For a small business testing automated welcome sequences, the best free email marketing options are the ones that give you:

• automation/workflow support
• enough contacts/emails on the free plan
• simple list management
• good templates and deliverability

Here are the strongest free options:

1) Mailchimp

Best for: beginners who want a polished UI and easy setup
Free plan includes: basic automation, 1 audience, limited contacts/emails
Pros:

• Very easy to use
• Good drag-and-drop email editor
• Simple welcome automation setup
• Lots of integrations

Cons:

• Free plan is limited
• Can get expensive quickly as you grow

Good choice if: you want the quickest way to test a welcome series without much technical setup.

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2) Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Best for: businesses that want stronger automation on a free plan
Free plan includes: daily sending limits, automation features, unlimited contacts in many cases
Pros:

• Good automation tools for welcome sequences
• Often more generous with contacts than competitors
• Also supports SMS and transactional emails
• Clean interface

Cons:

• Daily send limit can be restrictive
• Some features are gated behind paid plans

Good choice if: you want to test an automated welcome sequence with decent workflow options and a low-cost path later.

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3) MailerLite

Best for: simple, modern email automation for small businesses
Free plan includes: limited subscribers/emails per month, automation features
Pros:

• Very user-friendly
• Strong automation on free tier
• Clean templates and landing page options
• Good for small lists

Cons:

• Free plan is capped
• Approval process can be stricter than some others

Good choice if: you want an easy, modern tool focused on automation and design.

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4) HubSpot Email Marketing

Best for: businesses that may want CRM + marketing in one place
Free plan includes: basic email tools, CRM, forms, and contact management
Pros:

• Free CRM is excellent
• Easy to manage leads and customer data
• Good for sales/marketing alignment

Cons:

• Automation is limited on the free plan
• More powerful automation usually requires upgrades

Good choice if: your welcome sequence is tied to lead capture and you want CRM features too.

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5) ConvertKit

Best for: creators, coaches, and content-driven businesses
Free plan includes: basic email broadcasts and simple automation for creators
Pros:

• Easy automation for welcome sequences
• Great tagging and segmentation for audiences
• Built for newsletter-style businesses

Cons:

• Free plan is more limited for broader business use
• Less “general SMB marketing suite” than some others

Good choice if: your small business is more content/education/community focused.

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6) GetResponse

Best for: trying basic marketing automation with broader features
Free plan includes: limited contacts, newsletters, and some automation/trial-style features depending on current offer
Pros:

• Good automation and funnel tools
• Solid template builder
• More advanced marketing features later

Cons:

• Free offering changes more often than some competitors
• Can be less straightforward than MailerLite/Brevo

Good choice if: you want to test a more “full marketing suite.”

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Best picks by use case

Easiest to start:

• Mailchimp

Best free automation value:

• Brevo
• MailerLite

Best if you want CRM too:

• HubSpot

Best for creators/content businesses:

• ConvertKit

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What to check before choosing

For your welcome sequence test, make sure the free plan includes:

• automation/workflows
• triggered emails after signup
• tagging/segmentation
• landing page or form integration
• enough monthly sends
• reasonable contact limits
• good deliverability reputation

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My recommendation

If you’re a small business specifically testing automated welcome sequences, I’d start with:

1. Brevo — best balance of automation and free-plan usefulness
2. MailerLite — easiest and cleanest if your list is small
3. Mailchimp — best if you want the simplest interface

If you want, I can also make you a side-by-side comparison table of these tools or recommend the best one based on your business type and list size.