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Sarah runs a small online business selling handmade candles. When she started email marketing two years ago, she thought the main cost would be her ESP subscription. Maybe $50 per month? Reality hit differently.
Her current email marketing costs run between $1,800 and $2,400 monthly, and that number keeps climbing.
Most small business owners face similar surprises.
According to research from Litmus, 37% of businesses increased email marketing expenses in 2022. A probable reason is underestimation.
When Cash-Flow Management Becomes an Obstacle
Email marketing sounds affordable until you dig into what actually makes campaigns work.
Just in case you don’t know, platform costs represent only 15% to 25% of total spending once you factor in all the supporting tools and services. There’s a lot more to the story.
Sarah's email marketing expenses hit $2,380 in March 2025. Her monthly breakdown looked like this:
That same month, a major client delayed payment by three weeks. Sarah had payroll approaching and couldn't cut her email marketing. Those campaigns generate 60% of her revenue. Stopping them would have made the cash shortage worse, not better.
She needed a way to handle a temporary financial shortage without touching her business emergency fund. Short-term financial support through quick online lending helped bridge the gap until her client’s payment arrived. She covered payroll, kept email campaigns running, and repaid the advance when cash flow normalized two weeks later.
For the small business owners facing similar timing issues, having backup options for handling business delays prevents cutting essential marketing that drives future sales.
Understanding Email Marketing Expenses
#1 - The Platform Subscription Is Only the Beginning
Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and ActiveCampaign are the top names small businesses go for. These email service providers charge based on subscriber count and send volume. A list of 10,000 subscribers costs approximately $100 to $ 300/month.
Sarah uses Klaviyo for her 12,000-person list. Her base subscription runs $250 monthly.
#2 - Domain and Deliverability Infrastructure
Sending from a properly configured domain matters for inbox placement. So, Sarah bought a dedicated sending domain ($15/year) separate from her main website.
Now, the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup required technical help she didn't have in-house. So, she paid a deliverability consultant $400 for initial setup.
Email warmup services became necessary when Sarah scaled from 500 to 12,000 subscribers in eight months. These services cost $50 to $150 monthly, depending on how many email addresses need warming.
#3 - Design and Template Costs
Sarah initially used free templates from her ESP. They looked generic and didn't match her brand. Custom email templates from a designer cost $800 for a set of five reusable designs.
In addition to the above, she has a freelance designer, billing her approximately $300 per month. The cost is for new headers, product images, and layout tweaks.
Sarah also uses Canva for quick graphics and relies on her designer for complex layouts. It costs her $13 monthly. More advanced tools like Adobe Creative Cloud cost $55 per month.
The combination works for her small business budgeting approach.
#4 - Copywriting Drains Budgets Faster Than Expected
Sarah initially wrote her own emails, but they didn’t convert. After six months of poor open rates and minimal conversions, she hired help. Her copywriter charges $200 per campaign, and she runs four campaigns monthly. That's $800 just for words.
Subject line testing adds costs, too. Some businesses pay copywriters extra to generate 10 to 15 subject line variations for A/B testing. Sarah includes this in her base rate, but other small business owners report paying $50 to $100 per testing round.
#5 - List Management and Cleaning Services
Email lists decay naturally. People change addresses, abandon old accounts, or lose interest. Sending emails to these addresses only adds to email costs and increases bounce rates.
Sarah uses a list cleaning service quarterly to remove invalid addresses and inactive subscribers. Each cleaning costs $75 for her list size. That's $300 yearly to maintain data integrity.
#6 - Email Marketing Costs Beyond Basics
Sarah focused on sending emails, and her costs were limited. But what if you want real results through proper implementation and tracking?
The add-ons will cost between $299 and $799 extra, and that too, per month.
This table breaks down advanced costs so that you can see the true picture at a glance.
Final Word
Small business email marketing in 2026 costs more than most owners initially expect. Platform fees represent a fraction of total expenses once you add design, copywriting, deliverability tools, and supporting software. Planning for these costs upfront, building cash reserves, or taking out temporary business loans prevents marketing disruptions when payroll challenges or payment delays create temporary shortages.
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