Why people look for Iterable alternatives

Iterable is excellent enterprise marketing automation, but it's not right for most SaaS companies. Here's why teams look elsewhere.

The enterprise-only pricing

Iterable starts around $20k/year (~$1,700/month) with $5-20k implementation costs on top. That's $25-40k in year one before you send a single campaign. Most SaaS companies under $10M ARR can't justify this investment, regardless of how good the features are. Read our Iterable comparison page for a detailed breakdown.

You only need email

Iterable's value proposition is cross-channel orchestration: email, SMS, push notifications, in-app messaging, WhatsApp, web push. If you primarily send email campaigns and marketing sequences, you're paying for 5+ channels you won't use.

No self-serve option

You can't just sign up and try Iterable. The process: request demo → sales calls → contract negotiation → implementation project → finally send campaigns. For teams that want to move fast and iterate, this friction is a dealbreaker.

You're not enterprise scale

Iterable handles billions of messages for DoorDash, Zillow, and Priceline. They have dedicated marketing teams, sophisticated data pipelines, and enterprise budgets. If you're a 10-person SaaS startup, you don't need (or want) that complexity.

The alternatives, honestly

For SaaS email marketing: Sequenzy

If you're a SaaS founder who primarily needs email, why pay $1,700/month for channels you won't use? Sequenzy is purpose-built for SaaS email marketing with AI-generated sequences and native Stripe integration. At $19/mo vs Iterable's $1,700+/mo, it's 35x cheaper.

The catch: email only. No SMS, push, or in-app. If you need multi-channel, Sequenzy isn't the answer. But most SaaS companies don't need multi-channel - they need good email with billing integration.

For enterprise multi-channel: Braze

If you actually need Iterable-level capabilities, Braze is the main competitor. Similar feature set: email, SMS, push, in-app, WhatsApp. Mobile-first architecture that's excellent for consumer apps. Enterprise pricing ($60k+/year), but comparable to Iterable.

The difference: Braze is more mobile-first while Iterable is strong on cross-channel journeys. Both require enterprise commitment.

For mid-market multi-channel: Customer.io

Customer.io offers multi-channel capabilities (email, push, SMS, in-app) at a fraction of Iterable's price. Starting at $100/mo for 5k profiles, it's accessible for mid-market SaaS.

Trade-off: less sophisticated than Iterable's AI personalization, steeper learning curve, still requires engineering resources to implement properly. But if you need multi-channel without enterprise pricing, it's the best option.

For automation + CRM: ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign combines marketing automation with CRM at $79/mo for 10k contacts. Strong automation builder, good deliverability, SMS as add-on. No push or in-app, but covers email automation well.

Good middle ground: more sophisticated than Mailchimp, more affordable than Iterable, includes CRM so you don't need separate tools.

The pricing comparison

At 10,000 contacts/subscribers:

• Iterable: ~$4,000/mo (estimated, custom quotes only)
• Braze: ~$5,000/mo (enterprise pricing)
• Customer.io: ~$150/mo (Essentials)
• ActiveCampaign: $79/mo (Plus plan)
• Brevo: ~$65/mo
• Sequenzy: $19/mo

Note: Iterable and Braze prices are estimates since they don't publish pricing. Actual quotes vary by features, channels, and negotiation. Check our pricing page for Sequenzy's transparent pricing.

When Iterable is still the right choice

Iterable wins if:

• You're enterprise scale with millions of users
• Multi-channel orchestration is actually critical (not "nice to have")
• You have the budget and team to fully utilize the platform
• Advanced AI personalization at scale justifies the ROI

Don't switch just to save money if you genuinely need enterprise cross-channel capabilities. The time to rebuild sophisticated multi-channel workflows elsewhere isn't worth it. But if you're paying Iterable prices primarily for email marketing, the alternatives are dramatically cheaper. Use our email validator tool to ensure list quality when evaluating any platform.