Brevo is the most accessible entry point for businesses new to email marketing. I was impressed by how quickly I could set up campaigns using its drag-and-drop editor, even without applying any complex design knowledge. You won't get lost in complex menus or overwhelming feature sets here.

Brevo lets you combine email with SMS and WhatsApp campaigns from a single dashboard. This becomes really valuable as your marketing strategy evolves beyond email. Its website tracking feature automatically triggers emails based on user behavior, which is great because it also lets you set up transactional emails at this price.

The free plan's 300 daily emails (9,000 monthly) is genuinely useful, not just a teaser. I tested this plan in quite some detail and found it sufficient for most small businesses starting their newsletter journey. When you're ready to scale, paid plans start at just $9 monthly, making it one of the most cost-effective solutions available.

Core functionality is great, but this one lacks some advanced features found in pricier alternatives. The template library feels limited compared to competitors, analytics could be more detailed, and it's not built with monetization in mind. Yet for businesses prioritizing affordability and ease of use, these limitations can be easily overlooked.

Brevo features: Basic email automation | SMS marketing | Landing page builder | Contact management features | Website visitor tracking | Transactional emails | SMTP relay

Omnisend is purpose-built for e-commerce, something it wears proudly on its sleeve. I liked the prebuilt customer segments, options like "high potential buyers" and "frequent store visitors" that made targeting effortless. This platform integrates seamlessly with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other major e-commerce platforms, pulling in customer data from everywhere in real time.

I also tested its abandoned cart workflows, which were incredibly sophisticated. Conditional splits adjust messaging based on cart value. And you can combine email, SMS, and push notifications in a single workflow to deliver a cohesive customer experience across touchpoints.

You also get the full depth of e-commerce-specific analytics tools. You can track not just email performance but also revenue attribution and customer lifetime value. It shows exactly which campaigns are driving sales, making it easy to optimize your strategy based on impact over vanity metrics and gut feelings.

The main drawback here is the scaling cost. Omnisend becomes expensive as your subscriber list grows, starting at $16 monthly for just 500 contacts. The free plan is comparatively limited at 250 contacts and 500 monthly sends. But for e-commerce businesses serious about email marketing, you'll get a good ROI.

Omnisend features: Behavioral triggers | Product recommendations | Cart abandonment | SMS integration | Push notifications | Advanced segmentation | E-commerce analytics

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is categorically a creator-focused newsletter platform, built for influencers rather than businesses. Its email editor basically works like a website builder - you click the plus button and add elements rather than dragging and dropping. It's great when you're building narratives rather than designing layouts, because you get the full breadth of creative freedom.

Monetization works great, too. I tested the paid subscription setup, which integrates very easily with Stripe Payment Processing. You can sell digital products, run paid newsletter editions, and manage subscriber contributions all within the same platform. This eliminates the need for multiple tools and simplifies your creator workflow a ton.

Kit's free plan is remarkably generous with up to 10,000 subscribers with unlimited emails. However, there's a catch - you'll need to display recommendations for other newsletters when people subscribe. (Not necessarily the best play for competitive businesses, but it works fine for influencers who don't mind showing their fellow creators some support.)

But Kit's emphasis on minimalist aesthetics and text-forward design can be limiting if you want visually rich newsletters. While Kit recently added 15 visual themes, the aesthetic remains quite simple compared to other platforms with rich branding options.

Kit features: Digital product sales | Paid subscriptions | Landing pages | Audience segmentation | Creator network | Automation sequences | Payment processing