8 Top Email Newsletter Software Tools for Online Creators

With dozens of different email newsletter software platforms on the market, it can be tough to differentiate their features, limitations, and pricing structures.

How do you know what software is the right fit for you? Spoiler alert––there’s no one best email newsletter software.

The answer is, it depends. Digital creators’ needs vary. YouTubers may favor video embedding features while a blogger may prioritize a WordPress integration.

Each of the email software recommendations we unpack in this article is best suited to certain digital creators and their goals.

Without further ado, let’s jump in. Here are our top 8 picks of email newsletter software tools to kickstart your email marketing campaigns.

The 8 top email newsletter software

1. ConvertKit

Source: ConvertKit

Late to the game, ConvertKit was founded in 2013. Built to meet founder Nathan Barry’s need to sell courses and books to his blogging audience, ConvertKit is geared towards helping creators build their audience.

For that reason, the platform focuses exclusively on the needs of online creators.

Best suited for: Content creators, freelancers, bloggers, YouTubers, and podcasters.

Features we like:

• Powerful segmentation. You don’t need to create a new subscriber list for every product launch or new campaign. Create customizable segments for user groups based on interests, tags, locations, and custom form fields.
• Automated email funnels. Send targeted content to the right people at the right moment. Whether you’re offering a daily video tutorial, welcoming new subscribers, or launching new features, use smart filters to control who receives your content.
• Easy-to-create landing pages. Add a landing page or a sign-up page to your website to help grow your subscriber list.

Limitations:

• Not always beginner-friendly. The lack of drag and drop functions makes the platform more complex and time-consuming to use.
• Easy-to-lose content. Some areas don’t autosave, resulting in lost content if you’re not careful to click Save after finishing each section.

Pricing: Free for up to 1,000 subscribers and fewer features. A Creator plan starts at $29/month. The plans change in price based on how many subscribers you have.

2. MailChimp

Source: MailChimp

MailChimp is likely the most recognized email software name on this list. It’s easy to get started, relatively cheap to use, and offers comprehensive features.

The platform’s large template library makes it ideal for users who are new to email marketing.

Best suited for: Freelancers, solopreneurs, or creators that are new to email marketing and want a simple platform

Features we like:

• Live previews. See how your campaign will look on laptops, desktop, and mobile before sending.
• User-friendly interface. MailChimp makes it easy to use their powerful editor with intuitive drag and drop content blocks.
• Pay-as-you-go option. Businesses sending fewer emails may prefer to only pay for the newsletter campaigns they send out.
• Robust reporting. Read reports on clicks, opens, unsubscribes, and purchases, and integrate your MailChimp reports with your social media and Google Analytics.
• Integrate MailChimp with your social media platforms. Easily send your Twitter and Facebook followers a link to your latest email campaign.

Limitations:

• Low limits. The free plan limits businesses to an email subscriber list of 2,000.
• MailChimp branding. For those on the free plan, MailChimp inserts its logo at the bottom of the newsletters.
• Reports lack depth. Compared to other platforms, MailChimp’s reports may be surface-level as they don’t offer much beyond the number of clicks, successful deliveries, and opens.
• Limited automation and segmentation features. Mailchimp lacks the powerful email automation functions and subscriber list segmentation that other platforms have.

Pricing: Free for sending up to 10,000 emails per month to up to 2,000 subscribers.

3. AWeber

Source: AWeber

AWeber is another newsletter platform with several features like reporting, segmentation, and automation.

Opt to build your email campaign design from scratch or start with one of the platform’s user-friendly templates. If you prefer HTML, you can create something unique in the platform’s HTML editor.

Best suited for: WordPress-powered bloggers with smaller subscriber lists

Features we like:

• Integrates with WordPress. Publish a sign-up form on your WordPress site and enable users to subscribe to your newsletter. Create a Blog Broadcast in AWeber and send subscribers newsletters based on your blog posts.
• Access to royalty-free images. Finding images for your emails can be time-consuming. With AWeber, access 6,000 free stock images.
• Targeted email campaigns. Make sure the right people get your emails at the right times. Segment your subscriber list based on factors like who read your last email and who didn’t. Send different emails based on subscribers’ skill levels and interests.
• Detailed reporting. See how your email campaigns are performing according to their opens, sales, and clicks.
• Free mobile app. Review your email campaign data within the app, Stats, while you’re on the go.

Limitations:

• Higher price point. AWeber is more expensive when compared to other platforms. Unsubscribed email addresses also count towards your monthly subscriber list quota.
• Outdated design. The user interface isn’t as intuitive as other options and some of their templates seem outdated when compared to others on this list.

Pricing: A free plan allows up to 3,000 email sends per month to a list of 500 subscribers. A pro plan is $16.15/month for unlimited subscribers and email sends.

4.  Rasa.io

Source: Rasa.io

Rasa.io markets itself with a rather bold claim: it’s the “world’s only truly personalized newsletter.” Does it live up to its tagline?

Rasa.io is unique in that it sends out a different newsletter to each of your subscribers. Instead of relying on lists or segmentation, subscribers are treated as individuals. All you need to do is choose the topic and sources, and Rasa.io generates the rest.

Best suited for: Content creators who prioritize personalization and are looking to improve engagement among their subscribers

Features we like:

• Personalized email newsletter campaigns. Rasa.io sends out an individualized newsletter to each subscriber every time you hit send.
• Ultra-detailed insights. Learn about your individual subscribers, right down to what topics they’re interested in.
• Powerful AI. Rasa.io leverages AI to understand the engagement pattern of your subscribers to better personalize live content.
• Comprehensive content library. Identifying industry-relevant content can be time-consuming and tedious. Access multiple high-quality content sources and efficiently pick out content your audience will enjoy.
• Simple user-interface. The UI is intuitive and easy to navigate even for newsletter beginners.

Limitations:

• No monetization options. Unlike other newsletter software, you can’t monetize your Rasa.io newsletters––they’re purely content curation-based.
• No A/B testing tools. You can’t trial separate versions of the same newsletter to see which version works best with specific audience segments.
• Fewer integrations. There are currently only 9 integrations and no WordPress integration.

Pricing: Monthly plans start at $29 for up to 2,500 contacts and scale in price depending on the size of your contact base. The most expensive plan for 250,000 contacts costs $1,364 per month.

5. SendFox

Source: SendFox

An affordable option for content creators, SendFox makes it easy to start a newsletter—even if you don’t have any subscribers.

Created by the AppSumo family, we might be a tad biased in saying it’s the best email newsletter software for growing your list and creating engaging content.

Best suited for: Content creators looking to build their subscriber list without relying on a website

Features we like:

• Simple user interface. SendFox has fewer distracting and potentially unnecessary features so you focus on writing your newsletter.
• Automation. If you want to send your subscribers a specific email when they join your list or click on a link, you can automate a follow-up email.
• Send campaigns from unlimited email domains. If you run multiple websites, you may need to send out email campaigns from different addresses. SendFox enables you to link multiple domains to your account so you can choose which address to send your campaign from.
• Create customizable landing pages and forms. If you’re a vlogger or podcaster exclusively on YouTube or Instagram, you might not have a website. With SendFox, you can create a landing page entirely personalized to you.
• Only counts your contacts once. Some email newsletter software counts your contacts multiple times if they’re in different lists. In SendFox, a subscriber can belong to multiple lists and only be counted once.

Limitations:

• No drag-and-drop features. If you like the drag-and-drop features of other email newsletter software, you might find the text editor too basic.
• HTML editor is only available as an add-on. You’ll need to spend $67 per month to access an HTML editor.
• No template library. Unlike MailChimp or ConvertKit, SendFox doesn’t provide any premade newsletter templates.

Pricing: The Free plan allows a contact base of up to 1,000. For a one-time payment of $49, the Lifetime plan enables unlimited monthly sends and a contact list of up to 5,000.

6. MailPoet

MailPoet is email newsletter software specifically for WordPress users. Operating as a plugin, MailPoet allows you to manage your newsletters directly from your WordPress dashboard.

No coding is required, and you can easily access images, videos, and other media directly from your media gallery within WordPress.

Source: MailPoet

Best suited for: Creators running a WordPress site

Features we like:

• MailPoet plugin. Access MailPoet directly from your WordPress dashboard, making your marketing workflow that much more seamless.
• 50+ WordPress email templates. Easily pick a template, customize it with your content, and send it out to your subscribers.
• Intuitive drag-and-drop email designer. Add images, text, widgets, and buttons with MailPoet’s drag-and-drop system.
•  Advanced list segmentation. Use behavior data to send campaigns to those who did or didn’t open campaigns. If you run a WooCommerce store, you can automatically create targeted campaigns based on purchase behavior.

Limitations:

• Only usable if you have a WordPress site. You can’t use MailPoet independently; you must install the plugin and use it from your backend.
• No landing pages. While you can create some form types on MailPoet, you can’t create landing pages.

Pricing: MailPoet is free for up to 1,000 subscribers. It costs $13 per month for up to 1,250 subscribers. Plans increase in price according to the size of your subscriber list.

7. Substack

Source: Substack

Substack enables bloggers and writers to charge a subscription fee for their newsletters. The email newsletter software is a leader of democratizing monetized information. The tool helps writers earn money without relying on an intermediary publisher.

Whether you want to introduce a paywall to your content or simply encourage your loyal subscribers to contribute, Substack can help you make your writing habits profitable.

Best suited for: Content creators who are focused on writing like bloggers or marketers

Features we like:

• User friendly. Easy-to-use drag and drop features make it simple to include images, graphics, and audio files.
• Easy payment collection. Use the Stripe integration to easily collect payment from your subscribers.
• Robust advertising analytics. Measure your ad or organic performance with tracking pixels. Use Google Search Console to measure the SEO performance of your publication.

Limitations:

• Minimum subscription fees. Substack insists on a minimum subscription fee of $5 per month for each newsletter. It may be hard to entice users to subscribe to just one newsletter for this price.
• Substack takes a cut. For every bit of revenue your newsletter generates, Substack takes 10% and charges a $0.30 transaction fee. Stripe also charges 2.9%, meaning writers lose a hefty chunk.

Pricing: It’s free to set up a newsletter and send it to any number of subscribers. Substack only takes a cut when you receive payment for paid newsletters.

8. Buttondown

Source: Buttondown

Buttondown is a lightweight email newsletter software that enables creators to draft fuss-free newsletters.

The software features a minimalist user interface free from potential distractions like template builders and content blocks.

Created by Justin Duke in 2017, Buttondown is a newsletter platform that is both simple and inexpensive to use. Duke replies to all support inquiries, giving the platform a more personal feel.

Best suited for: Writers who want to create simple text-based newsletters for smaller subscriber lists

Features we like:

• Create different subscription tiers. Easily implement paid and free newsletter subscription levels.
• Solid integrations with other publishing platforms. Readers can subscribe directly from Medium posts via an embedded URL.
• Run multiple newsletters. Easily manage different newsletters from a single account.
• Leverage insightful data-driven analytics. See where your subscribers are coming from, monitor individual reader behavior, and track clicks and opens.

Limitations:

• No integration with WordPress. Bloggers and other WordPress-based creators may find it annoying that Buttondown doesn’t directly integrate with the tool.
• May be too minimalist. Duke’s minimalist-first approach may be too basic for users looking to create more visually eye-catching email campaigns.

Pricing: Buttondown is free for the first 1,000 subscribers. It’s then $5/month for every 1,000 subscribers. Buttondown for Professionals, which provides whitelabeling and API support, is $29 per month.

Which email newsletter software is best for you?

Each of these email newsletter software options has its pros and cons. The best email software ultimately depends on your business’s email goals. Budget and marketing experience also come into play, too.

If you’re a freelance blogger, ConvertKit should be your go-to option for building an engaged audience. Alternatively, if you want to monetize your campaigns, Substack could be the answer.

If you don’t have a subscriber list or a website, use SendFox to build an engaged subscriber list with personalized landing pages. Grab the SendFox lifetime deal on AppSumo for $49 today.