- © 2026 Mailsoftly Inc. The name "Mailsoftly" and the Mailsoftly logo are registered trademarks of Mailsoftly Inc.
Mailjet’s volume-based plans look cheap at the headline, but the real bill climbs as your sends and feature needs grow.
by Isabella Torres · Last updated: 2026-05-14Mailjet prices by monthly email volume rather than contact count, offering a free tier, two paid tiers (Essential and Premium), and custom enterprise pricing. Your cost rises as your send volume grows, and core features like automation, advanced segmentation, and removing Mailjet branding sit behind higher tiers, so the headline price rarely matches your real bill.
That structure makes Mailjet attractive to developers sending transactional email through an API, but harder to budget for marketing teams whose lists and campaign frequency change month to month. Below, we break down how each tier works, where the costs hide, and how the value compares to a transparent list-based option like Mailsoftly.
Comparing options? See our full roundup of the best email marketing services for the complete picture.
Quick context: Mailsoftly offers transparent pricing, free hands-on migration, and human support. 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, no credit card.
Start free with Mailsoftly →
Key Takeaways
Mailjet uses four levels: a Free plan, an Essential tier, a Premium tier, and a custom Enterprise tier (all figures here described as of 2026-04-15). Crucially, each paid level is priced by how many emails you send per month, and the same volume can be purchased on either Essential or Premium, with Premium unlocking the marketing features most teams actually need.
Because exact figures shift with promotions and currency, always confirm current numbers on Mailjet’s own pricing page before you commit. The structure, not the headline number, is what determines your real monthly spend.
Read enough? Try Mailsoftly free with 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, no credit card.Start free with Mailsoftly →
Mailjet scales with the number of emails you send each month, not the size of your list. That sounds friendly because you can store unlimited contacts, but it creates a different trap: the more often you email, the faster your bill climbs, even if your audience never grows.
Consider a 5,000-contact list. On a list-based platform you pay one predictable rate regardless of frequency. On Mailjet, mailing that list once a month uses 5,000 sends, but mailing weekly uses roughly 20,000, and adding a two-step automation can double that again. Volume pricing rewards infrequent senders and quietly penalizes the engaged, high-cadence programs that actually drive revenue.
This matters because email frequency correlates with results. Marketing teams that send consistent, segmented campaigns tend to see stronger returns, and email remains one of the highest-ROI channels available according to HubSpot’s marketing statistics. A pricing model that taxes you for sending more works directly against that, forcing a choice between budget and best practice.
With volume pricing, your cost is tied to how often you send, not how many people you reach. Growth-minded teams that email weekly pay far more than the headline rate implies.
The biggest hidden costs in Mailjet are features that feel like basics but sit behind higher tiers or paid add-ons. The advertised price is rarely the price you pay once you build a real program.
Deliverability is the cost nobody quotes on a pricing page. If branding, shared IPs, or throttling hurt your inbox placement, the cheapest plan becomes expensive fast. Independent testing from teams like the Litmus email deliverability resources shows how sender reputation and rendering directly affect whether campaigns reach the inbox at all, which is the metric that actually decides ROI.
For list-based marketing, Mailsoftly is the more predictable value because you pay for contacts, not sends, so frequency never inflates your bill. Mailjet can win for pure transactional or developer-driven sending, but marketing teams usually prefer a flat, list-based rate with support included.
| Platform | Pricing model | Free plan | Support | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailjet | Volume-based (emails/month) | Yes, daily send cap with branding | Online; priority on top tiers | Developers, transactional email |
| Mailsoftly | List-based, from $39/mo annual (Basic, 5,000 contacts) | Yes, 500 contacts and 2,000 emails | Human support on every plan | growing businesses and nonprofits wanting ease |
| Brevo | Volume-based, Starter $9/mo at 5,000 emails | Yes, 300 emails/day with branding | Email support | Low-frequency volume senders |
Mailsoftly’s published tiers are simple: Free for 500 contacts and 2,000 emails per month, Basic at $39 per month annual for 5,000 contacts and 40,000 emails, Business at $79 per month annual for 15,000 contacts, and Premium at $159 per month annual for 30,000 contacts. Send as often as you like within your email allowance without watching a per-message meter. You can review the full breakdown on the transparent Mailsoftly pricing page, including the free migration that moves your lists and templates over for you.
The value gap is sharpest for engaged programs. A 5,000-contact list mailed weekly stays at one flat Mailsoftly rate, while the same cadence on a volume model keeps consuming allowance and pushing you toward overage charges or a higher tier. Add free hands-on migration and human support on every plan, and the lower-friction path is clear for marketers rather than developers.
Mailjet pricing fits developers and product teams sending transactional email through an API, where volume is steady and predictable. If you store many contacts but email them rarely, the volume model can be genuinely economical.
The deciding question is simple: are you sending email as a developer or marketing as a business? Transactional and API-first use cases lean Mailjet. Relationship-driven, campaign-heavy marketing leans toward a list-based platform built for non-technical teams.
The fastest way to lower a Mailjet bill is to reduce wasted sends, then reassess whether a volume model still suits your sending pattern. Small list hygiene wins add up quickly when every email counts against your allowance.
For many marketing teams, the biggest saving is the model itself. Moving to list-based pricing removes the frequency penalty entirely, and a free migration means you do not pay in staff hours to make the change. If your sends keep outgrowing your plan, that is the signal to compare options rather than buy another volume bump.
For the broader landscape, see our full comparison of best email marketing services covering every major platform.
Mailjet’s real cost depends on how many emails you send per month, not how many contacts you store. The free tier is capped and branded, while Essential and Premium scale with volume and Premium unlocks automation. Once you factor in branding removal, automation, possible dedicated IPs, and overages, most marketing teams pay well above the headline starting price. Always confirm current figures on Mailjet’s pricing page before committing.
Yes, Mailjet offers a free plan, but it comes with a daily send limit and keeps Mailjet branding on every email. It also excludes marketing automation, A/B testing, and priority support. It can work for very low-volume testing or transactional sending, but most growing senders quickly hit the limits and need to upgrade to remove branding and unlock workflows.
It depends on frequency, not list size. Because Mailjet charges by email volume, a small list mailed often can cost more than a large list mailed rarely. Growing businesses that send weekly campaigns may find a list-based plan cheaper and more predictable. Mailsoftly, for example, starts free for 500 contacts and 2,000 emails, then $39 per month annual for 5,000 contacts regardless of how often you send within your allowance.
Mailjet is worth it for developers and transactional senders who value a solid API and pay only for triggered emails. For marketing teams running frequent, segmented campaigns, a list-based platform with included automation and human support usually delivers better value and more predictable budgets. Match the pricing model to how you actually send, then compare total cost rather than the advertised starting rate.
Ready to switch?Start free with Mailsoftly →
500 contacts, 2,000 emails per month. Free hands-on migration. No credit card.
Looking for an alternative?
Mailsoftly offers the features you need at a price that makes sense.
Switch to MailsoftlyMigrate in minutes