Email marketing remains one of the highest ROI digital marketing channels available today. Studies show $42 is made for every $1 spent on email marketing. With stats like that, it‘s no wonder over 300 billion emails are sent every day.
But choosing the right email service provider is key to email success. I‘ve tested and reviewed the top contenders to compare features, deliverability rates, ease of use and more to help you find the best platform for your needs.
Here are my top recommendations for 2024:
Best Email Marketing Software
MailerLite – Best overall email platform balancing power, ease of use and affordability
ActiveCampaign – Best for marketing automation thanks to the powerful visual builder
Moosend – Easiest to use with excellent deliverability
Omnisend – The top choice for ecommerce stores
ConvertKit – Ideal for bloggers and info product creators
GetResponse – A great all-in-one option with landing pages, webinars and more
No matter your use case – from solopreneurs to enterprise teams – you‘ll find a featured platform below to match your email marketing needs. Keep reading for individual reviews of each service with pros, cons and unique stand-out features.
1. MailerLite – Best Email Marketing Platform Overall
MailerLite balances power and simplicity beautifully, earning it the title of best overall email service for most users.
It stands out for several reasons:
- Intuitive drag and drop editor and automation builder
- Excellent inbox deliverability rates
- Generous and fully-featured free plan up to 1,000 subscribers
- Affordable pricing that scales as you grow
You can create beautiful email campaigns in minutes with 300+ mobile-optimized templates. Dynamic content lets you customize messages while powerful automations send the right emails to the right people at the right time.
All the features most users need are covered in the forever free plan. As one of the few platforms with a free offering, it‘s fantastic for dipping your toes in before upgrading.
For small businesses ready to level up, paid plans start at just $10/month.
In my testing, emails consistently hit the inbox at well over 99% without needing additional deliverability tweaks. For the combination of deliverability, ease of use and value, MailerLite is hard to beat.
Key MailerLite Features
- Drag and drop editor
- Automation builder
- 300+ templates
- Landing pages
- Transactional emails
- Free plan up to 1,000 subs
MailerLite Pricing
- Free plan up to 1,000 subscribers
- Paid plans start at $10/month
Bottom line: With exceptional deliverability, ease of use and features, MailerLite hits the email marketing sweet spot for most small business owners.
2. ActiveCampaign – Best for Marketing Automation
While MailerLite strikes a balance for the average user, ActiveCampaign leans into powerful marketing automation.
The visual automation builder is one of the best I’ve used for creating workflows with drag and drop simplicity. It makes complex multi-step campaigns manageable for first-timers while still packing advanced functionality for experts.
Combine that with unbeatable segmentation options, 500+ templates and excellent deliverability and it’s easy to see why ActiveCampaign is my choice for automation-first email marketing.
This does come at a steeper price point starting at $9/month for up to 500 contacts. However, you’re paying for an enterprise-level toolset far beyond basic email blasting. For users wanting mail merge level personalization, real-time behavioral targeting and advanced integrations, the cost brings big value.
Why Choose ActiveCampaign
- Segment contacts based on behavior, scores, location and more for ultra-targeted messaging
- Create multi-channel customer journeys with SMS and post-click automations
- Real-time tracking of email and site interactions to inform future messages
- Zapier integration for connecting thousands of apps
- Webinar integrations, event tracking and other advanced features
ActiveCampaign Pricing
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Lite plan starts at $9/month for up to 500 contacts
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Plus plan jumps to $49/month for 5,000 contacts
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Premium plan starts at $149/month with 25,000 contacts
Bottom line: The leader in sophisticated email marketing automation for segmented campaigns.
3. Moosend – Easiest Email Marketing Service to Use
For small business owners who want email marketing made simple, Moosend is a fantastic choice. The intuitive drag-and-drop editor makes designing beautiful newsletters a breeze.
Simply choose from hundreds of professionally designed templates for inspiration or start from scratch. Dynamic content lets you customize your messages for each subscriber with just a few clicks.
Moosend keeps the features you need without overcomplicating things. The automation builder provides the basics for welcome series, shopping cart and anniversary messaging without the complexity other platforms can have.
Everything you need to create, send and track email campaigns is housed in one simple dashboard. The reports keep things high level rather than data overload. Combined with outstanding subscriber and inbox management tools, Moosend makes it easy for beginners to look like email experts.
For those needing text message capabilities, Moosend integrates SMS and email seamlessly. Growing businesses can scale pricing gradually based on subscribers, starting at only $9 a month.
Why We Recommend Moosend
- Intuitive drag-and-drop editor
- Hundreds of custom mobile-friendly templates
- Powerful segmentation and automation
- Scales up gradually as you grow
- SMS text messaging integrated
Moosend Pricing
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Starter plan $9/month (up to 250 contacts)
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Pro plan $29/month (for 2,500 contacts)
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Custom enterprise pricing available
Bottom line: An excellent easy-to-use all-in-one email and SMS marketing platform perfect for beginners.
4. Omnisend – Best Email Marketing for Ecommerce
Running an online store? Omnisend is my top email recommendation specifically for ecommerce businesses.
It specializes in shoppable email campaigns that drive sales through advanced segmentation, personalization and automation.
Create beautiful newsletters and one-off promotions then track performance down to the product level. Recommend top products based on individual user behavior like past purchases or shopping cart activity. Customizable templates optimized for mobile make emails hard to ignore.
Omnisend pulls product data directly from your ecommerce platform. Combined with automation based on actions and events, you can send hyper-targeted emails triggered in real time. Abandoned cart messages have never been easier to set and forget.
The platform also handles SMS and browser push notifications in addition to email. It brings all your customer touchpoints together for unified messaging and insights in one dashboard.
This specialization does mean Omnisend has to integrate with an existing store. It‘s not a standalone solution. However, native support for the major ecommerce platforms makes setup smooth.
Omnisend Benefits for Online Stores
- Shoppable email templates
- Abandoned cart automations
- Product recommendations
- Real-time behavioral targeting
- SMS and push notification support
- Built for major ecommerce platforms
Omnisend has forever free and paid plans available based on your subscriber count. It starts at $20 per month which is fantastic value for the ecommerce superpowers you unlock.
Bottom line: The perfect fit for online stores needing powerful email marketing tightly integrated with their ecommerce stack.
5. ConvertKit – Ideal Email Service for Bloggers & Creators
Popular with bloggers and influencers, ConvertKit simplifies email marketing for creators producing regular long-form content.
The platform optimizes features specifically for driving blog traffic, capturing leads from gated content and selling online courses.
Easy opt-in forms and multi-step sequences convert casual readers into loyal subscribers. Segmentation based on tags and conversion data allows personalized drip campaigns based on reader interests and engagement.
I particularly appreciate ConvertKit‘s generous free education for users. The libraries of email strategy guides, tutorials and workshops teach best practices for standing out in crowded inboxes.
While ConvertKit lacks some advanced functionality other platforms have, the specialization provides excellent value starting at $29/month for creators needing core email marketing tools without the complexity.
Why Creators Love ConvertKit
- Audience building tools for gated content
- Multi-step new subscriber sequences
- Tag-based segmentation
- rss-to-email functionality
- Generous email education resources
For an all-in-one platform tailored to the Creator stack, ConvertKit leads the pack.
ConvertKit Pricing
- Free for up to 1,000 subscribers
- Creator plan starts at $29/month for up to 3,000 subscribers
Bottom line: An excellent email service focused on the unique needs of bloggers, influencers and online course creators.
6. GetResponse – Best All-In-One Email Marketing Platform
GetResponse has been a leader in email marketing for decades. While the core email capabilities are robust, it stands out as an all-in-one platform that can power your entire marketing stack.
In addition to professional email campaign creation and automation, small business owners gain landing pages, webinars, chat, CRM, sales funnels and more.
The arsenal of tools plays nicely together to turn strangers into delighted customers. Drive traffic with built-in ads, capture leads on landing pages, nurture subscribers with behavioral email sequences, drive sales through abandons cart messages and onboard with post-purchase touchpoints.
GetResponse wraps it all in a slick user interface that belies the power under the hood. For serious marketers wanting close control of their customer journeys from acquisition to retention and everything between, few platforms can compete.
This does come at a cost however. Paid plans start at $15/month for up to 1,000 contacts. Enterprise users with bigger budgets can unlock more advanced functionality like multivariate testing, SMS messaging, custom CSS and API access.
For those needing an integrated digital experience, the price tag brings excellent value. But casual email senders may find it overkill.
Why Choose GetResponse
- Robust core email functionally
- CRM, chat, forms, landing pages
- Deep sales funnel features
- Great UI and UX
- Generous free trial
Bottom line: A complete digital marketing and sales platform perfect for serious users wanting close control across their acquisition, conversion and retention stacks.
Key Email Marketing Features To Compare
When researching the best email service for your needs, keep an eye out for these critical features:
Deliverability Rates – The ability for emails to reliably hit the inbox rather than getting flagged as spam. Look for providers with at least 99% delivery.
Automations – Tools to create multi-step email sequences triggered by time delays or user actions.
Segmentation & Personalization – Options to group contacts by various properties then send them targeted messages based on interests and behaviors.
A/B Testing – Ability to send campaign variations to small groups of contacts to see which perform best before full deployment.
List Management – Contact database tools for adding, removing, grouping and engaging with subscribers
Reporting – Easy access to email performance metrics like opens, clicks and unsubscribes.
Integrations – Support for connecting popular third-party apps through Zapier or native plugins
Prioritizing the features that matter most will help you zero on the right email partner. Concerns like ease of use, support availability, and pricing models should factor in as well.
Take advantage of the many free trials available to experience platforms hands-on.
Get Started with Email Marketing Today
With engagement rates 4x higher than social media, email marketing delivers unrivaled returns when executed correctly.
The platforms reviewed above all cater to various use cases and budgets. Taking the time to test options coded as a friend will pay dividends through more effective email campaigns, higher conversions and bigger bottom lines over the long-term.
Have you found success leveraging a particular email service for your business? Share your experiences below!
