Most small businesses send two kinds of email: marketing emails (newsletters, offers, announcements) and transactional emails (order confirmations, booking receipts, contact-form alerts, password resets). Brevo, formerly Sendinblue, handles both from one account. We use it ourselves to send transactional email from the websites and apps we build for clients. This guide explains what Brevo does, who it suits and how to set it up properly.
Quick verdict
Brevo is a strong choice for UK small businesses that want newsletters and reliable website emails in one place, with a free plan to start and pricing based on emails sent rather than contacts stored. If you only need a simple newsletter, a dedicated newsletter tool can be simpler.
What is Brevo?
Brevo is an email and messaging platform. It covers:
- Email marketing: a drag-and-drop editor, templates, contact lists, segments and scheduled campaigns.
- Transactional email: an SMTP relay and an API so your website or app can send automatic emails reliably.
- Automation: welcome series, abandoned-basket reminders and follow-ups.
- SMS and WhatsApp campaigns, plus a simple CRM and live chat on some plans.
How we use Brevo
When we build a website or web app, its automatic emails go through Brevo’s API rather than the web server’s own mail. That includes new-enquiry alerts from contact forms, order notifications for an online shop and lead notifications from software demos. The reason is deliverability: emails sent straight from a shared web server are far more likely to land in spam or be rejected, while a dedicated sending service with proper domain authentication gets through.
The practical lessons we’d pass on:
- Use the API where you can. It’s quicker to set up than SMTP on modern hosting and easier to debug, because Brevo’s logs show every message and whether it was delivered.
- Authenticate your domain first. Add the DKIM and DMARC records Brevo gives you, and include Brevo in your SPF record, before you send anything important.
- Keep API keys out of your website code. Store them in a private config file outside the public web folder, and give each site its own key so you can revoke one without breaking the rest.
- Don’t keep a fallback that sends from the web server. If Brevo is down for a minute, it’s better to log and retry than to quietly send from an unauthenticated server.
Brevo pricing in brief
Brevo has a free plan with a daily sending limit, which is enough for testing and for many small websites’ transactional email. Paid plans are priced mainly by the number of emails you send each month rather than by how many contacts you store, which suits businesses with a large list that they email occasionally. Plans and limits change, so check Brevo’s pricing page for current figures.
Brevo vs Mailchimp: which is better for a small business?
| Brevo | Mailchimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing based on | Emails sent | Contacts stored |
| Transactional email | Included (API and SMTP) | Separate add-on (Mandrill) |
| SMS / WhatsApp | Yes | Limited / via integrations |
| Best for | Businesses that want website emails and newsletters together | Marketers who want a polished newsletter tool with lots of integrations |
How to set up Brevo for your website
- Create an account and add your sending address (for example hello@yourbusiness.co.uk).
- Authenticate your domain: add Brevo’s DKIM record, a DMARC record and include Brevo in SPF at your DNS provider. Our DNS checklist explains why changing DNS carefully matters.
- Create an API key for each website, and store it securely on the server.
- Connect your site: WordPress has an official Brevo plugin; custom sites and apps can call the API directly.
- Send a test from every form and checkout, then check Brevo’s logs to confirm delivery.
- Import your newsletter list only if people opted in. UK GDPR and PECR require consent for marketing email.
Who should choose Brevo?
- Online shops and booking sites that send lots of automatic emails.
- Businesses with a large list they email monthly, where contact-based pricing would get expensive.
- Anyone whose contact-form emails keep going to spam.
For writing emails people open, see our guide to subject lines that get opened.
Need help?
Web Matter sets up reliable email for websites and apps, including domain authentication and Brevo integration. Get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brevo free?
Yes, there’s a free plan with a daily sending limit. Paid plans remove the limit and add features.
Is Brevo the same as Sendinblue?
Yes. Sendinblue renamed itself Brevo in 2023.
Why do my website’s emails go to spam?
Usually because they’re sent from the web server without domain authentication. Sending through a service like Brevo with SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up fixes most cases.
Can Brevo send emails from WordPress?
Yes. Use the official Brevo plugin, or an SMTP plugin with Brevo’s SMTP details.
Is Brevo GDPR compliant?
Brevo is an EU-based company and offers GDPR tools, but you’re still responsible for getting consent before sending marketing email.