PlunkvsLoops

Plunk vs Loops

Budget open source vs SaaS-optimized

TL;DR

Loops is purpose-built for SaaS with user event tracking and product automations. Plunk is an open source all-in-one at 5x lower cost. Choose Loops for SaaS-specific features, Plunk for maximum value on a budget.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

SaaS Focus
Loops wins

Loops is purpose-built for SaaS with user events, product automations, and SaaS-specific templates. Plunk is general-purpose.

Pricing Model

Plunk charges per email ($0.001), Loops charges per contact with unlimited sends. High email-per-contact ratio favors Loops.

Open Source
Plunk wins

Plunk is fully open source and self-hostable. Loops is proprietary SaaS.

User Experience
Loops wins

Loops has a notably polished, modern interface. Plunk is functional but less refined.

Pricing Comparison

At 5,000 contacts

Plunk
~$50/month

$0.001/email. Varies by volume, not contacts.

Visit Plunk
Loops
$19/month

Creator plan. Unlimited sends included.

Visit Loops
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$29/month

5k contacts, unlimited sends, native Stripe.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Plunk
Loops
Sequenzy
SaaS Features
User Event Tracking
Basic
Core feature
Product Automations
Manual setup
Pre-built for SaaS
Pre-built
Transactional Email
Free with paid plans
SaaS Templates
Generic
SaaS-focused
SaaS-focused
Platform
Visual Automations
Open Source
Self-Hostable
UI/UX
Functional
Modern, polished
Modern
Pricing Model
Pricing Basis
Per email sent
Per contact
Per contact
Unlimited Sends
Pay per email
Free Tier
3,000 emails/mo
1,000 contacts, 4k sends
Trial only
Cost Predictability
Varies by volume
Fixed tiers
Fixed tiers

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Plunk if you...
  • Maximum budget efficiency
  • Teams wanting open source control
  • Self-hosting for data privacy
  • Low email-per-contact volume
Choose Loops if you...
  • SaaS companies with product-led growth
  • Teams wanting pre-built SaaS automations
  • Those valuing UI/UX polish
  • High email-per-contact volume
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS with Stripe integration needs
  • Teams wanting SaaS features at lower price
  • Those needing payment-triggered automations

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

Native Stripe Integration

Sequenzy connects directly to Stripe for payment-triggered emails. Neither Plunk nor Loops offers native Stripe billing integration.

Best of Both Worlds

SaaS-focused features like Loops, but at prices closer to Plunk. $29/month for 5k contacts.

Payment-Aware Automations

Trigger emails when trials end, payments fail, or subscriptions change. Built for subscription businesses.

Try Sequenzy Free

Overview

Plunk and Loops represent different philosophies for modern email. Loops is built specifically for SaaS companies - it understands user events, product behavior, and growth stage. Plunk is an open source all-in-one platform that prioritizes simplicity and cost over specialization. See our Loops comparison.

SaaS-Specific Features

Loops' SaaS focus is its main advantage. User event tracking is a core feature, not an afterthought. Automations are designed for SaaS use cases: trial-to-paid flows, user onboarding, feature announcements. Templates look like they belong in a modern SaaS product.

Plunk can do these things, but you're building from scratch. There's no SaaS-specific optimization or pre-built flows.

Pricing Comparison

The pricing models differ fundamentally. Plunk charges $0.001 per email sent - great if you send few emails per contact. Loops charges per contact with unlimited sends - better if you email contacts frequently. Use our pricing calculator to compare.

At 5,000 contacts sending 10 emails each monthly (50k emails), Loops at $49/month beats Plunk at $50/month. But at 2 emails per contact, Plunk's $10/month wins dramatically.

The Open Source Factor

Plunk's open source nature is valuable for certain teams. Self-host on your infrastructure, audit the code, maintain full data control. For companies with strict data requirements, this matters. Loops is proprietary - your data lives on their servers.

User Experience & Automation

Loops has a notably polished interface. Everything feels modern and well-designed. AI-powered automations and visual campaign builder are excellent. Plunk is functional but clearly newer and less refined. If UX matters to your team, Loops is more pleasant to use daily.

Making the Choice

For SaaS companies who value product-specific features and polished UX, Loops is worth the investment. For budget-focused teams or those wanting open source control, Plunk delivers solid value at lower cost. For Stripe-integrated SaaS, Sequenzy offers campaigns, AI sequences, and native payment integration.

The Sequenzy Alternative

Sequenzy combines email campaigns, transactional email, smart segments, and Stripe integration at one price per contact - middle ground between Plunk's $0.001/email and Loops' per-contact pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

For SaaS companies, often yes. The SaaS-specific features and polish save time and provide better user experience. For simpler needs, Plunk suffices.

Yes, but it's basic compared to Loops. Loops is built around user events as a core concept.

Yes, 1,000 contacts and 4,000 sends monthly. Plunk offers 3,000 free emails regardless of contacts.

No, Loops is proprietary SaaS only. Plunk is fully open source and self-hostable.

Both use reliable infrastructure. Loops has optimized sending for SaaS patterns. Plunk uses AWS SES which is solid.

Possible but unusual. Most teams pick one platform. Consider your primary use case.

Export your contacts from Plunk and import into Loops. Rebuild your email templates using Loops' visual editor. Recreate any automations in Loops' workflow builder - Loops has more SaaS-specific templates to leverage. Update your API integrations to use Loops' SDK and verify your sending domain.

Export your contacts from Loops. Import into Plunk and recreate your email templates. Note that Plunk is simpler, so you may need to simplify complex automations. If self-hosting, set up your Plunk instance first. Update API integrations to use Plunk's API and configure your AWS SES credentials if needed.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

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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) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M 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)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

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

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

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