20+ best email marketing services, software & platforms (2025)

Making the right choice when it comes to the best email marketing services is incredibly important. 

And do you know why?

According to recent statistics, in 2019, global email usage amounted to 3.9 billion users.

That number is set to reach 4.3 billion in 2023. 

And what’s more interesting, is that the same study shows that 81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel.

But the problem is, so many entrepreneurs do email marketing wrong. It’s so much more than having a list of addresses you send messages to every once in a while. 

So where do you begin? All successful email marketing starts with choosing the right software for the job. 

This is where this ultimate guide comes in. With so many choices available these days, I’ve researched and compiled a list of 20+ of the best email marketing service providers and platforms, so that you can pick the one that best suits you and your business. 

You’ll find my top recommendations for both beginners (such as ConvertKit) and more advanced marketers (such as ActiveCampaign).

You’ll also learn many other insights on why email marketing software is important, how to choose the right software, and much more.

Excited? Let’s get stuck in!

What Are The Best Email Marketing Services & Software?

In this day and age, there is no shortage of good email marketing software. Which is both a good and a bad thing.

The good news is that you have so many options available at your fingertips, you’re bound to ultimately find something that works for you.

The bad news, on the other hand, is ironically the same thing. There’s so much choice out there, overwhelm is easy.

My advice is simple: choose the right software based on your specific needs, rather than going for the cheapest one or the one that boasts the most features.

We’ll dig deeper into how to pick the best email marketing service at the end of this article.

But for now, let’s look at some of the best options out there, all thoroughly examined with a full breakdown of their pros and cons, their main features and pricing plans. 

Email Marketing Services Reviews

Here are my picks for the 20+ best email marketing services, software and platforms. After the list, you’ll find an in-depth review of each tool. Enjoy!

1. ActiveCampaign
2. ConvertKit
3. GetResponse
4. Drip
5. ConstantContact
6. AWeber
7. Kartra
8. Ontraport
9. Keap (previously Infusionsoft)
10. Market Hero
11. Sendlane
12. HubSpot
13. Maropost
14. Mailerlite
15. Simplero
16. MailChimp
17. Campaign Monitor
18. MailJet
19. MoonMail
20. Benchmark
21. Klaviyo
22. Gist
23. Omnisend
24. Moosend

1. ActiveCampaign

Let me cut right to the chase here, ActiveCampaign is by far my top recommendation when it comes to email marketing software.

Their lists and subscriber tagging system is second to none, but the real killer-feature here is their powerful automations system.

I’ve tried many email marketing tools over the years, but nothing comes close to what ActiveCampaign allows you to do.

It might be a little advanced for some, and the first impression you get from the software might get a little overwhelming.

But if you’re planning on being in the email marketing game for a long time, you should definitely check out ActiveCampaign, and let the software ‘grow with you’ as you expand your business. 

Last but not least, ActiveCampaign has consistently been the best performer when it comes to email deliverability. 

Who Is ActiveCampaign For?

Entrepreneurs and small businesses who are a little more advanced with their email marketing. 

It’s an incredibly powerful tool, and if you plan on implementing automations any time soon, ActiveCampaign will definitely be your best pick.

Key Features Of ActiveCampaign Email Marketing Software

• ‘Regular’ broadcast emails
• Autoresponders
• ‘Triggered’ emails based on purchases, site visits, etc.
• Targeted emails
• Advanced email funnels and automation
• Scheduled emails
• Pre-made email templates
• Conditional content
• Site tracking
• Audience segmentation

Pros

• It’s probably the best when it comes to automations
• Top-notch deliverability rates
• Great split-testing features
• Pro-looking email templates
• Excellent support
• Free trial available
• Countless integrations
• You can share automations easily

Cons

• Interface can be overwhelming when you first use it
• Can get expensive as your audience grows
• Might be ‘overkill’ for some smaller businesses

Pricing

ActiveCampaign offers a 14-day free trial.

Once that is over, charges are based on the number of subscribers you have on your list. Billing can occur monthly or annually (at a discount).

There are 4 pricing plans. The Lite plan does the job, but to get the best of ActiveCampaign’s powerful features, you’ll need to go with a higher-priced plan. 

As an example, we’ve set the number of subscribers to 1000. Here’s what you will be charged for each plan. 

2. ConvertKit

ConvertKit has become an incredibly popular choice among bloggers in recent years.

It began with a focus on simplicity, great design and ease of use, but it has recently added some advanced features (such as ‘visual’ automations), which make it a much more powerful tool than it was when the company started out.

Its great landing page editor and super easy-to-create forms make it a great one-stop-shop for those who need a tool that does not come short when it comes to features, but at the same time is not as complicated to use as some of the other more-advanced platforms out there. 

Pricing, too, is great if you’re looking for a more affordable option.

Who Is ConvertKit For?

ConvertKit is great for solopreneurs, bloggers (even pros), authors, vloggers.

Key Features

• Easily customisable and embeddable sign-up forms
• Great landing-page templates
• Email ‘designer’
• Automations (with visual editor)
• Advanced reporting
• Subscriber segmentation and tagging
• Countless integrations

Pros

• Great all-in-one tool for those who are just starting out
• Visual automations editor works great
• Forms and landing-pages can be used even without a website
• Extremely user-friendly UI
• Accessible price
• Free trial

Cons

• Lacks some more ‘advanced’ features
• Reporting can be improved
• Deliverability has worsened a little over the years

Plans And Pricing

ConvertKit offers a 14-day free trial to test the software out.

There are two plans you can choose from, which are billed monthly or annually.

The free plan can be free forever, but only up to 1k subscribers (and lacks automation features).

The “Complete” plan’s price varies on the number of your subscribers. 

Free Plan: Only up to 1k subscribers. No automation. No reporting

Complete Plan (e.g. 1k subscribers): $29/month or $25/month (paid annually). Unlimited features.

3. GetResponse

GetResponse is one of the oldest-standing email marketing tools out there.

However, it has come a very long way since the company was founded in the early 2000s. 

Today, it is a suite of tools which include email marketing, of course, but also marketing automations features, a webinar platform, a landing page builder and much more.

Its strongpoint is definitely its automation feature, which is implemented in both emails and in a proprietary tool called AutoFunnel:

AutoFunnel allows you to create a fully functioning funnel from scratch with fill-in-the-blanks templates and ready made emails, Facebook Ads and landing pages. All with a click of a button.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-use that’s a little more advanced than ConvertKit, GetResponse might be your best bet.

Who Is GetResponse For?

GetResponse is a happy medium between ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit. It’s best suited for medium-sized businesses who don’t need an overwhelmingly large number of features, but are ready to implement more advanced things like automations.

Key Features

• Newsletters, autoresponders and automated emails
• Segment-specific emails
• ‘Perfect Time’ and ‘Time Travel’ delivery tools
• Automated blog digests
• Drag-and-drop email editor
• Custom and dynamic content in emails
• Split-testing features (subject lines, email content, delivery times, etc.)
• Over 170 integrations

Pros

• Automations work great
• Templates have a ‘pro’ feel
• Visual automations workflow interface is top-notch
• Many other features apart from email can be added in higher-priced plans

Cons

• Reporting could be better
• Integrations sometimes have glitches
• Deliverability score not great

Plans And Pricing

GetResponse has a 30-day free trial. After that, you can be billed monthly, every 12 months (-18% discount), or every 24 months (-30% discount). Plans vary on list-size. Here’s a breakdown of their plans for a 1k-subscriber list:

Basic Plan: $15/month. All email marketing features included, but limited to 1 sales funnel.

Plus Plan: $49/month. Also includes Automation Builder (max 5 workflows), up to 5 sales funnels and 5 webinar funnels.

Professional Plan: $99/month. Unlimited Automation Builder, webinar platform and unlimited funnels

Enterprise Plan: $1,199/month. This is only for those who have list-sizes exceeding 100k subscribers. 

4. Drip

When the company first started (and when it was acquired by LeadPages in 2016) Drip aimed at winning over many pro-bloggers as the best alternative to ConvertKit.

In recent years, though, the company’s direction has changed a lot. Drip now markets itself as a full-blown “e-commerce CRM”, and showcases its integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento as its main features. 

Drip handles email marketing in a different way from other providers (it uses ‘tags’ and ‘events’ instead of lists).

Automations – once the company’s strongpoint – are still some of the best out there.

Who Is Drip For?

If you own an e-commerce store, Drip is a no-brainer choice: its integrations and automations (based on customer behavior) make it a killer option for engaging with your customers. 

Key Features

• Advanced customer-data collection
• Deep segmentation
• Personalized content
• Behavior-based automations
• Facebook and Instagram integrations
• In-depth reporting
• Workflow split-testing

Pros

• Probably the best CRM for ecommerce store owners
• Great integrations
• Lets you reach customers in multiple ways
• One of the best form-builders out there
• Great reporting

Cons

• Unsuitable for ‘general’ use
• Quite expensive compared to other tools
• Customer support not great
• Average deliverability score

Plans And Pricing

Drip offers a free 14-day trial. After the trial is over, pricing is based on the size of your list.

There is only one plan to choose from, which includes all features, and payments can only be made on a monthly basis.

Here’s a breakdown of Drip’s pricing based on email-list size:

5. Constant Contact

Constant Contact is one of the oldest players in the email marketing software game.

It was founded way back in 1995, and even though many entrepreneurs swear by it, overall the platform feels a little outdated in comparison with some of its competitors.

But it definitely has its strengths: the email editor is sleek and easy to use, and you get niche-specific templates you can customize to fit your needs. 

Email automation is a little on the ‘simple’ side, but that could be a good thing if you’re not looking for advanced features. 

Overall, small-medium businesses and solopreneurs are probably better off using a more updated (and cheaper) platform such as ConvertKit.

Who Is Constant Contact For?

Businesses looking for a platform that does its job, but don’t really care about taking their email marketing to the next level. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop email template editor
• (Simple) automation features
• Email triggering based on clicks
• Subscriber segmenting
• Pop-ups
• A/B Testing (limited to subject lines)

Pros

• Deliverability results are great
• Over 270 integrations
• Easy to use interface
• Great niche-specific templates to choose from

Cons

• Expensive when compared to similar providers
• Automation feature possibly ‘too basic’
• Some features look and feel outdated

Plans And Pricing

Constant Contact is one of the few providers who offer a full 30-day free trial.

The pricing is then based on the number of people on your list.

There are two plans to choose from, which are billed monthly.

Email Plan: starts at $20/month

Email Plus Plan: starts at $45/month

Here’s a table breaking down the various prices based on number of contacts:

6. AWeber

Together with MailChimp, AWeber used to be one of the only choices for online marketers when it comes to email marketing services.

Specificlly, AWeber was the go-to platform for those who needed automation (which MailChimp didn’t use to offer).

Since then, AWeber has undergone some pretty major changes and is still a serious contender for the best email service provider.

Some bloggers have been with AWeber since the very start, and still recommend it as the go-to solution, especially for those who use a lot of affiliate marketing in their emails.

It’s quite feature-rich (automation being one of its strong-points), and reasonably priced.

What’s even more interesting is that all features are included in each plan, so you won’t need to pay for extra perks. 

Who Is AWeber For?

AWeber is a good solution for beginners, but for the same price, I’d recommend a more ‘updated’ solution such as ConvertKit.

It is not especially suited to advanced marketers (it lacks many essential features): if that’s what you’re looking for, I’d much rather go with ActiveCampaign.

Key Features

• Automatic creation of emails from blog posts
• Drag-and-drop email editor
• HTML templates
• (Basic) automations
• Subscriber tagging
• Can be used by teams
• Split testing
• Offers 3 mobile apps

Pros

• Good email deliverability
• List management is easy with automations and tagging
• Great selection of form and email templates
• In-depth reporting (for broadcasts)
• Great support

Cons

• Automations are very ‘bare-bones’
• Gets expensive with many subscribers
• Some features look and feel outdated
• No A/B testing capabilities
• Very basic reporting for automations

Plans And Pricing

AWeber offers a generous 30-day free trial. When the trial is over, you can choose between various plans, based on the number of your subscribers. 

The good thing is that you get the full set of features even in the cheapest plan.

The bad news is that since it’s subscriber-based, you might be also paying for unsubscribes!

Payment is made monthly, but quarterly and annual billing options are also available.

Here’s a table breaking down the various prices based on number of contacts:

7. Kartra

Kartra is a ‘Swiss army knife’ when it comes to online business tools.

It’s a suite of products that includes a website builder, a funnel creator, a help desk service, an e-commerce software, and so much more.

Among its many tools, Kartra also provides an email marketing tool.

When a software tries to do ‘too much’ , it often ends up doing each thing quite poorly. But Kartra’s email feature is actually quite good.

With it, you get all the usual perkes you’d normal get from a ‘regular’ email service provider, but it’s also a decent solution if you’re looking for something a little more advanced.

For example: the templates it offers look great, but you can also implement A/B testing and pretty good automation features.

If you’re already using Kartra, I’d definitely give their email provider a go! 

Or if you’re looking for an all-in one solution, then Kartra could also work well.

Who Is Kartra For?

It’s best-suited to existing Kartra users.

Key Features

• Behavior-based automations
• Intelligent split-testing
• Pre-made templates
• Tags, lists and sequences
• SMS messaging

Pros

• Pre-made templates are great
• Integrates seamlessly with the whole Kartra ‘ecosystem’
• A/B testing features are very effective
• Great automation capabilities

Cons

• Can’t be used as a ‘standalone’ tool
• Whole suite of products is expensive
• Learning curve might be steep if you want to dig into all the features

Plans And Pricing

As noted above, Kartra Email is part of the Kartra suit of products. It cannot be purchased and used separately.

Kartra offers monthly or annual billing (up to 25% discount).

Thera are 4 plans to choose from: each has a limit on the number of emails you can send.

Starter Plan: $99/month or $79/month (paid annually): up to 15,000 emails/month

Silver Plan: $199/month or $149/month (paid annually): up to 125k emails/month

Gold Plan: $299/month or $229/month (paid annually): up to 250k emails/month

Platinum Plan: $499/month or $379/month (paid annually): up to 500k emails/month

8. Ontraport

Rather than a regular email service provider, Ontraport is really a full-blown CRM software that also includes email and automation capabilities.

It used to be very popular in the past few years (especially compared to Infusionsoft), but it has recently lost a bit of its appeal among bloggers and entrepreneurs.

However, Ontraport offers a wide variety of features that really come in handy if you need solid automations implemented in your business.

Namely, their “Campaign Builder” definitely worth checking out: it’s a “visual” automation and reporting platform that helps you create advanced sequences and even collaborate with your team in real time.

Who Is Ontraport For?

Ontraport can really be used by any business, but the overall structure of its CRM functionalities make it more suitable for education-based companies and those running membership sites.

Key Features

• Full CRM platform
• SMS messaging
• Landing-page and form builder
• Membership site hosting
• Visual campaigns and automations builder
• List segmentation

Pros

• Wide range of possibilities with its integrated CRM
• In-depth campaign reports
• Drag-and-drop editor words great
• Great-looking (and responsive) templates
• Free trial available

Cons

• Can be costly if you’re on a budget
• Integrations can be improved
• UI is not extremely user-friendly

Plans And Pricing

Ontraport offers a 14-day free trial. Charges are monthly and you can cancel anytime. Pricing levels vary based on the number of subscribers you have on your list.

Basic Plan: $79/month (1000 subscribers max)

Plus Plan: $147/month (2500 subscribers max)

Pro Plan: $297/month (10k subscribers max

Enterprise Plan: $497/month (over 200k subscribers)

9. Keap (formerly Infusionsoft)

Formerly known as Infusionsoft, Keap is the gorilla in the room when it comes to email service providers.

Take any big-name marketer and you’ll probably find they are using Keap as their main CRM and email software. 

Keap is probably the most complete email marketing platform out there as for what it can actually do, but that comes at a very high price (literally).

If automations and advanced sales pipelines are your thing, then look no further than Keap.

Its “workflow builder” is probably the best in the game: creating funnels using it isn’t easy, but the possibilities here are really endless.

Who Is Keap For?

Large corporations and businesses, entrepreneurs with a very hefty budget.

Key Features

• Workflow and campaign builder
• Full-fledged CRM system
• Advanced customer data reporting
• Advanced customer segmentation and tagging
• Customizable templates
• Advanced reporting

Pros

• Probably the most sophisticated solution out there
• Clean and customizable user interface
• Great funnel creation capability
• Over 100 integrations

Cons

• Very expensive
• No free plan
• Steep learning curve
• Lacks split-testing features

Plans And Pricing

Keap comes with a mandatory ‘setup-fee’ (between $99 and $999, depending on your plan of choice). This also includes coaching on how to use the software.

Keap offers three monthly pricing plans. The main difference is in the features you’ll get:

Keap Grow: $79/month 

Keap Pro: $149/month (includes Marketing and Sales Automation)

Infusionsoft: $199/month (includes CRM feature).

There is one caveat, here. Each plan only allows a maximum of 500 contacts on your list and 1 user.

If you have more people on your list, the price increases accordingly:

10. Market Hero

Market Hero is one of the new kids on the block when it comes to email marketing software.

At its core, it aims at being a simple and super user-friendly solution, and identifies its main competitor in MailChimp. However, Market Hero has a clear bias towards online stores and was created by Alex Becker, an e-commerce merchant himself. 

That’s why its main features are heavily geared towards managing, automating and analyzing customer behavior, making this tool extremely revenue-centric and extremely in-depth when it comes to analytics. 

Who Is Market Hero For?

Market Hero is best suited for e-commerce site owners

Key Features

• In-depth delivery and sales metrics
• Shopify and Facebook Messenger integration
• Advanced ROI tracking
• Drag-and-drop automations

Pros

• Extremely user-friendly UI
• Great lead-management system
• Great email design
• Comes with full on-boarding procedure

Cons

• No default landing-page builder
• Very limited integrations
• Very few pre-made email templates
• No free plan

Plans And Pricing

Makret hero offers monthly or annual billing (15% discount). Cost varies according to your list-size. There are many options available starting at $19/month. Below is a full breakdown of Market Hero’s pricing. 

11. Sendlane

Sendlane is a fairly new tool (founded 2013), which was created by a group of digital marketers who aimed at building a worthy “all-in-one” alternative to the likes of ConvertKit and MailChimp.

However, Sendlane has recently been focusing a lot more on e-commerce store owners, and their customer-management features reflect that shift in perspective, making it comparable to Drip and MarketHero.

If you own an e-commerce store, this might be a good choice, but beware of the price-point: better options can be found if you are on a budget.  

Who Is Sendlane For?

Sendlane can be used by all kinds of marketers, but it’s specifically geared towards e-commerce store owners.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop email editor
• Landing page creator
• Advanced contact tagging and automation
• Sending times can be automatically optimized
• Marketing automation
• ‘Intelligent’ popups
• Over 1400 integrations 

Pros

• Loads of integrations
• Automations (based on specific triggers) work great
• Great design and sleek UI
• Great support

Cons

• More expensive than some of its closest competitors
• Reporting and analytics are pretty basic
• Migration process can be cumbersome

Plans And Pricing

Sendlane has a monthly or annual pricing structure (25% discount).

There are two available plans whose price varies based on the number of subscribers on your list.

Here is an overview of the plans for a 5k-subscriber list, followed by a full breakdown of possible options.

12. HubSpot

The more seasoned marketers out there will instantly recognize HubSpot. It is an all-in-one powerhouse that can take care of most aspects of your marketing, including blogging, SEO, CRM, video hosting, social media and, of course, email. 

Hubspot’s email marketing platform is extremely powerful, and it’s right up there with the best when it comes to the features it offers.

Its contact-management and sales-pipeline capabilities are top-notch, and so is their email builder. Automations are good, too, but are not quite comparable to the likes of ActiveCampaign or Keap.

If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop that can cater to all of your marketing needs, then Hubspot might be what you need. 

Who Is HubSpot For?

Larger businesses (with bigger budgets) who need “everything taken care of”

Key Features

• Automated sequences
• Customizable email templates
• Personalized subject lines and content 
• Advanced A/B testing
• In-depth reporting

Pros

• Great form-builder
• Great contact-management features
• With its GMail extension, you can track and automate outreach
• Fully optimized for mobile
• Over 300 integrations

Cons

• There are better alternatives when it comes to email automations
• Very expensive
• No free trial

Plans And Pricing

HubSpot’s ‘Marketing Hub’ can be paid-for on a monthly or yearly basis (20% discount).

Email marketing is featured even in their ‘Starter’ plan, but if you are looking for more advanced features, you’ll have to upgrade to the ‘Professional’ plan, which will set you back a staggering $800/month.

On top of all that, you will also need to pay for HubSpot’s ‘Onboarding Fees’ ($3,000/one time).

Here’s a full breakdown of the options when it comes to HubSpot’s pricing:

13. Maropost

Though a little less-known than some of its competitors, Maropost is used by and recommended by household names such as Digital Marketer, Mercedes Benz and Rolling Stone Magazine (some combine it with Keap/Infusionsoft). 

It’s a great suite of tools that also includes a landing page builder, website optimisation features and a variety of solutions for e-commerce stores.

Its email service provider has great segmentation features, trigger-based rules are easy to set up and their drag-and-drop “Email Journey Builder” is a pleasure to use. 

But what definitely sets Maropost apart from its competitors is their ability to quickly send broadcast emails to huge lists, something other providers can take hours to carry out

Who Is Maropost For?

Larger companies who need to send large amounts of email

Key Features

• All-in-one marketing platform combining various tools
• Multi-channel communication through SMS, push notifications and social
• Customizable dashboard, reports, and analytics
• A/B split testing
• Fast email delivery for large lists
• 100s of integrations

Pros

• Segmentation is very easy to implement
• Good automations workflow editor
• Excellent deliverability score

Cons

• Dynamic content builder is cumbersome 
• Reporting and analytics not so great
• UI isn’t super-intuitive

Plans And Pricing

Pricing plans are not disclosed by the company. A demo of the software can be booked on Maropost’s homepage.

14. Mailerlite

Don’t be fooled by its name: Mailerlite is indeed a simple and pretty straight-forward service, but you’d be surprised at some of the more advanced features you get with it, at a fraction of the price.

It’s got a powerful drag-and-drop editor, A/B testing features, audience segmentation and even a visual automations creator.

And despite being a fairly ‘young’ tool, it consistently scores around 95% as for deliverability.

Bare-bones as it might seem, it could actually be a great alternative for those who want to get started with email marketing right away. 

Who Is Mailerlite For?

Small businesses and entrepreneurs who are just starting out, want a tool that gives them enough features to get going and have a fairly limited budget.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Landing pages, popups and embedded forms
• (Basic) automation
• (Basic) segmentation
• A/B testing
• Embeddable surveys in emails

Pros

• Very affordable
• Extremely easy to use
• Great UI
• All the essential features are there
• Great deliverability score

Cons

• Lacks some more ‘advanced’ features
• Stats and analytics are very basic
• No use of tags

Plans And Pricing

As you’d expect, Mailerlite’s pricing structure is extremely simple and straightforward.

For an entry-level list of up to 1k subscribers, you even get a 100% free plan (though capped at 12,000 emails/month).

You can also try the software free for 14-days, then decide.

As the number of your subscribers grows, so does the price, but it’s always extremely affordable:

15. Simplero

At its core, Simplero is a suite of products that offers coaches the tools they need to run their online business. It includes marketing features, together with a platform that can host online courses and membership sites.

Their email service provider is part of their marketing ‘arsenal’ and is quite complete, with both basic features and more advanced capabilities such as automations and segmenting, a landing-page creator and customer analytics. 

All in all, running your email campaigns through Simplero is probably a good option if you already use the platform. If you don’t, there are better options out there.

Who Is Simplero For?

Coaches who need an all-in-one solution to sell and market their digital products.

Key Features

• Website and landing-page builder
• Email broadcasts and automations
• Audience tagging and segmentation
• Online course hosting
• Membership-site builder
• Payment processing

Pros

• Convenient ‘all-in-one’ solution
• Clean, easy to use and slick interface
• Pricing is still fair considering all the features you get
• Great customer support

Cons

• Not worth it just for its email service provider
• Might take some time to get familiar with all its functionalities
• Customization is somewhat limited

Plans And Pricing

Simplero offers a 14-day free trial. It then has three pricing plans, with monthly or annual billing (17% discount).

The cost varies according to the number of contacts you have on your list (the email marketing feature is included in all plans).

Here’s a breakdown of Simplero’s pricing based on a 1k-contact list: 

“Build” Plan: $29/month or $24/month (paid annually)

“Launch” Plan: $99/month or $83/month (paid annually)

“Rule The World” Plan: $149/month or $124/month (paid annually)

16. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is probably the best known email service provider out there. It’s used by thousands of businesses, ranging from bloggers, startups, creators, authors and online marketers. 

Its main strongpoint is its pricing structure. If you have a list that’s smaller than 2k contacts, you’ll get a completely free plan (though with some limitations).

As your list grows, your are charged more, and consequently have access to more features.

Mailchimp is an excellent solution for many, and it’s definitely recommended for someone starting out who is looking for a tool that ‘does the job’.

But similar-priced options like ConvertKit offer more functionalities right from the get-go.

Who Is Mailchimp For?

If you’re looking for a simple yet powerful solution, have a small list and are on a budget, Mailchimp is definitely for you.

And if advanced features are not your thing, this could be your tool of choice for a very long time. 

Key Features

• Contact segmenting
• A/B testing (subject lines, sending times, copy)
• Fully customizable templates
• Real-time analytics
• Facebook and Google Ads creator
• Website builder (beta)
• Over 700 integrations

Pros

• Very easy to use
• Constantly updated with new features
• Good deliverability
• Great variety of templates

Cons

• Bare-bones automations (no visual tool)
• Support isn’t the best
• Higher-level plans can get expensive

Plans And Pricing

MailChimp doesn’t offer a free trial. However, they do have a 100% free plan that will allow up to 2,000 contacts on your list (and basic functionalities). 

Here are the starting prices for each plan, but the cost varies based on your list-size and on the features you get in each level. 

As an example, here are the ‘real’ prices for a list of 2,500 contacts:

Essentials Plan: $29.99/month

Standard Plan: $49.99/month

The Premium Plan only caters for lists larger than 10k contacts, and starts at $299/month.

17. Campaign Monitor

Campaign Monitor is one of those email service providers you’d struggle to put a label to.

The company has grown a lot in recent years, and it’s now got a very large customer base (over 2 million marketers and 250k businesses around the world).

The platform is a great all-round solution and when it comes to features, it is right there with other ‘bigger-name’ competitors. 

I particularly like their templates, their visual automations builder and their segmentation options, with the number of integrations being another pro in this tool.

Buyer beware, though: bigger lists can make this provider quite expensive.

Who Is Campaign Monitor For?

Campaign Monitor is suited to solopreneurs, marketers and businesses with an eye for good design and a reasonable budget.

Key Features

• Hundreds of pre-made templates
• Drag-and-drop editor
• Visual ‘customer journey’ designer
• Smart segmenting
• Full analytics suite
• Hundreds of integrations
• “Enlist” iPad app to collect customer data at events

Pros

• Pro-design templates
• Easy to use and great UI
• Great segmentation options
• Can integrate YouTube or Vimeo videos in email
• Great suite of integrations

Cons

• Limited split-testing options
• No free trial
• Can get expensive
• Support is email-only for most plans

Plans And Pricing

Campaign Monitor is rather expensive compared to other similar email marketing platforms. They have no ‘real’ free trial.

Billing is monthly, and the cost varies based on list-size. The Basic plan has a cap on the number of emails you can send.

Here is a breakdown of their plans based on a list of 2,5k contacts:

Basic Plan: $29/month (max 12,500 emails across campaigns and automated emails)

Unlimited Plan: $59/month (unlimited emails, advanced automations)

Premier Plan: $149/month (unlimited emails, phone support).

18. MailJet

MailJet brands itself as The Email Solution for Fast-moving Teams.

Quite rightly so, since they are probably the only email service provider out there that offers real-time collaboration, a must if you are working in a team. 

Even though it’s not as popular as some of the other solutions out there, MailJet is trusted by none other than Microsoft, so you know they must be doing something right.

It’s got all the features you’d expect in a good email marketing tool: fully customizable emails, dynamic content and pretty advanced analytics and stats. 

If you’re looking for a solution that’s good for teams and don’t want to break the bank, definitely check out MailJet

Who Is MailJet For?

Teams who need a fairly easy to use tool that can integrate with many third-party apps and is reasonably priced. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Responsive templates
• Real-time team collaboration
• Personalization through dynamic content
• Advanced statistics
• (Quite basic) automations

Pros

• Great for teams
• Chart-topping deliverability
• Affordable (interesting pricing structure).
• Extremely easy to use

Cons

• Fairly limited options when it comes to segmentation
• List management is sometimes cumbersome
• Limited options with automations

Plans And Pricing

MailJet’s pricing structure is unlike anything we’ve seen so far.

Instead of being charged based on list-size, plans vary based on how many emails you plan on sending per month, but you are limited to 200 emails per day in the free plan.

You can pay both monthly and yearly (10% discount).

Here’s a breakdown of their pricing structure based on a 30k emails/month cap:

Free: 6,000 emails/month (max 200/day). 

Basic: $9.65/month or $8.69/month (billed annually – no daily email limit)

Premium: $20.95/month or $18.86/month (billed annually – no daily email limit). Plan includes segmentation, A/B testing, marketing automation and team collaboration

Enterprise: Price upon request 

19. MoonMail

MoonMail operates through Amazon’s AWS cloud network and is an all-in-one solution that combines Email, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, Messenger and bots. All of this is managed through their open API.

In general terms, it does function like many other email marketing services on this list, though its multi-channel capabilities are really what sets it apart from the competition. 

Pricing plans might get a little restrictive in some cases, but overall the platform is solid and can be a great choice if you are looking to expand your reach through various channels. 

Who Is MoonMail For?

Great for those who are looking to leverage the power of many marketing channels in conjunction with email.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor
• “Interactive” email headers
• Open API (allows multi-channel broadcasting)
• Advanced segmentation capabilities
• Advanced event-based campaigns (GraphQL-powered)

Pros

• Excellent customer support
• Great as an all-in-one solution for multi-channel marketing
• Very easy to use
• Trusted by big-name companies (Amazon, Warner Bros, etc.)

Cons

• Very few automation options
• More advanced features take time to get used-to

Plans And Pricing

MoonMail has a quite complicated pricing structure.

Each plan has a cap on the number of contacts you have on your list, but also on the number of emails you send per month.

You get a 14-day free trial with the entry-level “Lite” plan, which will allow for 1k contacts and 5k emails/month, but you won’t get a dedicated IP, nor the GraphQL API). 

You can also increase the number of contacts and emails/month for each plan, but that comes at an additional cost.

Here’s a breakdown of each pricing plan:

Lite Plan: $21/month (paid annually): 1k contacts and 5k emails/month max

Starter Plan: $149/month (paid annually): 10k contacts and 60k emails/month max

Professional Plan: $449/month (paid annually): 50k contacts and 350k emails/month max

Enterprise Plan: price upon request (no limitations on contacts or emails).

20. Benchmark

Benchmark is one of those tools which make simplicity and ease-of-use one of its main strongpoints. 

Their interface is crisp and super well-designed, and their templates are some of the best you’ll find in any email marketing tool. 

Recently, their platform has also been completely updated to add new features it previously lacked, such as A/B testing, automated workflows and surveys/polls to increase engagement. 

Who Is Benchmark For?

Great for those who are just starting out, or are looking for a tool that’s extremely intuitive and easy to use

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor
• Wide range of templates to choose from
• Fully responsive email design
• HTML editor
• Visual automations editor
• Embeddable forms
• List segmentation
• Polls and surveys
• Over 300 integrations

Pros

• Clean interface that’s very easy to use
• Great templates
• Great landing-page editor
• Automations work really well
• Excellent customer support

Cons

• Lacks more advanced features
• Deliverability isn’t great
• Can get costly if you need more storage space

Plans And Pricing

Benchmark offers a free plan, but it comes with very few features and only allows for 250 emails/month.

Their Pro plan includes the full set of features. It starts at $13.99/month or $11.89/month (paid annually).

The price then increases based on your list-size (see table below).

21. SendPulse

SendPulse is what is commonly referred-to as a ‘multi-channel’ marketing platform.

Together with email, it allows you to broadcast your message as an SMS, push notification and even through Facebook Messenger.

Strictly speaking, their email marketing tool has all the features you’d expect, with segmentation and integrations being among its strong points.

The deal-breaker here is defnitely their free plan, which allows for 500 subscribers and a very generous 15,000 emails/month

Who Is SendPulse For?

Businesses and bloggers who plan on using multiple channels to reach their audiences and want full control, all in one place

Key Features

• Supports emails, SMS, Chatbots, push notifications and Facebook Messenger
• Drag-and-drop editor
• Over 100 templates to choose from
• Different types of signup forms (embeddable, popups, floating, fixed).
• Visual automations editor
• Detailed reporting

Pros

• Great UI
• Reporting is very in-depth and can be checked on the go (with a specific app)
• Automations work great
• Good price
• Excellent support

Cons

• User have reported some glitches here and there
• Doesn’t support test-emails
• SMS function doesn’t support a lot of customization

Plans And Pricing

SendPulse has a totally free plan, which is limited to 500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month.

The charges increase for larger lists, as shown in the table below. Billing is either monthly or annual (-20%):

If you want, you can also ‘Pay as you go’ and purchase ‘message-packages’, as shown below:

SMS, Push Notifications and Chatbot messaging has to be added extra. For example, here is the pricing for the push notifications feature. You can choose between two plans:

22. Automizy

Automizy is specifically engineered to improve your emails’ open rates by implementing AI to analyze and maximise the reach of your campaigns. 

The use of AI makes it stand out from the competition, but overall this tool is quite similar to many others out there.

You’ll get all the features you can expect from a good email marketing tool, all with pretty fair pricing plans.

The company was only founded 5 years ago, and it’s constantly adding new features to match its best counterparts out there. That being said, it’s already endorsed by the likes of Intercom and Neil Patel.

Who Is Automizy For?

Good for general purposes and if you are looking for a way to improve your open-rates.  

Key Features

• AI-powered tools to improve open-rates
• Visual automations builder
• Website behavior tracking
• Advanced personalization and segmentation
• Advanced analytics
• Various integrations and API

Pros

• Great design and user-experience
• Only charges for active users on your list
• Great reporting
• Powerful subject-line analyzer

Cons

• Limited A/B testing capabilities
• Not many options in the form builder
• No free plan

Plans And Pricing

Automizy has a 14-day free trial.

When that expires, you can only choose one pricing plan, which varies based on the number of active contacts on your list (it doesn’t charge for unsubscribes). Monthly payments are the only option.

Here’s a table breaking down Automizy’s monthly pricing depending on your list-size.

23. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is an email marketing platform that is specifically built to seamlessly integrate with Shopify. 

The overall structure of the software is very similar to that of many of its competitors, but the way in which it ‘communicates’ with Shopify gives the user much more power when it comes to customer management, tracking and reporting.

Their ‘Profiles’ feature, for example, lets you have a clear picture of a specific customer’s journey and actions, which is invaluable for crafting communications that are tailored to specific segments in your list.

Who Is Klaviyo For?

Best suited to e-commerce store owners who are using Shopify

Key Features

• Great integration with e-commerce platforms (mainly Shopify)
• Advanced segmentation options
• Website-behavior tracking
• Visual automations builder
• Fully customizable branding
• Advanced analytics and reporting

Pros

• Infinite possibilities when integrated with Shopify
• Pre-built workflows are really helpful
• “Profiles” feature provides invaluable customer data and insights
• Can also send SMS campaigns.

Cons

• Expensive even for smaller lists
• Users have reported some glitches here and there

Plans And Pricing

Klaviyo has different plans based on list-size. You can choose if you only want to use email, SMS or both.

For a 1,000-contacts lists, the cost for email-only is $30/month (unlimited sends):

As noted, the price increases as your list-size grows:

• Up to 1,000 subscribers: $30/month
• Up to 5,000 subscribers: $100/month
• Up to 10,000 subscribers: $175/month

24. Gist

Gist is an all-in-one platform that combines email marketing with other features such as live chat and chat bots. It aims at providing a comprehensive set of tools to help you manage your online business.

The main features you’d expect from a good email service provider are all there, including more advanced capabilities such as a website event-tracking and a really powerful visual builder for all kinds of workflows.

Gist also put a lot of work into their chatbot platform, which is one of the most comprehensive out there: it can pre-qualify customers and even book meetings with your sales reps, but also manage conversations with your teams and send them private notes. 

Who Is Gist For?

Gist is a great one-stop-shop for businesses and entrepreneurs who work with a team and who want to use different communication-channels to increase sales.

Key Features

• Multi-channel communications (email, chat, bots)
• Multi-channel inbox
• Advanced team-communication features (including online meetings)
• Advanced automations 
• Powerful reporting and analytics

Pros

• Great website event-tracking feature
• Excellent chatbot manager
• Visual workflow-creator is great
• Top-notch team-collaboration features

Cons

• Some users have reported communications created through Gist often land in SPAM
• Useful features only available in higher-priced plans

Plans And Pricing

There are two price-plans for Gist’s ‘all-in-one’ tier. There is an entry-lever ‘free forever’ plan, but it’s limited to 1000 contacts and only 1 team member. 

The “Professional Plan” starts at $33.99/month, but the price grows based on your list-size and if you add more team-members.

For example, a 2,500-contacts list with 2 team members will set you back $67.99/month.

25. Omnisend

Omnised combines the power of a multi-channel communication platform with an email marketing software that’s specifically designed for e-commerce stores. 

The software’s automation features are great to map out and analyze your customer’s journey, and the ability to reach out to your contacts through email, SMS, pus, Facebook and even WhatsApp make this a very useful tool to manage your list all in one place.

Omnisend also puts great effort on optimizing customer engagement, and offers cool and unique email ‘incentives’ such as gift boxes and ‘scratch cards’. 

Who Is Omnisend For?

Omnisend is perfect if you want to manage all your e-commerce store customers in one place and want to communicate with them through various channels.

Key Features

• Sign-up form and landing-page editor
• User website behavior tracking
• Automations workflow builder
• Sophisticated customer segmentation and targeting
• In-depth reports (that integrate with your e-commerce platform of choice)
• ‘Unusual’ email incentives such as ‘gift-boxes’, ‘scratch cards’ and many more

Pros

• Integration with Shopify is seamless
• Ability to add products to your email right from your store
• Great conversion and engagement-focussed features
• Pro-level automations
• Great customer support

Cons

• Email formatting can be improved, especially on mobile
• Some deliverability issues
• Some features that are standard in other platforms are optional add-ons in Omnisend

Plans And Pricing

Omnisend has a 14-day free trial. Then, it has four different pricing plans, with fees billed monthly or annually (at a discount). Tiers vary based on list-size and do have some limitations as per the number of emails you can send per month. Here’s a breakdown of Omnisend’s plans based on a 1,000-subscribers list.

Free Plan: max 15,000 emails/month

Standard Plan: $20/month or $16/month (paid annually). Max 15,000 emails/month

Pro Plan: $99/month or $80/month (paid annually). Max 15,000 emails/month

Enterprise Plan: price upon request.

The SMS feature is an add-on. Prices vary based on number of messages and location.

27. Moosend

Moosend’s crisp and modern design is what immediately stands out in this all-in-one marketing platform. But that’s not its only claim to fame.

As an all-encompassing tool, it definitely caters for small businesses and solopreneurs, but it also has more advanced solutions and features that can make it suitable for e-commerce stores, agencies and SaaS companies.

It’s no wonder then that it’s trusted by huge names such as Vogue, Domino’s Pizza and Gucci. 

Lastly, pricing is extremely competitive and the ‘free forever’ and ‘pay as you go’ plans make it a strong competitor to the likes of MailChimp.

Who Is Moosend For?

Moosend is a really versatile and can be used by virtually all kinds of businesses, especially if limiting costs is a priority.

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop editor + ready-made templates
• Automations workflow builder + pre-made templates
• Advanced email customization
• In-depth and real-time customer analytics
• Various integrations (CRMs, CMSs and e-commerce platforms)

Pros

• Great UI and easy-to-use interface
• Good pricing structure
• Works well with e-commerce platforms
• Great customer service

Cons

• Form integration into WordPress has glitches
• Direct integrations could be improved (though are available through Zapier)

Plans And Pricing

Moosend offers a ‘forever free’ plan for lists with up to 1,000 subscribers: there is no monthly limit to emails you can send. 

If you’re list size is over 1,000, you can pay monthly, every 6 months (-15%) or annually (-20%). Of course, plans vary based on list-size:

However, Moosend also offers ‘Pay-as-you-go’ pricing. With this option, there are no monthly fees and you only pay per email you send. Here’s a breakdown of their pricing:

What Is Email Marketing Software?

Email Marketing Software (or Email Service Provider) is a tool (or set of tools) that will manage your email list and the sending of messages to that list on an ongoing (or automated) basis.

No, you can’t use GMail or Yahoo for your email marketing. You are going to need a tool that’s specifically built for that purpose. 

The companies that build email service providers have a deep understanding of what is needed for successful email marketing.

What you’ll find included in a good email tool is often a set of features that you normally wouldn’t find in a ‘regular’ email platform (GMail, Yahoo and the rest).

Things like multiple lists, autoresponders, signup forms are all incredibly powerful tools you will definitely need in your email marketing endeavours, and even the most basic software include most (if not all) of them.

You really can’t operate effective email marketing without a dedicated platform.

What Are The Benefits Of Using Email Marketing Platforms?

Email marketing platforms are the best and most cost-effective way to manage communications with your contacts, leads and customers.

A good email service provider will enable you to do much more than your regular Gmail ever will, so choosing the right one is a crucial step you must take if you want to use email as a marketing channel in your business.

There are many benefits that come with a good email marketing platform. Here are some of the key ones you should consider:

1. Powerful Email Management

Sending emails to a list of hundreds or maybe even thousands of contacts with a ‘normal’ email tool such as Yahoo is virtually impossible.

An email marketing platform allows you to store your contacts’ emails in a safe place and lets you send broadcast messages to each of your addresses with a touch of a button.  

2. Easier Email Creation

The best email service providers out there provide powerful email-creation tools such as drag-and-drop and WYSIWYG editors.

Plus, many offer pre-made templates that will make your messages look unique and professional.

3. Useful analytics

Two of the most important features in a good email tool are its analytics and reporting.

Data such as open rates, click-through rates and unsubscribe count are key metrics that will help you gauge the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Some email marketing platforms even show such reports in real time, giving you an immediate glance at your broadcast’s performance.

4. Creating stronger relationships

Email is undoubtedly the best and most ‘direct’ way you have to communicate with your audience.

A good email marketing tool lets you customise messages that are tailor-made to specific segments (or individuals) in your list, also allowing you to follow-up with these people on a regular basis. 

5. Sales Automation

Automations are a key component in all good email service providers.

Some have more advanced capabilities, which let you create complex if/then rules which – with a bit of work – can really create a hands-off marketing machine that works for you on autopilot.

6. All-in-one solutions

The best softwares out there are all-in-one solutions that combine the power of email marketing with other essential tools such as CRMs, social media schedulers and many more.

Plus, through integrations with third-party apps, a solid email marketing platform can be the one-stop-shop for all your business’s marketing needs. 

How Does Email Marketing Services Work?

Email marketing services are usually web-based apps (no installations needed) that allow marketers to send emails at scale, either as one-off messages (broadcasts) or as automated campaigns (autoresponders).

These softwares can also be used in various other ways, depending on each tool’s features.

Generally, an email marketing service can help you grow your list of subscribers, design and customise emails, segment your contacts and implement automations (ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit can do this very well for example).

What Are Some Email Marketing Best Practices?

It is no secret that email is still the best way to stay in touch with your customer-base, communicate with them on a regular basis and ultimately, make sales.

Many companies have realized that, and they make email a big part of their marketing efforts.

But doing email marketing well is not easy, especially if you are just starting out.

Here are some best practices you should follow to be successful in 2020 and beyond:

1. Clean your list

With every email you send, some people are going to unsubscribe. That’s completely normal and you shouldn’t take it personally.

But what you absolutely should do is keep your list ‘clean’. 

Get rid of unsubscribes on a regular basis and run re-engagement campaigns so that your list is always in the best shape it could be (you can also automate this process). 

Last but not least, beware that many email service providers make you pay for the total number of your contacts, and that includes unsubscribes.

Not much point in spending money for someone who doesn’t want to hear from you! 

2. Use Segmentation

Most email marketing platforms let you segment your list based on a variety of factors (purchases, clicks, location, etc.).

Having your list split into clear segments lets you craft campaigns that are tailor-made to that specific audience’s interests, activities, etc.

Making your emails feel as ‘personal’ as possible will let your message come through as something that is specifically talking to your audience’s pain points, thus increasing engagement and the campaign’s overall effectiveness. 

3. Use autoresponders (welcome series)

This is general good manners, but with email, sending an (automated) welcome message can go a very long way.

First of all, it shows your new subscriber you care about them and appreciate them joining your list.

Second, it can showcase your values and what you stand for, creating an immediate bond between you and your new contact.

Take time to craft a great welcome email (or series of emails): your subscribers will appreciate it and you, in turn, will reap the benefits.

4. Customize

The best email marketing softwares out there offer countless options you can use to customize your emails and make them unique and memorable. Take advantage of features such as dynamic content and merge-tags, and tweak the design of your messages to fit your brand. 

Many email tools also offer templates that are pre-made to fit a specific goal you might have with a campaign. Don’t make your broadcasts look impersonal, but add a personal touch that will make your broadcast stand out from the crowd.  

5. Don’t annoy people

Being consistent with your email marketing is key.

Craft a ‘plan of action’ and stick to it: how many emails will you send this month/week?

What will they be about? 

Try to be as helpful as possible in your emails: don’t just use email to continuously pitch your products.

And most of all, don’t annoy people! If you find that you’re emailing too much, cut the frequency a little.

If you only email once a month, that might be too seldom. 

Find what works for you and stick to that plan. 

6. Analyze your data

Reporting and stats come as standard features in the majority of email service providers.

The data you get in these reports is extremely valuable.

With it, you can get an idea of how effective a campaign was overall: did many people click on the links in the message?

Did you have many unsubscribes? 

Analyze your data carefully and use the results to make better-informed decisions before you send your next broadcast.

How To Pick The Best Email Marketing Software For You?

With so many options available these days, picking the right email marketing software is not easy.

But let me stress one point here: there is no right or wrong tool. It all comes down to the specific goals you have in your business and the features you absolutely can’t do without.

Apart from very few cases, all the email marketing services out there can handle basic tasks such as sending broadcasts, setting up autoresponders and providing some degree of reporting. 

Those are the bare minimum things you should look for. Email marketing platforms like ConvertKit do a great job at this and are cheap to get started with. 

However, if you need more ‘power’ under the hood, there are many options you can choose from (ActiveCampaign, which is what I use for my main business for example). 

Analyze the list above and note down pros and cons of each tool you are considering. 

But don’t be paralysed by all the ‘bells and whistles’. Pick an email service provider that works for you and get started (you can always switch later)!    

Email Marketing Services FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about email marketing services.

Conclusion: Which Of The Best Email Marketing Services Will You Use?

There you have it. This article sums up all there is to know about the best email marketing services, software and platforms out there.

Make sure you study this list carefully before you choose, and when you do so, keep in mind that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ tool. 

With so many email marketing software alternatives, your budget and the specific features you need should be your main focus. 

With that being said, I recommend starting with ConvertKit if you want to test the waters and get started with email marketing right away.

If, on the other hand, you are a little more experienced or you know you need more advanced email marketing automation features, then look no further than ActiveCampaign. 

Now, over to you!

Did you find this article useful?

Are there any email marketing service providers you are using that I did not mention?

What are your experiences with some of these email service providers?

Let me know in the comments below!