Drip Alternatives
Eight Drip alternatives, one honest test, five criteria each.
Drip does one thing brilliantly: it gives ecommerce brands deep, revenue-attributed automation with a slick visual builder, and it earns a solid 3.8 out of 5 in our test. The catch is the bill. There is no free plan, pricing opens at 39 dollars a month, and it climbs steeply as your contacts grow, which is why value lands at a soft 2.8. If that is where Drip pinches, here are the eight alternatives we rate highest, scored hands-on so you can pick the right one fast.
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Why teams leave Drip
Let us be fair: Drip is one of the better ecommerce email platforms you can buy. The visual automation builder is excellent, revenue attribution ties emails to dollars, and it scores 4.3 on features and 4.2 on support in our test. People do not leave because Drip is bad. They leave because the value equation stops adding up, and a handful of specific frictions push them to look elsewhere.
There is no free plan
Pricing climbs steeply with your list
It is built for ecommerce, and little else
SMS and advanced channels add up
Smaller integration ecosystem than the giants
Overkill for simple newsletters
8 Drip alternatives compared
Here are the eight alternatives at a glance. Scores come from our hands-on reviews, and pricing was checked in 2026. The edge column is the single biggest reason to consider each one over Drip. Tap any tool to jump straight to its full breakdown.
| Best for | Edge over Drip | Free plan | Team size | Visit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brevo | Best all-in-one value | Free plan, pay by emails not contacts | 4.2/5 | Free plan | ✓ | All-in-one SMBs | Visit → |
| 2 | Kit | Best for creators | Built for creators, generous free plan | 4.2/5 | Free plan | ✓ | Creators & publishers | Visit → |
| 3 | ActiveCampaign | Best automation depth | Deepest automation and CRM | 4.0/5 | From ~$15/mo | — | Automation-heavy teams | Visit → |
| 4 | Sender | Best free plan | Big free plan with SMS built in | 4.0/5 | Free plan | ✓ | Budget-conscious SMBs | Visit → |
| 5 | AWeber | Best for support | Standout support, simple to run | 3.9/5 | Free plan | ✓ | Small & simple teams | Visit → |
| 6 | Campaign Monitor | Best for design | Beautiful templates and editor | 3.6/5 | From ~$9/mo | — | Brand-led teams | Visit → |
| 7 | Moosend | Best budget automation | Low-cost automation, unlimited emails | 3.5/5 | From ~$9/mo | — | Cost-led SMBs | Visit → |
| 8 | ExpertSender | Best for high volume | Enterprise deliverability at scale | 3.4/5 | Custom pricing | — | High-volume enterprise | Visit → |
Scores from our hands-on reviews. Pricing checked 2026.
Which alternative is right for you?
Both run a real email program for nothing, with SMS and automation on affordable paid tiers.
You are a creator or publisherKitPurpose-built for creators, with a generous free plan and clean newsletter tooling.
You want the deepest automationActiveCampaignThe richest automation builder and a real CRM for complex customer journeys.
You are on a tight budgetMoosend or SenderLow entry pricing, unlimited or generous sends, and automation included.
You care most about supportAWeberResponsive, hands-on support and a tool simple enough that you rarely need it.
You send at enterprise volumeExpertSenderDeliverability and infrastructure built for very high sending volumes.
Brevo
Brevo is the alternative most Drip leavers should try first, for two reasons Drip cannot match: a genuinely free plan and a send-based price model. Where Drip charges by contact count from 39 dollars a month, Brevo lets you store up to 100,000 contacts free and only pay for the emails you send, then layers SMS, automation and a light CRM on the same platform. In our test it scored 4.5 on both ease and value, the strongest value in this list. Drip still wins on pure ecommerce depth, its 4.3 features score and revenue attribution go further for big stores. Brevo is the better call when you want all-in-one marketing at a low, predictable cost, and the worse call if you need Drip's deepest store automation. See the full Brevo vs Drip comparison for the details.
- Free plan storing up to 100,000 contacts
- Pay by emails sent, not by contact count
- Email, SMS and a light CRM in one platform
- Strong automation for the price
- ✓Genuinely free where Drip has no free plan
- ✓Best value in this list (4.5 vs Drip 2.8)
- ✓Send-based pricing suits large, lighter lists
- ✓SMS and CRM built in, not bolted on
- ✗Less ecommerce-specific depth than Drip
- ✗Daily send caps on the free plan
- ✗Interface can feel busy across so many modules
| Criterion | Brevo | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Value (our score) | 4.5 | 2.8 |
| Pricing model | By emails | By contacts |
| Features (our score) | 4.0 | 4.3 |
| From | Free | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you want an all-in-one platform with a free plan and send-based pricing, but Drip still wins if you run a large store that needs its deepest ecommerce automation and revenue attribution.
Kit
Kit is the alternative for creators that Drip's store-first model never quite fits. It is built for newsletter writers, course sellers and publishers, with a famously generous free plan covering up to 10,000 subscribers and clean, distraction-free tooling. It scores 4.6 on ease, the easiest in this list, and 4.5 on features, with tagging, sequences and a creator marketplace Drip does not have. Drip still wins for ecommerce: its store integrations and revenue attribution beat Kit for Shopify and WooCommerce sellers. Kit is the better pick when your business is content and audience rather than a storefront, and the worse pick when deep store automation is the whole point. The full Kit vs Drip comparison digs deeper.
- Generous free plan up to 10,000 subscribers
- Purpose-built for creators and newsletters
- Clean tagging and visual automations
- Creator network and recommendations
- ✓Free plan where Drip has none
- ✓Easiest tool in this list (4.6 ease)
- ✓Ideal for creators and publishers
- ✓Strong feature depth for content workflows
- ✗Less ecommerce-specific than Drip
- ✗Value softened after the 2025 price rise
- ✗One automation on the free plan
| Criterion | Kit | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Ease (our score) | 4.6 | 3.8 |
| Creator focus | Yes | No |
| Features (our score) | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| From | Free | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you are a creator or publisher who wants clean tooling and a generous free plan, but Drip still wins if your business is a store that needs deep ecommerce automation.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is the alternative for teams who love Drip's automation but want even more of it, across more than just ecommerce. Its automation builder is the deepest in this list, it ties in a real CRM with sales pipelines, and its integration catalogue is one of the largest on the market, scoring 4.5 on features and 4.2 on integrations. Where Drip wins is ease and focus: ActiveCampaign's 3.5 ease reflects a steeper learning curve, and it has no free plan, only a trial. ActiveCampaign is the better pick when you want automation and CRM depth beyond the storefront, and the worse pick when you want a simple, ecommerce-native tool. Compare them in ActiveCampaign vs Drip.
- Deepest automation builder in this list
- Built-in CRM with sales pipelines
- Huge integration catalogue
- Predictive sending and AI features
- ✓Automation depth beyond Drip's
- ✓CRM and sales tools built in
- ✓Works well beyond ecommerce
- ✓Strong integrations (4.2)
- ✗Steeper learning curve (3.5 ease)
- ✗No free plan, only a trial
- ✗Costs climb with contacts at scale
| Criterion | ActiveCampaign | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Features (our score) | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Built-in CRM | Yes | No |
| Ease (our score) | 3.5 | 3.8 |
| From | ~$15/mo | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you want the deepest automation and a built-in CRM across all your channels, but Drip still wins on ecommerce focus and a gentler learning curve.
Sender
Sender is the alternative for teams leaving Drip purely over cost. Its free plan covers up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails with automation, forms and a landing page builder included, and paid plans start at just 7 dollars with SMS built in. It scores a standout 4.6 on support and 4.5 on value, both well ahead of Drip. Where Drip wins is depth: its features score 4.3 against Sender's 3.4, and its ecommerce automation and integrations go much further. Sender is the better pick when budget and support rule, and the worse pick when you need Drip's advanced store flows. See the full Sender vs Drip comparison.
- Big free plan with automation included
- SMS built into affordable paid plans
- Standout, responsive support (4.6)
- Very low entry pricing
- ✓Free plan where Drip has none
- ✓Best support in this list (4.6)
- ✓Excellent value (4.5 vs Drip 2.8)
- ✓SMS bundled at a low price
- ✗Less feature depth than Drip (3.4 vs 4.3)
- ✗Smaller integration catalogue (3.2)
- ✗Lighter ecommerce tooling
| Criterion | Sender | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Support (our score) | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| Value (our score) | 4.5 | 2.8 |
| Features (our score) | 3.4 | 4.3 |
| From | ~$7/mo | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you want a big free plan, low pricing and superb support, but Drip still wins on feature depth, integrations and ecommerce automation.
AWeber
AWeber is the alternative for small teams that find Drip more than they need. It is a long-running, reliable email tool with a free plan for up to 500 subscribers, a clean editor, landing pages and AI writing help, and its support is the best in this list at 4.7. It scores 4.2 on ease, so a non-technical team is productive fast. Where Drip clearly wins is depth and value-at-scale: its 4.3 features beat AWeber's 3.4, and AWeber's 3.0 value reflects pricing that is steep for what you get. AWeber is the better pick when you want simple and well-supported, and the worse pick when you need serious ecommerce automation. Compare them in AWeber vs Drip.
- Best support in this list (4.7)
- Free plan for up to 500 subscribers
- Simple, reliable email and landing pages
- AI content help built in
- ✓Outstanding support (4.7 vs Drip 4.2)
- ✓Free plan where Drip has none
- ✓Easy for non-technical teams (4.2)
- ✓Solid integrations (4.1)
- ✗Thinner features than Drip (3.4 vs 4.3)
- ✗Weak value at scale (3.0)
- ✗Dated feel in places
| Criterion | AWeber | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Support (our score) | 4.7 | 4.2 |
| Features (our score) | 3.4 | 4.3 |
| Ease (our score) | 4.2 | 3.8 |
| From | Free | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you want a simple, well-supported newsletter tool with a free plan, but Drip still wins on feature depth and ecommerce automation once you outgrow the basics.
Campaign Monitor
Campaign Monitor is the alternative for teams who care most about how their emails look. Its template library and drag-and-drop editor are among the most polished on the market, and at 4.3 on ease it is quick and pleasant to use for brand-led newsletters. Where Drip clearly wins is value and depth: Campaign Monitor's 2.6 value is the lowest in this list, support is a middling 3.2, and its automation is lighter than Drip's 4.3 features. Campaign Monitor is the better pick when design polish is the priority and budget is not, and the worse pick when you want deep automation or a free start. See Campaign Monitor vs Drip for the breakdown.
- Beautiful templates and editor
- Clean, design-led experience
- Easy to use for brand teams (4.3)
- Solid analytics on campaigns
- ✓Best-looking emails in this list
- ✓Easy and pleasant to use (4.3 ease)
- ✓Good for brand-led newsletters
- ✓Decent integrations (3.9)
- ✗Lowest value in this list (2.6)
- ✗No free plan, only a trial
- ✗Lighter automation than Drip
| Criterion | Campaign Monitor | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Ease (our score) | 4.3 | 3.8 |
| Value (our score) | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Features (our score) | 3.8 | 4.3 |
| From | ~$9/mo | ~$39/mo |
Switch if polished design is your priority, but Drip still wins on automation depth, value and ecommerce-specific tooling.
Moosend
Moosend is the alternative for teams that want automation on a tight budget. It starts around 9 dollars a month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails, includes a modern drag-and-drop editor and workflow builder, and bundles unlimited lists and tags, so value scores a healthy 4.0 and ease 4.3. Where Drip wins is depth and support: Moosend's features sit at 3.4 against Drip's 4.3, and its support was the weakest in this list at 2.6. Moosend is the better pick when low cost and decent automation matter most, and the worse pick when you need rich ecommerce flows or dependable support. Compare them in Moosend vs Drip.
- Automation included at a low price
- Unlimited emails on paid plans
- Modern editor and workflow builder
- Unlimited lists and tags
- ✓Strong value for automation (4.0)
- ✓Easy to use (4.3 ease)
- ✓Unlimited emails on paid plans
- ✓Cheaper entry than Drip
- ✗Weakest support in this list (2.6)
- ✗Thinner features than Drip (3.4)
- ✗Smaller integration catalogue (3.3)
| Criterion | Moosend | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Value (our score) | 4.0 | 2.8 |
| Support (our score) | 2.6 | 4.2 |
| Features (our score) | 3.4 | 4.3 |
| From | ~$9/mo | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you want low-cost automation with unlimited emails, but Drip still wins on feature depth, support and ecommerce automation.
ExpertSender
ExpertSender is the alternative for brands that have outgrown Drip's scale. It is an enterprise customer data and multichannel platform built for very high sending volumes, with strong deliverability and cross-channel automation across email, SMS, web and chat, which is why it scores a high 4.4 on features and 4.2 on support. The trade-offs are real: ease sits at 3.1, integrations at 3.0, and value at 2.4 reflects custom pricing with onboarding fees, the lowest value in this list. ExpertSender is the better pick when volume, deliverability and a managed setup matter most, and the worse pick for a small team that wants something simple and cheap. See Drip vs ExpertSender for the detail.
- Enterprise-grade deliverability at scale
- Multichannel across email, SMS, web and chat
- Deep features for high volume (4.4)
- Hands-on managed onboarding
- ✓Strong feature depth (4.4 vs Drip 4.3)
- ✓Built for very high sending volumes
- ✓Solid, dedicated support (4.2)
- ✓Multichannel customer data platform
- ✗Lowest value in this list (2.4)
- ✗Steeper to learn (3.1 ease)
- ✗Smaller integration catalogue (3.0)
| Criterion | ExpertSender | Drip |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No | No |
| Features (our score) | 4.4 | 4.3 |
| Value (our score) | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| Ease (our score) | 3.1 | 3.8 |
| From | Custom | ~$39/mo |
Switch if you send at enterprise volume and need deliverability and multichannel at scale, but Drip still wins on ease, value and being far simpler to run for most teams.
How to choose a Drip alternative
The right alternative depends on why Drip stopped fitting. Start from your real reason for leaving, price, fit, automation depth or simplicity, then match it to the tool below. Our scores weight all five criteria, with value and features carrying the most weight for this category. Here is how we would steer the most common cases.
Leaving over price
Need the deepest automation
Want simpler
Migrating from Drip
- Name your real reason for leaving: price, fit, automation depth or simplicity.
- Check whether you need a free plan to start, and which tools genuinely offer one.
- Decide if send-based or contact-based pricing suits your list size and engagement.
- Confirm it integrates natively with your store, forms and key tools.
- Project the real monthly cost as your list grows, not just the entry price.
- Export a sample from Drip and test the import and deliverability before you commit.
Drip alternatives, the FAQ
What is the best free alternative to Drip?
The best free alternative to Drip in 2026 is Brevo. Drip has no free plan, only a 14-day trial, whereas Brevo lets you store up to 100,000 contacts for free and pay only for the emails you send, with automation, SMS and a light CRM on the same platform. Sender is a strong runner-up with a free plan for up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails including automation, Kit offers a generous free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers aimed at creators, and AWeber has a free plan for up to 500 subscribers. All four let you run a real email program without paying anything. The trade-off with free tiers is that advanced sending volume, extra contacts and deeper features live on paid plans, so they are best as a starting point you grow out of rather than a permanent ceiling.What is a cheaper alternative to Drip?
Sender and Moosend are the cheapest credible alternatives to Drip. Sender starts from around 7 dollars a month with SMS built in and a generous free plan, and Moosend starts from around 9 dollars a month for 500 subscribers with unlimited emails and automation included. Brevo is also far cheaper for large lists because it charges by emails sent rather than by contact count, so you are not penalised for storing a big but lightly engaged audience. Drip by contrast starts at 39 dollars a month and climbs to roughly 89 at 5,000 contacts and 154 at 10,000, which is why value scores a soft 2.8 in our test. Just remember the cheapest sticker price is not always cheapest in practice: count the sends and contacts you really need before you decide.Is Brevo better than Drip?
It depends on what you need. Brevo scores 4.2 out of 5 overall against Drip's 3.8, and it clearly wins on value at 4.5 versus 2.8 thanks to a free plan and send-based pricing, plus it bundles email, SMS and a light CRM in one platform. Drip wins on ecommerce depth, where its 4.3 features score, revenue attribution and store-native automations go further for Shopify and WooCommerce sellers. The honest split is this: Brevo is the better all-in-one platform and the better value for most teams, while Drip is the better choice for a serious ecommerce brand that needs its deepest store automation. If price and all-in-one breadth matter, lean Brevo. If you live in store flows, Drip still earns its place.What is the best Drip alternative for ecommerce?
For ecommerce specifically, Brevo and ActiveCampaign are the strongest alternatives to Drip. Brevo gives you store integrations, abandoned-cart and post-purchase flows, plus SMS, all at a much lower cost than Drip and with a free plan. ActiveCampaign offers the deepest automation in this list and a built-in CRM, which suits stores that want to align marketing and sales around customer journeys. Drip remains genuinely good at ecommerce, so the move is worth it mainly when price or fit, not capability, is your reason for leaving. Our advice is to map your key store flows, then trial the alternative with a small segment to confirm the automations and deliverability hold up before you migrate fully.Can these tools import my Drip data?
Yes. Every alternative in this guide supports importing your Drip data, usually through a subscriber export and a guided mapping step. You export your contacts and tags from Drip, then upload them into the new tool and match the fields. Contacts and tags map cleanly, and most platforms provide step-by-step import guides. The fiddly part is automation: workflows generally do not transfer between tools, so you rebuild your sequences by hand in the new platform. For a simple setup the move is typically an afternoon, rising to a day or two if you have many complex automations. Always test deliverability with a small segment before switching your whole list across.Why is Drip expensive?
Drip is not expensive on paper, since it starts around 39 dollars a month, but it can feel pricey in practice for three reasons. First, there is no free plan, so you pay from day fifteen, unlike Brevo, Kit, Sender or AWeber. Second, pricing is contact-based, so the bill climbs steeply as your list grows, reaching roughly 89 dollars at 5,000 contacts and 154 at 10,000, regardless of how engaged those contacts are. Third, advanced channels like SMS add to the tiers. By the time a growing brand has the list and features it wants, the spend is meaningfully higher than a send-based tool such as Brevo, which is why value scores a softer 2.8 in our hands-on test even though the platform itself is strong.Drip vs ActiveCampaign: which should I choose?
Choose ActiveCampaign if you want the deepest automation and a built-in CRM that work across more than ecommerce, since its automation builder is the richest in this list and it scores 4.5 on features and 4.2 on integrations. Choose Drip if you run an online store and want ecommerce-native automation with revenue attribution out of the box, plus a gentler learning curve, since ActiveCampaign's 3.5 ease reflects a steeper ramp. Neither has a free plan, though ActiveCampaign starts lower at around 15 dollars a month versus Drip's 39. In short, ActiveCampaign is the automation and CRM specialist for complex journeys, while Drip is the ecommerce specialist for serious online stores.What is the best Drip alternative for creators?
Kit is the best Drip alternative for creators, newsletter writers and publishers in 2026. Where Drip is built around online stores, Kit is built around audiences and content, with a generous free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers, clean tagging, sequences and a creator marketplace. It scores 4.6 on ease, the easiest tool in this guide, so you can focus on writing rather than configuring. Brevo is a solid alternative if you also want SMS and a light CRM alongside your newsletter at low cost. Drip's store-centric tooling is largely wasted on a creator business, so a creator-first tool like Kit usually fits the way writers and publishers actually work far better than an ecommerce platform does.What is the best Drip alternative with the biggest free plan?
Kit and Brevo offer the most generous free plans among Drip alternatives. Kit gives you up to 10,000 subscribers free with unlimited broadcasts, landing pages and forms, which is excellent for creators, though limited to one automation. Brevo lets you store up to 100,000 contacts free and pay only for the emails you send, with automation and SMS available, which suits teams with large lists. Sender is the strongest free plan for SMBs that want automation included, covering up to 2,500 subscribers and 15,000 monthly emails. Drip offers none of this, only a 14-day trial, so any of these three is a meaningful upgrade if a real free plan is what you are after.What is the best Drip alternative for high-volume sending?
ExpertSender is the best Drip alternative for high-volume and enterprise sending. It is a customer data and multichannel platform built for very large volumes, with strong deliverability and automation across email, SMS, web and chat, scoring a high 4.4 on features and 4.2 on support in our test. The trade-off is value and simplicity: it uses custom pricing with onboarding fees, and its 3.1 ease reflects a more technical setup. Brevo is the alternative if you want high deliverability at a lower, more predictable cost thanks to send-based pricing, without the enterprise overhead. If raw volume and managed deliverability are the priority, ExpertSender is the specialist, with Brevo the value option for most growing senders.
