Email marketing platform cost.

Email platform costs break into subscriber-based pricing (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Klaviyo) and send-volume pricing (SendGrid, Amazon SES, Mailgun). Subscriber-based: typically 10-50 per 1,000 subscribers per month. Send-volume: 0.50-3 per 1,000 sends. Transactional vs marketing: transactional usually cheaper per send.

20,000 subscribers × 12 per 1,000 = 240/month on subscriber pricing. Plus 100,000 sends × 1 per 1,000 = 100. Plus 30 fixed platform fee = 370/month, 4,440/year. Mid-market B2C ecommerce typical cost at this list size.

Consolidation opportunities: list hygiene (remove inactive subscribers saves on subscriber-based pricing). Segmentation (send less to everyone, more to engaged segments - lifts both revenue and deliverability, reduces cost). Platform switching: Klaviyo for ecommerce often pays for itself via revenue lift; ConvertKit good for creators; Brevo/SendGrid for high volume.

Quick example

With subscribers of 20,000 and cost per 1000 subscribers of 12 (plus monthly send volume of 100,000 and cost per 1000 sends of 1), the result is 370.00. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Subscribers, Cost per 1000 Subscribers, Monthly Send Volume, Cost per 1000 Sends, and Fixed Monthly Fee. Frequency and unit price pull the total in different directions. The biggest surprise for most people is how small recurring amounts compound into large annual figures — that's where this calculation earns its keep.

What's happening under the hood

Total = (subscribers/1000 × sub rate) + (sends/1000 × send rate) + fixed. The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.

What to do with a low result

A disappointing result is information, not a judgement. Pick the single input that dragged the figure down most and focus the next quarter on that one factor. Breadth-first improvement rarely works; depth-first on the worst input usually does.

What this doesn't capture

The score is a composite of the inputs you provide. Life context — job security, family obligations, health, housing — doesn't appear in the math but shapes the real picture. Use the number as a prompt, not a verdict.