The 5 Best Email Platforms in 2025: What Creators and Businesses Are Saying (real examples)

Written By Sean .

Choosing an email platform in 2025 can feel overwhelming. There are so many tools, and every one claims to be “the best.”

I have tested many myself, and I also listen closely to what other creators and marketers say online. The good news is that there is no single right answer.

The best platform depends on your goals, budget, and whether you are running a solo newsletter or managing a full business.

Here is what people are saying about email platforms.

Table of contents

  • Best Platforms for Creators (who’s using what)

  • Best Platforms for Business (who’s using what)

  • Tools for Both Marketing and Transaction Emails

  • Deliverability Comes First

  • Key Thoughts

Best Email Platforms for Creators

Beehiiv

Beehiiv has become the go-to choice for fast-growing creator newsletters. It powers The Publish Press (Colin & Samir’s creator-economy newsletter), Money with Katie (Wealth management content, now part of Morning Brew), and Boston Globe Media’s newsletters, which moved to Beehiiv for growth tools.

  • Built for growth with referrals, Boosts, and an ad network

  • Strong option if you want to monetize with sponsors

  • Works best when you add a custom domain for inboxing

Substack

Substack is the most famous newsletter platform, known for its built-in discovery and subscription model. It powers Leo Skepi (over 51k paid subscribers), Platformer by Casey Newton, and The Free Press by Bari Weiss.

  • Built-in network helps readers find your work

  • Simple editor that makes publishing easy

  • Takes 10% of subscription revenue, which adds up as you grow

ConvertKit (Kit)

ConvertKit is widely used by independent creators, authors, and educators. Examples include Tim Ferriss (author of The 4-Hour Workweek), Pat Flynn (Smart Passive Income), and Ali Abdaal (YouTuber and author). They use it for automations, lead capture, and selling digital products.

  • Simple automations, forms, and landing pages

  • Trusted for deliverability with lean teams

  • Good balance of features without being too complex

Ghost

Ghost attracts writers and small publishers who want more control than Substack. The Stanford Review (student newspaper), Holloway (book publisher), and Forte Labs (Tiago Forte’s productivity business) all use Ghost to run memberships and publications.

  • Lower fees than Substack and more control

  • Flexible for creators who want a site plus membership

  • Takes more setup work than Beehiiv or ConvertKit

MailerLite

MailerLite is popular with small businesses, freelancers, and community projects. Examples include SMK (Social Media Knowledge), TCK Publishing, and Fabrik Brands, who use it for simple newsletters and client updates without high costs.

  • Very affordable for small lists

  • Friendly interface and easy for beginners

  • Recommended for light or irregular sending

Best EmailPlatforms for Businesses

Klaviyo

Klaviyo is the go-to for e-commerce brands, especially those on Shopify. It powers Chubbies, Taylor Stitch, Nomad Goods, and big names like Gymshark and Glossier. Brands choose it because it connects directly to storefront data and makes advanced flows easy to build.

  • Best option for Shopify and e-commerce brands

  • Advanced segmentation and customer data insights

  • Pricing increases as your list grows, but it scales well for online shops

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the most recognizable names in email marketing and often the first stop for small businesses. Companies like TED, East Fork Pottery, and Courier Media have used it to run simple campaigns. While many teams later move on, Mailchimp is still a trusted tool for quick setup and wide integrations.

  • Easy to set up with templates and integrations

  • Strong brand recognition and community resources

  • Can get expensive as your list scales, and advanced automations are limited compared to competitors

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is trusted by service-based businesses and B2B teams that need powerful automations and CRM-like features. Brands like Zapier, Copper, and Litmus rely on it for customer campaigns and personalization.

  • Strong automations and personalization tools

  • Built-in CRM functions for sales and marketing alignment

  • Popular alternative to HubSpot for smaller teams

Omnisend

Omnisend is a budget-friendly option built for e-commerce. It’s used by Pura Vida Bracelets, Black Halo, and thousands of Shopify merchants to run both email and SMS campaigns.

  • Affordable flows that include both email and SMS

  • Simple to set up for small teams

  • Designed with e-commerce stores in mind

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Brevo is popular with small businesses and nonprofits that want flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing. Organizations like the Louis Vuitton Foundation, Michelin, and the World Health Organization (WHO) have used it for reliable communications.

  • Flexible pricing, good for low or variable volume

  • Includes automation and transactional emails

  • Less specialized than ecommerce-focused tools like Klaviyo

Enterprise Options

Enterprise teams with complex needs often turn to cross-channel platforms like Iterable, Braze, and Blueshift. Sephora uses Braze, DoorDash uses Iterable, and Warner Music Group uses Blueshift to orchestrate advanced campaigns across email, SMS, and push notifications.

  • Powerful orchestration across email, push, SMS, and more

  • Designed for enterprise teams managing multiple channels

  • Higher complexity and cost compared to creator or SMB tools

Tools for Both Marketing and Transactional Emails

Sometimes you need more than a newsletter. Product emails like receipts, sign-ins, or password resets require a reliable transactional service. The most common picks are:

  • Postmark

  • SendGrid

  • Mailgun

  • MailerSend

  • AWS SES

  • Resend

Amazon SES is often noted as the fastest to approve. Postmark and Mailgun are praised for reliability.

Even Office 365 users are moving to relays like SendGrid and Mailtrap after Microsoft’s port and authentication changes.

Mixing Platforms

Not everyone sticks to one platform. Some people run two at once. For example:

  • MailerLite for simple sends

  • Beehiiv for growth tools and analytics

Others migrate back and forth between ConvertKit and Beehiiv depending on whether they need stronger automations or monetization.

A creator with 200,000 subscribers shared in an AMA that he aims for “50 percent or higher open rates on engaged lists” but always pairs that with click-through rate to measure real success.

Deliverability Comes First

The number one theme in 2025 is deliverability. With Gmail and Yahoo updating rules, more people are talking about domain setup and sender reputation than shiny new features.

  • Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly

  • Segment your list by engagement

  • Keep complaint rates very low

  • Warm up new domains slowly

One creator said, “Keep SPF/DKIM/DMARC aligned and watch complaint rate. Gmail and Yahoo changes in 2024 and 2025 made segmentation and gradual ramping essential.”

Many also suggest moving from a platform’s default sending domain to your own once your list grows.

Key Thoughts

  1. Deliverability matters more than anything.

  2. Creators lean toward Beehiiv and ConvertKit.

  3. E-commerce teams trust Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Brevo.

  4. Transactional emails work best with API tools like Postmark or SendGrid.

  5. Mixing tools is common when you want the best of both worlds.

Final Word

Choose the platform that matches your short-term goals. If you want fast growth and sponsors, Beehiiv is strong and best for newsletters. If you need automations for coaching or digital products, ConvertKit fits better. If you run Shopify, go with Klaviyo.

No matter the tool, 2025 is the year to take deliverability seriously. Set up your domain correctly and keep your list clean. Do that, and you will land in more inboxes than most senders.

If you’re looking to delegate and grow your newsletter, consider getting in touch.


Sean .