Best Mailjet Alternatives in 2026: 7 Tools Compared
Compare the best Mailjet alternatives for marketing plus transactional email, with automations and unlimited contacts on lower plans than Mailjet Premium.

In this guide
The best Mailjet alternatives are Lumail, Brevo, MailerLite, Elastic Email, SendGrid, Mailgun, and MailerSend, depending on whether you want automations without a Premium plan, extra channels like SMS, a creator website builder, or a developer-only sending API. Mailjet does a lot right: volume-based pricing, a collaborative editor, and marketing plus transactional email in one EU-hosted account. The friction is in the plan gates.
We make Lumail, so it is listed first; every other entry is judged on the same criteria with facts from each vendor's pricing page as of August 2026.
Why people look for a Mailjet alternative
- The generous free plan has two ceilings. Free includes 6,000 emails/month, but only 200 a day and 1,000 contacts. Starter at $9/month still caps contacts at 2,000.
- Automations are a Premium feature. Visual workflows start at Premium 15k, from $27/month. Landing pages and A/B testing are Premium too, and downgrading pauses active workflows.
- Overage is steep on smaller plans. Extra emails on the Essential and Premium 15k plans cost $2.58 per 1,000.
- AI access is read-only. Mailjet's MCP server can read contacts, campaigns, and statistics but cannot send email or change settings.
Mailjet alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | Pricing basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumail | Workflows and unlimited subscribers on every plan | 3,000 emails/month, no card | $20/month (40,000 emails) | Emails sent; unlimited subscribers |
| Brevo | Email plus SMS, WhatsApp, and CRM | 300 emails/day | $9/month (Starter) | Plan and monthly email volume |
| MailerLite | Creators who want email and a website builder | 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month | $12/month (Comfort) | Subscriber tier plus sending allowance |
| Elastic Email | Low-cost sending on an owned MTA | 3,000 emails/month (100/day) | $19/month (API, 50,000 emails) | Contacts for marketing; volume for API |
| SendGrid | High-volume delivery at Twilio scale | 60-day trial only | $15/month (Marketing Campaigns) | Two separate plans: API and marketing |
| Mailgun | Developer sending with inbound and EU region | 100 emails/day | $15/month (10,000 emails) | Monthly volume plus overage |
| MailerSend | Transactional API with visual template builders | 500 emails/month, card required | $7/month (5,000 emails) | Monthly email volume |
| Mailjet | Marketing and transactional in one EU ESP | 6,000 emails/month (200/day, 1,000 contacts) | $9/month (8,000 emails) | Monthly volume; contact caps on low plans |

1. Lumail: best for workflows and unlimited subscribers on every plan
Lumail keeps what people like about Mailjet (volume-based pricing and marketing plus transactional email in one account) and removes the gates. Graph workflows with triggers, waits, conditions, branches, goals, exit rules, A/B paths, and webhooks are on every plan, including Free. Subscribers are unlimited everywhere. Transactional mail goes through the REST API or smtp.lumail.io:587 with STARTTLS. Where Mailjet's MCP is read-only, Lumail's 89 organization-scoped MCP tools let agents in ChatGPT, Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex draft campaigns, edit workflows, and manage subscribers, with a CLI, TypeScript SDK, and REST API beside them.
Pricing: Free is 3,000 emails/month with no credit card. Premium is $20/month with 40,000 emails included, then $0.60 per 1,000. Business is $200/month with 400,000 included, then $0.40 per 1,000.
Choose it if:
- You want automations without paying for a Premium tier
- Your list is larger than Mailjet's low-plan contact caps
- You want AI agents that can act on your account, not only read it
Watch out for:
- Lumail's free plan has less volume than Mailjet's 6,000 emails
- There is no SMS and no website builder
See Lumail vs Mailjet side by side.
2. Brevo: best for email plus SMS, WhatsApp, and CRM
Brevo is a multichannel marketing and CRM suite. Like Mailjet, it prices by plan and email volume rather than subscribers alone, and marketing and transactional email are included together. It adds SMS, WhatsApp, contact management, and sales tools on top.
Pricing: Free is 300 emails/day. Starter starts at $9/month and Standard at $18/month.
Choose it if:
- SMS, WhatsApp, or a CRM are required channels
- You want volume-based plans instead of subscriber billing
- A daily free allowance matches how you send
Watch out for:
- Multi-step workflows start on Standard
- The free allowance is daily, so a launch to a large list cannot go out in a single day
See the full Lumail vs Brevo comparison.
3. MailerLite: best for creators who want email and a website
MailerLite is a no-code creator suite: campaigns and visual automations alongside websites, landing pages, forms, digital products, and several email editors. It also offers Claude and ChatGPT integrations. For transactional email, it points you to its sister product, MailerSend.
Pricing: Free is 250 subscribers and 2,500 emails/month. Comfort starts at $12/month and Power at $25/month.
Choose it if:
- You need a built-in website or landing-page builder
- You sell digital products from your email platform
- Your team prefers a no-code editor over API access
Watch out for:
- Pricing follows subscriber tiers, unlike Mailjet's volume plans
- Transactional email needs MailerSend, a separate product
See the full Lumail vs MailerLite comparison.
4. Elastic Email: best for low-cost sending on an owned MTA
Elastic Email runs its own in-house MTA and sells three products: Email Marketing (priced by contacts plus a send cap), Email API (priced by volume), and Inbox (priced by seat). It offers landing pages, signup forms, a REST API and SMTP, official libraries for 12 languages, and a hosted MCP server with about 17 actions.
Pricing: The free Email Marketing plan is 1,000 contacts and 3,000 emails/month, capped at 100 a day. Email API Starter is $19/month for 50,000 emails, and Email Marketing Starter is $29/month for 2,500 contacts and 37,500 emails.
Choose it if:
- You want a cheap sending API: 50,000 emails for $19
- You are an agency that needs white-label sending and subaccounts
- You want paid newsletters and Stripe checkouts on the Pro plan
Watch out for:
- The product page places automations on Email Marketing Pro
- Marketing and API are separate products, so combining them means two plans
See the full Lumail vs Elastic Email comparison.
5. SendGrid: best for high-volume delivery at Twilio scale
Twilio SendGrid is a high-volume Email API and SMTP relay with a separately sold Marketing Campaigns product for lists, single sends, signup forms, and drip series. Pro Email API plans include a dedicated IP, subusers, and SSO.
Pricing: New accounts get a 60-day trial with 100 API emails and 100 marketing emails a day. Marketing Campaigns Basic starts at $15/month, and Email API Essentials at $19.95/month. Drip automation needs Marketing Campaigns Advanced, from $60/month.
Choose it if:
- Transactional volume and inbox placement at scale are the priority
- You need dedicated IPs, subusers, and IP pools
- You already buy SMS or voice from Twilio
Watch out for:
- There is no permanent free plan; sending stops after the trial
- Email API and Marketing Campaigns are two subscriptions, where Mailjet uses one
See the full Lumail vs SendGrid comparison.
6. Mailgun: best for developer sending with inbound and EU region
Mailgun is Mailjet's sister company under Sinch, aimed at developers rather than marketers. It sends, receives, and tracks application email over REST API and SMTP, with US and EU regions, inbound routes, email validation, dedicated IPs, and an official local MCP server documenting 50+ operations.
Pricing: Free Send includes 100 emails/day. Basic starts at $15/month for 10,000 emails, with extras from $1.80 per 1,000. Foundation is $35/month for 50,000.
Choose it if:
- You only need app email and want to stay with an EU-capable provider
- You need inbound parsing and validation
- Marketers do not need a campaign editor
Watch out for:
- No visual journey builder or newsletter campaign tools
- Optimize and Inspect are separate products with separate bills
See the full Lumail vs Mailgun comparison.
7. MailerSend: best for transactional email with visual template builders
MailerSend is MailerLite's transactional product: REST API, SMTP relay, drag-and-drop and HTML template builders, inbound routing, and US/Canada SMS on higher plans. Its hosted MCP server names 127 tools for sending, domains, templates, and suppressions. Paired with MailerLite, it covers what Mailjet does in one account.
Pricing: Free is 500 emails/month after approval, with a credit card required but not charged. Hobby is $7/month for 5,000 emails, then $1.50 per 1,000. Starter starts at $35/month for 50,000.
Choose it if:
- You only need Mailjet's transactional side
- Non-developers need to edit transactional templates
- You want a hosted MCP for transactional operations
Watch out for:
- Newsletters and marketing campaigns need MailerLite
- No visual journey builder
See the full Lumail vs MailerSend comparison.
How to choose a Mailjet alternative
| Criterion | What to check |
|---|---|
| Pricing basis | Volume (Lumail, Brevo, Mailgun) or subscribers (MailerLite, Elastic Marketing) |
| Marketing plus API | One account (Lumail, Brevo) or two products (SendGrid, MailerLite + MailerSend) |
| Automation gate | Every plan on Lumail; Standard on Brevo; Advanced on SendGrid |
| AI and agent access | Write-capable MCP (Lumail, MailerSend) or read-only (Mailjet) |
| Extra channels | SMS and WhatsApp (Brevo); SMS in the US and Canada (MailerSend) |
Worked example: 10,000 contacts, two newsletters a month, and a welcome workflow. That is 20,000 emails a month plus one automation.
- Lumail: Premium at $20/month covers 40,000 emails, and workflows are included.
- Mailjet without automations: Essential 15k at $17 + 5,000 extra at $2.58 per 1,000 = $29.90.
- Mailjet with the welcome workflow: Premium 15k at $27 + 5,000 at $2.58 per 1,000 = $39.90.
- Brevo, MailerLite, Elastic Email, and SendGrid: check each pricing page for the tier 10,000 contacts or 20,000 emails lands in. Brevo needs Standard and SendGrid needs Advanced for multi-step automation.
How to migrate from Mailjet
- Export contact lists with unsubscribes and bounces. Keep suppressed contacts marked so they never receive mail from the new tool.
- Authenticate your domain. Point SPF, DKIM, and DMARC at the new provider and leave Mailjet running until it verifies.
- Move transactional sending. Swap
in-v3.mailjet.comor the Send API for the new SMTP relay or API (Lumail's is in the SMTP guide) and test every template. - Rebuild one automation. Recreate your welcome series as a workflow and run a test contact through it before you cancel Premium, since Mailjet pauses workflows on downgrade.
- Send one campaign to a segment, then move the rest. Check rendering, links, and unsubscribe handling on a small group before switching the full list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Mailjet alternative?
For teams that send both marketing and transactional email, Lumail is the closest fit with workflows and unlimited subscribers on every plan. Brevo is better if you need SMS or WhatsApp, and MailerLite is better if you need a website builder.
How much does Mailjet cost?
Mailjet Free is 6,000 emails/month with a 200-a-day cap and 1,000 contacts. Starter is $9/month for 8,000 emails and 2,000 contacts, Essential starts at $17/month for 15,000 emails with unlimited contacts, and Premium with automations starts at $27/month. Annual billing is 10% off.
Is there a free Mailjet alternative with automations?
Yes. Lumail's free plan includes graph workflows with 3,000 emails/month, unlimited subscribers, and no credit card. On Mailjet, automations start at Premium 15k.
Are Mailjet and Mailgun the same company?
Both are part of Sinch, but they are separate products. Mailjet is a marketing and transactional ESP with a campaign editor, while Mailgun is a developer sending API with inbound routing and validation.
What is the best Mailjet alternative for transactional email only?
Mailgun, SendGrid, and MailerSend are built for transactional sending over API and SMTP. If you want to keep newsletters in the same account, Lumail sends transactional email through its API or SMTP relay in the same organization.
Keep the parts you liked
Mailjet's volume pricing and single account make sense; the plan gates are what push teams toward Mailjet alternatives. Start Lumail free to try workflows and unlimited subscribers with 3,000 emails per month and no credit card, or browse the email platform comparison hub to weigh other options.