Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels for small businesses, delivering an average ROI of $42 for every dollar spent. As we move through 2025, choosing the right email marketing platform has become increasingly crucial for small business success. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) has positioned itself as a comprehensive marketing automation platform designed with small businesses in mind. But does it live up to the hype, and is it worth your investment this year?

What is Brevo?

Brevo is an all-in-one digital marketing platform that combines email marketing, SMS marketing, chat, CRM, and marketing automation tools. Originally launched as Sendinblue in 2012, the company rebranded to Brevo in 2023 to better reflect its evolution from a simple email service to a comprehensive customer relationship platform.

The platform serves over 500,000 businesses worldwide, with a particular focus on small to medium-sized enterprises that need powerful marketing tools without the complexity or cost of enterprise-level solutions.

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Key Features for Small Businesses

Email Marketing Capabilities

Brevo’s email marketing suite offers everything small businesses need to create professional campaigns. The drag-and-drop email builder includes over 70 responsive templates, making it easy to create visually appealing emails without design experience. The platform supports advanced segmentation, allowing businesses to target specific customer groups based on behavior, demographics, or engagement history.

A/B testing functionality helps optimize open rates and click-through rates, while detailed analytics provide insights into campaign performance. The platform also includes automated workflows for welcome series, abandoned cart recovery, and re-engagement campaigns.

Marketing Automation

One of Brevo’s standout features is its visual automation builder. Small businesses can create sophisticated customer journeys using a simple flowchart interface. Whether you’re nurturing leads, onboarding new customers, or re-engaging inactive subscribers, the automation tools can handle complex sequences without requiring technical expertise.

The platform offers pre-built automation templates for common scenarios, making it easy for beginners to get started while still providing the flexibility for custom workflows.

CRM Integration

Brevo includes a built-in CRM system that integrates seamlessly with email marketing efforts. This allows small businesses to manage contacts, track interactions, and maintain detailed customer profiles all within one platform. The CRM syncs with email campaigns, providing a complete view of customer engagement across all touchpoints.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Beyond email, Brevo supports SMS marketing, web chat, and Facebook advertising integration. This multi-channel approach allows small businesses to reach customers through their preferred communication channels while maintaining consistent messaging across all platforms.

Pricing Structure and Value

Brevo offers a freemium model that’s particularly attractive to small businesses and startups. The free plan includes up to 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts, making it one of the most generous free tiers in the industry.

Free Plan

• 300 emails per day
• Unlimited contacts
• Email campaigns and templates
• Basic automation
• Basic reporting

Starter Plan ($8/month)

• No daily sending limit
• Advanced statistics
• A/B testing
• Chat support
• Email support

Business Plan ($16/month):

• Marketing automation
• Advanced segmentation
• Landing page builder
• Facebook ads integration
• Multi-user access

Enterprise Plan (Custom pricing):

• Advanced integrations
• Custom IP
• Priority support
• Advanced security features

For most small businesses, the Starter or Business plans provide excellent value, especially when compared to competitors like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, which can be significantly more expensive for similar feature sets.

Advantages for Small Businesses

Cost-Effective Solution

Brevo’s pricing remains competitive in 2025, particularly for businesses with large contact lists. Unlike many competitors that charge based on subscriber count, Brevo’s pricing model focuses on sending volume, which can result in significant savings for businesses with engaged but growing audiences.

User-Friendly Interface

The platform maintains a clean, intuitive interface that doesn’t overwhelm new users. Small business owners without technical backgrounds can quickly learn to create campaigns, set up automations, and analyze results without extensive training.

Comprehensive Feature Set

Rather than requiring multiple tools, Brevo consolidates email marketing, CRM, automation, and customer support into one platform. This integration reduces complexity and often proves more cost-effective than managing separate tools.

Strong Deliverability

Email deliverability has improved significantly since the Sendinblue rebrand, with the platform maintaining strong relationships with major ISPs and implementing robust anti-spam measures. For small businesses, this means better inbox placement and higher campaign effectiveness.

Scalability

As businesses grow, Brevo can scale with them. The platform handles everything from simple newsletters for local businesses to sophisticated automated campaigns for e-commerce companies.

Potential Drawbacks

Limited Template Variety

While Brevo offers over 70 email templates, the selection feels limited compared to some competitors. Design-focused businesses might find the template options somewhat restrictive, though the drag-and-drop builder does allow for customization.

Learning Curve for Advanced Features

While basic email campaigns are straightforward, mastering the more advanced automation and segmentation features requires time and effort. Small business owners juggling multiple responsibilities might find this challenging.

SMS Costs Can Add Up

While the email marketing pricing is competitive, SMS messaging costs are additional and can become expensive for businesses that rely heavily on text marketing.

Limited Third-Party Integrations

Though Brevo integrates with popular platforms like Shopify, WordPress, and Salesforce, the integration ecosystem isn’t as extensive as some competitors offer.

How Brevo Compares to Competitors in 2025

vs. Mailchimp

Brevo offers better value for larger contact lists and includes more advanced automation features in lower-tier plans. Mailchimp has a more extensive template library and app ecosystem but is generally more expensive.

vs. Constant Contact

Brevo provides superior automation capabilities and better pricing for high-volume senders. Constant Contact offers stronger customer support and more industry-specific templates.

vs. ConvertKit

ConvertKit focuses specifically on creators and bloggers, while Brevo serves a broader small business audience. Brevo offers more comprehensive features beyond email marketing, while ConvertKit excels in simplicity and creator-focused tools.

What We Like

Generous Free Plan with Real Value

Brevo’s free plan stands out with 300 emails per day and unlimited contacts, making it one of the most generous offerings in the industry. Unlike many competitors, you get marketing automation, contact segmentation, forms, transactional emails, and sales CRM features even on the free tier.

Volume-Based Pricing That Scales Well

Brevo’s pricing is 72% cheaper than Mailchimp with email volume-based pricing rather than contact-based. You can have 500,000 contacts even on the cheapest plan, giving businesses plenty of headspace to grow contact lists without price spikes.

User-Friendly Automation Builder

The drag-and-drop automation workflow builder is visual and user-friendly, allowing you to create sophisticated workflows using if/else conditions. Even users new to automation concepts can usually figure out how to set up workflows after a little experimentation.

Comprehensive AI Features

Brevo’s AI assistant offers versatile tools to generate and refine email content, optimize send times based on user data, and even streamline customer support with chat summaries. Compared to other email service providers, these AI features feel more extensive and practical.

Strong Multi-Channel Capabilities

The platform combines email, SMS, WhatsApp campaigns, and live chat in one unified solution. You get additional features like SMS marketing capabilities, built-in CRM tool, the Conversations app, and WhatsApp campaigns.

Clean, Intuitive Interface

Users really like Brevo’s new user interface, which feels clean and easy to work with, especially how you can toggle apps on or off to tailor the platform to fit your needs. The campaign setup wizard guides you step by step, reducing the chance of missing something.

Excellent Deliverability Track Record

Brevo is known for its excellent deliverability rates, giving you the best possible chance of making sure your emails end up reaching your customer’s inbox.

What We Don’t Like

Limited Email Template Selection

There are 48+ pre-made email templates, which is less than how much other providers have. Brevo’s templates aren’t bad at all with 47 responsive designs available, but they could use more variety.

Restrictive Free Plan Email Limits

The free plan has a daily sending limit of 300 emails, which is not much at all for growing businesses. You cannot schedule an email campaign for the next day in advance once you’ve already reached your daily limit of 300 emails.

Advanced Features Locked Behind Higher Plans

You have to be on the Business plan to unlock features like A/B testing and landing pages. Landing page builder, A/B testing, and advanced reporting require upgrading to Business to access these features.

Automation System Reliability Issues

Users have experienced challenges with the automation system, including deliverability issues, ‘broken’ chains in the automation flow, and the need to find manual work-arounds. Some users experienced issues with getting the automation builder to load when testing out the feature.

Limited Customer Support Options

Brevo doesn’t have live chat support; email is available in the Starter plan, and you need to upgrade to the Business plan if you want phone support. According to user reviews, Brevo’s support team has room for improvement, and the lack of live chat has dissatisfied many users.

DIY Migration Process

If you’re moving over from another email marketing platform, you’ll need to do most of the migration yourself. Brevo doesn’t have an in-house migration team.

Limited Third-Party Integrations

Brevo has only 67 plugins you can use, and the integration ecosystem isn’t as extensive as some competitors offer.

Automation Flexibility Limitations

The automation builder lacks flexibility in moving sections within the automation. The structure is somewhat static, and you can’t freely move them wherever you want within the flow.

Is Brevo Worth It for Small Businesses in 2025?

For most small businesses, Brevo represents excellent value in 2025. The platform successfully balances affordability with functionality, offering enterprise-level features at small business prices. The free plan provides genuine value for startups and very small businesses, while the paid plans scale reasonably as businesses grow.

Brevo is particularly well-suited for

• E-commerce businesses needing abandoned cart recovery and customer lifecycle automation
• Service-based businesses wanting to nurture leads through complex sales cycles
• Small businesses looking to consolidate multiple marketing tools into one platform
• Companies with large contact lists but moderate sending volumes
  Businesses that want room to grow without switching platforms

Consider alternatives if:

• You prioritize extensive design templates and customization options
• Your business requires extensive third-party integrations
• You need industry-specific features or compliance tools
• You prefer phone support as your primary customer service channel

Conclusion

Brevo has matured into a robust, small business-friendly platform that delivers strong value in 2025. While it may not be the flashiest option available, it provides the essential tools most small businesses need to execute effective email marketing campaigns and customer relationship management.

The combination of competitive pricing, solid deliverability, comprehensive automation features, and room for growth makes Brevo a smart choice for small businesses serious about email marketing. The generous free plan also makes it risk-free to test whether the platform meets your specific needs.

As email marketing continues to evolve, Brevo appears well-positioned to serve small businesses effectively throughout 2025 and beyond. For most small business owners evaluating email marketing platforms this year, Brevo deserves serious consideration as a cost-effective, feature-rich solution that can grow with your business.

>>Get Started with Brevo for Free Today<<