What’s the best free email marketing tool to deliver a PDF lead magnet?

Hi! For a simple “form → confirmation → automatic email with a PDF link” workflow on a true free (or close to free) plan, the easiest wins tend to be MailerLite or Brevo; if you want something very lightweight and budget-friendly, EmailOctopus is also a solid option—just deliver the PDF as a download link (not an attachment) to keep deliverability and the signup experience clean.

Here are a few setups that usually work well for a basic PDF lead magnet (and avoid extra prompts/steps):

Option 1: MailerLite (best “all-in-one” free starter)

• Typically lets you build an embedded signup form (no pop-up required), a “thank you” page, and an automation/welcome email.
• You create a 1-step automation: When subscriber joins group → send email with the PDF link.
• Note: their free plan subscriber limit dropped to 500 as of September 23, 2025, so it’s great early on, but you may outgrow it if your site takes off.

Option 2: Brevo (good free plan if you don’t send big blasts)

• Works well for forms + a simple automation to send the lead magnet email.
• The main free-plan constraint is daily sending (so if you suddenly get a spike of signups in a day, you could hit the cap and some people won’t get the email until later unless you resend/requeue).
• If your niche site starts small and grows steadily, it’s usually fine.

Option 3: EmailOctopus (simple + inexpensive; “regular” plan or “Connect”)

• Very straightforward forms and automations for a basic lead magnet funnel.
• They have a free tier, and many people like it because it stays out of the way and doesn’t add a bunch of extra UI friction.
• One version routes mail through Amazon SES (more setup, but can be very low-cost at scale).

How to deliver the PDF (without hurting deliverability)

Even though it’s tempting to attach the PDF, a link-based approach is usually better:

• Upload the PDF to your site/media library (or a file host), then include a single clean download button/link in the welcome email.
• Optionally, put the PDF behind a simple “Thank you” page too, so subscribers can access it even if the email lands in Promotions/Spam.
• If you want to discourage random sharing, you can host it on a page that isn’t in your navigation (not “secure,” but reduces casual discovery). True gated/expiring links are possible, but that’s usually overkill at the start.

About the “physical mailing address” requirement (compliance)

If you’re sending marketing emails (newsletters, promos, nurturing sequences), you should plan to include a valid physical postal address in the email footer. In the US (CAN-SPAM), that address can generally be:

• your current street address, or
• a USPS-registered P.O. Box, or
• a properly registered private mailbox (like a mailbox service)

Most email marketing platforms also require an address in your account settings, and they’ll automatically place it in the footer for compliance.

A couple of practical notes:

• If you work from home and don’t want to publish your home address, many creators use a P.O. Box or private mailbox.
• You’ll also need a clear unsubscribe option on marketing emails, and it should actually work (don’t hide it or require extra steps).

If you tell me roughly how many subscribers you expect in the next 3–6 months (and whether you’ll send a newsletter weekly/monthly), I can point you to the best fit among these based on send limits and how “clean” the signup flow can be.