10 Best Email Automation Platforms (Free and Paid)

Not leveraging automation is a huge mistake if you use email as your marketing channel. There are lots of things you can achieve with it. When setting up properly, you can use email automation to generate leads and boost sales automatically.

The very first thing you need to do before you can run an email automation campaign is to select the right, solid email automation platform.

FYI. Not all email marketing platforms come with an automation feature. In this post, I will show you some of the best email marketing platforms that come with the feature.

I’ve discovered some email marketing platforms in which their automation feature is available for free. So, read on.

Shortcuts ⤵️

• What is email automation?
• What can an email automation platform do?
• Free email automation platforms
• Paid email automation platforms
• Email automation platforms for WordPress
• Summary

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What is Email Automation?

Before we step further, let’s make it clear what email automation is.

Email automation is the mechanism where an email or a series of emails is sent automatically based on a certain condition.

A simple instance. You can automatically send an email to those subscribing to a newsletter. Or if you have an online store, you can automatically send an email to those who have just purchased a certain product to promote some related products.

Since your email(s) will be sent automatically, you can focus on other things to grow your business. Like arranging new strategies, producing more content, etc.

That’s the power of email automation that no other marketing channels can offer.

What Can an Email Automation Platform Do?

You can use an email marketing platform to automatically send an email or a series of emails to your audience. The type of emails you can send depend on the platform you use.

Most email marketing platforms support integration with online store software like Shopify and WooCommerce to allow you to send emails based on your customers’ activities in your store.

Say a customer has added an item to the shopping cart, but doesn’t make the payment yet. In this particular case, you can automatically send an email containing a reminder to make the payment.

For an SaaS provider, email automation can be used to send an email notification prior to subscription renewal.

For bloggers (or content creator in general), email automation can be used to create an email course.

There are many other use cases of email automation.

Here are some things you can do with an email automation platform:

• Send a welcome email
• Create an email-based online course
• Send email notifications over subscription renewal
• Send a download link
• Send a birthday message
• Send notifications over abandoned carts
• Send promotion based on the latest purchase

Features to Consider in an Email Automation Platform

Hardly any email automation platform can work alone. They usually work best when paired with other platforms.

Mailchimp, arguably one the most popular email marketing platforms, can unleash its full potential when paired with Shopify and WooCommerce.

The ability to integrate with other platforms is the main thing you need to consider when picking an email automation platform.

If you run a WooCommerce-powered online store, for instance, then you need to make sure that the email automation platform you plan to use supports integration with WooCommerce.

As I have mentioned earlier. An email automation platform sends an email based on a certain condition. Thus, you also need to make sure that the condition to trigger the email sending is available on the platform you want to use.

You also need to figure out how many automation steps/journeys you can add on each automation workflow.

Here are some key features you need to look when picking an email automation platform:

• Integration support
• Conditions/trigger types
• The number of steps per campaign

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List of Free Email Automation Platforms

On the list:

• MailerLite
• Sender.net
• Omnisend

1. MailerLite

MailerLite is a perfect solution if you are looking for a free email automation platform. You will have some limitations, of course. But it can be a great start to get into the email automation world.

You can leverage the free version to learn how email automation works and upgrade to the pro version once you find it useful.

You can integrate MailerLite with WordPress and other site builder tools. MailerLite itself also comes with a built-in site builder feature you can leverage to create a website and landing pages.

The email automation feature of MailerLite supports integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce and other online store platforms. You can use it to automatically send email notifications over abandoned carts, send an email based on the purchased item, and so on.

If you are an SaaS provider, the MailerLite automation feature also allows you to send email notifications over upcoming subscription renewal.

Are you a content creator? If so, you can leverage MailerLite automation to create an email course.

There are many other use cases of MailerLite automation. You can add up to 100 steps to your automation workflow.

I have published an in-depth review of MailerLite which you can read to learn more about the platform.

MailerLite Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• Joins a group
• Completes a form
• Clicks a link
• Updated field
• Anniversary of a date
• Exact match of a date
• Abandoned cart
• Purchased any product
• Purchased specific product
• Purchased from a product category

2. Sender.net

Sender.net is an affordable email marketing platform. You can even use it for free for up to 2,500 subscribers. The best part, you can also use its automation feature without needing to subscribe to a paid plan. Just like MailerLite.

The automation feature of Sender.net is not as advanced as MailerLite. It supports fewer trigger types. But for common automation workflows such as abandoned cart reminder, email sequence, and order confirmation, Sender.net can handle it.

Sender.net offers some pre-made automation workflow templates to make it easier for you to create a new automation.

Regarding the email editor, Sender.net is pretty similar to MailerLite. It supports three email editors: drag and drop editor, rich text editor, and custom HTML editor.

You can integrate Sender.net with some popular online store platforms. Including Shopify and WooCommerce.

Sender.net has developed a WordPress plugin dedicated to integrating its platform with WooCommerce and WordPress in general.

Sender.net Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• On exact match date
• Anniversary of a date
• Joins a group
• Removed from a group
• Clicks a link
• Abandoned cart
• Purchases specific product
• When order is fullfilled
• Unsubscribes
• Updates field

3. Omnisend

If you run an online store built with WooCommerce or Shopify, you can use Omnisend to automate your email campaigns to boost sales. The platform is designed specifically to help online store owners to automate email campaigns.

You are obligated to connect your online store before you can use the Omnisend automation feature, which can be used for free just like MailerLite and Sender.net.

Apart from WooCommerce and Shopify, you can also integrate Omnisend with other online store platforms. Including BigCommercend Ecwid.

Nearly all Omisend features are available on the free version. But, you can only send the maximum of 500 emails per month with the free version. Also, you can’t remove the Omnisend branding until you upgrade.

If you are completely new to the email marketing world and really eager to leverage email automation, then Omnisend is great to start.

Omnisend Automation Supported Trigger Types:

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List of Paid Email Automation Platforms

On the list:

• Mailchimp
• ActiveCampaign
• Kit
• GetResponse
• Drip

4. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is arguably the most popular email marketing platform on the planet. You can use it for free for up to 500 subscribers. But if you want to use its automation feature, you are required to upgrade your account.

It’s true that Mailchimp allows you to set up an automation workflow for free, but you will be asked to upgrade to one of the paid plans to activate it.

The Mailchimp automation feature is powerful. For online store owners, Mailchimp is a bit better than MailerLite. Mainly because its automation supports more trigger types than MailerLite.

With Mailchimp, you can automatically send an email to those who viewed a certain product (as long as they logged in). You can also send an email on a specific date since the last purchase.

Mailchimp has a deep integration with Shopify, but it also supports WooCommerce and BigCommerce.

You can add up to 200 steps on your automation, more than MailerLite.

If you want to learn more about the differences between MailerLite and Mailchimp, I have published a deep analysis comparing MailerLite and Mailchimp.

Mailchimp Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• Joins group
• Clicks a link
• Updates field
• Anniversary of a date
• Exact match of a date
• Abandons cart
• Purchases any product
• Purchases a specific product
• Purchases a product from a specific category
• View a page
• Time since last purchase
• Views products in Shopify store
• Performs search in Shopify store

5. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is an all-in-one online marketing platform. It also has an email automation feature which you can use to automatically send emails to your customers. ActiveCampaign is especially a better solution for service-based businesses.

ActiveCampaign has a more robust CRM feature than MailerLite and Mailchimp, which is super useful for service-based businesses.

You can, for instance, create an automation to market your one-on-one consulting service. ActiveCampaign supports integration with Calendly.

For online store owners, you can integrate ActiveCampaign with Shopify and WooCommerce to automatically send emails based on your customers’ activities in your store.

ActiveCampaign is a paid tool. No free version is available. But a 14-day trial is available which you can leverage to try the platform. You can activate the trial without entering credit card information.

ActiveCampaign Automation Supported Trigger Types:

6. Kit (Formerly ConvertKit)

Kit was formerly known as ConverKit. It is an email marketing platform designed specifically for creators (bloggers, YouTubers, social media creators, etc.). It can be a great solution if you want to turn traffic you earn to traffic you own.

Since Kit is designed specifically for content creators, the automation it offers focuses on automating content delivery via email.

With Kit automation feature, you can automatically send an email or a series of emails when a subscriber clicks a link on an email. You can set the email whether to be sent immediately or with a delay.

Many creators use the automation feature of Kit to create an email course. Be it free or paid. If you want to create a paid course, Kit offers a built-in payment system by integrating its service with Stripe.

Kit Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• Subscribes to an email sequence
• Subscribes to a form
• Completes an email sequence
• Clicks a link
• Tag added
• Tag removed

7. GetResponse

You can use GetReponse to monetize your knowledge via webinar and an online course. It has built-in features to create both webinar and online course. The webinar can be live, on-demand, or recording.

To promote your webinar (or online course), you can leverage the GetReponse email automation feature. You can also use the automation feature for other purposes.

If you have an online store, for instance, you can send email notifications over abandoned carts just like you can do in MailerLite and Mailchimp.

GetReponse supports integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce and PrestaShop.

GetResponse Automation Supported Trigger Types:

8. Drip

Drip is an email marketing platform that specifically targets online shop owners. It comes with native integration with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento to allow you to automatically send emails based on your customers’ activities.

To make it easier to set up an automation workflow for your online store, Drip offers some pre-made automation templates you can choose from for each online shop platform.

If you are a WooCommerce user, for instance, you will find an automation template designed to send an email to new customers asking for a product review.

Although Drip specifically targets online shop owners, other online business types can also adopt it. It offers a useful editor to create newsletter and other email campaign types.

Drip Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• On specific date
• When a tag is applied
• Submits a form
• Clicks a lunk
• Enters a segment
• Abandoned cart
• First purchase

Email Automation Platforms for WordPress (Plugins)

On the list:

• MailPoet
• FluentCRM

9. MailPoet

MailPoet can be a great solution if you have an online store built with WooCommerce. Both MailPoet and WooCommerce are owned by the same parent company: Automattic.

Unlike other email marketing platforms mentioned earlier, MailPoet operates as a plugin. The entire marketing process is done via your WordPress dashboard. MailPoet comes with a built-in email delivery service to send your emails.

If you are a SendGrid or Amazon SES user, you can integrate your account with MailPoet.

Since MailPoet is a WordPress plugin, it has a smooth integration with your WordPress website. Apart from sending WooCommerce-related emails, you can also use MailPoet to automatily send an email over a newly published blog post on your website.

You can also send a series of emails for everyone subscribing to your email list via a form you created with MailPoet.

I have published a dedicated review about MailPoet which you can read to learn more about the plugin.

MailPoet Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• Subscribes to a list
• Creates a new account on your website
• New post is published
• Abandoned cart
• Purchases a product for the first time
• Purchases a specific product
• Purchases from a product tag
• Purchases from a product category

10. FluentCRM

FluentCRM is another email marketing plugin that offers an automation feature. Unlike MailPoet, FluentCRM has no built-in email delivery feature. Instead, it uses the default email delivery fucntion from WordPress, the wp_mail function.

To use FluentCRM, you need to have a solid hosting service. It may not work if you use a cPanel-based shared hosting service since some cPanel-based web hosting services disable the wp_mail function to save the hosting resource.

The FluentCRM team offers a free SMTP plugin called FluentSMTP which allows you to connect your WordPress website with services like Mailgun, SengGrid and Amazon SES for a better email deliverability.

FluentCRM itself, as the name suggests, is a CRM plugin for WordPress. It is released as a freemium plugin. The automation feature is available on both the free version and the pro version although not all trigger types are accessible on the free version.

FluentCRM supports integration with LearnDash, MemberPress, Bloom, Elementor Pro and other form builder and membership plugins.

FluentCRM Automation Supported Trigger Types:

• New order placed (WooCommerce)
• Order completed (WooCommerce)
• Order refunded (WooCommerce)
• Order status changed (WooCommerce)
• New user sign up (WordPress)
• User login (WordPress)
• List applied (FluentCRM)
• List removed (FluentCRM)
• Tag applied (FluentCRM)
• Tag removed (FluentCRM)
• Birthday date (FluentCRM)
• Contact created (Fluent CRM)
• Company applied (FluentCRM)
• Company removed (FluentCRM)

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Summary

Email is the best marketing channel to invest in because you will not be haunted by the algorithm changes. You have full control over campaign delivery. No one will be able to dictate you.

You can take your email marketing to the next level with automation.

Depending on the business you run, you can leverage email automation to boost sales, to drive more traffic or to generate more leads.

You can use one of the email marketing platforms from the list above.

I have signed up to nearly all email marketing platforms that have an automation feature to write this post, but not all of them are included in the list.

I only included the email marketing platforms where I could access the automation feature — be it via trial or full access (if the automation is accessible on the free plan).

Which Email Automation Platform You Should Use?

MailerLite, Sender.net and Omnisend are the best solutions if you have no experience in using an email automation platform before. They allow you to use an automation feature for free although some limitations apply.

Mailchimp is a better suited options if you run an online store business and need CRM functionality from your email marketing platform.

ActiveCampaign is great for service-based businesses.

Kit is a near-perfect solution for content creators.

MailPoet and FluentCRM are the options to go if you are a WordPress user and prefer using a plugin to handle your email automation campaigns.