11am coffee time read

Our pick of the best email marketing software platforms for 2026 — making the right choice for your brand

Email marketing platform choice is more important than ever to successful marketing. In a busy digital landscape, choosing the right software that is cost effective yet will deliver the creativity and standout you need to cut through the clutter is nothing short of vital for your brand.  Over the past 12 months, there has been a shift towards cross-channel automation, personalisation and an increased focus on privacy.  

Read on for our pick of the best email marketing software platforms, with indicative pricing, pro’s and cons and why each one might be the right fit for you.

First things first it is important to take a step back and list your needs in order of priority…

• GDPR – making sure you have a provider that offer data compliant tools
• Multichannel commerce – do you sell across major retailers?  If so, you may need to ensure your chosen platform supports campaign assets, analytics and reporting required by some of the big retailers.
• Pricing – set your budget – clean up your list before you get pricing – some price by contacts, other by the number of emails sent.  If you need to send a number of campaigns to the same contacts, a pricing model based on sends may be more cost effective.
• What is your primary need?  Think about whether it is revenue attribution or lead capture.
• Do you need a CRM and email marketing in one place?

Klaviyo

Best for: Growing D2C ecommerce brands looking for commerce led-automation with direct results linked to sales.

What is Klaviyo?: Klaviyo is an e-commerce focussed email and SMS platform offering automations, revenue attribution, clever segmentation, analytics and ecommerce integrations.

The good bits:  We think Klaviyo has the best analytics and reporting functions and a sophisticated level of automation tools, making life easier if you have to run regular reports.  Great for measuring LTV, giving a clear picture of your email marketing’s ROI, by focusing on the value of your subscriber over a longer period rather than just the short term one campaign result.

What could be better?  Like anything, as businesses are faced with more costs, Klaviyo can be costly, especially as the list size scales up.   It can seem a bit complex to an email marketing novice and as such can take a while to learn the basics too if you aren’t a seasoned pro!

The costs:  Klaviyo have a really useful pricing tool, which can be found here

Is it worth it?: In our view, yes – the versatility and tools within the platform make it easy to tailor and set up flows – well worth the extra dollar!

Mailchimp

Best for: Start-ups and small businesses developing their email marketing. 

What is Mailchimp?: When I say “email marketing”, you say “Mailchimp”.  Why?  Because, Mailchimp to email marketing, is like Hoover was to vacuum cleaners back in the day.  The longstanding market leader for easy to understand, accessible email marketing, Mailchimp offers a simple template builder, creative tools and integrations with your e-commerce platform. 

The good bits:  In our view, Mailchimp is probably the easiest platform to use, even if you aren’t techy. It is quick to set up, has a good bank of templates to use and lots of integrations and simple automations.   

What could be better?  We think this will be a common theme throughout, but as businesses scale and gather more data, this is where Mailchimp makes their big bucks.  We would say for bigger businesses with more sophisticated email marketing needs, you may find the automations and reporting less sophisticated than some competitors.

The costs:  Mailchimp’s pricing is probably the easiest to understand and remains competitive. Free pricing exists for those businesses with small lists.  Their pricing can be seen here.

Is it worth it?: If you are a small or local business in the early stages of your ecommerce journey and need a tool that is simple and easy to use, then Mailchimp is for you! 

Hubspot Marketing Hub

Best for: Larger teams with a need for end-to-end marketing.

What is Hubspot?: Hubspot is a CRM platform, and within this has its marketing hub which combines email, landing pages and ads.

The good bits:  We would say Hubspot Marketing Hub has the best CRM and contacts integration, offers excellent reporting tools and great automation. 

What could be better?  What a surprise – cost!  It’s expensive as your business scales up.  Keep an eye on your contacts as you do get punished once you go over your pricing tier level. It can be a little over-complicated for some SME’s.

The costs:  No surprises here, but for those businesses who are scaling their email contacts, Hubspot can burn a hole in your pocket. Pricing can be seen here

Is it worth it?: Despite being expensive, Hubspot is a powerful inbound and marketing automation tool which is great for complex organisations and medium sized businesses needing reporting and a good CRM.

Omnisend

Best for: Start-ups and small businesses developing their email marketing. 

What is Omnisend?: Omnisend is an ecommerce focussed platform designed to combine email and SMS, which does a similar thing to Klaviyo, but with a smaller price tag.

The good bits:  It’s good to hear pricing as a pro for a change!  But it is true.  If you are a business with smaller lists, then Omnisend offers you a great alternative to say Klaviyo, with some really great integrations and pre-built automation workflows.         

What could be better?  Depending on whether reporting is your thing, but we would say the analytics tools are not as up to scratch as they could be, but otherwise, we think Omnisend is probably the one to watch for 2026 for SME’s. 

The costs: Omnisend has a good free entry tier piece and lower prices for those with smaller lists.  As you would expect, prices are scaled for more features and unlimited emails and SMS.  Pricing can be seen here.

Is it worth it?: If you are an SME not quite ready for the complexities and price barriers of Klaviyo, but looking to take things to the next level, then Omnisend is well worth a try. 

Brevo 

Best for: Start-ups and small businesses developing their email marketing. 

What is Brevo?: Formerly known as Sendinblue, Brevo offers customers a place to control their SMS and CRM in one place, similar to Hubspot.

The good bits:  We seem to be starting a trend, but like Omnisend, Brevo offers an affordable, easy to use platform with some nice features and automation tools.    

What could be better?  Ecommerce and attribution tools could be better, but for the cost this is a really good choice.

The costs: Brevo’s pricing is based on number of sends rather than database size and has some good entry level pricing tiers, making it a really good option for smaller businesses looking for a platform that doesn’t cost the earth.

Pricing can be seen here

Is it worth it?: If you are a start-up or SME wanting your email/SMS and CRM without the hefty price tag then Brevo is a decent choice and wont break the bank.

There are others out there which warrant a look, but if we carry on this wouldn’t be just an 11 o clock cuppa read – we would be rolling into lunch and the 3pm lull!  Have a look at ActiveCampaign (good for CRM + email and flexible automations without the price tag of Hubspot), Dotdigital (UK platform with bespoke pricing) and MailerLite (easy, low-cost, simple automation, better for smaller businesses).

Final thoughts…

There is no one ‘best’ platform to suit every brand – choosing what is right for you means making the time before you start to list out your priorities – what your business needs are, your number of contacts and what you could compromise on. 

If you are a D2C retailer then choosing a platform that shows demonstrable ROI and direct sales such as Klaviyo or Omnisend is important. If you are an SME or service based business looking for value with easy to use features then Brevo or Mailchimp are a good shout.  For more complex needs then Hubspot and Klaviyo are for you.

If you know you want to know more about how email marketing can help your business grow or want help standing out from the email crowd, contact Market Rocket’s email marketing campaign management team for a free discovery call.