5 Best Email Marketing Services Find the Right Platform for Your Small Business

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Email marketing is a powerful tool for small businesses to reach and engage with their target audience. It not only helps businesses to promote their products or services but also builds strong relationships with customers.

We know just how overwhelming it can be to choose the right email marketing service for your small business, especially with all of the options out there.  To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the 5 best email marketing services for small businesses. From platform-specific standout features to plans and pricing, we’ve got you covered.

So, whether you’re looking to grow your business or just in need of a reliable email marketing tool to send newsletters. We’ll provide you with everything you need to make the best decision for your small business, and consequently help you and your team reach your email marketing goals. Let’s get started…

Why is Email Marketing Important?

You may be wondering whether email marketing is still relevant in 2024. And the answer is yes, absolutely.  A simple email is still considered one of the most effective ways to get your audience’s attention. As a communication channel, email marketing allows you to directly connect with hundreds, if not thousands, of new prospects as well as the opportunity to reconnect with your existing customers.

And with complete email marketing solutions available for businesses of all sizes, anyone can now create, optimize and send an attractive email newsletter. And of course, like always, we’d love to walk you through the process of creating a newsletter, but first, you’ll need to decide which email marketing service is the right for you.

You can come back to this part later, in fact, here’s a video to help:

Email has been an indispensable marketing and communications tool for businesses for decades. It builds brand awareness, fosters relationships, generates leads, and even propels growth, all without much cost to the company. In fact, the return on investment is really high for email marketing (4400%!).

The Best Email Marketing Services at a Glance

To help you narrow the field to a reasonable number of candidates, we’ve listed our top five in a bit of an email marketing cage match. Let’s see who comes out on top:

The Top 5 Email Marketing Services for Small Businesses

EMAIL MARKETING SERVICE	PRICING	COMMENTS
Try MailerLite	1,000 contacts: $0/mo 2,500: $25/mo 5,000: $39/mo 10,000: $73/mo 15,000: $109/mo	Pros Very affordable User-friendly Easy landing page editor Good deliverability rates Cons Missing some pro features
Try ActiveCampaign	1,000.: $39/mo 2,500: $61/mo 5,000: $99/mo 10,000: $174/mo 50,000: $484/mo	Pros Strong automations In-depth reporting Good email deliverability Free migrations Cons Features can be confusing for beginners
Try GetResponse	1,000 cont: $19/mo 2,500: $29/mo 5,000: $54/mo 10,000: $79/mo 50,000: $299/mo	Pros Advanced list management and automation Conversion funnel feature Email testing, design, and spam Cons High prices for automations
Try Brevo	300 emails/day: $0/mo 20,000 emails: $25/mo 40,000 emails: $35/mo 60,000: $49/mo 100,000: $115/mo	Pros Affordable plan and pricing Sophisticated automation abilities SMS features   Cons Not the best deliverability rates
Try MailChimp	500 contacts: $13/mo 2,500: $45/mo 10,000: $110/mo 30,000: $300/mo 50,000: $385/mo	Pros Detailed reporting Freemium plan available Easy to use drag and drop email builder Cons Paid plans are quite steep Limited allowances on free plan

1. Mailerlite

MailerLite has been gaining popularity over the years for their combination of affordability and advanced features, making it a perfect email marketing platform for small businesses. Despite its low cost, it offers a wealth of tools such as landing pages, marketing automation, and advanced segmentation. The user-friendly interface and the option for a free plan with up to 1,000 subscribers only add to its appeal.

Mailerlite pricing:

• Free for up to 1,000 subscribers with a limit of 12,000 emails
• $32 per month for up to 5,000 subscribers with unlimited emails
• $54 per month for up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited emails

Money saving tip: They offer 15% discount for annual payments. 

Pros of using MailerLite:

Cons of using MailerLite:

Try Mailerlite for free

2. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a comprehensive platform ideal for small businesses that are looking for an advanced email marketing tool. The platform includes a built-in CRM, landing page builder, SMS messaging, and the ability to dive into personalization with Facebook ads and site messages. This provider is a great choice for small businesses with a dynamic email marketing strategy.

ActiveCampaign Pricing:

• $39 per month for up to 1,000 contacts
• $99 per month for up to 5,000 contacts
• $174 per month for up to 10,000 contacts

Pros of using ActiveCampaign:

Cons of using ActiveCampaign:

Try ActiveCampaign for free

3. GetResponse

GetResponse is an all-inclusive email marketing service that caters to the needs of small businesses. It offers very useful and advanced features such as triggered campaigns, automated segments, dynamic content, and tagging. Additionally, it comes with additional tools such as landing pages, a CRM, and a webinar feature.

GetResponse Pricing:

• 500 subscribers: Free
• 1,000 subscribers: $19 per month
• 5,000 subscribers: $54 per month
• 10,000 subscribers: $79 per month

Pros of using GetResponse:

Cons of using GetResponse

Try GetResponse for free 

4. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo is a powerful email marketing tool that offers a wide range of features at highly competitive prices. It includes automation, transactional emails, SMS, landing pages, and dynamic email segmentations. The platform also has a generous free version with limited features and a daily email limit of 300.

Brevo Pricing

$0 for up to 9,000 emails per month $25 for up to 20,000 emails per month $49 per month for up to 60,000 emails per month $115/mo per month for up to 100,000 emails

Pros of using Brevo:

Cons of using Brevo:

Try Brevo for free

5. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a well-known and popular newsletter tool that many small businesses are already using. It offers useful features like automated emails, landing pages, A/B testing, and advanced reporting. The pricing options include a monthly plan, pay-as-you-go credits, and a free forever plan.

Mailchimp Pricing

• $13 per month for 500 contacts
• $45 per month for 2,500 contacts
• $110 per month for 10,000 contacts
• $385 per month for 30,000 contacts

Pros of using Mailchimp:

Cons of using Mailchimp:

Try MailChimp for free 

Choosing the Right Email Marketing Software for Your Small Business

The list of email marketing apps and services continues to grow, and the chances are there is one specific email marketing software that suits the needs of your small business to a tee. If you are interested in exploring more email marketing services, you can head to EmailToolTester to explore the top email marketing providers, here you can find information on plans and pricing, and more importantly, read in-depth product reviews.

With a solid email marketing strategy in place, you are already on the right track, why not make it easier with an email tool and plan that meets the needs, budget, and goals of your business? First, identify the features that best suit your needs, then choose a plan, ideally one that you can test, and then make a list of the features that you found most useful, and finally, try to decide on an email provider that will help you to reach your email marketing goals.

Best Email Marketing Software: Final Thoughts

Whether you want to automate your email marketing and use it as a powerful acquisition tool or just send occasional newsletters, there is an email marketing service out there for you and your business. Consider the marketing budget and the features you need, and compare the different tools.

If you don’t have a budget, there are plenty of free email marketing software options available. With the right email service, your email marketing strategy and execution can be simple, secure, and effective.

The authors

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Charlotte Evans

Content Manager

Hey, I'm Charlotte! I've always been enthusiastic about helping others. After working for various tech startups and eCommerce businesses, I developed a strong passion for email marketing. Now, at EmailTooltester, I'm putting this knowledge to good use by recommending the very best digital tools for your business.

Roberta Phillips

Marketing Manager

Hi, I'm Roberta! Having worked as a digital marketer for a variety of small-to-medium-sized businesses, I've tried, tested, fallen in love with and despaired with so many marketing tools. Now, with almost a decade of experience under my belt, I am excited to help you find the best web tools you need for your business to thrive!

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