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When it comes to email marketing campaigns, email autoresponders can be an absolute lifesaver. Or at least, they are definitely a considerable time saver.
And as you know, in this business every second counts.
These tools will take care of all your autoresponder leads for you and you’ll be surprised just how much easier this will make your life.
And you may be thinking, well, I’d love to but I just can’t really afford that right now.
Well, fear not, because you can have access to these tools without having to even touch your purse or wallet.
That’s right, there are completely free options available.
And who doesn’t love a freebie?
You don’t want to be confined to only growing and improving your email list and relationship with your customers until you’ve started making the big bucks.
And that is why I have curated a list of completely free autoresponders that you can use to get you on the right track to marketing success today.
In this article, we’ll take a look at these autoresponders, what they offer, and both the advantages and disadvantages of using each of them.
So, no more wasting time typing out welcome emails, birthday messages, or abandoned cart messages, let these tools take the brunt of that heavy work and lift a burden off your shoulders.
What are we waiting for? Let’s get started.
8 Best Free Email Autoresponders
1. SendinBlue
SendinBlue (see also ‘AWeber Vs. Sendinblue‘) is an autoresponder that is said to help you make money in your sleep. It’s a nice promise and a great way to draw you in.
And if you have a relatively small business this may be a great option for you.
However, should you have a fairly extensive email list then you may find this option a little restrictive as you are limited to just 300 emails per day.
Pros
So what’s good about SendinBlue?
Well, the free plan does include SMS marketing as well as email marketing which is always a bonus. It is also optimized for mobile usage.
This is pretty important considering almost half of all emails are opened via a smartphone.
You’ll also have a real-time chat window and there is no limit on the number of contacts you can store.
They also have many customizable sign-up forms so that you can have some say in the overall design.
Cons
With the free plan, all of your emails will have the SendinBlue branding on them which can seem either a little unprofessional or confusing for the recipient.
Really you want the client or customer to only recognize your brand through your company emails.
There is also a 300 emails-a-day limit which can run out very quickly if you have a large email list.
2. MailerLite
This option is pretty popular in email marketing circles and it is not hard to see why. For a free plan, it is pretty generous.
I’d go as far as to say that it’s one of the best options on the market in terms of the services it provides.
Pros
On the free plan, not only have access to autoresponders but also advanced segmentation which can massively benefit your business.
You’ll also have access to embedded signup forms, and popup subscribe forms that can really help you to boost that email list and advance your marketing campaigns.
There is no daily limit for this option, and instead, you have a monthly allowance of up to 12,000 free emails.
Cons
Again, any emails sent with this company will have their logo on them which can be perceived by the customer as unprofessional or confusing.
Once you have an extensive email list the plan will need to be upgraded as the emails work out at around 400 per day.
There are also no options for email templates on the free plan so you’ll need to spend a bit longer designing the look.
3. Sender
Sender is a great option for those with a slightly larger email list as the very generous parameters of the tool allow for 2500 subscribers and over 15,000 emails each month.
There are also loads of features that are completely free!
Pros
This option gives you access to really advanced autoresponders that are definitely going to do your campaign a favor.
There is extensive availability in terms of triggers that can be set.
This can be date-based, link-based, sign-up triggers, product purchases, cart abandonment, and many more.
Cons
The only real issue that I can see with sender is that there is no A/B testing and the knowledge base is somewhat lacking.
4. Moosend
This option is a little different from the others that you’ll see with a striking and unique interface.
While you’ll only be able to input up to 1000 subscribers there is no limit on how many emails can be sent, and for a free plan that is astronomically generous.
Pros
Unlimited emails are not the only generous offering that Moosend provides.
You’ll find tons of templates available to help you with your campaign, and the weather-based condition filter is one of the quirkiest yet most effective tools I’ve seen.
This will help generate sales based on the current climate, ice creams in the sun, or umbrellas in a downpour for example.
Cons
While the interface certainly draws you in, it can be a little hard to navigate at times and can be frustrating.
5. AWeber
AWeber is one of the oldest and most well known email marketing services, and an especially good fit for content creators, coaches, consultants, realtors, and affiliate marketers.
Pros
AWeber has been an industry leader for deliverability for years due to the way they separate email sending for single and double optin lists.
If you’re looking for email templates, AWeber will not disappoint as they have tons of options to choose from. They also have a ton of predesigned opt-in forms.
You also get 10 landing pages, which allows you to sell digital products and subscriptions, without needing a separate website.
You also have the ability to send 12,000 emails per month which is a fairly decent limit for a free tool.
Upgrading to AWeber Pro is cost effective and the features are all there, which means you won’t need to go elsewhere when you outgrow the free plan.
And when you need even more power, you can add the AWtomator add-on for AWeber, which gives you event based automations and more flexible integrations with systems like ClickFunnels.
Cons
The main issue with AWeber in my opinion comes from the lack of available features in their free version. You will not have access to analytics or many triggers.
This means that the autogenerated emails can be fairly lacking.
The 500 subscriber limit is considerably low and all emails come with AWeber branding which like the others, can be confusing to subscribers.
6. MailChimp
MailChimp (see also ‘AWeber Vs. Mailchimp‘) is a very commonly chosen autoresponder tool. The free plan allows you to have up to 2000 subscribers and sends out a maximum of 10,000 emails per month.
This is above average for your free email autoresponders.
Pros
They offer more than your average free tool of similar service with access to retargeting emails as well as abandoned cart email triggers too.
There are free surveys you can access as well as over a massive 250 integration options. It also has a mobile app which is pretty handy.
Cons
If you are looking for multi-step automation their free plan won’t be suitable for you and upgrading can leave you fairly out of pocket, which isn’t great.
7. EmailOctopus
If you’re looking to upgrade your free plan, later on, EmailOctopus is one of the most affordable options available.
Its free plan also sits above your average and typical autoresponder allowing up to 2500 subscribers and 10,000 emails each month.
Pros
If you’re looking to increase your deliverability, EmailOctopus is great for that. You’ll be sure to avoid the dreaded spam folder with this tool.
And for a free plan, the features available in terms of emails and subscriptions are very decent.
Cons
Unfortunately, with their free plan you won’t have access to A/B testing or segmentation for your emails which can play a vital role in email marketing.
There also isn’t a landing page builder for the free option. The emails will all also contain EmailOctopus branding which can be confusing for your recipients.
8. Benchmark
If you’re brand-spanking new to the email marketing game then this can be a great option for you.
If you are already somewhat established, though, it definitely won’t be an option for you. This is because the limit for emails per month is just 250.
Pros
Welcome messages, anniversary, birthday, and date-based reminder emails are all available through Benchmark and there are tons of editing and email templates to help you get up and running.
Cons
There is no dedicated IP provided and this can massively affect your deliverability which isn’t great. You definitely don’t want to end up in the spam folder.
Advanced automation isn’t available on the free plan and 250 emails a month is potentially the smallest number of emails on offer on the list.
Even for small start-up businesses, this could be too small of a number.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, you don’t always need to spend the big bucks to get started on boosting your email marketing campaigns.
Autoresponders can take away a lot of the heavy lifting for you and leave you with more spare time to focus on more important matters.
From this list, there should be a suitable option for you to choose from.
And as your business grows more, you can consider upgrading to a payment plan which will increase your access to features!
So which do we use in our own business? AWeber.
