The Crowded Email Space

There’s no doubt about it- selecting your email marketing platform can feel like a minefield.

As a small business with limited budget, you don’t want to be shelling out for expensive and unnecessary features, but equally, there’s that nagging FOMO of “but what if I DO need that fancy function after all?”

One of my most frequently asked questions is “which email marketing platform is best?”. Whilst there’s no quick answer to that question, I’m going to try to make that choice a little bit easier.

A Quick Disclaimer…

This is not going to be a totally objective review, carefully reviewing pros and cons.

If that’s what you’re after, why not take a look at this article, or even this one? Both looking at comparisons of the main platforms available in 2025.

Instead, I’m making it all about me. Sort of.

I want to give you actual opinions that might help inform your choice. So in this article, you’ll find my top picks of email marketing platforms, which one is my clear favourite (for most of us), and what I would consider if I were setting up today.

What to Look For in an Email Marketing Platform

Clearly there’s no one-size-fits-all here.

In order to find the right email marketing platform for your business, you should first work out what you need it to do.

This might be based on…

• The size of your email list

• How regularly you email your list

• The complexity of your funnels

• Whether you are looking to sell directly from your emails

You might also choose based on…

• Deliverability- this tells you how likely it is that your email will show up in your subscribers’ primary inbox rather than in the promotions tab, or worse, dumped straight into spam.

• How easy the tool is to use

• The customer support on offer

My Big Three

There are SO many options out there to choose from.

ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Moosend, Sender, Loops and EmailOctopus are just a few of the options that aren’t even getting a look-in here, but might be worth checking out if you’re doing a deeper dive.

HubSpot is another one that offers SO much functionality, but to the point where, in my opinion, it’s almost overwhelming as a solopreneur or small business.

For most of us going it alone, these are my three top picks.

MailChimp

This one’s a biggy, and one you’ll almost certainly have heard of.

It’s really set out its stall as being the email marketing platform for everyone, and honestly it’s kind of true.

It’s pretty easy to use and feels friendly. Because it’s so ubiquitous, you can find tutorials on places like YouTube for how to use pretty much any feature, so there’s plenty of help around in that sense.

Once you’re set up on MailChimp, you’ll probably never have a reason to go elsewhere, as it’s able to manage email lists of any size and scale. 

The popularity of MailChimp is also useful if you’re looking to integrate it with other tools. For example, I use involve.me to host a lead magnet quiz, and need that to integrate with my email marketing platform. You can almost guarantee that MailChimp will appear on almost any list of integrations.

The main downfall is that the free plan is one of the most limited out there. 

Whilst you can have up to 500 subscribers and send up to 1000 emails per month, there are no automation options included. This is a biggy for me, as it means no welcome sequences, re-engagement automations or drip campaigns without shelling out for a subscription.

Choose MailChimp if you are happy to pay a little bit for the peace of mind of knowing that you’re in well-charted territory and you’ll be unlikely to need to move again.

Kit

Formerly ConvertKit, you might well have seen this one heavily used be people marketing through Instagram.

That’s because they often fit into two categories: e-commerce and course creators.

Why do these people love Kit?

Because it’s well known as the best software for selling directly from your email.

When integrated with Shopify, it can be used to create personalised campaigns based on customer behaviour and purchase history.

It’s one of the best options out there for creating automations and complex funnels, and is rapidly integrating more and more AI tools to help maximise campaign effectiveness.

But, and I’ll not beat around the bush here, it’s pricey.

Kit has one of the higher monthly subscription rates you’re likely to find for small lists, and without paying the subscription you’re limited to a single automation, making one of its key selling points null and void.

Choose Kit if you’re looking to sell products (including digital products and courses) through your email list.

MailerLite

MailerLite is no doubt a lesser known cousin of these big players, but it comes with one huge benefit: a generous free plan.

You can have up to 1000 subscribers, send up to 12,000 monthly emails. You can create landing pages and forms for your website and social media, and set up all the automations you need without having to pay a penny.

Even once you start to scale, the subscription rates are relatively low and all include customer support.

It’s really user friendly and you’ll get to grips with it in no time.

It’s a bit lighter on features than some of the other platforms, with limited templates, so it may be that in time you’d want to move your list over to a provider with more options available.

Choose MailerLite if you're a small business on a limited budget, without a need for too many fancy features. This is often a great option for service providers.

What I Use and Why

As I write this I am currently using MailerLite.

It covers all the bases for me. My list is easily small enough for the free plan, and as a service provider, my primary goal is to use my email list to get to know my audience and let them know me. 

I don’t need the shopping features offered by Kit, and I don’t need the knobs and whistles that MailChimp offers for specialised automations and segmentation. 

All my automations are set up and ticking away under the bonnet.

So far, I have no complaints!

What I Would Recommend For You

For the majority of my clients, MailerLite is completely sufficient.

Where the budget is tight, this would always be my first recommendation.

You can sign up to MailerLite by clicking here (this is an affiliate link, meaning I will receive a small commission at no cost to you).

However, it might depend where you see your business going.

If your goal is simply (as if it’s simple in any way) to make it as a solopreneur, or you just have a handful of employees serving a small niche, it’s probably going to be a good option.

For those dreaming of growing their business to 7 figures and beyond, you might enjoy MailChimp’s scalability or Kit’s e-commerce capabilities.

Email Management Done For You

If email marketing feels like a task you just don’t have time for you might benefit from one of my email management packages.

I take the task fully off of your hands, writing your newsletters and managing your list so that you can focus on other things.

All packages are tiered and fully customisable to your needs.

Head on over here to find out more.