Are you looking for the best free email marketing services?
For every dollar you invest in email marketing, you get a return of $36. That’s incredibly profitable. But how good are the free services? Can you make the most of email marketing using free software? Or should you be buying premium email marketing software?
And there are SO many email marketing services out there. Which one’s the best for you? Which ones are easy to use? What kind of campaigns can you create?
We went through a bunch of services to answer these questions so that you don’t have to. In this article, we’ll shortlist some of the world’s best free email marketing services.
Then, we’re going to give our absolute favorite.
Sounds good? Let’s dive in.
Do the “Best” Free Email Marketing Services Even Work?
All email marketing services come with a free version. You either get a free trial or a forever free version with limited features. We recommend using software with a free trial to test the service for a while and then buy it.
Free services can only get you so far. For instance, you can’t set up automated campaigns with any of the best free email marketing services. This means that you can only send out a newsletter. If you’re running a very simple blog that’s just getting started, this may be good enough for your business’s first year of marketing.
In short: You can’t create customer segments, personalize your campaigns, or create advanced eCommerce campaigns.
We recommend checking out the best email marketing services and getting the paid version if you have the budget. If not, you can check out one of the best push notification services to grow your business.
Push notifications are a great tool to increase your repeat traffic, site engagement, and direct sales. The cool part is that push notifications cost less than the average email marketing service.
If you’re curious about how effective emails are compared to push notifications, you should check out these email vs. push notifications statistics.
What to Look for in a Free Email Marketing Service
There are so many email marketing tools and services out there. So, how did we get to this specific list of services? What qualifies as one of the best free email marketing services?
We made our choices for this list based on:
- Ease of use: Is the solution beginner-friendly, or does it require some previous knowledge and expertise?
- A/B Testing: Can you split test different versions of your messages to boost conversions?
- Analytics: Do you get a built-in analytics dashboard to track the performance of your campaigns?
Most importantly, a good email service provider ensures that your email campaigns do not end up in the spam folder. If your WordPress email autoresponders are ending in spam folders, you should also check out how to configure WordPress SMTP.
The Best Free Email Marketing Services in 2022
Now that we know why you should get one of the best free email marketing services instead of some random, cheap service, it’s time to check out the list. Based on our research, we’ll dive into the best free email marketing services in the market. And then, we’ll tell you our top recommendation.
Let’s get started.
#1. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is the best free email marketing service to set up autoresponders for your business. It’s super easy to use and offers many automation features to improve your email campaigns in the paid version.
You get a 60-day free trial for any paid plans starting from $9.99. That’s more than enough to get started and test out the product. In 60 days, you can easily make enough money from your email campaigns to buy the plan.
Here’s what makes Constant Contact such an excellent choice for setting up email autoresponders:
- Easy drag and drop builder to create emails
- Hundreds of pre-designed email templates
- Welcome messages, birthday offers and abandoned cart autoresponders
- List building tools and signup forms to grow your audience
- Split testing for targeted emails
- Integrations with CRMs and third-party services
- Excellent support via live chat and phone
Not to mention, Constant Contact has a forms plugin for WordPress that you can use to collect leads and nurture with autoresponders.
Get started with Constant Contact!
#2. Drip
Drip is a top-tier email marketing platform for eCommerce businesses looking to scale. Drip is not the email automation service we recommend if you’re just starting. Most advanced features are compelling, including tagging and dynamic segmentation. And if you’re ready to turn your email list into a money-making machine, you should get Drip.
The cool part is that it has a 14-day free trial for all its plans, and no credit cards are required. Drip is perfect for any eCommerce business. You can use it to sell products for web stores, SaaS businesses, digital products, and more.
You get built-in tools for customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. So, it’s an excellent fit for even the most complex sales processes.
Here’s a quick look at the top features you get from Drip:
- Visual email and workflow builder
- Welcome email series and other drip campaigns
- Customization subscription forms
- Post-purchase email automation
- A/B testing for email optimization
#3. SendinBlue
SendinBlue is one of the best email marketing services in the market. You can use SendinBlue to send automated emails and SMS campaigns.
You can easily create triggers for your autoresponders, such as welcome messages, cart abandonment recovery messages, price drop alerts, and more! SendinBlue has a free version that supports unlimited contacts, up to 300 emails daily, and a live chat box for a single user. So, it’s perfect for small businesses and solopreneurs.
But you miss epic marketing features if you don’t use the premium versions.
Here’s a quick overview of why SendinBlue is a top choice on this list:
- User-friendly email editor
- Option to create landing pages
- SMS marketing and live chat features
- Integrates email list opt-in forms on your site
- Automated emails for targeted contacts
- Social media integration
#4. MailPoet
MailPoet is a simple free email marketing service that helps you send automated emails from your site. It also handles email deliverability issues in WordPress. You can use MailPoet to send newsletters or create autoresponders for blogs and online stores. At the same time, you can use it as a WordPress SMTP plugin.
The great thing about MailPoet is its very powerful WooCommerce integrations. So, you can send targeted and automated emails such as cart abandonment emails and browse abandonment emails right out of the box.
MailPoet has a free version that supports up to 5,000 emails/month for up to 1,000 subscribers on a single site. It’s perfect for a small newsletter. But if you want to grow your business quickly, you need the paid plans.
Here’s what makes MailPoet one of the best free email marketing services:
- Drag and drop email builder
- Built-in list management and segmentation
- High email delivery and open rates
- Automatically removes inactive contacts
#5. ConvertKit
ConvertKit is another of the best free email marketing services for independent creators and bloggers. The plugin works seamlessly with WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.
You can automate your marketing funnels by creating custom triggers and workflows for your email campaigns. But most importantly, ConvertKit helps you create a personalized experience for all your customers. Of course, that’s only for the paid versions.
ConvertKit does have a forever-free version for small creators. You can use it to send newsletters, create landing pages, create contact forms, and sell digital products and subscriptions. Unlike the other services on this list, you get audience tagging and segmentation as part of the free plan. However, you can only use them for email broadcasts, not automated sequences.
We think it’s super cool because it comes with:
- Easy-to-use interface and email builder
- Powerful email and sales funnels
- Segmentation and targeting rules
- Automation workflow builder
- Integration with marketing services
The only thing that’s off-putting about ConvertKit is how limited the free version is. But the paid plans are extremely powerful.
#6. MailerLite
MailerLite is a powerful email marketing service for bloggers and small businesses. It has tons of email marketing and automation features to grow your business.
MailerLite also comes with a powerful landing page builder and a website builder. You can also create triggered email campaigns immediately when a new email address enters your list. And if you’re selling digital products, you can also use MailerLite’s payment options.
The free version comes with 12,000 monthly emails for a single user. You can create a website using MailerLite along with powerful landing pages. You can even create signup forms and popups. But most automation features and personalization options are only available in the paid versions.
Check out some of the top highlights of the software suite:
- Advanced workflow builder to automate email campaigns
- Segmentation and tagging features
- Highly-converting subscribe forms
- Stats and reporting dashboard
- A/B testing to see which email performs better
- Seamless WooCommerce and WordPress integration
#7. Aweber
AWeber is a popular free email marketing service provider. It’s also one of the best autoresponder plugins for WordPress.
What makes AWeber so unique is its flexibility. Its features are meant to support a wide range of businesses in varying stages of growth. The free version is perfect for anyone new to email marketing. You don’t get a ton of automation options with the free versions. But you can send out RSS emails. You also get a great drag-and-drop email builder with tons of pre-designed templates.
Also, if you’re using Canva to design your emails, AWeber has an integration that allows you to import that design.
You can also create landing pages, push notifications, and forms with AWeber. And if you’re selling a product, it also has powerful eCommerce integrations.
The free version comes with 3,000 emails/month for 500 subscribers. You can also create free signup forms, campaign automation, and landing pages.
Here’s a quick look at the pro features:
- Professional-looking email templates
- Options to personalize your emails
- Automated email campaigns to recover abandoned carts and upsell products
- eCommerce autoresponders
- Landing page builder
- Advanced reporting to track clicks, opens, and sales
Which of the Best Free Email Marketing Services is Right for You?
It’s time to declare which of these best free email marketing services is the perfect fit for you.
Hands down, the very best service for small businesses is Constant Contact. It has all the features you need, comes with flexible pricing, and it’s super easy to use. You can also focus on the most critical metrics to grow your business right from the analytics dashboard.
Our recommendation is also to diversify your autoresponders. You can grow even faster by diversifying, and your business doesn’t rely on a single channel. If you’re also looking to diversify and get started with push notifications, you should use PushEngage.
Push notifications are powerful marketing tools that can help you get repeat traffic, engagement, and sales. If you’re new to push notifications, check out these epic resources:
- 7 Smart Strategies to Boost Customer Engagement
- How to Get More Traffic to Your WordPress Blog (9 Easy Ways)
- How to Boost Your Web Push Notification Opt-In Rate (7 Ways)
And if you haven’t already, get started with PushEngage today to get to the next level!
