Preguntas frecuentes
Who benefits most from pay-as-you-go email pricing?
Seasonal businesses like retailers who email heavily during holidays, event planners who send around specific events, nonprofits with infrequent campaign schedules, and developers who send transactional emails at irregular volumes all benefit from PAYG pricing. If you are sending fewer than 5,000 emails per month on average but have occasional spikes, PAYG typically saves money compared to a monthly subscription sized for the spike.
Is pay-as-you-go more expensive than monthly subscriptions?
It depends on your sending frequency. At low volumes, PAYG is usually cheaper. At regular high-volume sending, monthly subscriptions cost less per email. The math works out roughly like this: if you are sending 10,000 or more emails every month consistently, a subscription usually wins on price. If you send that 10,000 all in one month and nothing the other eleven months, PAYG wins significantly.
Does Mailchimp have a pay-as-you-go option?
Yes, Mailchimp offers a pay-per-send credits model where you purchase email credits and use them for campaigns without a monthly subscription. This model gives you access to their basic campaign sending tools. However, some features like automation remain on subscription plans. The Mailchimp credit model works well for low-frequency campaign senders who primarily need one-off blast sending capabilities without maintaining a monthly plan.
Can I use pay-as-you-go for automated email sequences?
This depends on the platform. Transactional email providers like Mailgun, Postmark, and Sendgrid support PAYG for triggered emails since they charge per send regardless of automation status. Marketing platforms vary: some allow automation on PAYG models, others require a subscription for automated sequences. If automation is important to you, verify it is supported on the PAYG model before choosing a platform. Transactional providers are generally more PAYG-friendly for triggered sending.
What happens to my email credits if I do not use them?
This is critical to check before buying. Most platforms have expiration policies ranging from 30 days to 24 months. Mailchimp credits used to be valid for a year. Some API providers like Mailgun have monthly pay-as-you-go billing that simply charges for what you used rather than requiring prepaid credits. Prepaid credits are riskier for very infrequent senders, while monthly-billed-per-usage models work better because unused capacity does not expire.
Are there any PAYG platforms with good marketing automation?
Customer.io has a usage-based pricing model that works well for variable volume senders and includes strong automation. Brevo allows credit purchases for marketing sends and includes automation on their plans. For pure marketing automation on a PAYG model without a subscription, the options are more limited than for transactional email, but they do exist. Brevo is likely the strongest option combining marketing automation with credit-based sending flexibility.