I tried every email marketing tool — these are the best (2024)

Introduction

I’m in the market for new email marketing software.

After years with MailChimp, I’ve finally had enough—time for a change!

To find the right fit, I took a deep dive into the top 25 email marketing tools. Along the way, I battled unhelpful chatbots, squinted through pages of fine print, built a detailed comparison spreadsheet, and, naturally, sent real emails with each tool.

Here’s what I discovered.

My Requirements

I use email marketing for Atlist, a software company I co-founded.

Even though we’re a software company, our email marketing strategy is pretty straightforward— like many businesses, we rely on two main types of emails:

1. Newsletters

We send out a newsletter when we release a new feature. However, we don’t blast this to everyone. Newsletters go only to users who opted in by clicking a box during signup.

An example email newsletter.

2. Automations

An automation is an email triggered by specific user actions.

We send 3 automated emails when people sign up for our 14-day free trial:

• Day 1: Welcome email.
• Day 13: Reminder that the free trial is almost up.
• Day 15: A notification that the free trial has ended.

Our day 13 email automation.

And that’s it! Just a few automations and an occasional newsletter. Simple, yet effective.

Why I Left MailChimp

For a long time, I used MailChimp for email marketing.

MailChimp is easily the biggest player in the space — estimates suggest they command 64% of the market, leaving all other email marketing tools combined with just 36%:

MailChimp commands 64% of the email marketing tool market.
Source: Datanyze ‘Email Marketing Software Market Share’

But bigger doesn’t always mean better, and recently, I decided to cancel MailChimp.

It felt so good.

So, what led to this decision? What turned me off MailChimp after years of using it?

Here are the key reasons:

1. Price Increases

Over the past two years, MailChimp has raised my prices three times.

Each increase made the service more expensive. And I’m far from alone in this experience — a quick look online reveals countless complaints from other users frustrated by the constant price hikes.

MailChimp increased my prices three times in two years.

2. Charging for Unsubscribers

When I first signed up for MailChimp in 2011, the pricing was straightforward: you paid per subscriber. As your subscriber count grew, so did your costs.

In 2011, MailChimp charged per subscriber.

But in 2019, MailChimp made a major change. Instead of charging per subscriber, they started charging per contact.

In 2019, MailChimp started charging per contact.

What’s a contact, you ask?

Well, it’s a slippery, weaselly word. According to MailChimp’s support documentation, a “contact” includes not only subscribers but also unsubscribers and even non-subscribers.

Under the old model, I paid only for people I actively emailed.

Under the new model, I’m paying for people who’ve unsubscribed or who will never recieve an email from me.

This quickly became a headache. We email most people three times and never contact them again. Yet every month, I’d have to manually delete thousands of unsubscribers and non-subscribers to avoid being charged for them. Annoying, right?

3. Overage Charges

MailChimp’s pricing is based on tiers of contacts. For example, if you have 1,300 contacts, you’re in one tier. But if your list grows to 1,800 contacts, you’ll need to move to a higher tier.

MailChimp is priced based on tiers of contacts.

Here’s the catch: MailChimp doesn’t automatically move you up a tier. If you exceed your tier limit, you’re hit with overage charges.

This means every month, you have to guess how much your list will grow and adjust your plan accordingly. If you guess wrong and underestimate, you’ll face extra fees. It’s an unnecessary hassle.

4. Questionable Awards

Once I started getting frustrated with MailChimp, I began noticing all sorts of red flags. For example, MailChimp frequently touts its “award-winning customer support.”

MailChimp frequently touts it’s “award-winning” support on it’s website.

But what’s the award? It’s from a little-known organization called The Stevies. The Stevies were created after the Enron scandal to “restore public confidence,” and up to 40% of entries win. That’s not exactly the hallmark of a prestigious award.

Wikipedia page for The Stevies (this page has since been deleted)

5. Scammy Email Tactics

Then there’s their sneaky signup process. When creating an account, there’s a checkbox that reads: “By NOT checking this box, I agree to receive promotional emails.”

By “not” checking this box, you agree to recieve MailChimp promotion emails.

That’s right — by not opting in, you’re automatically subscribed to their marketing emails. It’s a shady tactic.

6. Owned by Intuit, an Infamously Unethical Company

Finally, there’s the fact that MailChimp is now owned by Intuit. Intuit is infamous for lobbying the U.S. government to block free tax filing for Americans. They’ve also been accused of deceptive practices with TurboTax. Supporting a company with such a track record just doesn’t sit right with me.

Intuit is infamous for lobbying the U.S. government to block free tax filing for Americans.

So with MailChimp cancelled, it was time to dive into research.

I started by making a list of the top 25 email marketing tools — not including MailChimp:

As I researched these tools, I quickly noticed a common trend: most of them used the same pricing model as MailChimp, where you pay based on tiers of contacts.

This raised a red flag for me.

MailChimp had taken advantage of me with this model before. Would other companies do the same?

Problem #1: Counting Unsubscribers as Subscribers

The first thing I did was eliminate any companies that counted unsubscribers as contacts. I couldn’t stand that practice with MailChimp, and I wasn’t about to deal with it again. Thankfully, only three companies followed this approach: Mailmodo, Drip and Aweber.

So I eliminated those companies:

Here’s a tip I learned while researching this: never fully trust pricing pages.

For example, Aweber’s pricing page explicitly says they charge per subscriber. But if you dig into their Help Docs—the real source of truth—you’ll find they count unsubscribers toward your total subscriber count.

Aweber’s pricing page says they charge per subscriber… but their Help Docs say differently.

That’s just dishonest. The prefix “un” literally means to undo or make the opposite—so how can an unsubscriber still be considered a subscriber? It’s absurd. Loud sigh.

Problem #2: Overage Charges

Next, I ruled out any companies that imposed overage charges. I can’t stand overage fees—they’re an unnecessary hassle, and I don’t want to waste time worrying about avoiding them. I’m trying to run a business, not play a guessing game with my email marketing budget.

As I dug deeper, I discovered several companies with hidden overage charges: Constant Contact, GetResponse, MailJet, SendGrid, and Benchmark.

I took them off my list too:

To be clear, I’m not saying these are bad companies. I’d just much prefer upfront, transparent pricing so I know exactly what I’m paying for from the start.

Problem #3: Auto Downgrades

Finally, I wanted a tool where, if my contact list grew, I would automatically move up to the appropriate pricing tier. That makes sense, right?

If my list grows, I should automatically move up to the appropriate pricing tier.

But even more importantly, what happens if my contact list shrinks? Would I automatically be downgraded to a lower tier?

If my list shrinks I should also automatically move down to the appropriate tier.

Unfortunately, I found that many companies don’t offer this.

For example, ConvertKit will automatically upgrade your tier when your list grows, but if you want to downgrade after deleting contacts, you’re required to contact support (source).

ConverKit is happy to automatically upgrade your tier if you grow — but won’t downgrade if you delete contacts.

And they’re not the only ones. Active Campaign, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Campaigner, ConvertKit, EmailOctopus, and Zoho Campaigns all follow this same frustrating approach.

So, they’re all off my list:

Is this a big deal?

YES!

In case it’s not obvious, having to monitor this is a burden. I’m trying to run a business—I don’t have the time or energy to keep track of my email marketing software’s billing policies.

To me, it’s also just dishonest. If you’re going to automatically increase my price when my list grows, you should automatically decrease it when my list shrinks. It’s only fair.

Problem #4: Too Expensive

I still wanted to narrow down my list one last time.

To do this, I calculated the monthly cost for each company and eliminated any that charged more than $200. Considering MailChimp had been costing me over $500 a month, staying under $200 felt like a significant improvement.

That meant saying goodbye to Campaign Monitor, Moosend, Intercom, and Omnisend.

And just like that, my list was down to six:

No hard feelings to the eliminated companies— it’s not about the high price itself. I understand that some companies offer advanced features worth paying for, but my needs are pretty basic.

Problem #5: Features

Now that I was down to just six tools, it was time to sign up and test each one to ensure they had the features I needed.

The Good:

• Brevo: I could design emails exactly as I had in MailChimp, and the automation features worked seamlessly for my needs.
• MailerLite: The interface was clear and straightforward. Their automation capabilities were excellent, meeting all my requirements, and the email editor was solid.

I found Mailerlite to be clean and straightforward.

The Not-So-Good: (Eliminated)

• Loops: While I could design emails the way I wanted, the automation editor was too basic and didn’t meet my needs.
• FloDesk: They didn’t support our font, Inter. While not a dealbreaker, it was still a drawback. More importantly, their automation workflow was too simplistic for our needs.
• SendPulse: The email editor felt clunky, and they didn’t support web fonts, which made customization difficult.
• ClickFunnels: The email editor was clunky, and they didn’t support our font either. But honestly, the biggest issue was the overall vibe. They kept pushing coaching sessions, which felt intrusive and unnecessary. After doing some research on Reddit, my suspicions were confirmed—there were suggestions that it operates like an MLM scheme. That sealed the deal for me.

ClickFunnels kept pushing coaching sessions… which felt like an MLM scheme.

So with that I was down to two:

Runner Up

Even though I didn’t choose FloDesk, I think they’re worth mentioning as a runner-up.

Here’s why: their price is just $35 a month. That’s incredibly affordable—much cheaper than most of the competition.

But there’s a bit of an asterisk.

I came across complaints on Reddit from users saying FloDesk had disabled their accounts without warning. That raised a red flag for me.

Complaints about FloDesk on Reddit.

While FloDesk felt too risky for my needs, it might still be worth trying for others who are willing to take the chance.

My Pick

For me, it ultimately came down to two tools: Brevo and MailerLite:

MailerLite (My Pick)

MailerLite impressed me with its clear and straightforward interface—something I really value. A big part of this simplicity comes from its focus solely on email marketing and automation, without adding unnecessary extras. I actually prefer this streamlined approach.

I found Mailerlite to be clean and straightforward.

Their automation features were excellent and met all my needs. For instance, I could mark a subscriber as unsubscribed or even delete them at the end of an automation. This is something many other tools don’t allow, likely because they charge based on the total number of contacts. I appreciated MailerLite giving me this flexibility.

Creating an automation in MailerLite.

The email editor was also solid. It supported my font, and I was able to design my usual email layout without any issues.

Summary — MailerLite stood out for being easy to use, offering strong automation features, and maintaining a clear focus on email marketing. And at a price of $143 per month, it got a big thumbs up from me.

Brevo

Brevo also performed well. Its interface was clean and uncluttered, making it easy to navigate. Designing emails was a breeze, and I could replicate the email designs I’d previously created in MailChimp.

The email editor was clean and uncluttered.

The automation features worked perfectly for my needs.

Creating an automation in Brevo.

It’s worth noting that Brevo goes beyond email marketing. It offers additional tools like WhatsApp marketing, SMS marketing, live chat, and chatbots. While I didn’t necessarily need all these extras, they could be useful for someone with more diverse communication needs.

Brevo’s pricing model is unique—it’s based on the number of emails you send, not the number of contacts you have. This approach can be a big advantage for certain businesses.

Summary — A solid interface, additional products beyond email marketing, and a competitive monthly price of $95. Really impressive.

Why did I choose MailerLite over Brevo?

I ultimately decided to go with MailerLite.

While it was a bit more expensive than Brevo, its easy-to-use interface won me over. I expect to be using this tool for the next 5-10 years so usability is really important. I don’t want to feel frustrated.

I also appreciated that MailerLite focuses exclusively on email marketing. I think this leads to a more streamlined and purpose-driven product, which I prefer over tools trying to do it all.

Admittedly, the name initially threw me off. But after learning more about their philosophy, it started to make sense—especially their idea that “keeping it lite means clean and functional design.”

I really resonate with that approach. Just nail the basics— that’s all I need.

Wait — am I being too critical?

But I couldn’t help but wonder—was I being too hard on these companies? Were my expectations of fairness and transparency unrealistic in a capitalist system?

Maybe. But companies like ConvertKit made me feel jaded.

Take, for example, a video they posted recently:

Okay. Beautiful trumpets, slow-motion walks at sunset—it’s all so aspirational. And throughout the video, they keep repeating this lofty phrase: “We exist to help creators make a living.”

Really? How many ConvertKit creators right now are overpaying because they don’t realize they have to manually downgrade their tier? Clearly some, since it’s right there in your support docs—conveniently buried at the bottom of a page.

ConverKit is happy to automatically upgrade your tier if you grow — but won’t downgrade if you delete contacts.

I started second-guessing myself. Maybe I was missing something obvious—perhaps there was a valid technical reason for this policy. So I reached out to one company, Campaigner, to ask why they make upgrades automatic but not downgrades. Their response? “That’s just the way things work.”

I asked Campaigner why they make upgrades automatic but not downgrades.

Except it’s not. Many of the companies I reviewed didn’t do this. So, no—it’s not just the way things work.

What about email deliverability?

Deliverability refers to the percentage of emails you send that actually make it into your contacts’ inboxes.

The tool you choose can impact deliverability. However, it’s a complex topic, and I won’t dive into the details here. If this is something you’re concerned about, there are experts far more knowledgeable than me who can explain it thoroughly.