Leaving Mailchimp? Here are 6 Alternatives

One of Mailchimp’s major changes in its email marketing services is a new metric called Audiences, which charges customers for both subscribed and unsubscribed emails. This shift could potentially lead to double the costs for many brands that are already paying significant money for their marketing efforts.

Until Mailchimp resolves this and other glaring issues with customer support and integration, the company should expect to see long-term clients rushing out the door.

If you’re one of many who are seeking alternative solutions, or you haven’t yet settled on the right email marketing platform, this post can walk you through your options.

Below are some of the world’s most coveted email service providers (ESPs), for big and small businesses alike.

1. Klaviyo

Source: Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a popular alternative to Mailchimp because of its intuitive workflows, tight integration with Spotify and Facebook, and ecommerce analytics. Some testimonials also applaud the platform’s user-friendliness, especially for those who have just transitioned from another email marketing tool.

In terms of customization, Klaviyo allows customers to personalize their email marketing campaigns around a wide host of client characteristics, such as a lack of repeat orders within the last three months and placing an order of product A, but not of product B, among others.

Klaviyo is free if you have less than 250 subscribers, but a quick glance at its pricing page shows that it costs more than most platforms. On paper, Klaviyo charges $100/month for 5,000 contacts, while Mailchimp costs just $9.99/month for 50,000 contacts. However, companies need to carefully compare the prices and features included to see whether the two platforms match-up and offer the same things for each contact they have.

2. Omnisend

Source: Omnisend

Just like Klaviyo, Omnisend is highly integrated with Shopify. Businesses that are new to email marketing (but want to avoid Mailchimp), can begin with Omnisend. The platform is very simple and easy to work with. And if you’re not quite sold on it yet, you can get a demo and a free trial before making an official decision.

The platform’s ease-of-use allows users to come up with sophisticated emails within minutes, exploring interactive features like wheel-of-fortune, pop-ups, and sign-up forms. These emails can be sent to customers based on their online activity, which Omnisend can also monitor for your business.

There’s also a Live View to see what your emails look like from a subscriber’s perspective. Some users have pointed out that the Live View isn’t always accurate and even takes up more time when the email layouts don’t match.

3. Campaign Monitor

Source: Campaign Monitor

If you’re looking for something that’s extremely straightforward with 24/7 support, Campaign Monitor is the answer. Clients rave about the platform’s user-friendly interface and the drag-and-drop email builder.

The what-you-see-is-what-you-get layout, together with a mobile optimization feature, prevents customers from worrying about the look of their emails across various devices and email providers. Campaign Monitor also features original templates and modern designs that you can quickly personalize for automated emails.

Many Campaign Monitor customers benefit from the product’s A/B testing feature and automated workflows, both of which can drive higher conversions for clients’ email marketing campaigns. The platform offers a pay-as-you-go pricing structure, which is extremely helpful for small businesses that need comprehensive reporting and monitoring mechanisms without exorbitant fees.

The downside is that working with some of Campaign Monitor’s features requires a learning curve, and may be a little too technical for some.

4. Constant Contact

Source: Constant Contact

Constant Contact is one of the more popular email marketing platforms for businesses. Brands that regularly send newsletters rely on Constant Contact to reach out to long mailing lists and work with large databases (which Constant Contact can also sort and organize with ease).

Users appreciate the platform’s advance-scheduling feature —a big relief for those who send out several emails on a daily basis. The platform also offers a real-time tracking and a full monitoring system that users can refer to when making decisions for their next email marketing campaign.

Like many platforms, Constant Contact has customizable email designs based on dozens of templates. Due to the platform’s simplicity and professional-looking concept, several users observe a lack of flexibility and creativity for the price points being offered.

5. Drip

Source: Drip

Branded as the world’s first ecommerce CRM, Drip’s main features include interactive automated workflows, evergreen webinars, an in-depth tagging system, and dedicated customer support. The platform’s simple user interface makes it enjoyable for users to try features that are otherwise overwhelming for beginners.

Additionally, Drip’s visual workflows allow customers to build different scenarios for their ongoing campaigns, which helps them decide the best elements to include in their emails. Once an email is ready, Drip can send it en-masse without difficulty.

The platform is also a favorite for its strong integration with Facebook Audiences and other third-party applications such as Shopify. Some users experience bugs every now and then, but these are usually addressed by the support team in no time.

6. SendGrid

Source: SendGrid

SendGrid—or Twilio SendGrid—is an established ESP for businesses who want to scale up a new product or service. Users enjoy the platform’s high deliverability, integration with APIs and third-party marketing stack providers, and highly responsive support team.

For beginners, SendGrid is very attractive due to its free 2000 contacts with a provision for upgrades when the mailing list gets longer. Meanwhile, loyal clients are fond of the platform’s analytics, which help users view email metrics without the usual complexities of data presentation.

Some customers find SendGrid’s user interface a little difficult to navigate, especially if they need to work with a specific feature or tool that’s not readily seen. The platform also has limits depending on the plan that a customer purchases, which is an issue for most ESPs across the board.

Wrap up

Various ESPs have various strengths. The best alternative would depend on what your company is looking for and what it needs for a specific email marketing campaign, whether that’s segmentation, personalized messaging, automated workflows, or direct integration with other online platforms and APIs.

We think it would be helpful for you to plot all your potential ESPs in a single table, list all your needs and preferences, and check which ESP fits the bill (and the budget, too).

You can also take a look at this longer list of Mailchimp alternatives, which provides a more detailed discussion of the top 10 ESPs out there and a couple of testimonials from verified users. You may miss Mailchimp, but wait until you see what’s available in the larger email marketing space.