One of hundreds of Email Service Providers (ESPs) are behind the marketing emails you receive in your inbox. With so many providers to choose from, shopping for one yourself can feel like a daunting task.
- Which email marketing services are other brands using?
- How many of them are using each service?
- Which email marketing tools are the most popular?
- Who are the up and coming ESPs?
When you combine datasets from SendView and ESP Finder, we’re looking at tens of thousands of emails sent by thousands of different brands. Which means that we can rank the top ESPs fairly reliably. So whether you’re looking for a new email marketing platform or just curious about how they stack up, here’s where things stand.
What are the best email marketing services?
What’s unique about email marketing companies is that many are tailored to very specific industries or verticals. They do this because the email needs of an independent publisher are very, very different than that of a B2B software company, even though both heavily rely on email marketing. As a result, the tools, features, and functionality of each marketing platform are often built specifically for the unique email needs of the exact users they’re hoping to serve. For example:
- Klaviyo is built specifically for retail businesses
- ConvertKit is built specifically for creators
- Loops is built specifically for SaaS companies
- Pardot is built specifically for B2B sales
In other words, there are many services that would be considered best email marketing platforms because each company is the best for a specific type of user. For the email platforms listed below, we’ve added a little bit of context to better understand the strengths (automations, deliverability, etc.), user types (b2b, retail, etc.), and pricing for each one.
What are the best free email marketing services?
When trying to nail down the best free ESPs it’s important to think about what your goals and constraints are. For example, if you plan to send a lot of emails to a small list, a free tier that doesn’t limit your email volume is probably best. On the flip side, if you send few emails to a large list, a free tier that doesn’t limit your contacts is probably the way to go. Let’s look at a few good choices based on those two criteria.
Which ESPs have free tiers with email limits?
- ConstantContact limits free users to send 100 emails before they need to pay.
- Brevo allows free users to send 300 emails a day.
Which ESPs have free tiers with subscriber limits?
- MailChimp’s free tier allows up to 2,000 subscribers.
- Klaviyo offers a free tier with up to 250 subscribers.
- Omnisend allows up to 250 subscribers on their free tier.
- ConvertKit’s limit is 300 subscribers for free plans.
- MailerLite’s limit is 1,000 subscribers on their free tier.
- GetResponse has a free tier that includes 500 subscribers.
Which ESPs have free tiers with both email and subscriber limits?
- EmailOctopus allows you to store up to 2,500 contacts and send up to 10,000 emails per month on their free plan.
Is there such thing as a free email marketing service?
There really is no such thing as a truly free ESP. Instead, there are paid ESPs that offer free tiers for their service. The good news is that email is such a good way to generate sales and revenue that once you get a few hundred subscribers it should be easy to generate enough cash to afford a paid plan. So instead of shopping for an ESP solely because of their free tier, look for an ESP that has all the features you need at a price you feel comfortable with and offers a free plan to get you started.
Live Email Marketing Services Rankings
This is a up-to-date data. As more emails are analyzed by SendView users, the rankings below will change. Keep in mind that we don’t include delivery platforms (SendGrid, Sparpost, etc.) in our rankings.
| ESP Name | % of Total | Chart |
|---|---|---|
| 10.7% | ||
|
MailChimp is one of the most well-known ESPs that works great for both large senders and
small businesses. In fact, MailChimp built their business by serving small businesses and are still a top choice
by businesses with smaller teams. Founded: 2001 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 2000 contacts / Pricing From: $9.99/mo MailChimp Website |
||
| 9.9% | ||
|
Known more specifically as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, this ESP began as ExactTarget before
being acquired by Salesforce in 2013. Similar to Salesforce as a whole, this email platform is primarily aimed at
larger or enterprise clients. Founded: 2000 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $400/mo Salesforce Website |
||
| 9.2% | ||
|
Pronounced clay-vee-yo, Klaviyo has become the go-to email marketing platform for online retailers.
With a broad network of agency partners, a feature set designed specifically for retail, and a tech stack built
on the innovative SendGrid platform, their growth and popularity are skyrocketing. Founded: 2012 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 250 contacts / Pricing From: $20/mo Klaviyo Website |
||
| 5.3% | ||
|
When it comes to sales, Hubspot has long been known as a go-to email CRM for companies of all sizes.
This is partly due to the fact that they offer free tools, an easy-to-use interface, and pricing that works for
companies as small as your corner store and as large as Trello or Soundcloud. Founded: 2006 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $45/mo HubSpot Website |
||
| 5.0% | ||
|
Acoustic used to be IBM Watson and SilverPop before that. A sophisticated ESP, Acoustic allows brands to
work with large amounts of custom data in relational tables, fields, and more through programs, automations, web tracking,
and other advanced features. Founded: 1999 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: Custom Acoustic Website |
||
| 3.8% | ||
|
While it seems strange to say it, at less than a decade old Iterable is fairly new on the scene.
With a focus on cross-channel marketing and a heavy emphasis on support, Iterable has grown quickly and is used by
a diverse set of companies like Zillow, Doordash, and Bombas. Founded: 2013 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Iterable Website |
||
| 3.2% | ||
|
Another more enterprise-level ESP, Responsys is used by everything from online retailers to major airlines.
Similar to many other ESPs of a similar age and feature set, Responsys was acquired by Oracle in 2013 to sit alongside other
enterprise-level products. Founded: 1998 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: Custom Responsys Website |
||
| 3.1% | ||
|
With a focus on both B2B and automation, Marketo is a platform that isn't quite as affordable as
other platforms but makes up for it with advanced features, personalization, and even AI-driven tools. Marketo is also
a great choice for brands who use many channels besides email marketing. In 2018, Marketo was acquired by Adobe. Founded: 2006 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Marketo Website |
||
| 2.4% | ||
|
Another email marketing platform with a heavy focus on automation is ActiveCampaign. Although they
come in at a much more budget-friendly pricepoint, this email company doesn't lack in features and is consistently
ranked as a top ESP by it's users in terms of both power and functionality but also easy of use. Founded: 2003 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $29/mo ActiveCampaign Website |
||
| 2.1% | ||
|
When you talk about ESPs with a very specific audience, NGP VAN is a perfect example. This ESP is not only
built for candidates running for officec, it is built for democratic candidates running for office and includes all the
additional tools around fundraising and tracking that are required for getting candidates the support they need to win elections. Founded: 2001 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom NGP VAN Website |
||
| 2.1% | ||
|
When it comes to personalization, Sailthru is one of the original email platforms to really drive innovation
around this functionality. While primarily focused on retail for much of their history, they are also well-suited to media
as well. Sailthru is also an ESP that has really pushed to expand their ability to work across multiple marketing channels. Founded: 2008 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Sailthru Website |
||
Shopify
|
2.0% | |
|
Wait, isn't Shopify an ecommerce brand? Yes, but just like some ESPs are pushing to include commerce-focused tools,
Shopify is pushing to include more ESP-like functionality. They may not be the most powerful ESP, but they get a ton of usage
because of the sheer volume of ecommerce stores and users who rely on them to send at least some of their emails. Founded: 2006 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $39/mo Shopify Website |
||
| 1.9% | ||
|
Emarsys is another enterprise-level email marketing platform (now owned by SAP) that focuses heavily on the ability
to delivery messages across multiple channels. This omnichannel approach isn't unique to Emarsys, but they are one of the few
enterprise email tools that really goes big on this aspect of their feature set. Don't expect to see a free account option, but
do expect powerful tools designed to get your campaigns to the right person across multiple marketing avenues. Founded: 2000 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Emarsys Website |
||
| 1.9% | ||
|
Braze lives at the intersection of engagement and omnichannel marketing. Their focus on both capturing customer
engagement and enabling real-time messaging around that as well as getting these messages delivered across multiple channels has given
the company a long list of clients that use them for email marketing as well as broader marketing campaigns. Founded: 2011 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Braze Website |
||
| 1.6% | ||
|
Now part of the Salesforce umbrella, Pardot is one of the most well-known enterprise sales email /
CRM platforms. With a focus on lead gen, lead scoring, automations, and a tight integration back to accounts and prospects
in Salesforce, Pardot is a very popular ESP for B2B sales. Founded: 2007 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Pardot Website |
||
| 1.5% | ||
|
CampaignMonitor brings many advanced automation and targeting features to a email marketing platform that
is more affordable for the average businesses. With plans starting at just $9/mo, this platform is ideal for brands who are
just ramping up email and wanted both powerful features but an ESP that can grow with them without a large up-front commitment. Founded: 2004 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $9/mo CampaignMonitor Website |
||
| 1.4% | ||
|
Many ESPs talk about both email and SMS, but Omnisend really leans into this combination with their platform, making
it easy to build programs that use both channels to target potential buyers as needed. With low pricing and a free tier, they have
been able to gain solid traction among marketers looking for an email platform that is more than just email. Founded: 2014 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 250 contacts / Pricing From: $16/mo Omnisend Website |
||
| 1.4% | ||
|
Intercom is a perfect example of a platform that became an ESP simply because email is such a useful tool for
so many use cases. Original - and still - a chat bot, Intercom added email capabilities that may not rival a pure ESP, but
with such a seamless integration to other customer touchpoints like live chat, is a clear choice for folks who may not need a full suite of email tools. Founded: 2011 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $74/mo Intercom Website |
||
| 1.3% | ||
|
ActionKit (now part of NGP VAN) is one of a few email marketing tools that are built specifically for causes, political
or otherwise. The sheer volume of these campaigns make them a very popular ESP in many people's inboxes, even if they don't realize it.
And with a great collection of features for action-minded organizations, expect to see more coming from their servers. Founded: 1999 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: n/a ActionKit Website |
||
| 1.2% | ||
|
Listrak is an ESP that lives at the intersection of customer data and omnichannel marketing. They are really good
at unifying data from many different parts and sources of the customer journey and then giving marketers the ability to target
those customers across channels beyond
email like SMS, mobile push, social, and we browser push. Founded: 1999 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Listrak Website |
||
| 1.2% | ||
|
One of a few Canadian ESPs, Eloqua was one of the first email platforms that got gobbled up by large, enterprise tech platforms when they were acquired by Oracle
in 2012. The brand is on the out in favor of a more generic Oracle-prefixed name, but they continue to lead in unifying customer data
and allowing marketers to deliver targeted experiences and communications in real-time. Founded: 1999 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Eloqua Website |
||
| 1.1% | ||
|
This ESP is a bit under-the-radar for more mainstream marketers, but in circles like retail it has a strong presence for good reason.
With an emphasis on driving conversion with omnichannel messaging, dotdigital relies on strong integrations with many big players to
deliver a platform that can drive meaningful revenue for a solid group of use cases and industries. Founded: 1999 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom dotdigital Website |
||
| 1.1% | ||
|
ExpertSender is an ESP focused on enterprise ecommerce. You won't see a pricing table with affordable rates for stores
just getting started, but you will find powerful tools that allow stores to increase first time purchases as well as customer loyalty and
return rates. Likewise, don't expert to see ExpertSender behind all of the emails in your inbox, but expect good things when you do. Founded: 2009 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom ExpertSender Website |
||
| 1.0% | ||
|
Another under-the-radar ESP that's behind a surprising number of emails, Cheetah brings a heavy focus on customer relationships
with a suite of tools to build your customer database, nuture those customers, and get them to purchase along the way. They have a great platform
with an equally impressive list of customers across retail, financial, restaurants, and travel. Founded: 1998 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Cheetah Website |
||
| 0.9% | ||
|
As is the fate of some ESPs that get snatched up by large enterprise companies, Bronto is on the way out. The rumors
had them shutting down by now but we are still seeing a bit of their code floating around. With these rankings taking into account not just
present but recent send volumes as well, do not be surprised if the fall off the list soon. Founded: 2002 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Bronto Website |
||
| 0.9% | ||
|
One of the true originals in the space, Constant Contact has long been the go-to email marketing platform
for brands to quickly, affordable, and easily get started with email. User friendly tools, interfaces, and pricing have long
made Constant Contact a top choice of many busineses, but especiallly smaller operations and teams. Founded: 1995 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 100 emails / Pricing From: $12/mo Constant Contact Website |
||
| 0.9% | ||
|
One of the lesser known ESPs but no less powerful is Epsilon. This platform combines AI tools for deep customer
insights - specially around intent - and then allows marketers to trigger campaigns based on those traits and signals to
drive revenue and loyalty. Their support model is also one of proactive partnership instead of reactive responses, which sets
them apart from wholy self-service platforms. Founded: 1969 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Epsilon Website |
||
| 0.8% | ||
|
Talk to Adestra users and chances are you will be talking with a happy customer. With a great interface and
toolset that works for a variety of use cases, their focus over the years has primarily settled on publishing, hospitality, and retail.
Don't let the lesser known brand fool you, this is a great tool. Founded: 2004 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Adestra Website |
||
| 0.7% | ||
|
This tool really has grown in both breadth and depth over the years. Your original impression may have been a
self-service platform, but they have thoughtfully moved up market with both tools and high quality support. If you want a great
ESP with some great omnichannel features - including in-app messaging - Customer.io is a fantastic choice. Founded: 2012 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $100/mo Customer.io Website |
||
| 0.7% | ||
|
Now known as Keap, this company has evolved from a sales/autoresponder platform to a really slick CRM and email
tool that's geared primarily for small busiensses. With both a friendly user interface and a set of powerful features to match,
they now offer pricing that is a bit more pro-sumer but worth every penny from the users we have bumped into. Founded: 2012 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $159/mo Infusionsoft Website |
||
| 0.7% | ||
|
A number of ESPs had tried to cater to creators, but Nathan Barry was the first to build a high-level
platform designed spefically for this group. Now the go-to ESP for folks who write, create, make, and create, ConvertKit
has carved out a stronghold on a tricky, but large market with a platform that would now rival any major ESP in features and power. Founded: 2013 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 300 subscribers / Pricing From: $9/mo ConvertKit Website |
||
| 0.7% | ||
|
Now known as Brevo, this platform comes with a generous free plan and thoughtful omnichannel features for
sales, marketing, and even support. Their user friendly affordable tools
are also incredibly strong when placed side-by-side with larger, more expensive platforms which is a big reason why more than a half
million users trust their emails with this ESP. Founded: 2007 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 300 emails/day / Pricing From: $25/mo SendinBlue Website |
||
| 0.6% | ||
|
When you look at this ESPs platform through today's lens, it may be tempting to think of them as a bandwagon
platform, but AI is nothing new for the platform as they have been building on AI for years now to simply the process of getting
the right message to the right person at the right time or, as they put it, market to audiences of one. Founded: 2014 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Blueshift Website |
||
| 0.6% | ||
|
It is easy to think of ESPs purely as a marketing tool, but email is the backbone behind dozens of business operations.
So while this platform is build specifically for universities, their nearly 2000 users mean there are millions and millions of
emails being sent through this platform to drive everything from registration to communications. Founded: 2004 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Technolutions Website |
||
| 0.6% | ||
|
Another niche-specific ESP, Blue State is designed to get people elected, drive donations,
and change laws through a series of powerful tools that use email (and other channels) to build and activate
groups of people through manual or automated email outreach. Founded: 2004 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Blue State Website |
||
| 0.5% | ||
|
Retail is a place where a huge amount of email innovation has occured and this marketing platform is absolutely
among that group on both coutns. Their goal is to help you unlock previously untapped retail data to create opportunities
for driving revenue and repeat purchases, all on the one-to-one scale that builds on the strength of email marketing. Founded: 2013 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Bluecore Website |
||
| 0.5% | ||
|
One of the original email brands that took a daunting technology and made it friendly, approachable, and accessible,
Emma has built on their twenty years of innovation and growth to become an ESP that may not have the market share of the big guns
but has a loyal following that relies on a powerful set of features to deliver relevant, personalized emails to their customers. Founded: 2003 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $99/mo Emma Website |
||
| 0.5% | ||
|
Wunderkind is an ESP that presents itself a bit more as a solution than a platform. With a focus on growth
in terms of both database size and the share of revenue they generate from email (and other channels), they actually build so much of
their brand around those abilities they guarantee their performance. With a unique brand and effective tools, they are one to watch. Founded: 2010 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Wunderkind Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
Formerly known as BlueHornet, Mapp is one of the original powerhouse ESPs that gave marketers the tools to
customize their messages based on guest data at scale. With new owners and a new brand, Mapp has reinvigorated the original
email platform by introducing some powerful new features and a strong direction for this ESP. Founded: 2000 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Mapp Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
Originally positioned as a simple, stripped down, affordable ESP (as the name suggests), this platform
is now on par with the biggest and best ESPs in terms of both funtionality and an interface that makes it easy to use.
The company now has a huge list of users and a large, distributed team that continues to find a sweet spot between price and functionality. Founded: 2010 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 1000 subscribers / Pricing From: $9/mo MailerLite Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
GetResponse is another one of the original ESPs that really made email accessible in the last 90s. Today,
their marketing platform includes not only a suite of powerful email tools, but some unique features like a website builder
and ecommerce funtionality that makes their solution on idea place to start and grow an online business. Founded: 1997 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 500 contacts / Pricing From: $19/mo GetResponse Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
While nearly every major ESP is designed with helping marketers grow, sometimes this is a hope more than a focus.
Not so with this email marketing platform. Maropost goes all in on tools to help brand-driven businesses like retail, travel, and
media publishing. You'll pay more, but you'll get what you pay for with powerful tools to deliver ad-hoc and automated
messages across multiple channels. Founded: 2011 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $279/mo Maropost Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
Retention Science combines the powerful of automation with the potential from A.I. to create a solution that
delivers super-targeted email automation at scale and then relies on that same intelligence to test, refine, and
improve the performance of each campaign. And not just automation, but automation that drives revenue, satisfaction, and
as the name suggests, retention. . Founded: 2011 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Retention Science Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
While some ESPs started with traditional large-scale email marketing and eventually added more automated,
behavior-triggered emails, Drip was the opposite. As the name implies, small, event-triggered automations were the core and then
the more traditional email tools were added later. The approach worked and Drip quickly became a key player in the email industry. Founded: 2011 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $39/mo Drip Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
When AWS launched the ability to send emails through their SES service, this gave ESPs a new place to build
their sending infrastructure. But Email Octopus recognized an opportunity and simply created an interface for users to send emails
through their own AWS accounts. The result was low prices and quick adoption that allowed them to build brand recognition, traffic, and users
and eventually offer a more traditional service (one that does not require your own AWS account) as well. Founded: 2015 / Free Plan: YES / Free Limit: 2.5k subs 10k emails / Pricing From: $8/mo EmailOctopus Website |
||
| 0.4% | ||
|
Originally founded back in 1990, Selligent pivoted from a CRM to email in 2007 and has continued to thoughtfully
evolve since then. Today, the company is known for powerful personalization built on a focus around zero-party data, or data that
they help you collect directly from subscribers. Combined, they have a unique platform that many larger senders in retail and media
rely on. Founded: 2007 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Selligent Website |
||
| 0.3% | ||
|
Action Network is yet another ESP built specifically for causes like campaigning, fundraising, events, petitions and community
engagement. Now featuring a suite of SMS tools to pair with their email functionality, you may not realize how many of their emails
you see in your inbox but we'll give you a hint: it's a lot. They are a key player in the political marketing world. Founded: 2012 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Action Network Website |
||
| 0.3% | ||
|
Cordial does a lot of things really well, but among the most interesting features of this ESP are the ability to
bring in outside data to enhance customer profiles and targeting as well as the speed at which marketers can deploy their campaigns.
Combine these two strengths and you have a powerful ESP for brands with a lot of data and smaller teams. Founded: 2014 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Cordial Website |
||
| 0.3% | ||
|
While certainly not the most recognizable brand in email, Paramount is one that shows up in inboxes at a surprising
rate. They have a suite of both tools and services that allow both brands and agencies to get their messages not just sent, but
delivered to their customers. They are a clear reminder that it doesn't always take a flashy brand to build a great email service. Founded: 2005 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: custom Paramount Website |
||
| 0.3% | ||
|
Another service built on Amazon's SES email platform, Sendy is one of the most affordable ways to send emails
for a simple reason: you only pay for Sendy once. After that, your Amazon sending fees are the only charge which can be as low as
$1/mo when sending 10,000 emails. Send is a really clever unique approach to making email affordable and accessible.
Founded: 2014 / Free Plan: NO / Free Limit: n/a / Pricing From: $69 one time Sendy Website |
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