5 Best email marketing automation tools for Agency
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Email marketing software can alter the course of your growth by sending the right message to the right people at the right time – on autopilot.
But with 670+ email marketing tools available, finding the best software can be overwhelming. That's why we've meticulously researched and tested over 100 email marketing platforms for you.
Using a combination of interviews with 1,782 marketers, results from our extensive annual testing of email marketing platforms, and a lot of data crunching, we've compiled a list of recommendations to meet a range of needs.
5 Best email marketing automation tools for Agency in 2026
We've uncovered the strengths and weaknesses of these popular email marketing services in 9 key areas: cost, deliverability, integrations, ease of use, reporting, security, advanced features, CRM, and support.
Read on to finally find the optimal tool for your email marketing efforts.
#1 HubSpot
WebsiteBest for Agency
HubSpot was founded in 2006 as a result of a simple observation: people have transformed how they live, work, shop, and buy, but businesses have not adapted. This mismatch led Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah to create the vision for the inbound experience and to develop HubSpot's platform to support it. With our powerful, easy to use, integrated set of applications, businesses can attract, engage, and delight customers by delivering inbound experiences that are relevant, helpful, and personalized. HubSpot is, after all, on a mission to make the world more inbound, one business transformation after another.
HubSpot's Pricing
HubSpot Marketing Hub pricing starts at $15/mo per seat for Starter, $800/mo for Professional (includes 3 Core Seats), and $3,600/mo for Enterprise (includes 5 Core Seats). A free plan is available with up to 2,000 marketing contacts.
To find out which plan is right for you, check out our full HubSpot pricing breakdown.
HubSpot's PricingHubSpot's Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive platform
Easy to use and intuitive platform
- The Hubspot blog holds a wealth of knowledge for business owners to learn about online marketing
The Hubspot blog holds a wealth of knowledge for business owners to learn about online marketing
- Hubspot is a complete all in one solution
Hubspot is a complete all in one solution
HubSpot's Cons
- Steep price creep, as you build your list, the cost of Hubspot rises steeply
Steep price creep, as you build your list, the cost of Hubspot rises steeply
- Marketing platform requires a 12-month contract
Marketing platform requires a 12-month contract
- Expensive for a small business solution
Expensive for a small business solution
HubSpot Verdict
HubSpot was founded in 2006 as a result of a simple observation: people have transformed how they live, work, shop, and buy, but businesses have not adapted. This mismatch led Brian Halligan and Dharm
#2 ActiveCampaign
WebsiteBest for Agency
With over 150,000 customers, it’s not surprising that ActiveCampaign was the most commonly mentioned tool in our survey of email markering software options for 2023.
ActiveCampaign has earned its reputation as a leading marketing automation tool by focusing on building a world-class product that provides multiple solutions for B2C, B2B, and e-commerce businesses from around the globe.
ActiveCampaign’s automation builder is as simple to use as a flowchart or mindmap It’s by far the most advanced email marketing platform on our list, with Active Intelligence (AI-powered features) and predictive tools enabling marketers to work smarter and deliver higher ROI.
Often credited with pioneering visual marketing automation, ActiveCampaign is impressively intuitive and easier to use than some tools on our list.
As an all-in-one marketing tool, ActiveCampaign comes with a built-in CRM system to manage your sales, live chat, and of course, email campaigns.
A built-in sales CRM connects with ActiveCampaign’s powerful automation engine As an all-in-one marketing tool, ActiveCampaign comes with a built-in CRM system to manage your sales, live chat, and of course, email campaigns.
ActiveCampaign’s Pricing
You might think all these features come at a hefty cost. Yet, starting at only $15 a month, ActiveCampaign is reasonably priced and more affordable than many of the tools on this list.
To find out which plan is right for you, check out our full ActiveCampaign pricing breakdown.
ActiveCampaign’s Pricing
ActiveCampaign’s Pros
- Visual automation builder
ActiveCampaign pioneered the visual marketing automation builder, making it incredibly intuitive to create complex workflows. With 135+ triggers and actions, you can build sophisticated automations without any coding.
- Active Intelligence (AI features)
The Pro plan includes AI-powered features like predictive sending, predictive content recommendations, and win-probability scoring to help you work smarter and achieve better results with less manual effort.
- Extensive integrations
With 900+ integrations including native connections to major CRMs and eCommerce platforms, ActiveCampaign plays nicely with your existing tech stack and enables deep, robust integrations beyond basic Zapier connections.
- Automation split testing
This feature enables you to A/B test entire sequences against each other, rather than just test individual emails (which is offered by most marketing automation tools).
ActiveCampaign’s Pros
- CRM
ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation is particularly powerful because ActiveCampaign has an in-built CRM system. This CRM, however, is not as good as standalone platforms like PipeDrive or Salesforce – though we feel this is a reasonable trade-off for ActiveCampaign’s automation features.
ActiveCampaign Verdict
If you’re looking for a market-leading email marketing solution, there’s no denying that ActiveCampaign has long occupied that position.
Try ActiveCampaign today with a 14-day free trial — no credit card required.
#3 Keap
WebsiteBest for Agency
If you wish to know what does Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) do, here are the details: Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is an all-in-one sales and marketing automation software for small businesses that combines CRM, email marketing and e-commerce. Over 23,000 small business owners use Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) to get organized, save time and grow sales. Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is built exclusively for small business. Whether your storefront is based online, on a physical street, or a service that's on the go, Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) can help. Use the tool to map out each step of your sales and marketing strategy as well as automate repetitive tasks such as follow-up. With Keap (formerly Infusionsoft), you can enrich leads, scale personal relationships with customers, and so much more. Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) allows you to centralize all customer interactions and daily activities in one place, get new leads turn them into customers, sell more online and collect payment using one centralized system, and improve your productivity.
Keap's Pricing
To find out which plan is right for you, check out our full Keap pricing breakdown.
Keap's PricingKeap's Pros
- Powerful all in one marketing automation solution
Powerful all in one marketing automation solution
Keap's Cons
- No real time interface with USPS for providing accurate shipping costs to customers
No real time interface with USPS for providing accurate shipping costs to customers
- Steep learning curve
Steep learning curve
- Required to purchase a kickstart package starting from $1,000
Required to purchase a kickstart package starting from $1,000
Keap Verdict
If you wish to know what does Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) do, here are the details: Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is an all-in-one sales and marketing automation software for small businesses that com
#4 Ontraport
WebsiteBest for Agency
Landon Ray founded ONTRAPORT in 2006 in Santa Barbara, California. "I was running another business and ran into the problems that all entrepreneurs do, and I couldn't believe there wasn't a slick solution to solve them," Ray said of the founding. ONTRAPORT offers customer relations management services that help with content management, such as creating and hosting webpages, lead tracking, which includes collecting customer data and behavior, traditional marketing approaches, such as e-mail, SMS, social media, and direct mail, managing online payments, including automated billing, and workflow automation, such as for recruiting. Forbes named ONTRAPORT no. 71 on its list of "America's Most Promising Companies. "ONTRAPORT was no. 102 in the Inc. 500 list. The company also placed no. 10 on Inc.'s "Top 100 Software Companies" and no. 26 on its "Top 100 California Companies.". ONTRAPORT has clients all over the globe.
Ontraport's Pricing
To find out which plan is right for you, check out our full Ontraport pricing breakdown.
Ontraport's PricingOntraport's Pros
- Huge range of features including built-in Wordpress membership functionality, affiliate program & more.
Huge range of features including built-in Wordpress membership functionality, affiliate program & more.
- Scalable, unified system allows measurable results for business growth
Scalable, unified system allows measurable results for business growth
Ontraport's Cons
- Currently, no invoicing/quotes, true shopping cart with inventory monitoring or multi-currency capability without a shopping cart integration.
Currently, no invoicing/quotes, true shopping cart with inventory monitoring or multi-currency capability without a shopping cart integration.
- Less integrations than competitors, but API helpers like Zapier and Apiant make most things possible.
Less integrations than competitors, but API helpers like Zapier and Apiant make most things possible.
- Live Support isn't 24 hours yet.
Live Support isn't 24 hours yet.
Ontraport Verdict
Landon Ray founded ONTRAPORT in 2006 in Santa Barbara, California. "I was running another business and ran into the problems that all entrepreneurs do, and I couldn't believe there wasn't a slick solu
#5 Mailchimp
WebsiteBest for Agency
MailChimp is a complete email marketing solution that allows users complete transparency of campaigns, email tracking, view success and click-through rates, generate custom reports, manage subscribers and un-subscribers. The MailChimp lets you create custom templates and at the same time choose from an array of premade designs and campaigns.
Mailchimp's Pricing
To find out which plan is right for you, check out our full Mailchimp pricing breakdown.
Mailchimp's PricingMailchimp's Pros
- Wide variety of templates
Wide variety of templates
- Ease of use
Ease of use
- Affordable pricing
Affordable pricing
Mailchimp's Cons
- Limited customization and flexibility for advanced users
Limited customization and flexibility for advanced users
- Limited email segmentation features
Limited email segmentation features
Mailchimp Verdict
MailChimp is a complete email marketing solution that allows users complete transparency of campaigns, email tracking, view success and click-through rates, generate custom reports, manage subscribers
Last checked by Marketing Automation Insider: 12/02/2026
First reviewed by Marketing Automation Insider: 27/07/2023


