The best Sales Email Marketing Software is the main software application that operates a hosted desktop messaging system. It allows you to send and receive email messages, create and view an email database, create templates and schedule emails to be sent automatically.
A hosted desktop messaging system allows you to send and receive interactive emails, create email database and schedule emails to be sent automatically.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is the best overall email marketing software because it has the features that most businesses need, without being overly complicated or confusing. Businesses can schedule campaigns, A/B test copy, and get reports that include open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribe rates, and more. Plus, it has the most generous free-forever plans of the software we tested.Pros
- Free-forever plan (up to 2,000 contacts)
- Easy to build and customize campaigns
- Clear reporting that helps optimize future sends
- Integrates with hundreds of software platforms
Cons
- Pricey for larger contact lists (more than 15k subscribers)
- Very limited phone support
- Not designed for advanced marketing teams
Mailchimp’s free plan includes up to 2,000 contacts and up to 10,000 monthly email sends. Its platform is one of the easiest to get used to with drag-and-drop features that allow you to stylize your emails.
Aside from its free plan, there are also three paid plans, which vary in cost based on how many subscribers you have (nonprofits receive a 15% discount):
- Essentials: $9.99 to $270 per month
- Standard: $14.99 to $540 per month
- Premium: $299 to $1,190 per month
Mailchimp is the perfect tool for any business looking for a simple way to send emails to their customers. It has an easy-to-use email editor, and once you upgrade to the first paid plan you get access to more advanced tools such as A/B testing and multi-step journeys. Users will enjoy the easy-to-understand reporting that helps them determine what is working and what isn’t. Things like open rates and click-throughs are easily identified so business owners know if readers are responding to the content.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is the best email marketing software for automation because it has hundreds of pre-built automations that help you personalize campaigns for each subscriber. There are help guides throughout the platform as you’re getting things set up, plus ActiveCampaign’s customer support is fast and friendly.Pros
- Great automation features that simplify customer interactions
- Helpful, friendly, and fast customer support
- All plan levels include data migration and implementation services
- CRM with sales automation included for free (For a limited time)
- Has 850+ integrations with the most popular software
Cons
- Learning curve can be a challenge
- Lite plan is very limited (and includes ActiveCampaign branding)
- Plans quickly jump in price with the number of contacts
ActiveCampaign is a customer experience automation (CXA) software with email capabilities. Because it is designed to manage contacts and the sales process, it offers more than 850 integrations.
There’s a 14-day free trial to test the software. After that, you will need to subscribe to one of the four paid plans, which you can pay monthly or annually. The discount for paying annually ranges from 15% to 40% depending on the plan. The cost of each plan also depends on how many contacts you have (nonprofits get 20% off).
- Lite: $15+ per month
- Plus: $70+ per month
- Professional: $159+ per month
- Enterprise: $279+ per month
You can get a plan and adjust it for the number of contacts you have while still getting the basic features of the plan. For example, you can get the Lite plan with 500 contacts but can incrementally increase it to 100,000 contacts for $405 annually. The Plus, Professional, and Enterprise plans increase the customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities of your platform.
ActiveCampaign helps businesses build automations that are customized to increase engagement with subscribers, giving it the edge in this category. The interface is easy to use, intuitive, and includes resources for any questions that come up during the process. It also includes sales automations so your marketing and sales processes can work together to earn more revenue.
MailerLite
MailerLite is the easiest email marketing software to use because it has a drag-and-drop interface that makes it fun and intuitive to create the design you want. Simplicity is at the heart of the company’s mission, which is why the software has a clean and streamlined look.Pros
- Drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to design emails
- Free plan for up to 1,000 contacts
- Email support
- Lots of email templates to choose from
Cons
- Doesn’t include CRM functionalities (Though it allows for integration)
- Limited integrations
- Need to provide a lot of company information to get an account set up
MailerLite has designed a superior user-friendly platform, making it the best choice for ease of use. Should users experience any problems, there is email support to answer any questions and troubleshoot.
It offers a free-forever plan that includes 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 email sends. If you need more bandwidth or want more advanced features (like the ability to remove MailerLite branding), there is a paid plan. Cost depends on how many subscribers you have. You can pay monthly or annually, but with an annual plan, you get a 30% discount. Nonprofits also receive a 30% discount. Here’s a breakdown of the cost:
- Up to 1,000 contacts: $10 per month
- 1,001 to 2,500 contacts: $15 per month
- 2,501 to 5,000 contacts: $30 per month
- 5,001 to 10,000 contacts: $50 per month
MailerLite includes all of the essentials for email marketing, without cluttering their system with advanced features. This makes it the perfect fit for businesses looking for a straightforward approach to email marketing that they can master in days, not months.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is one of the largest and fastest growing email marketing service in the world. It is also the most easy to use and beginner friendly email marketing service.
You can easily manage your email lists, contacts, email templates, marketing calendar, and more.
Each account gives you access to unlimited emails, easy tracking and reporting, built-in social media sharing tools, free image library, list segmentation, Facebook ads integration, and a powerful eCommerce integration for Shopify stores.
Their Email Plus accounts also come with powerful features like email automation, drip campaigns, surveys & polls, coupons, online donations, and subject line A/B testing which helps you send targeted emails to maximize your open rate.
Constant Contact offers unmatched customer support with live chat, phone calls, email, community support, and a vast library of helpful resources.
Aside from online training, they also offer in-person live seminars across the United States. This allow small business owners to quickly learn the basics of email marketing and start using it to grow their business like a pro.
For all the reasons above, we rate Constant Contact the best email marketing service for small businesses and startups.
Constant Contact has a 60-day free trial (no credit-card required). After that their pricing starts as low as $20/month.
Sendinblue – Best for Growing Your List
- PRICE STARTS AT FREE
- UNLIMITED CONTACTS
- DRAG & DROP EDITOR
- HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE
Sendinblue offers a fully-automated email marketing solution for growing businesses.
That means if you’re just beginning your business and looking to grow your list (and your sales), Sendinblue is a top contender.
They offer a combination of drag-and-drop editors along with automation to optimize your email marketing campaigns.
They also offer a host of lead nurturing tools to help you grow even more including:
- Landing pages. Create actionable and engaging web pages to collect leads for you.
- Sign up forms. Place forms anywhere on your website to get user information.
- Facebook ads. Leverage the power of Facebook marketing to nurture more leads.
- Retargeted ads. Powerful ads based on a user’s previous online interactions.
With all this, Sendinblue helps cultivate audience, lead, and customer growth.
The platform is available via a fantastic free plan that gives you unlimited contacts and up to 300 emails per day. That’s a pretty great deal—especially if you’re running a bootstrap startup or solo operation.
Their email builder is incredibly intuitive with a drag-and-drop editor allowing you to easily create the look and feel of your email.
They currently offer four different pricing tiers:
Free — 0$ per month
- Up to 300 emails per day
- Unlimited contacts
- Chat
- SMS marketing
- Email template library
Lite — $25 per month
- Up to 100k emails
- No daily sending limit
- A/B testing
- Remove the Sendinblue logo
Premium (Most popular) — $65 per month
- Up to 1MM emails
- Marketing automation
- Facebook ads
- Retargeted ads
- Landing pages
- Telephone support
Enterprise — Customized pricing
- Customized email volume
- 20+ landing pages
- Customer success manager
- Access for 10+ users
- Dedicated IP
The Lite plans should be more than enough for most small businesses and startups.
However, as your business scales, the Premium option is always a great option. That comes with even more marketing features such as Facebook and retargeted ads, along with telephone support.
Conclusion
Your email marketing software should be easy to use, reliable and professional. It should allow you to make email campaigns from scratch. You don’t want to make your subscribers feel spammed.