Brevo for Startups
Email and SMS marketing with a usable free tier and steep startup discounts (up to ~75% off via partner perks), priced by send volume rather than contact count.
Brevo for Startups offers Up to 75% off (~$5,600 savings) to bootstrapped, pre-seed, seed startups, no VC referral required. Review takes 1–3 business days.
About
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is an email and SMS marketing platform whose pricing is based on emails sent rather than list size, which suits startups with a large but low-frequency audience. It includes automation, transactional email, and a CRM-lite layer. A free tier covers low volume, and partner perk programs offer discounts cited as high as 75% off.
For a founder, Brevo is the pragmatic choice when a large contact list would make contact-priced tools like Mailchimp expensive fast. The trade-off is a less polished template and deliverability ecosystem than the premium incumbents.
Tiers
- Anyone
- Access to a partner or perk marketplace offer
Eligibility
- Early-stage company
- New Brevo customer for the discount
- Existing paid Brevo customer (for the discount)
How to apply
- 1
- 2Find the perkLocate the Brevo discount in a startup perk marketplace.
- 3Redeem and upgradeApply the code when you move to a paid send volume.
What else you get
- Send-volume pricing (not contact-priced)
- SMS and transactional email
- Built-in automation and CRM-lite
What credits cover (and don't)
- Email campaigns
- SMS
- Marketing automation
- Transactional email
- Overages beyond plan send limits
Tactical tips
- Tip 1.Pick Brevo when your contact list is large but you send infrequently, volume pricing beats contact pricing there.
- Tip 2.Warm up your sending domain before a big campaign, deliverability on any new sender takes time.
- Tip 3.Grab the discount from a perk marketplace rather than paying list price directly.
Common rejection reasons
- Already a paying customer
- No access to a partner offer for the discount
Frequently asked about Brevo for Startups
Is Brevo for Startups free to apply?
Yes. Applying to Brevo for Startups does not cost anything and does not require giving up equity. Some programs require a payment method on file that activates only after credits are consumed or expire, check the program detail page for specifics.
How long does Brevo for Startups take to review applications?
Processing times are shown on the program detail page. Most programs reply within 1–3 weeks. Self-serve tiers (like AWS Activate Founders) can approve in 2–7 days; partner-referred tiers (like AWS Activate Portfolio) usually take 5–10 days.
Can I combine Brevo for Startups with other startup programs?
Most programs stack. The "Stacks well with" section on each detail page lists commonly combined programs. A few important exceptions: if you already claimed AWS credits via Brex or Mercury, your direct AWS Activate amount may be reduced.
What is the most common reason applications to Brevo get rejected?
The top rejection reasons are (1) using a personal Gmail/Outlook address instead of a company domain, (2) having a thin or placeholder website, and (3) mismatched information between the application and Crunchbase/Pitchbook. The tips section on the program page details program-specific factors.
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