Export clean lists
From Brevo, export active subscribers (CSV) and suppress unsubscribed/bounced contacts before import. Migrating junk is how deliverability gets hurt.
Mailivate
Head-to-headBrevo vs Mailivate: credits and suite breadth vs focused email plans
Brevo competes hard on free-tier sending and multi-channel scope. Mailivate competes on clarity — fixed plans, campaign UX, and email-first workflows. Use this comparison to decide based on how you actually send.
Quick verdict
Brevo or Mailivate?
Choose Brevo if credit-based pricing and multi-channel (email + SMS etc.) are core. Choose Mailivate if you want fixed Startup/Growth bands, strong campaign UX, and fewer adjacent products competing for attention.
Real pricing comparison
Brevo vs Mailivate pricing
| Dimension | Brevo | Mailivate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Primarily email credits (+ free daily cap tier) | Contact bands + monthly send limits |
| Entry paid (approx.) | Starter from ~$9/mo (credit pack) | $9/mo · 18,000 sends |
| Growing volume | Buy larger credit packs; business tiers add features | $22/mo · 55,000 sends · 50,000 contacts |
| Free / trial | Free plan with daily send cap (popular) | 14-day full-product trial |
Brevo often starts near $9/mo for credit packs (e.g. ~5k emails) with a generous free daily-send tier — verify current packs (September 2026). Mailivate uses contact + monthly send bands from live config. Current Mailivate Startup is $9/mo and Growth is $22/mo.
Feature comparison
What you actually get day to day
| Feature | Brevo | Mailivate |
|---|---|---|
| Transactional + marketing overlap | Strong suite story | Marketing-first (+ transactional capabilities in platform) |
| SMS / multi-channel | Yes (suite) | Email-focused |
| Campaign builder | Yes | Yes |
| Automations | Yes | Yes (Growth+) |
| CRM-ish contacts | Yes | Lists + audience tools |
| Predictable SMB invoice | Depends on credit burn | Fixed monthly tiers |
| A/B testing | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Plan-dependent | 24/7 technical support on paid |
Mailivate product screenshots
What the workspace looks like
Product visuals from Mailivate marketing surfaces — campaigns, audience workflows, and day-to-day email ops.
Campaign overview — see sends, lists, and next actions without digging through menus.
Campaign building — templates and drag-and-drop editing aimed at shipping, not configuring.
Audience + growth views — keep contacts, engagement, and follow-ups in one place.
Migration process
How to switch from Brevo without wrecking deliverability
Authenticate your sending domain
In Mailivate, connect your domain (SPF/DKIM) before big sends. Warm up with engaged segments first — don’t blast the full list on day one.
Rebuild the high-ROI journeys
Recreate welcome, abandoned interest, and win-back flows first. Archive dusty automations instead of cloning every legacy workflow.
Move templates that matter
Port brand colors, logos, and 2–3 proven layouts into Mailivate templates. Perfect pixels later — ship a working newsletter this week.
Run a parallel send (optional)
Send one campaign to a small engaged cohort on Mailivate while Brevo still handles the rest. Compare inbox placement and clicks, then cut over.
Who should choose each product
Be honest about fit
Choose Brevo if…
- You send huge volumes on a credit model and watch cost-per-email carefully.
- You want SMS and email under one vendor umbrella.
- The free daily-send tier covers your needs indefinitely.
Choose Mailivate if…
- Credit math is annoying and you’d rather pay a clear monthly band.
- Your team wants a focused email marketing UX, not a multi-product console.
- You value mailbox replies, templates, and automations for relationship email.
Actual limitations
Tradeoffs on both sides
Comparison pages that only dunk on competitors aren’t useful. Here’s the real friction.
Brevo limitations
- Credit packs punish heavy months unless you upgrade carefully.
- Suite breadth can distract from core newsletter quality.
- Free-tier daily caps frustrate burst campaigns (launches, holiday pushes).
Mailivate limitations
- Smaller brand footprint than category giants — fewer “everyone already knows it” integrations out of the box.
- Deepest automation and analytics sit on Growth (and Enterprise for custom volume), not every Startup seat.
Customer-style examples
How teams actually make the switch
Composite scenarios based on common migration patterns — not invented 5-star quotes.
Creator newsletter (~9,000 subscribers)
Used Brevo free until a product launch needed more than the daily cap. Moved to Mailivate Growth for launch week headroom and kept a simple weekly digest cadence.
Shopify-leaning boutique
Wanted abandoned-cart style follow-ups without managing Brevo credits. Imported purchasers, authenticated domain, and ran post-purchase + restock notes on Mailivate.
FAQ
Brevo vs Mailivate questions
Is Mailivate cheaper than Brevo?
It depends on send volume. Brevo can be cheaper for light, steady credit use. Mailivate often feels simpler (and sometimes cheaper) when you need higher burst sends inside a fixed monthly band.
Does Mailivate offer unlimited contacts like Brevo free?
Mailivate plans include contact limits (Startup up to 20,000, Growth up to 50,000). That’s intentional — cleaner list hygiene and clearer capacity planning.
Can I migrate automations from Brevo?
Export the logic (triggers, delays, emails) and rebuild the highest-ROI flows in Mailivate. One-click automation import across ESPs is rarely reliable.
Brevo vs Mailivate for high-volume sending?
If you optimize purely for credit cost at steady volume, Brevo can win. If you need burst capacity inside a predictable monthly band (e.g. Growth 55,000 sends), Mailivate is often easier to budget.
Keep comparing
Related pages
Test Brevo vs Mailivate with one real campaign
Import an engaged segment into Mailivate and compare inbox results and team time-to-send.