Send emails automatically after signups, purchases, or other actions, from welcome series to win-back campaigns.
Email automation software is defined by the events and customer data it can act on, not simply by whether it can schedule a sequence. The key differences are trigger sources, branching logic, segmentation, CRM or commerce context and how journeys coordinate with other channels. A B2B lead nurture, ecommerce replenishment flow and onboarding series each demand different data.
By SEM Solutions Editorial Team. Researched from vendor documentation, not hands-on testing. Ordered by Overall Score. Checked October 6, 2026. How we research
For accessible campaign automation
#2 of 18 in Email Automation
Mailchimp adds marketing automations to its audience and campaign tools, letting smaller teams trigger messages around customer actions and contact data without adopting a separate automation platform.
Multichannel customer journeys
#3 of 18 in Email Automation
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) connects email automation with contact management and additional communication channels, allowing journeys to move beyond a single email sequence. The fit is strongest when the same contact record needs to drive several communication types; this is relevant for businesses that want campaigns, transactional communication and automated follow-up inside one customer platform.
Ecommerce event flows
#4 of 18 in Email Automation
Klaviyo builds automated flows around commerce and customer events such as browsing, purchases and product activity. Consider it when automation depends on detailed shopper behavior instead of a basic signup timestamp. Profiles and segmentation can combine transaction history with engagement, allowing stores to tailor abandoned-cart, post-purchase and retention messaging.
For branching lifecycle journeys
#6 of 18 in Email Automation
ActiveCampaign provides a visual automation builder that can branch on contact behavior, tags, CRM stages and other customer data. Email actions can be mixed with sales and contact-management steps, making it useful for long nurture journeys that span marketing and sales; the workflow is particularly suited to B2B and service businesses with several lifecycle stages.
For acquisition-to-nurture flows
#8 of 18 in Email Automation
GetResponse links automation with forms, landing pages and webinars, making it useful for journeys that start at a lead-generation asset and continue through email nurture. Marketers can move contacts through conditions and actions based on engagement. This is a practical setup for education, webinar and lead-magnet programs where acquisition and follow-up belong in the same system.
Ranked by Overall Score: our Editor Rating and Market Signal, 50/50. Market Signal uses Ahrefs and Semrush data through September 2026, pulled October 6 to 12, 2026. How we score
Customer platform pairing a free CRM with marketing, sales, service, content and data hubs.
Best for: Growing B2B and service businesses that want marketing, sales and support teams working from the same CRM records.
Email marketing platform with automation flows, segmentation, landing pages and a marketing CRM.
Best for: Small and growing businesses that want newsletters, automated sequences and audience segmentation from one email-first platform.
#3 of 18 in Email Automation
Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing platform with a transactional messaging API and sales CRM.
Best for: Small and midsize businesses that want marketing email, transactional messaging and a basic sales CRM from one vendor.
B2C CRM for ecommerce email, SMS and push, with predictive customer analytics.
Best for: Ecommerce brands that want email, SMS and support data tied to purchase history in one customer profile.
Email marketing platform with newsletters, automation and landing pages.
Best for: Creators, small businesses, and lean marketing teams that need straightforward email campaigns, automations, signup pages, and audience growth tools.
Email marketing automation with branching workflows, site tracking and optional CRM add-ons.
Best for: Small and midsize businesses that run behavior-based email programs and want automation depth more than an included sales CRM.
Small-business email marketing with event ticketing, SMS and Shopify automations.
Best for: Small businesses that send regular newsletters and also need event registration or simple Shopify email automations.
Email marketing suite with automation, landing pages and webinars.
Best for: Small businesses, creators, and ecommerce teams that want email automation plus landing pages, webinars, or paid content tools.
Email and SMS platform with visual automation, ecommerce messaging and audience capture.
Best for: Small businesses and ecommerce teams that want email, SMS and behavioral automation in a single web app.
Email marketing for small businesses with landing pages, automations, ecommerce, and push.
Best for: Small businesses and creators that want email, list growth, and simple selling tools together.
Email marketing suite with Smart Design, automation, forms and landing-page creation.
Best for: Small businesses and nonprofits that need email campaigns, visual automation and lead-capture pages.
Email marketing platform with automation workflows, landing pages, forms and transactional email.
Best for: Small and midsize marketing teams that need email campaigns, automation and lead capture in one service.
Email marketing platform with SMS workflows, multivariate testing and demographic audience insights.
Best for: Marketers who need advanced email automation, testing and segmentation, including ecommerce and SMS follow-up.
Ecommerce email automation with shopper segmentation, workflows, onsite campaigns, and store data.
Best for: Ecommerce brands using shopper behavior to trigger segmented email and onsite campaigns.
Messaging platform for behavior-triggered email, push and SMS.
Best for: Product-led and lifecycle marketing teams that need event-triggered customer messaging tied closely to product and behavioral data.
Customer data and marketing automation platform joining journeys, analytics, email, SMS, and audience profiles.
Best for: SaaS and digital businesses that want lifecycle automation, customer data, and reporting tied together around behavior-based journeys.
Ecommerce messaging platform combining email, SMS, reviews and onsite forms.
Best for: Ecommerce brands that want email, SMS and product reviews tied closely to store purchase behavior.
Cross-channel customer engagement platform with journey orchestration, unified profiles, personalization, and Nova intelligence.
Best for: Enterprise lifecycle and growth teams coordinating personalized messaging across multiple digital channels from shared customer data.
An autoresponder usually follows a simple timing rule, such as sending a message after signup. Automation can react to many events and conditions, branch based on behavior, update contact data and coordinate several steps across a longer customer journey.
That depends on the business. Ecommerce teams often need product, order and browsing events; B2B teams may need CRM stages, lead source and account activity. The platform is only as useful as the relevant data it receives consistently.
Yes, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), Klaviyo, MailerLite, Sender and Benchmark Email all offer a free plan. Free tiers usually come with usage limits, so check whether they cover your volume before relying on them long-term.
Among the tools listed here whose main product is in this category and whose pricing we've verified, Moosend has the lowest listed starting price: $7/mo (annual billing). Starting price isn't the whole picture, so check what's included at that tier before deciding.