You must’ve heard that riches are in the niches, and one of the ways to have a niche following is to build an active email list. An active email list helps you command authority and increase your revenues through different types of email marketing campaigns.
However, building and managing an email list is an ordeal in itself. That’s where list management software comes into the picture. A powerful list management tool saves you a lot of time on growing an email list while ensuring you don’t lose out on any growth opportunity.
In this blog, we’ll share the best mailing list management software to start with email marketing. But first, let’s look at the basics.
What is Email List Management Software?
Email list management software helps you organize and maintain your list of subscribers from a single dashboard. Such a solution automates adding, updating, and removing contacts, ensuring your messages reach your up-to-date audience every time.
An effective email list management tool simplifies categorizing your subscribers based on behavior, demographics, and engagement, making your email marketing more efficient. It ensures better deliverability, reduces bounce rates and boosts customer engagement.
Using the right email list management software can improve campaign effectiveness. Want to know how?
Keep reading to discover the features that make it useful for your business.
Key Features For List Management Software
Modern email list management software providers offer a range of features designed to streamline and improve your email marketing efforts. They offer tools and features that help you organize your target audience quickly.
Here are the key features you should look for in an email list management software:
- Segmentation. Divide your email list into targeted groups based on behavior, demographics, and engagement to send more relevant messages;
- Automation. Automatically add, update, and remove contacts, saving time and reducing manual effort. Plus, kick off automated campaigns based on behavior/online activity;
- Personalization. Customize email content for individual subscribers to create a more engaging experience;
- Analytics. Track and measure the performance of your email campaigns with detailed metrics and reports;
- Compliance. Ensure your email marketing practices adhere to regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM to avoid legal issues by providing double opt-in signups;
- Integrations. Seamlessly connect with other marketing tools and platforms for a cohesive marketing strategy;
- Deliverability tools. Monitor and improve email deliverability rates to ensure your messages reach inboxes, not spam folders;
- Subscriber management. Easily manage subscriber preferences, opt-ins, and opt-outs to maintain a healthy email list.
How to Select the Right Software for Mailing Lists?
Choosing the right mailing list software is crucial for proper email list management and successful email marketing campaigns.
The ideal software should align with your business needs, be user-friendly, and offer the necessary features to streamline your email campaigns.
Consider the following before going with a solution:
- Ease of use. Ensure the software has an intuitive interface and is easy to navigate, even for beginners;
- Features. Look for essential features like segmentation, automation, personalization, analytics, and compliance tools;
- Integration. Check if it integrates smoothly with your existing email marketing tools and platforms, such as CRM, ecommerce, and social media;
- Scalability. Choose a solution that can grow with your business, handling an increasing number of subscribers and emails without increasing costs exorbitantly;
- Customer support. Opt for software that offers fast and reliable customer support, including tutorials, live chat, and help desks;
- Pricing. Evaluate the pricing plans to ensure they fit your budget while offering the best value for the features provided;
- Deliverability rates. Research the software’s deliverability rates to ensure your emails land in subscribers’ inboxes.
- Trial period. Take advantage of free trials or demos to test the software before committing to a purchase.
The best way to test a solution is to pick one with a restrictionless free plan that lets you test all the features.
12 Best Email List Management Software
Now that you know what to look for in email subscriber management software, let’s move on to the list of subscriber management tools you can use for your business. Here are our top picks:
- Sender
- OptinMonster
- Hubspot
- MailChimp
- Listserv
- Brevo
- FluentCRM
- Constant Contact
- Campaign Monitor
- SendGrid
- ZeroBounce
- Paperform
Let’s look at each from this email tools list, one by one.
#1. Sender — Best Solution for Email List Management
Sender is a powerful email & SMS marketing platform for managing your email list using an advanced contact management system. It comes with advanced segmentation, personalization, and list management features to save you a lot of time while dealing with a large list.
Best for
- Small business owners;
- Email marketing beginners;
- Ecommerce stores.
Use Sender to create custom groups and segments as per your email marketing strategy. Then, schedule personalized emails or automate dynamic drip marketing campaigns based on user behavior.
The best part about Sender is its easy-to-use interface and live chat support, with an average response time of less than a minute. So, anyone, even with a basic understanding, can get going pretty fast.
But don’t mistake simplicity for basic-level features. In fact, you can utilize advanced features like multi-group tagging and segmentation rules to automate segmentation based on specific actions or conditions.
Key Features
- Advanced segmentation features based on pre-defined conditions, online behavior, demographics, etc.
- Unlimited custom fields for customizing your list management efforts based on your business needs;
- Behavioral marketing features to analyze subscriber’s activity and create targeted campaigns;
- Automated filtration based on user behavior or engagement.
Pros & Cons
Sender is one of the most powerful email marketing automation tools. It offers a free plan with no restrictions, so you can try it out without anything to lose. It has full-suite omnichannel automation capabilities and many advantages.
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to set up and use | Limited signup form templates |
| Advanced behavioral marketing features | No landing page builder (yet) |
| Automated lead nurturing through email & SMS campaigns | |
| Prompt and friendly support team |
Pricing
- Forever free plan for sending up to 15,000 emails to 2,500 subscribers;
- Paid plans start at $15/month for up to 30,000 emails monthly.
#2. OptinMonster — Great Email List Building Tools
OptinMonster is a powerful lead generation and email list-building tool designed to help businesses grow their email lists and boost conversions. Create high-converting email capture forms for your website and engage your audience through follow-up campaigns.
Best for
- Ecommerce stores;
- Websites with massive traffic;
- Personality-driven brands.
OptinMonster primarily helps you capture emails from your website through popups and other forms. You can use its drag-and-drop builder to create beautiful, mobile-friendly forms for your website. With a library of over 400 templates, it’s easy to launch email signup forms that align with your brand.
It also offers advanced targeting and personalization options to display popups based on user behavior, ensuring your audience receives relevant info and converts faster. Plus, it integrates seamlessly with major email marketing services, automatically adding new subscribers to your email lists.
Key Features
- Drag-and-drop builder for website lead capture forms;
- Trigger popups and messages based on user actions;
- Test different form elements to optimize conversions;
- Segment your email list based on user behavior and demographics;
- Works with major email marketing services and website platforms.
Pros & Cons
OptinMonster is good at capturing email addresses but lacks advanced segmentation features and comprehensive email marketing capabilities. Here are some of the pros and cons of this tool:
| Pros | Cons |
| Drag-and-drop builder for email capture forms | Can be expensive for small businesses |
| Advanced targeting and personalization options | No email campaign management features |
| Seamless integration with email marketing services | Basic analytics dashboard with no deep insights |
Pricing
- Paid plans start at $6/month for one website and up to 2,500 page views;
- No free plan is mentioned on the website.
#3. HubSpot — Advanced Email List Management Service
HubSpot’s all-in-one CRM and marketing platform is great for organizing your email lists. The professional CRM and marketing automation platform helps you manage your email contacts, personalize campaigns, and support your email marketing strategy.
Best for
- B2B startups;
- Marketing agencies;
- Mid-market corporates.
You can use HubSpot to target email subscribers based on the deal lifecycle, contact information, or other advanced segmentation conditions.
The advanced workflows allow you to create elaborate drip sequences and lead nurturing campaigns based on a condition, event, or deal stage. Other list management functionalities and features are suitable for large enterprise customers.
Key Features
- Email list management connected to a central CRM system;
- Automated segmentation and grouping of contacts;
- Multiple options to create dynamic email list groups and segments;
- Two-way data sync between apps.
Pros & Cons
HubSpot is a popular email marketing service with a free CRM plan and advanced nurturing capabilities, but it has a very expensive starter plan that’s unsuitable for a startup or small business.
Other than that, here are some of the pros and cons of picking HubSpot as your essential email list management software:
| Pros | Cons |
| Advanced CRM system for complete transparency of lead stages | Steep learning curve |
| Conditional segmentation and personalization features | Expensive |
| Deep integration with all major marketing tools and platforms | No A/B testing on the basic package |
Pricing
- Paid plans start at $18/month for up to 1,000 marketing contacts;
- Free plan supports up to 2,000 monthly emails and offers a free CRM with feature restrictions.
#4. MailChimp — Simple Mailing List Software
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing software that is good for managing email lists.
Best for
- Marketing agencies;
- B2B startups;
- Coaches and influencers.
With some interesting list segmentation options like conditional relationships, Mailchimp gives marketers the power to create advanced automation. You can use pre-built segments to personalize your upcoming email campaigns quickly.
While Mailchimp is a popular tool, managing all your contacts from a single screen isn’t possible. Mailchimp organizes your email contacts on a list level, so you can’t get an overview of all your email subscribers from a single window.
Compared to others on this list, Mailchimp also lacks advanced automation functionalities, making it more suitable for beginners who want to perform basic email marketing activities.
Key Features
- Supports multiple campaign types and personalization ideas;
- Combine conditional relationships for creating advanced list segments;
- Supports demographic and behavioral data for subscriber grouping.
Pros & Cons
MailChimp was one of the most popular email solutions, but they’ve become exploitative about their free plan users. They constantly raise their prices, eliminating all the reasons to try them out. Here are the pros and cons of picking MailChimp:
| Pros | Cons |
| Quick and straightforward to set up and use | Lacks advanced automation features |
| Predictive personalization insights based on email list demography | Not great with managing email deliverability |
| Behavioral targeting for email campaigns | List-level contact management makes it hard to create advanced workflows for all subscribers. |
Pricing
Starts at $14 per month for up to 500 contacts.
#5. Listserv — Dedicated Solution for Managing Email Lists
Listserv is a unique mailing list software that allows you to manage your existing email lists, newsletter subscribers, campaigns, and more.
Best for
- Newsletter creators;
- Local communities;
- Small businesses.
Dedicated to community building, Listserv helps you engage and interact with your community members across email groups, forums, newsletters, and other channels.
This platform differs from others on this list as it focuses more on community list management than just standard campaigns. You can use it to create custom lists, segment users between different lists, and send personalized emails or newsletters.
Key Features
- Supports public or private subscribers list creation;
- Moderator-based list management features to manage email subscriptions;
- Superlite and sublists for advanced categorization and overlapping subscribers.
Pros & Cons
Listserv is primarily known for community-building features that help businesses engage and nurture their audience. Clunky UI and obsolete features have restricted the email suppression list management solution from enjoying widespread adoption. Here are the pros and cons of choosing Listserv:
| Pros | Cons |
| Exclusive features for businesses looking to build a community of users via newsletters, forums, or blogs | Outdated/obsolete propositions for advanced campaigns |
| List creation and admin wizard for automation of list management activities | Limited templates and email design features on lower packages |
Pricing
- No free plan or trial option;
- Paid plans start at $2875 for a lifetime license.
#6. Brevo — Refined Email List Management Software
Brevo is a comprehensive email list management and CRM platform that allows you to store unlimited contacts. It has all the features to keep your lists fresh, clean, and well-organized.
Best for
- Ecommerce platforms;
- Small businesses;
- Personal branding experts.
Plus, it supports multiple channels like email, SMS, WhatsApp, etc., letting you create omnichannel campaigns.
Brevo is a powerful solution with everything you need to create personalized campaigns. It automatically segments contacts based on behavior, interests, and other attributes, saving you a lot of time.
Plus, the automation features let you run smart campaigns for welcoming a subscriber, following up on a lead, or nurturing your audience.
Key Features
- Automated segmentation based on different attributes;
- List management dashboard for tracking leads through the customer journey;
- Contact list folders to manage separate lists;
- Import your customer list data from different platforms.
Pros & Cons
Brevo is a powerful omnichannel marketing tool, but before you pick it, here are some pros and cons to weigh in your decision:
| Pros | Cons |
| Extensive multi-channel capabilities | Steep learning curve |
| Powerful personalization and segmentation features | Costly for small businesses |
| Great email deliverability | Overwhelming for first-time users looking for just email marketing and list management features. |
Pricing
- Free plan is available but limited to sending 300 emails per day;
- Paid plan starts at $25 per month for sending up to 25,000 emails per month.
#7. FluentCRM – Advanced Email List Management CRM for WordPress
FluentCRM is a marketing automation plugin specifically made for WordPress users. Due to the affordable pricing and WordPress-friendly nature, the plugin is the most popular in its category.
Best for
- Coaches and influencers;
- B2B SaaS companies;
- Large Ecommerce stores.
The primary benefit of using FluentCRM is that you’ll get a tool that automatically integrates most WordPress plugins. This means you can get your customer, lead, student, and membership data without facing any technicalities.
Once the contacts are inside FluentCRM, you get a wide range of list management facilities, including lists and tags that allow you to segment your contacts based on product purchases, course enrollments, lifecycle stages, interests, etc.
You’ll also get an advanced filtering system that lets you use various conditions to filter and hyper-target contacts with your email marketing campaigns, sequences, and automation funnels.
Key Features
- Ability to store, manage, and automate email marketing campaigns;
- Advanced contact details, including purchase data, course progress, and support activity;
- Behavior-specific triggers for automated emails based on contact list activity;
- Ability to segment contacts based on any information available on WordPress;
- Automatic integration with 35+ WordPress plugins.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Deeply integrated with WordPress and WordPress plugins | Only for WordPress |
| Advanced filtering with data available on WP, FluentCRM, and WP plugins | |
| Activity-based email automation features | |
| Extremely affordable pricing options |
Pricing
- FluentCRM prices start at $129/year.
#8. Constant Contact — User-Friendly Email List Software
Constant Contact has been a simple and easy-to-use email marketing platform for 25 years.
Best for
- Online retailers;
- Creators & influencers;
- Non-profits.
The platform primarily focuses on email marketing beginners who want to leverage the power of email to grow their businesses. Despite its focus on simplicity, Constant Contact has some cool segmentation features based on user actions like open rates and clickthroughs. You can also segment based on custom tags, profile info, etc.
You can use the segmentation features to organize your mailing lists. But with the introduction of privacy-first features on iOS 15 that limit activity tracking, Constant Contact needs to reinvent itself on the segmentation front.
Key Features
- Email capture landing page builder;
- Segmentation based on last interaction, user activity, or tags;
- Contact list folders and segmentation features;
- Automation for welcome emails, lead nurturing, follow-ups, etc.
Pros & Cons
Constant Contact is a robust solution with a user-friendly interface suitable for beginners. But if you are looking for advanced segmentation, it’s better to look for Constant Contact alternatives. Here is a list of pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy-to-use interface ideal for beginners and solopreneurs | Lack of advanced segmentation and grouping features |
| Massive library of customizable email templates for email marketing campaigns. | Clunky list management UI |
| Social media integration for omnichannel campaigns | Lack of reliable reporting features |
Pricing
- Free trial plan for up to 60 days to test the platform and send up to 100 emails;
- Paid plans start at $12/month for up to 500 contacts.
#9. Campaign Monitor — Powerful List Management Software
Campaign Monitor is another email marketing solution with all the standard features needed to manage your email lists, run campaigns, and set up automation.
Best for
- Ecommerce stores;
- Retail establishments;
- Instagram shop owners.
The email service provider allows you to create hyper-targeted campaigns for deeper personalization through custom fields, segmentation features, and communication preferences.
You can also view all interactions with a subscriber on a single screen, helping you optimize better for small segments. The visual journey creator also enables you to automate email campaign creation.
Key Features
- Smart segmentation and personalization features;
- Custom fields and automated journeys;
- A/B testing and template builders for email capture forms;
- Analytics suite for tracking metrics like subscriber growth and engagement.
Pros & Cons
Many businesses use Campaign Monitor for its strong analytics capabilities. But considering it doesn’t offer live chat support, it can be pretty daunting for most business owners looking to manage an email list. Here’s a list of pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| Vast email template library. | Segmentation options can be limiting for advanced use cases and funnels. |
| Deep analytics and integrations. | No live chat or support. |
| Drag and drop interface. | Limited customization options |
Pricing
- Free trial plan for testing the platform;
- Paid plans start at $11/month for up to 2,500 emails and 500 subscribers.
#10. SendGrid — Solution for Email Lists Management
SendGrid is an amazing solution for marketers obsessed with email deliverability and advanced analytics. The email marketing solution supports deep integrations and has an API service for connecting different parts of your marketing stack easily.
Best for
- Event management companies;
- Educational institutions;
- Nonprofits.
However, when it comes to email list management features, SendGrid cannot stand its ground. It lacks critical segmentation and automation features like segmenting lists based on user activity or behavior. So, you can’t use it to create advanced email flows and personalization campaigns.
People use it and other tools to achieve this, but it isn’t a complete solution for someone looking to manage their email lists and leverage segmentation benefits.
Key Features
- Pre-built autoresponder sequences;
- Excellent analytics features;
- Set up preference-based email campaigns.
Pros & Cons
SendGrid is a great solution for anyone serious about email deliverability, but when it comes to email list management, it might not be your best bet. Here’s a brief list of pros and cons:
| Pros | Cons |
| Detailed analytics dashboard to track campaign performance | Lack of basic options like behavioral segmentation for list management and personalization |
| Failproof email deliverability standards | Only basic autoresponders and automation are available |
| Great onboarding experience | No live chat support for free plans |
Pricing
- Free plan for sending 6,000 emails/month for up to 2,000 subscribers;
- Paid plans start at $15/month for up to 2000 subscribers and 15,000 emails.
Also read: Sendgrid Alternatives with Free Competitors Included
#11. ZeroBounce — Advanced List Management Software
ZeroBounce is a specialized solution with powerful email validation capabilities. It is one of the best email list cleanup tools that ensures every email on your list is legitimate and primed for engagement.
Best for
- SaaS companies;
- Agencies and freelancers;
- B2B startups.
This email verification tool focuses on accuracy, speed, and security. It is a must-have for anyone committed to helping businesses fight spam folders.
What sets ZeroBounce apart is its accurate email validation capabilities to monitor invalid email addresses. Plus, it offers AI lead scoring and Email Finder functionalities.
So, if you’re ever worried about typos, fake accounts, or emails that mark you as spam, ZeroBounce is your perfect companion. You can use it to remove invalid email addresses, clean up your list, and boost your sender reputation.
Key Features
- 99% accurate email validation;
- AI-driven email scoring;
- Real-time email verification API;
- Bulk email list verifier;
- Email finder for sourcing valid contacts for B2B marketing.
Pros & Cons
ZeroBounce provides advanced email list management, but consider the pros and cons before diving in.
| Pros | Cons |
| Exceptional email validation accuracy | Limited to email validation-related functionalities only |
| Bulk and real-time verification options | Not an all-in-one marketing solution |
| Helps boost your sender’s reputation | Requires technical knowledge of API integration |
Pricing
- Free for up to 100 email verifications/month;
- Paid plans start at $15 monthly for up to 2000 email validation credits.
#12. Paperform — Form Builder & Email List Management Service
PaperForm is primarily an online form builder solution but has great list management options to help you manage your contact list. You can use the tool to build engaging landing pages and newsletter signup forms to grow your email lists.
Best for
- Coaches & consultant;
- Digital product creators;
- Local communities.
Paperform lets you personalize your forms using images, videos, and more. You can set conditional logic to present different form fields, questions, pages, etc., according to the user journey.
The best part about using PaperForm is its endless integration options with all major email marketing software to help you update your list and run campaigns on autopilot. So, now you don’t need to switch between multiple platforms.
Key Features
- Extensive form template library;
- Conditional form logic and flows for personalizing experiences;
- Deep analytics dashboard;
- Integrations with all major email marketing, CRM, and list management solutions.
Pros & Cons
PaperForm is a form builder tool that can manage email lists thanks to its integrations with all marketing suites. But it has its shortcomings, as listed below:
| Pros | Cons |
| Full-package signup form and survey builder | Depends on third-party integrations for list management and email campaigns |
| Deep analytics and conditional personalization features | Steep pricing model with not-so-generous limits on starter plans. |
Pricing
- 14-day free trial for testing the platform;
- Paid plans start at $24/month for unlimited signup forms and 100 submissions/month.
Email List Management FAQs
Why buying an email list does not work?
Email marketing has evolved a lot since the early days of the Internet. You can no longer buy an email list, run campaigns, and hope for success, primarily because we live in a world that respects consent and privacy more than anything.
Data privacy laws like GDPR make it illegal for you to have the explicit consent of a user before sending them an email. Failing to do so can lead to heavy penalties. Plus, almost all modern email database management solutions require you to have an email list with double opt-ins.
Not having the consent of the email owner will trigger spam traps and land your email in the spam folder, harming your email deliverability. Advertising via email is one of the biggest spam contributors accounting for 36% of all spam messages.
Your company can even get banned by ISP and email marketing providers if your campaigns are repeatedly flagged as spam. Plus, the bought list may be filled with fake email addresses anyway. So, if you want to avail the benefits of email marketing, follow an inbound strategy to attract subscribers to your email list with explicit consent.
Why is email list management crucial?
Keeping a clean list is the key to higher engagement, ensuring everyone gets the right message. A well-managed email list lets you know your audience better, tailor your messages, and boost engagement and ROI.
If ignored, it can tarnish your sender’s reputation because your emails become irrelevant to your audience. This pushes your emails into spam or promotional tabs.
Key Takeaways
Now that you know how to organize an email list, start working on it. Remember, creating, managing, and growing an email list isn’t as hard as it seems with the right email marketing solution:
- Ensure that the software you choose has advanced segmentation features;
- Leverage segmentation to keep your list clean and personalize your marketing campaigns;
- Implement list management best practices to increase ROI from your email marketing campaign.
Looking for a great tool to create email newsletters? Check out these articles, where we list the best plugins and software for building newsletters:
