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17+ Best WordPress Email Marketing Plugins & Apps

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By Sam Nguyen

CEO Avada Commerce

Drive 20-40% of your revenue with Avada
avada email marketing

Looking for the best WordPress email marketing plugins/ apps to level up your business?

The core WordPress software can do a lot of things well, but email marketing isn’t one of them. If you want to grow your email list, send emails to your subscribers, or even make your WordPress site’s basic transactional emails more reliable, you will need the help of a plugin.

Thankfully, there are a number of great plugins/ apps to improve how WordPress works with email, no matter what features you are looking for.

In this blog post, we have collected 17+ best options so that you can go straight to the plugins/ apps that will help you the most. Let’s explore!

Why do you need a WordPress email marketing plugin/ app?

Email marketing is simply the practice of sending emails to prospects and customers. Generally, these emails contain sales promotions, product/ service updates, new blog posts, or other relevant information you have to offer.

An email newsletter can also be an essential way to ask for feedback and build trust with your customers.

Other reasons why you need a WordPress email marketing plugin/ app include:

  • Through emails, you can offer coupons or free trials to attract users and convert them into your subscribers or customers. This method is known as lead generation.
  • You can make connections with your subscribers and boost customer loyalty.
  • Studies show that email marketing can generate an average ROI of $44 for every $1. As a result, you can boost your ROI and revenue.

Having a WordPress email marketing plugin will greatly improve your campaign performance.

What makes a great WordPress email marketing plugin/ app?

Picking the right plugin, especially if you are a beginner, can seem quite overwhelming at first.

So, to ease your search, here are the most critical features you need to look out for when choosing a WordPress email marketing plugin/ app.

  • Ease of use. The plugin’s interface should be easy to navigate, whether you are a beginner or a full-time developer.

  • Reliable sending service. Make sure that the plugin has an SMTP server or 3rd-party integrations with other SMTP plugins in order to improve email deliverability.

  • Target-specific list management. The plugin should segment your email list and target subscribers with campaigns that cater to their interests.

  • Flexible customization. It should provide the essential design tools to match your brand and products’ overall look.

  • Automation features. The plugin should let you automatically send emails and perform other automated tasks to save time and boost productivity.

  • In-depth analytics. Gaining insights into your email campaigns will help you segment your subscribers and offer content that better aligns with their preferences.

8 best FREE WordPress email marketing plugins/ apps

1. SendinBlue

SendinBlue is a standalone email marketing platform, but the reason it deserves a spot on this list is because it has one of the most detailed WordPress integration plugins.

With the SendinBlue WordPress plugin, you’re able to create forms, manage lists of subscribers, as well as to measure your success over time using the included reports. Besides, the plugin features a drag-and-drop email editor, and you can personalize components of your email to increase engagement with your subscribers.

SendinBlue
SendinBlue

The plugin also includes transactional emails. Using the wp_mail function, you can send transactional emails using SendinBlue’s SMTP. This feature is excellent for sending order confirmation, or updating your subscribers on important changes to their account.

If you are running an E-commerce store powered by WooCommerce, SendinBlue also has a dedicated add-on plugin.

2. MailPoet

MailPoet is one of the most popular free newsletter plugins on WordPress.

To manage your subscribers, you can import an existing list from your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or another marketing automation tool, or build forms and add them to your site using widgets. Moreover, its drag-and-drop email editor lets you easily create responsive emails that look great on any email service or device.

MailPoet
MailPoet

MailPoet includes its own built-in email sending service, so you can be confident that your emails can reach your subscribers’ inboxes without any configuration on your part. Or, you still have the option of using your own email sending service - it’s up to you!

The plugin is free for anyone with fewer than 2,000 subscribers, but it becomes more powerful upon upgrading. With premium pricing plans, you can see exactly which subscribers have opened your email and what links they are clicking on within your email, among other advanced features.

3. Newsletter

As its name suggests, Newsletter helps you create and send newsletters without leaving your WordPress dashboard.

Newsletter
Newsletter

The plugin enables you to add a subscription form or pop-up to your website, segment your leads using multi-list targeting, as well as send newsletters to distribute your blog content.

In addition, the plugin has built-in reporting, so you can see how your emails are performing. You can even automate your newsletters to go out on a regular cadence to make sure you’re consistently engaging with your subscribers.

However, Newsletter doesn’t include its own email sending service, so you will need to integrate it with a dedicated service, such as Mailgun or SendGrid.

4. MailChimp for WordPress

MailChimp for WordPress is focused exclusively on helping users connect their WordPress site to MailChimp. It is one of the best-known email marketing plugins, which is responsible for untold millions of emails sent around the world since the tool became available in the early 2000s.

MailChimp for WordPress
MailChimp for WordPress

Thanks to mobile-optimized sign-up forms, the plugin lets you build your email list. It allows you to create newsletters and handles sending them out. If you have fewer than 2,000 subscribers, you can use the plugin completely for free.

If you purchase its premium version, you will get a lot more advanced features, such as WooCommerce activity sync, user sync, and more. All in one, it’s a really solid WordPress email plugin if you are already using MailChimp for email marketing.

5. WP Subscribe

WP Subscribe is designed by MyThemeShop, a company focusing on building WordPress plugins and themes that are fast, SEO-friendly, and look great on any site. WP Subscribe optimizes the code on its plugin to ensure that it loads quickly, and doesn’t slow down your site.

WP Subscribe
WP Subscribe

With this plugin, you can add your subscription form anywhere on your website, and feel rest-assured that it’ll be fully responsive to whatever screen size your visitor is viewing on. WP Subscribe is also compatible with some popular email service providers, such as MailChimp and AWeber, so you can begin leveraging your email lists immediately.

However, there is not much room for modifications on its free plan, except for the font and styling customization. For instance, to change your subscriber box’s background color, you have to add custom CSS code to the plugin.

6. Icegram

If you are looking for a WordPress form builder with different opt-in and targeting options, Icegram is a plugin worth checking out.

Icegram
Icegram

The plugin lets you create 4 different opt-in forms, such as header and footer action bars, light-box pop-ups, toast notifications, and slide-in messengers. If you upgrade to its premium version, you’ll get access to more pop-up message types, from inline-block to full-screen overlay.

In addition, Icegram offers trigger and targeting rules for placing your own campaigns and opt-in forms - these include scroll position, exit-intent, and on-click. You can also determine whether you want the settings to be time-based, behavior-based, or even location-based.

Remember that Icegram is a form builder, so you need to integrate it into a 3rd-party email marketing platform to send your newsletters.

7. Sumo

Sumo has more than 100,000 active installations within WordPress. Beyond pop-ups, welcome emails, and automated drip campaigns, it also offers a number of other features to help you grow your business.

Sumo
Sumo

Sumo also features a “share” button that you can add anywhere on your website. This lets your visitors easily share your content on social media. The plugin directly integrates with WooCommerce, so you can create unique offers and discounts to increase your order value, as well as minimize the amount of abandoned carts you have.

Furthermore, Sumo offers free customer support, together with one-on-one onboarding for all customers (free and paid) to ensure you are getting the most out of the plugin.

8. MailOptin

MailOptin is a plugin that creates various newsletter signup forms, such as slide-ins, pop-ups, notification bars, and sidebar forms.

MailOptin
MailOptin

The plugin includes conversion-boosting features, like scroll trigger, exit intent, A/B testing, and a lead bank with support for major email marketing service providers. It can also send automated newsletters to your subscribers each time you publish a new post in WordPress. Besides, it lets you send published posts as a daily, weekly, or monthly email digest.

10 best PAID WordPress email marketing plugins/ apps

9. OptinMonster

OptinMonster helps you grow your email list and attract more subscribers with a wide variety of static forms and pop-ups. The plugin comes with a drag-and-drop editor, which lets you build your form from scratch or choose a pre-built template.

OptinMonster
OptinMonster

What makes OptinMonster outstanding is its targeting options. Using the exit-intent technology, OptinMonster will deploy a pop-up based on when a visitor is about to leave a page.

It also has page-level targeting options for you to tailor your content offers to a visitor’s specific location and behavior on your website. Then, you can use this information to tailor your email marketing campaigns, using any one of OptinMonster’s various integrated email service providers.

Pricing plans (billed annually):

  • Basic Plan: $9/ month
  • Plus Plan: $19/ month
  • Pro Plan: $29/ month
  • Growth Plan: $49/ month

10. Newsletter Glue

Newsletter Glue is a new option that is focused on helping bloggers and writers deliver simple newsletters. It allows you to design your newsletters using the native WordPress block editor and send them out to subscribers.

Newsletter Glue
Newsletter Glue

One of the unique things about this plugin is that it allows you to publish a complete blog post straight to your newsletter. This lets you create your own sort of Substack system where you’re able to cross-publish content to both your blog and newsletter.

However, Newsletter Glue doesn’t include its own built-in email sending service or list management. You will need to connect to an email provider via the built-in API integrations, and then manage your subscriber lists from that provider.

Pricing plans:

  • Writer Plan: $76/ year
  • Publisher Plan: $141/ year
  • Agency Plan: $372/ year

11. Mailster

As a popular WordPress newsletter plugin, Mailster is used to create and send newsletters instantly from your dashboard.

Mailster
Mailster

The plugin has 6 types of autoresponders that ensure on-time delivery of the latest newsletters to your subscribers. You’re able to automate your campaigns by choosing the preferred schedule to send emails from a single menu.

Mailster is integrated with Unsplash, giving you access to more than one million stock images to build stunning newsletters. You can also take advantage of its real-time analytics to track your email opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and even individual subscriber activities right on your screen.

The plugin allows for the storage of an unlimited number of lists and subscribers without paying extra fees. You can have more control over your own data and assets compared to a different email marketing service. It also offers SMTP support, a built-in subscription widget, and single and double opt-ins.

Pricing plan: from $59/ license

12. Popup Builder

If you’d like to use pop-up messages to gather email addresses for your newsletter campaign, Popup Builder is a wise choice.

Popup Builder
Popup Builder

The plugin specializes in generating and managing promotional pop-ups that inform your website visitors about your offers, discounts, and other important notices. It offers multiple solutions, such as HTML, Facebook, image, and shortcode pop-ups. Plus, it has a newsletter module for delivering email marketing campaigns, which means you don’t need to use an additional newsletter plugin.

Popup Builder also provides several customization options. Modify your pop-ups’ themes and colors or add animation effects and opening sounds in order to make them more noticeable to visitors.

Pricing plans (billed annually):

  • Starter Plan: $39.95
  • Business Plan: $89.95
  • Agency Plan: $149.95

13. Thrive Leads

Thrive Leads is a good email list-building plugin that can help optimize your conversions.

Thrive Leads
Thrive Leads

The plugin has lots of helpful features, including:

  • It has 10 different types of opt-in forms, including content locker, full-screen filler, sticky ribbon, scroll mat, and multiple-choice forms
  • You can build your own opt-in forms with its drag-and-drop editor
  • Trigger options such as time, exit-intent, scroll depth, and click
  • You can target particular people in your website based on post, page, category, tag, URLs, and even custom post type
  • You get built-in A/B testing as well as analytics to analyze and improve your efforts

Pricing plan: starts from $67

14. Sleeknote

Sleeknote is an excellent WordPress pop-up plugin, which offers more than 110 customizable templates suitable for all business types, from the automobile industry to beauty salons.

Sleeknote
Sleeknote

It helps collect email addresses to build your mailing list, while allowing you to show pop-ups with customized messages based on each visitor’s behavior on the site. Its design customizer is full of interactive elements, such as floating images and radio buttons, to help your pop-ups stand out. With just a few clicks, you can create pop-ups that match your brand’s feel and look.

Moreover, it’s possible to turn buttons, links, and images into subscription forms and hide campaigns from existing subscribers.

Pricing plans (billed annually):

  • Lite Plan: €49/ month
  • Basic Plan: €59/ month
  • Plus Plan: €114/ month
  • Pro Plan: €225/ month
  • Premium Plan: €369/ month

15. Bloom by Elegant Themes

Elegant Themes is one of the most common WordPress developers out there, thanks to its popular Divi theme. But beyond Divi, Elegant Themes also provides an array of useful plugins - notably, Bloom.

Bloom by Elegant Themes
Bloom by Elegant Themes

Bloom is a beautifully designed newsletter plugin with over 100 templates and 19 integrations with popular email marketing tools. It supports 6 different popup form types, such as pop-ups, widget area, fly-ins, in-line with content, below content, and content lockers. You also get unique trigger options, like the ability to display an opt-in form after a visitor leaves a comment.

Pricing plans:

  • Yearly access: $89/ year
  • Lifetime access: $249

16. SendPress

This is an easy-to-use email newsletter plugin. With SendPress, you can import content and contacts from your WordPress site directly into the plugin, which makes it easy to create a blog notification email.

SendPress
SendPress

SendPress features a number of styling and editing options, so you’re able to send professional emails without any coding skills. It also offers a service called AutoCron, which will check your site regularly to make sure your scheduled emails are being sent.

Pricing plans:

  • Personal Plan: $39/ year
  • Standard Plan: $99/ year
  • Business Plan: $199/ year
  • Developer Plan: $399/ year

17. Ninja Forms

Ninja Forms has more than one million installations on WordPress, which makes it one of the most popular email subscription plugins available.

Ninja Forms
Ninja Forms

The plugin has all the features you would expect in your email subscription form builder, along with a few extra features that make it stand out. Besides, it features several different anti-spam options, including Google’s reCAPTCHA, in order to ensure the validity of your form submissions.

It also lets you collect payments via integrations with PayPal Express, Elavon, and Stripe. The plugin integrates well with a long list of the most popular mailing list tools, so you can start emailing your new leads right away.

Pricing plans:

  • Personal Plan: $49.50
  • Professional Plan: $99.50
  • Agency Plan: $249.50

18. AVADA Email Marketing

Last but not least, AVADA Email Marketing is an amazing platform that can help boost your email campaign.

AVADA Email Marketing
AVADA Email Marketing

With AVADA Email Marketing, you can:

  • Automate workflows. With prebuilt automation email series, you’re able to follow up with your audiences at any touchpoint. The app supports welcome email series, win-back, order follow-up emails, and so on.

  • Send email campaigns. You can send mass email campaigns to update your audience and deliver appealing promotions. Plus, stunning templates are also available!

  • Segment smartly. AVADA Email Marketing helps you send the right messages to the right people with its advanced segmentation.

  • Create forms. You can grow your list easily & quickly with a number of amazing forms, like newsletter popup, spin to win, inline form, etc.

  • Get help from customer service. The AVADA team is always friendly, knowledgeable, as well as professional to help solve your problems. Hence, you don’t need to worry about your email marketing campaigns!

The app offers a free plan, together with paid plans, starting from $9/ month. Don’t hesitate to test it out today!

TRY AVADA EMAIL MARKETING FOR FREE

The bottom line

It’s essential to choose the WordPress email marketing plugin/ app that works best for you. Whether you need a highly customizable plugin or one that drives submissions, the 17 options here provide a great starting point for you to explore.

We hope we’ve solved your dilemma on which plugin works best for you! If you still have any questions about this topic, please let us know! We’re always happy to hear from you!


Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.