Starter
For your first email program.
$16USD / month
$192 billed yearly.
20,000 emails / month
Choose Starter- 5 brands · 3 seats
- 5 custom sending domains
- 500 email verifications/month
- $1.50 / 1,000 extra emails
Nitrosend is the best email marketing platform for nonprofits that run their email from AI, with the top score of the eight reviewed here, 76.5 out of 100. It scores 9 out of 10 on working from your AI assistant, the heaviest test on the page. Your assistant, whether Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex, writes each appeal in your organization's colors, fonts and voice and holds it as a draft until it is approved. Contacts are unlimited on every plan, so a supporter list built over years of events costs nothing to hold, and your donation receipts and newsletters go out on one plan and one bill. It costs $20 a month for 20,000 emails and $650 for a million emails on Scale including overage, the lowest paid price here at both volumes. Brevo comes next, at 74.
To have an AI assistant run a nonprofit's email with Nitrosend, add its MCP server, api.nitrosend.com/mcp, as a connector in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex and sign in with OAuth. The MCP setup docs cover each one.
The ranking
Rank 1Nitrosend
76.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Emails sent
- Free plan
- 5,000 emails, then 500 a month
- Entry plan
- $20 a month, 20,000 emails
- Works from your AI assistant9 out of 10Official MCP server runs campaigns, flows and sends from the chat; campaigns and flows stay drafts until approved (MCP registry).
- Emails in your brand, no designer9 out of 10Brand Kit scans the site for colors, fonts and voice, and applies them to every draft on every plan (docs).
- Price8.5 out of 10Unlimited contacts on every plan. $20 a month for 20,000 emails and $650 for a million emails on Scale including overage (pricing).
- Free plan7 out of 105,000 emails to start, then 500 a month, unlimited contacts. New accounts start at 100 recipients per rolling 24 hours (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Transactional and marketing email share one allowance and one API on every plan, Free included (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand6 out of 10A block builder exists for editing by hand, but it is plainer, because the agent is the main way in.
- Integrations, support and track record5 out of 10Shopify, Stripe, HubSpot, Attio and Mailchimp, five bring-your-own sending providers, a Node SDK, a CLI and signed webhooks for transactional email, but a young product from a small team (docs).
Nitrosend
Ask your agent for the next appeal
Connect Nitrosend to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex, point Brand Kit at your site, and describe the email. Contacts are unlimited on every plan.
Free: 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month. No credit card.
Start free
Rank 2Brevo
74 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Emails sent
- Free plan
- 300 emails a day, 100,000 contacts
- Entry plan
- $9 a month, 5,000 emails
- Works from your AI assistant7 out of 10Official MCP server manages campaigns, contacts and templates, but lists no module for automations (Brevo developers).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand library fetches logo, colors, fonts and links from your site into the editor, not voice (Brevo help).
- Price6 out of 10Priced by emails sent. $69 a month for 20,000 on Standard, $32 on Starter without automation, and $999 for a million on Professional (pricing).
- Free plan8 out of 10300 emails a day, up to 100,000 contacts, transactional email included, free forever (Brevo help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan9 out of 10Every plan, Free included, has transactional email by API and SMTP in the same volume (pricing FAQ).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Drag-and-drop editor and templates, 4.5 of 5 across 2,722 reviews, Ease of Use the top tag (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record8 out of 10150+ integrations, SMS, WhatsApp and a CRM in one account, phone support on Professional (pricing).
Rank 3MailerLite
61.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Subscribers
- Free plan
- 250 subscribers, 2,500 emails a month
- Entry plan
- $12 a month, 500 subscribers
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official MCP server with
create_campaign,schedule_campaignandcreate_automationtools (MailerLite help). - Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand styles pull logo, colors, fonts and links from your site's URL, but not voice (MailerLite help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by subscribers. $89 a month at 10,000 on Comfort, and a quote above 200,000, where Comfort is $819 (pricing).
- Free plan5 out of 10250 subscribers and 2,500 emails a month, with 3 automations and knowledge base support (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional email is MailerSend, a separate product the pricing table links out to (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Three editors on every plan, drag-and-drop included, and 4.6 of 5 across 1,113 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10100+ integrations, sites and landing pages built in, and 24/7 live chat on Power (pricing).
Rank 4Mailchimp
59 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts held
- Free plan
- 250 contacts, 500 sends a month
- Entry plan
- $13 a month, 500 contacts
- Works from your AI assistant5 out of 10Its Claude and ChatGPT app drafts campaigns, but Mailchimp's own guide says to finish and send in the web app (Mailchimp).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10Brand Kit pulls fonts from your site and generates on-brand layouts, on Essentials and above only (Mailchimp help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by contacts. $110 a month at 10,000 on Essentials, $135 on Standard, and a quote at 500,000 (pricing).
- Free plan4 out of 10250 contacts and 500 sends a month, with at most 250 a day (Mailchimp help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional is a separate add-on for Standard and Premium, at $20 per 25,000 emails (pricing).
- Editor for building by hand9 out of 10Mature drag-and-drop editor and templates, the most common praise from reviewers, 4.3 of 5 across 12,990 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 10300+ integrations, 24/7 support on paid plans, phone support on Premium, and two decades at scale (pricing).
Rank 5ActiveCampaign
58.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts held
- Free plan
- None, a 14-day trial
- Entry plan
- $15 a month, 1,000 contacts, billed annually
- Works from your AI assistant8 out of 10Official MCP server creates a campaign and sends or schedules it once you approve its summary in the chat, and manages contacts, lists, tags and automations (tools).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10AI Brand Kit imports colors, fonts and logos from your URL and builds templates in its editor (ActiveCampaign).
- Price2 out of 10Priced by contacts. Starter is $149 a month at 10,000, billed yearly because no monthly price is published, and above 50,000 it is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan1 out of 10No free plan. A 14-day trial with up to 100 email sends (help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan5 out of 10Transactional email is Postmark, a separate product with its own account and bill, linked by an app (ActiveCampaign).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Mature email designer and automation builder, 4.4 of 5 across 14,799 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 101,000+ apps and integrations, premium Salesforce and Dynamics connectors, and a built-in CRM (apps).
Rank 6Constant Contact
51.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Contacts held
- Free plan
- None, a trial with 100 sends
- Entry plan
- $12 a month, 500 contacts
- Works from your AI assistant5 out of 10Its Claude connector drafts and previews emails, then hands you a link to finish sending in Constant Contact (help).
- Emails in your brand, no designer7 out of 10BrandKit scans your website for logo, colors and images, but not voice (help).
- Price3 out of 10Priced by contacts. $120 a month at 10,000 on Lite, $160 on Standard, and a quote above 50,000 (pricing).
- Free plan1 out of 10No free plan. The trial allows up to 100 email sends in total (help).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan2 out of 10Its community manager says it is not designed for transactional email and has no transactional API (community).
- Editor for building by hand8 out of 10Hundreds of templates and a drag-and-drop editor, 4.1 of 5 across 7,536 reviews (G2).
- Integrations, support and track record9 out of 10About 300 integrations, events, SMS and social tools, and phone support (pricing).
Rank 7Givebutter
50.5 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Optional donor tips, or a 3% fee
- Free plan
- Unlimited contacts and email blasts
- Entry plan
- Plus from $33.80 a month
- Works from your AI assistant3 out of 10An official MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT, but it is read-only and cannot create or send email (Givebutter docs).
- Emails in your brand, no designer5 out of 10A logo and brand color you upload by hand appear on every outbound email. No website import is described (Givebutter help).
- Price2 out of 10Email blasts are free with unlimited contacts. Automated workflows need Plus, $325.50 a month at 10,000 contacts and a quote above that (pricing).
- Free plan9 out of 10Free forever with unlimited users, contacts and email blasts. Workflows and the drag-and-drop editor need Plus (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan7 out of 10Donation receipts go out automatically on the same free platform as newsletters, but there is no send API for your own app (Givebutter help).
- Editor for building by hand6 out of 10A simple composer with Canva on Free. The drag-and-drop editor with hundreds of templates is Plus only (Givebutter help).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10Over 1,000 integrations natively and via Zapier, 24/7 chat and email support, phone support on Plus (pricing).
Rank 8Bloomerang
39 out of 100Total
- Priced by
- Constituent records
- Free plan
- None
- Entry plan
- CRM from $125 a month, billed annually
- Works from your AI assistant1 out of 10A REST API for CRM data, but no first-party MCP server or assistant connector (Bloomerang API).
- Emails in your brand, no designer4 out of 10Fonts, colors and rows are styled by hand in each email or template. No brand import from your website is described (Bloomerang help).
- Price2 out of 10Priced by constituent records, inactive ones included. CRM starts at $125 a month billed annually, and the rest is by quote (pricing).
- Free plan1 out of 10No free plan or self-serve trial. The pricing page offers a demo and a sales quote (pricing).
- Receipts and newsletters on one plan7 out of 10Donation receipts and acknowledgments send from the same CRM as mass emails, but there is no send API for your own app (Bloomerang help).
- Editor for building by hand7 out of 10Drag-and-drop rows and blocks, mobile and dark-mode preview and an AI writing assistant, with 18 prebuilt templates (Bloomerang help).
- Integrations, support and track record7 out of 10Built-in wealth insights and NCOA, QuickBooks, Mailchimp and Constant Contact integrations, and Zapier (integrations).
How they compare
How each one scores
Scores out of 10, November 10, 2026| What we compared | Nitrosend | Brevo | MailerLite | Mailchimp | ActiveCampaign | Constant Contact | Givebutter | Bloomerang |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works from your AI assistant20 points | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 1 out of 10 |
| Emails in your brand, no designer10 points | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 |
| Price20 points | 8.5 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 3 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 |
| Free plan10 points | 7 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 4 out of 10 | 1 out of 10 | 1 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 1 out of 10 |
| Receipts and newsletters on one plan10 points | 9 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 5 out of 10 | 2 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 |
| Editor for building by hand15 points | 6 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 6 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 |
| Integrations, support and track record15 points | 5 out of 10 | 8 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 | 7 out of 10 |
| Total scoreout of 100 | 76.5 out of 100,1st | 74 out of 100,2nd | 61.5 out of 100,3rd | 59 out of 100,4th | 58.5 out of 100,5th | 51.5 out of 100,6th | 50.5 out of 100,7th | 39 out of 100,8th |
Here are the seven yes-or-no questions nonprofits usually ask before they pick an email platform. A tick means the platform does it, as described on its own pages today. A dash means the answer is not a clean yes or no.
8 services, side by side
Checked November 10, 2026QuestionNitrosendBrevoMailerLiteMailchimpActiveCampaignConstant ContactGivebutterBloomerang
NitrosendBrevoMailerLiteMailchimpActiveCampaignConstant ContactGivebutterBloomerangSend a campaign from the chatCan an agent send a marketing campaign without anyone opening the web app?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Not a yes or no.MailerLite: Yes.Mailchimp: No.ActiveCampaign: Yes.Constant Contact: No.Givebutter: No.Bloomerang: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes, through the MCP server. Campaigns stay drafts until approved. |
| Brevo | Not a yes or no. Its MCP server creates and manages email campaigns. Its docs list no module for automations. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes. Its MCP server can create and schedule campaigns. |
| Mailchimp | No. Not yet. Its Claude and ChatGPT app drafts the campaign, and Mailchimp's own guide has you finish and send in the web app. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, once you approve its summary in the chat. |
| Constant Contact | No. No. Claude hands you a link to finish sending in Constant Contact. |
| Givebutter | No. The official connector is read-only and cannot send email. |
| Bloomerang | No. No MCP server or assistant connector, so sending happens in the web app. |
Official MCP serverIs there a first-party MCP server for marketing email?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Mailchimp: Not a yes or no.ActiveCampaign: Yes.Constant Contact: Yes.Givebutter: Not a yes or no.Bloomerang: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Listed as com.nitrosend/nitrosend on the official MCP registry. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, remote-hosted, with 27 modules. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes. It can also build automations, with create_automation. |
| Mailchimp | Not a yes or no. Official Claude and ChatGPT app and connectors on Standard and above. The only official MCP server covers Transactional. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, a remote MCP URL on every plan. |
| Constant Contact | Yes. Yes, as an official Claude connector, plus a ChatGPT app. |
| Givebutter | Not a yes or no. A first-party MCP server exists, but it only reads data and cannot draft or send email. |
| Bloomerang | No. None found on its site, API page or help center. |
Brand kit from your siteDoes it pick up your logo, fonts and colors from your website?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Mailchimp: Yes.ActiveCampaign: Yes.Constant Contact: Yes.Givebutter: No.Bloomerang: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Brand Kit reads colors, fonts and voice from your site. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes. The brand library fetches logo, colors, fonts and links. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes. Brand styles pull logo, colors, fonts and links. |
| Mailchimp | Yes. Yes, on Essentials and above. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, with the AI Brand Kit. |
| Constant Contact | Yes. Yes. BrandKit scans for logo, colors and images. |
| Givebutter | No. Logo and brand color are uploaded by hand. |
| Bloomerang | No. Styles are set by hand in each email or template. |
Rarely emailed contacts are freeDoes holding a contact you rarely email cost nothing?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.MailerLite: No.Mailchimp: No.ActiveCampaign: No.Constant Contact: No.Givebutter: Yes.Bloomerang: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. Contacts are unlimited on every plan. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes. The bill follows emails sent. |
| MailerLite | No. No. The plan is set by subscriber count. |
| Mailchimp | No. No. Every contact counts toward the tier, unsubscribed and non-subscribed ones included. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. The plan is set by how many contacts you hold. |
| Constant Contact | No. No. The plan is set by contact count. |
| Givebutter | Yes. The free CRM holds unlimited contacts. Only Plus is priced by contacts. |
| Bloomerang | No. Every constituent record counts toward the license, inactive ones included. |
Transactional includedAre receipts and resets in the same plan as newsletters?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.MailerLite: No.Mailchimp: No.ActiveCampaign: No.Constant Contact: No.Givebutter: Yes.Bloomerang: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, on every plan including Free. |
| MailerLite | No. No. Transactional is MailerSend, a separate product. |
| Mailchimp | No. Add-on to Standard or Premium, $20 per 25,000 emails. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. Transactional is Postmark, billed separately. |
| Constant Contact | No. No. It is not built for transactional email. |
| Givebutter | Yes. Donation receipts send automatically on the same free platform as newsletters. |
| Bloomerang | Yes. Donation receipts and acknowledgments send from the same CRM as newsletters. |
Free plan with no time limitIs there a free plan that does not expire?Nitrosend: Yes.Brevo: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Mailchimp: Yes.ActiveCampaign: No.Constant Contact: No.Givebutter: Yes.Bloomerang: No.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Yes. Yes. 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, 300 emails a day. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes, with a cap on subscribers and on emails a month. |
| Mailchimp | Yes. Yes, up to 250 contacts. |
| ActiveCampaign | No. No. A 14-day trial with up to 100 sends. |
| Constant Contact | No. No. A trial with up to 100 sends. |
| Givebutter | Yes. Free forever with unlimited contacts and email blasts. |
| Bloomerang | No. No free plan, only a demo and sales quote. |
Mature drag-and-drop editorIs there a polished visual editor for a person building by hand?Nitrosend: Not a yes or no.Brevo: Yes.MailerLite: Yes.Mailchimp: Yes.ActiveCampaign: Yes.Constant Contact: Yes.Givebutter: Not a yes or no.Bloomerang: Yes.
| Service | Answer |
|---|---|
| Nitrosend | Not a yes or no. A block builder exists. The agent is the main way in. |
| Brevo | Yes. Yes, with templates and a brand library. |
| MailerLite | Yes. Yes, plus custom HTML and simple editors. |
| Mailchimp | Yes. Yes, and reviewers rate it highly. |
| ActiveCampaign | Yes. Yes, and a mature automation builder. |
| Constant Contact | Yes. Yes, with hundreds of templates. |
| Givebutter | Not a yes or no. A drag-and-drop editor exists, but only on paid Plus. |
| Bloomerang | Yes. Drag-and-drop builder with mobile and dark-mode preview on the CRM plan. |
Yes answersOut of the questions that have a yes or no for that service6 of 6 yes for Nitrosend6 of 6 yes for Brevo5 of 7 yes for MailerLite3 of 6 yes for Mailchimp4 of 7 yes for ActiveCampaign3 of 7 yes for Constant Contact3 of 5 yes for Givebutter2 of 7 yes for Bloomerang
At a glance
8 services, the same 7 tests, 100 points in all. In order: Nitrosend 76.5, Brevo 74, MailerLite 61.5, Mailchimp 59, ActiveCampaign 58.5, Constant Contact 51.5, Givebutter 50.5, Bloomerang 39. Nitrosend has the best score on Works from your AI assistant, Emails in your brand, no designer, Price and Receipts and newsletters on one plan. Every price and feature was read on each company's own pages on November 10, 2026.
When another platform is the better pick
Nitrosend does not win every test. Read these before you choose it.
- Pick Givebutter if you have no budget at all. Its platform is free with unlimited contacts and unlimited email blasts, funded by optional donor tips or a flat 3% platform fee with tips off, and it adds donation forms, events and a CRM. Donation receipts go out automatically on the same free plan. It beats Nitrosend on free plan, 9 to 7. It scores 2 on price only because automated workflows and the drag-and-drop editor need Givebutter Plus, $325.50 a month at 10,000 contacts paid monthly and a quote above that.
- Pick Brevo if you hold a large supporter list and email it a few times a year. It bills on emails sent rather than contacts held, and its free plan is 300 emails a day and free forever. It beats Nitrosend on free plan, 8 to 7, on the editor, 8 to 6, and on integrations and track record, 8 to 5. The Brevo alternatives page covers where it falls short.
- Pick Bloomerang if donor records and gift history are the real system. It is a donor CRM first, with gift tracking, retention reporting and a drag-and-drop email builder in the same product, and receipts and acknowledgments send from the same CRM as appeals. It scores 7 on the editor and 7 on integrations and track record. There is no free plan, and the CRM starts at $125 a month billed annually, with the rest by quote.
- Pick MailerLite if a monthly supporter newsletter is the whole job. It scores 8 on the editor and 7 on integrations and track record, and its MCP server can create and schedule campaigns. Comfort is $89 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
- Pick ActiveCampaign if you are building conditional donor journeys and have the budget. It scores 9 on integrations and track record and 8 on the editor, with an automation builder and a CRM in the same account (pricing). Starter is $149 a month at 10,000 contacts, billed yearly, and there is no free plan.
- Pick Constant Contact if integrations and a familiar editor matter more than price. It scores 9 on integrations and track record and 8 on the editor, and its Claude connector drafts the email, then hands you a link to launch it in Constant Contact. Lite is $120 a month at 10,000 contacts, and there is no free plan.
- Pick Mailchimp if you need an integration only it has. It scores 9 on the editor, the best here, and 9 on integrations and track record. It bills on total contacts, unsubscribed ones included, from $110 a month at 10,000 on Essentials. The Mailchimp alternatives page covers where people went.
What each one costs in 2026
Most platforms here charge for every contact you hold, whether you email it or not, which is the worst possible model for a nonprofit list built over years of events. Brevo and Nitrosend charge for the emails you send, and Nitrosend does not charge for contacts at all. Givebutter's email blasts are free, and its paid plan adds workflows.
What sending costs
List prices, USD, monthly, November 10, 2026| Service | 20,000 emails a month | 1,000,000 emails a month |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrosend (pricing page) | $20Starter, contacts unlimited | $650Scale, contacts unlimited, including overage |
| Brevo (pricing page) | $69Standard, the first plan with automation. Starter is $32 without it | $999Professional. Standard stops at 500,000 emails |
| MailerLite (pricing page) | $89Comfort, 10,000 subscribers | Ask salesEnterprise, by quote. Published tiers stop at 200,000, $819 on Comfort |
| Mailchimp (pricing page) | $110Essentials, flows up to 4 steps. Standard is $135 | Ask salesPremium only, by quote. Published tiers stop at 200,000 contacts |
| ActiveCampaign (pricing page) | $149Starter, billed yearly, 5 actions per automation. No monthly price is published | Ask salesBy quote. Published tiers stop at 50,000 contacts |
| Constant Contact (pricing page) | $120Lite, one automation template. Standard is $160 | Ask salesBy quote. Published tiers stop at 50,000 contacts |
| Givebutter (pricing page) | $325.50Plus, which adds workflows, paid monthly. Email on Free is $0 without them | Ask salesPlus by quote above 10,000 contacts. Email on Free is $0 without workflows |
| Bloomerang (pricing page) | Ask salesBy quote. CRM starts at $125 a month, billed annually | Ask salesBy quote |
At 20,000 emails a month, a 10,000-contact list emailed twice, Nitrosend is $20. Brevo is $69 on Standard, MailerLite $89, Mailchimp $110, Constant Contact $120, ActiveCampaign $149 billed yearly and Givebutter Plus $325.50. Bloomerang publishes no price at that size.
At a million emails a month, Nitrosend is $650. Brevo is $999 on Professional. The other six publish no price at 500,000 contacts, so the answer is a sales call. What email marketing really costs has the wider math.
The bigger difference is what the $20 buys. The Nitrosend pricing page puts contacts at unlimited on every plan, and receipts and appeals draw on the same allowance. If you would otherwise pay a contact-priced platform for the list and a second service for transactional email, add the two bills together before you compare.
How we scored
Every platform gets a score out of 10 on the same seven tests. Each test is worth a set number of points, 100 in all. Working from your AI assistant and price are worth the most, 20 points each, because a small team with no marketer needs both. The editor and the track record, where the older platforms are strongest, share 30 points, so a platform that is better there gets full credit for it.
Each test is a question with one answer per service, checked against the service's own pages on November 10, 2026. A 10 means it does the job fully on its normal plans. A 5 means it does part of it, or only on a higher plan or in a second product.
Works from your AI assistant, 20 points. Can an agent inside Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex compose a marketing campaign, test it, and send it, with no person opening the web app between the prompt and the send? An approval step the person answers in the chat counts as inside the agent. Moving into the web app to finish does not. Scored on one written rule for every vendor: a first-party server the vendor runs and that can send counts fully; a third-party wrapper (Zapier, Composio, Kanopi, community servers) counts for less; a server that only drafts or reads counts for less than one that sends.
Emails in your brand, no designer, 10 points. Does the product learn your logo, colors, fonts and voice from your own site and apply them to every email it drafts, on the plan most small teams start on?
Price, 20 points. What does email cost each month at 20,000 emails, a 10,000-contact list emailed twice, and at 1,000,000, a 500,000-contact list emailed twice? Scored on list prices in US dollars, paid monthly, at the cheapest plan that holds the contacts, covers the sends and includes automated emails such as a welcome series. Every ranking on this site uses the same fixed scale. At 20,000 emails, $20 or less scores 10, then $25 scores 9, $32 scores 8, $40 scores 7, $50 scores 6, $70 scores 5, $100 scores 4 and $140 scores 3. At 1,000,000, $500 or less scores 10, then $625, $800, $1,000, $1,250, $1,750, $2,500 and $3,500 step down the same way. Anything dearer, or a price given only by quote, scores 2. A free product scores 10. The score is the average of the two.
Free plan, 10 points. How far can a team get on the free plan before it has to pay: contacts, total sends, and the daily ceiling.
Receipts and newsletters on one plan, 10 points. Can receipts, password resets and newsletters go out from one account, on one bill, through one API?
Editor for building by hand, 15 points. For a person who wants to build the email themselves: how mature are the visual editor and the template library?
Integrations, support and track record, 15 points. How many tools does it plug into, what support comes with the plan, and how long has it been doing this at scale?
One thing is not scored: inbox placement. None of these platforms publishes a comparable deliverability number, so a score there would be a guess dressed up as a measurement.
What to look for in a nonprofit email platform
Five things decide this more than a feature grid does.
- Donor segmentation. Can you filter by gift amount, recency, volunteer history and engagement without exporting to a spreadsheet? Bloomerang and Givebutter hold gift records and the email list in the same product (Bloomerang, Givebutter), so the filter can start from the gift. With a general platform, the gift data has to be synced in first.
- Nonprofit discounts. Ask what proving eligibility costs, whether a discount survives renewal, and what list price it is applied to.
- CRM integration. If gift records live in Bloomerang, Salesforce or Virtuous, the question is whether the sync is two-way and whether it carries gift amounts, not just addresses.
- Automated receipts. A tax-compliant acknowledgment goes out within seconds of a gift, which makes it a transactional send rather than a campaign. Check the platform keeps the two apart so an appeal cannot delay a receipt. Transactional email compared with marketing email explains why.
- Receipts that hold up as tax records. For a US gift of $250 or more, the IRS written acknowledgment rules require the organization's name, the amount, and a statement that no goods or services were given, or a good-faith estimate of their value when they were, such as the dinner in a gala ticket. That wording lives in the receipt template, so it is the one email worth getting right once. In Bloomerang, the default form confirmation is logged as a receipt and does not mark the gift as acknowledged, so the acknowledgment is a second email to set up. In Nitrosend, an assistant can build the receipt as a reusable template and send you a test, and each receipt then goes out as a single transactional send through the API, fired from a donation tool by Zapier, n8n or Make (integrations).
Which platform is best for a nonprofit with no budget at all?
Givebutter, in most cases, because its email blasts are $0 a month with unlimited contacts and it gives you donation forms as well. If you only need email, Brevo's free plan is 300 emails a day, which suits a quarterly appeal to a big list. Nitrosend gives 5,000 emails to start and then 500 a month with unlimited contacts, which fits a small list mailed monthly. Mailchimp and MailerLite cap their free plans at 250 contacts, which most nonprofits pass inside a year.
Do nonprofit discounts make Mailchimp cheap?
No. A discount changes the multiplier, not the model. Mailchimp's pricing help counts subscribed, unsubscribed and non-subscribed contacts toward the limit, so a 40,000-name list built over a decade of events costs you every month whether you email it or not. A percentage off that bill still leaves you paying to store addresses. A platform that charges by send, or one that does not charge for contacts at all, changes the bill by far more than a percentage. Compare the counting method first and the discount second. The Nitrosend and Mailchimp comparison scores the two head to head.
Can we keep our donor database and change only the email platform?
Yes, and it is usually the right sequence. Leave gift records where they are, move sending to a platform that prices the way your list behaves, and sync contacts one way into the sending tool. What it takes is DNS: the new sender's DKIM record on your domain, and both senders inside one SPF record while you overlap. Move one message type at a time, appeals first and receipts last, and keep gift history in the CRM as the source of truth. The email authentication page has the records.
How to move a supporter list without losing deliverability
Re-engaging an old list is the highest-risk send a nonprofit ever makes, so do it in this order.
- Export contacts and engagement history together. Do it while you still have access, and keep more than just the addresses.
- Clean the list before the first send. Years of event sign-ups gather dead addresses, and the email blacklist checker shows what you are carrying.
- Authenticate the new sender on your domain. List both senders in one SPF record during the overlap.
- Warm up rather than switching in one send. How to warm up an email domain has the ramp.
- Send to donors and volunteers from the last 24 months first. Widen only after bounce rate and complaint rates hold, and run an inbox test before the big appeal.
- Move months before the year-end appeal, not weeks. A new sender starts with a daily ceiling, not its plan's full volume. On Nitrosend Starter a new, unproven account can reach 1,000 recipients in a rolling 24 hours, rising to 10,000 and then 100,000 as delivery history builds, and a verified list can help earn a higher standing on day one (pricing details). Gmail also treats any domain that sends about 5,000 messages to personal Gmail accounts in one day as a bulk sender permanently, receipts from the same domain included, so the first big appeal sets the rules for every email after it.
- Never mail the whole list on day one to see what happens. It is how a charity loses its sending domain the week before an end-of-year appeal. The newsletter deliverability practices page covers the habits that keep it safe.
Nonprofit email platforms FAQ
Nitrosend, with the top score in this review, 76.5 out of 100. Contacts are unlimited on every plan, appeals and receipts go out on one plan, and your AI assistant writes and sends in your brand, from $20 a month for 20,000 emails. Pick Givebutter for free fundraising and email in one account, Brevo for a large list emailed rarely, Bloomerang if donor records are the real system, and MailerLite for a clean monthly newsletter.
Givebutter's platform is free with unlimited contacts and unlimited email blasts, funded by optional donor tips or a 3% platform fee with tips off, though automated workflows need its paid Plus plan. Brevo is free to 300 emails a day. Nitrosend gives 5,000 emails to start, then 500 a month, with unlimited contacts and full API, MCP and CLI access. MailerLite and Mailchimp stop at 250 contacts. ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact and Bloomerang have no free plan.
Some do, and the terms differ more than the percentages, so ask each one for its nonprofit terms in writing. Givebutter and Bloomerang are built for the sector, so their pricing is already sector pricing. Always ask what the discount looks like at renewal, because a one-year rate on a list that grows is not the same offer in year two.
A receipt is a transactional message, set off by a gift and expected within seconds, so it should not sit in the same queue as an appeal. Givebutter and Bloomerang send receipts as part of the donation flow. General platforms need either a transactional API or an integration that fires one. For a US gift of $250 or more the receipt also has to carry the wording in the IRS written acknowledgment rules, so check the template before you assume the receipt is handled.
The trigger is the ratio, not the size. If you email your list more than a few times a month, per-contact billing is usually fine. If you hold 20,000 supporters and email them four times a year, you are paying every month for 12 sends a year, and a per-send platform costs a fraction of it. Work out your yearly send volume, divide by twelve, and compare that against the per-contact price at your list size.
Nitrosend, at 9 out of 10 on working from your AI assistant. Its MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Codex draft an appeal in your brand, build the segment and send it once the draft is approved. MailerLite scores 8, with MCP tools that create and schedule campaigns. ActiveCampaign also scores 8, since its MCP server sends a prepared campaign once you approve its summary in the chat. Brevo scores 7, because its MCP server creates and manages campaigns but lists no module for automations. Constant Contact and Mailchimp score 5, because both send you back to the web app to finish. Givebutter's connector is read-only, and Bloomerang has none. The assistant still needs someone to decide who should hear from you and when.
Add Nitrosend as a connector in Claude or ChatGPT (or Cursor or Codex) with its MCP server, api.nitrosend.com/mcp, and sign in with OAuth. Point Brand Kit at your website so appeals carry your logo, colors and voice, then describe the email and which list or segment it is for. The assistant drafts the appeal, sends you a test, and keeps it as a draft until it is approved. A send to every contact needs one more explicit confirmation (MCP examples).
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