9 Best Email Marketing Tools, Software & Services

Trust, engagement, acquisition, and retention.

Email marketing stands on these four pillars. Even though the world is obsessed with social media, email is still a more effective channel to tap into a massive audience.

Global revenue from email marketing stands today at $8.5 billion. And sooner, this figure will surpass the $10 billion thresholds.

Emails fuel the content marketing of your brand. And the good thing is, the publishing sector has the highest click-to-open rate for marketing emails.

Some brands claim to have generated good sales via Facebook and Instagram, though. There are certain areas where social media marketing clicks.

But for the most part, your followers may not turn up to your campaigns. You can sense the lack of commitment and seriousness. You can expect some likes or emojis, at least.

A small list that wants exactly what you’re offering is better than a bigger list that isn’t committed.

– Ramsay Leimenstoll

Email marketing is a risk-free investment.

However, don’t expect quick leads or sales unless you’re an established brand. It’s a process (like SEO) that is worth your patience.

You can easily find the 20s and 30s of tools that do more than simply bombard emails.

But where exactly to put your money?

In this article, I’m going to share with you 9 such tools that can keep you in competitive advantage yet won’t break the bank.

Talking about the advantage, let’s understand the key benefits email marketing can bring to your brand before digging into the list of tools.

What are the benefits of email marketing?

Email marketing lets you send thematic mail – just like sending those good old printed flyers or letters from the local UPS office. But it’s way cheaper, time-saving, and personalized now.

Different email marketing tools offer varied features and plans. But they all share common benefits such as:

• You’ll receive more clicks, leads, and sales generation than on any other marketing channel.
• People check their mail inbox more often, especially on mobile.
• Opportunity to learn about your customer, and get personal with them and their journey.
• Cost-effective and beginner-friendly functionality without having you be tech-savvy.
• You’ll have measurable metrics on customer behavior and engagement.
• It builds credibility, recognition, and authority for your brand.
• Domain-based email addresses build 3x more trust than active social media pages.
• You’ll have a more targeted audience, stronger relationships, and frequent communication.
• You can reach a wider audience and save time with the automation feature.

1. Mailchimp – Overall an email marketing champ

Mailchimp is a default name in the email marketing segment with a market share of over 70%. And it’s not big just by market share, but also in terms of revenue and number of direct competitors.

Started as a traditional emailing tool, Mailchimp now offers comprehensive marketing and CRM solutions for businesses of all scales. It often feels as if the entire email existence is owned by Mailchimp.

Despite this fact, it has a volatile user base and retention is quite low. It’s because many businesses are falling for competitors offering automation and A/B testing features, and that’s where Mailchimp falls short.

But with ROI-boosting features and affordable subscriptions, all other tools seem too far behind to catch up.

Mailchimp Key Features 

• The free plan lets you add up to 2000 subscribers and monthly email send limits up to 10,000 mails.
• Landing pages, custom forms, pop-up builder, and email templates with easy customization and drag-and-drop interface.
• Advanced segmentation of your subscribers as per the geographical location or click/open history for targeted emails.
• Powerful analytics feature for detailed insights into subscriber’s activities, clicks, responses, conversions, etc.
• AI-powered creative assistant in Content Studio helps you with designs for multichannel campaigns.

Mailchimp Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• It offers omnichannel marketing tools
• Pricing plans are affordable and flexible
• Targeted and behavioral-based emailing
• Importing new contacts is easy
• It supports integration with a huge list of apps

But there are drawbacks like …

• Significant price difference as contacts increase
• Lack of advanced automation and A/B testing features
• Restrictions for affiliate marketing purposes
• No option for video integration within the newsletter

Pricing

 

MailChimp also offers a “Pay As You Go” plan where you can select the number of email credits depending on how many and how frequently you want to use them. Some of the plans are:

• $9 for 300 email credits
• $30 for 1000 email credits
• $60 for 2000 email credits
• $100 for 5000 email credits

If you’re on the Free plan, however, you’ll be upgraded to the paid plan. Note that, the remaining credits from your Free plan won’t be carried over to your “Pay as you go” plan.

For a dedicated IP, the monthly pricing is $30.

2. Mailerlite – Most affordable Software with advanced features

Mailerlite has always remained on the list of top 10 email marketing tools and there is no single reason. One of them is having some of the premium features like autoresponders, funnel tagging in the free plan… and it feels like a steal.

With affordable pricing, you’ll have simplicity in creating email campaigns within a few clicks. And don’t worry if you feel lost! You can enroll in Mailerlite Academy for free and acquire highly-marketable skills.

Automation workflow seems good on papers. However, some reviews make me skeptical about its advanced triggers for complex workflows.

Also, you may not like the strict approval process that may have you waiting for days. But you won’t have to worry when you’ve 24/7 access to the support team, even though you’re on the free plan.

Mailerlite Key Features

• The free account has some premium-like email features such as autoresponders and a funnel tagging system.
• Features RSS feed emails that automatically send web articles in email form to subscribers. Also supports Gifs and Videos to make emails engaging.
• Features three email editors: a drag-and-drop editor for visual customizations, a text editor with rich text customizations, and an HTML editor for custom coding.
• Intuitive automation editor to help with optimized workflows such as campaign trigger autoresponders, RSS push emails, auto-resend, etc.
• Extensive reporting features such as email campaign reports, surveys, click maps, bounces, link activity, and other metrics are critical to measuring progress.

Mailerlite Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Offers a free plan for building campaigns, and email automation
• Customizable email templates and landing pages
• Easy to set triggers on its automation workflow builder
• 24/7 customer support via live chat or email

But there are drawbacks like …

• Account approval system is quite rigorous
• Limited number of email templates
• Lead management is unavailable
• Lacks advanced reporting feature

Pricing

Mailerlite add-on plans:

MailerPro: For $100/month, you’ll get 24/7 priority support, plus a dedicated Mailerlite manager for step-by-step guidance and training.

Dedicated IP at $50/month.

SitesPro: Provides you unlimited websites and landing pages for $10/month applicable on both plans.

3. Email Octopus – Best email marketing platform for beginners

Email Octopus is a good fit for businesses of any size or niche. You’ll have a lot of stuff to play within its free plan. And while it offers up to 2,500 contacts and 10,000 email sends each month at absolutely no cost, you’ll only be left with excuses.

Now what’s unique about this tool is that it connects with Amazon’s Simple Email Service (SES) which is a free email marketing service from AWS. So in case you’re hosted on Amazon Cloud, you can avail up to 62,000 email sends/ month for free.

But considering email marketing functionalities, it lacks a lot of essential features and can’t be used as a standalone solution.

And this is where Email Octopus Connect comes into play that offers the deliverability of Amazon SES and the efficiency of Email Octopus under the same plan. Well, there is a different (not much difference) plan if you’re a non-Amazon SES user.

Now sometimes it’s annoying to find only a monthly price plan. But overall, it makes sense when you get so many awesome features without having you drain your pocket.

Email Octopus Key Features

• Features powerful automation to create efficient onboarding and drip sequences for automated campaigns.
• Storage for an unlimited number of subscriber lists. You can also invite unlimited users to your account and assign them permissions.
• Advanced reporting feature that lets you sneak peek into real-time metrics like click-rates, bounce rates, conversion rates, 24-hour reports etc.
• Lets you categorize your contact list based on gender, age, interests, etc, and helps you design personalized emails for targeted subscribers for better response rates.

Email Octopus Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Free plan provides 2,500 subscribers, 10k emails/ month, and a landing page builder
• Comes with a fully automated setup
• Real-time analytics and data tracking
• One of the cheapest email marketing solutions
• Premium support (except priority) available in free accounts

But there are drawbacks like …

• Comes with limited forms and landing page templates
• Lacks advanced email segmentation
• Direct integration option is unavailable
• Doesn’t have yearly plans (yet affordable)

Pricing

Pricing for a standard Email Octopus account:

Pricing for Email Octopus Connect for Amazon SES users:

 

Though there is not much price difference between the two accounts, you’ll receive more email sends per month if you’re an Amazon SES user.

For a dedicated IP, you can request from Amazon at a monthly price of $25.

4. Moosend – Best tool for marketing automation

What makes Moosend stand out among the herd?

It’s not one of the top-tier email marketing tools. But it’s certainly the one that deserves a lot more attention.

Moosend has received some traction lately because it gives you the freedom to create equally efficient marketing automation as you’ll find in pricier software.

You’ll have the luxury of unlimited email sends, robust automation tools, tracking, reporting, and analytics features at an affordable price range. Though, it’s a bit of a letdown that Moosend discontinued its free forever plan quite recently.

But it’s still a promising investment for starters looking to scale their business. In addition, you can buy a credit bundle that offers a number of emails sent priced at just $0.001 per mail.

Now let’s get into the features and see what else you could milk out of it.

Moosend Key Features

• Customizable email editor to create intuitive newsletter templates from scratch or use pre-designed templates from the library.
• Features Content Visibility that lets you create dynamic emails and set the visibility of the unique content for a particular list of subscribers only.
• Automation flow builder to help you customize messages via drip campaigns and autoresponders to your subscribers according to their behavior or preferences.
• Comprehensive reporting and analytics feature to help you receive detailed customer reports such as geo-based and device-based insights, click heatmap, etc.

Moosend Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Cost-effective solution for SMBs
• No limit for email sends
• Provides robust automation features
• Advanced and well laid out reporting

But there are drawbacks like …

• Affiliate marketing prohibited on its platform
• Lacks built-in CRM tool
• UI needs improvement for quicker loading time
• Designed templates aren’t sophisticated

Pricing

 

Moosend also offers Credit bundles for unlimited subscribers and no time limit for credit usage:

• 350,000 email credits for $350
• 500,000 email credits for $500
• 750,000 email credits for $750
• 1,000,000 email credits for $1,000

5. ConvertKit – Best marketing tool for content creators

 

ConvertKit is a tailor-made solution for bloggers and artists.

Content marketing and affiliate programs have been on the rise. And when your email marketing tool is focused on such particular areas, you get better opportunities in hand to generate sales.

ConvertKit does exactly the same. Unlike how cruel Mailchimp and Moosend are against using affiliate links, it gives you a sigh of relief.

It features one of the best workflow automation tools that can help you capture leads. And if you’re already on WordPress, it’s probably the best plugin you can have for email marketing solutions.

ConvertKit is specifically designed in a way to help you focus more on your creativity and less on mundane tasks. It has got your back.

Now, you may say that the free plan just doesn’t have enough features to make a move. To be frank, this tool isn’t a risk-free marketing solution – meaning not for newbies.

Yes, it is slightly pricier than the competitors. But to make a cut, you’ve got to be bold and serious about your growth as a content creator.

ConvertKit Key Features

• Broadcast dashboard lets you filter contacts and send one-off emails to them. You can also check how the broadcast looked before mailing, the number of recipients, click rate, unsubscribes, error reports, etc.
• Library of visual automation templates to create and customize welcome pages, product release pages, sales pages, etc.
• Features tag-based subscriber system or segmentation where you can send targeted emails with tags for better deliverability and response.
• Excellent WordPress integration, particularly for brand promotion, lead generation, and selling products.

ConvertKit Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Unlimited page creation, forms, email broadcasts, and 1000 contacts in the free plan
• Visual automation funnels for targeted emailing
• Tagging makes it easy to add/remove subscribers from workflow
• Frequently updated with new features
• Impressive message deliverability rate

But there are drawbacks like …

• Tech-savvy features and requires a learning curve
• Limited templates, tracking, and reporting features
• A bit pricier than the competitors
• Not ideal for a large number of contacts
• Not an option for ecommerce marketing

Pricing

When you refer ConvertKit to your friends and they create an account, each one of you will earn 100 more subscribers.

ConvertKit’s dedicated IPs cost $250/month.

6. AWeber – Best tool for B2B service companies

 

AWeber is yet another affordable tool and quite a common buzzword in the marketplace.

It has been through the same good old days as Mailchimp. Both of them attract beginners.

However, it’s way behind Mailchimp in terms of usability. But when it comes to template builder options, loyal user base and ease of use, AWeber gets the attention.

It comes with tons of pre-designed templates, probably the most diverse range of templates to fit your email requirements.

On the free plan, you’ll have access to features like automation, tracking and basic segmentation that are otherwise offered underpaid plans by competitors.

But what really makes it different is 24/7 telephonic and chat support for free users.

AWeber Key Features

• Blog Broadcast feature lets you convert RSS to an email template to auto-send previously published blogs to your contacts.
• Wide range of email and landing page templates to help you with quick campaigns.
• Robust automation functionality with pre-built campaigns that offer “if this, then that” kind of workflows to create customer journeys.
• AWeber’s reporting feature provides you with an extensive overview of visits, clicks, subscriber growth, sales, cart abandonment and all sorts of performance stats.
• Easy to import an existing email list into AWeber and use tags to trigger campaigns to them to ensure no one is left behind.

AWeber Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Free plan has a rich feature set
• Tons of landing page templates and images
• Easy to set up time-based autoresponders
• Provides deliverability boosting tools
• 24/7 live support via live chat, phone, and email

But there are drawbacks like …

• Limited email sends per month
• Steep price difference as subscribers increase
• Still charged for users who are unsubscribed from the list
• Limited segmentation feature

Pricing

 

The annual pricing beyond 500 subscribers:

• For 501- 2500 subscribers: $26.15/month
• For 2501–5000 subscribers: $46.15/month
• For 5001–10,000 subscribers: $66.15/month

7. Sendinblue – An all-in-one marketing tool

There is always that “all-in-one” solution among the list of best marketing tools. And here, we have Sendinblue.

It was launched around a time when there was a need for software that could manage a high volume of emails and enable a seamless automation workflow.

And now that it’s been a decade, Sendinblue has successfully placed itself among the list of in-demand email marketing tools, especially for SMBs.

It’s unique to learn that it doesn’t charge you based on the number of subscribers. Instead, the plans are based on the number of email campaigns per month. And yes, there is no daily sending limit.

Its functionalities extend beyond email marketing campaigns as we’re about to get into its key features. But the cherry on top – all plans have unlimited contact storage.

Sendinblue Key Features

• Over 70 responsive email templates to design attention-grabbing emails with an option to integrate dynamic greeting features using Gifs, graphics, countdowns, etc.
• SMS messages to send time-sensitive marketing campaigns in bulk to your subscribers as well as transactional emails based on actions like sign-up or purchase.
• Reporting feature lets you observe your subscriber’s actions like a number of opens, clicks, unsubscribes, etc. You’ll have only basic functionality on the Free and Lite plans. Moreover, premium and enterprise plans offer features like geography, device, heatmaps, and other domain metrics.
• Campaign comparison report helps you monitor metrics like click rates, lead generation from different campaigns.
• With List management, you can organize your subscribers into groups based on engagement, frequency of clicks, funnel stage, etc, which makes it easy to create targeted and tailored content.

Sendinblue Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• High monthly volume and unlimited email sends
• Advanced email automation functionalities
• Offers transactional email functionality and SMS
• Affordable pricing for starting plan

But there are drawbacks like …

• Very limited features in the free plan
• Not ideal for landing page creation
• Integration support is limited
• Multi-user feature only accessible on premium and enterprise plans

Pricing

Premium plan comes with 3 users but you can add an additional user for $10/ month. You can add up to 10 users only.

It also offers prepaid email credits with no expiry date:

• 5000 credits for $40
• 10000 credits for $74
• 20000 credits for $121

8. Drip – Advanced email marketing tool for ecommerce

Drip calls itself “The Ecommerce Revenue Engine” and that’s for a reason. Though the company started off as a transactional email provider, it’s now a multichannel-marketing solution.

It has probably the most intuitive UI and well-designed builders for pages, forms, and workflows.

Though, one thing is strikingly unique.

The email builder tool doesn’t work on drag-and-drop functionality. Instead, customization is based on sections such that you need to select an area where you want to place your content.

However, you won’t get the luxury of ready-made templates. It’s a bit disappointing, but remember, you can always customize your pages the way you want.

But brace yourself before you consider using Drip. It’s pricey and not ideal for beginners.

The whole service is designed from a marketer’s perspective. It focuses on targeted campaigns and therefore, you won’t have the luxury of a contact list.

Other than that, list management, segmentation, automation workflow, and eCommerce CRM features are worth looking for.

Drip Key Features

• Comes with a range of pre-made automation workflows to generate campaigns for eCommerce functions such as sign-ups, product offers, cart abandonment, post-sales, coupons, etc.
• In-built lead scoring feature to give you an overview of active subscribers and contacts who are getting cold.
• Ability to generate expiring links or countdowns on your landing page to invoke customer actions.
• Lets you generate follow-up emails for subscribers who forgot or didn’t take any action on your standard emails.
• You can create unique customer journeys using the eCommerce-focused ECRM platform. It uses tracking codes that fetch data from your campaigns, CRM, and analytics to generate useful customer insights.

Drip Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Easy to import subscribers and do segmentation
• Unlimited emailing and list management
• Flexible automation and workflows
• Advanced workflow and triggers
• Good response from customer support

But there are drawbacks like …

• Reporting, A/B testing requires a bit of a learning curve
• Steep price difference as contact list increases
• Limited landing page templates and email forms
• No free plan available – only a 14-day trial

Pricing

The pricing for the monthly plan further goes as follows:

• 501–2000 subscribers at $29
• 2001–2500 subscribers at $39
• 2501–3000 subscribers at $49
• 3001-3500 subscribers at $59
• 3501–4000 subscribers at $69

9. Mailjet – The cheapest email marketing solution

If there is any email marketing tool you can blindly trust, it’s none other than Mailjet. It’s not just cheap, but risk-free also.

Other than 6000 emails limits per month unlimited contact storage, there is nothing impressive in its free plan.

But its Essential and Premium plans provide key features like marketing automation, A/B testing, advanced stats, etc. Both the plans cost you $15 and $25 per month, respectively, for 15k monthly emails.

Many top-tier marketing tools offer real-time collaboration under expensive plans. But on the Premium (yet cheap) plan, you can add up to 15 members and assign them roles and permissions.

But hold on!

Mailjet is cheap but not an ideal solution for competitive marketing. It lacks sophisticated features and you may need to rely on other tools for particular features. Definitely not for marketers or large enterprises.

It seems to me that in its decade-long existence, Mailjet chose to stay low-key. But if you’re a beginner or starting a brand, it’s an attractive option for you and worth checking out.

Mailjet Key Features

• Passport is a native email editor that lets you create engaging newsletters and forms using pre-designed templates. You can even customize them using HTML or MJML, which is Mailjet’s open-source markup language.
• Reporting feature is pretty useful in Mailjet that shows you the percentage of clicks, opens, bounces, unsubscribes, etc. In addition, you can select up to 10 campaigns for comparisons to gather useful insights.
• Supports multi-user collaboration where you can add up to 10 users who can work on email campaigns in real-time. You can also assign them roles and permissions accordingly. Though, it’s available only on Premium and Custom plans.
• Comes with predefined automation scenarios that save your time in segmentation and creating unique customer journeys.
• Mailjet’s A/B testing lets you test up to 10 versions of your email campaigns to see which content resonates well with your audience and create better chances of conversions.

Mailjet Pros and Cons

Is a great option because …

• Cheapest email marketing solution listed
• Free plan offers 6000 emails/ month and unlimited contacts
• Easy to set up an automation workflow
• Easy template and campaign creation
• Supports multi-user collaboration

But there are drawbacks like …

• Lacks advanced segmentation, analytics, and list management
• Unable to edit workflow once activated
• Limited templates to choose from
• Lacks landing page builder
• Phone and chat support only available on premium and custom plans

Pricing

 

In the Essential plan, you can extend your email credits up to 50,000 at $31.50 per month.

While the Essential plan doesn’t offer anything beyond this point; the Premium plan lets you add email credits up to 500k and further.

Though the Dedicated Account Manager was earlier accessible on the Premium plan, it has been shifted now to the Custom plan only.

Final verdict:

Even in the age of an overwhelming number of digital marketing tools, there is no better way to reach out to an audience directly than via email.

Just dive into your inbox packed with hundreds of newsletters and see the marketing efforts they do to ensure each of them counts. To keep accountability at each step of your business, email marketing tools are worth your investment.

Remember folks! Having the right software alone doesn’t do any magic. But with the right strategies, you can pull off the success of your brand.

Now I assume you might have come up with a tool based on your business size, preference, budget, and goals.

Though, I can’t announce a clear winner. But you can bet on affordable tools like Mailchimp or Moosend if you’re just starting out.

Maybe you’re looking for a sustainable solution for the ecommerce marketing of your web store. Then I see Drip will be a more profitable option.

ConvertKit is yet another tool I would like you to try, especially if you’re an artist or a content creator looking for a dedicated audience.

Lastly, I suggest not picking a tool unconsciously just because it’s widely seen in ads or used by the masses!

Most of them offer free versions. If they don’t, you can try their monthly subscription, which, I think is worth a cup of Starbucks. So feel free to test one at a time and see what’s best for you in the long run.