"Contact us for pricing" is the worst phrase on a SaaS pricing page. You know the price will be high (otherwise they'd publish it), and you know you'll have to sit through a sales call to find out. For email marketing tools, where your costs scale directly with your subscriber count, knowing the price at every tier matters.

Transparent pricing means: the price is on the website, it's clear what's included, and there are no surprise charges for features, overages, or migrations. Here are the email tools that get pricing right.

What "Transparent Pricing" Actually Means

Public pricing page: Prices visible without creating an account or talking to sales
Clear tier definitions: Know exactly what each plan includes and what it doesn't
Predictable scaling: A pricing calculator or table showing costs at different subscriber counts
No hidden fees: No charges for features that seem like they should be included
Simple structure: Easy to understand without a spreadsheet to compare tiers

The 7 Most Transparent

1. Sequenzy

What makes it transparent: One plan at $29/month with clear feature inclusion. No multiple tiers to compare, no "Premium" vs "Enterprise" confusion, no hidden feature gates. The pricing page shows exactly what you get and what it costs as you scale.

Pricing structure: Flat pricing with subscriber-based scaling, all features included at every level Hidden fee risk: Low. No feature gating, no "contact us" tier Pricing: From $29/month

2. Resend

What makes it transparent: Three clear tiers with specific limits. Free (3,000 emails/month), Pro ($20/month for 50,000), and Enterprise (custom but with published starting features). The per-email overage rate is published. No surprise charges.

Pricing structure: Volume-based tiers with published overage rates Hidden fee risk: Very low. Overage rates are transparent Pricing: Free tier, from $20/month

3. Postmark

What makes it transparent: Message-based pricing with a clear volume table on the website. You can see exactly what you'll pay at every volume level from 10,000 to 1,000,000+ emails/month. No per-subscriber charges. No feature tiers.

Pricing structure: Volume-based, one feature set at every level Hidden fee risk: Very low. All features included at every volume Pricing: From $15/month for 10,000 emails

4. MailerLite

What makes it transparent: Two clear plans (Growing Business and Advanced) with pricing visible at every subscriber count. The pricing calculator on the website lets you see exact costs from 500 to 500,000 subscribers. Feature differences between plans are clearly listed.

Pricing structure: Subscriber-based with two distinct plans, pricing calculator Hidden fee risk: Low. Clear plan differences, no hidden features Pricing: From $10/month

5. ConvertKit (Kit)

What makes it transparent: Three plans (Newsletter free, Creator, Creator Pro) with pricing visible for every subscriber count up to 500,000. The website clearly shows what's in each plan and what you'll pay as you grow.

Pricing structure: Subscriber-based with three plans, sliding scale visible on website Hidden fee risk: Low. Clear tier differences, commerce fees are transparent Pricing: Free tier, from $29/month

6. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

What makes it transparent: Plans based on email volume, not subscribers (unique and transparent). The pricing page shows costs at different sending volumes. You can store unlimited contacts and only pay for emails sent.

Pricing structure: Email volume-based (not subscriber-based), four clear plans Hidden fee risk: Low for email, but add-ons (SMS, WhatsApp, dedicated IP) add cost Pricing: Free tier, from $9/month

7. Loops

What makes it transparent: Simple pricing tiers based on subscriber count, visible on the website. Each tier includes clear feature sets. No enterprise-only features that require a sales call.

Pricing structure: Subscriber-based with published tiers Hidden fee risk: Low. Features clearly listed per tier Pricing: Free tier, from $49/month

The Least Transparent (Avoid If Pricing Matters to You)

These platforms require sales calls or have pricing complexity that makes comparison difficult:

Braze: "Contact us" pricing. Enterprise-only. Typically $50K+/year but you won't know until the sales process.

Iterable: "Contact us" pricing. Custom quotes based on volume and features. No public pricing page.

Customer.io: Pricing is published but starts at $100/month and has complex tiers. The Essentials plan has meaningful limitations. Full pricing requires calculating across multiple axes (contacts, messages, features).

Klaviyo: Prices are published but scaling is aggressive. The jump from 1,000 to 10,000 contacts is significant. Revenue claims on the pricing page can obscure the actual cost. SMS pricing adds another variable.

Mailchimp: Prices are published but the tier structure is complex (Free, Essentials, Standard, Premium) with different limits and features at each. Contact-based pricing with "audience" definitions can be confusing. Overages aren't always clear.

Hidden Fees to Watch For

Overage charges

Some platforms charge per-contact or per-email overage fees that are significantly higher than the base rate. Check what happens when you exceed your plan limits.

Feature gating

"Automation" might mean "basic automation" on Tier 1 and "real automation" on Tier 3. Read the fine print on what each tier actually includes.

Setup fees

Some enterprise platforms charge onboarding or setup fees of $500-5,000. These are often negotiable but rarely disclosed on pricing pages.

Migration fees

Moving from one platform to another sometimes incurs data migration charges, especially with enterprise tools that offer "managed migration."

IP costs

Dedicated IP addresses cost $20-100/month extra on some platforms. For high-volume senders, this is a necessary cost that's often not in the base price.

Support costs

Priority support, phone support, or dedicated account management often requires a higher tier. Check what support level comes with your plan.

Questions to Ask Before Signing Up

What's the cost at my current subscriber count? Check the pricing page or calculator.
What's the cost at 2x and 5x my current count? Plan for growth.
Are all features I need included at my price tier? Check for feature gating.
What happens if I exceed limits? Understand overage pricing.
Are there annual vs. monthly pricing differences? Some platforms offer 20-40% discounts for annual billing.
Can I export my data if I leave? Data portability shouldn't cost extra.
Are there setup or migration fees? Ask before committing.

FAQ

Why do some email tools hide their pricing? Usually because the pricing is high and they want to qualify leads before discussing cost. Enterprise tools with $50K+ annual contracts use sales-led pricing because the price varies significantly by customer size and needs. This is normal for enterprise software but frustrating for startups.

Is annual billing worth the discount? If you're confident you'll use the tool for 12+ months, yes. Most platforms offer 15-30% discounts for annual billing. But if you're testing a new tool, start monthly until you're committed.

Should I negotiate email tool pricing? For enterprise tools (Braze, Iterable), always negotiate. For self-serve tools with published pricing (Sequenzy, MailerLite, Postmark), the published price is usually the price. Some offer startup discounts if you ask.

What's the most expensive mistake in email tool pricing? Choosing a tool that's cheap at 1,000 subscribers but expensive at 10,000. Check the scaling curve. Some tools increase linearly (2x subscribers = 2x cost). Others increase super-linearly (2x subscribers = 3x cost). The difference compounds as you grow.