An email autoresponder is software that automatically sends pre-written emails to subscribers based on triggers — a signup, a purchase, a date, or a behavior. Instead of manually following up with every new lead, you set up the sequence once and it runs on its own.
The problem most marketers hit: they pick the wrong tool for their budget or use case, then find themselves locked into escalating pricing as their list grows.
Quick answer: For most small to mid-sized businesses, SendX ($7.49/month) offers the best price-to-feature ratio with unlimited emails on every plan. For eCommerce automation depth, Klaviyo. For a free starting point, Brevo or Mailchimp.
7 Best Email Autoresponders: Quick Comparison
| Tool | Starting Price | Free Plan / Trial | Unlimited Emails? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SendX | $7.49/mo | 14-day free trial | ✅ Yes | Budget-conscious businesses who need all features |
| Brevo | $0 (free plan) | Free plan (300 emails/day) | ❌ Capped by send volume | Starting out, transactional emails |
| Mailchimp | $6.87/mo | Free plan (500 contacts) | ❌ Gets expensive fast | eCommerce, beginners |
| AWeber | $12.50/mo | Free plan (500 subscribers) | ✅ On paid plans | Bloggers, small businesses |
| Constant Contact | $12/mo | 60-day trial (100 emails) | ✅ On paid plans | Nonprofits, events |
| GetResponse | $19/mo | Limited free plan | ✅ On paid plans | Freelancers, webinars |
| SendPulse | $6.40/mo | Free plan (500 subscribers) | ❌ On higher plans only | Multi-channel marketers |
1. SendX — Best Value Email Autoresponder
SendX gives you every feature at every price point — no locking advanced automation behind expensive tiers. More than 3,000 businesses use it to run email sequences, behavioral triggers, and broadcast campaigns from the same dashboard.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Behavioral triggers: Send sequences based on opens, clicks, page visits, or custom events
- Auto-tagging: Segment subscribers automatically based on how they signed up or what they clicked
- Unlimited emails on all plans — your costs don't jump when you run a campaign
- Resend to non-openers with a different subject line, automatically
- 500,000+ royalty-free images included in the drag-and-drop editor
- 95–98% average inbox delivery rate across customer accounts
Pricing
SendX pricing is based on the number of subscribers. You pay once, get everything.
| Subscribers | Monthly | Annual (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,000 | $9.99 | $7.49 |
| 1,001–2,500 | $19.99 | $14.99 |
| 2,501–5,000 | $39.99 | $29.99 |
| 5,001–10,000 | $59.99 | $44.99 |
14-day free trial. No credit card required. All features unlocked from day one.
Verdict
If you want a cheap autoresponder that doesn't gut features at lower tiers, SendX is the clearest choice. At $7.49/month you get the same automation depth as tools charging $40/month. The tradeoff: fewer native integrations than Mailchimp, and the visual automation builder is simpler than ActiveCampaign's. For most businesses, that simplicity is the point.
2. Brevo — Best Free Autoresponder
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) runs autoresponders on its free plan — a meaningful differentiator. You can set up welcome sequences, anniversary emails, and abandoned cart flows without entering a credit card.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Welcome, birthday, anniversary, and eCommerce autoresponders on the free plan
- Schedule delivery by specific day and time — emails send in sequential order
- Transactional emails on a separate infrastructure (better deliverability for receipts, confirmations)
- SMS add-on available if you want multi-channel sequences
- Double opt-in confirmation emails built in
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Email Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | 300 emails/day, unlimited contacts |
| Starter | $9/mo | 20,000 emails/mo, no daily cap |
| Business | $18/mo | 20,000 emails/mo + A/B testing, automation |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited |
Verdict
Brevo's free plan is genuinely useful — not a stripped-down teaser. The 300 emails/day cap limits you to roughly 9,000 emails/month, which works for audiences under 2,000 if you don't email daily. Once you grow past that, pricing scales by send volume rather than subscriber count, which can actually be cheaper if your list is large but you email infrequently.
3. Mailchimp — Most Recognizable, Priciest at Scale
Mailchimp is where most people start. Its template library, pre-built automations, and integrations with 300+ apps make it easy to launch quickly. The catch: pricing jumps significantly as your list grows, and Mailchimp counts unsubscribed contacts toward your billing tier.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Pre-built journeys: welcome series, abandoned cart, product recommendations, win-back
- Save any autoresponder as a reusable template
- Detailed reporting including geo-location, heat maps, and click maps
- Tag-based triggers for advanced segmentation
- RSS-to-email for automatic blog digest sends
Pricing (for 1,000 contacts)
| Plan | Monthly Price | Sends/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 (500 contact limit) |
| Essentials | $13/mo | 5,000 |
| Standard | $20/mo | 6,000 |
| Premium | $350/mo | Unlimited |
Verdict
Mailchimp is the right choice if you're already embedded in its ecosystem or need deep Shopify/WooCommerce integration. It's the wrong choice if you want predictable pricing — at 5,000 subscribers, you're paying roughly 4x what SendX charges for equivalent features. Many Mailchimp users switch when their monthly bill first exceeds $50.
4. AWeber — Best for Bloggers and Creators
AWeber invented the autoresponder category back in 1998 and still holds a loyal base among bloggers and newsletters. Its Smart Designer tool builds custom email templates from your website's branding automatically.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Welcome series, product launch, and customer onboarding sequences
- Tag-based segmentation to trigger targeted sequences
- Clickthrough tracking to trigger next email in sequence
- RSS-to-email for sending blog updates automatically
- Analytics: opens, clicks, engagement reports per autoresponder
Pricing
| Plan | Starting Price | Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Up to 500 |
| Lite | $12.50/mo | Up to 500 |
| Plus | $20/mo | Up to 500 |
| Unlimited | $899/mo | Up to 100,000 |
Annual billing saves up to 33%.
Verdict
AWeber is solid and reliable — but its interface hasn't kept pace with newer tools, and the pricing gap is hard to justify. At the Lite tier for 1,000 subscribers you pay nearly twice what SendX charges for the same send volume. Where AWeber genuinely shines: its free plan is one of the more capable ones available for lists under 500 subscribers.
5. Constant Contact — Best for Nonprofits and Events
Constant Contact is the go-to for organizations that need event management, donation tools, and strong phone support alongside email automation. Its autoresponder capabilities are functional but not the most flexible.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Welcome emails, birthday sequences, and anniversary sends
- Assign autoresponders to multiple lists simultaneously
- Automated resend for non-openers
- Per-email reporting: queued, sent, opens, clicks
- Note: autoresponder is unavailable on trial accounts — requires paid plan
Pricing
| Plan | Starting Price |
|---|---|
| Lite | $12/mo |
| Standard | $35/mo |
| Premium | $80/mo |
Verdict
If event ticketing, RSVP management, or nonprofit donation integrations are core to your workflow, Constant Contact is purpose-built for you. For straight email automation, it's overpriced relative to what you get — the Standard plan ($35/month) charges more than SendX at 5,000 subscribers.
6. GetResponse — Best for Webinars and Course Creators
GetResponse stands out for one reason: it bundles webinar hosting into its email marketing platform. If you run online events as part of your marketing, this eliminates a separate tool cost.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Time-based and action-based autoresponders on all paid plans
- Anniversary triggers (email on customer subscription anniversary)
- Upsell sequences triggered by purchase behavior
- RSS-to-email for automatic content distribution
- Education sequences to nurture subscribers over topic-based journeys
Pricing (for 1,000 contacts)
| Plan | Monthly | Annual Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Email Marketing | $19/mo | 18% off |
| Marketing Automation | $59/mo | 18% off |
| eCommerce Marketing | $119/mo | 18% off |
Verdict
GetResponse's $19/month entry tier is competitive for what it offers, but the real automation features sit on the $59/month plan. For webinar-heavy businesses, the bundled hosting justifies the cost. For everyone else, you're paying a premium for features you won't use.
7. SendPulse — Best for Multi-Channel Sequences
SendPulse combines email, SMS, web push notifications, and chatbots in a single platform. If your autoresponder strategy involves touching subscribers across multiple channels, SendPulse reduces the integration complexity.
Key Autoresponder Features
- Welcome, birthday, eCommerce, and purchase-behavior triggers
- Free template library with customizable designs
- Chrome extension to save Gmail emails as templates
- Custom send timing per email in the sequence
- Autoresponders available on the free plan (up to 500 subscribers)
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Subscribers |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Up to 500, 15,000 emails/mo |
| Standard | $6.40/mo | Up to 500 |
| Pro | $7.68/mo | Up to 500, unlimited emails |
| Enterprise | $10.75/mo | Up to 500, 5GB storage |
Verdict
SendPulse's pricing is attractive at the low end, but the email builder has received consistent criticism for being clunky. If you're primarily sending email, the UX friction is a real cost. If you need SMS and web push alongside email, it's worth the tradeoff.
How to Choose an Email Autoresponder
1. Pricing model: per subscriber vs. per send
Most tools charge by subscriber count (SendX, AWeber, Mailchimp). A few charge by send volume (Brevo). If you have a large list but email infrequently, volume-based pricing can save money. If you email multiple times per week, subscriber-based pricing is more predictable.
2. Feature access at lower tiers
Some tools lock automation behind expensive plans. Mailchimp's full automation requires the Standard plan ($20/month). GetResponse's visual automation builder requires the Marketing Automation plan ($59/month). SendX and Brevo give you automation access at entry-level pricing.
3. Deliverability infrastructure
Your autoresponder sequence is worthless if emails land in spam. Look for tools that offer dedicated IP options, bounce handling, and domain authentication setup. SendX maintains a 95–98% inbox placement rate. Ask any vendor you're evaluating for their average deliverability rate — if they won't share it, that's an answer.
4. Integration requirements
Mailchimp and GetResponse have the deepest native integration libraries (300+ and 150+ apps respectively). SendX and SendPulse cover the major ones (Shopify, WordPress, Zapier, Stripe) but if you need a niche integration, check before committing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an email autoresponder?
An email autoresponder is a feature in email marketing software that automatically sends pre-written emails when a subscriber takes a specific action — signing up, clicking a link, making a purchase, or reaching a date like a birthday. The sequence runs without manual intervention once set up.
What's the cheapest email autoresponder?
SendX starts at $7.49/month (billed annually) and includes unlimited emails on all plans. Brevo, Mailchimp, AWeber, and SendPulse all offer free plans with limited sends or subscriber caps. For paid plans, SendX and SendPulse have the lowest entry pricing as of 2026.
Which email autoresponder has the best deliverability?
SendX averages 95–98% inbox placement across customer accounts, which is among the highest in the industry. Constant Contact also performs well for deliverability, particularly for nonprofit and event-based senders. For the most accurate comparison, test each tool with your own domain and list before committing.
Can I use an email autoresponder for free?
Yes. Brevo, Mailchimp, AWeber, and SendPulse all have free plans that include basic autoresponder functionality. Brevo's free plan allows 300 emails/day to unlimited contacts. Mailchimp's free plan covers 500 contacts. AWeber and SendPulse cover up to 500 subscribers on free tiers. SendX offers a 14-day free trial with full feature access, no credit card required.
What's the difference between an autoresponder and email automation?
Autoresponders are time-based sequences — email 1 goes out immediately on signup, email 2 goes out 3 days later, and so on. Email automation is broader and behavior-based — it can branch depending on whether someone opened an email, clicked a link, or visited a specific page. Most modern tools offer both; the distinction is mainly in how you set up the triggers.
How many emails should be in an autoresponder sequence?
For lead nurture sequences, 5–7 emails over 14–21 days is a common starting point. Welcome sequences typically run 3–5 emails over the first week. Post-purchase sequences average 3–4 emails over 30 days. The right length depends on your sales cycle — longer for B2B, shorter for impulse purchases.
