Popular Email Marketing Software

Email marketing is a great way to build your business and keep in touch with customers. It can be used to grow your customer list, retain customers, and increase sales. You can use email marketing software to send out newsletters, coupons, and other information that will help you connect with customers.

There are many different types of email marketing software available today. Some of these programs are free while others require a monthly fee. The best email marketing software will be easy-to-use, have easy-to-setup templates and campaigns, provide analytics so you can see how well your emails are working, and have powerful features like autoresponders and segmentation tools.

Popular Email Marketing Software

Mailchimp

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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.

BEST FOR AUTOMATIONActiveCampaign

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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.

EASIEST TO USEMailerLite

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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.

BEST ALL-IN-ONE MARKETING SUITEHubspot

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Hubspot is the best all-in-one marketing suite because it has great tools and reporting for all of your marketing campaigns across various channels (website, social, email marketing, and more). You can store all contact information with Hubspot’s CRM and attract an audience through lead forms, live chat, and online ads.Pros

• Full marketing suite with CRM, social media, blogging, as well as email marketing capabilities
• Email health tab helps keep deliverability rates on track
• Only pay for the contacts you are marketing to
• Track leads throughout their buying journey
• Helpful online training resources

Cons

• Does not have a free-forever plan or a low-cost plan
• Not for businesses strictly looking for email marketing tools
• Difficult to integrate a separate CRM, like Salesforce or Pipedrive
• Steep learning curve to fully unlock the marketing potential

Hubspot is a leader in CRM services that include email marketing. The platform can handle everything from emails, social media posts, and blog publishing, making it the top platform for an all-in-one marketing solution.

There’s a 14-day free trial, and then you’ll have to subscribe to one of their three paid plans. While it’s free to store unlimited contacts, once the number you email surpasses the included amount, you will have to pay an additional fee. Save 10% on the first two plans if you pay annually (the Enterprise plan must be paid annually). 

• Starter (up to 1,000 contacts): $50 per month
• Professional (up to 2,000 contacts): $800 per month
• Enterprise (up to 10,000 contacts): $3,200 per month

Hubspot combines all of your marketing activities in one place so you can have a centralized view of how contacts interact with your website, Google ads, social media, and email marketing. It provides insights into the buyer’s journey, helping business owners better tailor their marketing efforts for success. The platform includes a robust training platform that not only reviews how to use the system but also highlights the best practices for successful marketing campaigns.

BEST AFFORDABLE OPTIONMoosend

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Moosend is the best affordable option not only because its paid plans cost less than most on the market, but also because you can pay either by the number of subscribers or by the number of emails sent, depending on which option is cheapest for you. Plus, its tools are user friendly and make it easy to get attractive and timely emails out to your audience.Pros

• Lowest plan costs
• Option to pay only when you send emails
• Easy to customize templates or use one from the template library

Cons

• Can’t send emails from a Gmail or Hotmail address
• Less-sophisticated user interface
• Limited integrations

Moosend is a cost-effective platform that gives users the choice of how to get billed: by subscribers or by email. Phone support is included that can help if you have trouble customizing one of the numerous templates provided.

Moosend’s Free Forever plan includes 1,000 subscribers, plus there’s a Pro Plan and an Enterprise plan with tiered pricing. You’ll need to contact Moosend for Enterprise plan pricing. The Pro Plan is priced based on the number of subscribers. Below is the cost if you pay monthly, but you’ll receive a 20% discount for annual billing. You’ll also receive a 25% discount if you’re a nonprofit. 

• Up to 2,000 subscribers: $10 per month
• 2,001 to 2,500 subscribers: $20 per month
• 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers: $30 per month
• 5,001 to 8,000 subscribers: $40 per month

You can opt to pay for the number of emails sent (includes unlimited subscribers), which Moosend calls credits. For $1, you get 1,000 credits, which is equal to 1,000 email sends. With this option, you get the same features that are included in the Pro Plan, such as landing pages, and transactional emails. 

Moosend is one of the cheapest email marketing tools on the market, but it’s robust enough to satisfy most email marketing campaigns for small businesses, winning our spot for the most affordable option. It allows you to pay either by the number of subscribers or by the number of emails sent, so you can choose which option is most cost-effective for your business. 

BEST FOR E-COMMERCEDrip

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Drip is the best email marketing software for e-commerce businesses because of it’s sophisticated workflows combined with advanced list segmentation. This combination means that subscribers receive personalized emails triggered by their shopping behaviors on your site and receive timely follow-ups based on how they interact with your emails.Pros

• Simple yet powerful drip campaigns
• Easy to set up and use
• Excellent customer support
• Sophisticated contact list segmentation

Cons

• Lacks a few key integrations
• No drag-and-drop functionality for designing templates
• Support only available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST

Designed to improve the online user experience for shoppers, Drip is the best email marketing software for e-commerce companies. Its user support is available to help with issues setting up and using the service. We especially like how you can segment your lists so users get the best possible experience from your website and email alerts.

Drip has a 14-day free trial and has one plan that ranges from $19 to $1,599 per month depending on how many contacts are in your account. Here are a few of the price points:

• Up to 500 contacts: $19 per month
• 501 to 2,000 contacts: $29 per month
• 2,001 to 2,500 contacts: $39 per month
• 2,501 to 3,000 contacts: $49 per month

For costs above this number of contacts, it’s best to get details directly from the website. The tiered scale goes up to 140,000 contacts for $1,599 before you need to contact them for custom enterprise pricing.

Drip is built for e-commerce, which means its workflows, email templates, and lead generation forms are designed with e-commerce best practices in mind. It includes advanced segmentation and customization that allows you to hyper-target your campaigns in order to increase user engagement.

What Is Email Marketing Software?

Email marketing software enables users to create, send, and track emails to their list of subscribers. Using software makes it easier to create well-designed emails, and also allows you to see key metrics such as open rates and click-through rates. Advanced platforms allow you to automate sends based on user behavior, which increases the likelihood of engagement since the email is more personalized to their interests.

Email marketing is an effective marketing tool for almost any industry. For example, an e-commerce store can automate a follow-up email if a user leaves an item in their cart, reminding them to make the purchase. A SaaS product can encourage users to demo a product and decide how persistently to follow up based on whether the lead takes them up on their offer. While email marketing is not by any means a new technique, it has proven its effectiveness year after year in industry reports.

What Does Email Marketing Software Cost?

Email marketing software typically has variations of plans based on the number of contacts you have. The cost of the lowest-priced plan typically ranges from free to $50 per month. The cost of the highest-priced plan can be thousands of dollars per month. Most plans have at least a two-week free trial and offer discounts to users that pay annually. 

How much you pay really depends on how many features you need and how actively you engage in email marketing. This is because most software charges either by the number of emails in the database or by the number of emails you send out. Therefore, it’s important to keep a close eye on your activity in order to monitor whether your monthly costs are increasing.

Does CRM Software Include Email Marketing?

Some CRM software does give you the functionality to email contacts within the database. However, it does not have the robust set of features that software dedicated to email marketing will have. The email marketing tool in a CRM is really for people that just need to send the occasional email and don’t need a design or automated campaigns. 

If you want to increase engagement with your subscribers through automations or get more advanced reporting, then it makes sense to get a separate email marketing software from your CRM.

What Does Email Marketing Software Typically Include?

Almost all email marketing software allows you to design emails, upload contacts, schedule email campaigns, and see data on how your emails are performing. Advanced software lets you A/B split test aspects of the email, segment your contact list based on interests, and automate emails based on how contacts interact with any of your marketing channels. There are also typically lead generation capabilities such as putting lead forms on your site and creating landing pages to get more subscribers into the database.

How We Chose the Best Email Marketing Software

We looked at 12 email marketing software platforms before deciding on the top six. We considered price, ease of use, and functionality when determining the best options. We also aimed to get a range of options that work for different industries and business sizes, as every company will have different needs and use cases. In our review, we favored companies that offered a free-forever plan or a free trial so you can test the product’s effectiveness before committing.

email platforms list

1) Gmail

Price: Free.

There are three plans for G Suite – Basic ($5 per user/month), Business ($10 per user/month), and Enterprise ($25 per user/month). Depending on the plan you choose, you will get more storage, support, and access to applications.

Gmail
Gmail is an email service provided by Google.

It is accessible through web and using third-party programs. It can be accessed on iOS and Android mobile devices. It allows you to share up to 25 MB through emails. Files greater than 25 MB can also be shared through Google Drive.

Gmail is used for personal as well as business communications.

Pros:

It is accessible from any device.
Undo Send for emails.
Email forwarding.
Powerful search.
Provides security with two-step verification.
Supports many keyboard shortcuts.
You can use it in offline mode as well.
Cons:

At times it gets slow in loading.
Managing different folders and labels is a little bit confusing.
Email address format: example@gmail.com, abc@googlemail.com, abc+xyz@gmail.com, abc.xyz.pqr@gmail.com

Website: Gmail

2) HubSpot

HubSpot Pricing: It has a Marketing Hub plan that has three editions, Starter (Starts at $40 per month), Professional (Starts at $800 per month), and Enterprise (Starts at $3200 per month). Free marketing tools are also available.

HubSpot

HubSpot has an Email Marketing Software to create, personalize, and optimize marketing emails. It will let you customize the layout, add calls to action, and add images with the help of an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.

You can optimize email campaigns with A/B tests and analytics. It has features like A/B tests that will help you to know about the subject lines that get the most opens.

Pros:

Quick drafting of email campaigns.
You will be able to create campaigns that look professionally designed and can be seen on any device.
It has easy to use drag-and-drop editor.
It will let you personalize the emails and schedule the email campaign.
It provides detailed engagement analytics.
Cons:

It doesn’t provide just an email service but an email marketing software and hence the expensive option as compared to others in this list.
Email Address format: —

=> Visit HubSpot Website

3) Sendinblue

Sendinblue Pricing: Sendinblue offers a free plan. There are three more plans, Lite (Starts at $25 per month), Premium (Starts at $65 per month), and Enterprise (Get a quote). You can sign up for free. With a free plan, you can send 300 emails per day.

Sendinblue

Sendinblue offers the tools for all your digital marketing needs. It contains the functionalities for email marketing. You will be able to design your email. It will be easier to create a professional-looking email.

You can design the email from scratch or can use a template. It optimizes the send time by using machine learning. These features will send your email at the perfect time.

Pros:

Sendinblue supports 6 languages and a good plug here in Pros is that we offer a Shared Inbox feature that allows people to sync their Inbox emails with any major email provider.
Sendinblue provides an intuitive drag-and-drop builder and hence you can design the email that will match your brand.
It has advanced features for email personalization that will let you personalize the email by adding the contact’s name.
You can group the contacts from unlimited lists and contacts.
Cons:

It is expensive as compared to other tools.
Email Address format: —

=> Visit Sendinblue Website

4) Aweber

Aweber

Aweber allows you to create and send amazing emails, thanks to its drag and drop editor and pre-made template library. Aweber is also smart enough to help you create an email template from scratch automatically, based on the requirements you feed it.

You can automate the entire email marketing process and even send targeted messages by segmenting your contact list. You can schedule messages that encourage subscribers to buy more products, not abandon their cart, or explore your website. These emails will be sent automatically as per your set schedule or due to the actions taken by your subscribers on the site.

Pros:

Easy to use email builder with the drag-and-drop feature
Exhaustive library of pre-made templates.
Over 6000 free stock images
Send targeted messages by segmenting the email contact list
Manage subscribers using a tag.
Free plan allows you to send 3000 sales per month.
Cons:

Forms and landing page creation can feel cumbersome.
Price: Free plan available. Premium plan starts at $16.15 per month (billed annually).

=> Visit Aweber Website

5) ProtonMail

ProtonMail Pricing: It has a free plan along with three other plans i.e. Plus ($5.66/month), Professional ($9/month), and Visionary ($34/month).

ProtonMail
ProtonMail was launched in 2014. This mail service can be used by small and large enterprises. ProtonMail is best known for its email encryption. It is a simple mailing service with some advanced features like encryption and email expiration.

Pros:

It provides end-to-end encryption.
It allows you to set the expiry date for email.
It offers many features like an autoresponder, email filters, and multi-user support with paid plans.
Mobile app for iOS and Android devices are available.
It provides more security through encryption.
Cons:

It provides limited storage and support with the free plan.
No email encryption with a free account.
Email address format: example@protonmail.com or example@protonmail.ch

=> Visit ProtonMail Website

6) Outlook

Price: It is free to use. Outlook Premium has two plans. One is Office 365 Home with Outlook Premium, which is available for $99.99 per year. Another one is Office 365 Personal with Outlook Premium, which is available at $69.99 per year.

Outlook
Outlook provides easy to use interface.

Through Outlook, Microsoft provides the web-based suite of different tools. By just right clicking the mail, Outlook will give you the option to move, delete, etc., along with several other options.

Pros:

If you have deleted the message by mistake, Outlook will allow you to recover it.
It supports many add-ins.
By just right-clicking an email you can search the other emails from the same sender.
It allows you to hide real email address by using different aliases.
Automatic organization of emails.
Mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
With this account, it is easy to work with Skype and Outlook calendar.
Cons:

Sometimes it takes time in loading.
Email address format: example@outlook.com or example@hotmail.com

Website: Outlook

7) Yahoo Mail

Price: Free.

Yahoo
Yahoo is a web portal and search engine. It was launched in 1994.

It provides other services like Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Groups as well. Yahoo Mail has good spam blocking capabilities. It provides a good amount of storage space i.e. One TB.

Pros:

Good Spam filters.
Finding images, videos, and documents which are sent or received as an attachment is easier.
It allows you to search key information from your inbox.
It allows you to create 500 disposable addresses without containing your personal data.
Importing contacts from a file, Facebook, Google or Outlook account.
It allows you to connect external email accounts to Yahoo mail.
Blocking senders.
Easy to use Yahoo Calendar.
Cons:

If compared with others it has fewer filters or rules.
To attach a file, it should be available locally on your device. It doesn’t support attachment of online files.
It has Inbox ads.
Email address format: example@yahoo.com

Website: Yahoo mail

8) Zoho Mail

Price: It is free for a maximum of 5 users. There are three plans i.e. Mail Lite ($1/user per month with 5GB/user), Standard ($3/User per month with 30 GB), and Professional ($6/user per month with 100GB).

Zoho2
Zoho Mail is good for small businesses or home-based businesses.

You can use Zoho for business as well as personal communications. With Zoho migration tool, it offers a facility to easily migrate from G suite and Office 365 to Zoho mail. It can easily connect with the other Zoho apps.

Pros:

It has an expense tracker.
It allows you to tag people and share folders with them.
It allows you to create your own rules for managing incoming rules.
Advanced searches.
Deleting and archiving email in bulk.
By just right clicking the email, you can search the other emails from the same sender.
It is ad-free.
It is accessible from Android and iOS devices.
Simple and clean design.
More than 50 keyboard shortcuts.
Cons:

No facility to import contacts from social media.
It is made for small businesses
Email address format: example@zoho.com

Website: Zoho mail

9) AOL Mail

Price: Free

AOLMail

This mail service is provided by AOL. In 2015, Verizon acquired AOL. AOL Mail is also called as AIM Mail. It is a free email provider. It provides many themes to choose. It allows you to import contacts in CSV, Txt, and LDIF format.

Pros:

It allows you to undo the sent email. You can do this for the emails which are sent to other AOL addresses.
You can customize several settings.
It provides virus protection.
It offers an in-browser sound alert.
Spell-check provided.
Cons:

Many Ads.
You can attach files which are stored locally. It doesn’t support attaching a file from online storage.
Email address format: example@aol.com, example@aim.com

Website: AOL mail

10) Mail.com

Price: Free.

Mail.com
It is a free email service, which will let you select the domain name from a big list. It provides features like Virus protection and Spam Blocker. Mail collector feature gives more flexibility to its users.

Pros:

It offers unlimited storage.
It allows you to select a custom domain name from a list of 200 names.
It provides online storage.
Mail Collector feature allows you to collect emails from other accounts.
Facebook integration.
Import and export of data in ics and CVS formats.
Mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.
Cons:

No two-factor authentication provided.
Email address format: It will allow you to select the custom domain from a big list.

Website: Mail.com

Conclusion

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