GetResponse Free Plan Review: Is It Really Free? (2026)

Last updated September 2026 · ~6 min read · by StackHonest

Affiliate disclosure: some links below are affiliate links. If you sign up through them I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Everything here is researched from GetResponse's own pricing and feature pages -- here's exactly what the free plan gets you before you hit a wall.

Short answer: Yes, GetResponse's Free plan is genuinely free forever -- not a time-limited trial -- but it caps at 500 contacts, limits you to basic autoresponders (no multi-step automation workflows), and puts a visible GetResponse badge on every email you send. It's good enough to start building a list from zero, but you'll outgrow it fast if you plan to run real drip sequences or need a branded send.

What the free plan actually gets you

GetResponse's Free tier isn't a 14-day trial in disguise -- it's a permanent free account capped at 500 contacts. Inside that cap you get unlimited monthly email sends, the visual email editor, signup forms and popups, one basic autoresponder, and landing pages (capped at 1,000 unique visitors/month, unlimited pages). New signups also get a separate 14-day window of trial access to premium features from the paid tiers, so you can test things like unlimited automation workflows before that access reverts to free-tier limits.

Pricing reality: what the tiers actually get you

Checked directly against getresponse.com/pricing, September 2026, prices shown at the 1,000-contact tier (all plans scale up with list size): Free $0/mo, capped at 500 contacts, 1 autoresponder only, GetResponse badge on every send, no A/B testing; Starter $19/mo ($15.58/mo billed annually), unlimited sends, AI content generators (capped at 3 uses), 1 custom automation workflow, landing pages, free custom domain on the yearly plan; Marketer $59/mo ($48.38/mo annual), unlimited automation workflows, advanced segmentation, abandoned cart recovery, sales funnels, promo codes and revenue reports; Creator $69/mo ($56.58/mo annual), everything in Marketer plus webinars (up to 100 contacts), website builder, course creator (up to 500 students), premium newsletter subscriptions. Enterprise is custom-quoted with dedicated IP, SSO, and SMS marketing.

All paid tiers bill on contacts stored, not emails sent -- there's no send-volume multiplier like some competitors use. That means the jump from Free to Starter is really about unlocking automation and removing the badge, not about raising a send cap you were hitting.

The 3 things nobody mentions

Starter's "1 custom automation workflow" is the real ceiling, not the 500-contact cap. Plenty of people upgrade off Free assuming Starter unlocks real marketing automation -- it doesn't. You get exactly one workflow. Unlimited workflows don't arrive until Marketer at $59/mo, a $40/mo jump most reviews gloss over.
The free plan's contact limit isn't publicly stated as a hard 500 on every page. GetResponse's own help docs and pricing page reference the 500-contact Free cap inconsistently across pages -- some third-party trackers had to confirm it independently against the live signup flow. Budget for 500 as the real number, not whatever a stale roundup states.
AI tools on Starter are capped at 3 uses, not unlimited. The AI email generator and AI subject-line generator are marketed as included on Starter, but they're limited to 3 uses total on that tier -- not 3/month, three uses period. You'll hit that ceiling in your first afternoon of testing. My full GetResponse AI email generator review breaks down what the tool actually produces and why unlimited AI only starts at Marketer.

Who should skip it

If you're starting a list from absolute zero and just need to collect emails with a simple welcome sequence, Free covers that fine -- don't pay for Starter until you're actually bumping the 500-contact cap or need more than one automation. If you already know you need multi-step automation (abandoned cart, behavior-triggered sequences, funnels), skip Starter entirely and budget for Marketer at $59/mo -- Starter's single-workflow limit will frustrate you within a week and you'll just upgrade again anyway.

Verdict

Start on GetResponse Free if you're under 500 contacts and just need basic list-building with unlimited sends. Go to Starter ($19/mo) once you cross 500 contacts or want the badge gone, but know you're only getting 1 automation workflow. Skip straight to Marketer ($59/mo) if real automation (abandoned cart, multi-step sequences) is the reason you're upgrading at all.

My own read: the free tier is honestly positioned as a starting point, not a growth plan -- it does what it says on the box for a genuinely $0 cost, which is more than some "free" competitors can claim. The Template availability currently offers no download or email signup. Related reading: GetResponse vs Kit comparison · best free email marketing for solopreneurs.

FAQ

How many contacts does GetResponse's free plan allow?

GetResponse Free caps at 500 contacts, permanently -- there's no time limit on the free plan itself, but once you cross 500 contacts you must upgrade to Starter or a higher tier to keep sending.

Is GetResponse free plan good enough for a small business?

For a true side project or early list-building phase under 500 contacts, yes -- you get unlimited sends, a landing page builder, and signup forms at zero cost. But marketing automation is limited to basic autoresponders (no multi-step workflows), and every email carries a visible GetResponse badge you can't remove without upgrading.

Does GetResponse have a free trial on paid plans?

Yes -- new accounts get 14 days of trial access to premium features (Starter/Marketer/Creator tier tools) before reverting to the permanent Free plan limits if you don't add a payment method. This is separate from the always-free 500-contact Free plan. See my best AI automation tools guide if you're building a full content stack around it.