# The Best Email Marketing Tools for 2024: Tested, Reviewed, and Ranked
You built a great product. You set up your website. You even managed to get some traffic.
But your sales are flat. Why?
Because you aren’t following up. Over 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts. If you don’t have a reliable way to capture emails and follow up, you are leaving money on the table.
Social media platforms throttle your reach unless you pay for ads. Email is the only digital marketing channel where you actually own the audience.
But you can’t just send emails from your personal Gmail account. You need a dedicated platform to ensure your messages actually land in the inbox, not the spam folder.
Finding the best email marketing tools can feel overwhelming. There are hundreds of options, and they all claim to be the ultimate solution.
I have spent years testing these platforms for various businesses. Here at BriskPick, we dig into the software so you don’t have to waste your time or money.
This review breaks down the top platforms based on real pricing, actual features, and honest pros and cons.
## TL;DR: Key Takeaways
* **Best Overall for Most Users:** Mailchimp remains the most user-friendly platform for small businesses.
* **Best for High Volume Senders:** Brevo charges by emails sent, not by the number of contacts you have.
* **Best for Advanced Automations:** ActiveCampaign is an absolute powerhouse if you have the time to learn it.
* **Best for Creators and Bloggers:** ConvertKit (now Kit) makes growing an audience and selling digital products incredibly easy.
## Mailchimp: The Best Email Marketing Tool for Beginners
I have used Mailchimp for almost a decade. It is the platform I recommend to small business owners who are just starting out.
The interface is incredibly intuitive. If you can use a basic word processor, you can build a beautiful email campaign in Mailchimp.
The drag-and-drop email builder is seamless. They also offer hundreds of pre-designed templates that actually look good on mobile devices.
### Standout Features
* **Content Studio:** Store all your images and logos in one place.
* **Predictive Demographics:** Mailchimp uses AI to predict the gender of your subscribers, allowing for better targeted emails.
* **Free Website Builder:** If you don’t have a site yet, Mailchimp gives you a free basic one.
### Real Pricing
Mailchimp offers a Free plan. It covers up to 500 contacts and 1,000 emails per month.
The Essentials plan starts at $13 per month for 500 contacts. This removes the Mailchimp branding from your emails.
The Standard plan adds advanced automation and starts at $20 per month.
Pricing scales up quickly as your list grows. Mailchimp is notorious for getting expensive once you pass 10,000 contacts.
### Pros and Cons
**Pros:**
* Incredibly easy to use.
* Integrates with almost every app on the planet.
* Excellent free plan for absolute beginners.
**Cons:**
* Customer support is lacking on lower-tier plans.
* Gets very expensive as your list scales.
* The dashboard can feel cluttered with upsells.
Check Mailchimp pricing here.
## Brevo: The Best for Unlimited Contacts
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) completely shifts how you pay for email marketing.
Most platforms charge you based on how many subscribers you have. Brevo charges you based on how many emails you send.
This pricing model is a lifesaver if you have a large database of inactive users. I recently migrated a client with 25,000 contacts to Brevo. Our monthly software bill dropped by over 60%.
Brevo is also much more than an email tool. It includes a built-in CRM, SMS marketing, live chat, and even Facebook ad management.
### Standout Features
* **Send-Time Optimization:** The AI figures out the exact time each subscriber is most likely to open an email.
* **Built-in CRM:** Track deals and manage customer relationships in the same dashboard.
* **SMS Campaigns:** Reach people directly via text message.
### Real Pricing
The Free plan lets you store unlimited contacts. You can send up to 300 emails per day.
The Starter plan begins at $9 per month. This gives you 5,000 emails per month and removes the daily sending limit.
The Business plan is $18 per month. It unlocks advanced statistics and A/B testing.
### Pros and Cons
**Pros:**
* Best pricing for massive email lists.
* Excellent deliverability rates.
* All-in-one platform for marketing and sales.
**Cons:**
* The free daily sending limit can slow down large broadcasts.
* The interface requires a slight learning curve compared to Mailchimp.
* Template designs are a bit rigid.
Try Brevo here.
## ActiveCampaign: The Best for Email Automations
If you want to set up complex, highly targeted email sequences, ActiveCampaign is the gold standard.
I use ActiveCampaign for a B2B software company. The level of personalization we achieve is unmatched by any competitor on this list.
The visual automation builder is a dream for data nerds. You can set up rules based on site tracking, purchase history, email engagement, and custom fields.
For example, if a customer abandons their cart, you can wait two hours, send an email. If they don’t buy, wait 24 hours, send an SMS with a 10% discount code.
### Standout Features
* **Site Tracking:** See exactly which web pages a subscriber visits.
* **Lead Scoring:** Automatically assign points to subscribers based on their engagement.
* **Split Actions:** Run infinite A/B tests inside your automated sequences.
### Real Pricing
ActiveCampaign does not offer a permanent free plan. They offer a 14-day trial.
The Starter plan is $15 per month for up to 1,000 contacts. This gives you basic email marketing and automation.
The Plus plan is $30 per month. This is where things get interesting. You get landing pages, lead scoring, and ecommerce integrations.
The Professional plan is $70 per month and unlocks predictive sending and split automations.
### Pros and Cons
**Pros:**
* The most powerful automation builder on the market.
* Deep Shopify and WooCommerce integrations.
* Phenomenal customer support.
**Cons:**
* Steep learning curve for beginners.
* No permanent free plan.
* The email template builder is slightly outdated.
Check ActiveCampaign pricing here.
## ConvertKit (Kit): The Best Email Marketing Software for Creators
ConvertKit recently rebranded to Kit. I recommend this platform exclusively to creators, bloggers, and podcasters.
Kit focuses heavily on growth. It is built to help you turn anonymous website visitors into paying subscribers.
The platform excels at a concept called ‘creator economy’. You can easily sell digital products, paid newsletters, and courses directly through your emails.
What I love most about Kit is how clean the forms are. Instead of pop-ups that annoy readers, Kit offers elegant slide-in forms that convert incredibly well.
### Standout Features
* **Visual Automations:** Tag subscribers based on what they click inside an email.
* **Commerce Features:** Sell digital products without needing a separate storefront.
* **Subscriber States:** Easily manage people who have unsubscribed, bounced, or paused their subscription.
### Real Pricing
Kit has a generous Free plan. You can have up to 10,000 subscribers. The catch? The free plan does not include automated email sequences.
The Creator plan starts at $25 per month for 1,000 subscribers. This unlocks the crucial automation features and landing pages.
The Pro plan is $50 per month and adds subscriber scoring and advanced reporting.
### Pros and Cons
**Pros:**
* Best-in-class for text-based emails.
* Incredible tagging system.
* Excellent free plan for beginners who use broadcasts.
**Cons:**
* Not ideal for businesses selling physical products.
* Templates are limited (though designed to look good in any inbox).
* Automations are less complex than ActiveCampaign.
Try ConvertKit (Kit) here.
## How to Choose the Right Email Marketing Platform
Finding the best email marketing tools requires looking at your specific business needs. Don’t just pick the most popular option.
Here is how I advise our readers at BriskPick when they are stuck.
### Look at Your List Size
How many subscribers do you currently have? How fast are you growing?
If you have a massive list but send infrequently, choose Brevo. If your list is small but you need high engagement, Kit or Mailchimp are better bets.
### Evaluate Your Technical Skills
Be honest about your technical comfort level.
ActiveCampaign will frustrate you if you hate learning new software. Stick to Mailchimp or Kit if you want something that works right out of the box.
### Plan Your Budget for Scaling
Always look at the pricing for 10,000 subscribers, not just your current tier.
Many platforms hook you in with cheap starting rates. Then the price explodes when you actually succeed.
Print out the pricing charts. Calculate your costs for the next 12 months.
## Common Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Even the best software won’t save you if your strategy is broken. Avoid these common pitfalls.
**Mistake 1: Buying Email Lists**
Never buy an email list. It destroys your sender reputation. Your emails will land in the spam folder, and your account might get banned.
**Mistake 2: Ignoring Mobile Optimization**
Over 50% of emails are opened on a phone. Always send a test email to your own mobile device before broadcasting it to your list.
**Mistake 3: Using the ‘No Reply’ Address**
People reply to emails. When they do, you want to answer them. Using ‘noreply@yourdomain.com’ kills the conversation and feels cold.
## The Bottom Line: Our Verdict
You cannot run a modern business without an email marketing strategy. The tools we reviewed today are all excellent, but they serve different purposes.
If you want the easiest setup, go with Mailchimp.
If you want to save money on a massive list, switch to Brevo.
If you are a creator looking to monetize your audience, Kit is your best friend.
And if you need deep, complex automations for an ecommerce store, ActiveCampaign is worth every penny.
Pick the tool that fits your business model. You can always migrate later as your needs evolve.
## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
**1. What is the best free email marketing tool?**
Mailchimp offers the best free plan for up to 500 contacts. Kit offers the best free plan for creators with up to 10,000 subscribers who don’t need automated sequences.
**2. How much should I spend on email marketing?**
Expect to spend between $15 and $50 per month for a robust small business plan. As your list grows to 10,000+, expect to pay $100+ depending on the provider.
**3. Can I switch email marketing tools later?**
Yes. Almost every platform offers migration tools or services. However, moving platforms is a hassle. It is best to choose a scalable tool from day one.
**4. Does email marketing actually work in 2024?**
Yes. Email marketing has an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent. It remains the highest-converting digital marketing channel available.