1️⃣Campaign Refinery
Serious deliverability with list-cleaning baked in and automation that actually sells. Built for marketers who want inbox placement, speed, and scale without the bloat.
- best-in-class deliverability
- built-in list hygiene
- lightning-fast automations
- deep tagging and scoring
- smart resends that add revenue
- responsive support
- transparent pricing
- fewer native integrations than giants
- learning curve for advanced setups
- no free forever plan
2️⃣EmailOctopus
Lean, affordable email marketing that punches way above its price. Perfect for creators and lean ecommerce who want clean UX and dependable results.
- generous free tier
- simple
- clean interface
- high deliverability for the price
- quick campaign setup
- solid automation basics
- great value at scale
- UK-based support
- fewer templates than bigger rivals
- limited native ecommerce triggers
3️⃣Loops
A modern email platform loved by product teams. Slick flows, beautiful templates, and a developer-friendly API.
- gorgeous editor
- clear analytics
- good API
- solid onboarding experience
- still building out integrations
- pricing ramps with contacts
- reporting is less granular than legacy tools
4️⃣Sendy
Self-hosted email marketing that connects to Amazon SES to send newsletters for pennies. Ideal if you want control and bare-metal cost savings.
- ultra-low sending costs
- one-time license
- ownership of data
- requires server management
- no native live chat support
- dated UI
- deliverability depends on your SES setup
- limited automation features
5️⃣Buttondown
A minimalist newsletter platform that keeps the writing experience blissfully distraction-free. Great for solo creators who value simplicity over bells and whistles.
- clean writing UI
- easy paywall options
- simple automations
- not built for complex ecommerce flows
- smaller integration ecosystem
- limited template variety
- analytics are basic