Built by former Morning Brew engineers, beehiiv is purpose-built for newsletter creators. It combines email delivery with a publication website, paid subscriptions, and a cross-promotion network (Boosts) that lets you earn money just by recommending other newsletters. The 50% affiliate commission for 12 months is the most compelling in this category.

GetResponse bundles email marketing, automation, landing pages, webinars, and a website builder into one subscription. For businesses that want everything in one place and don’t want to pay for multiple tools, it’s outstanding value. The 33% recurring affiliate commission and $100 bonus on first sale make it lucrative to recommend.

ActiveCampaign is the automation benchmark. Its visual workflow builder lets you create conditions, branches, and triggers that no other ESP at this price point can match. If you’re running sales follow-up sequences, lead scoring, or complex drip campaigns — this is the tool. The built-in CRM makes it a legitimate HubSpot alternative at a fraction of the cost.

Renamed from ConvertKit, Kit is the platform of choice for bloggers, podcasters, and course creators. The tag-based subscriber system, landing page builder, and commerce features (sell digital products directly) are all designed for the creator economy. The free plan allows 10,000 subscribers — the most generous free tier of any serious email platform.

AWeber has been in the email marketing business since 1998 and its reliability and deliverability track record reflect that. It’s the easiest platform to set up — most users are sending their first newsletter within an hour. The drag-and-drop builder, autoresponder sequences, and free plan (up to 500 subscribers) make it the natural starting point for anyone new to email marketing.

Moosend delivers automation sequences, segmentation, and landing pages at prices that undercut ActiveCampaign and GetResponse by 40–60%. After 30 days of hands-on testing, it consistently impressed — particularly its e-commerce triggers and AI subject line optimizer. If you want professional-grade features without professional-grade pricing, Moosend is the answer.

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) prices by email sends, not subscriber count — making it dramatically cheaper than competitors if you have a large list but don’t email frequently. The free plan sends 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts. Transactional email, SMS marketing, and a CRM are all included.

Systeme.io gives you email marketing, sales funnels, course hosting, and an affiliate management system — completely free for up to 2,000 contacts. What would cost $200+/month from separate tools is free on Systeme.io’s free plan. The 60% lifetime affiliate commission is the highest payout in this entire roundup.

What is the best free email marketing software?

Kit (ConvertKit) offers the largest free plan at 10,000 subscribers. beehiiv is free up to 2,500 subscribers and includes monetization tools. Systeme.io is free forever up to 2,000 contacts and includes funnels and course hosting. Brevo is free with unlimited contacts (300 emails/day limit).

Which email marketing tool has the best deliverability?

beehiiv consistently leads on deliverability — built by the Morning Brew engineering team who managed newsletters with 45%+ open rates at millions of subscribers. ActiveCampaign and AWeber also score high in third-party deliverability tests.

What is the cheapest email marketing software?

Moosend starts at $9/month and offers the best feature-to-price ratio of any paid platform. Brevo is free for small senders (300 emails/day). For paid plans under $20/month, see our cheapest email marketing software guide.

How were these tools tested?

Each tool was tested with a live email list over 30–90 days. Testing covered deliverability, automation builder, segmentation, landing pages, support quality, and pricing transparency. See our full testing methodology.