Free programs, APIs, MCP servers & channel support — for digital product creators
| Feature | SendPulse ($5K Grant) | Customer.io (1yr Pro, 30K) |
|---|---|---|
| What's Free | $5K credit for email, chatbots, push, CRM, landing pages, automation (1yr) | Premium plan 1 year, 30K contacts (~$4K/yr value) |
| MCP Server | ✅ Official — mcp.sendpulse.com/mcp OAuth + custom headers. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code | ✅ Official — mcp.customer.io/mcp API key auth. Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor. CLI tool also available |
| REST API | ✅ Full OpenAPI 3.1.0 specs for every tool | ✅ Full REST API + SDKs (Node, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java) |
| ✅ Covered by grant | ✅ Covered by program | |
| SMS | ❌ NOT covered by grant (pay out of pocket) | Via Twilio (need separate Twilio account) |
| ❌ NOT covered by grant (pay out of pocket) | ✅ Native — covered by program | |
| Push Notifications | ✅ Web push (10K subs on free) | ✅ Push (iOS/Android/Web) |
| In-App Messages | ❌ Not available | ✅ Web & mobile in-app messages |
| Chatbots | ✅ WhatsApp, Telegram, FB, Instagram, Viber, TikTok builders (covered by grant) | ❌ No chatbot builder |
| CRM | ✅ Built-in CRM with pipeline management | ❌ Profiles + segments only (no deal tracking) |
| Landing Pages | ✅ Landing pages + websites + pop-ups | ❌ Not included |
| Automation | Automation360 — visual flow builder with API triggers | Journeys — visual builder + AI Agent beta (natural language → campaign) |
| Opt-in Control | ✅ Single & double (separate API endpoints) | ✅ Double opt-in via Journeys |
| Transactional Email | ✅ SMTP service + API | ✅ API-triggered messages |
| After Free Ends | Pay-as-you-go (~$0.0035/email, ~$0.035/SMS US) | $325/mo for 30K contacts on Essentials |
| SDKs | Node.js (official), Python, PHP, Go, Ruby | Node.js, Python, Ruby, Go, PHP, Java |
URL: mcp.sendpulse.com/mcp
GitHub: github.com/sendpulse/mcp-server
Auth: OAuth (auto-handled) or custom headers (X-SP-ID, X-SP-SECRET)
Compatible: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code (Copilot/Cline), Claude Code, Devin
Capabilities: Send campaigns, manage chatbot subscribers, CRM deal management, automation flows, statistics
AI-Friendly: llms.txt, llms-full.txt, OpenAPI index, ai-plugin.json all at api.sendpulse.com
Also available: 3+ community MCP repos (WhatsApp-focused, general API)
URL: mcp.customer.io/mcp (US) / mcp-eu.customer.io/mcp (EU)
GitHub: github.com/customerio/mcp-official-servers
Auth: API key
Compatible: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor
8 Tools: cio_prime, cio_schema, cio_read_api, cio_write_api, cio_delete_api, cio_skills_list, cio_skills_read, cio_auth_status
Permissions: Granular read/write/delete separation
Also available: CLI tool (@customerio/cli) for terminal agents
| Service | Unit Cost | $5K Gets You | Covered? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email campaigns (Standard plan) | ~$9.60/mo (500 contacts) | ~43 years of email at 500 contacts | ✅ |
| Email campaigns (10K contacts) | ~$48/mo | ~8.6 years | ✅ |
| Email campaigns (50K contacts) | ~$240/mo | ~1.7 years | ✅ |
| Pay-as-you-go emails | ~$0.0035/email | ~1.4 million emails | ✅ |
| Chatbot builder (3 bots) | Included in free plan | Unlimited | ✅ |
| Web Push (10K subscribers) | Included in free plan | Unlimited | ✅ |
| Landing pages + pop-ups | Included | Unlimited | ✅ |
| Automation360 flows | Included | Unlimited | ✅ |
| SMS (US) | ~$0.035/msg | ~140K messages | ❌ Not covered |
| Per-conversation | Varies | ❌ Not covered |
Other platforms researched. Included for reference — SendPulse + Customer.io cover all needs below.
| Platform | Free Tier | API | MCP | Best For | Why Not |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | 1K subs, unlimited broadcasts | ✅ | Official | Creators selling digital products | Charges per sub. Already used for LP. |
| Brevo | Unlimited subs, 300/day | ✅ | Community | Budget email at scale | No chatbots, no in-app. Less automation. |
| MailerLite | 250 subs, 2.5K emails | ❌ Paid only | None | SMB email marketing | No API on free. Tiny free tier. |
| Mailchimp | 250 subs, 500 emails | ✅ | Community | All-purpose marketing | Tiny free tier. Expensive at scale. |
| Loops | 1K subs, 4K sends | ✅ | None | API-first dev teams | No forms, no double opt-in. Newer. |
| Beehiiv | 2.5K subs, unlimited sends | ✅ Subs CRUD | Official | Newsletter growth | Send API = Enterprise only. Newsletter-focused. |
| Substack | Unlimited | ❌ No official API | Community (fragile) | Simple paid newsletters | Walled garden. 13-16% revenue cut. No automation. |
| Resend | 1K contacts, 3K emails | ✅ | None | Developer transactional email | Not an autoresponder. Build everything yourself. |