inBrevoEmailOctopus's terms cut off access to your contact data when you cancel. Brevo does not do that.Start free on Brevo
Side by side
| Brevo | EmailOctopus | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 100,000 subscribers | 2,500 subscribers |
| Free sends | 300 emails/day | 10,000 emails/mo |
| Welcome sequence on free | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to Teachable | Not listed | Through Zapier |
| Connects to Kajabi | Not listed | Not listed |
| Connects to Podia | Not listed | Not listed |
| Connects to Thinkific | Through Zapier | Not listed |
| Paid from | $9/mo | $9/mo |
| The catch | Sending is the limit, not your list. The free plan stops at 300 emails a day, so a campaign to more than 300 people has to be resent by hand, 300 a day, and free emails always carry the Sent with Brevo logo. On its three smallest paid tiers, passing 500, 1,500 or 2,500 contacts moves you up a tier automatically and the price rises. | Fewer features than the others by design. Good if you only need to send, thin if you need funnels. |
| G2 score | Could not be read | 4.2 out of 5, from 46 reviews |
| Trustpilot score | 4.0 out of 5, from 7,204 reviews | 4.8 out of 5, from 267 reviews |
Figures read off each vendor's own pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026. Where a row says not published, that vendor does not state a price at that list size and we will not invent one.
The last two rows are other people's scores, not ours, read between 6 and 12 September 2026. Check them yourself:Brevo on Trustpilot, EmailOctopus on G2, EmailOctopus on Trustpilot.
- Brevo: G2 refused to load its Brevo reviews page for us on 12 September 2026, in two separate browser attempts, so there is no G2 score to show. Missing is not the same as low.
- EmailOctopus: The G2 score rests on 46 reviews, which is a small enough number that a handful of unhappy or delighted people can move it.
Getting your list back out
Brevo
Cancelling is self-serve from the My plan page and moves you to the Free plan at the end of the billing period. Their help page says cancelling does not delete any data, though automations drop back to the 2,000-contact limit. The catch comes later: their help page says you have to log in every four months, or the Free account is deleted automatically. Their terms of service give six months instead, so Brevo's own pages disagree. Plan around the shorter one. Source
EmailOctopusHard to leave
Cancelling the paid plan on its own just drops you to the free tier: contacts and lists are retained, though automations pause. Their Terms of Use go further than that, though: "Once terminated, we may permanently delete your account and all the data associated with it, including your Content from our Website." A full, deliberate account deletion is described in their own help article as removing everything, including lists, campaigns and reports, and is irreversible. Export your list before deleting anything, not just before cancelling. Source
Brevo vs EmailOctopus, answered
- Is Brevo or EmailOctopus better for an online course?
- Neither is better outright, and anyone who says so is guessing on your behalf. EmailOctopus if you are a list already in the thousands. Brevo if you are worried about being locked in.
- Which of Brevo and EmailOctopus has the better free plan?
- Brevo allows more free subscribers (100,000 against 2,500). A bigger allowance is not automatically the better plan: check the welcome sequence row above, because that is where the two usually part company. Brevo's free plan also sends at most 300 emails a day, so check the free sends row too.
- Can I move from Brevo to EmailOctopus later?
- Yes, and you should assume you will. Export your list before you cancel anything, and keep whatever marks who bought from you. We wrote the whole running order up separately.
Try either one
BrevoStores a big free list, but sends only 300 emails a day
$9/mopaid plans start here. Free up to 100,000. Read off their pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026.
Start free on BrevoRead the full Brevo breakdownEmailOctopusCheapest way to run a plain list
$9/mopaid plans start here. Free up to 2,500. Read off their pricing page between 9 and 12 September 2026.
Start free on EmailOctopusRead the full EmailOctopus breakdownMoving between them? Read the switching guide first, or answer 5 questions to check neither of these is the wrong shortlist.
Neither of these? See all 14, including which ones connect straight to Teachable, Kajabi, Podia or Thinkific, or compare what they cost as your list grows.