Even with the rise of smartphone and text messaging, email still remains a popular way to communicate and in 2019, there were 3.9 billion users and by 2024, there is expected to be 4.89 billion users.
Email marketing ranks among the top three marketing channels with the highest return of investment. Gmail alone has 1.5 billion users currently using it.
Where Do You Start?
Each of the email platforms and software come with different features as well as different prices according to those features.
Most of these software programs are very good but you need to find what best meets you and your businesses particular needs.
Some programs are geared more towards bloggers and some for ecommerce marketing.
I've researched the top email marketing software and service providers so that you can use this information to help you to choose one based on your own particular needs. I have done a series of comparison reviews and you can check them out starting with my Aweber vs Getresponse review first.
How Do You Choose The Best Email Marketing Provider?
A good email marketing service should provide you with an easy way to design your emails, add personalization to your messages, provide analytics and enable you to segment your lists.
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One of the most important things that an email marketing software platform should provide is the ability of your emails to actually land in your reader's inbox and not their junk folder.
Moosend
This is an automation tool that allows you to personalize your messages and automate certain tasks so that you can easily build an email list.
They feature a campaign builder that is very intuitive so you don't have to spend too much time learning how to use their drag and drop templates.
There are a ton of templates with a variety of layouts so you have a large choice. These templates are also responsive so they will look good on both desktop PCs or mobile devices.
The thing that sets Moosend apart from the competition is their automation. They have what are known as This allows you to send email sequences when certain actions occur and even target specified list segments.
Other great features:
- Great Customer Support - you get phone support, email support and live chat support. You will have your very own account manager and there is a plethora of video tutorials and a knowledge base for any questions you may have.
- Analytics - Their reporting tools give you the stats on all your most important metrics that you need to track.
- Customizable Optin Forms - They have attractive optin forms so that you can get your website visitors to sign up for your offer.
- List Segmenting - You can choose different variables for segmenting your lists. The price of Moosend is based on the amount of subscribers on your lists.
To get started, you can start small at only 8 bucks per month and then you pay more as your subscriber list grows.
All the paid plans include page builders, SMTP servers and most importantly, transactional emails.
If you want advanced automation for your email marketing efforts, Moosend is worth taking for a spin.
Constant Contact
This email marketing service has been around since 1995, starting as Roving Software and changing its name to Constant Contact in 2004.
In 2015, they joined the Endurance International Group which was a powerhouse corporation that included HostGator, Bluehost and other online companies.
Because they started as an event management company, they are able to offer customers the ability to manage events using registrations, tickets and invitations.
They have over one hundred templates offering a modern and mobile-optimized designs created for conversions and engagements.
You can start out with up to 500 subscribers for $20 per month. You pay more as your subscriber list grows.
Sendinblue
If you are on a budget, this might be what you need until you get some subscribers. Once you start building up your list, you can go for the Lite plan which allows you up to 40,000 emails per month for only $20.
You will find that their free platform is user-friendly and intuitive. You can create opti-in forms, automated emails and they have a collection of attractive templates that are designed for conversions.
The software uses AI which will help to determine when the best time is to send your emails for the best open rates and engagement.
The analytics provide reports so you can see the click-through rates, open rates, deliverability and even heat mapping so you can see which part of your email was most read.
You can set triggers and send your subscribers emails, messages and offers based on their actions both on your website and in your funnel.
If you are looking for a more advanced email marketing platform and you don't have a large budget, Sendinblue may be just what you need.
HubSpot
Anyone in the online marketing industry has heard of HubSpot with plans from free and up.
This is a company that will grow with you as you build your business and customer base.
Their software allows you to easily design optimized emails and they have a variety of plans for both small and large businesses.
They provide email templates to give you a starting point or you could start from scratch.
You can choose from a wide variety of layouts and you have the ability to add text, buttons, images and many other common assets to create beautiful emails.
Editing emails is very easy and probably the most user-friendly in the market.
What is really nice is that after you are done designing, you can preview it in different inboxes such as Gmail, Office 365 and more.
Different email clients have different formats and emails look different in each. You can easily check to make sure your email looks good.
Hubspot also allows for personalization which can increase open rates but this company allows you to personalize based on reader's location, list segment and even, the reader's device.
You can do A/B testing on your subject lines and content to even further optimize your CTR and open rates.
They provide you with an intuitive analytics dashboard so you can measure your opens, clicks and even see how long your emails were kept open.
By seeing whether your readers just quickly glanced at your email or read it all, you can measure the engagement to get an idea of the content your subscribers want to read.
One of the greatest benefits of using HubSpot for your email marketing is that the email deliverability rate is 99%.
This is due to proper validation of DKIM and SPF records and the ability to test and preview your emails.
You will find that besides just using HubSpot for your email marketing efforts, it comes with a suite of tools to help you with your other marketing efforts.
This is the Marketing Hub Starter Package and is only $50 per month. This includes:
- Personal calendar
- CRM Automation
- Optimization for mobile
- Gmail extensions
- Both email and phone support
- Ad analytics
You can get started for free and then upgrade into this Starter package as your business grows.
Get Response
With beautiful opt-in forms and an easy-to-use interface, Get Response is at the top of my list for a beginner marketer.
You can get started for only $15 per month and you won't be overwhelmed with a large learning curve.
They have an Autofunnel tool that comes with email templates and autoresponder sequences and over 30 landing pages that are ready to go with minimal editing.
It's built to maximize conversions and to nurture your subscribers.
Although they have approximately 500 optin templates, you may find that some look outdated.
With that being said, you are going to love their drag and drop builder which allow you to quickly and easily create landing pages and automated sales funnels.
It's only $15 a month to get started so you won't have to start spending more until your list starts growing. If you pay annually, you can save between 18 to 30 percent more.
Pabbly
This is a full-service marketing suite of tools that offer email marketing, form builders, email list cleaning and subscription billing.
Regardless of whether you have a free or paid plan, you can still use their features which include list management, list segmentation, autoresponder sequences and automation for your marketing.
You pay for Pabbly based on how many subscribers you have.
Some of its features include over 500 email templates, the ability to connect more than one SMTPs, MX cleaner to remove invalid emails, automatic follow-ups to non-opened emails and more.
If it's important to keep your list cleaned and your database updated, this is the service for you. This email platform also has a delivery rate of 99% which means more of your emails land in inboxes instead of spam folders.
ConvertKit
If you are a blogger, ConvertKit may be perfect for you. If you are looking for personalized emails that are text-based, you will love this design.
The email sequences are advanced and the action triggers allow you to segment your list to your own specifications.
They offer you optin forms that are attractive and you are able to boost your conversion rates with their automated emails.
Their text-based emails look very similar to Gmail. You don't have to worry about annoying email branding because very often, the most effective type of email is a simple, text based email.
If your business is focused on creating high converting sales funnel, this is a great choice. The price starts at $29 per month and they offer a free, 14-day trial.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign Their service starts at $9 per month and offers a built-in CRM with tons of automation.
You can easily segment your list and create triggers based on sales follow-ups and email opens.
With the built-in CRM, you can manage your leads and sync your data. It uses a lead scoring function which allows you to add points to your subscribers based on the actions that you choose.
The great thing about ActiveCampaign is that it allows large businesses to personalize their email leads.
Their email deliverability rates are the highest out of all other services on this list. This means that the emails you send will not get marked as spam and will be received in primary inboxes such as Outlook and Gmail.
They have a 14-day free trial and then, plans start at $9 per month. If you need a more advance CRM and high deliverability rates, Active Campaign is your best bet.
Omnisend
This is one of the best email platforms for eCommerce. You can send messages across multiple social media platforms and send texts across multiple devices.
It allows for tracking user actions and user device preferences which is based upon custom events you create.
Their Standard plan starts at $16 per month and you are able to send out 15,000 emails each month. This includes optin forms and SMS notifications. They do have a 14-day trial so that you can test them out first.
This type of email services improves conversions by allowing you to send emails and messages base on the products they have bought or interacted with while on your website.
Gist
They provide email marketing automation, live chat support and offer advanced tools such as event tracking so you can see what people are doing when they land on your website.
They have a free plan that you can use if you are just getting started with trying to build an email list.
One of their advanced features is what's known as GistBot which is a chatbot that will help to pre-qualify leads and help you manage your sales team.
The automation tools allow you to create actions that will help you to segment your list and find the best times to send out your messages to your subscribers.
Over 100,000 marketers choose AWeber and for good reason. The service starts a only $19 a month which is a great price for someone just starting to build a list.
Like the other services on this list, they provide drag and drop optin forms, tools to manage your list and analytics to see the stats of your sent emails.
You can create rules to help manage your list and they have over 700 design templates. Although there are some templates that look a bit outdated, there are many that look great.
Because they have been so widely used by marketers, you may find that their deliverability rate is lower than many others on this list.
However, their blog is filled with articles that teach you how to increase your deliverability rate and if you follow their advice, you will see an improvement.
They have excellent support with live chat and an extensive knowledge base to help you with most problems. If you choose to pay annually for their service, you can save about 15% off the monthly rate.
Mailchimp
If you've done internet marketing for any amount of time, you have undoubtedly heard of Mailchimp. This is one of the most well-known companies email marketing platforms with over 14 million customers.
You can enjoy a free plan with up to 2,000 subscribers. This plan also allows you to send 12,000 emails each month. This is plenty to get you started.
You also get transactional emails, autoresponders and other third party integrations, which includes a phone app for Android and iPhone users.
After you reach 2,000 subscribers, you are charged on the size of your list with paid plans starting at $30 per month.
If you are an affiliate marketer, you will have problems with this service as Mailchimp prohibits you from adding affiliate links in emails and will ban you from their platform.
If you just need a basic service to get started and you aren't an affiliate marketer, Mailchimp can help you to start growing your list for free.
Finding The Plan That Fits Your Business
The needs of your business will dictate the type of email marketing platform you choose. Each platform has their own features and benefits and it's up to you to decide what fits your business model.
