Which Email Marketing Tool Should You Use?

With years of experience in online marketing, Choice is your which Email Marketing Software is best, there is one thing that I can swear by—the tools that you use can make or break your plan. And when it comes to email marketing, the right tool matters the most.

With so many choices out there, I find myself regularly asked by companies: What is the best email marketing platform? It will depend upon what you require—budget, size, automation, and simplicity are all considerations.

Below, I compare and contrast five of the most trustworthy email marketing tools, based on actual usage.

Pros:

  • Ease of use drag-and-drop editor
  • Pre-built templates and automations
  • Free plan is offered
  • Great analytics and A/B testing capabilities

Disadvantages:

  • Pricing escalates steeply with growth
  • Limited advanced automation on free/low-tier plans

Unbiased verdict:
ConvertKit is perfect for creators and bloggers. It’s simple, solid, and lets you scale up into more advanced features when needed

Mailchimp

2. ConvertKit – Perfect for Creators and Bloggers

Advantages:

  • Perfect for authors, content creators, and course sellers
  • Visual automated builder
  • Easy segmentation and tagging
  • Solid lead magnet and sequence support

Attractions:

  • Templates are simplistic
  • A bit more costly to initiate than some

Verdict
If you’re building a content or personal brand business, ConvertKit makes list-building and automations a breeze.

ConvertKit

3. ActiveCampaign – Best for Advanced Automation

Pros:

  • Advanced and flexible automation features
  • Built-in CRM for sales teams
  • Complex segmentation and behavior tracking
  • Great email deliverability

Cons:

  • Higher learning curve
  • No free plan (only a 14-day trial)

Verdict:
ActiveCampaign is a beast. If you require advanced automation and customer journeys, this is the tool for scaling businesses.

ActiveCampaign

4. Sendinblue (Now Brevo) – Best Email Marketing Software

Pros:

  • Combines email, SMS, chat, and CRM
  • Free plan allows for 300 emails/day
  • Pricing in terms of volume, not number of contacts
  • Easy automation and drag-and-drop builder

Cons:

  • Little customization possible with templates
  • Reporting features not as deep as others

Verdict:
For small to medium-sized businesses who need more than one channel in one tool, Sendinblue is an excellent budget-friendly option.

Brevo

5. HubSpot – Best for Large Businesses and Teams

Pros:

  • Full marketing automation and CRM suite
  • Rich analytics and personalization
  • Best for scaling and sales/marketing integration
  • Enterprise-level features

Cons:

  • Prices steep as you scale
  • Can be too cumbersome for small teams

Verdict:
If your business needs an all-in-one enterprise-grade marketing platform, HubSpot is hard to top—but at a cost.

HubSpot

There’s no one-size-fits-all response to what the best email marketing software is—wholly dependent on what you’re trying to achieve, how big your team is, and how tech-savvy you are. Here’s the lowdown in a nutshell:

Platform

Mailchimp

ConvertKit

ActiveCampaign

Sendinblue (Now Brevo) 

HubSpot

Best For

Starters, small business

Creators, bloggers

Automation-heavy businesses

All-in-one marketing

Large teams, enterprise

Starting Price

Free plan

$9/month

$29/month

Free plan

Free (CRM only) + Paid plans

Based on my experience in the field, I’d recommend Mailchimp or Sendinblue for starters, ConvertKit for creators, and ActiveCampaign for HubSpot for those who are scaling with robust automation and CRM capabilities.

Whatever you do, keep in mind: it’s not the tool—it’s how you use it.