Searching for the best free autoresponder tools to help you automate some or all of your email marketing efforts?
An autoresponder is simply a feature that sends an email when a user takes a specific, predetermined action, like joining your email list. Email autoresponders are extremely useful thanks to the amount of time and effort they save over time.
In this article, we’ll share six great email marketing services that offer free autoresponder features, including some thoughts on how to choose the right tool for your needs. We’ll then wrap it up by answering some commonly asked questions that readers often have about autoresponders.
Let’s get to work!
An introduction to autoresponders 📧
As we mentioned above, an email autoresponder is a tool that sends an email to a user when they complete a set action. These actions can include filling out a form, making a purchase, or changing a setting on the user’s account.
Autoresponders ensure that your customers receive the attention they need from your brand, without requiring you to compose every email yourself. Instead, you simply create a few templates using an email marketing tool, set the parameters for when they should be sent, and sit back.
These tools can save you hours of work. They also ensure that important messages never get missed in the bustle of running your business.
When choosing the best free autoresponder tool, there are a few key features that you should never go without. These include:
- A drag-and-drop email builder. This lets you create well-designed emails without needing to know the intricacies of HTML layouts.
- Analytics. It’s important to know how your emails are doing – this data helps to inform future decisions about design and content, and ensures that you get the maximum return on investment (ROI). At a minimum, your chosen tool should track open rates and click rates from links within the email.
- Design templates. Designing an effective email from scratch can be tough. Templates can help to ease this process by giving you a useable starting point that you can tweak to match your brand’s specific needs.
Fortunately, many popular free autoresponders cover these basics. However, if you’re checking out lesser-known alternatives, make sure to look out for these features.
Best free autoresponder tools 🏆 📬
Now that you know why you need an autoresponder and what to look for, it’s time to explore some of the best options on the market. These tools are all affordable email marketing suites with powerful features, including autoresponders. They all also offer paid plans if you need to upgrade.
1. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Brevo is one of the more well-known names in email marketing, and for good reason. It offers a wide array of tools to handle all of your email needs, including an autoresponder. While there are paid plans available to unlock all the features of this powerful software, there’s also a free autoresponder available for up to 300 emails per day.
⚙️ Features
- Automate your emails with the autoresponder feature.
- Quickly create and customize emails with a drag-and-drop interface.
- Use templates to quickly build attention-grabbing emails.
- Track your campaigns with deep analytics.
- Simplify your workflow with WordPress dashboard integration.
🆓 What’s included for free
You can access all of the email features for free, with the only catch being a 300-email-per-day limit. That includes the email builder, template library, and storage for unlimited contacts.
💵 Upgrade options
If you need to send more than 300 emails or want to access additional features such as A/B testing, a landing page builder, and much more, you can upgrade to one of the paid plans. These start at $8.08 per month from 20,000 emails.
To learn more, check out our full hands-on Brevo (Sendinblue) review – it’s the actual service we use here at Themeisle.
2. MailerLite
Second on our list of best free autoresponder tools is MailerLite. This email marketing service offers lots of useful features in an affordable package. It’s a powerful, full-featured email marketing suite with a very useable free tier. One of its top features is the automation editor, which helps you build email workflows via a drag-and-drop interface.
⚙️ Features
- Use powerful automation tools to ensure that your subscribers get the emails they need, when they need them.
- Create customized automation workflows to guide subscribers through their journeys.
- Keep tabs on your key metrics with a variety of analytics.
- Create landing pages and popups to help convert users to subscribers and customers.
- Make use of a WordPress integration option.
🆓 What’s included for free
The free plan includes all of the basic email features for up to 1,000 subscribers, with a generous limit of 12,000 emails per month. These features include a drag-and-drop editor, landing page builder (for up to ten landing pages), and autoresponder functionality.
💵 Upgrade options
MailerLite pricing is based on the number of subscribers you have. All paid plans provide access to unlimited emails per month, advanced features, and they start at $9.00 per month for up to 500 subscribers.
3. Omnisend
Omnisend is a marketing automation platform designed for ecommerce. It’s an all-in-one tool that provides functionalities like newsletters, popups, autoresponders, abandoned carts, SMS messages, and more. Omnisend was built to help you boost sales in your store and collect leads for future campaigns. It comes with a free plan for those of you who are just starting out promoting a business.
⚙️ Features
- Library of advanced marketing automation tools including free autoresponders.
- 250+ email templates.
- 130+ integrations with ecommerce tools such as WooCommerce, Shopify, and Wix.
- A/B testing and automation splits.
- Pre-built workflows.
- Popups, signup forms, and landing pages.
- 24/7 customer support via live chat and email.
- Unlimited segmentation.
- Email builder.
- Email and SMS campaigns.
🆓 What’s included for free
In the free plan, you have access to all the premium features that Omnisend provides. It does come with a few limitations in the sense that you only get 250 contacts, 500 emails, 60 SMSes, and 500 web push notifications monthly.
💵 Upgrade options
If you upgrade, you can unlock more permissions. You can have access to up to 2500 contacts, unlimited emails, unlimited push notifications, 4000 free SMSes, priority support, and advanced performance reporting.
You also have the choice to select your contact list size and you get custom prices based on the numbers that you provide. So, if you have more than 2500 contacts, feel free to pick a different option.
4. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the oldest and most well-respected names in email marketing. It enables you to easily design and automate your messages, while also offering extensive customization options. The free tier includes useful one-step email automation, so you can keep in touch with your audience without needing to stay glued to your computer.
⚙️ Features
- Automate your emails with powerful (yet easy-to-use) tools.
- Create high-converting landing pages and social media posts in addition to emails.
- Use the built-in marketing calendar to stay on track.
- Lighten your workload with the AI-powered Creative Assistant.
- Integrate with your WordPress site using a popular and well-reviewed third-party plugin.
🆓 What’s included for free
Mailchimp’s free tier is very robust. It includes support for up to 500 contacts, as well as automations, a subject line helper, and useful branding tools to ensure that your messages are as effective as possible.
💵 Upgrade options
If you want to get a little more out of Mailchimp, there are multiple tiers of paid plans available. They start at $13.00 per month for up to 50,000 contacts and include features like A/B testing, 24/7 support, and powerful email targeting tools.
5. AWeber
AWeber is another old name on the email-marketing block. It offers all the basics you need for email marketing (such as an autoresponder), plus additional nice-to-have features, including a landing page builder and powerful template-based designer.
⚙️ Features
- Build your emails with ease using the drag-and-drop designer.
- Take advantage of the power of AI to help create branded emails that match your audience.
- Build landing pages that convert clickers into customers, so your emails never go to waste.
- Track campaign progress with readable and useful analytics.
🆓 What’s included for free
AWeber’s free tier includes support for up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month. You also get access to excellent features such as email automation, templates, the drag-and-drop builder, and a WordPress plugin to help streamline management.
💵 Upgrade options
If you need more from AWeber, there are multiple premium packages available. Prices start at $12.50 per month for 500 subscribers and can run as high as $142.50 per month for 25,000 subscribers. Additional premium features include split testing, behavior-based automation, and the ability to remove AWeber branding from your emails.
To see how AWeber stacks up against Brevo, check out our full AWeber vs Brevo comparison.
6. Benchmark
Last but certainly not least, Benchmark is a streamlined email marketing platform that combines powerful features with a slick and highly-usable design. It offers the usual email building and automation tools, plus clear analytics and even lead-generation capabilities. The best part of Benchmark is the design, though – it feels modern and is a pleasure to use.
⚙️ Features
- Capture new subscribers using gorgeous forms that blend in with your site’s design seamlessly.
- Tick every box with a useful email checklist feature.
- Automate your emails to boost engagement and sales.
- Optimize your campaigns with A/B testing and detailed analytics.
- Integrate your email marketing with over 1,500 other services and platforms, such as Zapier, Google, and eBay (and your WordPress site).
🆓 What’s included for free
The Benchmark free tier allows for 3,500 emails per month and includes everything you need to get started with email marketing and automation. This includes list management, basic automations, email reports, and useful templates.
💵 Upgrade options
If you do find you need to upgrade, Benchmark offers plans based on the number of contacts you have. Prices start at $10 per month for up to 500 contacts and can get quite high if you have a list in the tens-of-thousands range (although if your list is that big, you’re probably not going to be bothered by the price). You’ll also unlock additional features such as advanced reporting and segmentation.
Autoresponder FAQ 🙋
What is an autoresponder tool?
An autoresponder tool is a software or service that allows you to set up and manage autoresponder emails. It enables you to automatically send pre-written email responses to anyone who contacts you or takes specific actions, such as subscribing to your email list or making a purchase.
What is the purpose of an email autoresponder?
The purpose of an email autoresponder is to automate and streamline communication with your email recipients. It allows you to send automatic, pre-written responses to specific triggers or actions taken by your subscribers or customers.
The main objectives and benefits of using an email autoresponder include engagement and relationship building, time-saving and efficiency, lead nurturing, customer support, ecommerce optimization, event management, out-of-office messages, and consistent brand messaging.
What is an autoresponder marketing strategy?
An autoresponder marketing strategy is a planned approach to using email autoresponders to engage, nurture, and convert prospects and customers through automated email sequences. The strategy involves setting up a series of pre-written emails that are triggered by specific actions or time intervals, with the goal of achieving various marketing objectives. Some key elements of an autoresponder marketing strategy include:
1. Segmentation. Segmenting your email list based on user behavior, demographics, or interests allows you to send more targeted and relevant autoresponder sequences.
2. Welcome series. When someone joins your email list, a welcome series of emails is sent automatically to introduce your brand, provide value, and build a relationship with the new subscriber.
3. Lead nurturing. Using autoresponders to deliver a sequence of educational content and offers helps nurture leads, moving them closer to making a purchase.
4. Abandoned cart recovery. An autoresponder can be triggered when a user abandons their shopping cart, reminding them of the items left behind and encouraging them to complete the purchase.
5. Drip campaigns. Drip campaigns consist of a series of emails scheduled over time to provide consistent engagement and valuable information to your subscribers.
6. Event promotion. Autoresponders can be used to promote webinars, workshops, or other events, confirming registrations and sending reminders.
7. Customer onboarding. After a purchase, autoresponders can guide customers through onboarding, providing instructions and support.
8. Re-engagement campaigns. Autoresponders can be triggered for inactive subscribers, encouraging them to re-engage with your content or offers.
9. Upselling and cross-selling. Autoresponders can be used strategically to offer upsells or cross-sells to existing customers.
10. Feedback and surveys. Sending automated surveys or feedback requests can help you gather valuable insights and improve your offerings.
The key to a successful autoresponder marketing strategy is to understand your audience, define clear goals for each autoresponder sequence, provide valuable content, and continuously analyze and optimize your campaigns based on performance data. This way, you can create meaningful interactions with your audience and drive positive results for your business.
What is the difference between email automation and autoresponder?
Email automation is a broader term that encompasses the concept of autoresponders. Autoresponders are a specific type of email automation used for sending immediate, predefined responses to incoming emails.
On the other hand, email automation includes a range of automated email campaigns, not just immediate responses to incoming messages.
What is the difference between newsletter and autoresponder?
A newsletter is a recurring email that shares general updates and content with a broad audience at regular intervals, while an autoresponder is a targeted, automated email triggered by specific events or actions that provides an immediate and personalized response to individual subscribers or customers.
Both play important roles in email marketing, with newsletters maintaining regular communication and autoresponders delivering timely and relevant messages based on user behavior.
Try one of the best free autoresponder tools today 📨
Whether your business is just getting started, or you’ve been around for a while and are growing, you probably don’t have time to spend sending emails manually. This tedious task takes you away from more important things, such as strategy and product development.
Fortunately, finding the best free autoresponder tool can help. Even better, there are tons of free tools available that can save you both time and money. We recommend starting with Brevo for a tried-and-true service, or MailerLite for a more affordable option if you intend to move to a paid plan eventually.
💡 For some other free options, you can browse our collection of the six best free email marketing services.
Do you have any questions about the best free autoresponder tools we reviewed? Let us know in the comments section below!
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