Drip Pricing 2025: Cost Guide for Every Business Size

Drip has this reputation as the email marketing platform for serious ecommerce businesses. They’re not trying to be everything to everyone — just focused on helping online stores turn browsers into buyers through smart automation. But here’s what surprises people: while Drip’s pricing looks simple on paper, it can get expensive fast.

One pricing model based on subscriber count. No free plan, just a 14-day trial and then you pay. Starting at $39 monthly for 2,500 subscribers, it’s definitely not the budget option. The real question is whether the ecommerce features are worth paying more than alternatives like Sender, which gives you 2,500 subscribers free with solid automation.

I’ve been looking at how Drip’s costs stack up, and it’s not as straightforward as it first appears.

Drip Pricing Overview

Drip keeps their pricing philosophy simple: pay based on how many people are in your account, send unlimited emails, get access to everything. No artificial restrictions based on what tier you pick, no worrying about daily limits.

The catch? You pay based on the highest number of subscribers you had during your billing period, not your current count. Delete a bunch of inactive contacts mid-month? You’re still paying for them until next cycle. It’s like being charged for the biggest hotel room you used during your stay, even if you moved to a smaller one.

Industry data shows this approach works well for established businesses with steady growth, but it stings for companies testing different list sizes or dealing with seasonal fluctuations.

Drip Monthly Pricing

Monthly billing is your only choice — no annual discounts, no pay-as-you-go flexibility. Drip wants predictable revenue, and you get predictable costs. Sometimes that works in your favor, sometimes it doesn’t.

The monthly price includes everything: unlimited sends, behavioral triggers, revenue tracking, all the ecommerce stuff Drip is known for. You’re not nickel-and-dimed for automation workflows or A/B testing like some platforms do.

What’s interesting is their focus on “active” subscribers — people who’ve actually engaged recently or made purchases. This can save money if you have a big but sleepy email list, though understanding Drip’s definition of “active” becomes pretty important for budgeting.

Drip Monthly Plans

Main Plans Comparison

All plans include complete feature access with no restrictions

Free Plan

There isn’t one. Drip decided early on they’re not competing with free email tools — they want to be the premium choice for businesses that are serious about ecommerce marketing.

Instead, you get a 14-day trial with no credit card required. You can test everything, set up workflows, connect your store. The only thing you can’t do is send unlimited emails during the trial.

This approach makes sense if you know what you want and have the budget. But it creates a higher barrier compared to Sender.net letting you start with 2,500 subscribers completely free and upgrade when you outgrow it.

Starter Pricing ($39/month)

At $39 monthly for up to 2,500 subscribers, you get everything Drip offers. Visual workflow builder, behavioral triggers, revenue tracking — none of that “upgrade for advanced features” stuff you see elsewhere.

The unlimited email sends is nice for businesses that want to stay in touch without counting messages. Advanced segmentation based on what people bought, what they browsed, how they engage with your emails.

Even at this entry level, you’re getting features other platforms save for higher tiers. Revenue attribution, product recommendations, cart abandonment workflows. Though paying $39 versus free alternatives means you’re betting the ecommerce focus is worth it.

Growth Pricing ($89-$154/month)

As your list grows to 5,000 or 10,000 people, you’re looking at $89-$154 monthly. Features stay the same — Drip doesn’t play games with artificial limits based on how much you pay.

At this price range, the value proposition gets clearer for ecommerce businesses. If Drip’s automation is actually generating extra revenue through better targeting and recovery campaigns, the math works. The revenue tracking helps you see this directly.

The smooth scaling is refreshing — no sudden jumps or being forced to upgrade for features you need. But compared to alternatives offering similar automation for less, the costs add up quickly.

Enterprise Pricing (Custom)

Lists over 140,000 subscribers move to custom pricing. You’re probably looking at significant monthly costs, but you’re also dealing with the complexity of large-scale ecommerce operations.

Enterprise gets you dedicated support, advanced onboarding, maybe custom integrations. But the core platform stays the same — Drip doesn’t create fake “enterprise” versions of features everyone should have.

Most businesses at this scale aren’t comparing basic email tools anymore. They’re weighing Drip against other enterprise ecommerce platforms, and the decision comes down to ROI and fit.

Drip Pay-as-you-go Plan

Pay-as-you-go Limitations

Drip doesn’t do pay-as-you-go pricing, which can be frustrating for certain business models. You’re locked into monthly subscriptions whether you use the platform heavily or barely touch it.

This works fine for businesses with consistent email needs, but it’s expensive for seasonal retailers or companies with sporadic campaigns. Unlike Sender which offers both monthly plans and flexible credits, Drip requires ongoing commitment.

The lack of flexible options means you need to think carefully about long-term needs before signing up. No scaling down during slow periods.

Drip Transactional Emails Pricing

Drip handles transactional emails through the same platform as marketing emails, which is actually convenient. Order confirmations, shipping updates, password resets — everything flows through one system using your subscriber count and unlimited sending.

This integrated approach means no separate services needed, and everything shows up in unified analytics. Your transactional emails get the same deliverability infrastructure and can include dynamic content like marketing emails.

The downside? No separate, cheaper pricing for purely transactional needs. If you only want order confirmations and shipping notifications, you’re paying the full Drip price even though you’re not using the marketing stuff.

Drip SMS Pricing

SMS Feature Status

SMS is basically dead for new Drip users. They discontinued it, though existing users who already had it set up can keep using it. Not great if you’re looking at Drip in 2025 and want text messaging as part of your strategy.

According to their own docs, SMS used to cost $39 monthly starting price, but that doesn’t matter now. The billing worked similar to email — subscriber-based with message limits.

This is a real problem for ecommerce businesses wanting email and SMS together. You’d need separate tools or integrations, which gets messy and expensive. Platforms like Sender include SMS in regular pricing, making them much more practical for multi-channel marketing.

Pricing current as of July 2025. Check Drip’s website for the latest rates since things change.

About author

Emily Austin

Author

Sender

Emily is a content manager who has dipped her toes in almost all fields of marketing, including email marketing, PR, social media, and ecommerce. She loves perfecting digital content, ensuring everything is polished and ready to go live.