Sender

High-deliverability email and SMS marketing platform with a generous free tier for small businesses.

email-marketing
Our Score
4.1

Starting at $7 /month

Free Plan Available

4.1
Recommended

Sender Score

Ease of Use
3.9
Features
4.0
Value
4.2
Support
3.8

Based on our editorial review across usability, features, value, support, and integrations.

Best For

Small businesses and startups needing professional email marketing on a budgetE-commerce stores wanting combined email and SMS abandoned cart recoverySolopreneurs and freelancers who need automation without monthly costs (free plan)Local businesses sending newsletters and promotional campaigns to customer listsTeams migrating from Mailchimp's free plan seeking more subscribers and features

Best For

Small businesses and startups needing professional email marketing on a budget

Free Trial

Yes

Standout Feature

Drag-and-Drop Email Builder with responsive templates

Track Record

Since 2012

What Problem It Solves

Small businesses face a common trade-off: free email tools severely limit features and subscriber counts, while capable platforms start at $30-60/month. Sender eliminates this gap with a free plan that genuinely supports small business marketing — 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails/month, and automation included. For a local bakery, freelancer, or early-stage startup, this means professional email marketing at zero cost until they outgrow the limit. The combined email and SMS approach also solves the multi-tool problem — instead of paying separately for an email platform ($20-50/month) and an SMS service ($25+/month), Sender bundles both starting at $15/month on paid plans. For e-commerce stores, the abandoned cart recovery across both email and SMS channels can recover 10-15% more revenue than email alone.

Key Features

  • Drag-and-Drop Email Builder with responsive templates
  • SMS Marketing campaigns with automation triggers
  • Visual Marketing Automation with pre-built workflow templates
  • Popup Forms and embedded signup widgets with targeting rules
  • Advanced Subscriber Segmentation by behavior and demographics
  • Detailed Campaign Analytics with heatmaps and device reporting
  • E-commerce Integration with Shopify and WooCommerce product blocks

Pros

  • + Extremely generous free plan — 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month with automation
  • + Combined email and SMS marketing in one platform at affordable pricing
  • + Strong deliverability with dedicated IP options on higher plans
  • + Simple, uncluttered interface that beginners can master quickly
  • + Competitive paid pricing starting at $15/month for 2,500 contacts

Cons

  • - Automation builder lacks advanced conditional logic of premium competitors
  • - Smaller template library and fewer design customization options
  • - Limited brand recognition means fewer tutorials and community resources
  • - No built-in features for webinars, commerce, or conversion funnels

Pricing

Free

$0

/month

  • + Up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails/month
  • + Marketing automation workflows
  • + Popup forms and segmentation
  • + Sender branding on emails

Standard

$7

/month

  • + Unlimited emails and SMS marketing
  • + No Sender branding
  • + Advanced automation workflows
  • + Priority email support

Professional

$14

/month

  • + Dedicated IP address
  • + Advanced segmentation and reporting
  • + Priority support with faster response
  • + Free SMS credits included

Starting at $7 /month

Free Plan Available

Our Verdict

SenderRecommended

Sender is the underdog that punches well above its weight class. In a market dominated by Mailchimp, GetResponse, and Brevo, Sender quietly offers one of the best value propositions available — particularly for small businesses and startups that need real marketing automation on a tight budget. The free plan alone is remarkable: 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails per month, and automation workflows included. Most competitors either cap their free plan at 500 contacts or strip out automation entirely.

The email builder is clean and functional with a solid template library. The automation workflows cover the essential sequences — welcome series, abandoned cart, re-engagement, and birthday emails — with a visual builder that is straightforward to use. Adding SMS marketing to the mix (available on paid plans) creates an omnichannel approach that tools like Moosend and Kit do not offer natively. Deliverability is consistently strong, which matters more than any feature when your emails need to reach inboxes.

The limitations reflect Sender's position as a growing platform. The automation builder, while capable, lacks the depth and conditional complexity of GetResponse or ActiveCampaign. The template library is smaller. Advanced features like AI content generation, webinars, or conversion funnels are absent. Reporting is adequate but not extensive. The platform is less well-known, which means fewer community resources and tutorials. For small businesses doing under $500K in revenue who want solid email and SMS marketing without overpaying, Sender is a standout choice. Larger teams or those needing advanced automation should look at GetResponse or Brevo.

Related Tools

What does Sender cost and what's on the free plan?

Sender's Free plan includes up to 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails per month, automation workflows, popup forms, and email support. The Standard plan starts at $15/month for 2,500 subscribers with unlimited emails, SMS marketing, no Sender branding, and advanced automation. The Professional plan at $29/month adds dedicated IP, advanced segmentation, priority support, and enhanced reporting. Pricing scales with subscriber count — 5,000 subscribers is $25/month on Standard and $49/month on Professional. The Enterprise plan offers custom pricing with a dedicated account manager and migration support.

How does Sender compare to Mailchimp?

Sender's free plan is significantly more generous than Mailchimp's — 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 emails versus Mailchimp's 500 subscribers and 1,000 emails. Sender also includes automation on the free plan, which Mailchimp restricts to paid tiers. On paid plans, Sender starts at $15/month versus Mailchimp's $13/month (Essentials), but Sender includes SMS marketing and unlimited sends while Mailchimp caps both. Mailchimp has more templates, integrations, and brand recognition. For budget-conscious small businesses, Sender offers more features per dollar, but Mailchimp provides a more mature ecosystem with deeper e-commerce integrations.

Does Sender support SMS marketing?

Yes, Sender includes SMS marketing on all paid plans (Standard and above). You can send promotional SMS campaigns, set up automated SMS triggers within workflows (such as abandoned cart reminders), and combine email and SMS in the same automation sequence. SMS pricing is pay-as-you-go on top of your plan cost, with rates varying by country — typically $0.01-0.05 per message for US numbers. You can segment audiences for SMS separately, use personalization tokens, and track delivery rates, clicks, and conversions. SMS is not available on the free plan.

Starting at $7 /month

Free Plan Available