Email Marketing Cost Calculator
Estimate monthly email marketing platform costs from subscriber count and send frequency.
Returns cost per subscriber, cost per send, and break-even revenue.
Business email platform cost is calculated per user per month, but the true total cost of ownership includes setup, migration, support, storage add-ons, and the productivity value of features like shared calendars, video conferencing, and collaboration tools.
Total Monthly Cost formula:
Total Monthly Cost = (Users × Price per User per Month) + Add-on Costs
Annual Cost formula:
Annual Cost = Total Monthly Cost × 12
Cost per Employee:
Cost per Employee per Year = Annual Cost / Number of Users
What each variable means:
- Users — number of active email accounts/mailboxes; shared mailboxes (e.g., support@, info@) may or may not count toward the license count depending on provider
- Price per User per Month — varies by plan tier and provider
- Add-on Costs — extra storage (beyond plan limit), email archiving, additional aliases, security/compliance tools (e.g., email encryption, DLP), backup services
Major providers pricing (2024, approximate):
| Platform | Basic | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Workspace | $6/user/mo | $12/user/mo | $18/user/mo |
| Microsoft 365 Business | $6/user/mo | $12.50/user/mo | $22/user/mo |
| Zoho Mail | Free–$1/user/mo | $4/user/mo | $6/user/mo |
| ProtonMail Business | $8/user/mo | $16/user/mo | — |
| Fastmail | $3/user/mo | $5/user/mo | $9/user/mo |
Worked example: Company of 25 employees on Google Workspace Business Starter ($6/user/month):
Monthly cost = 25 × $6 = $150/month Annual cost = $150 × 12 = $1,800/year Cost per employee: $1,800 / 25 = $72/year
Upgrading to Business Standard ($12/user): $3,600/year — adding Meet video conferencing, 2 TB storage, and enhanced security.
Decision factors beyond price: Storage per user (30 GB vs 2 TB matters at scale), video conferencing inclusion, mobile MDM support, compliance/eDiscovery requirements, and migration complexity from your current system.