Top 6 Email List Management Software in 2024
Emails were invented in 1970s and became popular in the 1990s. Today, email marketing is fiercely competitive, making it challenging to create a spot in customers’ primary inboxes.
That issue worsens when you don’t correctly segment and manage your email list.
Email list management is the art of organizing and updating users’ contact information. And email list management software has become an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes.
Using the right software, you can segment subscribers, automate workflows, and improve marketing results.
This article will explore the top 6 email list management software, highlighting their key features and pricing.
The Importance of Email List Management
Email list management involves organizing, maintaining, and nurturing a list of email addresses. This practice drives business growth by helping you understand the key motivators in the email marketing customer journey.
Here’s why email list management is a huge part of your email marketing efforts:
- It builds relationships: Personalized email campaigns foster long-term relations and improve customer loyalty.
- It nurtures relationships: Regular communication helps email marketing subscribers stay tuned to your brand.
- It improves inbox placement rates: Consistently cleaning email lists helps maintain a high inbox placement rate.
- It lowers costs: Proper email list management can lower email marketing costs since most email service providers charge based on the number of contacts.
- It provides critical consumer data: Analyzing customer data allows you to send more targeted email communication.
Effective list management is essential to building stronger customer connections and driving sales. One way to maintain your audience groups is by using proper email list management software.
Before exploring the top free and paid list management software, we’ll learn what to look for when choosing one.
Key Features to Consider When Choosing Email List Management Tools
Prioritize specific features that align with your direct email marketing goals. For example, if you’re focused on eco-friendly clothing for millennials, consider software with basic list management facilities and affordable pricing plans.
The table below will review more factors when choosing a list management software.
| Factors to Consider | Things to Note |
|---|---|
| List segmentation and targeting | ‣ Does the software allow for granular segmentation based on psychographics, demographics, and user behavior? ‣ Can you create tailored email campaigns for specific segments? |
| Email automation | ‣ Can you easily automate email series, welcome campaigns, or nurture sequences? ‣ Is the platform capable of sending triggered emails based on user actions? |
| A/B testing | ‣ Can you test different subject lines, email headers, and email content? ‣ Can you accurately track and analyze user data? |
| Analytics and reporting | ‣ Does the software provide insightful email campaign metrics? ‣ Are the reports customizable? |
| Integration with other tools | ‣ Does the platform allow seamless connectivity with other tools such as CRM, social media, etc? ‣ Is it able to synchronize data across other tools? |
| Email deliverability | ‣ Can you monitor and improve sender reputation? ‣ Does the software adhere to email security protocols and content optimization? |
| User-friendly interface | ‣ Is it easy to track and manage menus and other tools? ‣ Can you personalize the interface to suit your preferences? |
| Scalability | ‣ Is the platform capable of handling your growth? |
| Customer support | ‣ Is the support responsive and quick? ‣ Is there a knowledge base for basic troubleshooting? |
| Compliance and security | ‣ Does the platform follow data privacy laws such as CAN-SPAM and GDPR? ‣ Is there a robust security measure to protect your email list? |
Carefully evaluate these features before fixing in on a platform. Once you build your email list, it can become difficult to migrate to another provider.
The following section will review the best free and paid list management tools.
Email List Management Tools
Here are the popular list management tools.
| S.No | List Management Software | Unique Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Campaign Refinery | Highest email deliverability rate on the market |
| 2. | Mailchimp | Automation, landing pages, and social media tools |
| 3. | Omnisend | Intuitive platform for e-commerce businesses |
| 4. | Brevo | SMS, email marketing, and CRM |
| 5. | ActiveCampaign | Advanced automation and CRM features |
| 6. | MailerLite | Email automation, segmentation, and landing pages |
Choosing the Right Tool for Your Needs
Before choosing the right tool for your needs, consider the following:
- Your budget: Plan how much you will spend on software.
- Your list size: Do you have a huge b2b email list or a smaller one? Some tools limit the number of subscribers.
- Your marketing goals: Consider the specific features and capabilities required to achieve your goals. For example, you might want to grow your email list in the next 3 months. Then, you could require a platform that scales with your business.
- Your technical expertise: If you’re a beginner, choose a simple and intuitive tool. Many free platforms have built-in fonts, email campaign templates, and other features to help you get started.
The list management software forms the base for your email marketing efforts. Whether you want to send mass emails, holiday and seasonal campaigns, or event invitation emails, managing your email list will help you send targeted content based on consumer psychological principles.
If you’re on a budget, this free list management software will help you efficiently organize lists.
Free Email List Management Software
Many paid platforms offer free pricing plans with a few caveats, such as limited automation capabilities and list growth. It may be a viable option if you’re staring out, but can soon become complicated as your business scales. Free plans also make it difficult to test out the features completely.
If you plan to scale, a paid plan will work out better since you don’t have to pay more for extra features or move your email lists to another provider.
However, if you’re looking for specific free list management software, here’s the list.
| Free List Management Software | Best for |
|---|---|
| MailerLite | Budget-conscious small businesses |
| Brevo (Formerly SendInBlue) | Businesses wanting to send trigger-based campaigns |
| Omnisend | E-commerce businesses of any size |
Apart from this, Hubspot, ConvertKit, and Zoho are free and useful list management tools. If your subscribers love getting more of email marketing newsletters from you, opt for a newsletter-heavy email service such as ConvertKit or Mailchimp.
These software solutions help you send automated email campaigns and grow your newsletters the right way.
6 Best Paid List Management Software
Below, we’ll list paid software solutions based on their advanced features and deliverability aspects.
| S.No | Software | Key Features | Starting Price | Contacts/Subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Campaign Refinery | Comprehensive email marketing tool with the highest email deliverability | $99/month | Unlimited contacts |
| 2. | Mailchimp | User-friendly interface, automation, and integration with other marketing tools | $6.82 | 500 contacts |
| 3. | ActiveCampaign | Combines email marketing, sales automation, and CRM | $15/month | 1000 contacts |
| 4. | MailerLite | Easy subscriber management and segmentation capabilities | $9 | 500 subscribers |
| 5. | Omnisend | Ease of use, email templates, and analytics tools | $16 | 500 contacts |
| 6. | Brevo | Allows to manage customer relationships through email, SMS, chat, and more | $9 | No daily sending limit |
1. Campaign Refinery — All-in-one Email Marketing Platform
Campaign Refinery is a comprehensive email marketing platform offering the highest email deliverability rate on the market. With strict security protocols and best sending practices, your emails will land in the subscribers’ primary inboxes rather than the spam folders.
Each client is vetted and undergoes mandatory domain authentication to ensure compliance. We accept clean and maintained lists only. This means no purchasing email lists or cold-emailing random people.
One of Campaign Refinery’s unique features is the automatic email list cleaning. It automatically and regularly removes inactive and harmful email addresses, leaving your email lists clean and healthy.
Clients can then divide active audiences based on distinct characteristics through:
Users can also employ the audience groups segmentation feature to combine two or more customer segments for the same email campaign.
Campaign Refinery is also fully compliant with GDPR and CAN-SPAM Acts, ensuring customers’ and subscribers’ safety.
Key Features of Campaign Refinery
- Sophisticated email deliverability ecosystem: We combine the power of good sending practices and email security protocols to achieve the highest inbox placement rate on the market.
- Powerful segmentation: Users can divide their list using email tags and maintain contacts using smart goal triggers.
- Engagement rewards: Happy customers are likelier to engage with your messages, keeping the email deliverability unharmed. Clients can set points for every action subscribers take in their emails.
- Email list clean up: The automatic list cleaning tool wipes out unwanted email addresses every 90 days by default. However, depending on your requirements, you can set up the schedule between 30 – 180 days.
- Subscriber behavior tracking: Create a contact profile and understand customer preferences, behavior, and interactions in one place.
Campaign Refinery Pricing
| Campaign Refinery Pricing Tier | Pricing | Features Included | Credits Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business plan | Starts at $99 / month | ‣ Unlimited Contacts ‣ Built-in Contact Cleaning ‣ Engaged Delivery System ‣ Automation Rule Builder ‣ Free Campaign Library ‣ Custom Audience Builder ‣ Evergreen Flash Sale | 50,000 |
| Growth plan | Starts at $299 / month | ‣ Everything in the business, plus ‣ Turn off ”powered by” Text ‣ Reduced Overage Cost ‣ Increased API Volume Limits | 200,000 |
| Enterprise plan | Starts at $1k+ / month | ‣ Everything in the Growth plan, plus ‣ Dedicated success manager ‣ Lowest Overage Cost ‣ Custom API volume | 1 million |
Clients get access to premium features and unlimited contacts for a starting price of $99 per month. Initially, users get 50k credits to send emails, clean lists, or perform other actions. If you plan on scaling your business, you can upgrade to the higher plans or purchase more credits.
Note: We don’t offer a free trial because we handpick clients and thoroughly vet them to maintain the safety of our community.
2. Mailchimp — A User-friendly Email List Management Software
Mailchimp is known for its ease of use and healthy contact management practices. The platform allows customers to manage their email lists and remove inactive subscribers. Another key aspect is that Mailchimp maintains a high deliverability rate, ensuring safety and compliance.
Users can also segment audiences based on various criteria, import and manage contacts, and clean lists.
Key Features of Mailchimp
- Comprehensive features: Mailchimp offers a wide range of tools, from automation to segmentation and landing page builder, to manage various types of email campaigns.
- Advanced segmentation: The platforms provide real-time insights into customer behavior and patterns. Users can send targeted email content using engagement and behavioral data.
- User-friendly list management: Clients can use sign-up forms to ask about the audience’s interests and create groups accordingly.
Mailchimp Pricing
Here’s a breakdown of its pricing structure for 1500 contacts.
| Mailchimp Pricing Plan | Price | Features Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | ‣ Limited monthly email sends ‣ 1 user ‣ 1 audience ‣ Email support for first 30 days ‣ Limited pre-built email templates ‣ Limited creative assistant and reporting and analytics |
| Essentials | Starts at $ 8.99 / month | ‣ 15,000 monthly email sends ‣ 3 users ‣ 3 Audiences ‣ 24/7 Email and chat support ‣ Pre-built templates, integrations, analytics ‣ 4 automated journey points |
| Standard | Starts at $15.59 / month | ‣ Generative AI features ‣ 18,000 monthly email sends ‣ 5 users ‣ 5 audiences ‣ 4 – role-based access ‣ Up to 200 journey points ‣ 1 personalized onboarding session |
| Premium | Starts at $137.90 / month | ‣ All features of standard plan ‣ 150,000 monthly email sends ‣ Phone and priority support ‣ Premium migration services |
Mailchimp’s free plan covers the basics, such as free email support for the first 30 days with a limit of 500 contacts. Clients can create 1 audience segment and send a maximum of 1000 emails monthly.
Their highest plan starts at $137.43 for 10,000 contacts. Customers on this plan will receive phone and priority support. They can also create up to 200 journey points with unlimited audience groups.
3. ActiveCampaign — Targeted Email Campaigns With List Management Options
ActiveCampaign is a robust email marketing platform effective for larger businesses. The platform helps with data-driven audience management and segmentation tools.
On top of cleaning email lists, users can import subscriber data from across marketing channels and automate custom fields for managing audiences.
Users can segment customers based on recent metrics such as visits to the website, purchase history, and date subscribed, among other criteria.
Regarding email deliverability, ActiveCampaign maintains a good score that ensures emails land in Gmail, Yahoo, and other ESP’s primary inboxes.
Key Features of ActiveCampaign
- Create multiple lists: Users can organize contacts based on varied criteria such as demographics, interests, or behavior.
- Custom fields: Users can gain in-depth understanding using custom fields option rather than using tags option.
- Create different lists: Clients can create various lists such as “General marketing” or “promotion updates”, etc.
ActiveCampaign Pricing
Let’s look at their entire pricing plan structure for 1000 contacts.
| ActiveCampaign Pricing Plan | Price | Features Included |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $15 | ‣ 1000 contacts ‣ 1 user ‣ Email marketing and automation ‣ Personalized chat and email support ‣ Inline forms ‣ Site and event tracking ‣ Campaign reports ‣ API and webhooks ‣ Goals |
| Plus | Starts at $49 | ‣ Everything in Lite plus, ‣ Landing Pages ‣ Facebook Custom Audiences & Lead Ads ‣ Facebook Lead Ads ‣ Lead Scoring ‣ Pop-Up and Modal Forms ‣ Conditional Content ‣ WooCommerce, Shopify & BigCommerce Integrations ‣ Custom Mailserver Domain |
| Professional | $79/month | ‣ Everything in Plus, ‣ Predictive Sending AI ‣ Split Automations ‣ Salesforce Integration ‣ Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration ‣ Website & In Application Messages ‣ Marketing Attribution Reporting ‣ Conversions |
| Enterprise | $145/month | ‣ All features of Professional plan plus, ‣ Custom Reporting ‣ Custom Objects ‣ Single Sign-On ‣ HIPAA Support ‣ Uptime SLA ‣ Unlimited Email Testing |
ActiveCampaign’s personalized marketing campaigns start at $15 monthly with limited access to features and tools. The Enterprise plan starts at $145 per month for unlimited automation triggers.
4. MailerLite — A Beginner-friendly Email List Management Software
MailerLite makes a fine email services platform for beginners. Its intuitive interface, coupled with user-friendly tools helps clients manage email lists and group contacts. If your main focus is on creating newsletters, MailerLite offers a drag-and-drop email builder with a variety of email campaign templates.
Users can segment email lists based on subscribers’ interests and behavior, collect email addresses on the go, and use custom post-unsubscribe survey pages to understand why users leave.
Key Features of MailerLite
- Subscriber management: Users can collect subscribers through API integrations or sign-up forms. MailerLite can recognize bad email addresses and remove them.
- Filtration system: You can find subscribers according to the signup date, time zone, and campaigns.
- Subscription modification: MailerLite allows you to update individual profiles per customers’ evolving needs.
MailerLite Pricing
The table shows the pricing plan for 500 subscribers.
| MailerLite Pricing Plan | Pricing | Features Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | ‣ 12,000 monthly emails ‣ 1 user seat ‣ 24/7 email and chat support for up to 30 days ‣ Drag and drop editor ‣ Email automation builder ‣ Websites ‣ 10 landing pages ‣ Comparitive reporting ‣ Sign-up forms and pop-ups |
| Growing Business | $9 per month | ‣ All in free, plus ‣ Unlimited monthly emails ‣ 3 user seats ‣ 24/7 email support ‣ Sell digital products ‣ Unlimited templates ‣ Dynamic emails ‣ Auto resend campaign ‣ Unlimited websites and blogs ‣ Unsubscribe page builder ‣ Multivariate testing |
| Advanced | $18 per month | ‣ All in Growing business, plus ‣ Unlimited monthly emails ‣ Unlimited user seats ‣ 24/7 live chat and email support ‣ Facebook integration ‣ Custom HTML editor ‣ Promotion pop-ups ‣ Multiple triggers in automations ‣ Preference center ‣ AI writing assistant ‣ Smart sending ‣ Partner discounts |
The ESP allows you to send 12,000 emails per month for up to 1000 subscribers for free. The Advanced plan starts at $18 per month for 500 subscribers. Users get 24/7 support on all pricing plans.
5. Omnisend — Easy-to-Use Platform for E-commerce Businesses
Omnisend is exclusively built to make email marketing easier for e-commerce businesses.
Customized sign-up forms can help build email and SMS lists. Its highlight is the variety of built-in sign-up forms to capture valid email addresses and build a clean list. Clients get access to multi-step sign-up forms, pop-ups, and landing pages.
All the features and tools are GDPR-compliant and mobile-optimized, ensuring a higher email deliverablity rate.
Key Features of Omnisend
- Email list cleaning: Removes inactive email addresses to keep email lists clean.
- Segmentation: Helps create targeted segmentation based on subscriber behavior and preferences.
- Import and export: The platform allows you to import and export contacts from other platforms.
Omnisend Pricing
We’ll look at Omnisend’s pricing for 1001-1500 contacts. All their plans include essential features.
| Omnisend Pricing Tier | Pricing | Features Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | ‣ 250 contacts ‣ 500 emails per month ‣ 500 web push notifications per month ‣ 50 published reviews on Shopify ‣ $1 in free SMS to try |
| Standard | $25 | ‣ 1500 contacts ‣ 18,000 emails per month ‣ Unlimited web push notifications ‣ 1,000 published reviews ‣ Success manager (From $400) ‣ 24/7 priority support ‣ $1 in free SMS to try |
| Pro | $59 | ‣ 2500 contacts ‣ Unlimited emails ‣ Unlimited web push notifications ‣ Unlimited published reviews ‣ Success manager (From $400) ‣ 24/7 priority support ‣ Advanced reporting |
For starting businesses, the free plan can be a good option. Omnisend offers 250 contacts and 500 emails monthly. The Pro plan is priced $59 for 2,500 contacts, which is still affordable compared to other ESPs providing similar features and tools.
6. Brevo — Robust Email List Management Software
Brevo (formerly SendInBlue) is a popular email marketing platform offering powerful email list management features. The user-friendly platform provides advanced segmentation options for creating different recipient groups.
Users are allowed to create dynamic lists that update according to subscriber activity. Brevo helps clients maintain good list hygiene by recognizing unengaged subscribers and soft bounces. You can also create multiple email lists based on different audience criteria or categories.
Although Brevo’s email deliverability rates are not as high as other popular platforms, it maintains a good percentage to ensure inbox placement.
Key Features of Brevo
- List segmentation: Brevo offers a simple method to segment contacts. You can segment subscribers based on purchase history or behavior.
- List folders: Clients can access list folders to store various audience segments.
- Contact synchronization: Brevo makes it easy to sync contacts across CRM and other marketing channels.
Brevo Pricing
| Brevo Pricing Tier | Pricing | Features Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | ‣ 300 emails/day ‣ Customizable email templates ‣ Drag & drop editor ‣ Transactional emails ‣ SMS & WhatsApp campaigns |
| Starter | $9 | ‣ Everything in Free, plus, ‣ From 5,000 emails per month ‣ No daily sending limit ‣ No Brevo logo add-on ‣ Basic reporting & analytics ‣ 24/7 email support |
| Business | $18 | ‣ Everything in Starter, plus ‣ From 5,000 emails/month ‣ Marketing automation ‣ Predictive sendingAI ‣ Multi-user access (add-on) ‣ Landing pages ‣ A/B testing ‣ Advanced statistics ‣ Phone support |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | ‣ Everything in Business, plus ‣ Unlimited contacts ‣ Sub-account management ‣ Advanced integrations ‣ Exclusive features ‣ Tailored onboarding ‣ Personalized support ‣ Enterprise-grade security |
Brevo’s free plan allows you to send 300 emails per day, along with access to customizable templates and SMS and WhatsApp campaigns. The highest plan is based on custom pricing with advanced features and tools.
Alternative Options for Email List Management
While the above platforms are best known for their list management capabilities, you can continually evaluate more services, such as below:
If you’re looking for an intuitive tool with premium features and transparent pricing, Campaign Refinery is the way to go!
Manage Your Email Lists Efficiently with Campaign Refinery
Campaign Refinery is built to streamline your email marketing efforts with powerful list segmentation and cleaning mechanisms.
Most of our clients are high-volume senders with massive email lists, so we know how to manage lists the right way.
Our primary focus is to help clients build opt-in-based email lists, clean and manage them with our built-in features, and get all emails into subscribers’ primary inboxes. We achieve the above by following strict authentication protocols and good sending practices. This helps maintain a pool of safe senders who enjoy first-rate email marketing results.
Become a trusted sender with Campaign Refinery — apply to become our client now!
