How Much Does Email Marketing Cost for a Small Business?

Platform fees, what you'll pay someone to run it, what drives the price, and the maths on whether it actually pays back.

Email is still the highest-ROI marketing channel there is — around £36 back for every £1 spent, according to most industry benchmarks. It's also one of the most underused by small businesses, usually because they don't know what it costs or where to start.

Here's a straight breakdown: what email marketing costs in the UK, what you're paying for, and what a realistic plan looks like for a small business.

01 — Two costs, not one

Platform and people.

The platform — Mailchimp, Klaviyo, MailerLite, Squarespace Email — is priced by list size and features. For most small businesses:

• Up to 500 contacts: £0–£15/month
• 500–2,500 contacts: £15–£50/month
• 2,500–10,000 contacts: £50–£150/month
• 10,000+: £150–£500+/month

The people — strategy, writing, design, building automations, reporting — is where the real cost is. Doing it yourself is free but takes time. Hiring someone costs:

• Freelancer — £200–£600 — 2–4 campaigns a month, basic templates, light reporting
• Small agency — £500–£1,500 — Strategy, campaigns, automated flows, segmentation, full reporting
• Full service — £1,500–£5,000+ — Large lists, complex automation, A/B testing, e-commerce integration

02 — What drives the cost

Four things that change the number.

• Frequency. One newsletter a month vs weekly campaigns plus automated flows. More sends, more work.
• Automation. Welcome sequences, abandoned cart, re-engagement flows. Set up once, run forever — but setup takes time.
• Design. Plain text emails are fast. Branded, designed templates take longer and cost more.
• List building. Growing a list — lead magnets, pop-ups, integrations — is separate work from sending to it.

The most expensive email is the one you don't send. A list of 2,000 customers who never hear from you is revenue sitting on the table.

03 — What a good plan looks like

For a typical small business.

• Welcome sequence: 3 automated emails when someone joins — who you are, what you do, how to get started
• Monthly newsletter: One send with a mix of value and offers
• Seasonal campaigns: Holidays, sales, launches — 4–6 per year
• Re-engagement: Automated nudge to contacts who've gone quiet

That's manageable in-house if you have the time. If you don't, it's a £300–£600/month job for someone who does.

04 — Is it worth it?

The maths.

A list of 1,500 customers. One monthly email with a 25% open rate and a 3% click-to-open rate generates roughly 11 clicks. If 2 of those become a £150 purchase, that's £300 from one email. Twelve emails a year is £3,600 in attributable revenue from a channel that costs £50/month to run.

05 — What we charge

Your Digital Team email marketing.

Our email marketing plans start at £150/month for one monthly campaign and a welcome sequence, going up to £500/month for weekly sends and full automation. Platform costs are separate and paid directly to your provider.

Get in touch and we'll tell you what makes sense for your list size.

Email works best alongside social media and SEO — each channel feeds the others. Read about our social media pricing too.