When starting an online business, it’s essential that you start building your email list! It’s the only list that you own and it can be a fantastic income and traffic driver for your business. When starting out, you want to keep costs as low as possible. Let’s look at the two email marketing platforms that we recommend for beginners—Flodesk vs Mailchimp, the battle of the two.
Flodesk vs Mailchimp
Over the years, I have used both. Both with clients and within my own blogs. Each platform has its hardcore fans but we’ll look at both platforms and why I ultimately recommend starting with Flodesk over Mailchimp. You will need to make the right decision for your business and current circumstances.
Flodesk features
We’ll start with Flodesk and why we recommend you start building your email list with them, even though they don’t have a free option.
Pros of Flodesk
- Flodesk currently has a free 30-day trial and when you use this link, you’ll get a 50% discount!
- Flodesk is very cost-effective. It’s currently $38/month but you can get a 50% discount when you use this link.
- You pay a flat rate per month, it doesn’t depend on the number of subscribers you have. If you have 10 subscribers, you’ll pay the same even if you have 50,000 subscribers.
- Flodesk has beautiful email templates. With other email marketing platforms I’ve used, they are all very basic and to be honest, boring. I have to say that I love receiving emails from other business owners that use Flodesk.
- It’s super easy to navigate and very intuitive.
- You can segment your list easily.
- It’s easy to create automated email sequences.
- Adding pop up forms and other sign up forms to your website is very easy.
- Flodesk has great support and an associated Facebook group where their staff are super available and helpful.
- You can create a landing page to start building your email list before you launch your website.
Cons of Flodesk
- They have very limited integrations. Flodesk currently only integrates with Shopify and Zapier. This can be frustrating but if you use Zapier then you can integrate with almost anything.
- If you have a very complicated email setup, you might find Flodesk to be limiting.
Flodesk pricing
As we mentioned, Flodesk is $38/month (USD) or $19/month when using this link. This is their flat rate, it doesn’t matter how many subscribers you have or how many emails you send a month. This pricing set-up is very unique to Flodesk (all other email marketing platforms have you paying more with more subscribers.)
Their pricing model makes it perfect for someone that is just starting their online business. Whilst it is an expense, it will stay the same as your business grows!
Try Flodesk for free!
Mailchimp features
Mailchimp is another popular choice when it comes to email marketing for beginners. The reason that it’s popular is that it has a free option. There’s the option to not pay anything until you reach 2000 subscribers but it comes with a catch.
Pros of Mailchimp
- You get 2000 subscribers for free but your emails have ads from Mailchimp within the email
- Pricing starts at $11/month but will increase as you get more subscribers and send more emails.
- They have a ‘pay as you go’ option. You can pay a set amount per email that is sent out.
- Mailchimp does have an email builder. You can create good looking emails to send out to your subscribers.
- You can create automated email sequences easily.
- Segmenting your email list is easy.
- You can create a landing page to start building your email list before you launch your website
- Mailchimp integrates with more platforms than Flodesk
- Mailchimp is a more robust platform and is capable of more complicated email sequences and funnels.
Cons of Mailchimp:
- The biggest con for Mailchimp is its pricing. Whilst it starts out free or cheap, it can quickly add up
- Emails aren’t as aesthetically appealing as Flodesk
- The dashboard isn’t as easy to navigate as Flodesk
- Integrating sign up forms is more complicated
Mailchimp pricing
As mentioned, Mailchimp does have a free option but it comes with Mailchimp marketing within your email. This is unprofessional and we don’t recommend starting with it. There is an affordable plan for your first 500 subscribers at $11/month but this increases quickly as your email list grows. For example, by the time you get to 5000 subscribers, then you’ll be paying $59/month. When comparing this to Flodesk, you’ll quickly be paying more than the $38/month!
Who wins the Flodesk vs Mailchimp battle?
We think Flodesk is a better starting point when you’re first starting your email list. However, you need to make the right choice for your business and your goals!