When I think of email newsletters I think of The Hustle, Morning Brew, and of course, Ticker Nerd, my very own email newsletter.
Over the years email newsletters have become one of the most lucrative businesses to start. There’s a proven playbook for starting, growing, and scaling them.
So whether you’re starting your first email newsletter or about to scale past 100,000 subscribers, I’m going to help you choose the most suitable email newsletter platform.
What should you look for in an email newsletter platform?
Running an email newsletter is simple, but it’s definitely not easy. From growth to operations, it can be a slog. But once it’s growing, you want to make sure you have the right systems and tools in place to make sure everything does run smoothly. This is why it’s important to consider your use case, future growth, processes, and budget.
Here are some key features you should consider before selecting an email newsletter platform:
- Deliverability – are your emails going to hit the recipient’s inbox?
- Email capture forms – can you build pop-ups?
- Landing page builder – can you create a landing page if you need to?
- Scheduling & automation features – can you schedule and/or build automations?
- Design & editors – is there a flexible editor so you can design custom newsletters?
- Ease of use – can you set everything up and run your newsletter easily?
- Pricing – how expensive is it to start? what about when you scale?
- Reporting and analytics – can you make key decisions from the reports?
- User seats – can you invite other users to help produce the reports?
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Luc's favorite
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1. MailerLite
MailerLite is one of my favorite email newsletter platforms. I’ve been using it since 2020 for multiple businesses. I even have it set up for this website and I recommend it to certain clients I work with. MailerLite initially started as an agency in Lithuania but pivoted and now boasts over 130 team members in over 40 different countries.
MailerLite is best suited for small to medium businesses that want an affordable yet reliable email newsletter platform. The solopreneur or creator will also find MailerLite to be a suitable option given its cheap entry point, capable product suite, and great reputation.
Key features
- Easy to create and manage automated sequences.
- The interface is easy to use and navigate.
- You can create and embed forms onto your website.
- Option to receive a daily update on the performance of your list.
- A handy mobile app makes it easy to keep an eye on everything.
- The website builder is becoming more advanced and in some cases competes with other basic website builders such as Wix or Ghost.
Pros
- Very affordable.
- Great email deliverability.
- MailerCheck helps validate subscribers to keep your list clean.
- Offers a transactional email and sms service.
- Simple to use, whilst still offering advanced features for when you scale.
Cons
- Facebook integration & multiple trigger automation is only available on the advanced plan.
- The footer is hard to customize in the drag-and-drop email editor.
- The stripe integration isn’t straightforward to set up.
MailerLite Pricing
- MailerLite pricing is scalable based on the number of subscribers and features.
- Free Plan: $0 for 1,000 subscribers with basic features.
- Growing Business Plan: $32/mo for 5,000 subscribers and additional features such as
- Advanced Plan: $39/mo for 5,000 subscribers and all available features (including Facebook custom audience integration and multiple trigger automation).
- Enterprise clients need to request a quote.
- Plans are discounted on a yearly subscription.
Overall score
| How well does MailerLite stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 9/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 8/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 9/10 |
| Automation | 8/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 7/10 |
| Landing page builder | 7/10 |
| Value for money | 9/10 |
| Overall score | 8.1/10 |
2. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is another email newsletter platform I find myself recommending often. I’ve experimented with it a few times and it’s been great, just not suitable for my specific use case. The platform is uniquely tailored for creators making it one of the best options on the market.
It’s no secret that signing up for ConverKit is one of the best decisions a creator can make. Most of the features are specifically designed to benefit solopreneurs and creators alike. Whether you’re an author, blogger, coach, or podcaster you’ll find features that make the newsletter process easier.
Key features
- Email capture forms that include exit intent functionality.
- Great integrations with popular software such as Teachable, Shopify, Zapier, and Squarespace.
- Built to help creators scale and monetize their audience (check out the sponsor network).
- Advanced reporting to give you the full picture including A/B testing, growth, broadcast, and sequence analytics.
Pros
- ConvertKit Creator University teaches you how to earn a living as a creator.
- Loads of integrations with popular courses, e-commerce, and website platforms.
- Concierge migration services for lists over 5,000.
- Advanced subscriber scoring features.
Cons
- Doesn’t have a drag-and-drop template editor.
- Expensive if you’re not a creator since the features are niche and the pricing is much higher compared to other tools on this list.
- Free tier is very limited and almost unusable.
Jaskaran Singh, Founder of The Social Juice Newsletter, has been using ConvertKit to grow his marketing newsletter for over 2 years. His favorite feature is the engagement tracker, Jaskaran says:
“For Top subscribers, sending email sequences to ask for referrals can help you grow faster & removing subscribers with lowest engagement rate can help you improve the email deliverability.”
ConvertKit Pricing
- ConvertKit pricing is scalable based on the number of subscribers and features.
- Free Plan: $0 for 300 subscribers with limited features.
- Creator Plan: $79/mo for 5,000 subscribers with access to most features excluding the newsletter referral system, subscriber scoring, and advanced reporting.
- Creator Pro Plan: $111/mo for 5,000 subscribers with access to every feature.
- Plans are discounted on a yearly subscription.
Overall score
| How well does ConvertKit stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 8/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 6/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 9/10 |
| Automation | 9/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 9/10 |
| Landing page builder | 8/10 |
| Value for money | 6/10 |
| Overall score | 7.8/10 |
Click here to start ConvetKit for free.
3. Beehiiv
Beehiiv is a relatively new email newsletter platform but is slowly becoming a strong competitor. Successful newsletters such as Milk Road and Fantasy Life use Beehiiv to connect with their audience. Milk Road was actually acquired for eight figures, so this should give you a lot of confidence that Beehiiv is a great option, especially if you want to scale.
The product suite and pricing make Beehiiv a great option for newsletter businesses that want to achieve scale. I briefly explored Beehiiv when it was first released but unfortunately, the product wasn’t as polished as it is today so I decided to move forward with MailerLite.
Related article: Beehiiv Review
Key features
- Ultra flexible newsletter editor.
- Built-in referral system to help you grow your subscriber list.
- Advanced segmentation with metrics, attributes, and events.
- Recommendation network that helps you achieve scale with other newsletter businesses.
Pros
- They offer a well-rounded newsletter course.
- Native one-click poll feature that helps collect feedback.
- Advanced subscriber attribution metrics.
- Super simple onboarding process to help you get started immediately.
Cons
- Core features such as the referral program are only available on the most expensive plan.
- Haven’t been around as long as some of the competitors.
Related article: Beehiiv vs MailerLite
Beehiiv Pricing
- Free plan: $0 up to 2,500 subscribers with access to some features.
- Grow plan: $49/mo with up to 10,000 subscribers with access to most features.
- Scale plan: $99/mo with up to 100,000 subscribers with access to all the features.
- All plans are cheaper if paid annually.
Overall score
| How well does Beehiiv stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 9/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 9/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 9/10 |
| Automation | 8/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 7/10 |
| Landing page builder | 5/10 |
| Value for money | 7/10 |
| Overall score | 7.7/10 |
Click here to get started with Beehiiv for free.
4. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an all-rounder email marketing, automation, and CRM tool. It boasts features for every stage of the customer journey including reach, nurture, convert, and grow. At first, this might not sound relevant, however, it makes it incredibly handy to execute all of this under one roof. Regardless of whether you’re an eCommerce, SaaS, or services business, you can leverage ActiveCampaign to grow. It will comfortably handle email newsletters along with every other customer communication requirement you might have.
ActiveCampaign is an email marketing software best suited for medium to large businesses. Whilst beginners and less advanced users can have great success with ActiveCampaign, their product suite is tailored for businesses that want to scale and go beyond email.
Key features
- Features specifically designed to improve your deliverability.
- Over 870 integrations with commonly used apps.
- Flexible and easy-to-build email capture forms.
- Drag and drop landing page builder.
- Integrated website tracking.
Pros
- The landing page and capture form builder make it easy to choose the right list/segment to integrate with.
- Easy to split test landing pages to see which converts best.
- If you run ads to grow your newsletter you can use attribution tracking to see where your best leads come from.
- Contact migration is available in all plans.
Cons
- Relatively expensive for a small list and basic features.
- Unreliable customer success and support.
- No exit intent popup functionality.
- Free trial, but no free plan.
ActiveCampaign Pricing
- Lite Plan: ~$99/mo for 5,000 subscribers and basic features. This is best for solopreneurs or small newsletters that don’t need all the bells and whistles.
- Plus Plan: ~$189/mo for 5,000 subscribers and the advanced features.
- You can add SMS & CRM functionality to your plan if you require it.
- All plans are cheaper on a yearly subscription.
Overall score
| How well does ActiveCampaign stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 8/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 7/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 8/10 |
| Automation | 8/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 8/10 |
| Landing page builder | 7/10 |
| Value for money | 6/10 |
| Overall score | 7.4/10 |
Start sending emails with ActiveCampaign.
5. Klaviyo
Klaviyo is one of the best email marketing platforms for eCommerce businesses. They boast powerful automation technology that helps businesses capture the most value from their website traffic. One thing that stands out with Klaviyo is their ability to forecast the ROI through using the product suite.
Klaviyo is best suited to eCommerce businesses that want to start an email newsletter. Unless you already have an eCommerce store, it doesn’t make sense to get set up with Klaviyo.
Key features
- The automation feature allows you to send targeted emails based on a user’s behavior.
- Email personalization features based on user behavior.
- Ultra-detailed analytics about every touch point.
- Simple to use and understand.
Pros
- You don’t need to be technical to make the most of the platform.
- Advanced data and reporting that helps you track KPIs and determine ROI.
- Allows you to track the revenue generated from your campaigns.
- Automated A/B testing to ensure the best results.
- Email benchmarking to let you know how your campaigns perform relative to your competitors.
Cons
- Only eCommerce businesses will get the most value out of Klaviyo.
- Support channels are limited, which is important for Klaivyo since it integrates closely with your eCommerce website.
Klaviyo Pricing
- Free: $0 up to 250 subscribers and no onboarding or customer success rep.
- Email: $110/mo for 5,001-5,500 contacts with 55k monthly email sends.
- Email & SMS: $125/mo for 5,001-5,500 contacts with 55k monthly email sends & 1,250 SMS credits.
Overall score
| How well does Klaviyo stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 7/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 7/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 7/10 |
| Automation | 8/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 6/10 |
| Landing page builder | 5/10 |
| Value for money | 7/10 |
| Overall score | 6.7/10 |
Click here to get started with Klaviyo.
6. Mailchimp
It’s not uncommon for people to associate email marketing with Mailchimp. They have over 14 million users and boast a whopping 67% market share in the email marketing software category. Similar to MailerLite, Mailchimp started off as an agency called The Rocket Group. The team pivoted in the early 2000s, and eventually, Mailchimp was created. The product served as an alternative solution to expensive and complicated email marketing software.
Mailchimp has been around since 2001, which means it has an extensive and well-rounded product suite. Whilst they live up to the bold claim of being an “all-in-one marketing platform” it’s not exactly a value-add to businesses that simply want to run an email newsletter.
Related article: The Profitable Guide to Email Copywriting.
Key features
- Unlimited survey responses in the free survey tool.
- Leverages AI to create content and build custom template designs based on your branding.
- Dynamic content feature allows you to create multiple variations of an email based on segments.
Jordan Figueredo, Senior Content Strategies at Online Optimism prefers working with Mailchimp and says “My favorite MailChimp features are the A/B testing, stat benchmarks, and clear reporting.”
Pros
- A free tier is available for up to 500 subscribers (limited functionality)
- You can use the surveys to collect and tag email addresses.
- Subject line analyzer to help you get the most open rates.
- Includes native A/B and multivariate testing.
Cons
- Email deliverability is not as high as other competitors.
- The content optimizer and custom-coded templates are only available on the standard plan and above which is more expensive.
- Multivariate testing is only available on a premium plan which is the most expensive.
Mailchimp Pricing
- Free plan: $0 for 500 subscribers with limited functionality.
- Essentials plan: Starts at $69/mo for 5,000 subscribers and slightly more features.
- Standard plan: Starts at $100/mo for 5,000 subscribers and almost every feature.
- Premium plan: Starts at $350/mo for 5,000 subscribers and access to all features including multivariate testing, comparative reporting, and advanced segmentation.
Overall score
| How well does Mailchimp stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 8/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 9/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 6/10 |
| Automation | 8/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 7/10 |
| Landing page builder | 8/10 |
| Value for money | 6/10 |
| Overall score | 7.4/10 |
Click here to start a free trial
7. AWeber
AWeber is an email marketing tool that helps small businesses scale their marketing efforts through email, landing pages, automation, e-commerce, and even web push notifications. They boast amazing reviews from small businesses all over the world.
AWeber is a great option for solopreneurs, small businesses, and creators that aren’t tech-savvy but still want to leverage the most essential features.
Key features
- Over 600 email marketing & newsletter templates to choose from.
- Ability to automatically design a template based on your website.
- Free high-quality stock photos to use in your campaigns.
- Pre-built auto responders for new subscribers.
- Advanced split testing features.
Pros
- You buy and host a domain in AWeber, there’s no need to use a third party.
- The landing page builder has a Canva integration.
- The email templates are already mobile-responsive.
Cons
- The Lite plan only allows 3 x landing pages and 3 x automations. This seems relatively limited compared to competitors.
- The premium plans say “unlimited subscribers” although the price increases when you update the number of subscribers which seems a bit misleading.
- You can’t remove the Aweber branding unless you’re on a Plus plan or higher.
AWeber Pricing
- Free plan: $0 up to 500 subscribers with 1 list, automation, and landing page.
- Lite plan: $44.99/mo for 2,501-5,000 subscribers including 3 email automations.
- Plus plan: $59.99/mo for 2,501-5,000 subscribers including unlimited email automations.
- Unlimited plan: $899/mo for unlimited subscribers and access to every feature.
Overall score
| How well does AWeber stack up? | Score |
| Ease of use (is it pleasant to use?) | 9/10 |
| Email builder & templates (do you have variety?) | 9/10 |
| Deliverability (do the emails hit inboxes?) | 9/10 |
| Automation | 6/10 |
| Email capture forms (can you create popups, etc?) | 7/10 |
| Landing page builder | 8/10 |
| Value for money | 7/10 |
| Overall score | 7.9/10 |
Get started with AWeber for free.
Methodology for choosing the best email newsletter platforms & software
Since I’ve been building email campaigns and running newsletter businesses for years I’ve naturally had experience with each tool. For some of them, I carefully reviewed each feature, whilst, for others, I logged into a client’s dashboard to create and schedule an email. But it doesn’t end here, I also spoke with email marketing experts to get their opinions on which platforms they think are best and why.
The main criteria for selecting and rating an email newsletter platform are based on the following:
- The email deliverability
- How easy and beautiful the email capture forms are
- Whether there’s a landing page builder
- How flexible and easy the automation features are
- Whether there are specific features that benefit email newsletter businesses
- The overall ease of use
- The value for money
- The reporting and analytics
- How many users seats come with each plan
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Luc's favorite
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Frequently asked questions
Is it hard to switch email newsletter platforms?
It is not hard to switch email newsletter platforms these days. Most software has migration services that will help you safely migrate your list, along with most of the automation or campaigns you have set up. In some cases, you will need to be subscribed to a premium plan to access this service.
Which email newsletter platform is best for a creator?
ConvertKit is one of the best options since the product suite is tailored for creators and solopreneurs. MailerLite and Beehiiv are close rivals though. If you want some more inspiration check out the best copywriting newsletters or the best SEO newsletters to see the platforms they’re using and how they’re formatted.
Which email newsletter platform is the easiest to use?
In my experience, MailerLite is extremely easy to use, even for beginners. The user experience is intuitive and obvious. Another simple platform is AWeber. Since it is designed for small businesses, its users are not email experts which means their products need to be ultra-simple to use.
