Mailchimp vs ConvertKit vs Flodesk | Finding the perfect email marketing software

Build a list, build a list, build a list. It seems like that is all I heard when I started promoting my business was email marketing. I held back at first, but when I got started, I found a whole new set of challenges.

Which is the best software to use for building an email list and sending emails? Flodesk is the best choice based on performance, ease of use, cost, and appearance. The best use case is for content creators and bloggers. There are other providers who are better for ecommerce.

Flodesk is the third in the line of email service providers that I’ve used for my personal emails, I started at MailChimp, went to ConvertKit, and now I’m at Flodesk. Let me break this down, tell you why, and give you some things to look for if you’re choosing an email service provider.

The Goldilocks Triangle

You’ve probably heard that adage about services where you need to choose from good, fast or cheap. You can generally have two out of three, but not all three.

Now I’m going to make my own Goldilocks triangle, as I like to say, with email service providers, and we’re going to talk about performance, ease of use and cost. Each of those is a very important factor.

Performance

Let’s start with performance. When it comes to email service providers, the performance aspect refers to the deliverability of emails. Will the emails you send actually arrive in someone’s inbox? Or will they be marked as promotions or spam? That’s a really really huge factor.

Deliverability rankings change all the time. I’d heard some good things about Flodesk. MailChimp is not known for having great deliverability. ConvertKit, on the other hand, is known for fantastic deliverability. That means that when I send people an email, they actually get it in their inbox so that they can open it. I am actually experiencing the same thing with Flodesk. I’ve literally just made the move. I’ve only sent out a few emails, but I’m already seeing some positive results.

The 2 winners for Performance are ConvertKit and Flodesk.

Ease of Use

The next thing we can look at is ease of use. Now in this one, MailChimp is very easy to use right out of the gate. It’s very intuitive and straightforward. It’s very, very simple. Sometimes, actually, a little bit too simple.

Now when we go over to ConvertKit, it’s not as intuitive, and it’s more difficult. It can do a lot of stuff and it’s incredibly powerful. However, after being there with ConvertKit for over a year and a half, I still don’t actually know how to use all of the tools and functions, And I’ve tried. It’s a little bit difficult, so they score low on the difficulty scale.

For Flodesk, it’s actually simple and it’s straightforward. They really simplify it, but yet you still have powerful capabilities. There is segmentation and the ability to deliver pdf downloads to the people who opt in to your list. This is something that is vitally important to content creators. Having downloadable products is a proven way to build an email list. These pdf downloads are an excellent way to add value to readers and viewers.

In the easy of use category, the winners are MailChimp and Flodesk.

Cost

Now, let’s talk about cost. MailChimp is very cheap. In fact, it’s free for the first 2000 subscribers on your list. After that, there is tiered pricing. Mailchimp has expanded their service offerings since I left, but prices go up as the list grows.

We can compare that to ConvertKit. They now offer a free plan up to the first 1000 subscribers. After that, pricing moves to tiered pricing depending on the number of subscribers on your list. It starts at $29 per month and rises rapidly as your list grows.

Now let’s talk about Flodesk. This is a newer software that is still technically in their Beta phase. They’re coming out of the gate with $39 a month. And that is a lifetime deal. HOWEVER, I am an affiliate and I can offer a special deal to my readers. You can get 50% off at a rate of $19 a month for the lifetime of your account with an unlimited number of subscribers.

And that’s really the big big thing.

The winners in the cost category are MailChimp and Flodesk.

Comparison Table between Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Flodesk

	Performance	Ease of Use	Low Cost
Mailchimp		Yes	Yes
ConvertKit	Yes	Yes
Flodesk	Yes	Yes	Yes

As you can see, Flodesk is three out of three. It’s easy to use. It has great deliverability and the cost is so much lower.

Bonus

Now, I do have a bonus category as well. Let’s talk about the appearance of the emails.

MailChimp offers some good looking emails. Templates are easy to work with and give you the ability to add pictures.

On the other hand, ConvertKit has the philosophy that people just want to read typed words like you’re writing somebody a letter rather than having pictures. They say the lack of pictures increases deliverability. The emails are just typed.

Flodesk has beautiful templates and an easy to use editor that allows you to customize fonts and colors. You can modify emails to match your brand aesthetic. I really love how my emails look now. They suit the personality of my brand.

I could start a whole controversy on the internet, talking about having pictures in email versus just text and how that affects deliverability. Official results are mixed. Personally, I haven’t seen any difference in deliverability between ConvertKit and Flodesk.

With Flodesk, my email is not just getting into inboxes, but it’s also looking good at the same time.

Try it for yourself

I encourage you to follow my link. You’ll get a free trial and then if you decide to sign up you’ll get it for half price at only $19 per month for life.

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