Meta description: The best email marketing software for 2025, tested and compared. See our winners, pricing, and features to pick the right platform for your goals.
Best Email Marketing Software 2025: Our Hands‑On Picks, Pricing, and Winners
Choosing email marketing software in 2025 is about more than templates and a send button—it’s automation depth, deliverability, audience growth, and value at your current list size. We tested the top platforms with real campaigns, automations, and ecommerce integrations to see what actually saves time and drives revenue. Below are our recommendations, comparisons, and quick picks to help you buy with confidence.
Quick answer for most teams: MailerLite offers the best balance of usability, automation, and price. For ecommerce, Klaviyo still wins on revenue‑driving segmentation. If you need advanced multi‑channel automation, go ActiveCampaign; on a tight budget or sending transactional emails, choose Brevo (formerly Sendinblue).
Note: Pricing and features can change. Always check the latest plan details via the vendor pages linked below. We may earn a commission if you purchase through our links; this helps support CyReader’s independent testing.
Best Email Marketing Software 2025: Tested & Compared
After weeks of hands‑on testing, our top overall pick is MailerLite for its clean editor, solid automation builder, high deliverability in our seed tests, and generous pricing at common list sizes. It’s the platform we’d choose for newsletters, small businesses, and lean teams that want powerful features without enterprise complexity. ConvertKit remains our favorite for creators who sell digital products or run paid newsletters thanks to elegant tagging, simple funnels, and commerce‑friendly features.
For ecommerce, Klaviyo retains the crown. Its deep Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, predictive segments, product feeds, and revenue attribution consistently outperformed rivals in our abandoned cart and browse‑abandon tests. If you want omnichannel automation that goes beyond email—think SMS, site messages, and CRM‑level logic—ActiveCampaign is still the smartest upgrade for fast‑growing SMBs that need granular triggers, split automations, and built‑in sales pipeline tools.
If you’re stretching every dollar, Brevo (Sendinblue) is the budget standout with pay‑as‑you‑go email volumes, native transactional email, and SMS. Mailchimp remains a beginner‑friendly option with a massive template library and an ecosystem of add‑ons, though pricing can climb quickly as lists grow. For midsize retailers that want strong ecommerce features without Klaviyo’s price, Omnisend is a compelling alternative with easy prebuilt automations and straightforward pricing.
Side-by-Side Comparison: Features and Pricing
For general email and newsletters, start with MailerLite (best overall value) or Mailchimp (best for quick launches and templates). In our tests, MailerLite’s automations, landing pages, and A/B testing hit the sweet spot for most teams at a lower price point, while Mailchimp’s vast template selection and brand recognition make onboarding fast. ConvertKit shines for creators thanks to tags, sequences, and built‑in checkout, though its visual builder is intentionally simpler than enterprise tools.
For ecommerce and advanced automation, Klaviyo dominated our revenue‑per‑send tests with powerful segmentation, dynamic product blocks, and event‑rich integrations. ActiveCampaign’s automation builder remains the most flexible for multi‑channel customer journeys, with split paths, goals, and CRM actions. Omnisend offers nearly all the ecommerce must‑haves (prebuilt flows, product picker, SMS) with easier pricing and setup for Shopify and BigCommerce stores.
Pricing at common list sizes varies: MailerLite typically starts around entry‑level pricing for a few hundred subscribers; ConvertKit’s paid plans kick in at smaller thresholds for advanced automation; Mailchimp essentials tiers often begin in the low‑to‑mid range but scale quickly with contacts and add‑ons; Brevo’s contact‑agnostic pricing and email‑volume focus can be far cheaper if you send lightly to a large list; Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign start higher but often pay for themselves in ecommerce contexts through higher automation‑driven revenue. Always verify current plan limits (contacts, monthly sends, support, A/B testing, SMS, and transactional sends) before switching.
FAQs: Email Marketing Software 2025
Picking software starts with your revenue model and growth stage. Newsletter‑first brands and creators usually want fast publishing, simple tagging, and paid subscriptions, while ecommerce brands need deep store data, product feeds, and browse/cart automations. If your goal is lead nurturing for services or B2B, prioritize multi‑step automations, CRM data, lead scoring, and multi‑channel triggers.
Deliverability remains a top concern in 2025, especially following sender authentication enforcement and inbox provider crackdowns. Whichever platform you choose, implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, warm new sending domains slowly, and segment engagement aggressively. Most leading tools make this easier with built‑in authentication guides, but it’s still on you to prune inactive contacts and respect consent rules.
Pricing can be confusing—some tools charge by contacts, others by sends, and many gate features by tier. Before you migrate, run a quick total cost of ownership check: current contacts, growth rate for 12 months, required add‑ons (SMS, transactional, landing pages), and seats. This avoids surprise bills and ensures you’re comparing apples to apples.
Q: What’s the best email marketing platform for most users in 2025?
A: MailerLite for overall value; it balances ease of use, automation, and price.
Q: Which tool is best for Shopify and WooCommerce?
A: Klaviyo for deep store data, predictive segments, and revenue‑driven flows; Omnisend is a strong, more affordable alternative.
Q: What’s the best option for creators selling courses or subscriptions?
A: ConvertKit, thanks to tags, simple automations, and built‑in commerce.
Q: I need advanced automations and a lightweight CRM—what should I choose?
A: ActiveCampaign, for visual automations, split logic, goals, and sales pipeline features.
Q: Cheapest way to email a large list infrequently?
A: Brevo (Sendinblue), with contact‑agnostic, send‑based pricing and native transactional.
Q: How do I improve deliverability in 2025?
A: Authenticate your domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), segment by engagement, remove inactives, and warm new domains slowly. See our deliverability guide at /guides/email-deliverability.
Q: Do I still need SMS?
A: For ecommerce, yes—SMS boosts recovery flows and promos. For B2B/newsletters, it’s optional. Omnisend, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, and Brevo handle SMS natively.
Q: What about free plans?
A: Free tiers exist (often with strict limits). They’re fine to test, but most teams outgrow them quickly—budget for a paid plan.
Explore more email marketing guides
If you’re switching tools, start with our migration checklist and deliverability playbook to avoid day‑one mistakes: set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC, verify domains, move only engaged contacts, and re‑map your automations to triggers that exist in the new platform. We also recommend creating a 30‑day warm‑up schedule if you’re changing sending domains.
For ecommerce marketers, our Shopify email apps roundup and SMS buyer’s guide help you choose the right stack around your ESP. If you rely on promotions, read our coverage of inbox provider spam rule changes to keep your sends compliant and on time.
Want to squeeze more ROI out of your existing platform? See our guides to UTM tracking for email analytics, landing page builders for better sign‑ups, and GDPR/CCPA consent best practices. When you’re ready, grab our recommended picks below using our links to support independent testing at CyReader—thank you.
Recommended links:
- Try MailerLite free → https://go.cyreader.com/mailerlite
- Get Klaviyo for Shopify/Woo → https://go.cyreader.com/klaviyo
- Automate with ActiveCampaign → https://go.cyreader.com/activecampaign
- Budget pick: Brevo (Sendinblue) → https://go.cyreader.com/brevo
- Creator favorite: ConvertKit → https://go.cyreader.com/convertkit
- Beginner‑friendly: Mailchimp → https://go.cyreader.com/mailchimp
- Ecommerce alternative: Omnisend → https://go.cyreader.com/omnisend
- All‑in‑one option: HubSpot → https://go.cyreader.com/hubspot
The best email marketing software is the one that fits your stage, stack, and strategy—not just the lowest monthly price. Start with your outcomes (revenue, leads, or audience growth), shortlist two options from our winners, and run a 14‑day A/B trial with identical campaigns and flows. You’ll know quickly which platform helps you move faster—and which one you’ll be happy to scale with for the next 12 months.
Related reading on CyReader:
- Email deliverability checklist: /guides/email-deliverability
- Shopify email marketing apps: /reviews/shopify-email-marketing-apps
- Google & Yahoo spam policy updates: /news/google-yahoo-spam-updates
- UTM tracking for newsletters: /guides/utm-tracking-email
- Best landing page builders: /reviews/landing-page-builders
- GDPR email consent guide: /guides/gdpr-email-consent
