Drip is an email marketing tool that started off as a popup tool, but slowly grew into a full-fledged email marketing tool. It’s primarily designed to be used with Shopify and has all the features that can help you scale your ecommerce business. However, its specialisation in ecommerce means it might not be the best tool for businesses in other industries or niches.
Best Drip alternatives
Free tier comparison
| Tool | Free Tier (max subscribers) | Free Tier (max emails/mo.) |
|---|---|---|
| Drip | Not available | Not available |
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 | 10,000 |
| Mailerlite | 1,000 | 12,000 |
| Constant Contact | Not available | Not available |
| Klaviyo | 250 | 500 |
| HubSpot | 1,000,000 | 2,000 |
| MailChimp | 500 | 1,000 |
| Beehiiv | 2,500 | No capping |
| Mailjet | 1,500 | 6,000 & 200/day |
Paid plan comparison
| Tool | Pricing/mo. (500 subscribers) | Pricing/mo. (10K subscribers) |
|---|---|---|
| Drip | $39 | $154 |
| EmailOctopus | $9 | $40 |
| Mailerlite | Starts at $10 | Starts at $73 |
| Constant Contact | Starts at $12 | Starts at $120 |
| Klaviyo | Starts at $20 | Starts at $150 |
| HubSpot | Starts at $20 | Starts at $410/mo. |
| MailChimp | Starts at $13 | Starts at $110 |
| Beehiiv | Starts at $39 | Starts at $99 |
| Mailjet | Starts at $17 | Starts at $37 *paid plans don’t have subscriber limit, the above pricing is for 50,000 emails/mo. |
Pros & cons
| Tool | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Drip | 1. A/B testing 2. Large collection of email and form templates 3. Native integration with ecommerce platforms | 1. Drip is built for ecommerce so many of it’s features are not useful in general use cases 2. Users have reported Drip having a learning curve |
| EmailOctopus | 1. Easy to use 2. Very affordable (up to 70% less than alternatives) 3. No hidden costs. All features included | 1. Zapier integrations required for Ecommerce |
| Mailerlite | 1. Inbuilt email validator 2. Feature rich landing page builder 3. Monetisation options 4. Ability to collect subscribers offline | 1. Has multiple plans which means that several features are not available in the basic plans 2. Landing page builder has a slight learning curve |
| Constant Contact | 1. Social media integration 2. Event management 3. AI assistance | 1. UI is cluttered due to several additional features 2. Some segmentation features only available on higher tiers |
| Klaviyo | 1. Native integration with ecommerce platforms 2. AI assistance for predictions, automation & content 3. A/B testing | 1. As Klaviyo is built for ecommerce, many of it’s features are not useful in general use cases 2. Pricing includes features like SMS and push notifications due to which you’ll be paying for features you might not use |
| HubSpot | 1. Inbuilt CRM 2. Multiple sales specific features 3. Extensive landing page builder | 1. Built to works as a CRM and customer support tool, not the best choice solely for marketing emails 2. Steep learning curve |
| MailChimp | 1. A/B testing 2. Inbuilt basic CRM 3. Mobile app | 1. Dashboard feels cluttered due to multiple feature addons 2. Regular price increases with no grandfathering |
| Beehiiv | 1. Unlimited emails in all plans 2. Easy to use text editor 3. Hosted emails as blogs 4. Monetisation options | 1. Limited features for email marketing 2. Only has basic email automation |
| Mailjet | 1. Supports SMTP relay 2. A/B testing 3. Email validations | 1. Forms comes with limited customisation options |
Best use case and ratings
| Tool | Best for | User Rating (data from GetApp) |
|---|---|---|
| Drip | Ecommerce businesses | 4.4 |
| EmailOctopus | Small/medium businesses and newsletter writers | 4.7 |
| Mailerlite | Small/medium businesses and startups | 4.7 |
| Constant Contact | Ecommerce and medium sized businesses | 4.3 |
| Klaviyo | Ecommerce and D2C businesses | 4.6 |
| HubSpot | Startups and enterprises who are sales heavy | 4.5 |
| MailChimp | Startups and enterprises | 4.5 |
| Beehiiv | Creators and writers | N/A |
| Mailjet | Startups who need and extensive API support | 4.3 |
EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus focuses on providing an easy-to-use email marketing tool with all the essential features while keeping the prices affordable and transparent.
You get all the essential features like drag and drop email builder, no-code signup forms, automated emails and much more at a fraction of the cost versus alternatives.
Features:
- Easy to use drag and drop email builder
- List segmentation
- No-code signup, popup forms and landing pages
- Email automation
- Zapier and Make integrations
EmailOctopus is a popular Drip alternative that’s been used by over 80,000 businesses and individuals for their newsletters and email marketing activity.
Pricing:
Free for upto 2500 subscribers, with paid plans starting from $9/mo.
MailerLite
MailerLite is another popular email marketing platform, known for providing good tools at an affordable price. Despite a price increase in 2023, it’s still a great option if you need extra features like a comprehensive landing page builder.
Features:
- Easy to use drag and drop email builder
- List segmentation
- No-code signup and popup forms
- Extensive landing pages builder
- Email automation
- Zapier and Make integrations
MailerLite offers many additional features, like a native payment gateway and locked content. However, these extras can sometimes distract from the core service of email marketing. If you need these extra features and don’t mind paying a bit more, MailerLite could be a good choice.
Pricing:
A generous free plan exists, and paid plans start at $10/mo.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact started off as an email marketing tool, but as of 2024, they have expanded into a full-fledged marketing communications platform. They now offer SMS marketing, social media marketing, and marketing automation.
Features:
- Email automation
- List segmentation
- Forms & landing pages
- Dynamic content
- A/B testing
- AI assistant
Constant Contact is a feature-rich tool, but it’s best if you need all its features. If not, a simpler email marketing tool like EmailOctopus might be a better fit.
Pricing:
No free plan exists and paid plans start at $12/mo.
Klaviyo
Klaviyo is similar to Constant Contact but focuses on ecommerce and D2C businesses. In addition to email marketing, Klaviyo offers SMS marketing, push notifications, and product review management.
Features:
- Email automation
- List segmentation
- Forms & landing pages
- Dynamic content
- Native ecommerce integrations
- AI assistant
Klaviyo is a great choice if you are a D2C brand and have the budget. However, there are many other tools that can get the job done at a fraction of the cost.
Pricing:
Has a free plan that’s good enough for testing, but not suitable for real life use cases. Paid plans start at $20/mo. which also includes SMS and push notification credits.
HubSpot
HubSpot offers a suite of products for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. It includes tools for email marketing, social media management, content management, analytics, and customer service automation.
Features:
- Email automation
- Segmentation
- Forms & landing Pages
- Inbuilt CRM
- Added customer support tools
Pricing:
Has free plan with a generous contact limit with restricting limits on number of emails. Paid plans start at $20/mo.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the most popular and well-known email marketing tools and has been for many years. They used to have a generous free plan of 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers per month and were known for their affordability. However, in 2023 they increased their prices three times and have reduced their free plan to a maximum of 1,000/month or 500/day with a 500 subscribers limit. So, although Mailchimp remains a good email marketing platform, we’d recommend checking out all the other great alternatives to find the best fit for you.
Features:
- Email automation
- Segmentation
- Forms & landing Pages
- Dynamic content
- A/B testing
Pricing:
Has a free plan that’s good enough for testing, but not suitable for real life use cases. Paid plans start at $13/mo.
Beehiiv
Beehiiv is an email marketing and content platform built for creators and authors. It’s ideal for sending newsletters, but if you have broader email marketing needs, other tools may be better for you.
Features:
- Basic email editor
- List segmentation
- No-code hosted signup and popup forms
- Zapier integrations
Pricing:
Has a generous free plan and paid plans starts at $39/mo.
Mailjet
Mailjet is a popular email marketing tool among big publishers and companies like ProductHunt and Happn. It also has an extensive API for sending emails programmatically, making it a great choice for businesses that need to send emails based on dynamic scenarios.
Features:
- Email automation
- List segmentation
- Forms & landing pages
- Dynamic content
- SMTP relay support
- AI copy generator
Pricing:
Has a usable free plan and paid plans starts at $17/mo.
Frequently asked question
What is Drip known for?
Drip is known as an ecommerce marketing automation platform that helps online businesses build personalised marketing campaigns, manage customer relationships, and boost sales via email marketing. It offers a range of helpful tools including segmentation, analytics, and automated workflows.
Is Drip only for ecommerce?
While Drip can be used for email marketing in any industry, its design is tailored specifically for ecommerce applications. It integrates seamlessly with platforms like Shopify, making it ideal for many online retail businesses.
Can EmailOctopus replace Drip?
EmailOctopus is a versatile choice for both ecommerce and general email marketing needs. Plus, it integrates smoothly with Shopify through Zapier — making EmailOctopus a very good, affordable and easy-to-use alternative to Drip.
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