Alternatives · EmailOctopus
SendBeam vs EmailOctopus, for people who run several sites
EmailOctopus is built for cost-conscious senders who want simple email marketing and fast support. SendBeam is one account for every site you run: a workspace per site, one pooled bill.
Who should stay on EmailOctopus
Stay on EmailOctopus if you run one list of fewer than 2,500 subscribers and want it free, or if you are happy to run your own delivery account for its cheaper Connect plan. From 3,000 contacts up SendBeam is the cheaper of the two, and it counts a person once across your sites where EmailOctopus counts them once per list.
01 · Price
What it costs for one site, and for three.
Monthly billing in US dollars. EmailOctopus: the cheapest plan that removes its branding. SendBeam: the pooled account plan that fits the total contacts and the number of workspaces.
| Contacts per site | One site | Three sites | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EmailOctopus | SendBeam | EmailOctopus | SendBeam | |
| 500 | $0 free plan with EmailOctopus branding, or $10 on Pro, 10,000 emails | $0 Free: 500 contacts pooled, 2 workspaces, SendBeam footer | $0 free plan with EmailOctopus branding | $9 Starter: 2,500 contacts pooled, 5 workspaces |
| 2,500 | $0 free plan with EmailOctopus branding, or $20 on Pro, 25,000 emails | $9 Starter: 2,500 contacts pooled, 5 workspaces | $38 7,500 contacts on one account (Pro, 75,000 emails) | $29 Pro: 10,000 contacts pooled, unlimited workspaces |
| 10,000 | $44.50 Pro, 100,000 emails | $29 Pro: 10,000 contacts pooled, unlimited workspaces | $178 30,000 contacts on one account (Pro, 500,000 emails) | $79 Business: 50,000 contacts pooled, unlimited workspaces |
| 25,000 | $94.50 Pro, 250,000 emails | $79 Business: 50,000 contacts pooled, unlimited workspaces | Check their page beyond the published ladder | Talk to us above Business (50,000 contacts pooled) |
Source · emailoctopus.com/pricing · checked 4 September 2026
Three sites on EmailOctopus: Lists sit side by side in one account and one bill; a person on two lists counts twice.
Read by driving the pricing page's subscriber slider in a browser on 4 September 2026, USD, billed monthly: every stop from 500 to 500,000 was recorded. The page opens on yearly billing (10% off) and in the visitor's local currency, which is where the widely quoted "from $9" comes from — monthly is $10 at 500. Pro's email allowance is NOT unlimited: it is 10 emails per subscriber a month with a 10,000 floor (2,500 subscribers get 25,000; 10,000 get 100,000). A separate "EmailOctopus Connect" plan, where delivery runs through a cloud sending account you set up and pay for yourself, is cheaper at every size ($9 at 500, $17 at 2,500, $33.50 at 10,000) with unlimited emails; it is not the plan shown here. SendBeam prices are from /pricing and are the amount charged; no tax is added at checkout.
02 · Features
What each one does.
| Feature | SendBeam | EmailOctopus |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-notified contact forms | Yes, with Turnstile and rate limits | No |
| Signup forms with double opt-in | Yes, per list | Yes |
| Transactional send API | Yes, on every plan (metered per hour) | No |
| Automations | 1 live on Free, 5 on Starter, unlimited on Pro — per workspace | Yes |
| Several sites on one account | Workspaces: 2 on Free, 5 on Starter, unlimited on Pro; one pooled bill | One account, contacts added together |
| Double opt-in evidence kept | IP, timestamp and source on every confirmation | Partly |
| Import path from here | In-app importer with a EmailOctopus API key, or the CSV importer | Export: CSV from the list (Actions → Export, all fields) or the v2 API |
| Migration service | Move-in, done for you; included on Pro and Business | No |
| Free plan | 500 contacts, 2,000 emails a month, 2 workspaces, SendBeam footer | 2,500 contacts, 10,000 emails a month (Starter plan: EmailOctopus branding, 30-day reports, 1 user, 1 landing page and 1 form) |
| Who counts toward the limit | Subscribed contacts only, and a person on two of your sites counts once | Every list membership, so a person on two lists counts twice |
Source · EmailOctopus's public plans and help pages · checked 4 September 2026
03 · Where EmailOctopus is better
Credit where it is due.
- A single slider from 500 to 500,000 subscribers with no plan cliffs: 3,000 subscribers costs a little more than 2,500, not a jump to the next tier
- Fast human support and a product with very little to learn
- The free plan covers 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month
- A cheaper Connect plan if you are willing to run your own cloud sending account and pay for delivery separately
Why people move
What switchers tell us.
- Pro is not unlimited email: the allowance is 10 emails per subscriber a month (10,000 minimum), so a list that mails daily outgrows it
- Lists are not workspaces: every site shares one account, one team and one template library, and a person on two lists is billed twice
- No transactional API and no owner-notified contact forms for a site
- Exports carry sign-up dates but not opt-in IPs or confirmation evidence
04 · How to move
Two routes from EmailOctopus, both keep unsubscribes unsubscribed.
Route one
Do it yourself
Paste a EmailOctopus API key into the in-app importer and pick what to bring: contacts, tags, custom fields, opt-in dates and the people who unsubscribed. Or export a CSV and use the CSV importer. Free on every plan.
Step-by-step guide: moving from EmailOctopusRoute two
Have us do it
Move-in: you give us a read-only key or a temporary seat, we load suppressions first, verify each sending domain, import every workspace, run in parallel and switch your forms over. Unsubscribes stay synced for 30 days. Included on Pro and Business.
See Move-in and request one05 · Questions
Before you decide.
- Do my subscribers need to re-confirm when I move?
- No. Changing provider does not need fresh consent. The importer carries the consent evidence EmailOctopus kept across with each contact, which for EmailOctopus is a sign-up date and source rather than an IP and confirmation timestamp. Contacts with no evidence at all are left out rather than emailed, and you get the list of who they were so you can decide.
- What happens to people who unsubscribed on EmailOctopus?
- They stay unsubscribed. Suppressions are imported first, before any address that can receive mail, and the CSV importer's status column turns EmailOctopus's unsubscribed, bounced and complained rows into suppression entries with their original dates. Move-in also syncs unsubscribes from the old platform for 30 days after cutover.
- Can I move some sites and leave others?
- Yes. Each site is its own workspace on SendBeam, so you can move one site, run it in parallel and move the next when you are ready. The three-site prices above assume all three are here; the bill is the pooled plan that fits whatever you have moved so far.
- Are these EmailOctopus prices current?
- They were checked on 4 September 2026 against emailoctopus.com/pricing. Read by driving the pricing page's subscriber slider in a browser on 4 September 2026, USD, billed monthly: every stop from 500 to 500,000 was recorded. The page opens on yearly billing (10% off) and in the visitor's local currency, which is where the widely quoted "from $9" comes from — monthly is $10 at 500. Pro's email allowance is NOT unlimited: it is 10 emails per subscriber a month with a 10,000 floor (2,500 subscribers get 25,000; 10,000 get 100,000). A separate "EmailOctopus Connect" plan, where delivery runs through a cloud sending account you set up and pay for yourself, is cheaper at every size ($9 at 500, $17 at 2,500, $33.50 at 10,000) with unlimited emails; it is not the plan shown here. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct the page.
06 · Start
Start with the site you run today.
Free to start, no card, no trial clock. Each site keeps its own domain, list and rules; you add the next one as a workspace whenever you launch it.
Checking system statusEmailOctopus is a trademark of its owner. SendBeam is not affiliated with EmailOctopus. Facts on this page describe EmailOctopus's public plans as read on 4 September 2026; see the other comparisons.