Most email builders treat design as an afterthought. They give you rigid templates and limited customization, assuming designers will just make do. But if you care about visual quality, about brand consistency and typographic details and layouts that actually look designed, you need a different class of tool.

This guide covers the email builders that give designers real creative control. These tools understand that email design is design, not just filling in templates.

For a broader overview, see my complete guide to HTML email builders. If you work with marketing teams, my guide to HTML email builders for marketers covers tools from their perspective.

The Design Challenge with Email

Email design is frustrating because you can't use the tools and techniques you've mastered for web. Flexbox doesn't work. Grid doesn't work. External stylesheets are stripped. Outlook still renders with Microsoft Word's engine, which means layouts that work everywhere else break spectacularly in one of the most popular email clients.

The best design-focused email tools solve this by:

Providing real creative control within the constraints of email. You can achieve the design you want, just through different means.

Handling the technical translation so designers don't need to understand email HTML quirks.

Supporting design system integration so email stays consistent with your broader brand identity.

Offering precise control over spacing, typography, and responsive behavior.

Top Email Builders for Designers

1. Postcards by Designmodo - Best Overall for Design

Price: Free tier, paid from $17/month

Postcards feels like a design tool that happens to output email HTML. The interface is clean and modern, the controls are precise, and the output quality is excellent.

The modular system gives you 100+ pre-designed blocks to work with. Unlike rigid templates, these blocks are genuinely customizable. You can adjust every visual property: spacing, colors, typography, borders, shadows, and image treatments. The blocks snap together to create cohesive layouts.

Typography control is better than most builders. You can use custom fonts (with proper fallbacks), adjust line height and letter spacing, and control text styles at a granular level. For brands where typography matters, this is essential.

The responsive behavior editor is particularly good. You can see and adjust exactly how your design adapts to different screen sizes. Mobile isn't an afterthought; it's part of the design process.

One feature designers appreciate: the color system. Define your brand colors once, and they're available throughout the editor. Change a brand color, and it updates everywhere. This kind of systematic approach is rare in email builders.

Best for: Designers who want full creative control

Limitations: Steeper learning curve, smaller template library than Stripo

2. Emailify for Figma - Best for Figma Teams

Price: From $7/month

If your design team works in Figma, Emailify is transformative. You design the email in Figma using familiar tools, then export directly to email-compatible HTML. The plugin handles the translation from modern design to email-safe code.

This workflow means designers work in their native environment. No learning a new tool, no compromises on the design process. Create the email exactly as you want it in Figma, then export.

The plugin is smart about the translation. It converts auto-layout to table structures, replaces web fonts with fallbacks, and generates responsive rules. Complex designs may need manual adjustment, but standard layouts export cleanly.

For design-driven organizations where Figma is the source of truth, Emailify keeps email design integrated with the broader design system.

Best for: Design teams already in Figma

Limitations: Requires Figma, complex designs may need manual adjustment

3. Stripo - Best Template Starting Points

Price: Free tier, paid from $15/month

Stripo's massive template library (1,500+ templates) gives designers strong starting points. Rather than building from scratch, you can find a template close to your vision and customize it.

The editor provides good design controls. You can adjust most visual properties, work with custom fonts, and fine-tune spacing. It's not as design-native as Postcards, but it's more flexible than most builders.

The "Smart Elements" feature is useful for dynamic designs. You can create conditional content that changes based on subscriber data, which enables personalized design variations.

For agencies working with multiple brands, Stripo's organization features help maintain separate design systems for each client.

Best for: Designers who want extensive starting templates

Limitations: Less precise control than Postcards

4. Chamaileon - Best for Design Collaboration

Price: From $20/month

Chamaileon shines when multiple designers work on email campaigns. Real-time collaboration, commenting, and version history make it easy to iterate with teams.

The design controls are solid. You get granular spacing adjustments, custom fonts, and good responsive control. The modular approach lets you build component libraries that maintain consistency across campaigns.

For agencies with design teams serving multiple clients, Chamaileon's workspace organization keeps brand assets and templates properly separated.

The client review feature is particularly useful. You can share preview links with stakeholders who can comment directly on the design. This streamlines the approval process compared to exporting screenshots or PDFs.

Best for: Design teams needing collaboration features

Limitations: More expensive than simpler tools

5. Bee Free - Best Free Design Tool

Price: Free with branding, paid from $15/month

Bee Free offers legitimate design capabilities on a free tier. You can't customize everything, but for many projects, the controls are sufficient.

The mobile design editor stands out. You can design the mobile version separately from desktop, which lets you make meaningful adaptations rather than just letting the layout reflow.

The template library is decent, with templates that feel more contemporary than many competitors. The export options are flexible, supporting most major ESPs.

For more on free options, see my guide to free HTML email builders.

Best for: Designers on tight budgets

Limitations: Free tier includes branding, limited advanced features

6. Sequenzy - Best for SaaS Design Systems

Price: Free tier, then from $19/month

Sequenzy's visual editor is designed for consistency rather than maximum flexibility. You define your brand colors, typography, and spacing system, and the editor keeps everything on-brand automatically.

For design systems that need to scale, this approach works well. Marketing teams can build emails within the established design system without accidentally breaking brand guidelines.

The block library covers common SaaS email patterns: onboarding flows, feature announcements, pricing changes, and transactional messages. If you're designing for a software product, these starting points are more relevant than generic templates.

The AI content generation can draft text that fits your established tone, which helps maintain brand voice across high volumes of email.

Best for: SaaS companies wanting brand consistency at scale

Limitations: Less creative freedom than Postcards

Design Considerations for Email

Typography in Email

Web fonts work in Apple Mail, iOS, and some versions of Android. They fail in Outlook and Gmail. Always specify fallback fonts:

font-family: 'Your Font', Arial, sans-serif;

Line height and letter spacing work inconsistently. Test carefully, and avoid extreme values.

Spacing and Layout

Use padding generously. Email clients render spacing unpredictably, and generous padding provides visual breathing room while absorbing rendering differences.

Single-column layouts are safest. Multi-column layouts work but require careful testing, especially for the transition to mobile.

Images in Email

Some email clients block images by default. Design so the email is still comprehensible without images. Use ALT text that communicates if images don't load.

Image dimensions should be set explicitly. Email clients don't handle responsive images the same way browsers do. Set width in pixels or percentage.

Background images are tricky. They work in most clients but fail in many versions of Outlook. Have a fallback background color that maintains readability.

Dark Mode

Email clients now have dark mode, and they transform your designs unpredictably. Some invert colors, some don't. Some respect your dark mode styles, some ignore them.

Test in dark mode, but accept that you can't control every rendering. Use color values that remain legible when inverted.

Workflow Recommendations

For Solo Designers

Start with Postcards or Bee Free. Both offer good design control without overwhelming complexity. Build a library of your own templates that you can customize for each campaign.

For Design Teams

Chamaileon or Stripo provide the collaboration features you need. Establish design standards and component libraries that everyone can access.

For Figma-First Teams

Use Emailify to keep email integrated with your broader design workflow. Design in Figma, export to email. This maintains design system consistency and lets designers work in familiar tools.

For Design + Development Teams

Consider pairing a design-focused builder with developer tools. Designers create the visual template in Postcards or Chamaileon, then developers implement it in MJML or React Email for programmatic use. See my guide to HTML email builders for developers.

Quality Assurance for Design

Your beautiful design needs to work everywhere:

Test in Litmus or Email on Acid to see rendering across email clients. What looks perfect in your browser might be broken in Outlook 2019.

Check mobile rendering on actual devices. The preview in your email builder isn't the same as a real iPhone or Android phone.

Verify dark mode appearance in Gmail and Apple Mail. Your carefully chosen colors might be inverted.

Test without images to ensure the email is still comprehensible. Many corporate email clients block images by default.

Making the Choice

For maximum design control: Postcards. It's the most design-native tool available.

For Figma integration: Emailify. Design in Figma, export to email.

For team collaboration: Chamaileon. Real-time editing and feedback features.

For extensive templates: Stripo. 1,500+ templates to customize.

For budget constraints: Bee Free. Good free tier with decent design capabilities.

For SaaS consistency: Sequenzy. Design system approach that scales.

The best choice depends on your workflow, team structure, and priorities. All of these tools produce professional-quality output; the difference is in how you get there.

Best HTML Email Builders for Designers in 2026