5 Best Free Autoresponder Tools for Email Automation in 2023

Looking for the best free autoresponder tools to automate some or all of your email marketing efforts?

An autoresponder is simply a function that sends an email when a user takes a specific, pre-determined action, e.g. B. Joining your email list. Email autoresponders are extremely useful as they save a lot of time and effort over time.

In this article, we’ll review five great email marketing services that offer free autoresponder features, including some thoughts on choosing the right tool for your needs. Let’s go to work!

An introduction to autoresponders

As mentioned above, an email autoresponder is a tool that sends an email to a user when they have completed a set action. These actions may include filling out a form, making a purchase, or changing a setting in the user’s account.

Autoresponders ensure your customers get the attention they need from your brand without you having to write every email yourself. Instead, you just create a few templates with an email marketing tool, set the parameters for when to send them, and sit back.

These tools can save you hours of work. They also ensure that important messages are not overlooked in the hustle and bustle of your business.

When choosing the best free autoresponder tool, there are some key features that you should never be without. These include:

• A drag and drop email builder. This allows you to create well-designed emails without having to know the intricacies of HTML layouts.
• analytics. It’s important to know how your emails are performing – this data will help inform future design and content decisions and ensure you get the maximum return on investment (ROI). At a minimum, the tool you choose should track open rates and click-through rates of links in the email.
• design templates. Designing an effective email from scratch can be difficult. Templates can simplify this process by giving you a viable starting point that you can adapt to your brand’s specific needs.

Luckily, many popular free autoresponders cover these basics. However, if you’re looking at lesser-known alternatives, be sure to pay attention to these features.

The Best Free Autoresponder Tools in 2023

Now that you know why you need an autoresponder and what to look out for, it’s time to explore some of the best options out there. These tools are all affordable email marketing suites with powerful features, including autoresponders. They all also offer paid plans if you need an upgrade.

1. Sendinblue

Sendinblue is one of the better known names in email marketing, and with good reason. It offers a wide range of tools to handle all your email needs, including an autoresponder. While there are paid plans to unlock all the features of this powerful software, there is also a free autoresponder for up to 300 emails per day.

⚙️ Features:

• Automate your emails with the autoresponder feature.
• Create and customize emails quickly with a drag-and-drop interface.
• Use templates to quickly create attention-grabbing emails.
• Track your campaigns with comprehensive analytics.
• Simplify your workflow with the WordPress dashboard integration.

🆓 What’s included for free:

You can access all email features for free, with the only catch being a limit of 300 emails per day. This includes the email builder, template library, and storage space for unlimited contacts.

💵 Upgrade Options:

If you need to send more than 300 emails or want access to additional features like A/B testing, a landing page builder, and more, you can upgrade to one of the paid plans. These start at $25 per month for up to 10,000 emails.

To find out more, read our full hands-on Sendinblue review – it’s the actual service we use here at KCCSB.

2. MailerLite

MailerLite offers many useful features in an affordable package. This is another powerful, full-featured email marketing suite with a very useful free tier. One of the best features is the automation editor, which lets you build email workflows through a drag-and-drop interface.

⚙️ Features:

• Use powerful automation tools to ensure your subscribers get the email they need, when they need it.
• Build custom automation workflows to guide subscribers through their journeys.
• Keep an eye on your most important metrics with a variety of analytics.
• Create landing pages and popups to convert users into subscribers and customers.
• make use of a WordPress integration option.

🆓 What’s included for free:

The free plan includes all 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, a landing page builder, and an autoresponder feature.

💵 Upgrade Options:

MailerLite pricing is based on the number of subscribers you have. All paid plans offer full-featured access and unlimited emails per month and start at $9 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers.

3. mailchimp

Mailchimp is one of the oldest and most respected names in email marketing. It allows you to easily design and automate your messages while offering extensive customization options. The free tier includes useful one-step email automation so you can keep in touch with your audience without being tied to your computer.

⚙️ Features:

• Automate your emails with powerful (but 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 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 2,000 contacts, as well as automations, a subject line helper, and useful branding tools to ensure your messages are as effective as possible.

💵 Upgrade Options:

If you want to get a little more out of Mailchimp, there are several layers of paid plans available. They start at $9.99 per month for up to 50,000 contacts and include features like A/B testing, 24/7 support, and powerful email targeting tools.

4. AWeber

AWeber is another old name in the email marketing block. It offers all the basics you need for email marketing (e.g. an autoresponder) plus additional useful features including a landing page builder and a powerful template-based designer.

⚙️ Features:

• Easily create your emails with the drag-and-drop designer.
• Harness the power of AI to create branded emails that resonate with 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:

The AWeber Free Tier includes support for up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails per month. You also get access to great features like email automation, templates, the drag-and-drop builder, and a WordPress plugin to streamline management.

💵 Upgrade Options:

If you need more from AWeber, there are several Premium packages available. Pricing starts at $12.50 per month for 500 subscribers and can go up to $146.15 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 compares to Sendinblue, check out our full AWeber vs Sendinblue comparison.

5. Benchmark

Last but not least, Benchmark is a streamlined email marketing platform that combines powerful features with an elegant and extremely user-friendly design. It offers the usual email composition and automation tools, along with clear analytics and even lead generation features. However, the best thing about Benchmark is the design – it feels modern and is pleasant to use.

⚙️ Features:

• Attract new subscribers with beautiful forms that blend seamlessly with your website design.
• Tick ​​every box with a useful email checklist feature.
• Automate your emails to increase engagement and sales.
• Optimize your campaigns with A/B testing and in-depth analytics.
• Integrate your email marketing with 1,500+ other services and platforms like Zapier, Google, and PayPal (and your WordPress site).

🆓 What’s included for free:

Benchmark’s Free Tier includes everything you need to get started with email marketing and automation. This includes list management, drip campaigns, analytics, and useful templates. Unfortunately, the free tier is limited to just 250 emails per month. So as your business grows, you should upgrade fairly quickly.

💵 Upgrade Options:

If you find you need to upgrade, benchmark offers plans based on the number of your contacts. All paid plans come with unlimited emails per month, which is awesome. Pricing starts at $13 a month for up to 500 contacts and can get pretty steep if you have a list in the tens of thousands (although with a list that big, you probably won’t mind the price). You will also unlock additional features like advanced reporting and segmentation.

Try a free autoresponder today

Luckily, finding the best free autoresponder tool can help. Even better, there are tons of free tools that can save you both time and money. We recommend starting with mailchimp for a proven service, or MailerLite for a more affordable option if you intend to switch to a paid plan at some point.

For some other free options, you can browse our collection of the top six free email marketing services.