Imagine turning every email into a conversation that customers are looking forward to and accompanying them step by step to complete an action. The right platforms for email marketing (DEM) and marketing automation can turn a simple message into a powerful conversion engine.
The following is a list of the 7 best platforms for email marketing (DEM) and marketing automation, which can send emails to a large list of contacts and schedule the sending of specific automated messages. I have collected information on features, plans and prices, in order to provide guidance in order to choose the most suitable tool for every need.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing platforms, easy to use even by less experienced users, thanks to a simple and intuitive interface. It allows you to create custom audiences and run A/B tests to evaluate the best creative. Plus, it integrates seamlessly with many platforms, such as WordPress, Shopify, and Facebook.
It also offers advanced marketing automation features that can be useful for e-commerce. For example, you can send follow-up emails or abandoned cart reminders. Mailchimp is therefore a very versatile and easy-to-use tool.
- Why use it:: Mass sending of emails and newsletters to profiled audiences, marketing automation
- Pros: User-friendly editor and interface, advanced tools for A/B testing and audience segmentation, detailed analysis of open, click, and conversion metrics, integration with many platforms
- Cons: High costs for large DB users, limited marketing automation capabilities compared to competitors
- Free plan: Up to 500 contacts, monthly limit of 1,000 email sends
- Costs: Premium plans starting at €13/month
- Website
GetResponse
GetResponse is a comprehensive email marketing, marketing automation, and lead generation platform. Its selling point is the conversion funnel, which combines email, landing pages, and automation to guide customers through the purchase journey. In addition, it offers advanced segmentation and personalization tools that improve the relevance of campaigns, integrates seamlessly with different CMS, e-commerce and CRM, and allows you to organize webinars.
Advanced features can be complex for beginners, and pricing can be unaffordable for small businesses. However, when used correctly, GetResponse can be a very powerful tool for achieving higher conversion rates and building strong customer relationships.
- Why use it:: Email marketing, marketing automation, lead generation, webinars
- Pros: Built-in conversion funnels, advanced segmentation and personalization tools, integration with many platforms, built-in webinars
- Cons: Steep learning curve, high costs for advanced features
- Free plan: Monthly limit of 1,000 email sends and 1,000 landing page views
- Costs: Premium plans starting at €16/month
- Website
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing, sales, and CRM platform that includes advanced email marketing and marketing automation capabilities and provides businesses with tools that foster team collaboration, accompanied by highly detailed reporting. Thanks to a modular ecosystem, it allows you to start with free basic tools and then scale to advanced solutions.
It is not easy to set up and use, and it can be very expensive for small businesses. However, it can become an indispensable tool for companies that make CRM a strong point and want to integrate email marketing, DEM and automation into a single platform.
- Why use it: Email marketing, marketing automation, CRM, sales funnel management
- Pros: CRM integration, marketing, sales and service, detailed reports, scalable subscription plans, training support
- Cons: Expensive advanced plans, steep learning curve
- Free plan: Monthly limit of 2,000 email sends
- Costs: Premium plans starting at €15/month
- Website
MailUp
MailUp is an Italian platform for email marketing and marketing automation, designed for companies that want to manage email, SMS and push notification campaigns in a professional and scalable way. An intuitive interface and powerful segmentation and reporting tools make it a useful tool for novice and experienced users.
There is no free plan, however, each plan comes with unlimited user databases, email sends, and data space. The cost varies based on advanced features, shipping times, and support. This makes it a suitable platform for businesses with large audience lists and frequent mailings.
- Why use it: Email marketing, SMS marketing, marketing automation
- Pros: user DB, unlimited email sends and data space, integration with SMS and push notifications for multi-channel campaigns, detailed reporting
- Cons: No free plan, advanced features that are not intuitive
- Free plan: Unavailable
- Costs: Premium plans starting at €46/month
- Website
4Dem
4Dem is an Italian platform for email marketing and marketing automation. It stands out for its multi-channel approach, which allows email, SMS and push notifications to be integrated into a single communication strategy. 4Dem also includes advanced automation and segmentation features, useful for optimizing campaigns and personalizing messages based on user behavior.
The features are very intuitive, making 4Dem an easy platform to use even by beginners, while the dashboard allows you to carry out accurate data analysis. Of note is the extreme attention to security and compliance with GDPR regulations.
- Why use it: Email marketing, SMS marketing, marketing automation
- Pros: Simple and intuitive interface, multi-channel campaign tools, GDPR compliance
- Cons: Limited integration with some platforms, weak on non-Italian market
- Free plan: Unavailable
- Costs: Premium plans starting from €33/month, or pay-as-you-go
- Website
Sender
Sender is an email marketing platform that makes ease of use and affordability its strengths. A very generous free plan in terms of sending limits and contact database, with paid plans at lower costs than competitors, makes the platform accessible to many companies.
Because of these features, Sender is the ideal platform for start-ups, small companies, and professionals on a budget or who are just starting to create and send email and SMS campaigns for the first time.
- Why use it: Email marketing, SMS marketing
- Pros: Generous free plan, great value for money, easy to use
- Cons: Limited features, few integrations with external platforms
- Free plan: Up to 2,500 contacts, monthly limit of 15,000 email sends
- Costs: Premium plans starting at €9/month
- Website
Brevo
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is a versatile platform for email marketing, marketing automation, and multichannel communication, capable of integrating SMS, chat, and CRM. Advanced automations allow you to create personalized flows for the entire customer journey, from lead generation to nurturing to conversion. In addition, the focus on GDPR compliance ensures security and transparency in data management.
A good free plan (albeit with a daily limit instead of a monthly one) and ease of use make Brevo a great platform for small companies and startups on a budget.
- Why use it: Email marketing, SMS marketing, marketing automation
- Pros: Marketing automation for custom flows, GDPR compliance, free plan, great value for money
- Cons: Few integrations with external platforms, complicated automations for beginners
- Free plan: Daily limit of 300 email sends
- Costs: Premium plans starting at €7/month
- Website
The best platforms for email marketing (DEM) and marketing automation: features, pros and cons, costs
| Platform | Why use it | Pros | Costs | Free plan | Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Mass sending of emails and newsletters, marketing automation | User-friendly interface, advanced A/B testing, good integration | High costs for large DBs, limited automation | Up to 500 contacts, 1,000 monthly mailings | From 13 €/month |
| GetResponse | Email marketing, marketing automation, lead generation | Built-in conversion funnel, advanced segmentation tools | Steep learning curve, high cost for advanced features | Up to 1,000 email sends, 1,000 landing page views | From 16 €/month |
| HubSpot | Email marketing, marketing automation, CRM, sales funnels | CRM integration, detailed reporting, scalability | Expensive for small companies, steep learning curve | Up to 2,000 monthly mailings | From 15 €/month |
| MailUp | Email marketing, SMS marketing, marketing automation | Unlimited DB, multi-channel integration (SMS, push notifications) | No free plan, advanced features that are not intuitive | Unavailable | From 46 €/month |
| 4Dem | Email marketing, SMS marketing, marketing automation | Intuitive, multi-channel interface, GDPR compliance | Limited integration, weak on the non-Italian market | Unavailable | From 33 €/month |
| Sender | Email marketing, SMS marketing | Generous free plan, great value for money, easy to use | Limited features, few integrations with external platforms | Up to 2,500 contacts, 15,000 monthly mailings | Starting from 9 €/month |
| Brevo | Email marketing, SMS marketing | Marketing automation for custom flows, GDPR compliance, free plan, great value for money | Few integrations with external platforms, complicated automations for beginners | Daily limit of 300 email sends | Premium plans starting at €7/month |
Which platforms to choose for email marketing (DEM) and marketing automation
Unlike the best SEO tools that can coexist in the same strategy, email marketing platforms are not very complementary. Usually, every business uses only one based on its needs and budget. The choice must be very careful, in order to choose the most suitable platform.
The top of the range are GetResponse and HubSpot, its complete platforms with the best solutions for lead generation and CRM generation, respectively. With a large budget, these are the best solutions. Mailchimp, on the other hand, is an excellent compromise between cost and email marketing and marketing automation features. By choosing the Italian MailUp and 4Dem, you opt instead for valid platforms designed for email campaigns, SMS and push notifications, with the former standing out for its DB and unlimited mailings and the latter for its ease of use and extreme attention to GDPR regulations. Finally, Sender and Brevo are the cheapest solutions for email marketing, with fewer features but better suited for small businesses with limited budgets or those who are just starting out.
