Best Email Marketing Platforms for Small Businesses in 2024

My accountant asked me a question last month that I couldn't answer: "Why are you paying $94 a month to send emails?"

I'd been using Mailchimp since 2019. Started on the free plan. Upgraded when I hit the limit. Then upgraded again. And again. I never stopped to ask if there was something cheaper because switching felt like a hassle.

That conversation sent me down a rabbit hole. I spent two weekends testing every email platform I could find. Some were awful. Some were fine. One surprised me.

Here's what I learned about email marketing tools when you're not a big company with money to burn.

What I Was Looking For

My needs are pretty simple. I run a small consulting business. I send a newsletter every two weeks. I have a welcome sequence for new subscribers. That's it.

I don't need:

• Landing page builders (I have a website)
• CRM features (I use a separate tool)
• SMS marketing (not my thing)
• AI subject line generators (I can write)

I just need to send emails that arrive in inboxes. Apparently that costs $94/month now.

The Platforms I Actually Tested

I signed up for trials on seven different platforms. Here's what happened.

Mailchimp - What I Was Leaving

Look, Mailchimp works. I'm not going to pretend it doesn't. My emails got delivered. The editor is fine. Support was helpful the one time I needed it.

But the pricing has gotten ridiculous. They count unsubscribed contacts toward your limit. They removed features from the free plan. They keep pushing "premium" add-ons. It feels like they're squeezing existing customers because they know switching is annoying.

At 6,200 subscribers, I was paying $94/month for their Standard plan. For context, that's more than my accounting software, my project management tool, and my calendar app combined.

ConvertKit - Not For Me

Everyone in the "creator economy" recommends ConvertKit. I tried it for a week.

It's built for people selling courses and digital products. The whole interface assumes you're running product launches and building funnels. I just want to send a newsletter. Every feature felt like overkill.

Also, it's not cheaper than Mailchimp. At my list size, I'd pay around $100/month. No thanks.

Brevo (Sendinblue) - Almost

Brevo looked promising. Cheaper than Mailchimp. Good reviews. I imported my list and started building a test email.

The editor drove me crazy. Buttons didn't do what I expected. The preview looked different from the final email. I spent 45 minutes on something that takes me 10 minutes in Mailchimp. Life's too short.

EmailOctopus - The Winner

I almost didn't try EmailOctopus because the name sounded like a joke. Glad I got over that.

Setup took maybe 20 minutes. Imported my list from Mailchimp. Recreated my welcome sequence. Sent a test email. Everything just worked.

The interface is simple. Not "simple because features are missing" - simple because it's well-designed. I found everything I needed without Googling.

And the price? $30/month for my list size. That's $64/month less than Mailchimp. $768/year back in my pocket.

Three Months Later

I've sent 8 newsletters through EmailOctopus now. Some observations:

Deliverability is the same. My open rates hover around 38-42%, which is exactly what they were on Mailchimp. I was worried about this and tracked it carefully. No difference.

The reports are simpler. Mailchimp shows you tons of charts and graphs. EmailOctopus shows opens, clicks, and unsubscribes. Honestly, those are the only numbers I ever looked at anyway.

Support is slower. I had one question about tags. Got a response in about 6 hours. Mailchimp usually responded faster. Not a dealbreaker for me, but worth knowing.

I don't miss anything. This surprised me. I expected to hit some limitation that would make me regret switching. Hasn't happened yet.

Who Should Use What

I've recommended EmailOctopus to three friends now. But it's not right for everyone.

Use EmailOctopus if: You send newsletters. You have basic automations. You want to stop overpaying. You don't need fancy features.

Stick with Mailchimp if: You use tons of integrations. You've built complex automations you don't want to rebuild. Your company pays for it anyway.

Use Klaviyo if: You run an e-commerce store on Shopify. You want purchase-based targeting. You can afford $45+ per month at small list sizes.

Use ConvertKit if: You sell courses or digital products. You're building sales funnels. The "creator" branding appeals to you.

My Advice

If you're starting fresh, just use EmailOctopus. The free tier gives you 2,500 subscribers - plenty of room to figure out if email marketing works for your business before paying anything.

If you're on Mailchimp and annoyed about pricing like I was, the switch took me about 2 hours total. Not fun, but $768/year buys a lot of things more useful than email marketing overhead.

My accountant was happy with my answer this month. Turns out I only needed to pay $30 to send emails. Who knew.