Updated 2026-01-11

12 Emma Alternatives for Teams and Agencies

Emma by Marigold is built for mid-market teams with brand management needs. But at $89-159/month for 10k subscribers, it's expensive. Here are 12 alternatives worth considering.

TL;DR

Quick answer: Mailchimp for similar ecosystem and integrations. Campaign Monitor for clean agency-focused features. ActiveCampaign for better automation at lower cost. Sequenzy for SaaS. Emma is still solid if you specifically need multi-location brand management.

12 Best Emma Alternatives

Our Pick for SaaS Companies
#1
Sequenzy

AI-powered email for SaaS. If you're running a software business, Sequenzy offers Stripe integration, transactional emails, and behavior-based automation at a fraction of Emma's price.

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Best for
SaaS founders who don't need enterprise features
Pricing
$49/month for 10,000 subscribers

Pros

  • Nearly half Emma's price
  • AI generates email sequences
  • Native Stripe integration
  • Transactional + marketing together
  • Direct founder support

Cons

  • No multi-location brand management
  • Basic team collaboration
  • No SMS marketing
  • Newer platform
#2
Campaign Monitor

Agency-focused email platform from the same parent company (Marigold) as Emma. Clean design, good for agencies managing multiple clients. Similar enterprise DNA but often better pricing.

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Best for
Agencies managing client email campaigns
Pricing
$59/month for 10,000 subscribers

Pros

  • Beautiful email templates
  • Agency-friendly management
  • Same parent company as Emma
  • Better value for smaller teams
  • Strong analytics

Cons

  • Less brand management features
  • Part of Marigold conglomerate
  • Support varies by tier
  • Automation less sophisticated
#3
Mailchimp

The market leader with massive ecosystem. More features than Emma in many areas, though team collaboration isn't as sophisticated. Good if you need maximum integrations.

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Best for
Teams who need maximum integrations
Pricing
$110-135/month for 10,000 contacts

Pros

  • Integrates with everything
  • Huge template library
  • Strong brand recognition
  • Landing pages included
  • Better CRM features

Cons

  • Similar or higher price
  • Less team collaboration
  • No multi-location management
  • Counts unsubscribed contacts
#4
ActiveCampaign

Automation powerhouse at lower prices than Emma. Better marketing automation, solid CRM, but lacks Emma's brand management and team features.

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Best for
Teams focused on marketing automation
Pricing
$79/month for 10,000 contacts

Pros

  • Superior automation
  • CRM included
  • Lower pricing
  • Great deliverability
  • Sales features built-in

Cons

  • No brand management
  • Less team collaboration
  • Steeper learning curve
  • Can be complex
#5
HubSpot

Full CRM suite with email marketing. More expensive than Emma but offers complete marketing, sales, and service platform. True enterprise solution.

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Best for
Companies wanting complete CRM + email
Pricing
$800+/month for Marketing Hub Professional

Pros

  • Complete marketing suite
  • Excellent team features
  • Strong reporting
  • Enterprise-grade
  • Industry standard

Cons

  • Much more expensive
  • Complex to implement
  • Overkill for email only
  • Long-term contracts
#6
Brevo

Budget-friendly all-in-one marketing. Formerly Sendinblue. Offers email, SMS, and CRM at much lower prices than Emma. Good for cost-conscious teams.

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Best for
Teams who want Emma features at lower cost
Pricing
$25/month for 20,000 emails

Pros

  • Much cheaper
  • SMS included
  • CRM included
  • Transactional email
  • Pay by emails not contacts

Cons

  • No brand management
  • Basic team features
  • Less polished UI
  • Daily sending limits
#7
Klaviyo

E-commerce focused platform with strong data features. If Emma users are retail/e-commerce, Klaviyo offers better product integration. Otherwise, different focus.

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Best for
E-commerce teams with retail stores
Pricing
$150/month for 10,000 contacts

Pros

  • E-commerce integration
  • Strong product recommendations
  • Advanced segmentation
  • Good for retail
  • SMS included

Cons

  • E-commerce focused
  • Higher price
  • Less general marketing
  • No brand management
#8
MailerLite

Clean, affordable alternative for simpler needs. Landing pages, website builder, and good automation. Lacks Emma's enterprise features but much cheaper.

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Best for
Small teams who don't need enterprise features
Pricing
$50/month for 10,000 subscribers

Pros

  • Much cheaper
  • Landing pages included
  • Website builder
  • Clean interface
  • Good support

Cons

  • No team features
  • No brand management
  • No enterprise compliance
  • Basic multi-user
#9
Constant Contact

Legacy SMB platform with event marketing features. Good for local businesses with events. Similar market position to Emma but different feature focus.

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Best for
Local businesses with event marketing needs
Pricing
$80/month for 10,000 contacts

Pros

  • Event marketing built-in
  • Social media tools
  • Good for local business
  • Strong SMB support
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Dated interface
  • Less sophisticated
  • No brand management
  • Limited automation
#10
Salesforce Marketing Cloud

True enterprise marketing platform. If you're outgrowing Emma and need more, SFMC offers everything—at a much higher price and complexity.

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Best for
Large enterprises who've outgrown Emma
Pricing
$1,250+/month (Contact for pricing)

Pros

  • True enterprise scale
  • Salesforce integration
  • Advanced personalization
  • Full journey builder
  • Global capabilities

Cons

  • Much more expensive
  • Requires specialists
  • Long implementation
  • Complex pricing
#11
Pardot

Salesforce's B2B marketing automation. If you're in B2B and use Salesforce CRM, Pardot might be the upgrade from Emma. Enterprise-focused with strong lead scoring.

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Best for
B2B teams on Salesforce CRM
Pricing
$1,250/month and up

Pros

  • Salesforce native
  • Strong lead scoring
  • B2B focused
  • Account-based marketing
  • Enterprise-grade

Cons

  • Requires Salesforce
  • Very expensive
  • B2B only
  • Complex setup
#12
Drip

E-commerce marketing automation platform. If Emma users are in e-commerce, Drip offers better product integration. More affordable than Emma.

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Best for
E-commerce teams who want better automation
Pricing
$39/month for 2,500 subscribers

Pros

  • E-commerce focus
  • Good automation
  • Lower starting price
  • Product recommendations
  • Shopify integration

Cons

  • E-commerce focused
  • No brand management
  • Scales expensively
  • No SMS

Why Consider Alternatives to Emma

Emma is expensive

At $89-159/month for 10k subscribers, Emma is one of the pricier options. If you don't need brand management or multi-location features, you're paying for capabilities you won't use. Platforms like ActiveCampaign or Brevo offer similar features for less.

You don't need enterprise features

Emma's strengths are team collaboration, brand governance, and multi-location management. If you're a smaller team without franchise/distributed locations, Emma's complexity is unnecessary overhead.

You need better automation

Emma's automation is decent but not industry-leading. ActiveCampaign, Customer.io, or Drip offer more sophisticated marketing automation at competitive prices.

You're running a SaaS

Emma isn't built for subscription businesses. No native Stripe integration, no SaaS-specific automations. Platforms like Sequenzy, Userlist, or Customer.io are designed for software companies.

Feature Comparison

FeatureEmmaCampaign MonitorActiveCampaignBrevoMailchimpSequenzy
Price at 10k subs
$89-159
$59
$79
$25 (20k emails)
$110+
$49
Free tier
None
None
None
300/day
500 subs
100 subs
Team features
Advanced
Good
Basic
Basic
Good
Basic
Brand management
true
false
false
false
false
false
SMS
true
false
false
true
false
false
Automation
Good
Good
Excellent
Good
Good
Advanced

When to Use Each Platform

Choose Campaign Monitor if...
  • You're an agency managing client campaigns
  • Clean design and templates matter
  • You want similar quality at lower price
  • Emma's brand features aren't critical
Choose Stay with Emma if...
  • You're a multi-location business
  • Brand governance is essential
  • You need enterprise compliance
  • Team approval workflows matter
Choose ActiveCampaign if...
  • Marketing automation is your priority
  • You want CRM + email combined
  • You don't need brand management
  • Budget matters
Choose Brevo if...
  • Budget is your top priority
  • You want SMS + email together
  • Enterprise features aren't needed
  • You prefer pay-per-email pricing
Choose Sequenzy if...
  • You're running a SaaS business
  • Stripe integration is valuable
  • You need transactional emails
  • You want simpler pricing

Should you switch from Emma?

Emma by Marigold has been around since 2005 and serves mid-market companies well. But it's expensive and enterprise-focused. See our guide on email marketing for teams for context on what features actually matter.

Here's when switching makes sense:

If you're paying for features you don't use: Any alternative

Emma's strength is brand management for multi-location businesses. If you don't have franchises, distributed teams, or complex approval workflows, you're paying for capabilities you won't use. Campaign Monitor, ActiveCampaign, or even MailerLite offer what most teams need at lower prices.

If you need better automation: ActiveCampaign or Customer.io

Emma's automation is solid but not industry-leading. If marketing automation is your priority, ActiveCampaign or Customer.io offer more sophisticated workflows. Check our automation guide for what to look for.

If you're running a SaaS: Sequenzy

Emma isn't built for subscription businesses. No native Stripe integration, no trial automation, no churn prevention. Sequenzy is built specifically for SaaS with Stripe integration and transactional emails.

If budget matters: Brevo or MailerLite

At $89-159/month for 10k subscribers, Emma is expensive. Brevo at $25/month or MailerLite at $50/month offer solid marketing email at a fraction of the cost. Use our email validator to ensure list quality.

The pricing comparison

At 10,000 subscribers:

  • Emma: $89-159/month (depending on plan)

  • Sequenzy: $49/month

  • Campaign Monitor: $59/month

  • ActiveCampaign: $79/month

  • Brevo: $25/month (20k emails)

  • Mailchimp: $110+/month

See our full pricing page for more details.

When Emma is still the right choice

Stick with Emma if:

  • You're a multi-location business needing brand governance

  • Approval workflows across teams are essential

  • Enterprise compliance (SOC 2) is required

  • You need dedicated account management

  • SMS marketing is important

Emma does multi-location brand management better than most. If that's your need, alternatives may not match it. Read our marketing tools guide and use our A/B test calculator to optimize what you have before switching.

Frequently Asked Questions

Campaign Monitor, from the same parent company. It has agency-friendly features, clean templates, and lower pricing. Mailchimp is also popular for agencies who need maximum integrations.

Emma positions itself as mid-market/enterprise with team collaboration, brand governance, and compliance features. These add costs. If you don't need them, you're overpaying. Campaign Monitor or ActiveCampaign offer better value for simpler needs.

For specific use cases, yes. Multi-location businesses, franchises, and organizations needing brand control still benefit from Emma. But many users have migrated to modern alternatives that offer better value. Emma's parent company (Marigold) manages many brands, which can dilute focus.

Different focus. Emma excels at team collaboration and brand management for distributed teams. Mailchimp has better integrations and broader features. Mailchimp is often similar or cheaper. Choose Emma for multi-location brand control, Mailchimp for ecosystem.

Brevo at $25/month for 20,000 emails includes basic team features plus SMS and CRM. For more advanced team collaboration, ActiveCampaign at $79/month is still cheaper than Emma's $89-159.

No. Emma only offers a 14-day trial. After that, you pay from day one. Alternatives like Mailchimp (500 subs), MailerLite (1,000 subs), and Sequenzy (100 subs) offer permanent free tiers.

HubSpot and Salesforce Marketing Cloud offer similar multi-location capabilities but at higher prices. For franchises specifically, Emma remains one of the few platforms built for distributed brand management. You may need to combine tools for the same functionality elsewhere.

Yes. Emma allows CSV export of contacts. Most alternatives have import tools. Your automation workflows and team settings won't transfer—you'll need to rebuild them. If you're using Emma's multi-location features, find an alternative that supports your structure first.

Same parent company (Marigold), different products. Campaign Monitor is more agency-focused with cleaner design. Emma is more enterprise-focused with brand management. Campaign Monitor is usually cheaper.

Sequenzy or Customer.io. Both offer SaaS-specific features like subscription integration and behavior-based automation. Emma is built for general marketing teams, not subscription businesses.

No. ActiveCampaign focuses on marketing automation and CRM, not brand governance across locations. If brand management is critical, you'll need Emma, HubSpot, or an enterprise platform.

Contact Emma support or your account manager. Emma often has contracts, so review your agreement. Export your contacts before canceling. Their team is usually helpful with the transition.

HubSpot is much more expensive ($800+/month) but offers a complete CRM, marketing, sales, and service platform. If you need more than email marketing, HubSpot might justify the cost. For email alone, Emma is more focused.

SFMC is significantly more expensive and complex but offers true enterprise scale. Choose SFMC if you've outgrown Emma's capabilities. Choose Emma if you need brand management without full enterprise complexity.

Emma handles refunds on a case-by-case basis. Contact their support team. Many customers are on contracts, so review your agreement terms before assuming you can cancel freely.

Ready to try Sequenzy?

Start your free trial today. AI-generated sequences, Stripe integration, and direct founder support included.

Sequenzy vs Emma: Direct Comparison

See a detailed side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and when to choose each platform.

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More Alternatives

Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 20k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 125k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 875k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 2M emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 4.5M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Up to 100 subscribers in sequences
  • 2,000 emails/month
  • Email campaigns
  • Email sequences
  • Advanced analytics
  • Advanced segments
  • Stripe integration
  • API access
  • "Built by Sequenzy" branding

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Subscribers in sequences
  • Monthly email quota
  • Email campaigns
  • Email sequences
  • Advanced analytics
  • Advanced segments
  • Stripe integration (Segment by LTV & MRR)
  • API access
  • Priority support
  • No branding

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Unlimited subscribers
  • Unlimited emails
  • Advanced analytics
  • Advanced segments
  • Stripe integration
  • Dedicated support
  • Custom integrations
  • SLA guarantee
  • No branding

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com