Brevo

What Is Brevo?

When Marie launched her artisanal skincare brand from Lyon in 2021, she signed up for Mailchimp. By 2023, she had 12,000 subscribers, was paying over EUR 150/month, and had hit the wall that every growing European business hits with American marketing platforms: the pricing scaled with her list, the GDPR compliance felt bolted-on rather than built-in, and every new feature she needed — SMS, transactional emails, a basic CRM — required a separate tool with a separate bill.

She switched to Brevo. Her cost dropped to EUR 25/month. She got email, SMS, and CRM in one platform. And for the first time, her marketing tool was headquartered in the same country as her business, storing data on servers she could point to on a map of France.

Marie's story is Brevo's story in miniature. Founded in 2012 in Paris as Sendinblue, the company rebranded to Brevo in May 2023 to reflect its evolution from a transactional email service into a full marketing platform. The name changed; the thesis remained: provide European businesses with an all-in-one marketing platform that does not punish you for growing your audience.

Brevo's pricing model is its most disruptive feature. While Mailchimp and most competitors charge by subscriber count — meaning your bill increases every time someone joins your list — Brevo charges by emails sent. You can have 100,000 contacts on the free tier. You pay only when you send. For businesses with large lists and moderate sending frequency, this inverts the economics of email marketing entirely.

Today, Brevo serves over 500,000 businesses worldwide from its Paris headquarters, with all data stored in EU-based servers. It offers email campaigns, marketing automation, SMS and WhatsApp messaging, a built-in CRM, landing page builder, and transactional email infrastructure — all from a single account.

Key Features

Email Campaigns

Brevo's email campaign tools cover the essentials well: a drag-and-drop editor, a library of responsive templates, A/B testing, send-time optimization, and detailed campaign analytics. The editor is functional but not as polished as Mailchimp's — template customization can feel constrained, and the design options are adequate rather than inspired. That said, for most businesses, the difference between "adequate" and "beautiful" in an email editor does not measurably affect open rates.

Marketing Automation

This is where Brevo punches above its price point. The automation builder supports multi-step workflows triggered by contact behaviour, page visits, email engagement, or custom events. You can build welcome sequences, abandoned cart recovery, lead scoring, and re-engagement campaigns with visual branching logic. Automation is available on the Business plan (EUR 65/month), which is remarkably affordable compared to competitors that charge hundreds for equivalent capabilities.

SMS and WhatsApp

Brevo integrates SMS and WhatsApp messaging directly into the platform, using the same contact lists and segmentation as email. SMS campaigns are charged per message on a pay-as-you-go model. WhatsApp campaigns are available through Meta's official API integration. For European businesses — where SMS marketing remains effective, particularly in Southern Europe — having this in the same platform as email eliminates the need for a separate SMS provider.

Transactional Email

Brevo's roots as a transactional email service show in the quality of its SMTP relay and API. Transactional emails (order confirmations, password resets, shipping notifications) are sent through a separate infrastructure from marketing campaigns, ensuring deliverability is not affected by marketing reputation. The API is well-documented and available on all plans, including the free tier.

Built-in CRM

Brevo includes a basic CRM that tracks deals, manages pipelines, and links contact activity to sales outcomes. It is not a Salesforce replacement — the functionality is straightforward — but for small businesses that need contact management alongside their email marketing, having it built in eliminates the cost and complexity of a separate CRM tool.

Landing Pages

The landing page builder lets you create conversion-focused pages without a separate tool. Templates are available, and the builder integrates with Brevo's forms and contact lists. The builder is functional but basic — teams with sophisticated design requirements will likely outgrow it.

Pricing

Brevo's pricing model is its sharpest competitive weapon. The Free tier gives you 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts. No credit card required. No subscriber limits. For a small business sending a weekly newsletter to a few thousand subscribers, the free tier is genuinely sufficient.

Starter (EUR 25/month) removes the daily sending limit and provides 20,000 emails per month, basic analytics, and email support without Brevo branding. This is the tier where most growing businesses land.

Business (EUR 65/month) unlocks marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced statistics, landing pages, and multi-user access. At this price point, you are getting capabilities that competitors charge EUR 200-400/month for.

Enterprise is custom-priced for large organisations needing dedicated infrastructure, advanced integrations, sub-account management, and priority support with SLAs.

SMS and WhatsApp are priced separately on a pay-as-you-go model. SMS rates vary by country but are competitive with standalone SMS providers.

The value proposition crystallises at scale: a business with 50,000 subscribers sending 100,000 emails per month would pay approximately EUR 65/month on Brevo's Business plan. The equivalent on Mailchimp would be north of EUR 300/month. Over a year, that is a EUR 2,800+ difference — for comparable functionality.

EU Compliance & Data Privacy

Brevo is headquartered in Paris, France, with data stored and processed in EU-based servers. This is not a US company with an EU data centre option — it is a French company that has been EU-native from day one.

GDPR compliance is built into the platform: double opt-in is available by default, unsubscribe management is automatic, consent tracking is built into forms, and data processing agreements are available for all accounts. Brevo is SOC2 certified, adding an additional layer of security assurance.

For businesses subject to French CNIL regulations or operating in markets with strict data protection requirements, having a platform vendor under French jurisdiction provides a structural compliance advantage. There is no CLOUD Act exposure, no Schrems II uncertainty, and no need to navigate complex data transfer mechanisms.

Who It's Best For

Growing European SMBs that need email, SMS, and CRM in one affordable platform without the subscriber-count pricing trap of US-based alternatives.

E-commerce businesses using transactional email heavily, where Brevo's SMTP infrastructure and integrated marketing campaigns provide a unified sending platform.

Marketing teams on a budget who need automation workflows and A/B testing at a price point that does not require C-suite approval.

GDPR-conscious businesses that want their marketing data stored in France by a French company, with no transatlantic data transfer concerns.

The Verdict

Brevo is not the most elegant marketing platform on the market. Its email editor is functional rather than beautiful, its CRM is basic rather than comprehensive, and its reporting could be deeper. But it is the most honestly priced all-in-one marketing platform available to European businesses — and it is built by a European company, for European data protection standards, without apology. For the vast majority of SMBs, Brevo delivers everything you need at a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere. That is not a consolation prize. That is the point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Brevo the same as Sendinblue?

Yes. Brevo rebranded from Sendinblue in May 2023 to reflect its expanded product offering beyond email. The platform, team, and Paris headquarters remain the same. All existing Sendinblue accounts transitioned automatically to Brevo.

How many emails can I send for free with Brevo?

Brevo's free tier allows 300 emails per day with no subscriber limit. This is unique among email marketing platforms — most competitors limit by subscriber count rather than daily sends.

How does Brevo compare to Mailchimp?

Brevo is significantly cheaper for larger lists since it prices by emails sent rather than subscriber count. Brevo also includes SMS, WhatsApp, and a built-in CRM on all plans. Mailchimp has a more polished email editor and larger template library. Brevo is EU-based with GDPR compliance built in; Mailchimp is US-based.

Does Brevo offer transactional email?

Yes. Brevo provides a full transactional email service via SMTP relay or REST API. This covers order confirmations, password resets, and other triggered emails. Transactional email is available on all plans including the free tier.

Is Brevo GDPR compliant?

Yes. Brevo is headquartered in Paris, France, and stores all data in EU-based servers. It provides built-in GDPR tools including consent forms, unsubscribe management, and data processing agreements. It is SOC2 certified.