How to Choose an Email Marketing Platform

There are dozens of email marketing platforms, and most of them can send a newsletter. The right one depends on what you need to do after the first send. Use this checklist to narrow it down.

Start with what you actually need

• Audience size now, and where you expect it to be in a year. Pricing usually rises with the number of contacts.
• How often you will send. A weekly newsletter and a monthly promotion have different needs.
• Whether you need automation, such as a welcome series or abandoned-cart emails.
• Whether you sell online and want your store connected.
• Whether you want contacts, sales and email in one system (a CRM) or just email.

Features worth comparing

• Editor: do you want a drag-and-drop editor, custom HTML, or both?
• Templates: can you import your own design? This matters if you build emails in a tool like ours.
• Segmentation: sending different emails to different groups.
• Automation: triggers, delays and branching.
• Reporting: opens, clicks and revenue, and how easy they are to read.
• Integrations: your website, store, forms and other tools.

Check custom HTML support

Not every platform lets you paste your own HTML, and some limit it to paid plans. If you design emails in the newsletter builder, confirm that your platform has a custom HTML or "code your own" template option before you commit.

Our export guides show how to bring a design into each platform: Mailchimp, HubSpot, Brevo, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign and Kit.

Deliverability and compliance

A good platform helps your emails reach the inbox. Look for support for sender authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) and an easy way to use your own domain.

Marketing emails generally need a working unsubscribe link and your physical postal address. A platform that adds these for you saves effort, and you stay responsible for following the rules where your subscribers live.

Quick picks by situation

• Want one familiar, all-in-one tool: Mailchimp.
• Want email connected to a full CRM: HubSpot.
• Want email and SMS together: Brevo.
• Want something simple and uncluttered: MailerLite.
• Creator selling courses or products to an audience: Kit.
• Need detailed, automated customer journeys: ActiveCampaign.
• Running a newsletter as a publication: beehiiv.

Test before you commit

Most platforms offer a free plan or trial, and the limits change often, so check each company's pricing page. Build one real email, import a contact list and send a test. How the tool feels to use matters more than any feature list.