Do you want to know which email marketing software is the best? Well, you’re in luck! Because we’ve reviewed the top 10 software solutions online and ranked them based on their featured functionalities, such as email automation and integration with popular platforms (like Shopify and WordPress). Simply click the button underneath the table to learn more about each option.
So, this post id about the best email marketing software. Let’s dive in!
BEST OVERALL 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.
Moosend.
Excellent All-In-One Email Marketing Automation Tool (Free – $8+/month based on list size)
Moosend is an email automation tool that helps you build your email list, personalize your messages, and automate tasks so you can focus on customer relationships.
They have intuitive drag-and-drop email templates in their campaign builder. This tool lets you add images, text blocks, social icons, and more to your emails. They have a large library of email templates with different layouts that are responsive and look great on desktop or mobile.
The area that Moosend stands out is the automation features. Using their “Recipes” (pre-built automation templates), you can automate messages via upsells, customer engagement, and customer loyalty. Every automation has three main components: the triggers, control steps, and actions. When you combine all three, you can filter email list segments and send sequences when your specified actions occur.
Some other key Moosend features include:
- Landing Page Builder Tools: Create custom webpages with email sign-up forms to increase conversions.
- Automation Workflows: These templates let you personalize your emails and nurture customer relationships with ease.
- Custom Opt-In Forms: You can design and create custom forms to let visitors subscribe to your email list.
- List Segmentation: Segment your list based on customer behavior like engagement metrics, abandoned cart emails, and more.
- Reporting Tools: Their analytics tools provide a bird’s eye view of all of your important email metrics.
- Customer Support: Each paid plan provides phone support. Custom enterprise plans all provide an account manager and support via email, phone, and live chat. They also have video tutorials and a huge knowledge base to answer your questions.
The pricing for Moosend is based on the number of subscribers in your email list. They provide a free plan for users with under 1,000 subscribers and includes sign-up forms, reporting, and the ability to send unlimited emails.
Moosend paid plans begin at $8 per month and scale up with the number of subscribers. Every paid plan comes with access to transactional emails, page builders, and SMTP servers. Their enterprise plans provide migration and onboarding support, and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML).
If you’re looking for advanced email automation tools, give Moosend a try.Try Moosend
BEST FOR AUTOMATION 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.
Constant Contact.
Best Email Marketing Service for Small Business ($16/month)
Constant Contact has been in the email marketing space since 1995, taking the name Constant Contact back in 2004. In 2015, they became a part of Endurance International Group, a powerhouse that other companies including Bluehost, HostGator, and Domain.com.
As stated on their website, the company’s ultimate goal is to help small businesses navigate the promise, power, and potential of the web.
They feature 100+ modern, mobile-optimized templates to engage and convert customers, real-time reporting and analytics, and bonus features like coupons, polls, and events.
One of their most unique features is event management and the ability to manage invitations, registrations, and tickets:
Email deliverability is above average and one of the highest among email service providers at over 90%.
Constant Contact pricing is tiered based on the number of email contacts in your list. Their paid plans start at $18/month for up to 500 contacts.
Their drip campaigns are easy to use and intuitive. You can create simple sequences, but can’t combine conditions or use advanced filtering.
Ultimately, if you’re looking for niche features like event management and also want top-notch email deliverability, Constant Contact is the choice for you. They are my #2 choice for email service providers this year.
You can get started today and take 10% off your first 12 months with my link below.Try Constant Contact
HubSpot.
Best Email Marketing Software for Marketers (Free – $50/month)
HubSpot is the most integrated marketing package on the market. Using their email marketing software is one of the easiest ways to design, optimize, and send fantastic looking emails. They provide a ton of custom features and you can pick and plan and upgrade whether you’re a small business or large enterprise.
When creating an email, you either use one of their pre-made email templates or start from scratch. These templates allow you to add text, images, buttons, dividers, and all different kinds of assets and layouts.
I found their email editor the easiest to use on the market. It’s much faster and more user-friendly than other tools on this list:
Once you’re happy with your email design, preview it based on different recipients, devices, or email clients like Gmail, Apple Mail, and Office 365.
This tool is super useful. Email subject lines, preview text, and the content itself can look very different based on the end user’s email client. These previews ensure your emails look great in any inbox.
Personalization is another strength with HubSpot. Like standard tools, you personalize content based on common merge tags like the recipient’s first name. HubSpot takes it a step further.
You can also personalize content based on a user’s device, list segment, and geographic location. Plus, you can A/B test your subject lines and content to make sure you maximize your email open rates and click rates.
Next, when you’re ready to hit send and publish your email, you can use their Smart Send functionality. This feature allows you to adjust your send time to maximize engagement.
After sending your email, it’s time to view your metrics. The HubSpot analytics dashboard gives you data on your opens and clicks, plus unique information on the amount of time spend viewing your email.
Viewing whether subscribers Read, Skimmed, or Glanced at your email is one of the best reporting tools to observe how engaging your email content is:
For example, you may see that subscribers are only glancing at your emails for a short time. This data helps you know which types of email content need to be improved.
Consistently hitting users’ inboxes is another benefit with HubSpot. They have a healthy 99% email deliverability rate. These substantial numbers are due to proper domain validation settings with DKIM and SPF records, plus the ability to thoroughly preview and test emails.
The main reason that HubSpot is #1 on my list is that their email marketing platform is just one aspect of their product. The real benefits come with their Marketing Hub Starter Package.
This full marketing platform includes email marketing and everything else to align your marketing and sales efforts:
- Full-featured CRM
- Automated sequences
- Mobile optimization
- Personal calendar to schedule appointments
- Gmail extensions to track email sends and automate outreach
- Form builders
- Inbound lead, email, and ad analytics
- Phone and email support
HubSpot is my #3 pick for the best email marketing software for one simple reason: It perfectly aligns your inbound and outbound marketing in the most efficient way possible.
I recommend you get started for free, then upgrade to their Marketing Hub Starter Package for $50/month. Try HubSpot
Sendinblue.
Best Email Marketing Service with Automation on a Budget ($20/month)
Sendinblue is an easy to use email marketing service with a free plan that allows unlimited contacts, and 300 email newsletter sends per day. If you’re serious about growing your list, you can use their Lite plan which starts at $20/month and allows up to 40,000 sends per month and no daily sending limit.
Their free platform is all built on ease of use. Its simplicity allows you to easily create clean-looking templates, automated welcome emails, and website opt-in forms. They also offer live chat and CRM in their free plan, which includes one automation workflow for up to 2,000 contacts.
Sendinblue also uses machine learning and AI to send emails at the best time of the day to maximize engagement.
You can also view real-time statistics with necessary reports that provide metrics like open rates, click-through rates, deliverability, and heat maps.
One of their best features is their email automation workflows. These allow you to set triggers and put your subscribers through custom workflows based on actions they take on your website and in the funnel:
These automated triggers create actions like sending emails and SMS messages, segmenting your contacts into separate lists, and updating their information in your database.
If you want advanced email marketing automation software on a budget, you can get started with their Lite Plan for $20/month and save 10% on annual plans.Try Sendinblue
Conclusion
Email marketing is the perfect solution for both new and established businesses. It’s easy to start with no initial or recurring fees. There are many different email marketing companies available, making it hard to pick the best email marketing software to use.