What is Brevo?
Brevo is a French marketing and messaging platform that includes email, SMS, marketing automation, WhatsApp, CRM, landing pages and transactional email all in one account. According to the official pricing page (read on October 24, 2026), the Free plan is "free forever, no credit card required" and allows sending up to 300 emails per day after account approval. The Starter plan starts at $10.80 per month and 5,000 emails per month (according to Brevo). Example: a shop with 200 newsletter subscribers sending daily still fits within the Free plan limit. This post has six sections: (1) What is Brevo; (2) plans and limits; (3) when to use it; (4) how to get emails into the inbox; (5) legal notes when sending ads in Vietnam; (6) OPCAIOS's real experience using Brevo as email infrastructure.
Brevo brings together email, SMS, automation and CRM; free plan limited to 300 emails per day. Diagram: OPCAIOS.
What is Brevo and who created it?
Brevo is a French marketing and messaging platform. According to Wikipedia, Brevo was founded in 2012 in Paris, France under the name Sendinblue by Armand Thiberge (also CEO), and changed its name to Brevo in 2023. The product includes email marketing, SMS, automation, transactional messaging, live chat, WhatsApp, CRM, push notifications, an AI writing assistant and a customer data platform. According to the same source, a 500 million EUR funding round in 2025 brought the company into the unicorn group; customer figures in the source are inconsistent (600,000 or 500,000 users), so we don't cite specific numbers. For the email marketing platform landscape, see What is email marketing?.
Brevo's plans and pricing
Brevo has five plans: Free, Starter, Standard, Professional and Enterprise, according to Brevo. According to the official pricing page (USD, read October 24, 2026; before tax; annual payment option shows 10% discount, we're unclear about the toggle default when reading so we treat the numbers below as displayed prices), the Free plan costs $0 for 300 emails per day after account approval, and the Starter plan starts from $10.80 per month for 5,000 emails per month. The Professional plan starts at 150,000 emails per month and includes WhatsApp, popups, push and 10 user accounts. The Enterprise plan is custom. We couldn't fully read the Standard and Professional plan pricing. For example (hypothetically), a shop sending under 300 emails per day starts with the Free plan, and when needing 5,000 emails per month and wanting to remove the Brevo logo, considers the Starter plan. First choose the plan based on emails per month, then check the needed features, finally compare current pricing.
Brevo plans table
| Plan | Displayed price | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 | 300 emails per day after account approval; includes forms, basic CRM and transactional email (per FAQ) |
| Starter | from $10.80 per month | From 5,000 emails per month, email and SMS (SMS uses separate credits), drag-and-drop editor, templates, AI content builder, advanced segmentation, forms, basic reports, no Brevo logo |
| Standard | full price not fully read | Adds unlimited multi-step automation, A/B testing, AI send time optimization, web and event tracking, landing pages (1 page) |
| Professional | full price not fully read | From 150,000 emails per month, WhatsApp, popups, push, 10 user accounts, contact scoring, phone support, 3 hours per year of deliverability expert |
| Enterprise | Custom | Multi-account, custom objects, dedicated IP, SSO and SAML |
All plans include transactional email (REST API, SMTP, send webhooks), per the pricing page FAQ. There's also a credit-based pay-as-you-go option for light senders. The pricing page also lists MCP capabilities for ChatGPT and Claude to manage campaigns and contacts from AI tools (see What is MCP?).
When should I use Brevo?
| Need | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Small business sending newsletters, care emails, automation sequences | Brevo is suitable, start with Free or Starter plan |
| Need to send transactional emails (confirmation, password reset) via SMTP or API | Brevo available in all plans |
| Need SMS or WhatsApp in the same tool | Yes, but SMS uses separate credits, WhatsApp in higher plans |
| Need deep sales CRM integration | Brevo has basic CRM; compare with HubSpot or Pipedrive |
| Large e-commerce project | Consider Professional plan or specialized e-commerce tools |
Getting emails into the inbox, not just sending them
Getting emails into the inbox requires five things, not just hitting send. According to Brevo, the Free plan allows 300 emails per day, so gradual warm-up becomes even more important for new domains:
- 1. Authenticate your domain: set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for your sending domain (see What is email marketing?).
- 2. Warm up gradually: increase sending volume slowly, especially for new domains. For example, start with 50 recipients then increase gradually over many days.
- 3. Only send to people who have opted in and include a clear unsubscribe link.
- 4. Clean your list: remove non-responsive, broken, or spam-flagged addresses.
- 5. Monitor complaint rate and bounce back: stop campaigns when metrics are poor.
According to Brevo's pricing page, the Professional plan includes 3 hours per year of deliverability expert support, but you can handle the first four tasks yourself on any plan.
Legal notes in Vietnam
Decree 91/2020/NĐ-CP (effective 1/10/2020) is the regulation on combating spam messages, emails and calls in Vietnam, giving users the right to decide whether to receive advertising messages and maintain a do-not-advertise list. According to news reports, sending advertising messages without consent or after a user has declined can result in fines of 5 to 10 million đồng. This information comes from news sources without verification against the original text, and there are mentions of draft new regulations. Please consult a legal expert about current regulations and personal data; this is not legal advice.
OPCAIOS experience
We use one of Brevo's SMTP relay servers to send emails from our system (for example emails to students and transactional emails), as verified in server configuration on 24/10/2026. Our CRM system has the ability to push a customer segment to a Brevo list, and internal rules exclude people who have declined to receive messages from automated emails and Brevo lists. We have not disclosed the volume of emails sent or open rates, and have not fully evaluated advanced features (automation, WhatsApp). In an earlier post we also noted that the unsubscribe link on some system emails was not yet one-click, which is an area for improvement.
Read more: Running a paid newsletter; Automating the lead funnel, 5 best email marketing tools in 2026 for small shops.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Brevo?
Brevo is a French marketing and messaging platform that includes email marketing, SMS, automation, WhatsApp, CRM, landing pages, and transactional email all in one account. According to Wikipedia, the company was founded in 2012 under the name Sendinblue and changed its name in 2023. Here's a hypothetical example: a small business could use Brevo to send weekly newsletters, welcome email sequences, and order confirmation emails via SMTP. First you create an account and wait for approval, then you verify your sending domain, and finally you import a list of people who have agreed to receive emails.
Is Brevo free?
Yes. According to Brevo's official pricing page (read on 24/10/2026), the Free plan is "free forever, no credit card required" and allows you to send up to 300 emails per day after your account is approved. The paid Starter plan starts at $10.80 per month and 5,000 emails per month, not including tax. If you want to remove the Brevo logo, consider the Starter plan. Prices may change, so check the current pricing page.
Can I send transactional emails via SMTP with Brevo?
Yes. According to the FAQ on Brevo's official pricing page (read on 24/10/2026), all plans include transactional email via REST API, SMTP, and outgoing webhooks. Transactional emails are automated messages tied to a customer action, such as order confirmation or password reset. OPCAIOS also sends student emails and transactional emails via Brevo's SMTP. To get emails into the inbox, verify your sending domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and gradually increase your sending volume.
How is Brevo different from Mailchimp or HubSpot?
Brevo focuses on email, SMS, and automation with a low starting price, while HubSpot is a broader CRM and marketing system; Mailchimp is another popular email marketing platform. Sales teams that need to manage opportunities and detailed revenue reporting should check out HubSpot. We haven't done a direct comparison of these tools, so compare them based on your actual needs and costs.
What do I need to keep in mind when sending marketing emails in Vietnam?
Sending marketing emails in Vietnam requires three things: only send when you have consent, provide a clear unsubscribe option, and comply with current regulations. According to articles about Decree 91/2020/ND-CP (effective 1/10/2020, not yet cross-checked with the original text), sending advertising messages without consent or after a user has declined can result in a fine of 5 to 10 million đồng. Here's a hypothetical example: record the time and source of consent for each address, and immediately remove anyone who unsubscribes. This is not legal advice, so consult an expert about current regulations and personal data. If you want to learn how to set up safe automated emails, check out OPCAIOS's AI application training course.
Source: brevo.com/pricing (read in browser on 24/10/2026; Standard and Professional prices not fully readable), Wikipedia "Brevo," and search results for Decree 91/2020/ND-CP (not yet cross-checked with the original text). Prices do not include tax and may change. Experience is from OPCAIOS based on configuration and source code review.
Translated from Vietnamese with AI. Read the original.
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