# How Much Does Email Marketing Cost in the UK?

Source: https://dijitulmarketing.co.uk/guides/how-much-does-email-marketing-cost-uk/
Updated: 2026-10-18

> Email marketing costs two things: the platform subscription, which rises with your list size, and the time to plan, write and send. dijitul runs email campaigns on Mailchimp, Klaviyo or Brevo from £95 a month + VAT, and builds automated flows such as welcome and abandoned cart from £195 + VAT one-off.

## Key facts

- Platform fees are set by the provider and mostly scale with the number of contacts or profiles
- Klaviyo's free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month (Klaviyo pricing page, checked October 2026)
- Mailchimp's free plan is limited to 250 contacts (Mailchimp UK pricing page, checked October 2026)
- dijitul email marketing is from £95 a month + VAT; marketing automation set-up is from £195 + VAT one-off
- SMS marketing is from £75 a month + VAT, with message credits billed by the platform
- Gmail requires all senders to set up SPF or DKIM and keep spam rates below 0.3% (Google sender guidelines)

## The parts of an email marketing budget

Email is one of the cheapest channels to run, but the cost is not zero. It splits into four parts:

- **Platform subscription** paid to Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Brevo or similar.
- **Set-up**: connecting your shop or CRM, building sign-up forms, branded templates and domain authentication.
- **Automations**: welcome series, abandoned cart and other flows that send themselves.
- **Ongoing campaigns**: planning, writing, designing, testing and sending newsletters and offers, then reporting.

We could not find a neutral, independent benchmark for UK email agency fees, so we do not quote a market range here. Compare quotes by asking each provider exactly which of these four parts they cover.

## Platform fees

Platform pricing is set by each provider and changes often, so always check their own pricing page. As of October 2026:

- **Klaviyo**'s free plan covers up to 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month. Paid plans are priced by the number of active profiles.
- **Mailchimp**'s free plan is limited to 250 contacts. Paid plans (Essentials, Standard, Premium) are priced by contact count.
- **Brevo** prices mainly by the number of emails you send rather than contacts, which can suit businesses with large lists that email less often.

Two habits keep platform fees down: remove contacts who have not opened or clicked in a long time, and stop importing old lists that never opted in. Both also help deliverability.

## What dijitul charges

| Service | dijitul price |

| Email marketing campaigns on Mailchimp, Klaviyo or Brevo | from £95 a month + VAT |
| Marketing automation set-up (flows, journeys) | from £195 + VAT, one-off |
| SMS marketing | from £75 a month + VAT |
| Copywriting, per piece | from £45 + VAT |
| Strategy, audits and training | £45 an hour + VAT, or a fixed quote |

Platform subscriptions and SMS credits are paid directly to the provider on your own account, so the list and its history stay yours. Monthly, cancel with notice.

## Costs people forget

- **Domain authentication.** Google's sender guidelines require every sender to set up SPF or DKIM, and anyone sending more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail addresses also needs DMARC and one-click unsubscribe. Getting DNS records right takes time once, then protects every send. See email deliverability.
- **Design and images.** A reusable branded template saves money on every later campaign.
- **Consent and data.** UK rules (PECR) mean you need consent or the soft opt-in before sending marketing emails to individuals. Bought lists are a false economy. Read our PECR guide.
- **Integrations.** Syncing a CRM or booking system may need developer time.

## Where the money is best spent first

If budget is tight, build automations before regular newsletters. A welcome series and an abandoned cart flow run every day without further work, so the one-off set-up cost is spread across every new subscriber and every abandoned basket. Our guide to Klaviyo flows every shop needs lists the order we build them in.

Then add a regular campaign rhythm you can sustain, whether that is fortnightly or monthly. Consistency matters more than volume: a list that hears from you regularly is less likely to mark you as spam.

## How to compare email marketing quotes

Two quotes at similar prices can cover very different amounts of work. Ask each provider:

- **How many campaigns a month** are included, and does that include writing the copy or only building the email?
- **Are automated flows included**, or a separate set-up cost? Which flows, and how many emails in each?
- **Who sets up SPF, DKIM and DMARC** on your sending domain, and who watches Google Postmaster Tools for spam complaints?
- **Is A/B testing included?** Testing subject lines, send times or offers is how results improve over time.
- **Whose account is it?** The platform account, list and templates should belong to you.
- **What does the report cover?** Clicks, revenue or enquiries, and unsubscribes matter more than open rates, which Apple Mail Privacy Protection has made unreliable.

## FAQs

### Is Mailchimp or Klaviyo cheaper?

It depends on list size and how you use it. Both have free plans for small lists (250 contacts on Mailchimp, 250 active profiles on Klaviyo, checked October 2026). Klaviyo suits online shops thanks to deep ecommerce data. Mailchimp suits simpler newsletters. Compare prices on each provider's own page for your exact list size.

### How much does dijitul charge to run our email marketing?

Email marketing campaigns are from £95 a month + VAT. That covers planning, writing, building, sending and reporting on campaigns in Mailchimp, Klaviyo or Brevo. Automated flows are a separate one-off set-up from £195 + VAT. Platform fees are paid to the provider.

### Do I pay the email platform directly?

Yes. The subscription sits on your own account and card. We work inside it as a user. That way you own the list, the templates and the reporting history, and nothing is lost if you change provider or bring the work in-house.

### How much does SMS marketing cost?

dijitul runs SMS marketing from £75 a month + VAT. On top of that, the platform charges per message sent, which varies by provider and destination country. UK PECR rules mean texts to individuals need consent or the soft opt-in, just like email.

### Can I do email marketing for free?

You can start on a free plan if your list is small, but you still need time to write and send, and you need consent records and domain authentication. Free plans usually show the provider's branding and limit automations. Most growing businesses move to a paid tier fairly quickly.

### Why does list cleaning save money?

Most platforms charge by contacts or profiles. Removing people who have not engaged in a long time lowers your bill and improves deliverability, because mailbox providers such as Gmail watch how recipients respond. A sunset flow can ask inactive contacts to stay before you remove them.

## Prices and contact

Prices (all from, + VAT; ad spend separate): Google Ads management £150 a month; Paid social (Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok) £150 a month; Social media management £125 a month; Email marketing £95 a month; Marketing automation set-up £195; SMS marketing £75 a month; GA4 set-up £95; Conversion tracking £145; Data Studio (Looker Studio) dashboard £145; Conversion rate optimisation £195 a month; Content marketing £195 a month; Consultancy, audits and strategy £45 an hour. All prices are "from" and exclude VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn or TikTok. Paid media management is from £150 a month or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. You own every ad account, pixel, audience and email list we set up. Contact: https://dijitulmarketing.co.uk/contact/ · 01623 650333 · info@dijitul.uk