In this article, you will discover why these 5 are the best free and affordable email autoresponders for beginners.
Now are you a beginner at email marketing and would like a free and affordable email marketing autoresponder?
These are the 5 best free and affordable email platforms:
- Aweber
- GetResponse
- Email Octopus
- Convertkit
- Mailerlite
When choosing an email marketing platform, there are a lot of factors to consider and I have drilled them down to just 5 factors. This is the simplest checklist for choosing an email marketing software.
The 5 factors to consider are:
- Price
- Automation
- Good Trial Period
- Deliverability
- Ease of Use
Having checked for these factors I managed to select these 5 email marketing platforms. I mentioned at the beginning and I will now explain further...
Let us now look into pricing, pros and cons, and alternatives of each and every one of these 5 email services.
1. AWeber
- AWeber is an email marketing platform that has been in existence since 1998.
- You can run email marketing campaigns, create landing pages and sell your products while using the free plan.
- Customer support is available by chat, email, and phone even if you are a free plan user.
- The free plan lets you access all the features like automation which is rarely available on a free plan.
- There is only a choice of either the free plan or the Pro plan that has tiered prices and pricing is per number of contacts.
Aweber's Features Are:
- Email Marketing
- Email Templates
- Reports and Analytics
- Auto-Newsletters
- Drag & Drop Editor
- Email designer using your website's URL
- Free Stock Images
- Automation
- Tagging
- Segmentation
- Migration
- Integrations
- Design with Canva
- Landing Pages
- Web push notifications
- Sign up forms
- Ecommerce
This is what makes AWeber the best free and affordable email marketing service:
- The free plan allows you access to all of the platform's features.
- Customer support by email, live chat, and the phone is open to all AWeber customers.
- As long as your subscribers remain under 500 you can run your business for free.
AWeber Pricing
Subscribers | monthly cost | Emails per month |
|---|---|---|
0-500 | Free | 3 000 |
0-500 | $19.99 | Unlimited |
501-2 500 | $29.99 | Unlimited |
2 501-5 000 | $49.99 | Unlimited |
5 001-10 000 | $69.99 | Unlimited |
10 001-25 000 | $149.99 | Unlimited |
When your subscribers are more than 25 000 you need to contact AWeber so that you can get a quote.
You can access a discount of up to 19.2% if you signup for an annual plan.
2. GetResponse
- GetResponse is fast becoming an all-in-one marketing service for most business types.
- This email marketing autoresponder was established in 1998 by Simon Grabowski.
- Their aim is to give you simple and complete email marketing tools that will make you see results.
- They have a free plan that allows you to build a website and you can do so using their AI builder.
- There is also a choice of plans starting from $19 per month all the way up to $119 per month on the Pro plan for up to 1 000 subscribers.
- GetResponse offers an 18% discount for paying yearly and a 30% for paying on a 24 month period.
- They offer even big discounts for nonprofits at 30% and 50% off on monthly plans.
- You can access GetResponse using your preferred language if it is among the 21 already available.
GetResponse's Features Are:
- Email Marketing
- Website Builder
- Marketing Automation
- Webinars
- Paid Ads
- Landing Pages
- Conversion Funnel
- Web Push Notifications
- SMS Marketing
- Integrations
- Live Chat
- Signup Forms
- Advanced Analytics and Testing Tools
The following are the reasons why GetResponse standout as a free and affordable email marketing tool for beginners:
- The free plan allows you to collect emails of up to 500 subscribers.
- You can send unlimited newsletters, create 1 landing page, build 1 website, and even use your own custom domain.
- They allow you to access premium features for the first 30 days all for free. The basic plan starts at $19 per month and allows you up to 1 000 subscribers.
- Conversion funnel for sales and leads as well as webinars are two features that make GetResponse stand out. These tools are included as part of your plan.
GetResponse Pricing
This all-in-one online marketing suite provides you with different pricing plans. They are Basic, Plus, Pro, Max, and Max2.
Subscribers | Monthly Cost | emails per month |
|---|---|---|
0-500 | Free | Unlimited |
0-1 000 | $19 | Unlimited |
0-1 000 | $59 | Unlimited |
0-1 000 | $119 | Unlimited |
The different prices determine the number of features that are available to you.
If you are a medium to large business there is a plan for you called Max custom pricing.
An 18% discount is available for paying annually and a 30% discount is available to customers that signup or upgrade to the 24 month period plan.
I have an in-depth GetResponse Review that you can read here!
3. Email Octopus
- Email Octopus is an email marketing provider that aims to provide anyone with an audience grow.
- They do this by making email marketing simple, intuitive, and of better value.
- It was founded in 2014 and is suitable for many different businesses.
- They have made a commitment to saving you money and not compromising on email deliverability.
- Email Octopus offers a 20% lifetime discount to charities and nonprofits.
- There is only a choice of either the Starter free plan or the Pro plan.
EmailOctopus Features Are:
- Integrations with API, WordPress, Shopify, Gravity Forms, and many more.
- Segmentation allows you to use insights and data to tag contacts and segment subscribers so you send them only targeted emails to boost engagement.
- Analytics and Reporting keep track of your opens, clicks, and bounce rates at a glance or get more detail with the historical activity of your customers.
- Automation allows you to send automated welcome series or other drip campaigns while saving you time.
- Templates-access to pre-designed templates, so you customise with their easy-to-use email editor or build from scratch. You can import HTML templates for full creative control.
- Landing pages and Forms allows you to grow your subscribers. By customising forms and creating highly converting landing pages.
These are some of the reasons why Email Octopus is the best free and affordable email marketing autoresponder:
- Email Octopus stands out on support which is available by live chat and email even on the free plan.
- Automation is available to the free plan users.
- They are huge on
Email Octopus Pricing
subscribers | monthly cost | emails per month |
|---|---|---|
0- 2 500 | Free | 10 000 |
Up to 5 000 | $24 | 50 000 |
Up to 10 000 | $36 | 100 000 |
Up to 15 000 | $48 | 150 000 |
The prices continue to increase based on the number of subscribers.
When your list is 500 000 subscribers, you need to contact Email Octopus for custom pricing.
4. Convertkit
- Convertkit is an email marketing software built for content creators.
- It was founded by Nathan Barry in 2013.
- With a mission to help creators earn a living online.
- By using Convertkit you will be able to grow your audience, connect with your fans, and earn a living online.
- They offer a free plan, Creator Plan and Creator Pro.
- A discount of up to 2 months free is available if you take an annual plan.
Convertkit's Features Are:
- Landing pages
- Email Sign up forms
- Integrations
- Email Marketing
- Commerce
- Automation
- Email designer
These are the reasons why Convertkit is one of the best free and affordable autoresponders:
- Convertkit has made it easy for content creators to access automation if you upgrade to the Creator plan and your subscribers are below 300.
- This also allows you to access live chat and email support.
- The free plan remains the best on the market for any creator because you can sell your products or subscriptions and have landing pages and forms to collect leads and build an email list.
Convertkit Pricing
This email marketing service provides you with a choice of either Creator or Creator Pro pricing plans.
Their pricing is based on the number of subscribers and this determines the level of access to the features.
Subscribers | Monthly cost | emails per month |
|---|---|---|
0-1 000 | Free | Unlimited |
0-300 | $15 | Unlimited |
0-300 | $29 | Unlimited |
0-1 000 | $29 | Unlimited |
0-1 000 | $49 | Unlimited |
Convertkit offers a 2 months free discount for paying yearly. You have 14 days to trial premium features when you signup for the free plan.
5. Mailerlite
- Mailerlite is an email marketing service that aims to give businesses a simple and powerful email solution to help grow their business.
- It was founded in 2010 by Ignas and is a remote-first company.
- Their mission is to provide you with intuitive solutions for complicated tasks.
- It is best suited for small businesses for example nonprofits.
- If you are an affiliate marketer this autoresponder is not for you.
- They offer you a free plan and affordable prices when you upgrade.
Mailerlite's Features Are:
Email Marketing
- Built-in photo editing
- Custom HTML email editor
- Drag & Drop Newsletter Editor
- E-commerce Campaigns
- File Manager
- MailerCheck: Email Verifier
- MailerSend: Transactional email service
- Mobile-Friendly email newsletters
- Newsletter Templates
- Rich-Text Editor
For Growing Your Audience:
- Embedded signup forms
- Landing pages
- Pop-up subscribe forms
- Sell digital products
- Subscriber Management
- Unsubscribe page builder
- Website Builder
For Delivering:
- A/B split testing
- Auto resend
- Dedicated IP
- Deliver by time zone
- Email Automation
- Interest groups(tagging)
- Personalisation
- RSS campaigns
- Segmentation
For Connecting:
- Developer API
- Integrations
- iPad subscribe app
- iPhone email marketing app
- Migration
For Tracking Your Results:
- Click Maps
- Email newsletter reports
- Opens by location
And Also:
- Custom email templates
- Custom landing page design
- MailerPro
- Premium Features
- SitesPro
- User permissions
Below are some of the benefits that make Mailerlite a free and affordable email marketing service:
- Mailerlite stands out on support which is available by email even when you are on the free plan.
- Automation is available to the free plan users.
- You can have a free website while using the free plan.
- They allow you to trial premium features for 30 days.
- Mailerlite pricing starts at $10 per month for up to 1 000 subscribers and you can send an unlimited number of emails.
Mailerlite Pricing
Subscribers | Monthly cost | emails per month |
|---|---|---|
0-1 000 | Free | 12 000 |
0-1 000 | $10 | Unlimited |
1 001-2 500 | $15 | Unlimited |
2 501-5 000 | $30 | Unlimited |
5 001-10 000 | $50 | Unlimited |
The pricing is tiered and if you are a high volume sender you need to contact Mailerlite for pricing.
There is a 30% discount available for paying annually.
You can start for free and get a 14-day trial of Mailerlite premium features.
Alternatives
If you are an e-commerce business my top recommendation is Active Campaign, which will be the best to use.
It integrates with pretty much all the major e-commerce apps, platforms, and software.
They will give you 14 days to trial all the features and then when you decide to upgrade it is $15 per month for up to 500 contacts.
What I like the most is that you can do email marketing using their marketing suite, sales suite which has a mobile CRM app, and service suite which allows you to manage your customers using the customer service management.
The second-best alternative will be Drip for an e-commerce business. You can get started for free using a 14-day trial and upgrade to an email plan that starts at $19 per month for 500 contacts.
The third best for an e-commerce business will be Mailchimp. You can get started for free and build an email list of up to 2 000 subscribers.
The free plan does not allow you to use automation so you will need to upgrade. Prices start at $10 per month and it is called the Core plan for websites and commerce.
Conclusion
- So far in this article, I have covered the 5 factors you need to consider when choosing an email autoresponder software, the best 5 free and affordable email autoresponders.
- Their pros and cons, conclusion, what makes them stand out, and pricing.
- I have also covered the alternatives that you can use especially if you own an e-commerce store or business.
With that being said I hope this article has enabled you to choose your top email autoresponder and I would love to know what it is in the comments section.
Thank you for taking your time to read and if you liked this article please share with your nearest and dearest and as always the choice is entirely yours.
