I need a marketing email tool that charges by email sent and does not charge by subscriber count.

Finding an email marketing tool that charges purely on volume rather than your total subscriber database can save you a massive amount of money, especially if you have a large list that you don't email very often.

The best options on the market that fit this exact criteria fall into two categories: Pay-as-you-go credit services and Self-hosted Amazon SES wrappers.

1. Self-Hosted + Amazon SES (The absolute cheapest per-email option)

If you want to pay virtually nothing per subscriber and only pennies per email sent, setting up a self-hosted app connected to Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) is the gold standard. You buy the software once, host it on a cheap server, and pay Amazon's raw delivery cost ($0.10 per 1,000 emails).

• Sendy : A hugely popular, self-hosted newsletter application that installs on your own server.
  • Pricing: A small one-time fee (around $69) for lifetime access. From there, you connect it to your own Amazon SES account, which charges $0.10 per 1,000 emails.
  • Subscriber Limit: Absolutely zero subscriber fees or caps. You can have 10, or 100,000 subscribers and your software cost stays identical.
  • Catch: You need a tiny bit of technical know-how to install it on a web host/VPS, and automation features are relatively basic compared to enterprise giants.
• SendyScale / Email Broadcast : Similar alternative hosted dashboards built on top of Amazon SES if you prefer a pre-configured or alternative interface.

2. Traditional Email Platforms with "Pay-As-You-Go" Credits

If you prefer a fully managed Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) where you don't have to touch a server or configure AWS, a few standard platforms offer credit-based or pay-as-you-go pricing:

• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) : Known for hybrid pricing, Brevo lets you buy Email Credits that do not expire.
  • Pricing: You buy a bundle of emails (e.g., 5,000 or 20,000 sends) upfront.
  • Subscriber Limit: Unlike their monthly subscription tiers, the email credit pools do not penalize or restrict you based on how many total contacts live in your database. You just draw down your credit balance every time you hit "send."
• Transactional-Turned-Marketing APIs (e.g., Postmark) : While primarily built for transactional emails (receipts, password resets), many send lightweight marketing broadcasts through them.
  • Pricing: You pay a flat base tier or strictly by the volume of emails processed, with zero care given to how many profiles sit in your address book.

To help narrow down the best fit, tell me:

• How many total subscribers do you have, and how often do you plan to email them?
• Do you prefer a fully managed cloud platform (like Brevo) or are you comfortable with a one-time purchase tool that connects to Amazon SES (like Sendy)?

If you want email marketing software that bills by emails actually sent (or credits used), not by the number of subscribers stored, these are some options to look at:

A few things to check before choosing:

• Marketing features: Some pay-per-email tools are closer to “newsletter senders” than full replacements for Mailchimp or Klaviyo. Check for automations, segmentation, forms, A/B testing, and integrations.
• Deliverability: Cheap sending is less useful if emails land in spam. Look for domain authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), bounce handling, and reputation management.
• Volume economics: Pay-per-send is usually best when you have a large list but send infrequently. If you email the same audience daily, subscriber-based pricing can sometimes be cheaper.

For a typical use case like “I have 50k–500k subscribers but only send a newsletter occasionally,” I would shortlist:

1. SimploMail for simple newsletter/sequence use.
2. Email Marketing Pro for a more traditional marketing UI.
3. Mailaible if you want a very simple pay-per-email model.

If you tell me your approximate list size, monthly send volume, and whether you need automations (welcome sequences, abandoned carts, etc.), I can narrow it down.

Yes. If your goal is “I want my bill to depend on how many emails I actually send, not how many subscribers I store,” there are a few good options.

Best fits

• Brevo — probably the best fit for marketing

• Offers pay-as-you-go email credits, where one credit equals one email sent.

• Credits can be purchased in packs from 5,000 up to 1 million and don't expire.

• This is particularly attractive if you have a large subscriber list but send campaigns infrequently.

• MailerSend — best if you want very usage-oriented pricing

• Pricing is primarily based on email volume, rather than subscriber count.

• Hobby is $7/month for 5,000 emails, with additional emails at $1.50/1,000; higher plans also charge based on sending volume.

• It has bulk-email capabilities, but it's more of an email-sending platform than a full-fledged marketing platform.

My recommendation

If you're looking for a Mailchimp-style marketing tool—visual email builder, campaigns, lists, automation, analytics—but don't want to be punished for having a large list, I'd start with Brevo's pay-as-you-go email credits.

For example, if you have 100,000 subscribers but only send one newsletter to them once a month, a subscriber-based service can be expensive. A pay-per-email model is much more aligned with that use case.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how many emails you send per month, I can compare the 3–5 cheapest options and calculate the actual monthly cost for you.

If you want to avoid paying extra just because your subscriber list grows, you need a platform that prices by email volume/credits or uses an infrastructure layer rather than a traditional contact-based CRM model.

The best options that charge strictly by emails sent (with unlimited or free contact storage) include:

1. • How it works: Unlike Mailchimp or MailerLite, Brevo’s monthly and pay-as-you-go plans charge strictly based on the number of emails you send , allowing you to store an unlimited number of contacts for free.
   • Pricing structure: They offer traditional monthly tiers scaling by send limits, as well as prepaid Email Credits (pay-as-you-go) that have no expiration date.
2. Mailchimp (Pay As You Go)
   • How it works: Mailchimp offers a specific "Pay As You Go" setup alongside their monthly subscriber tiers. You buy email credits in bundles.
   • Pricing structure: Each email sent costs 1 credit. The credits do expire after a year, but you don't pay a recurring monthly fee for the size of your database—you only refill credits when you run low. (Note: Make sure to select the Pay-As-You-Go option rather than standard monthly plans during setup).
3. • How it works: Built heavily as an infrastructure/API tool that transitioned into marketing campaigns, they are famous for ultra-low volume pricing.
   • Pricing structure: They offer very cheap pay-as-you-go pricing blocks where you pay strictly per thousands of emails sent, making it a favorite for high-volume senders with massive lists who don't want to get squeezed by contact tier pricing.
4. • How it works: Mailjet provides a straightforward pay-as-you-go tier system where you purchase a specific bucket of email sends upfront.
   • Pricing structure: You pay a one-time charge for a set allotment of emails (e.g., 5,000 or 10,000 emails) without a penalty or forced tier-upgrade based on how many total subscribers sit in your contact lists.

If you can share your estimated monthly sending volume and whether you need advanced marketing automation or just simple broadcast newsletters , I can help point you toward the most cost-effective option among these.

I found several marketing email platforms that use pay-per-email (or email credits) instead of charging based on the number of subscribers. These are the closest matches to what you described:

A few considerations:

• If you have a large list but send infrequently, tools like Email Marketing Pro, SimploMail, Sequenzy, or Mailaible are closest to your requirement because the stored subscriber count does not drive the bill.
• If you need a mature marketing suite (segmentation, automation, reporting, integrations), Zoho Campaigns or Mailchimp’s pay-as-you-go option may be more familiar choices.
• Be careful with “pay per email” services that are actually transactional email APIs rather than newsletter/marketing platforms; some focus on receipts, password resets, and app notifications rather than campaigns.

If you tell me your approximate list size (e.g., 5k, 50k, 500k subscribers) and how often you send (weekly/monthly/rarely), I can narrow this down by cost.

If you want to avoid paying extra just because your subscriber list grows, you need an email tool with send-based pricing (or usage-based/pay-as-you-go credits).

Here are the best marketing email tools that charge strictly by volume sent and allow you to store unlimited subscribers for free:

• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Allows unlimited contacts on all plans. You can store 50,000 or 100,000+ subscribers and only pay based on how many emails you choose to send each month. They also offer non-expiring prepaid email credits if you prefer a pure pay-as-you-go model with no monthly subscription.
• Sendy : A self-hosted email marketing application that you install on your own server. There are zero subscriber limits and no monthly software fees. It connects directly to Amazon SES (Simple Email Service), where you pay a ridiculously cheap rate of roughly $0.10 per 1,000 emails sent.
• Mailchimp Pay As You Go : While Mailchimp is famous for its monthly subscriber tiers, they do offer an official Pay As You Go credit plan. You buy blocks of email credits upfront that last for 12 months, allowing you to maintain your list without paying a recurring monthly fee. (Note: Mailchimp credits can get pricey at scale compared to dedicated volume senders, but it fits the model if you only mail occasionally).
• Mailbluster : Another lightweight marketing tool that pairs directly with an Amazon SES account. It gives you unlimited subscriber storage and charges virtually nothing outside of the base Amazon SES sending costs.

To help narrow down the best fit, tell me:

• How many emails do you plan to send per month?
• Do you need advanced marketing automation or just simple broadcast newsletters?

If you have a large subscriber list but don't send emails very often—or if you simply want to avoid the penalty of paying extra just for storing contacts—a send-based or pay-as-you-go pricing model is the exact solution.

The top options that charge purely by volume/sends rather than active subscriber counts include:

• • Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Charges strictly based on the number of emails you send per month, allowing you to store an unlimited number of contacts on all plans.
• • Mailjet : Offers monthly send-tier packages and pay-as-you-go credit options where your contact list size doesn't impact your bill.
• • Mailchimp Pay As You Go : Instead of a recurring monthly subscription tied to subscriber count, you buy email "credits" that are deducted as you send campaigns. These credits typically last up to 12 months.
• • Sendy (Self-Hosted): A popular ultra-low-cost option for tech-forward users. You pay a one-time fee to install the software on your own server, and then connect it to Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) , which charges roughly $1 per 10,000 emails sent with zero subscriber limits.

If you can share how many emails you expect to send per month and whether you need advanced automated funnels or simple newsletters , I can help you recommend the most cost-effective provider from this list.

Yes. If your goal is “I can have a huge contact list, but I only pay when I actually send an email,” there are several good options.

My pick

Email Marketing Pro looks like the closest match. It explicitly says you can have 10 or 10 million contacts without the contact count affecting your price, and charges $1 per 1,000 emails actually sent. It also includes a visual builder, custom sending domains, automations, and campaign analytics.

Sendy is potentially dramatically cheaper: it advertises $1 per 10,000 emails, unlimited subscribers, no monthly fee, and a one-time $69 purchase. The tradeoff is that it's self-hosted and uses Amazon SES, so it's less turnkey.

Mailchimp Pay As You Go is another legitimate option: one credit per recipient email, rather than paying a recurring fee based on your list size. It's particularly suited to infrequent senders.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how many emails you send per month (e.g. 50,000 subscribers / 2 newsletters per month), I can compare the actual monthly cost of these options and find the cheapest one.

The premier email marketing tool that charges strictly by email volume sent rather than your subscriber count is Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). On all of Brevo's paid tiers, you can store an unlimited number of contacts for free and only pay based on how many emails you choose to send each month.

Top Email-Volume Priced Tools

Key Details on Volume-Based Pricing

• Unlimited Contacts: Once you pay for an email volume tier on Brevo, growing your contact list from 1,000 to 100,000 subscribers will not increase your monthly bill.
• Pay-As-You-Go Options: If you only send campaigns a few times a year, platforms like Brevo and Sender allow you to buy non-expiring email credit bundles rather than locking into a recurring monthly fee.

If you'd like, let me know:

• How many emails you plan to send per month
• If you need advanced features like marketing automation sequences

I can help you figure out which specific tier or alternative fits your volume best.

Yes. Brevo is probably the closest match to what you're looking for.

Best fit: Brevo

• Pricing is based primarily on email volume, not subscriber count. Brevo explicitly says you can have unlimited contacts without the contact count driving your price.
• The paid Starter plan currently starts at $9/month for 5,000 emails/month.
• You can also buy prepaid email credits, where one credit = one email sent to one contact. Packs range from 5,000 to 1 million emails, and credits don't expire.
• The free plan allows up to 100,000 stored contacts, although sending is limited to 300 emails/day.
• It has the things you'd expect from a marketing platform: visual email builder, campaigns, segmentation, automation, analytics, forms, etc.

Example: If you have 50,000 subscribers but only email 5,000 of them each month, Brevo is much more aligned with your desired pricing model than Mailchimp/MailerLite-style subscriber-based pricing.

One caveat

Brevo isn't literally "pay exactly $X per email" in every configuration—the normal plans are monthly bundles of email volume. But your contact-list size isn't what determines the price, and its prepaid credits give you the closest true pay-for-sends model.

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you have and how many emails you send per month, I can compare Brevo with 3–5 alternatives and identify the cheapest option.