Key Takeaways
You’re not alone if you’ve been searching for the best email marketing tools out there. Many small or medium business (SMB) owners — from solo entrepreneurs to growing teams — are starting to ask the same question, is there a better alternative to Mailchimp? Is it the cost? The limited features? Or maybe it’s the simple need to connect sales, marketing, service, and data in one place?
The truth is, your business needs more than just an email tool. You need a way to build lasting loyalty and run email marketing campaigns that are both smart and simple. That’s why we created this guide to the best email marketing alternatives to Mailchimp (among many others), so you can see for yourself.
Why startups and SMBs need an email marketing platform
When you’re running a startup or SMB, every message matters. The right email marketing platform helps you stay close to your customers, even when things get busy. It keeps your voice consistent, your data organized, your time protected, and your growth steady.
You can build and maintain strong relationships through regular communication, automate repetitive tasks to save time, personalize campaigns to match customer needs, and track performance to improve results. Each message becomes part of a larger story — one that connects sales, marketing, customer service, and loyalty in meaningful ways.
With smarter tools and real-time insights, you can send fewer emails that make a bigger impact — helping your customers feel seen, valued, remembered, and understood.
Why consider alternatives to Mailchimp?
Mailchimp has helped many SMBs get started, but as your goals expand, you may start to feel its limits. Subscription costs rise, advanced tools stay locked behind higher tiers, and the setup can feel complicated for new users. Sometimes, the features that once worked for you no longer keep up with your customers or your team.
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You might need more flexibility, better automation, stronger CRM connections, and built-in artificial intelligence (AI) tools that grow with your business. If you’re spending more time managing systems than engaging customers, it’s time to look for something that simplifies your work while helping you scale.
The good news? There are many platforms that offer what Mailchimp doesn’t: easy integration, affordable pricing, real-time insights, and personalization powered by generative AI (Gen AI). And for small businesses ready to take that next step, Salesforce leads the way.
Mailchimp alternatives at a glance
Top 10 Mailchimp alternatives for small and growing businesses
1. Salesforce Starter Suite
Source: Salesforce
Salesforce Starter Suite is a CRM platform built for smaller teams that brings your data together with sales, marketing, service, commerce, and Slack together in one simple solution.
Who it’s for: Small businesses and startups growing their business through one connected platform that unites sales, marketing, service, and commerce to scale faster and work smarter.
What it can do: With Starter Suite, you can automate marketing emails, track sales leads, manage contacts, and create personalized customer journeys. It automates repetitive tasks and centralizes all of your customer data in one place for better team collaboration. Reporting and analytics are included to help you monitor campaigns and make informed business decisions.
How it benefits small businesses: Starter Suite helps you maintain customer relationships with consistent communication, increase sales with targeted campaigns, save time by automating repetitive work, and improve marketing performance with real-time insights. Teams can collaborate seamlessly, share data easily, resolve customer issues faster, and make smarter decisions based on clear analytics.
How it scales your business: As your business grows, Starter Suite grows with you. You can add users easily, expand automation rules, track more data, integrate additional apps, and build complex customer journeys without losing efficiency. It works for small teams now and larger operations in the future.
Scalability: 10/10
What it costs: $25 per user per month and a free 30-day trial.
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Try for free2. Salesforce Pro Suite
Salesforce Pro Suite is a complete business platform that connects sales, marketing, service, and commerce in one space, helping growing teams manage customer relationships and daily operations more efficiently.
Who it’s for: Startups and small businesses ready to grow marketing, sales, service, and commerce — all in one platform. .
What it can do: Automate journeys across all teams and manage email campaigns, track leads, monitor customer interactions, and centralize all customer data. Dashboards provide detailed analytics to measure performance and make informed decisions.
How it benefits small businesses: Pro Suite helps you deliver personalized campaigns, improve customer engagement and maintain consistent communication. Teams can collaborate efficiently, monitor sales pipelines, track customer activity, and resolve issues faster — all in one platform.
How it scales your business: Pro Suite grows as your business grows. You can expand users, add advanced workflows, track more complex data, and integrate additional apps without losing efficiency. It’s ready for teams now and larger organizations in the future.
Scalability: 10/10
What it costs: $100 per user per month and a free 30-day trial.
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3. MailerLite
MailerLite is a simple and affordable email marketing platform built for small businesses that want to send professional emails and grow their audience without complexity.
Who it’s for: Small businesses and creators looking for a simple, budget-friendly email marketing platform that’s easy to set up and use.
What it can do: It offers a drag-and-drop email editor, basic automation, sign-up forms, and landing page creation tools. You can easily design newsletters and manage subscriber lists with an intuitive interface.
How it benefits small businesses: MailerLite makes it easy to start email marketing quickly, even without technical experience. It includes useful features like contact segmentation and automation triggers,helping you send the right messages at the right time. Its free plan gives startups an affordable way to grow their audience before upgrading.
How it scales your business: As your business grows, MailerLite supports expansion with more automation, advanced analytics, and integration options.
Scalability: 7/10
What it costs: $0 for the Free plan, $5.60/month for Hobby, $28/month for Starter, and $88/month for Professional, with yearly billing options and extra charges for additional emails or SMS.
4. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is an all-in-one marketing platform that helps small businesses send emails and build loyalty through automation and segmentation.
Who it’s for: Budget-conscious small businesses that want to send high volumes of emails without overspending.
What it can do: It offers email campaigns, segmentation, marketing automation, transactional email delivery, and contact management tools. You can design emails and automate workflows easily.
How it benefits small businesses: Brevo’s biggest advantage is affordability — you can manage unlimited contacts and pay only for the number of emails sent. It helps you maintain consistent communication with customers while keeping marketing costs predictable.
How it scales your business: Brevo grows with your needs, offering scalable email volume plans and deeper analytics as your audience expands.
Scalability: 8/10
What it costs: $9/month for Starter, $18/month for Standard, $499/month for Professional, and custom pricing for Enterprise, with higher plans including more emails, features, and support.
5. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is an easy-to-use email marketing tool that helps small businesses promote events and design branded emails that keep customers engaged.
Who it’s for: SMBs and event-focused organizations that need professional email tools with easy setup.
What it can do: It provides email templates, event registration tools, surveys, and social media integrations. You can create branded campaigns and track engagement through built-in analytics.
How it benefits small businesses: Constant Contact simplifies event promotions and supports growth with customizable templates and easy automation. It’s beginner-friendly, so small teams can launch campaigns quickly.
How it scales your business: As your audience grows, you can use its automation tools and reporting features to reach more customers effectively.
Scalability: 8/10
What it costs: $12/month for Lite, $35/month for Standard, $80/month for Premium, with custom pricing available for multiple accounts or enterprise-level solutions.
6. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an advanced email marketing and automation platform that connects sales and marketing to help businesses send the right message at the right time.
Who it’s for: Businesses that need advanced automation and customer relationship management (CRM) integration to manage complex customer journeys.
What it can do: It offers behavior-based automation, contact segmentation, CRM syncing, lead scoring, and performance tracking. You can build email sequences that react to customer behavior — such as clicks or purchases — for targeted engagement.
How it benefits small businesses: ActiveCampaign helps you personalize emails and nurture leads more effectively. It reduces manual work while keeping campaigns relevant and timely.
How it scales your business: As your company expands, ActiveCampaign supports more contacts and CRM integrations — helping teams coordinate marketing and sales.
Scalability: 9/10
What it costs: $15/month for Starter, $49/month for Plus, $79/month for Pro, and $145/month for Enterprise, billed annually, with higher tiers offering more users, automation, AI features, and advanced reporting.
7. HubSpot
HubSpot is a CRM-powered marketing platform that lets you manage email campaigns, track leads, and improve customer experience — all from one dashboard.
Who it’s for: Small to midsize businesses that need an all-in-one platform for CRM, sales, marketing, and service to manage customers and campaigns.
What it can do: It combines email marketing, automation, CRM management, and analytics with tools for lead tracking and content creation. You can manage the entire customer journey from one place.
How it benefits small businesses: HubSpot helps you centralize data and analyze performance. Its free CRM gives you a single view of every contact, making customer management more organized and efficient.
How it scales your business: HubSpot is built to scale — from free tools for small teams to advanced marketing automation and service hubs for growing companies.
Scalability: 9/10
What it costs: $0/month for the Free plan (up to 2 users), $8.50/month per seat for Starter, and $753/month for Professional (includes 3 core seats), with additional seats available at $42/month each. Higher tiers unlock more contacts, credits, and advanced marketing features.
8. Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a marketing platform built for online stores that combines email and SMS to help you retain customers and deliver data-driven marketing.
Who it’s for: Ecommerce businesses focused on retention, repeat sales, high engagement, and customer loyalty.
What it can do: It provides email marketing, SMS automation, predictive analytics, and detailed segmentation. Klaviyo integrates directly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other ecommerce tools to deliver targeted marketing.
How it benefits small businesses: Klaviyo helps online stores create personalized customer experiences and recover abandoned carts,all using customer data and purchase history.
How it scales your business: Klaviyo grows with your online store, supporting advanced automation and deeper analytics as sales grow.
Scalability: 9/10
What it costs: $0/month for the Free plan (up to 250 active profiles), $45/month for the Email plan (15,000 emails), and $60/month for the Email + Mobile plan (15,000 emails + 1,250 SMS credits), with higher tiers offering more contacts, messaging, and advanced features.
9. Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is a creator-friendly platform that helps solopreneurs and digital product sellers build email lists and grow their business.
Who it’s for: Creators and solopreneurs selling digital products or growing their subscriber base with simple, effective email marketing.
What it can do: It offers unlimited email sending, forms, landing pages, and automation workflows. You can tag and segment subscribers to deliver targeted messages or product updates.
How it benefits small businesses: Kit simplifies audience building with tools tailored for creators. You can manage launches and promote digital content from a single dashboard.
How it scales your business: As your audience grows, Kit supports more integrations and ecommerce options.
Scalability: 7/10
What it costs: $0/month for the Newsletter plan (up to 10,000 subscribers), $33/month for Creator, and $66/month for Creator Pro, with higher tiers offering more users, automations, advanced testing, and priority support.
10. GetResponse
GetResponse is an email marketing and automation tool designed to help small businesses attract leads and increase conversions through simple, scalable campaigns.
Who it’s for: Small businesses focused on lead generation and email marketing that drives conversions.
What it can do: It combines email campaigns and automated sales funnels with analytics to track engagement and optimize conversions.
How it benefits small businesses: GetResponse helps you build contact lists and capture leads efficiently. It’s especially helpful for businesses looking to grow online sales or promote services consistently.
How it scales your business: As your marketing needs expand, GetResponse supports advanced workflows and analytics to manage larger lists and campaigns.
Scalability: 8/10
What it costs: $18.90/month for Starter, $58.65/month for Marketer, $68.55/month for Creator, and custom pricing for Enterprise, with higher tiers providing more automation, AI tools, marketing channels, and premium support.
What can you do with a CRM built to reach more prospects?
Automate your marketing campaigns with a CRM built to grow. It all starts with Starter Suite.
Pro Tip: Add AI to your email marketing campaigns
Want to take your email marketing to the next level? Agentforce 360 helps small businesses automate and personalize customer engagement byturning every interaction into an opportunity to build stronger relationships.
With Agentforce 360, you can:
- Automate customer interactions to deliver instant responses and keep conversations flowing smoothly.
- Create personalized messages that reflect customer preferences and past behaviors — at scale and with ease.
- Gain predictive insights that help you learn from every engagement and fine-tune your campaigns over time.
Agentforce 360 brings intelligence and automation together in one platform, helping your business connect faster and build customer trust with every email.
Resources to make better email marketing decisions
Making the right marketing decisions starts with the right information. Whether you’re comparing CRM tools or looking for inspiration from other small businesses, these Salesforce resources can guide you every step of the way.
- CRM Buyer’s Guide
- Guide to AI for SMBs
- Small Business Trends Report
- Email Marketing for Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
- Customer Story: Grammarly
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Salesforce — the best Mailchimp alternative for small business
If you’re looking for an email marketing solution that grows with you, Salesforce stands out as the best Mailchimp alternative for small businesses. It’s more than just an email tool — it’s a complete platform that connects your sales, marketing, service, and commerce in one place.
With Salesforce, you can begin building meaningful customer relationships right away. As your business expands, Pro Suite helps you scale effortlessly with more advanced automation and unified data across every customer touchpoint.
Start your journey with the Free or Starter Suite today. Looking for more customization? Explore Pro Suite. Already a Salesforce customer? Activate Foundations to try out Agentforce 360 today.
AI supported the writers and editors who created this article.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Small businesses are looking for better email marketing pricing, easier tools, stronger automation, and built-in CRM features that Mailchimp doesn’t offer.
Salesforce connects your sales, marketing, and customer data in one place — helping you build loyalty and grow faster.
Compare pricing, automation, AI CRM integration, and scalability. Pick a platform that fits your goals and can grow with you.
Salesforce Starter Suite offers a free trial so you can test its email marketing capabilities for 30 days for free, or try the Free Suite with limited features.
If you choose a platform that’s built to scale, you won’t have to switch to an entirely new platform. You can move from Starter Suite to Pro Suite without losing data, scaling your marketing as your business expands.
