Although I've already discussed the best email marketing services for 2022, there are many other options. If you manage a small business, investing in email marketing may not be the top of your list.
Email marketing is still generating significant ROI, so it would be unwise to completely abandon your email marketing efforts due to budget limits. With that in mind, I compiled a list of the best free e-mail marketing services and tools. Before we get down to the list itself, I would live to break down the mindset behind the creation of this list though.
How I compiled this List
Inevitably, this list of free email marketing tools revolves around the word “free“. Consequently, its purpose is to help SMBs and decision-makers that want to ease their way into email marketing. Due to this standpoint, the list below is very different than my list of the best email marketing services, as it intends to help the following two categories of businesses:
- Businesses that are looking for a robust email marketing service that is free and will remain free.
- Business that are interested in getting started with a free trial and then going for a pay-as-you-grow plan.
Dealbreakers
Based on the above classification, I introduced a set dealbreakers that make a free or free trial sevice a suboptimal choice. Note that each dealbreaker is not necessarily applicable to both free services and services on a free-trial. For instance, there is no reason to make entry level plan cost a negative point if you never plan to upgrade to it.
Ently-level Pricing Plan cost: To narrow down this top list I decided to exclude every service with a entry-level cost higher than $25/month, as the cost bump of the transition is significant. This eliminated CleverReach, HubSpot and MailChimp, but I decided to reintroduce them to examine whether staying on their free tier permantently or at least long term is viable.
Low subscribers allowance: The second dealbreaker is a very small list of subscribers in the free version. Any number below 1,000 subscribers is too limiting and thus, I decided to excluded these services from the list. This applies to both free trials and free versions. Eliminated candidates: AWeber, Benchmark, CleverReach, Constant Contact, GetResponse, and Sendpulse.
Service logo in emails: An important point of emphasis especially long term. Unfortunately, while all the free trial versions are clean of any logos of the service provider, free versions are not. I decided to remove this requirement because I want to give readers free options with this list. Initially, this dealbreaker eliminated: Becnhmark, CleverReach, Email Octopus, HubSpot, Mailchimp, MailerLite, Sender, and Sendinblue.
Trial duration: The final dealbreaker only involves services that offer a free trial. I consider free trials of fewer than 30 days very limiting to evaluate a service. As a result, ActiveCampaign and Zoho were eliminated from the final shortlist.
| Email Marketing Service | Price/Month | Free Plan/Trial | Free Features | Service Logo in Free Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ActiveCampaign | $15/month | Free trial (14 days) | Unlimited subscribers Unlimited emails Chat, Email, and Facebook Messenger Service Channels Automated Chatbot Workflows Unified Inbox Agent Assignments for Inbound Reporting and Chat Transcripts | No |
| AWeber | $20/month | Free | 500 subscribers 3000 emails Content creation tools Landing pages builder Third-party integrations 24/7 support | No |
| Benchmark | $15/month | Free | Unlimited subscribers 250 emails p/m Webforms List management Basic A/B testing | Yes |
| CleverReach | $30/month | Free | 250 subscribers 1,000 emails p/m Reporting Webforms | No (however, newsletters contain CleverReach ads) |
| Constant Contact | $20/month | Free trial(60 days) | 100 subscribers Unlimited emails | No |
| Email Octopus | $24/month | Yes | 2,500 subscribers 10,000 emails 30-day statistics history | Yes |
| GetResponse | $12.30/month | Free | 500 subscribers Unlimited emails Website/landing page builder, plenty of email templates | No |
| HubSpot | $50/month | Free | 1 million subscribers 2,000 emails p/m CRM Webforms | Yes |
| Mailchimp | $59/month | Free | 2,000 subscribers 10,000 emails p/m Reporting List management Mobile features | Yes |
| MailerLite | $10/month | Free | 1,000 subscribers 12,000 emails p/m Automations, landing pages and reports | Yes |
| Moosend | $16/month | Free Trial (30 days) | 2,500 subscribers 15,000 emails p/m Autoresponders + transactional emails Push notifications Forms | No |
| Sender | $12.50/month | Free | 2,500 subscribers 15,000 emails p/m Autoresponders + transactional emails Push notifications Forms | Yes |
| Sendinblue | $25/month | Free | 2,000 subscribers 10,000 emails p/m Reporting List management Mobile features | Yes |
| SendPulse | $6.40/month | Free | 500 subscribers 15,000 emails p/m Web push notifications Transactional emails Basic autoresponders | No |
| Zoho | $20/month | Free Trial (14 days) | 2,000 subscribers 10,000 emails p/m Reporting List management Mobile features | No |
7 Best Free Email Marketing Services Shortlist
The above requirements have already produced a narrowed-down list of services that I believe brings great value to the reader. However, I think that comparing free trial versions and free versions is like comparing apples to oranges. The scopes of the products are very different.
As a result I decided to come up with two different lists, one ranking the free trial versions and one ranking the free versions. So here are my top pics in each category
Free Trial
The elimination process I selected provided only one ideal candidate in the free trial category:
Free Plan
Here the competition is steep, however here are my top picks:
Sender: Sender delivers a really strong free option, thanks to the generosity of its plan. 2500 subscribers and 15,000 emails per month allow you to send a weekly newsletter to all your subscribers, while you also have access to push notifications, transcational email and more features.
Email Octopus: Email Octopus will also allow you to deliver a weekly newsletter to 2,500 subscribers, however its feature set is a bit more limiting than Sender.
MailerLite: MailerLite is a bit more limiting in terms of the number of subscribers in the free version (1000), however it can go beyond weekly newletters with its 15,000 emails allowance. It also comes with automations and landing pages, both rare sightings in free plans
HubSpot: HubSpot main not meet the requirements in terms of newsletter delivery with just 2000 emails per month, but it may be ideal for businesses that with to acquire a huge list of subscribers and operate at a much higher scale with CRM integrations and many more features. Best for fast-growing businesses
| Email Marketing Service | Price/Month | Free Plan/Trial | Free Features | Service Logo in Free Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EmailOctopus | $24/month | Free | 2,500 subscribers 10,000 emails 30-day statistics history | Yes |
| HubSpot | $50/month | Free | 1 million subscribers 2,000 emails p/m CRM Webforms | Yes |
| Mailchimp | $59/month | Free | 2,000 subscribers 10,000 emails p/m Reporting List management Mobile features | Yes |
| MailerLite | $10/month | Free | 1,000 subscribers 12,000 emails p/m Automations, landing pages and reports | Yes |
| Moosend (full review) | $16/month | Free Trial (30 days) | 2,500 subscribers 15,000 emails p/m Autoresponders + transactional emails Push notifications Forms | No |
| Sender | $12.50/month | Free | 2,500 subscribers 15,000 emails p/m Autoresponders + transactional emails Push notifications Forms | Yes |
| Sendinblue | $25/month | Free | 2,000 subscribers 10,000 emails p/m Reporting List management Mobile features | Yes |
Top Free Email Marketing Services Ranking Factors
If you are a digital marketer and would like to try the free version, there is no need to worry about the price.
These are the top parameters for assessing the tools:
- Email campaigns available for free: This is a very important ranking factor as it affects the newsletter frequency. You should opt for the flexibility to send at least weekly newsletters (allowance 4x the number of subscribers) while in some cases you may need daily deliveries. In the latter case you should look at free trials like Moosends‘s especially if you already have a list of subscribers and you want to use email blasts for the full 30-day free trial thanks to its unlimited monthly and daily sends features.
- Number of subscribers: A marketing service is usually free up to a certain point. To enjoy the service longer, you would want this threshold to be as high as possible.
- Customer Support: As you won't be using a premium service, you may not enjoy 24/7 live chat support.
- Free version features: Email automation, segmentation features, A/B testing and integrations are valuable features that you won't find on every free trial or free version.
A Free service does not necessarily mean that it is a bad one. It just means that the service will be limited in terms of time and email sending. However, you should always keep in mind your needs and whether they are cared to before committing a paid plan in the future.
With all this in mind, time for the service-by-service breakdown:
Best Free or Free Trial Email Marketing Services Top Picks
Moosend
Free Trial: Unlimited emails/month and day for 1000 subscribers (30-day trial).
Best for: eCommerce, SaaS, SMEs, Publishers, Bloggers, Agencies
Key features: Automation, segmentation, smooth email templates (would love to see a more extended collection in the future), drag-and-drop-editor
Moosend, a highly-rated email marketing service, allows you to create stunning marketing campaigns, automate marketing efforts and increase lead generation. Drag-and-drop email builders allow you to create professional-looking emails without any technical knowledge.
Moosend allows unlimited email campaigns for its 30-day trial period. You can also test its powerful segmentation tools and marketing automation workflows free of charge. This will enable you to increase your open rate and convert more customers.
Your free Moosend account allows you to test advanced analytics and report features, allowing for better monitoring of the performance of your campaigns. To increase your subscriber base, the free version includes both an online form creator as well as a landing page editor.
Moosend's platform is a great option for new businesses and marketers who wish to send unlimited email to up to 1000 subscribers. You can check out the workflow, landing pages and form builders by creating a free account.
Moosend Features
- Email newsletter templates you can fully customize
- Drag and drop email editor for effortless campaign creation
- Marketing automation
- Email list segmentation
- Lead generation tools (Landing pages & forms)
- Real-time reporting and analytics to monitor your campaigns' performance
- Essential integrations to streamline your marketing efforts
Moosend Pricing
Moosend offers paid plans starting at $9 per month. These plans will allow you to access all the unique features such as the form and landing page builders and the SMTP server. Paid plans offer segmentation, reporting, and reporting, and more .
Sender
Free Plan: 15,000 emails/month and day for 2,500 subscribers (30-day trial).
Best for: SaaS, SMEs, Bloggers, Agencies
Key feature: Rich email templates, drag-and-drop-editor
Sender is one of the most user-friendly email marketing tools. It has a simple interface and a smooth user experience. The free plan has a large allowance of subscribers, up to 15,000 emails per monthly, and 2,500 subscribers. There are many other features available, including transactional emails, push notifications, forms, and automations.
Automations on the free plan offer advanced capabilities. You can send abandoned cart campaigns and perform actions like moving subscribers to other lists or updating custom fields values. The simplicity of Sender is a welcome change from other similar-featured tools.
Although the email templates are good, there is a need for more. Integrations are only available for a few third-party applications like WooCommerce, Magento, and WordPress.
Sender is a simple, user-friendly email marketing tool that's easy to use and has a few extras.
Sender Pricing
Sender offers paid plans starting as low as $15 per month for up to 5,000 subscribers and 60,000 mails per month. The standard plan offers access to SMS and MMS marketing campaigns and mult-user access.
MailerLite
Free Plan: 12,000 emails/month for 1,000 subscribers
Best for: SMEs, eCommerce, NPOs
Key features: Free landing pages and automations
MailerLite is focused on providing a simple and straightforward email marketing service. It is a simple-to-use newsletter tool that offers many useful features, including forms, landing pages, and marketing automation. Their ‘Free Forever” plan allows you to access most, but not all of their features.
The free emailer is extremely intuitive so even if your email marketing skills are not the best, it's easy to get campaigns started. You can send 12,000 emails per month as long as your subscribers are less than 1,000. Automations and landing page templates can also be set up for free.
The free plan doesn't include their templates, so you will need to create your own. It doesn't allow for design testing or spamming. We also don't like the workflow-based automation editor. This is limited to sending trigger-based emails and updating contact fields.
MailerLite is our favorite free email marketing service. It's also a great option for small businesses that are looking for an all-in-one solution to their inbound marketing.
MailerLite Features
- Drag & drop email campaign editor
- Rich text editor
- Built-in photo editing
- Responsive, mobile-friendly newsletters
- 24/7 email support
MailerLite Pricing
MailerLite's paid plans start at $10/month for up to 1000 subscribers and unlimited emails per month. The paid plans offer a custom html editor, newsletter templates, promotional pop ups, auto-resend functionality, time zone delivery, click maps, and open by location classification among others.
Try MailerLite for free
EmailOctopus
Free Plan/Trial: 10,000 emails/month for 2,500 subscribers
Best for: SMEs, eCommerce, NPOs
Key features: Zapier integration, low-cost paid plans
EmailOctopus started as an Amazon SES feature. It has since been a free service that offers email marketing. The email builder is easy to use, and the interface is clean. EmailOctopus is a new service that started out as an email marketing tool. It doesn't offer many features, but it's pretty helpful.
It is easy to manage your email lists. You can add fields, import, and export them in no time. You can use the free version to get better email content that appeals to your audience.
EmailOctopus offers a robust range of tools that are great for beginners.
EmailOctopus Features
- Campaign statistics
- Drag-n-drop email editor
- Basic customer service
- Email list management
EmailOctopus Pricing
EmailOctopus' free plan is simple. Upgrade to a paid plan for $24 per month to get complete control over your email design and priority support.
HubSpot
Free Plan/Trial: 2,000 emails/month for unlimited subscribers
Best for SMBs, SaaS, Agencies, Enterprises
Key feature: Free CRM, unlimited subscribers
HubSpot is the best email marketing platform to help you fuel your marketing funnel. HubSpot is an all-in-one growth platform that will help you grow and scale up your business.
HubSpot's email marketing software comes with many marketing tools, making your email marketing even more powerful. HubSpot's CRM and powerful marketing automation platform are well-known. This platform gives you insights into your audience and helps you to influence their behavior.
You get the CRM and beautiful newsletter signup forms for capturing leads, a customizable landing pages builder, social media management, Facebook ads management, and many other features. The free plan gives you access to analytics tools that will help improve your strategy.
Overall, HubSpot is an excellent free service to help you increase your lead generation, manage lists, and improve your email deliverability despite the fact that it has a minimal monthly limit. HubSpot is a great CRM for small to medium-sized companies. It is important to note that HubSpot has a low monthly sending limit compared to other tools. However, one-to-one sales emails do not count towards this limit. Automations and A/B testing are not included.
HubSpot Features
- Subscribtion forms to capture new leads
- Contact management features
- Facebook and LinkedIn ads
- Reporting and conversion analytics
- Landing Page Builder To boost conversions
HubSpot Pricing
HubSpot's free plan for small businesses is perfect for those who want to get started with email marketing. You can also get paid plans starting at $50 per month, including follow-up emails, email health insight, and enhanced functionality.
Sendinblue
Free Plan/Trial: 9,000 emails/month (300/day), unlimited subscribers
Best for: eCommerce, Publishers, Agencies
Key features: SMS personalization features, solid reporting, affordable paid plans
Sendinblue, an email marketing platform for free, started as a transactional platform. It has since expanded to email marketing and automation. You can use the drag-and-drop builder provided by this tool to create and customize your email templates.
Although the templates library isn't extensive, Sendinblue can help you create mobile-responsive campaigns. The free email newsletter service allows you to create email campaigns and provides SMS marketing tools to interact with mobile users.
The free plan also includes SMS personalization and email. There are many segmentation options available to help you manage your contacts quickly. The free plan also includes marketing automation. You can use the workflow editor to create workflows, but you can only target up to 2,000 contacts.
Sendinblue has great SMS marketing options and an excellent sender score. It is important to remember that all your Sendinblue email campaigns will contain the Sendinblue logo.
Sendinblue Features
- Mobile-friendly Newsletter Campaigns
- SMS marketing personalization
- Advanced segmentation options
- Contact details and contact lists organization tools
- Support for transactional emails and SMS marketing
- Comes with a lead generation tool (form builder)
Sendinblue Pricing
Sendinblue's Free Plan has all the features you need, but only 300 emails per day are allowed. Paid plans start from $25/month and offer advanced features, A/B testing tools, removal of the daily sending limit, email support, advanced statistics, and more.
What to look for in Free Email Marketing Software
Choosing the exemplary email marketing service for you shouldn't take too long or be difficult.A tool that allows you to use your creativity and has sufficient features to help you succeed is ideal. It should also be simple to use and provide features that can impact your campaigns' success, such as A/B testing.
It's essential to consider the pricing of all plans. You'll need reliable, tested functionality that won't cost you a fortune once you have outgrown the free plan.
FAQ
These are the most common questions we get about free email marketing software.
Q1. How can I send unlimited emails for free?
Depending on which tool you choose, you can send multiple emails with the free trial. Moosend is the best choice if you need unlimited emails per month.
Q2. What features do I need to get started?
Start your email marketing campaigns without compromises with a free trial that includes rich email templates, personalization options, and the ability to segment your audience. You can use subscription forms to grow your list.