HubSpot Marketing Hub
Inbound marketing automation tied to the HubSpot CRM.
Alternatives · 2026
Alternatives to Brevo
Email, SMS, and CRM tools for SMBs (formerly Sendinblue).
6 hand-curated alternatives from MintedSaaS's directory. See the Brevo listing →
Brevo is an email, SMS, and CRM platform built for small and medium-sized businesses that need marketing automation without the enterprise price tag. It combines email campaigns, transactional messaging, and basic contact management in a single product, targeting teams that want to avoid juggling multiple tools. The platform sits between basic email services like Mailchimp and full-featured suites like HubSpot, offering enough features to handle customer communication workflows without overwhelming smaller teams or requiring dedicated MarTech staff.
Brevo users typically run targeted email campaigns, send SMS reminders or notifications, and maintain a unified contact database across their marketing and sales efforts. It's built for direct-to-consumer brands, agencies managing multiple clients, and service businesses that need to automate customer follow-ups. The product appeals to teams operating on tight budgets who want marketing automation capabilities—segmentation, workflows, A/B testing—but don't yet have the complexity or headcount to justify enterprise tools. If you've outgrown pure email sending or need SMS in addition to email without adding separate platforms, Brevo fits that transition point.
What we offer that competes
Marketo Engage
Adobe's enterprise B2B marketing automation platform.
ActiveCampaign
Email marketing automation and lightweight CRM.
Klaviyo
Email and SMS marketing platform focused on ecommerce.
What to look for
- Whether the platform charges by contact count (Brevo, ActiveCampaign) or by contact volume plus features (HubSpot, Klaviyo), and how that pricing scales with your list growth.
- Whether SMS is natively included or requires a separate add-on, and if it's truly integrated into automation workflows or treated as a separate channel.
- Whether you can import and export contacts as CSV, and whether the platform imposes limits on frequency or locks you into their contact model.
- Whether the platform has a published API with documented rate limits and webhook support for custom integrations beyond the app marketplace.
- Whether workflows and automations can be paused or duplicated as templates, and whether you can A/B test subject lines or send times automatically.
- Whether SMS and email templates are stored separately or in a single library, and whether you can see delivery reports across both channels in one dashboard.
FAQ
What's the best alternative to Brevo?
HubSpot Marketing Hub and ActiveCampaign both offer integrated email, SMS, and CRM in a single product similar to Brevo, though HubSpot's free tier has more features and ActiveCampaign is typically cheaper at higher volumes. Klaviyo is the stronger choice if SMS and e-commerce integrations are your priority. Mailchimp remains competitive on price for email-only workflows, but lacks Brevo's SMS and automation depth.
Are there free alternatives to Brevo?
HubSpot Marketing Hub includes a genuinely free tier covering email, basic automation, and CRM contact storage for one user. Mailchimp's free plan is also generous for email, though it has lower limits than HubSpot. Brevo's free tier is more limited and requires a paid upgrade to use SMS or advanced automation workflows.
Should I pick an all-in-one platform or separate email and CRM tools?
An all-in-one platform like Brevo, HubSpot, or ActiveCampaign saves time on integrations and keeps customer data in one place. Separate tools offer more flexibility and let you swap one component without rebuilding your stack. Pick all-in-one if your workflows are straightforward and you want faster deployment; pick modular if you have specific vendor requirements or plan to scale into specialized tools.
Which marketing automation platform is cheapest for SMBs?
Mailchimp and Brevo are the lowest-cost entry points if you're starting with email only. ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo offer better value once you need SMS, advanced segmentation, or e-commerce-specific features. HubSpot's free tier lets you start at zero cost, though paid tiers exceed Brevo and Mailchimp after the first few thousand contacts.
What's the difference between marketing automation and CRM?
Marketing automation tools like HubSpot and ActiveCampaign send targeted messages to groups based on triggers and behaviors. CRM platforms organize individual contact records and sales pipelines. Brevo and most alternatives bundle both so you can automate campaigns while keeping sales teams updated on the same customer data.
Do these platforms work with SMS as well as email?
Brevo, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Klaviyo all offer native SMS. Mailchimp added SMS but it's less integrated than the others. Kit is SMS-only and doesn't include email or CRM features. If omnichannel messaging (email, SMS, and push) is essential, ActiveCampaign and Klaviyo have the most mature implementations.
Can I use these platforms if I'm not a marketing person?
Yes. HubSpot and Mailchimp are the easiest for non-technical users—they have strong templates and drag-and-drop workflows. Brevo and ActiveCampaign require more setup upfront but offer deeper automation once you learn the interface. Marketo Engage is the steepest learning curve and is aimed at dedicated marketing operations teams, not generalists.
What integrations matter most for email and SMS platforms?
Look for native integrations with your e-commerce platform (Shopify, WooCommerce), CRM (if you're using one separately), payment processor, and customer support tool. HubSpot and ActiveCampaign have the broadest app marketplaces. Klaviyo excels at Shopify integration. Most platforms support Zapier if native integrations are missing.