The design of your emails can make or break your email campaign.
A well-designed email can engage readers and get them to click. A poor design, in contrast, can turn off readers and make them bounce off your email.
Misconceptions aside, the design of your email is in your control. All you have to do is choose a good email design software and create beautiful & responsive emails that convert.
We've analyzed the top email design software to help you make the best choice.
Before we discuss the email design software you can use to create your email templates, Know all the basics of email design to understand how to design emails that are beautiful & responsive.
1. Mailmodo
Mailmodo is an all-in-one email marketing software where you can create, design, send, and automate emails to your subscribers using the platform. Mailmodo is best for designing interactive emails with the help of an email template builder which is no-code.
Mailmodo pricing:
You get a 21-day free trial. There are three paid plans presently:
| Plan | Pricing starts from |
|---|---|
| Lite | $39/month |
| Pro | $79/month |
| Max | $159/month |
Type of editor:
Using the WYSIWYG email template editor, you can drag and drop pre-coded content blocks like text, images, and also AMP blocks, etc.
Email templates available:
It has 400+ email templates for different industries and occasions. You can edit and send it out in minutes. You can also import your custom template as an AMP or HTML file.
Export options:
You don't have to export any template you create because you can send the email directly through the email marketing platform.
Responsive:
The designs and templates provided are responsive by default. So you don't have to fuss about emails not rendering well on different devices.
Special email marketing features:
- You can make your emails interactive by using AMP components like forms, calendars, widgets, etc.
- You can use the dynamic content to save time and automatically update the content on the emails you have created.
- You can integrate Mailmodo with APIs and CRM tools like HubSpot, Zapier, Shopify, etc.
- You can A/B test your subject lines to see which one gets readers to open the email.
- You can automate and send emails on time using the email automation features.
- Before sending the email, you can preview what the email looks like on desktop and desktop.
- You can create and save content blocks and reuse it in other templates.
- You can also send a test email to yourself or your team members to check how it renders in the email client.
- You can utilize artificial intelligence to create compelling email subject lines.
2. Hubspot
Hubspot is a CRM platform that helps businesses streamline their marketing, sales, customer service, and content management all in one place.
Hubspot pricing:
In terms of the plans that include email marketing, you have:
| Plan | Price starts from |
|---|---|
| Marketing Hub Starter | $0/month |
| Marketing Hub Professional | $890/month |
| Marketing Hub Enterprise | $3,600/month |
They also have an option to purchase yearly rather than monthly which you can get if you want to get a better deal in the long run.
Type of editor: It has a drag-and-drop editor that you can use to customize the email layout, CTA, and branding.
Templates available: They have 5 basic HTML email templates that people can customize with their content and images. They also have several pre-made email templates, but unfortunately, it's not available in the free plan.
Export options: You don't have to export the design. You can send your emails directly within the platform. You can also integrate with your ESP to export and send mass emails through the ESP.
Responsive: The templates are responsive by default. If you are creating a coded template, you can add their responsive email template markup to make it responsive.
You can test your email in the platforms to preview how the template renders on different email clients.
Special features:
- You can perform a/b testing on 2 designs of the same campaign to see which performs the best.
- They have the dynamic content feature to update the email content automatically.
- Apart from email, you can use them to create web forms/landing pages. This is a useful feature for beginners who don't have a website.
- You can track your leads and how much ROI you have from email marketing for other marketing channels.
3. Mailchimp
MailChimp is a famous email marketing tool used to create and send email campaigns to their audience. Most beginners and small businesses utilize it because it's easy to use and provides step-by-step guidance on how to use it.
Mailchimp pricing:
Free lifetime and monthly paid plans are available.
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Essentials | $13/month |
| Standard | $20/month |
| Premium | $350/month |
They have a pay-as-you-go plan if you are not going to be sending emails regularly.
Type of editor: They have two kinds of email editors: a classic builder with a drag-and-drop interface and a new builder enhanced to create designs faster.
Templates available: They have 100+ pre-made templates, but you can only access all of them in the paid plans. You can import your custom templates as HTML or zip.
Export options: You don't have to export the template; you can send emails directly through the platform.
Responsive: The emails you create on the platform are automatically edited to be shown on mobile. However, it might not always render well on mobile, so you have to make changes in the email to see if it renders well both on desktop and mobile. You can't manually edit your designs for mobile view.
Special features:
- You can use the subject line helper tool to get data-driven feedback on your subject lines to help you write a compelling subject line.
- They have a creative AI assistant that generates designs for you based on your branding.
- Dynamic content
- Landing page builder to create pages without code.
4. Moosend
Moosend is an email marketing and automation software marketers use to create custom and professional-looking emails like newsletters.
Moosend pricing:
They only provide a 30-day free trial and paid plans. Their paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Pro | $9/month |
| Enterprise | Custom price |
There are also available as an annual plan.
Type of editor: They provide a drag-and-drop email editor.
Templates available: They have 75+ email newsletter templates.
Export options: You don't have to export the templates; you can send emails through the platform.
Responsive: They provide responsive templates.
Special features:
- You can A/B test your subject lines, videos, etc., to test the performance of different campaign versions.
- They mainly specialize in email newsletters.
- You can import your custom templates.
5. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an omnichannel marketing tool that provides email marketing, CRM, and marketing automation services to marketers to improve their customer's experience.
ActiveCampaign pricing:
They only provide a free trial and paid plans. The paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Plus | $70/month |
| Professional | $187/month |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing |
Type of editor: Drag and drop editor.
Templates available: They have over 250+ free email templates for B2B, B2C, and other businesses.
Export options: You don't have to export the template. You can send emails through the platform.
Responsive: Their templates are responsive and mobile-optimized.
Special features:
- You can edit the campaigns with your team.
- You can track the location of your contacts through geo-targeted campaigns.
- You can get the information on all the edits made to your templates.
6. Campaign Monitor
CampaignMonitor is an email marketing platform marketers use to create, design, and send out emails to subscribers to get loyal customers.
Campaign Monitor pricing:
You can get a free account, but you need a paid subscription to send the email to over 5 subscribers.
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Lite | $11/month |
| Essential | $19/month |
| Premier | $149/month |
They also have a pay-per-campaign plan for $5/campaign + 1¢/recipient.
Type of editor: They have no code drag-and-drop email editor. They also carry tools that allow you to code custom HTML emails.
Templates available: They have 100+ ready-made templates for different use cases that you can customize for your needs.
Export options: You don't have to export your email because you can send emails through the software.
Responsive: Their templates are optimized for mobile.
Special features:
- You can create a custom template with your branding by providing them with your website.
- Their link review tool checks emails for any outdated or broken hyperlinks.
- You can A/B test two email versions and check the performance.
- Integrates with WordPress, AdRoll, Red Arc, Lexer, etc.
7. Figma
Figma is cloud-based, collaborative design software for anything like UI/UX, wireframe, graphics, etc. If you are already familiar with Figma, you can also use it to design your emails.
You must download a plugin like emailify to create responsive HTML emails on Figma.
Figma pricing:
Free lifetime and paid plans are available. The paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Professional | $12 per editor/month |
| Organization | $45 per editor/month |
| Enterprise | $75 per editor/month |
Type of editor: You can drag and drop common components, such as the header and footer, to customize the email's text, image, and other content.
Templates available: No pre-made templates.
Export options: You can't send emails through the software. You can export the template as an HTML or developer-friendly MJML source code. To export the template, you can also integrate it with ESPs like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Sendgrid, etc.
Responsive: You can specify certain overrides to make sure the design is responsive.
Special features:
- You can create a dark mode custom color overrides and image swaps to control how the emails render in dark mode.
- You can create custom components that you can reuse in other email templates.
8. Stripo
Stripo is a platform exclusively for email design to help you create beautiful emails for your marketing campaigns.
Stripo pricing:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Basic | $ 15/month |
| Medium | $45/month |
| Pro | $95/month |
| Prime | Custom pricing |
All of them are also available as annual plans.
Type of editor: They have a drag-and-drop email editor and an HTML and CSS code editor. You can use these to code emails from scratch or to edit templates built using the drag-and-drop editor.
Templates available: 1050+ free HTML email templates for different industries and purposes.
Export options: You can export the emails as HTML, AMP HTML, PDF, or image and directly export to your ESP.
Responsive: Their templates are responsive.
Special features:
- You can create interactive emails using AMP for email.
- You can test your emails to see how they render across 90+ devices and email clients.
- You can simultaneously translate emails into 10 languages to provide a better user experience.
- Integrates with 70+ ESPs and CRMs.
9. BEEFree
BEEFree, a product of the MailUp Group, is an email design software that helps you design responsive emails and even landing pages.
BEEFree pricing: Free and paid plans are available. The paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Starter | $0/month |
| Professional | $30/month |
| Business | $160/month |
Type of editor: 1210+ pre-made templates. They also have specific pre-made templates for different ESPs.
Templates available: Free plan users can export as HTML, and paid plan users can export directly to email marketing platforms.
Export options: Mobile responsive emails.
Responsive: Mobile responsive emails.
Special features:
- Integrates with Mailchimp, Gmail, Hubspot, and other email service providers.
- Landing page creation
- You can hire a designer through the platform to get custom design services.
10. Chamaileon
Chamaileon is an email builder and collaborative content management platform built by the EDMdesigner team.
Chamaileon pricing:
Only a 14-day free trial and paid plans are available. The paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Standard | $125/month |
| Premium | $208/month |
Type of editor: It has drag-and-drop pre-coded email content blocks to build email templates.
Templates available: They have more than 1000+ free responsive templates for all purposes.
Export options: You can export the template directly to ESPs or download the HTML file.
Responsive: You can create responsive emails using their pre-coded content blocks.
Special features:
- You can collaborate with your team members and clients to build the templates in real time.
- You can send unlimited test emails to any email address or email client.
- They provide the ability to choose free stock images from Pexels directly in the editor.
11. Unlayer
Unlayer is an email template and web page builder that helps beginners easily create an email or landing page without any coding knowledge.
Unlayer pricing:
Free lifetime and paid plans are available. The paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Designer | $20/month |
| Team | $40/month |
These are also available as annual plans.
Type of editor: They provide a drag-and-drop email builder.
Templates available: They have 100+ free HTML email templates.
Export options: You can download the template in free plans and export it directly to ESPs with paid plans.
Responsive: You can create emails that render well on different devices, such as mobile, desktop, browsers, and email clients.
Special features:
- Dynamic content
- Integrate with Gmail with a free Chrome extension.
- You can also integrate with email marketing platforms like Campaign Monitor, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, etc.
12. Topol.io
Topol.io landing page is an email design software that marketers can use to create email templates without code.
Topol.io pricing: Free lifetime and paid plans are available. Their paid plans are:
| Plan | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Pro | $15/month |
| Team | $20/month |
| Plugin for startup | $60/month |
| Plugin for business | $300/month |
| Plugin Unlimited | $600/month |
Type of editor: They have a drag-and-drop email editor. But you can also customize your emails by adding your HTML code.
Templates available: They have over 150+ ready-made HTML templates.
Export options: You can export through direct integration with ESPs like Mailchimp, Sendinblue, and Sendy.co or email clients like MS Outlook and Gmail. You can also download your emails as HTML files.
Responsive: Their responsive templates will look good on different devices and email clients.
Special features:
- You can create custom blocks for your templates and reuse them for other campaigns.
- Integration with CRM, app, online shop, or other marketing platforms.
What to consider when choosing email design software?
You need to know what you need before you get something; the same applies to choosing an email creation software. Here are some aspects you can look for when choosing one.
- Responsive design: Does the software allow you to create responsive designs for all devices, especially mobile?
- Pricing: Do they have a generous free trial/plan where you can try out the software and see if it works for you?
- Export options: After creating the template, do you have to export it, or can you send the email through the software itself?
- Templates available: How many sample templates do they provide for you to choose from? Premade templates make it easy for beginner email marketers to create and send campaigns. So best to choose software that provides plenty of pre-made templates.
- Type of editor: Is it a completely drag-and-drop editor, or does it require some coding knowledge to make adjustments?
For beginners, it's best to choose an email service provider (ESP) like Mailmodo, Mailchimp, etc., as creating an email design system and sending emails all in one platform is easier.
If you are familiar with email marketing and have an easy-to-use ESP, you can check out other exclusive design software like Figma, Topol, etc. But before that, check if your ESP allows custom template import to ensure you can upload the design you create on external software.
Design responsive email today
Now that you have more information on the different email creation software out there, you can choose one and create your email template for your next campaign.
The main thing you must remember while designing your campaign is to make the email responsive. Check out our article on responsive email design to learn how to make your emails responsive on all devices.
