Skip to main content

Nate’s Big List of Email Service Companies

Social media and crowd-funding may be getting all the hype, but frankly the most effective way to make a sale or build an audience is through mailing lists.

You can maintain a mailing list in your email account or with WordPress plugins, but there are also many companies that offer free or paid email marketing services.

There are many opinions about which one is best, and without too much difficulty you can find reviews which compare and contrast the various features and costs.

I used to be quite happy with Mailchimp, but recently I found their CS and features to be lacking. Now I user Mailerlite. It’s cheaper, with better automation. BTW, while I can’t recommend services I haven’t used myself, I have heard nice things about Aweber.

Which one do you prefer? Do you know a good one that isn’t on this list?

Edit: An earlier version of this list was published in April 2017. This updated version is more comprehensive and provides more detail.

Name Cost Review Details
MailChimp free, $10 to $199 per month Merchant Maverick One of the more heavily marketed services. Generally good quality, but also more expensive than many of its competitors.
Mailerlite free, $10 to $50 per month Email Tool Tester I have heard from a lot of authors who have moved from MailChimp to Mailerlite because of cost. So far no one has regretted it.
MailMunch free, $12 to $60 per month Tools Insight I’ve actually been using MM’s forms plugin because they look nicer than MailChimp’s form, but I don’t think I would ever use MM to send an email. It’s focused too much on sites rather than lists of subscribers.
Constant Contact $20 to $335 per month  G2 Crowd I’ve always gotten the impression this is more of a corporate tool than one for freelancers or solopreneurs. The emails I have gotten through CC have always looked dated and stuffy, like they were designed around 2005 for a govt agency.
Feedblitz $7 to $300+ per month n\a This company got its start as a paid alternative to Feedburner. It has also offered email list management, but it’s rather hard to find anyone who uses it. The latest reviews are from 2013.
Aweber $20 to $150 per month PC Magazine Judging by the cost per email address, this is one of the pricier companies, and yet I have several clients that use it. Clearly they are getting something for their money.
MailBlast $10 to $85 per month ToolOwl Another one that is hard to find reviews for.
HubSpot free, $50 to $2400 per month CRM Search HubSpot is less an email marketing service than a general purpose marketing platform. Email mailing lists is just one feature.
SurveyGizmo not stated Capterra See above.
ConvertKit $30 to $80+ per month Authority Hacker I have had a couple experiences with ConvertKit’s marketing team and found them to be smugly condescending nobs.
Pinpointe $50 to $900 per month G2 Crowd  n\a
Benchmark free, $14 to $255 per month Merchant Maverick It does not come highly praised; several reviewers described it as buggy with a poorly designed UI.
Zoho free, $5 to $350 per month n\a Like Hubspot and SurveyGizmo, Zoho is a general purpose marketing platform.
Campaigner free, $20 to $550 per month Next Advisor Little known but highly rated, and rather expensive.
Vertical Response free, $11 to $543 per month G2 Crowd With mediocre ratings, this company should not be first on your list.
Drip free, $41 to $84+ per month Capterra n\a
Emma $89 to $729 per month G2 Crowd Intended for universities, non-profits, and other large organizations. Not as expensive as it looks; the bottom tier supports 10,000 email addresses.
iContact $14 to $239 per month Merchant Maverick While missing some basic capabilities like autoresponders and address import, you can use iContact to send surveys and engage with customers.
Get Response $15 to $1200 per month G2 Crowd It offers many advanced features that you can try during a free trial, including Salesforce integration and flexible autoresponders.
Infusionsoft $50 to $200 per month PC Magazine You will find more affordable options that are also more highly rated.
Send in Blue free, $25 to $66 per month G2 Crowd Not easy to use, templates are underwhelming, and it lacks third-party integration.
TBC TBC TBC TBC
TBC TBC TBC TBC

Similar Articles


Comments


Mark Williams – The New Publishing Standard May 27, 2018 um 3:37 am

I’m a fan of E-Goi – https://www.e-goi.com/ – which prices based on subscriber numbers, not emails sent.

If sending out a daily blog or marketing newsletter this set-up is great. The first price tier ($30) allows up to 2,500 subscribers, and a daily email to all would clock up 75,000 emails a month for that price.

I ditched Mailchimp for E-Goi as Mailchimp customer care when things go wrong is abysmal. E-Goi actually talk to you.

Nate Hoffelder May 27, 2018 um 1:34 pm

Thanks, Mark!

I’m not that happy with MailChimp either. You’re right, their CS is poor.


Sharon Reamer May 27, 2018 um 5:21 am

I am similarly highly disenchanted with Mailchimp customer service and am switching services. I planned to do this research but you saved me the trouble. Thanks so much for this list!!!


Felipe Adan Lerma May 27, 2018 um 10:34 pm

Great info, Nate – thanks! I’m saving ur email newsletter alert for future reference.


Hannah Steenbock May 28, 2018 um 4:45 am

I use AWeber, and their support is awesome. Yes, it’s one of the pricer once, but especially for my coaching services (my other passion), it’s also good to have a "serious" company handling my newsletters.


Grow Your Author Mailing List with These 7 Essential Tools | The Digital Reader June 3, 2018 um 7:51 pm

[…] recently published a list of companies that offer mailing list services; I'm sure you will find one that does what you […]


Guillaume July 24, 2018 um 9:54 am

Mailjet ? ( yes the post is old, but I was cleaning my rss feeds.. and I’m currently in the process of looking for a email services compagny for a small project)

Nate Hoffelder July 24, 2018 um 10:28 am

never heard of theme – are they good?


Johanna Rothman August 15, 2018 um 10:46 pm

Any data about Active Campaign?

Nate Hoffelder August 16, 2018 um 9:58 am

It has pretty good reviews: https://www.g2crowd.com/products/activecampaign/reviews

I don’t know anyone who uses it.


varun tej August 26, 2018 um 3:49 am

Hey, I like SMTP email service providers for bulk emailing. I am using Bullmailer + Amazon SES for my email marketing. It has same features of leading companies at low cost. We can send 1m emails at $99 Using amazon ses.


Write a Comment