Your newsletter design drastically affects the chances of success of an email marketing campaign. Most email platforms come with features to help you design an email.
But which platform has the best newsletter builder features?
In this blog, we cover the most intuitive email builders to design beautiful email newsletters to help you pick the right newsletter platform for your business. Let’s begin.
What is a Newsletter Service?
A newsletter service is a dedicated software or platform that helps you create, send, and automate the sending of promotional or informational emails. Think of it like your mission control center for all things email.
It helps attract, engage, and convert website visitors into subscribers and, eventually, into customers.
Here’s what you can achieve through a newsletter service:
- Design emails. Choose from a variety of templates or create custom designs that reflect your brand’s style and message easily;
- Schedule emails. Automate sending emails at predetermined times to keep subscribers engaged without manual intervention;
- Manage subscribers. Easy list management features to manage subscribers, including segmentation for targeted groups;
- Analytics and reporting. Gain insights into how your newsletters perform with critical metrics about subscriber behavior.
Tips for Picking the Top Newsletter Platform
Choosing the right platform is essential for a successful email marketing strategy. Not only should it be aligned with your marketing plans, but it should offer email marketing features that make it easy to create and send beautiful newsletter campaigns.
Here are some tips to remember:
- Pick something that suits your needs and goals;
- Decide based on how many subscribers you want to manage;
- The platform should be user-friendly;
- It should be affordable as you scale
- It should have insightful analytics capabilities.
Considering all the above tips, here are the key features to look for in online newsletter platforms:
- Drag-and-drop editor. The drag-and-drop interface lets you design newsletters quickly without coding;
- Responsive design options. Responsive design makes your newsletters look great on all devices, from desktops to smartphones;
- Template variety and customization. The platform should offer customizable templates to match your brand’s aesthetics;
- Personalization tools. To help you tailor messages based on subscriber data, enhancing relevance and engagement;
- Integration capabilities. Integrations with CRM and other tools for automating workflows.
9 Best Newsletter Platforms
You’ve landed at the right place if you’re searching for the best email newsletter platforms. We’ve curated a list of email newsletter services you can use to send beautiful and professional newsletters. Here’s the list that includes free newsletter platforms and paid platforms:
Let’s look at each of these one by one.
1. Sender — Best Email Marketing Software
Sender has a powerful email builder that helps you design responsive emails without coding knowledge. It has many valuable features to make your newsletter design journey faster and easier.
- Drag-and-drop builder;
- Countdown timer block;
- Built-in image editor.
Ratings: Capterra: 4.6 | G2: 4.4 | Shopify: 4.3
Sender’s drag-and-drop builder is created for non-designers. Use ready-made design elements like email countdown timers and product blocks to create interactive emails that make subscribers want more.
You can also use its free responsive templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch. Plus, you can use its powerful segmentation features to personalize your subject line and email copy.
Use its powerful automation builder to automate all your email newsletters, lead nurturing, and transactional emails.
Also read: What is Customer Segmentation? Definition, Examples & Tools
The intuitive dashboard and responsive human support make it easy for beginners to leverage their full potential without wasting time trying to figure things out.
Features
- Drag-and-drop email builder;
- Readymade templates & design blocks;
- Visual automation builder;
- Custom fields for personalization;
- Behavioral triggers and automation.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Standard Plan | starts at $15/month | Up to 2,500 contacts and up to 30,000 emails/month |
| Professional Plan | starts at $29/month | Up to 2,500 contacts and up to 60,000 emails/month |
Use the free forever plan to send up to 15,000 monthly emails to 2,500 subscribers. Set up automation workflows, segment subscribers, and use the email builder without restrictions.
Email design is your top priority? Then check out our list of 15 free email template builders + HTML editors.
2. Brevo — Powerful Email Editor with Library of Templates
Brevo offers a drag-and-drop email editor and a vast template library for businesses to create responsive email campaigns.
- 50+ free email templates;
- Drag-and-drop email builder;
- Email preview feature.
Ratings: Capterra 4.5 | G2 4.5 | Shopify 2.6
With Brevo, you can have professional-looking emails that look great on all devices. You can use its readymade email templates to create emails for any occasion or promotional campaign.
Plus, it comes with AI features to generate subject lines and newsletter content. You can also optimize the sending times based on subscriber engagement. Also, you get all the features of a standard email marketing platform, like automation, SMS marketing, push notifications, WhatsApp marketing, etc.
Features
- Readymade design blocks;
- AI-powered writer;
- Advanced analytics;
- Email and SMS automation;
- Form builder.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Starter | $9/month | 500 contacts; 5,000 emails/month |
| Business | $18/month | 500 contacts; 5,000 emails/month |
Brevo’s free plan allows users to send up to 300 emails daily and includes basic features such as email templates and an editor. For advanced features, you’re required to sign up for a paid subscription. It also has larger plans with unlimited subscribers for big companies.
Also read: SMS Campaigns: Complete Text Marketing Guide + Examples
3. AWeber — Newsletter Software with RSS Feed Feature
AWeber’s newsletter builder helps create professional-looking emails without coding. It has an intuitive email design builder with lots of interesting features.
- In-built Canva integration for design;
- Update all visual elements from a single panel;
- Readymade email template library.
Ratings: Capterra: 4.4 | G2: 4.2 | Shopify: 3.4
AWeber’s email design builder has a drag-and-drop interface like all other platforms. It also has an AI writing assistant to help with high-performing subject lines and email copy.
AWeber supports RSS-triggered emails to instantly notify subscribers about new content on your blog. It also offers an email automation builder with behavioral triggers for sending emails at the right moment.
Features
- Drag-and-drop design-builder;
- Theme builder for email designs;
- Link preview feature;
- Integrations with ecommerce platforms;
- Dynamic content fields.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Lite | $12.5/month | Up to 500 subscribers, 1 email list + 3 landing pages & automations. |
| Plus | $20/month | Up to 500 subscribers with no limits on usage. |
| Unlimited | $899/month | Everything unlimited with one fixed price |
Its free plan can be used to send up to 3,000 emails per month to 500 subscribers.
4. Flodesk — Intuitive Email Builder Management
Flodesk is an easy-to-use platform that works with a design-first philosophy. It helps you create beautiful emails using a variety of professional email templates.
- Upload custom fonts;
- Large template library;
- Intuitive email builder.
Ratings: Capterra: 4.2 | G2: 4.0 | Shopify: NA
It’s an intuitive email builder that helps you create an on-brand email quickly. Just pick an email template, add your custom fonts and brand guidelines, and the newsletter is ready to reach your subscriber’s inbox.
You can add graphics, GIFs, and videos to your emails and/or save your email templates to reuse them later. Several other useful features, like link-in bio and sales funnel builder, let you build/grow your email list even without websites.
Features
- Link-in-bio tool;
- Email automation builder;
- Ecommerce functionality with payments;
- Advanced analytics.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| $35/month | No ecommerce features like sales pages, checkout flows, discount flows, etc. | |
| Email + ecommerce | On request | Email automation, forms, and checkout (ecommerce) |
There’s a 30-day free trial with basic email marketing, link-in-bio tool, and subscriber management features.
Also read: 10 Best Ecommerce Hosting Sites in 2023
5. Beehiiv — Best Newsletter Platform for Monetization
Beehiiv is a minimalist newsletter platform that offers features similar to Substack and helps creators monetize their audience.
- Minimalist text and design editor;
- AI assistant for writing;
- Referral and ad network.
Ratings: Capterra: 4.5 | G2: 4.8 | Shopify: NA
Its modern feel helps you edit and design your newsletter (and website) within minutes. Beehiiv’s minimalist design editor speeds up the newsletter creation process. The aesthetics and design are like any document editor. Plus, you get features to add images and videos and embed other media quickly.
Other features to promote and grow your newsletters include forms, magic links, popups, referral programs, and cross-promotion of newsletters.
Features
- Minimal website and newsletter builder;
- Custom email journeys for automated nurturing;
- Ad network for monetizing newsletter;
- Premium/gated content for paid subscribers.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Scale | $39/month | Up to 1,000 subscribers with Beehiiv branding. |
| Max | $99/month | Up to 1,000 subscribers. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing, on request | Infinite subscribers. |
There’s a free launch plan for up to 2,500 subscribers with no automation features. There’s also a 30-day free trial for trying out premium features on paid plans.
6. ConvertKit — Great Newsletter Platform for Creators
ConvertKit has a simple email designer built for creators who want to send beautiful newsletters without much effort.
- Drag-and-drop email editor;
- Customizable layout blocks;
- Embed interactive elements.
Ratings: Capterra 4.7 | G2 4.4 | Shopify NA
ConvertKit offers a variety of customizable templates that you can brand as your own and personalize using pre-built design blocks. The intuitive drag-and-drop builder provides a minimal design experience that resembles writing/creating on Google Docs.
With inline styling options for adding images, buttons, and videos, ConvertKit makes sending professional and responsive emails simple without increasing your workload. It also supports custom tags and fields to help you personalize your emails.
Features
- Large template library;
- Inline editor for complex designs;
- Email marketing automation;
- Supports markdown and HTML designs;
- Sales page and website builder.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Creator | $9/month | Up to 300 subscribers. No advanced reporting or referral features. |
| Creator Pro | $25/month | Up to 300 subscribers. |
The free plan can be used by up to 1,000 subscribers and offers basic features. More advanced features like automation aren’t available on the free plan.
7. Mailmodo — Best Known for Interactive Emails
Mailmodo helps you create interactive emails that boost engagement without increasing the design load. Its AI-building features help you not only write emails but also design them.
- AI email designer and copywriter;
- Email gamification features;
- Interactive carts and reviews widget.
Ratings: Capterra 4.5 | G2 4.6 | Shopify 4.5
It features an easy-to-use email design builder with drag-and-drop functionality and email templates. Users can also add interactive elements like review forms and survey responses within emails.
Other features include an email automation builder and custom journeys that send relevant emails to your audience at the right time.
Features
- AMP and HTML email template builder;
- WYSIWYG email editor;
- Interactive widgets in email;
- Email marketing automation.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Lite | $39/month | Up to 20,000 emails and 2,500 subscribers |
| Pro | $79/month | Up to 25,000 emails and 2,500 subscribers |
| Max | $159/month | Up to 37,500 emails and 2,500 subscribers |
It only offers a 21-day free trial for testing platform features—no free plan.
8. Mailchimp — Great Newsletter Automation Software
Mailchimp is a popular player in the email marketing industry with a robust newsletter builder. You can create personalized emails using the drag-and-drop builder easily.
- Drag-and-drop builder with templates;
- AI writer for assisting with email copy;
- Mix and match content blocks.
Ratings: Capterra: 4.5/5 | G2: 4.3/5 | Shopify: 3.3/5
Mailchimp lets you create beautiful campaigns using premade templates or HTML templates. You can then use its drag-and-drop functionality to start customizing the design. Its design builder helps you customize the experience on mobile and desktop separately, pick layouts, and add ready-to-use design blocks.
Once you’re done designing, you can schedule or automate the email campaigns using its automation builder. The tool also has all the basic features of any other email marketing tool.
Features
- Pre-designed templates and layouts;
- Audience segmentation and personalization;
- Automated campaign flows;
- Creative design assistant powered by AI;
- Dynamic product recommendations.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Essentials | $13/month | Up to 500 subscribers; 5,000 emails per month |
| Advanced | $20/month | Up to 500 subscribers; 6,000 emails per month |
| Premium | $350/month | Up to 500 subscribers; 150,000 emails per month |
The free plan is useful only for sending up to 1,000 emails per month to a list of up to 500 subscribers.
9. Campaign Monitor — Feature-Rich Newsletter Creator
Campaign Monitor has many unique features to make your newsletters more engaging and interactive for subscribers.
- One-click builder from URL;
- Access to Unsplash images;
- Dynamic elements like countdown.
Ratings: Capterra: 4.5/5 | G2: 4.1/5 | Shopify: NA
You can create personalized email newsletters with dynamic elements like countdown timers and customize your emails through custom fields. Plus, the drag-and-drop editor comes with a template library.
Campaign Monitor also offers a team template manager so you can collaborate with different members on design, content, and other specifics. It also lets you create light and dark modes for a single email campaign.
Features
- Liveclicker for hyper-personalized campaigns;
- Vast & customizable template library;
- Segmentation features;
- Marketing automation builder;
- AI writer.
Pricing & Free Plan
| Plan | Cost | Limits |
| Lite | $11/month | Up to 500 subscribers. Time zone sending, countdown timers, etc. not available. |
| Essentials | $19/month | Up to 500 subscribers. No send time optimization. |
| Premier | $149/month | Up to 500 subscribers. Everything unlocked. |
You can use a free plan to send emails to just five subscribers. It’s mainly for testing and demo purposes.
That wraps up our software overview! If you’re curious to learn more, go ahead and check out some of our top articles:
- 12 Best Free Email Newsletter Templates Sites
- 20 Newsletter Popup Examples (Email Subscription)
- 10 Best Newsletter Platforms for 2024
