11 Best Email Newsletter Platforms for Businesses and Creators

Newsletter software today is used for much more than promotional emails. Businesses, creators, publishers, and ecommerce brands use these platforms to grow audiences, build customer relationships, launch paid newsletters, and even monetize content. Some tools focus on advanced email marketing automation, while others are designed for creator-led publishing and subscriptions — so the best choice depends on your goals.

What is newsletter software?

Newsletter software is a tool designed for crafting and distributing mass emails from businesses and creators, and monitoring analytics on your email campaigns. Most email marketing platforms combine these three functions in one product.

With the modern email marketing tools, learning how to create an email newsletter takes less time. Most tools on the market let you produce and analyze your email marketing campaigns without advanced coding, design, or analytics skills. You can craft the newsletter in a drag-and-drop editor, set the distribution via software with a simple intuitive interface, and check the analytics in real time.

However, there are dozens of email marketing platforms to try. How to choose the best one for you?

What should you look for in a newsletter tool?

The newsletter software market is crowded, so it’s important to focus on the features your business actually needs. Сheck the criteria marketers should consider when choosing the best newsletter tool.

Pricing

Pricing is important, especially if you’re running a small business and can’t afford to spend a fortune on marketing automation tools. Here’s what you should consider while comparing different email newsletter platforms:

• Free plans. It’s great when software has a free subscription plan — you can use one to see if the email newsletter tool fits you. When it comes to email marketing platforms, a free subscription plan may offer a smaller possible number of recipients. For Selzy, it is 100 email addresses, which is definitely enough to test the service and decide whether it fulfills your business goals.
• Pricing models. Take a look at what you’ll be paying for — most platforms provide a detailed list of features for every plan. Different subscription plans provide various features like segmentation, automation options, anti-spam check, extra functionality like a native CRM, etc. There are subscription plans that provide complete campaign running. Different newsletter platforms may calculate the price based on the number of contacts, the number of email sends each month, or both. Again it’s best to focus on today’s business needs to get exactly what you need and not to pay for the unnecessary.

One interesting pricing system that Selzy offers is pay-per-email. It means that, instead of getting a package with limits on contacts, you get an unlimited number of contacts and only pay a small fee each time you send an email campaign. It’s a great low-budget solution — especially if you’re implementing emails as a promotional tool for the first time. 

Different segmentation options

Segmentation can help you make the most of email marketing. So, the more detailed and focused your segmentation can be, the better. Segmented campaigns get a higher open rate, fewer unsubscribes, and, even better — more sales. 

For proper segmentation, you might need to integrate your email marketing platform with CRM and other software you use. In general, segmentation options can be divided into three groups:

• Where and who the subscribers are. That includes location, gender, age, etc.
• What they like. What are their interests, what articles do they read, what do they add to cart? Note that you can only get this information via other sources like CRM or whatever you use for analytics.
• How they act. How often do they open your emails, do they follow links, do they use web or mobile, iOS or Android? Using these criteria can help you send retention emails and other types of campaigns. 

Selzy has 70+ criteria for segmentation. That gives a business an opportunity to choose those that fit its needs best.

A wide range of templates

Ready-made newsletter templates provide you with the design for various purposes. You simply change the email copy and add images if necessary — and your newsletter is ready to go. It’s better to have different templates for different occasions and layout options.

For example, here’s a sneak peek of some templates in Selzy’s recently updated email builder.

Simplicity and ease of use

Make sure the software you choose is intuitive and has a simple, clear interface. It might be a good idea to check several services to find out which one fits you best. It should also provide all the features your business needs.

It’s not always easy to tell whether a platform is the right fit for your workflow — for example, you can’t understand how comfortable the learning curve of a tool is if you haven’t tried it yourself. Even if you get the trial to test the tool, it might take plenty of time to check whether it provides everything you need. You can browse reviews on G2 and other resources that collect the best software descriptions and reviews to get the big picture. 

Integration capability

You might need to integrate your newsletter software with other digital tools you already use, like a CRM system, e-commerce solution or form builder. Make sure the email newsletter platform of your choice has a capacity to integrate with those. For example, Selzy easily integrates with:

• CRM systems like Bitrix24, Zendesk, and Komo.
• E-commerce services like Shopify, Ecwid, and WooCommerce.
• Form builders like Typeform, Jotform and Formaloo.
• CMS tools like WordPress, Webflow, and Wix.

Some newsletter platforms also offer integrations with other “integrators” like Zapier or Pabbly Connect. Such tools allow you to, for example, add a Stripe integration for paid subscriptions if your ESP doesn’t offer that feature natively. By the way, Selzy uses Pabbly for exactly that and more.

Analytics and reporting

You need to monitor your email campaigns analytics in real time to fix the bottlenecks and improve conversion. The best email marketing platforms should provide different kinds of analytic reports to let you make data-driven decisions.

Here are some basic metrics you definitely need in your reports:

• Deliveries — the number of emails delivered to the recipient. The newsletter can fail to land in the inbox for many reasons. Check out the free deliverability course to learn more about it.
• Opens — the number of emails opened by the recipient. Open rate shows whether you nailed it with the subject line and whether you actually send the relevant content your recipient is interested in.
• Clicks — this metric shows how many users click the buttons and links in your newsletter. In other words, it measures engagement.
• Unsubscribe rate — the number of users who unsubscribed from your newsletter.

Customer support

There are several factors to consider when evaluating the custom support performance:

• Communication channels. Check the channels where you can reach the support: email, phone, chat, etc.
• Schedule. When is the support team available? Can you contact them 24/7? If not, does their schedule match your working hours?
• Language. Make sure you and your customer support can speak the same language on an advanced level.
• Availability for free subscription plan/priority support for paid subscription plans. Make sure that you get the support on either plan and find out whether you get the priority support when you start to pay.

Make certain the support gives you rapid feedback and is result-oriented. There’s nothing worse than facing your issues with a new software alone with customer support that answers for ages or gives you irrelevant scripts without an intention to do their best to solve your problem as quickly as possible.

9 best newsletter platforms & programs

Though there are a lot of tools on the market, there’s a shorter list of the best ones for different budgets and needs. Check the overview of the best newsletter platforms and programs we selected for you.

Selzy

Best for: Small businesses looking for affordable and beginner-friendly email marketing.

Selzy is especially approachable for small businesses that want to launch campaigns quickly without learning complex automation tools. It has a super handy email builder with various intuitive blocks that let you craft any newsletter you need in no time.

The interface is beginner-friendly and easy to navigate, even for teams with limited email marketing experience — you will be able to start your first campaign in under 15 minutes.

Selzy integrates with the CRM systems and e-commerce services easily and even has a chatbot builder. You can collect email addresses via chatbot and use them for your email campaign on the spot. There are more than 70 segmentation options in Selzy. Also, the support team is working 24/7 even for free users.

The free subscription plan lets you keep a contact list of 100 email addresses. You will get more subscribers on paid tiers, plus you’ll be able to use A/B testing and segmentation. If you pay 11$ a month for each extra 1,000 email addresses, you get all that plus anti-spam helper. 

Selzy is especially strong for teams that want to launch campaigns quickly without a steep learning curve. The platform balances simplicity with useful automation and segmentation features. One limitation is that larger enterprise teams may outgrow its advanced workflow capabilities over time.

Omnisend

Best for: E-commerce brands running multi-channel campaigns.

Omnisend is a popular platform for marketing automation. Omnisend is particularly strong for e-commerce brands that want to combine email, SMS, and web push campaigns in one workflow.

Omnisend is focused on e-commerce and provides tons of automation options for that. For example, you can add a product from your store and add it to your newsletter automatically. The software integrates with Facebook, SMS tools and other marketing channels. Its automation capabilities are stronger than its design flexibility, especially compared to creator-focused platforms.

Omnisend works particularly well for online stores thanks to its product-focused automations and omnichannel messaging. Its Shopify and ecommerce integrations are among its biggest advantages. However, the platform is less suitable for content creators or newsletter-first publishing businesses.

Moosend

Best for: Small businesses that need simple automation at a low cost.

Moosend is a practical option for small businesses that need affordable automation without a steep learning curve. The software has a simple, user-friendly interface and advanced tracking and reporting systems. Moosend can be connected to your website for in-depth campaign tracking.

Moosend offers an accessible way to build automated email sequences without spending heavily on software. Its clean interface is beginner-friendly while still covering core marketing needs. On the downside, its template library and ecosystem are smaller than those of larger competitors.

There’s a wide range of segmentation tools to work with your audience. Over 75 ready to use email templates for your emails and even the workflow templates available.

The service offers a 30-days free trial. 

AWeber

Best for: Beginners who want a large selection of newsletter templates.

AWeber works well for beginners who prioritize templates and ease of use over advanced automation. It can import the mailing lists, offers a wide range of email templates, has an autoresponder function, segmentation options, A/B tests, the “Feed” feature for sending blog posts via email, and even a landing page builder.

AWeber has over 600 email templates, although you get access to all of them only on the Plus subscription plan for $29.99 per month. While AWeber offers a huge template library, some designs feel less modern than newer newsletter platforms.

The design for templates on a free subscription plan is really basic.

AWeber is a solid entry-level platform with extensive template options and easy campaign setup. It’s particularly useful for users transitioning from manual email sending to professional newsletter tools. Still, some parts of the interface and template designs feel less modern than newer platforms.

Brevo

Best for: Businesses that want email marketing and CRM features in one platform.

Before May 2023, Brevo was known as Sendinblue. Apart from a strong email marketing platform functionality, it also has some additional features, including SMS marketing capabilities, a CRM tool, the Conversations app, and WhatsApp campaigns.

Brevo has a very clean, user-friendly interface.

Brevo combines email campaigns with CRM, SMS, and transactional messaging tools, making it useful for businesses that want a broader communication platform. Its flexible contact-based pricing is another advantage. However, some advanced analytics and reporting tools are reserved for higher-tier plans.

Brevo is slightly more expensive than other products and has a different pricing model: you pay for the number of emails sent, not for the number of email addresses you use. The analytics dashboard looks quite simple in comparison to other platforms — detailed analytics is provided only on the Business plan.

One drawback is that Brevo’s deliverability performance could be stronger.

GetResponse

Best for: Advanced email marketing automation and funnels.

GetResponse is best suited to marketers focused on automation, lead generation, and conversion funnels. Starting your first campaign is easy — the software gives you advice all along the way. There are many professionally designed email templates, a form builder, a landing page builder, and a funnel builder.

GetResponse integrates easily with any CRM or e-commerce platform. It lets you conduct A/B tests, offers great tools for email automation and has great customer support.

Check some automated flow templates the platform has to offer.

GetResponse is a strong choice for marketers focused on automation, lead generation, and conversion funnels. The platform includes webinar and landing page tools that help centralize campaigns. However, users looking for a lightweight newsletter-only solution may find the interface more complex than necessary.

Mailchimp

Best for: Businesses that want a widely recognized all-in-one marketing platform.

Mailchimp remains a popular choice for businesses that want a polished all-in-one marketing platform with a large integration ecosystem. It has a great drag-and-drop email editor, user-friendly interface, lots of free features and convenient email templates. Apart from that, Mailchimp has a free website builder, online stores, appointment scheduling, domains, landing pages, social media ads and even a full mailing service for postcards.

Mailchimp is a well-known and trusted brand, it really fits anyone. However, that can be a disadvantage of choosing this platform. It is designed for a wide range of customers, so it might not be the perfect solution for your niche.

Mailchimp remains one of the easiest platforms to start with thanks to its polished interface and large integration ecosystem. It’s especially convenient for businesses already using multiple third-party tools. The main drawback is pricing, which tends to increase quickly as subscriber lists grow.

Mailjet

Best for: Teams that collaborate on email campaigns.

Mailjet is an email solution that can be easily integrated with WordPress, Google Cloud, Zapier, Magento, MS Azure and other platforms.

One of the great features of Mailjet is a super generous free plan. You can send up to 6,000 emails a month, with a maximum of 200 emails per day. It’s also great that the team can work on an email in real time, like in a Google Doc. Mailjet stands out most for team collaboration, making it useful for agencies and multi-person marketing teams.

One of the cons is the extremely complicated process of deleting the unsubscribed contacts from your email list. Its collaboration features are stronger than its automation and segmentation capabilities. Also, you can’t edit the workflow once it is activated.

Mailjet stands out for its real-time collaboration features that allow multiple team members to edit emails together. This makes it particularly useful for agencies and marketing teams with shared workflows. However, its automation and segmentation capabilities are less advanced than those of some competitors.

MailerLite

Best for: Creators and small businesses that want simplicity and modern templates.

MailerLite is especially appealing for creators and small businesses that prioritize simplicity and modern design.

MailerLite has some interesting features — for example, it allows you to sell digital products like online courses, books, and so on. It also has a Stripe integration that accepts recurring payments from 135+ currencies, which makes it one of the best Substack alternatives. The app also lets you not only build newsletters but also web pages to promote your newsletter and products.

MailerLite allows users to create regular, A/B test, RSS feed, or auto resend campaigns.

The email templates are modern and customizable.

Its automation tools cover most core workflows, though advanced marketers may eventually need more sophisticated automation logic. The overall bird’s-eye view of reports is available per campaign only and the dashboard report is still not very detailed.

MailerLite combines a clean user experience with modern-looking email and landing page designs. It’s especially appealing for creators, bloggers, and smaller brands that prioritize ease of use. However, businesses with highly complex automation needs may eventually require a more advanced platform.

HubSpot

Best for: Growing businesses that need email marketing tightly connected with CRM.

HubSpot combines email marketing, CRM, and automation tools in one platform, making it a strong choice for growing businesses. Its drag-and-drop newsletter builder is easy to use, while segmentation, personalization, and analytics help marketers create more targeted campaigns.

The platform integrates with popular tools like Salesforce, Shopify, WordPress, and Zapier. HubSpot is especially useful for teams that want to connect newsletter campaigns with sales and customer data. However, pricing can become expensive as your contact list and automation needs grow.

HubSpot is ideal for businesses that want to combine email marketing, sales, and customer management in one ecosystem. Its CRM integration makes personalization and lead nurturing particularly effective. The tradeoff is that costs can become significant as teams scale and require more advanced features.

Saufter

Best for: AI-driven personalization and ecommerce-focused automation.

Saufter provides a strong AI-based newsletter tool with options for advanced personalization and automation. The user-friendly email builder comes with a simple drag-and-drop feature, so you can design the newsletters that convert in minutes.

Saufter is a perfect match for the latest CRM and e-commerce platforms, allowing you to construct campaigns that trigger according to the buyer’s behavior. The AI tracks user activity on your website and with the email list, providing the basis for highly personalized newsletters. It also provides the best time for sending letters to the most relevant groups for better engagement and conversion rates.

The AI also checks on your competitors’ campaigns and advises you on how to enhance them according to industry benchmarks. Besides subscribers’ behavior, one can create personalized newsletters based on one’s interests and location.

Saufter gives you a 3-day trial period without having to provide your credit card details. By going for a paid plan, you will get advanced segmentation and automation, as well as A/B testing. Saufter is not just a tool for premium users. It also provides a managed service where professionals will run your campaigns and help optimize them.

Saufter focuses heavily on AI-powered personalization and behavioral targeting, which can help ecommerce brands create more tailored campaigns. Its automation features are designed around customer activity and engagement patterns. However, the platform has a smaller market presence and fewer third-party integrations than more established competitors.

Conclusion

It is not easy to choose the best email marketing service that fits your business goals. There really is no best platform for every email marketing campaign — each solution has its pros and cons. Focus on what’s most important for your business to choose the tools that definitely will cover those needs.

Factors to consider when choosing the email marketing platform:

• Pricing — how many plans the email newsletter software offers and what the difference between them is.
• Segmentation — variety of options and room for customization
• Templates — variety and quality
• UI — simplicity and ease of use
• Integrations — so you can use the data from your third-party CRM or other software for email campaigns frictionlessly
• Reports — transparent and full analytics
• Customer support — availability on your subscription plan, communication channels, language, and schedule