Email automation for SG SMEs: GetResponse vs Brevo (2026)

The short answer: count two numbers before you compare a single feature — how many contacts you hold, and how many emails you actually send. GetResponse bills by list size: your 3,000 lapsed-customer list costs money every month even if you email quarterly. Brevo bills by send volume: unlimited contacts, 300 emails a day free [2], pay when you send more. Big list, light sender → Brevo, often at S$0. Small list you email hard every week → GetResponse's unlimited-send model earns its keep. And under ~200 subscribers, you need neither yet.

At a glance (checked 15 Jul 2026)

Two honesty notes, before you trust any table elsewhere: (1) GetResponse's pricing page geo-serves — from our fetch location it quoted another country's currency, so we print its verified structure and refuse to print converted guesses; open the page yourself for the SGD/USD figure. (2) Our 11 July notes had a GetResponse free plan; on 15 July its pricing page shows only a trial. Free tiers rot — date-check everything, including us.

What you're actually buying

GetResponse is the fuller marketing suite of the two — autoresponders, funnels, landing pages, webinars on higher tiers — with the classic list-size meter. The subtle cost: dead weight is billed. Every unsubscriber you haven't pruned, every cold lead from 2024, counts toward your tier. Its AI is tier-gated in a way that matters at the bottom: Starter's "up to 3 uses" of the AI generators [1] is a demo, not a tool — the working AI starts at Marketer.

Brevo grew from transactional email (it was Sendinblue), and it shows in the meter: hold 10,000 contacts free, pay for what you send [2]. The 300/day free plan is a real operating tier for a small business, not a trial. AI features — content generation, segmentation, send-time optimisation — ship across the paid range without a use-counter [2], and its SMS/WhatsApp campaign channels fit how SG customers actually communicate (verify current WhatsApp specifics on the page when you set up).

The decision-flip, in numbers: a café with 2,800 collected contacts sending one monthly update (2,800 emails ≈ 93/day averaged): on Brevo that's S$0, forever, on the free plan [2]; on GetResponse it prices at the 2,500–5,000-contact tier every month, sends or no sends [1]. Invert it — a coach with 400 subscribers sending three emails a week plus automations — and Brevo's daily cap pinches while GetResponse's unlimited sending at the 1k tier is the calmer buy.

Singapore-specific notes

• Currency: neither publishes SGD list prices; Brevo quoted USD to us [2], GetResponse geo-serves [1]. Add GST-on-imported-services to the mental math.
• PDPA is the real email law here: consent before marketing, working unsubscribe, and don't quietly repurpose enquiry emails into a broadcast list. Our lead-capture playbook bakes the consent line in; both platforms handle the mechanics (double opt-in, unsubscribe) once you configure them.
• The site's own choice, disclosed: our newsletter promises double opt-in before any send (privacy) — whichever tool you pick, turn that on. Trust compounds; lists built without it burn.

Which one for which business

• Retail/F&B with a big, quiet list (collect many, email monthly): Brevo — likely S$0.
• Content-led business emailing weekly+ (courses, coaching, newsletters as product): GetResponse — unlimited sends per tier, stronger funnel tooling; start at Marketer if you want its AI to be real [1].
• Transactional needs too (order confirmations from your shop): Brevo's transactional roots serve both jobs in one place.
• Either way: prune your list quarterly. On GetResponse it cuts the bill; on Brevo it protects deliverability.

You might need neither if…

…your list is under ~200 people. At that size, "email marketing" is a personal note: a clean BCC-free send from your own mailbox (or the newsletter capture building until the list justifies tooling) converts better than any automation. Collect first — the lead-capture playbook does it for S$0 — and buy the platform when the list, not the ambition, demands it.

Your first campaign, step by step (Brevo free, ~40 minutes)

1. Sign up free (no card) [2]; verify your sender domain when prompted (their wizard walks it).
2. Import your consented contacts — only people who said yes (PDPA isn't decoration).
3. Build one template: your logo, one offer or update, one button. The AI content pack drafts the copy free.
4. Turn on double opt-in for new signups.
5. Send to yourself, check phone rendering, then send. Watch opens for a week before you decide you need more than S$0's worth of tooling.

FAQ

Mailchimp? The name everyone knows, a meter (contacts × features) everyone outgrows. We haven't verified it to this page's standard, so it gets no table row — but the two-number test above applies to it identically.

Do the AI generators actually help? For subject lines and first drafts, yes — but a free ChatGPT/Gemini tab with our prompts does the same job without tier-gating. Never pick an email tier for the AI; pick it for the meter.

What about WhatsApp instead of email? For SG customers, often the better channel — and a different cost model entirely (WhatsApp app vs API). Email remains the channel you own; platforms can't suspend your list.

Can I switch later? Yes — export contacts, rebuild templates, re-verify the domain. An afternoon, not a migration. The list is the asset; the platform is plumbing.

Next step

Count your two numbers (contacts held, emails sent last month), and the table picks your platform in thirty seconds. If the answer is Brevo-free, set it up this week and put the subscription money toward collecting more consented subscribers instead.

Sources

1. GetResponse pricing: getresponse.com/pricing — fetched 15 Jul 2026 (page geo-serves currency; structure and AI limits verified, local price to be read on the live page)
2. Brevo pricing: brevo.com/pricing/ — fetched 15 Jul 2026 (Starter US$9 confirmed in page data; free plan 300 emails/day)
3. GetResponse affiliate programs: getresponse.com/affiliate-programs — fetched 11 Jul 2026 (40% recurring, 12 months)