8 Email marketing software for small businesses and startups

Are you ready to tap into the awesome power of email marketing?

We’re betting you already know what email marketing is and what it does for small businesses. Now you’re here to find a software product that’ll make it easy for you to do email marketing and get results. And there are a lot of options to pick from.

Choosing the wrong email marketing service might seem like an insignificant decision, too small a choice to earn your concern. But we’re also betting that you know better than that. You know the value of small actions—they’re what brought you to this point in the first place. 

Choosing the right email marketing platform can bolster your startup by setting you off on the right path and in the right direction. It could well be the difference between you generating and nurturing the leads you need to succeed each month, or not.

Email service providers are not all the same. Some are built with large enterprises in mind, while others are infinitely better suited to those who are just getting started—such as yourself.

Whether you’re in the market for email marketing software for your ecommerce site or are just looking for the best way to generate hype and/or sales for your new venture, we’re here to keep it simple and introduce you to the only contenders worth your attention.

Choosing the right email marketing service for your business can be a tough decision. Browsing through the numerous options can become a blur of industry-standard features that all blend together.

The last thing we want is to leave you more confused than you were to begin with.

That’s why we’ve restricted this list to eight options. It’s also why we’re giving you this cheat sheet of nine questions to help you cut through the noise and come away with the right email service provider (ESP) for you.

We recommend you ask yourself these questions before you sign up for any provider, even the most popular email marketing services around:

We’ve selected the following as the leading email marketing services worthy of your consideration.

Each of these platforms is more than capable of serving your every email marketing need while making sure you stay compliant with industry regulations. Often, choosing one from another will come down to your gut instinct, but we’ve highlighted what each option does best in the hopes of helping you make the best choice for you.

Best email marketing software for eye-catching email templates and a scalable flat-rate plan that helps you maximize your ROI.

As the fastest-growing email marketing service on the market, Flodesk has found rising popularity among solopreneurs, startups and small businesses much like yourself.

We’ve designed Flodesk with the goal of making it as easy as possible for you to create the most memorable, impactful and downright beautiful emails. Our platform gives you the most effective, easy-to-use tools in the industry. We also make sending your first Flodesk email as simple as sending your hundredth.

Better yet, we’re the only email provider that does it all for a flat fee forever. That means your successes put more money in your pocket, not ours.

Flodesk is the only email service provider that gives you unrestricted access to every feature for a flat monthly fee forever.

Our software costs $38 USD per month no matter how many emails you need to send or how big your subscriber list grows.

Opt for an annual plan and you’ll pay $418, effectively giving you one month for free.

We offer unlimited access 30-day free trial so you can try out Flodesk for a month; you’re under no obligation to sign up after your trial ends (but we’re confident you’ll be a lifelong fan by then).

Best email marketing platform for shoppable ecommerce emails.

One of the original email service providers, dating back to 1998, AWeber is actually credited with creating email marketing automation workflows. What’s more, they typically have some of the strongest deliverability rates compared to competing providers. 

You’ll need a pro plan to access the full range of their features, but when you do, you’ll find this software is packed with all the essentials you need to grow your email marketing efforts. Be wary, however, as AWeber isn’t known for being especially excellent at any one thing (except their customer service). It’s also worth noting that you’ll have to regularly prune your email lists as you will be charged for storing the details of anyone who has unsubscribed.

This software is also on the pricier side of the available options, and you’ll absolutely need to pay for their services if you want to create the most successful email marketing campaign possible.

If you have fewer than 500 subscribers, AWeber’s free plan might suit your needs; it offers up to 3,000 emails per month and lets you use all the basic features.

For advanced features like A/B testing, advanced analytics and custom segmentation, or for larger email lists and more monthly emails, you’ll need their pro plan. Pricing for this is based on your total subscribers:

Best email marketing service for businesses looking for a combination of email marketing, customer relationship management (CRM) and website solutions all in one place.

One of the most reputable bits of software in the world of email marketing and CRM, Hubspot is packed with features that any sized business can benefit from.

They have a free plan available, but it’s likely that you’ll need at least their Starter plan. This is the tier where they remove their branding and grant you access to email automation, both of which are essential for any startup hoping to succeed.

Many businesses use Hubspot precisely for its all-in-one nature, but it’s worth noting that there is a lot going on here and the learning curve can be quite steep. It’s not uncommon for smaller businesses to feel overwhelmed by this Swiss Army knife approach (and, as a result, never use half the functions they’re paying for).

Proceed with caution; if all you want is an email marketing platform, Hubspot might not be the best choice for you.

If you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers and you’re happy to send Hubspot-branded emails, there is a Free Forever plan that gives you use of all basic email marketing features.

Beyond that, Hubspot is divided into three tiers that each unlock additional features, with prices based on your total subscribers and the tier you’ve chosen.

Prices for their Starter tier are:

Prices for their Professional tier are:

As a small business, it’s unlikely you’ll be interested in Hubspot’s Enterprise tier just yet, so we won’t go into detail on that in this post.

Best email marketing software for comprehensive ecommerce email marketing services.

Regularly relied on by a number of B2C brands, small businesses and those in the retail industry, Klaviyo’s defining feature for many is its exceptional integration with Shopify.

While this provider offers all the expected industry standard features for email marketing, it’s firmly targeted at those operating within the ecommerce sphere. As such, Klaviyo is likely not the right choice for you if you’re only in the market for a general email marketing platform.

While Klayvio is not particularly complex, their tutorials are not the easiest to follow—you may find yourself trawling YouTube for the instructions you need. Some users also report a certain “clunkiness” to the platform.

If you have under 250 subscribers and don’t need to send more than 500 emails per month, Klaviyo’s free plan could tick all your boxes.

Beyond their free plan, Klaviyo prices its service based on whether you want just emails or both emails and SMS. If you choose the latter, then you’ll also be faced with the additional price variable of how many monthly SMS credits you require.

To keep pricing simple for this post, we’ll explore the email-only prices:

Best email marketing tool for a free plan that offers a lot of functionality.

One of the world’s top email marketing services, Mailchimp has become something of a household name even among those who aren’t in the marketing world. 

Favored among small businesses and startups for offering an attractive free plan, Mailchimp is ideal for any business or solopreneur looking for free tools. Just keep in mind that their free plan doesn’t give you access to success essentials like A/B testing or custom branding.

Like many other email marketing service providers, Mailchimp charges you more as you grow your list of subscribers, though it’s typically considered pretty budget-friendly. Like AWeber, you’ll need to be vigilant about pruning your unsubscribed contacts if you want to avoid unnecessary fees.

The platform can also become something of a product suite, transcending email marketing to become your all-in-one online marketing hub—offering everything from website building to domains, social ads, appointment scheduling and more. These, as you might expect, come with their paid plans.

Keep in mind though, that Mailchimp is not without its learning curve. And the more features you’re playing with, the bigger that curve will become.

If you have under 2,000 subscribers and can make do with no more than 10,000 emails per month, Mailchimp’s free plan could be for you. 

Their paid plans are split into three tiers, with variable pricing based on how many contacts you have. The following prices are based on their Essentials tier:

Mailchimp’s Standard tier opens up additional features that the more affluent among you might consider a necessity. Prices for this tier are:

Best email marketing service for businesses who need a strong email platform on a very restricted budget.

Perhaps one of the better-kept secrets in the email marketing world, SendX has gathered a solid fanbase among startups and solopreneurs for a few reasons (not least of which being it’s an easily affordable email marketing service).

Like many other providers, SendX charges you more based on how many contacts your email list contains. However, one of the most attractive traits is that they don’t restrict access to any of their features for any paying customer—whether you have 1,000 subscribers or 10,000, you’ll still get all the bells and whistles.

SendX is also renowned for being very welcoming to newcomers, who can quickly get a grip on the software. It’s not all sunshine and roses, though. You’ll find this email service provider sorely lacking when it comes to versatile A/B testing capabilities and email automation, both of which are integral to long-term email marketing success.

SendX does not offer a free plan, but you can get started with a 14-day free trial to get a feeling for whether this email marketing provider is right for you. You’ll be able to send up to 100 emails with this trial.

After that, their prices are based solely on how many subscribers your email list has. You’ll get unlimited emails within each tier.

Best email marketing tool for a one-stop marketing product.

GetResponse has an impressive selection of features which makes it an appealing choice to anyone who wants access to everything you can possibly do with an email marketing campaign.

They also place no restrictions on how many monthly emails you can send, whether you’re on their free plan or their most expensive tier. What you’ll need to watch out for, however, is the heavily gated approach to their features. For example, you’ll need to be on GetResponse’s second most expensive tier to access their automation features, which are essential for any successful long-term campaign.

If price isn’t a concern for you, and if you’d be happier with an email provider that has plans for huge enterprises (it’s always good to dream of massive growth, right?), then GetResponse could be just what you’re looking for.

If you have under 500 subscribers, GetResponse’s free plan might suit you well, especially as it doesn’t place any restrictions on how many emails you can send each month.

Like most other email marketing platforms, their prices are based on two variables: how many contacts are in your subscriber list, and which tier you select.

Here’s a sample of GetResponse’s prices based on their Email Marketing tier:

Upgrade to their Marketing Automation tier to access additional features and the prices change to the following:

Best email marketing service for absolute beginners to email marketing.

Mailerlite may be relatively new, but like the other newer providers on this list, their freshness actually works in their favor.

What you get here is email software that is steadily rising in popularity. A platform that’s idyllically suited to solopreneurs, startups and small businesses. A provider making a rapid name for itself as a strong tool that’s easy to use and great value for money.

This novice-friendly software is an excellent entry point that offers a generous array of features to help you get off to the best start with your email marketing. Strong deliverability rates and sleek, modern designs reinforce the suitability of this email service provider—however, we’re sorry to say it’s far from perfect.

Mailerlite offers only the most basic of automation workflows and a rather limited library of pre-made templates. It’s also lacking testing features for both spam and overall email design—not ideal! Simply put, while Mailerlite is a fantastic early-days starting point, you’ll likely outgrow its limited capabilities before too long, particularly as your lists and goals grow.

If you have under 1,000 subscribers and can make do with 12,000 monthly emails or less, you’ll get on well with Mailerlite’s free plan.

When your needs soar past those limits, Mailerlite prices its services based on three tiers and how many subscribers you have. Regardless of which tier you select, you unlock access to unlimited monthly emails.

Here’s how the pricing looks for their Growing Business tier:

If you want the additional features of the Advanced tier, prices are:

Want to hear the secret most people out there won’t tell you? When it comes to choosing the best email marketing service for you, there’s not a lot of difference between the available options.

Well… except for one.

Being the only provider to offer a consistent, reliable flat rate, we genuinely believe Flodesk is the best choice for any small business or startup—especially for those planning to thrive as the years go by.

Flodesk is the only email marketing platform that doesn’t charge you for growing. Your success lines your own pockets, not ours.

Of course, if $38 per month is too steep an investment for you amongst the chaos of startup life, there are plenty of free options that will adequately suit your early needs. But as your email lists grow and you’re suddenly facing down the idea of a more expensive plan, we urge you to take action to save your future self both stress and money.

Our best advice? Go with your gut, hop on a free trial and see how you get on.

First, choose your email service provider. Then, work on building your email list through things like gated content, giveaways, landing pages, popup forms and exit-intent popups. Carefully plan what emails you’ll send to your subscribers, and aim to send highly targeted emails that they’ll find valuable instead of irritating.

When you’re confident you’ve mastered the basics, create audience segments to help further improve the relevance of your emails to your subscribers. And finally, stay creative with your emails. If you keep showing up and bringing value, you’ll keep your subscribers engaged—if you don’t, you’ll lose them.

Want to learn more? Check out our 5-step guide to acing your email marketing.

The most beginner-friendly email marketing platforms are the ones with the shortest learning curve. Mailerlite and Flodesk are by far the simplest, most intuitive and easy-to-master ESPs on this list.

While we can’t speak for others, we can guarantee that with Flodesk, you’ll be reaping the rewards of email marketing in record time.

Litmus studies show that email marketing generates an average of 3,600% ROI—that’s a $36 return for every dollar you spend. And yes, that’s a higher ROI than any other marketing channel.

Welcome emails are an absolutely essential automation for any business, whether you’re a startup or a global enterprise. Subscribers expect to receive these when they sign up for anything, and not receiving one is an instant, potentially irreversible warning of a poor-quality company.

With an average open rate of over 86%, these emails are your perfect opportunity to get subscribers excited for the next email you send. Plus, you can effortlessly automate your welcome emails so they don’t take up your time and attention.