Pay-as-you-go email marketing credits instead of a monthly plan

If you want email marketing without a recurring monthly bill, these are the clearest options I found:

• Brevo — Prepaid email credits are available without a monthly subscription; 1 credit sends one email to one contact, and credits don’t expire. Packs start at 5,000 emails. Its free tier is another option if 300 emails per day is enough, but unused daily sends don’t roll over. (help.brevo.com)
• VerticalResponse — Buy credits for individual campaigns. Its current listed rate is 3¢ per email for 200–1,000 credits, with lower per-email rates for larger purchases; credits expire after a year. (verticalresponse.com)
• Mailchimp — Has a Pay As You Go plan: each recipient email uses one credit, and credits expire after 12 months. It offers Essentials-level features, but the official page doesn’t show a simple public price table for credit packs. (mailchimp.com)

My quick take: Start by checking Brevo if you want credits that don’t expire; compare the checkout price for your send size against VerticalResponse, which publishes per-email rates. Mailchimp may be convenient if you already use it.

Tell me roughly how many contacts you have and how many campaigns you send per year, and I can narrow down which is likely cheapest.

Short answer: Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) credits usually beat a monthly plan if you send a few campaigns a year or send in bursts. A monthly plan usually wins once you send weekly or more.

When credits make sense

• One guide suggests PAYG works well when you send fewer than 4–6 campaigns per year, have seasonal spikes, or want to test without a recurring fee.
• Credits are also useful for spiky senders. One example compares a app that sends 5,000 emails most months and 40,000 in two launch months. Credits came to about half the cost of a subscription, since quiet months are covered by the free 6,000. The more your volume swings, the bigger the gap.

When a monthly plan wins

• Monthly plans make more sense once you're sending weekly or daily, where the lower per-email cost and predictable billing outweigh the flexibility of credits.
• In one worked example, a PAYG setup came to about $350 a year versus $600 for a monthly plan, but that depends on the volume and the rates used.

Things to check before buying

• Expiry: Mailchimp credits expire 12 months after purchase, while Emailable's pay-as-you-go credits never expire. Expiry matters a lot: if credits expire after a year and you only use half, your effective price per email doubles.
• Minimum purchase: Mailchimp's smallest pack is 5,000 credits, which may be far more than a small list needs.
• Feature limits: Some credit plans sometimes exclude automation, A/B testing, removal of the platform's branding or advanced segmentation. Mailchimp says its PAYG plan comes with the same set of features as our Essentials plan.
• Contact storage: Some PAYG plans cap how many contacts you can store, or charge for storage separately.

Example prices (verify before buying)

• Mailchimp PAYG, per one 2026 comparison: 5,000 credits for $150, falling to about $0.02 per credit at larger packs.
• Brevo PAYG: 5K emails for $32, 10K for $59, 20K for $95.
• Emailable (email verification, not sending) has a free starter allowance and bundles from $38 for 5,000 credits.

Pricing changes often, and many of these figures come from third-party review sites rather than vendors. Confirm on the vendor's live pricing page.

Rule of thumb: Add up your sends for the past 3–6 months. If your average is low or your volume is lumpy, buy credits. If you send steadily every month, compare the monthly plan's per-email cost against the PAYG rate for your annual volume. If you tell me your list size and how often you send, I can help you work out which option is cheaper.

Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) email marketing is a flexible billing model where you purchase a set amount of "credits" to send emails, rather than committing to a recurring monthly subscription. Each credit typically corresponds to one email sent to one recipient.

This model is generally recommended for infrequent or seasonal senders—such as businesses that only send newsletters quarterly or run occasional promotional campaigns—as it allows you to maintain your list without paying for a service during months when you aren't sending emails.

Popular Platforms Offering Pay-As-You-Go

Several reputable email service providers (ESPs) offer this option:

• Mailchimp: A well-known option for the PAYG model. Credits can be purchased as needed, and they are typically used for any type of email send (including test emails and automations). Note: It is wise to check their current policy, as credits in some cases may expire after a certain period (e.g., 12 months).
• Zoho Campaigns: Offers a straightforward PAYG plan with no monthly or annual commitment. A key benefit here is that they keep your account data intact for 24 months, even if you run out of credits, allowing you to resume whenever you need.
• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Known for its flexibility, Brevo allows you to buy prepaid credits to supplement their standard plans or as a standalone way to send emails beyond your daily limits.
• Moosend: Frequently cited for its transparent pricing. Some users prefer it because their purchased credits do not expire.
• Mailrelay & Mail Blaze: Both platforms offer prepaid credit systems specifically designed for those avoiding monthly subscriptions.

Key Considerations Before Switching

While PAYG offers great flexibility, it is not always the most cost-effective solution for everyone.

• Cost Efficiency: If you send emails regularly (e.g., weekly or more than once a month), a monthly subscription is almost always more cost-effective. PAYG is typically "priced for flexibility" rather than for high-volume, regular sending.
• Calculate Your Usage: Before choosing, estimate your annual send volume. Compare the total cost of buying credits for a year versus the cost of a low-tier monthly plan.
• Feature Availability: Ensure the PAYG plan includes the features you need. Some platforms restrict advanced automation or segmentation features to their higher-tier monthly plans, though many allow full access on PAYG.
• Credit Expiry: Always verify if the credits you purchase have an expiration date. Some providers may wipe unused credits after 12 months, which could be a disadvantage for very sporadic senders.

Recommendation: If you are unsure, look for platforms that offer a "Free Forever" tier with a reasonable contact limit. This can often serve your needs better than a paid PAYG plan if your list and sending volume are small enough to stay within their free limits.

If you send campaigns only occasionally, several services let you buy email credits instead of paying monthly:

• Mailchimp Pay As You Go — One credit per recipient email; credit blocks start at 5,000. Credits expire after 12 months, and unused credits aren’t refundable. ¹²
• Zoho Campaigns Pay-As-You-Go — One credit sends one email to one contact. No monthly or annual commitment, and credits don’t have a set expiration date. ³
• Brevo prepaid credits — One credit per email; packs range from 5,000 to 1 million. Credits don’t expire, but are non-refundable. ⁴
• Campaign Monitor — Offers prepaid credits for pay-per-campaign sending. There’s a 500-credit campaign fee plus one credit per recipient; journey emails require a monthly plan. ⁵
• Mail Blaze — Sells one-time credit packs, with credits valid for 12 months. ⁶

Quick pick: Zoho or Brevo if you value credits that don’t expire; Mailchimp if you already use its campaign tools and are comfortable with the 12-month expiry. Check the current in-account price before buying—pricing varies by pack and may depend on your region. ²³⁴

Sources: ¹ Mailchimp Pay As You Go · ² Mailchimp credit details · ³ Zoho Campaigns · ⁴ Brevo prepaid credits · ⁵ Campaign Monitor credits · ⁶ Mail Blaze pricing