9 Best Email Marketing Software for Small Business [Tested & Ranked]

The best email marketing software is affordable and easy to use. We tested dozens of platforms to help you find the best email marketing services for your business. The email marketing apps below enable everything from email campaign creation, automation, and reporting to lead nurturing and triggered emails to increase conversions—and many let you start out for free.

• Best email marketing software overall:HubSpot
• Best for ecommerce:Omnisend
• Cheapest email marketing software:Zoho Campaigns
• Built in artificial intelligence (AI) writer:GetResponse
• Best site builder-email marketing combo:MailerLite
• Best for A/B testing:Mailchimp
• Best for extensive automations:Active Campaign
• Ideal for smart send-time optimization:SendX
• Most beginner-friendly email marketing software:Moosend

Best Email Marketing Software for Small Business at a Glance

*Cost per month based on 12-month billing cycle or pay more month-to-month

1. HubSpot: Overall Best Email Marketing Software

HubSpot is well-known as a comprehensive sales and marketing platform forbuilding a strong brand presenceonline. Email marketing andHubSpot CRMare included among the free tools, so you can build your mailing list at zero cost. Pricing for paid plans is small business-friendly, at $20 per month (or $18 with annual billing).

The free plan includes HubSpot branding, but moving to a paid plan removes branding from your emails, forms, landing pages, and live chat app on your site. All these additional tools boost your email marketing efforts because you can use them to build contact lists, direct traffic to high-converting landing pages, or add web forms and a chatbot to your website.

HubSpot is also an excellent email marketing service for list management, with advanced tools for segmenting audiences and personalizing campaigns. Its email marketing templates are mobile-friendly—as easy to view on a mobile phone as on a desktop. Each is designed to produce conversions, from getting people to visit a landing page to signing up for a demo or purchasing a product from your website.

Feature Spotlight

The drag-and-drop landing page builder by HubSpot is another free tool to increase email campaign conversions. Plus, theHubSpot CMS website builderis also free to use, making it a one-stop for building a strong brand presence and lead and sales generation solution for your small business.

Expert Opinion

HubSpot offers some of the best free email marketing tools for lead generation and nurturing, with robust features for building and managing contact lists and creating landing pages. The free plan is a solid starting point for small businesses, especially those who need a minimal learning curve into email marketing. More importantly, Its combination of email marketing alongside scalable, comprehensive sales and marketing software is unmatched.

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2. Omnisend: Best Email Marketing Platform for Ecommerce

Omnisend is one of the most popular email marketing software platforms for Shopify users. Loaded with powerful ecommerce marketing capabilities, it is regarded as a multi-channel marketing platform for ecommerce businesses. This is especially useful for a multi-channel approach to marketing campaigns, such as combining email marketing with text SMS campaigns.

的原因之一Omnisend使它到目前为止our picks for best email marketing software for small business is its one-of-a-kind free plan. Unlike most email marketing platforms, their free plan does not limit functionality—only the number of emails and contacts sent per month. As such, startups and small businesses can fully explore the full capabilities of Omnisend before signing up.

Although you can have unlimited contacts in your list, the free plan only allows 250 marketing contacts for marketing emails. Standard pricing starts at $16 for 500 contacts and the Pro plan starts at $59 for up to 2,500 contacts. The biggest difference between the two plans is the SMS and email monthly limit.

Feature Spotlight

Omnisend boasts a strong reputation for marketing automation. Not only does it have a comprehensive library of pre-made workflows and automations for email marketing, but users can drag and drop other channels to include in a single workflow. With this, Omnisend can roll out tailored and consistent emails, SMS, and web push notifications in a streamlined process.

Expert Opinion

Omnisend is the best email marketing platform for ecommerce businesses. It offers unparalleled capabilities such as pre-built ecommerce automations, two-minute Shopify integration, and unlimited segments that are updated in real time for precise customer targeting. These are all accessible even in the free plan, making it an excellent email marketing platform for startups and small businesses on a budget.

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3. Zoho Campaigns: Cheapest Email Marketing Software

Zoho Campaigns is a budget-friendly email marketing platform for businesses with various email needs. This ranges from a few emails sent on occasion to unlimited emails per month. It has all the necessary features for a successful campaign: email template layouts, a drag-and-drop editor, and a comprehensive analytics report—all for free. Or get more features in paid plans as low as $3 (up to 500 contacts).

Zoho活动“自由计划提供了6000电子邮件每month for up to 2000 contacts, but it’s not the best option if email marketing is a critical component of your marketing campaign. The free plan is minimal in terms of functionality. There’s no option for automation, audience segmentation, or A/B testing, making it difficult to ensure your email campaign is optimized. Omnisend offers all these features for free, but only for up to 500 contacts.

On the other hand, businesses already using Zoho CRM, Mail, or other platforms can expect seamless integration with Zoho Campaigns. Zoho is also known for prioritizing data security, so Zoho Campaigns’ security framework is one of the best in the industry. It uses a 10-pillar approach covering possible vulnerability areas, including an impressive user data encryption system.

Feature Spotlight

A feature on Zoho Campaigns we keep seeing in user reviews and our own experience with the platform is its high-quality analytics. Most reports are limited to statistics on open rates, click-through rates, or bounce rate. In Zoho Campaigns, there are five reports available each with their own stats and insights:

• Sent Campaigns Report
• Google Analytics
• Campaign-based Reports
• List-based Reports
• Comparison Reports

Expert Opinion

With a unique pricing model, affordable starting rates, and solid email marketing features, Zoho Campaigns is recommended for startups, small businesses, or any other business with a modest budget looking for a reliable email marketing platform. At the same time, its value-rich analytics and reports make it an excellent option for research-heavy email marketers who plan to utilize different data in optimizing their campaigns.

Visit Zoho Campaigns

4. GetResponse: Best for AI Email Writing Assistance

GetResponse has an impressive suite of features such as micro-targeting and segmentation, easy to use email and website builder, and 100+ predesigned templates. However, what caught our eye was the built-in AI email generator that instantaneously generates email subject lines and content.

This unique resource allows paid plan users to create effective emails faster while keeping their business and industry goals in mind. GetReponse’s AI email generator is powered by GPT technology, the same AI model often used by thebest AI content writersfor businesses. After generating your content, you can choose a layout and color palette to automatically create the email you can send to your list.

The free plan on GetResponse is generous in its own right with useful features such as templates for forms, pop-ups, and landing pages as well as basic segmentation. However, its best features are available on the paid plans. Aside from the AI email generator, we found their Conversion Funnels feature valuable for businesses which allows users to create sales funnels for various parts of their campaign.

Feature Spotlight

There are a number of unique features on GetResponse, but we believe that the AI email generator takes the cake. Simply provide the keywords relevant to your email, your business type, and the tone of your content for the generator to come up with content ideas. Select your layout and design. Then it will instantly come up with your email template. You can also tweak the results or add your logo if you want to.

Expert Opinion

Aside from the usual templates, email builder, segmentation, and A/B testing, GetResponse keeps up with the competition with a site builder of its own and unlimited landing pages. But the feature that won our hearts is its AI email writer with smart and professional email content, written instantaneously.

Visit GetResponse

5. MailerLite: Best Site Builder-Email Marketing Combo

MailerLite offers one of the most generous free plans of any email marketing software. On the free plan, MailerLite provides one website and up to 10 landing pages, which makes it a great option for beginners or startups who want a cheap and easy solution for both. For as little as $9, users can create unlimited websites and landing pages on the platform.

MailerLite goes beyond email blasts and offers automation, landing pages, a website builder, and sign-up forms and pop-ups—even on the free plan. A campaign is relatively simple to set up, with a drag-and-drop editor and email builder available in-house.

MailerLite allows unlimited automated email sequences as well as an email automation builder. However, it pales in comparison to ActiveCampaign or Omnisend’s automation capabilities. Admittedly, reviews show that users are most impressed by having the ability tobuild a small business websitewith the software.

But for segmentation and personalization capabilities, MailerList is a solid contender. The segments on MailerLite are similar to Mailchimp’s segments, such as behavioral, based on a database field, purchases, automation membership, and the like. List management features are also offered. However these are slightly underwhelming compared to GetResponse.

Feature Spotlight

This review wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t feature MailerLite’s modern and no-code website builder in the spotlight. Not only is it incredibly easy to build a website from scratch, but users also enjoy zero limits on visitors or storage on the platform. For as low as $9 a month, you can enjoy website templates, drag-and-drop website and landing page editors, and a built-in photo editor to enhance business media.

Expert Opinion

MailerLite is an impressive email marketing software for its price. It is one of the best options for small businesses, particularly those looking for a one-stop solution for building brand presence online with a website and email marketing campaigns. Its free forever plan includes the necessities of email marketing and more, allowing MailerLite to hold its own with the market leaders in email marketing.

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6. Mailchimp: Best for A/B Testing and Segmented Email Sends

Mailchimp offers an all-in-one marketing hub with a website builder, landing pages, CRM, marketing tools for social media, and even direct mail marketing. Mailchimp especially has an extensive range of features for email marketing, which is its bread and butter, and what it’s most known for.

One feature you won’t find with any other email marketing software is Mailchimp’s multivariate testing and the option to test multiple elements and email campaigns. This takes campaign optimization to another level.

However, multivariate testing and other premium features like predictive analytics or phone support require an expensive Premium subscription. If your budget won’t allow that, don’t worry. Mailchimp’s free plan has access to quite a bit of functionality including email automation, segmentation and behavioral targeting, and easy-to-build websites and webforms.

As a leading email marketing service, it integrates with over 300 other apps, including all-in-one website builders like Squarespace, and variousMailchimp-friendly sales CRMs, and ecommerce software. Mailchimp is an ideal option for small businesses ranging from email marketing beginners to pros looking for a comprehensive tool with social ad integration and more A/B testing options than competitors.

Feature Spotlight

Although Mailchimp’s new email builder is still in beta, we are excited to see new tools built into the email builder itself. It comes with a few new templates and AI-based suggestions that are geared toward improving email copy and in boosting engagement. These suggestions come up in real time as you create the email in the new builder.

Expert Opinion

Mailchimp’s free plan is a great choice to get started withpermission-based email marketing. It’s also ideal (if your budget allows) if you want advanced segmenting or multivariate email testing. We also recommend it for startups looking for an all-in-one solution for digital marketing as it has an ecommerce website builder, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and transactional email capabilities all in one platform.

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7. ActiveCampaign: Best for Email Marketing Automation

ActiveCampaign has the most advanced email marketing automation capabilities. If you have fewer than 2,500 contacts, it’s more affordable than marketing automation juggernaut HubSpot. There are many different options for automating emails, such as time triggers to encourage more opens, and action or behavioral triggers, like after a contact opens an email or clicks a link.

Segmentation is also a big deal for ActiveCampaign. As with other email marketing tools, you can create separate groups based on tags, but you can also create custom fields to track specific info from emails. You can even create multi-step forms to segment contacts as they fill out web forms on your landing pages.

You can also send SMS marketing campaigns with ActiveCampaign with all but the Lite plan. Its sales CRM includes deal assignment, pipelines, and lead scoring, and uses machine learning to send email content when a lead is most likely to convert. Beginning with the Plus plan, you can get integrations with more than 870 apps, including Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce.

Feature Spotlight

Setting up automations is easy with ActiveCampaign’s visual workflows, and you can create layered “if-this, then-that” conditional logic style flowcharts to create email drip campaigns. You can also form automations for triggered transactional emails, so customers get an email confirming a purchase or an appointment, get follow-up emails when an item ships, and receive reminders for upcoming service appointments.

Expert Opinion

ActiveCampaign offers excellent value for the money. It’s the best option for any size business that wants complex and advanced email marketing automations for lead nurturing and sales, as this comes in every plan. Although this provider is not nearly as affordable as most platforms on this list, it makes up for it with comprehensive tools, unmatched automation, and even a new AI email writer.

Visit ActiveCampaign

8. SendX: Email Marketing Tool for Smart Send-time Optimization

SendX is far and away one of the cheapest options for startups and small businesses. While there is no free plan, pricing starts under $8 per month, and the cost increases level-to-level based on the size of your contact list are modest, especially compared to HubSpot and Mailchimp.

One feature we especially love is its deliverability booster. It uses Opti-Send Tech based on geo-optimization and data history to send emails at the best possible time for your contacts.

While we haven’t shared data on user reviews for other providers, it’s worth mentioning here. SendX has high user ratings (e.g.,4.6 out of 5 on G2), with many SendX reviews especially citing the quality of customer care they received. For startups and solopreneurs who have to do it all marketing-wise, this type of support is invaluable.

Feature Spotlight

SendX has a clean and simple interface that makes it easy for even email marketing beginners to set up their first campaign. The drag-and-drop email builder creates beautiful email newsletters that are responsive and optimized for mobile. You can create a design from scratch or choose from the 60+ templates offered on the platform. Although somewhat limited in number, we are pleased to see that most of the template designs are fresh and modern.

Expert Opinion

SendX offers ample email marketing features at a fraction of the cost of many top providers. Its pricing model ensures that even startups, entrepreneurs, and businesses with modest budgets can enjoy their tools. SendX’s one-of-a-kind Opti-Send Tech is definitely one of the features you should take advantage of in their 14-day free trial. It can help improve your open rates by automatically targeting when people are more likely to open them.

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9. Moosend: Best Email Marketing Software for Beginners

Moosend became a rising star among email marketing platforms with unlimited emails and premium functionality for as low as $7 a month billed annually. But Moosend’s most appealing aspect is its user-friendly drag-and-drop email builder with all you need to build a successful email. From templates to a built-in photo and GIF picker, Moosend’s builder is our top pick for email marketing beginners.

With a minimal learning curve, Moosend boasts impressive email campaign designs that any small business client can achieve. Also, Moosend offers A/B testing and spam and delivery testing in the base tier, which significantly decreases the possibility of email campaigns being marked as spam. In fact, you can enable DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), the encryption technology used on Gmail and Outlook, to make your emails more reputable to these inboxes.

Moosend is one of the cheaper providers on this list. However, if there is a need for CRM features, ecommerce options, and robust third-party integrations, Mailchimp or MailerLite are excellent alternatives, both of which offer free plans.

Feature Spotlight

The range of email marketing automation tools available even in Moosend’s basic pricing tier rivals those that are offered in ActiveCampaign and MailerLite’s higher-priced plans. You can easily set up sophisticated automated workflows or start with a ready-made workflow template instead. There are 18 workflow templates available that you can fully customize for future campaigns.

Expert Opinion

Moosend is an affordable small business email marketing software that can create well-formatted and optimized email campaigns even with little to no background knowledge. It is the best option for small to medium businesses that aim to send high numbers of emails monthly and automate their campaigns easily.

Visit Moosend

How We Evaluated the Best Email Marketing Service for Small Business

To choose the best services, we considered more than just email marketing features, cost, and ease of use. We looked at apps that further aid your campaigns, whether through marketing automation, data enrichment of your contacts, contact management, third-party integrations, and extras like landing pages for conversions.

Click the tabs to learn more about the factors we considered in choosing the best email marketing platforms for small businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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Bottom Line

Finding the right platform comes down to your budget, desired features, contact list size, and how many marketing emails you want to send each month. The best email marketing platform for small businesses is HubSpot. It has a robust feature set, provides an all-in-one marketing hub, and has plans to fit almost every business. A forever-free plan is available to startups, solopreneurs, and small businesses, with plans that scale as your business grows.

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