Best Email Marketing Tools: An Honest Comparison

You need an email marketing tool but don't want to pay enterprise prices for features you'll never use. Fair enough. I've tested the major platforms and put together this breakdown of what actually matters: pricing that scales reasonably, automation that works, and deliverability that doesn't tank your campaigns.

Here's the reality: most businesses under 10,000 subscribers are overpaying for email marketing. The tool that's "best" depends entirely on what you're trying to do-blast newsletters, run complex automations, or nurture leads through a sales funnel.

Quick Comparison: Email Marketing Tool Pricing

Before diving deep, here's what you'll actually pay at different list sizes:

ToolFree Plan1,000 Contacts10,000 ContactsBest For
MailerLite500 subscribers$10/mo$73/moBudget-conscious beginners
Brevo500 contacts$8/mo$18/moPay-per-send model
Moosend30-day trial$7/mo$48/moAll features on one plan
AWeber500 subscribers$15/mo$65/moEstablished small businesses
Mailchimp250 contacts$13/mo$100+/moBrand recognition
ActiveCampaign14-day trial$19/mo$79/moAdvanced automation
Kit (ConvertKit)10,000 subscribers$39/mo$139/moCreators and bloggers
GetResponse500 contacts$19/mo$59/moAll-in-one marketing
HubSpot2,000 sends/mo$20/mo$890/mo+Complete CRM integration
Klaviyo250 contacts$20/mo$100/moEcommerce businesses

Best Budget Email Marketing: MailerLite

MailerLite wins for businesses watching their budget. The free plan includes 500 subscribers and 12,000 monthly emails-enough to get started without spending a dime. You'll see a small MailerLite logo in the footer, but that's the only catch.

The interface is clean and intuitive. Even if you've never touched email marketing software, you'll figure it out in an afternoon. The drag-and-drop editor works well, and there are over 90 pre-designed email templates to start from.

Pricing breakdown: MailerLite's Growing Business plan starts at $10/month for 500 contacts with unlimited emails. The Advanced plan begins at $20/month and includes unlimited users, custom HTML editor, promotion pop-ups, and an AI writing assistant. For businesses with over 100,000 subscribers, they offer custom Enterprise pricing with dedicated account managers and IP addresses.

What's good:

What sucks:

MailerLite works best for newsletters, simple welcome sequences, and basic promotional campaigns. If you need complex behavioral triggers or deep CRM integration, look elsewhere.

Best for Pay-Per-Send: Brevo

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) flips the pricing model. Instead of charging by contacts, they charge by emails sent. This is huge if you have a large list but don't email frequently.

Their free plan gives you unlimited contacts with 300 emails per day. Paid plans start at just $8/month for 5,000 monthly emails. That's absurdly cheap compared to contact-based pricing.

What's good:

What sucks:

If you're running an ecommerce store or need transactional emails alongside marketing campaigns, Brevo is worth serious consideration. Check out our Brevo pricing breakdown and full Brevo review for more details.

Best All-in-One Value: Moosend

Moosend flies under the radar but delivers serious value. Their Pro plan starts at just $7/month for 500 contacts with unlimited emails. Here's the kicker: you get ALL features on that single paid plan. No feature gating based on price tier.

The automation and personalization tools punch way above the price point. You get behavioral triggers, product recommendations, and conditional content-features that cost $50+/month elsewhere.

What's good:

What sucks:

Best for Reliability: AWeber

AWeber has been around since 1998. They're not flashy, but they're rock solid. The free plan covers up to 500 subscribers with 3,000 monthly emails-enough for most small businesses starting out.

Try AWeber if you value reliability over bells and whistles.

The Lite plan starts at $15/month for 500 subscribers, while the Plus plan (with unlimited everything) runs $30/month. AWeber's pricing is based on subscriber tiers, and they'll auto-upgrade you if you exceed limits-so watch your list size.

What's good:

What sucks:

AWeber works well for creators, bloggers, and small businesses who need reliable email delivery without complexity. For more details, see our AWeber pricing guide.

Most Recognizable Brand: Mailchimp

Let's be honest: Mailchimp's free plan isn't what it used to be. They've cut it down to 250 contacts and 500 monthly emails. The Essentials plan starts at $13/month for 500 contacts, with a 10x monthly send limit (so 5,000 emails for 500 contacts).

Mailchimp's pricing scales aggressively. At 2,500 contacts, you're looking at around $45/month on Essentials or $60/month on Standard. At 10,000 contacts, expect to pay $100+/month.

What's good:

What sucks:

Mailchimp makes sense if you need specific integrations or your team is already familiar with it. Otherwise, you're likely overpaying for the brand name.

Best for Advanced Automation: ActiveCampaign

If you're serious about automation-behavioral triggers, lead scoring, multi-step workflows-ActiveCampaign is the standard. It's not the cheapest option, but you get what you pay for.

The Starter plan runs $19/month for 1,000 contacts with a 10x email send limit (10,000 emails per month). But the real power unlocks on Plus ($49/month) and Pro ($79/month) plans, where you get landing pages, predictive sending, advanced segmentation, and conversion tracking.

Pricing reality: ActiveCampaign's pricing scales with your list size. At 5,000 contacts, you're paying $93/month on Starter, $205/month on Pro. At 10,000 contacts, those numbers jump to $169 and $349 respectively. The platform recently restructured pricing, eliminating grandfathered plans and raising rates by up to 40% for some users.

What's good:

What sucks:

ActiveCampaign is overkill for simple newsletters. But if you're running complex customer journeys, lead nurturing sequences, or need tight CRM integration, it's worth every penny. The platform excels at B2B marketing automation and sophisticated ecommerce workflows.

Best for Creators: Kit (formerly ConvertKit)

Kit targets bloggers, podcasters, and content creators specifically. The interface is minimal-almost too minimal-but the automation workflows are solid.

The free Newsletter plan is genuinely generous: up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited emails, forms, and landing pages. But you only get one automation. The Creator plan starts at $39/month for 1,000 subscribers, which is pricey compared to alternatives.

Important note: Kit raised prices significantly in late 2025. Some users report paying up to 50% more than before at higher subscriber tiers.

What's good:

What sucks:

Kit works well if you're a solo creator building an audience and selling digital products. For most B2B applications, you'll get better value elsewhere.

Best for Ecommerce: Klaviyo

Klaviyo dominates ecommerce email marketing. It's built specifically for online stores, with deep integrations for Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and WooCommerce. If you're running an ecommerce business, this deserves serious consideration.

The free plan covers 250 contacts and 500 monthly emails. Paid plans start at $20/month for 500 contacts and 5,000 emails. At 1,000 contacts, you're looking at $35/month. At 10,000 contacts, pricing jumps to around $100/month.

Why ecommerce brands love Klaviyo:

What's good:

What sucks:

Klaviyo is the gold standard for ecommerce email marketing. Brands using Klaviyo report generating 20-50% of their monthly revenue through the platform. Shopify invested $100 million in Klaviyo and recommends it as their preferred email service provider.

Best All-in-One Platform: GetResponse

GetResponse evolved from a simple email marketing tool into a full marketing platform. You get email marketing, landing pages, webinars, marketing automation, and conversion funnels-all in one place.

The free plan includes 500 contacts with 2,500 monthly emails. The Starter plan begins at $19/month for 1,000 contacts. The Marketer plan ($59/month) adds unlimited automation and webinars. The Creator plan ($69/month) includes website builder and paid newsletter features.

What makes GetResponse different:

What's good:

What sucks:

GetResponse works well for businesses wanting an all-in-one marketing platform without paying for separate webinar, landing page, and automation tools. It's particularly good for course creators and info product businesses.

Best Free CRM Integration: HubSpot

HubSpot offers free email marketing tools as part of their larger CRM platform. This is huge-you get email marketing, CRM, forms, landing pages, and live chat all for free. The free plan includes up to 2,000 email sends per month.

The Marketing Starter plan costs $20/month per seat and scales email sends based on contact count (5x your contact limit). Marketing Professional starts at $890/month and includes advanced automation, A/B testing, and custom reporting.

Why HubSpot stands out:

What's good:

What sucks:

HubSpot makes sense if you want a complete CRM and marketing platform. The free tools are perfect for startups. But if you only need email marketing without CRM, you'll get better value from dedicated email platforms.

Understanding Email Marketing Pricing Models

Email marketing platforms use different pricing models. Understanding these helps you choose the right tool and avoid surprise costs.

Contact-Based Pricing

Most platforms (MailerLite, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign) charge based on the number of contacts in your account. Your bill increases as your list grows. This model typically includes unlimited email sends.

What to watch: Some platforms count unsubscribed contacts toward your limit (Mailchimp does this). Others only count active subscribers (MailerLite, ActiveCampaign). This difference significantly affects costs as you scale.

Send-Based Pricing

Platforms like Brevo charge based on emails sent, not contacts stored. You can have unlimited contacts but pay for each email sent. This works well if you have a large list but email infrequently.

Best for: Businesses with large lists who send occasional campaigns rather than frequent emails.

Hybrid Pricing

Klaviyo uses a hybrid model, charging based on both contacts and emails sent. You get a certain number of emails per pricing tier (typically 10-15x your contact limit). If you exceed that, costs increase.

Watch out for: Heavy email senders can hit send limits quickly, pushing them into higher pricing tiers.

Feature-Based Pricing

Many platforms tier pricing by features, not just list size. Basic plans might lack automation, A/B testing, or integrations. You need higher-tier plans to unlock advanced features.

Consider: Calculate the true cost including the features you actually need, not just the entry-level price.

Email Marketing Features That Actually Matter

Marketing materials often list hundreds of features. Here's what actually matters for most businesses:

Email Builder and Templates

You need a drag-and-drop builder that doesn't require coding. Look for:

The best builders (MailerLite, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign) let you build beautiful emails in minutes without designer help.

Automation Workflows

Automation is where email marketing gets powerful. Basic automation includes:

Advanced automation (ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo) adds:

According to Klaviyo's data, automated flows generate up to 30x more revenue per recipient than one-time campaigns.

Segmentation and Personalization

Batch-and-blast emails are dead. Successful email marketing requires segmentation:

Platforms like Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign excel at sophisticated segmentation. Budget options like MailerLite offer basic segmentation that works for most small businesses.

Deliverability

Deliverability-getting emails into inboxes, not spam folders-is crucial. Look for:

Established platforms like AWeber and ActiveCampaign have strong deliverability track records. Newer platforms sometimes struggle with ISP relationships.

Analytics and Reporting

You need to know what's working. Essential metrics:

Advanced platforms (Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign) offer revenue tracking, customer lifetime value calculations, and predictive analytics.

Integrations

Your email platform needs to connect with your other tools:

Mailchimp leads with 750+ integrations. ActiveCampaign offers 900+. Smaller platforms like Moosend have fewer but cover the essentials.

Email Marketing by Business Type

Different businesses have different email marketing needs. Here's what works best for various scenarios:

Ecommerce Stores

Best choice: Klaviyo

Ecommerce businesses need sophisticated product recommendation engines, abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase sequences, and browse abandonment tracking. Klaviyo dominates here with deep ecommerce platform integrations and features built specifically for online stores.

Budget alternative: Omnisend or Brevo

Both offer solid ecommerce features at lower price points.

B2B SaaS Companies

Best choice: ActiveCampaign

B2B SaaS needs lead scoring, CRM integration, complex multi-step nurture sequences, and sales pipeline integration. ActiveCampaign's automation capabilities and built-in CRM handle this perfectly.

Alternative: HubSpot

If you want an all-in-one CRM and marketing platform, HubSpot's ecosystem is comprehensive (but expensive).

Content Creators and Bloggers

Best choice: Kit (ConvertKit)

The free plan supports 10,000 subscribers. The creator-focused features, simple interface, and digital product sales integration make it ideal for bloggers, podcasters, and newsletter writers.

Budget alternative: MailerLite

Offers similar features at lower paid plan pricing.

Small Service Businesses

Best choice: MailerLite or AWeber

Service businesses (consultants, agencies, local businesses) need reliability and simplicity, not complex automation. AWeber's 25-year track record and MailerLite's clean interface both work well.

Free option: HubSpot

The free CRM and email tools handle basic needs without cost.

Course Creators and Coaches

Best choice: GetResponse

Built-in webinar hosting, conversion funnels, and course monetization features make GetResponse ideal for info product businesses. The Creator plan includes paid newsletter functionality.

Alternative: Kit

Good for email-focused course delivery and product sales.

Email Deliverability: Why It Matters

Deliverability is the percentage of emails that actually reach recipients' inboxes (versus landing in spam). The best email platform means nothing if your messages don't get delivered.

What Affects Deliverability

Sender reputation: ISPs (Gmail, Outlook) track your sending patterns. High spam complaints, bounce rates, and sudden volume spikes hurt your reputation.

Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records verify you're a legitimate sender. All good email platforms help you set these up.

List quality: Purchased lists, old addresses, and spam traps destroy deliverability. Only send to people who explicitly opted in.

Engagement rates: ISPs monitor whether recipients open and click your emails. Low engagement signals potential spam.

Content quality: Spammy subject lines, excessive links, and trigger words (FREE! BUY NOW!) flag spam filters.

Platform Deliverability Rates

Independent testing (EmailToolTester) shows average deliverability rates:

These numbers fluctuate based on your sending practices. A great platform with poor list management will still have terrible deliverability.

Improving Your Deliverability

Regardless of platform:

Advanced Email Marketing Strategies

Behavioral Trigger Campaigns

Send emails based on specific actions customers take:

Platforms with strong behavioral triggers: Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, Drip.

Lead Scoring and Qualification

Automatically score leads based on engagement and behavior. When a lead hits a certain score, trigger sales notifications or move them to high-priority sequences.

ActiveCampaign and HubSpot excel at lead scoring integration with sales pipelines.

Predictive Analytics

Advanced platforms use machine learning to predict:

Klaviyo leads in predictive analytics for ecommerce. ActiveCampaign offers predictive sending.

Dynamic Content

Show different email content to different recipients in the same campaign based on their data:

Essential for ecommerce. Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign handle dynamic content well.

Common Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

Buying Email Lists

Never, ever buy email lists. It destroys deliverability, violates anti-spam laws (CAN-SPAM, GDPR), and gets you banned from email platforms. Build your list organically with opt-in forms.

Ignoring Mobile Optimization

Over 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices. If your emails don't render well on phones, you're losing more than half your audience. Use responsive templates and test on multiple devices.

No Clear Call-to-Action

Every email needs one clear action you want recipients to take. Multiple CTAs confuse people. One primary CTA with a clear button works best.

Neglecting List Hygiene

Remove inactive subscribers regularly. Sending to people who never open hurts deliverability and costs you money. Run re-engagement campaigns, then remove non-responders.

Not Testing Subject Lines

Subject lines determine open rates. A/B test different approaches:

Sending Too Frequently (or Infrequently)

Find your sweet spot. Too many emails annoy subscribers. Too few and they forget about you. Most businesses find success with 1-4 emails per week. Let your metrics guide you.

Ignoring Regulations

CAN-SPAM (US), GDPR (EU), and CASL (Canada) require:

Violations carry heavy fines. Good email platforms help you stay compliant.

Getting Started: Your First 30 Days

Here's a realistic roadmap for launching email marketing:

Days 1-7: Setup and Strategy

Days 8-14: Build Your First Campaigns

Days 15-21: Launch and Collect Data

Days 22-30: Optimize and Expand

Which Email Marketing Tool Should You Pick?

Here's my honest take based on different scenarios:

You're just starting out: Start with MailerLite's free plan or Brevo's free tier. Both give you enough to learn the ropes without spending money. HubSpot's free CRM + email tools also work well.

You're a small business on a budget: Moosend at $7/month gives you the best feature-to-price ratio. All features, one price, no surprises. MailerLite at $10/month is another solid choice.

You send infrequently to a large list: Brevo's pay-per-send model will save you money compared to contact-based pricing.

You need rock-solid reliability: AWeber has been doing this for 25+ years. They're not sexy, but they work.

You need advanced automation: ActiveCampaign is the answer. Budget the higher price and invest in learning the platform properly.

You're running an ecommerce store: Klaviyo is purpose-built for ecommerce. The investment pays off in abandoned cart recovery and personalized product recommendations alone.

You're a content creator: Kit's free plan is genuinely generous. Use it until you outgrow it or need more automation features.

You need an all-in-one marketing platform: GetResponse includes webinars, landing pages, and automation. Fewer tools to manage.

You want CRM and email together: HubSpot's free tools are perfect for startups. Upgrade to Professional when you need advanced automation.

You have specific integration needs: Check Mailchimp first-they integrate with everything. Just budget for the higher costs as you scale.

Things to Watch Out For

A few gotchas that catch people off guard:

Contact Counting

Some platforms count unsubscribed contacts toward your limit (Mailchimp does this). Others only count active subscribers (MailerLite, ActiveCampaign). This significantly affects your costs as you scale.

Before committing, understand exactly what counts as a "contact" in your pricing tier.

Send Limits

Many tools have monthly email send limits tied to your contact tier (often 10-12x your contact limit). If you're a heavy sender, you might hit these limits and need to upgrade.

Klaviyo charges extra if you exceed send limits. Check the math before committing.

Feature Gating

"Free" often means missing critical features like automation, A/B testing, or removing branding. Read the fine print.

MailerLite's free plan includes basic automation. Mailchimp's free plan removed automation entirely. Big difference.

Migration Costs

Switching email platforms isn't free. Some tools offer migration assistance (ActiveCampaign, Kit for larger lists), but factor in the time cost of:

Choose carefully the first time to avoid migration headaches later.

Hidden Add-On Costs

Base pricing doesn't always tell the full story. Additional costs might include:

Annual vs. Monthly Pricing

Annual plans typically save 15-20% but lock you in. If you're unsure about a platform, start monthly. Once you're confident, switch to annual for savings.

Email Marketing Metrics That Matter

Track these metrics to measure success and optimize campaigns:

List Growth Rate

How quickly you're adding new subscribers. Calculate: [(New subscribers - Unsubscribes) / Total list size] x 100

Healthy growth rate: 2-5% per month

Open Rate

Percentage of recipients who open your email. Industry average: 20-25%

Factors affecting open rate:

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Percentage of recipients who click links in your email. Industry average: 2-5%

High CTR indicates relevant, engaging content with clear CTAs.

Conversion Rate

Percentage of recipients who complete your desired action (purchase, signup, download). This is your most important metric.

Ecommerce average: 1-3% conversion from email

Revenue Per Email

Total revenue generated divided by emails sent. Essential for ecommerce.

Klaviyo users report email generating 20-50% of total revenue.

Unsubscribe Rate

Percentage unsubscribing from each email. Healthy rate: under 0.5%

High unsubscribe rates indicate frequency issues, irrelevant content, or poor targeting.

Bounce Rate

Percentage of emails that couldn't be delivered. Keep under 2%.

High bounce rates hurt deliverability. Clean your list regularly.

Future of Email Marketing

Email marketing continues evolving. Here's what's coming:

AI-Powered Personalization

Machine learning will deliver hyper-personalized content at scale. AI will predict the perfect send time, subject line, and content for each individual subscriber.

Platforms like Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign are already implementing predictive analytics.

Interactive Emails

AMP for Email lets recipients take actions inside emails without clicking through-complete purchases, fill surveys, browse carousels.

Adoption is slow but growing. Gmail and Yahoo support it.

Zero-Party Data

With privacy regulations tightening, zero-party data (information customers intentionally share) becomes crucial. Email platforms will focus more on preference centers and surveys.

Unified Customer Data Platforms

Email platforms are becoming customer data platforms, unifying data from all customer touchpoints. HubSpot and Klaviyo lead this trend.

Advanced Automation

Automation will get more sophisticated, moving beyond simple trigger sequences to complex, AI-driven customer journeys that adapt based on behavior.

Bottom Line

There's no universally "best" email marketing tool. The right choice depends on your list size, budget, and what you're actually trying to accomplish.

Start with a free plan to learn the platform. Most businesses under 5,000 subscribers can get by on entry-level paid plans from MailerLite, Brevo, or Moosend for under $20/month. Only move to premium tools like ActiveCampaign or Klaviyo when you genuinely need the advanced features.

Focus on building a quality list of engaged subscribers who want to hear from you. The best email platform in the world can't fix a poor list or irrelevant content.

Test everything-subject lines, send times, content, CTAs. Let data guide your decisions, not assumptions.

Email marketing remains one of the highest-ROI marketing channels available. Studies show $36-45 return for every $1 spent. Done right, it's your most valuable marketing asset.

Looking for more email marketing guidance? Check out our guide on email marketing for small business or compare email marketing software options in depth.