Cerkl launches a “free-forever” internal comms plan aimed at SMBs

If you’ve ever built an internal email in Outlook, hit send to “everyone,” and then crossed your fingers hoping it actually landed… you’re not alone. Cerkl is betting that small and mid-sized teams deserve something better than the classic “send-and-hope” workflow—and they’re putting real money behind that belief.

On January 14, 2026, Cerkl announced Foundations, a free-forever subscription tier positioned as an internal communications platform built specifically for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). It’s available now, requires no credit card, and includes core internal email capabilities like templates, audience management, and read insights.

Why this matters for internal comms teams

Email is still the default internal channel for many organizations—especially SMBs. But the workflow is fragile:

• Messages go to the wrong groups

• Formatting breaks at the last second

• Branding “drifts” from one sender to the next

• Measurement is limited (or nonexistent), leaving teams guessing what employees actually read

Cerkl’s announcement leans into a truth most communicators feel daily: internal communications is no longer a “nice-to-have.” It’s operational infrastructure. Yet many SMB teams are stuck using tools that were built for one-to-one email—not segmented employee comms with consistent formatting and analytics.

Cerkl CEO Tarek Kamil framed the move as a shift in what’s holding teams back:

“As AI transforms how we produce content, the bottleneck for SMBs has shifted to distribution and measurement. Foundations removes that barrier.”

What’s included in Cerkl Foundations

According to Cerkl, Foundations focuses on four core workflows: build, brand, target, and learn. Features include:

• Drag-and-Drop Builder: Create professional internal emails without the classic “Outlook formatting” drama.

• Precision Targeting: Segment audiences by team, role, or location instead of blasting “All Employees.”

• Actionable Analytics: Real-time insight into who is reading and what’s resonating.

• Branded Templates: More consistency, less reinventing the wheel (and less brand drift).

Cerkl Head of Product Rachel Folz emphasized the goal is simplicity and speed for lean teams:

“SMB communicators don’t need another workaround. They need a system.”

Cerkl also notes that in early access, SMB teams were able to design and send a first sample email in under 30 minutes.

The “free-forever” angle: what it signals

Free tiers are common in SaaS, but “free-forever” in a category that often skews enterprise is a meaningful signal. Cerkl is making a very direct argument here: internal comms shouldn’t be a premium add-on reserved for the largest companies.

For internal communicators—especially one-person or “comms-is-25%-of-my-job” teams—this kind of plan can change the calculus. It makes it easier to move away from scattered Gmail/Outlook threads and toward an actual internal comms system without needing procurement approvals or budget negotiations upfront.

Pricing and availability

Foundations is available now. The free-forever tier includes:

• 5,000 monthly email sends

• 3 communicator seats

Cerkl says teams can upgrade later to Broadcast Foundations+ or Omni AI for higher volume or advanced integrations.

What internal comms pros should watch next

If you’re evaluating internal comms tools for an SMB environment, this launch raises a few practical questions worth tracking:

• How strong is the segmentation model for real-world SMB org structures (locations, roles, frontline vs. corporate, etc.)?

• What does “read insight” mean in practice—opens, clicks, engagement by segment, trends over time?

• How easy is it to keep templates consistent when multiple communicators are publishing?

• What upgrade path looks like as channels expand beyond email (Teams/Slack/SharePoint/mobile)?

The takeaway

Cerkl’s Foundations launch is a clear play to bring basic internal comms infrastructure—templates, targeting, and measurement—within reach for teams that have traditionally been stuck improvising in Outlook or Gmail. If this free tier delivers meaningful segmentation and analytics without adding admin burden, it could be a compelling on-ramp for SMB communicators who want to professionalize internal email quickly.

Disclaimer: this blog post was created in partnership with Cerkl Inc.