Quick answer: Our top pick is GetResponse, followed by Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) and Klaviyo. Entry prices start near $12/mo. All 5 are compared below on price, strengths and the key trade-off of each, so you can match one to your needs.
Below are the options that actually earn their monthly fee. This guide rounds up the 5 tools we'd actually recommend for Shopify, with what each does best, what it costs, and who should pick it.
We weighted picks on output quality, value for money, learning curve and how well each tool fits the specific workflow in this guide. Pricing is summarised from public plans at the time of writing.
Free up to ~2,500 subscribers; Starter and Pro paid tiers scaling with subscribers.
Low-cost simple sending
The picks, ranked
1. GetResponse All-in-One Marketing
All-in-one email marketing with automation, webinars, landing pages and AI campaign tools. Best suited to teams that care most about webinars + email in one tool.
Why it's on this list: One of the few platforms that bundles webinar hosting directly with email marketing and automation. Aimed squarely at sMBs and course/webinar sellers who want email plus webinars and landing pages in a single subscription.
Standout features:
Built-in webinar hosting (up to 100 attendees on Marketer)
Email + SMS + CRM platform priced by send volume rather than contacts, strong for transactional email. It stands out for send-volume pricing without a heavy setup cost.
Why it's on this list: Charges by emails sent rather than contacts, making it unusually cheap for big lists that send infrequently, with serious transactional capability. Built for businesses with large contact lists but moderate send volume, and developers needing transactional + marketing email together.
Standout features:
Marketing automation workflows (Business plan)
Unlimited contact storage even on free plan
Standout strength: One of the best transactional email options bundled with marketing.
Data-driven email + SMS for ecommerce with deep Shopify integration and predictive analytics. Picked here for how cleanly it handles ecommerce / dtc brands.
Why it's on this list: The ecommerce email + SMS standard, turning Shopify/store data into highly targeted, revenue-attributed campaigns. A natural fit for ecommerce and DTC brands, especially on Shopify, that want data-rich segmentation and email + SMS automation.
Standout features:
AI-generated segments and content, plus Marketing Agent
350+ integrations and unified profiles across channels
Standout strength: Best-in-class ecommerce segmentation and revenue attribution.
Worth knowing: Charges by active profile count plus message volume, not flat emails.
Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts/500 sends; paid scales with contacts (email and SMS priced separately).
Beginner-friendly email and event marketing aimed at small businesses and nonprofits. Picked here for how cleanly it handles small businesses and nonprofits.
Why it's on this list: A beginner-first platform with unusually strong event/registration marketing for small businesses and nonprofits. A natural fit for small businesses, nonprofits and event organizers who want simplicity and support over advanced automation.
Standout features:
Beginner-friendly email editor with large template library
Event marketing and registration tools
Standout strength: Very approachable for non-technical small businesses and nonprofits.
Worth knowing: Affiliate is a bounty model (~$105/sale), not recurring.
Pricing: No free plan (free trial); Lite, Standard and Premium tiers scaling with contacts.
Simple, low-cost email marketing with a generous free tier, built partly on AWS SES economics. A strong default when low-cost simple sending is the priority.
Why it's on this list: Low-cost simplicity, with an option to ride Amazon SES economics for cheap sending. Made for beginners, bloggers and cost-sensitive senders who want simple email and a big free tier.
Standout features:
Landing pages and signup forms
EmailOctopus Connect to send via your own Amazon SES account
Standout strength: Paid plans roughly 40-60% cheaper than mainstream rivals.
Worth knowing: EmailOctopus Connect lets you use your own AWS SES for sending economics.
Pricing: Free up to ~2,500 subscribers; Starter and Pro paid tiers scaling with subscribers.
If you're optimising for budget, start at the lower-priced options and only move up when you hit a real limit. If output quality or team features matter more than price, the top picks above will save you time. When two options look close, try both free tiers on one real task before committing — the right fit is usually obvious within an hour.
FAQ
What is the best option in this list?
GetResponse is our default recommendation here; that said, a lower pick can be the smarter buy if its strengths map more closely to your job.
Are there free options?
Yes — GetResponse and Constant Contact offer a free plan or tier, so you can validate fit before paying. Check each entry's pricing line above.
How were these tools chosen?
Each pick is judged on fit for the specific job in this guide — its real strengths, pricing and who it suits — using features and facts drawn from independent reviews and the vendors' own documentation, cited in Sources below.
How often is this guide updated?
We revisit pricing and rankings regularly as vendors change plans and ship features.
Sources
The features, strengths and facts cited for each pick above are drawn from these independent reviews and vendor pages: