Flodesk vs MailChimp vs ConvertKit — which is the best?

I’m going to make the answer simple for you. The answer is Flodesk. 

Now if you’re looking for a detailed explanation then by all means, keep reading. Flodesk has afforded me, along with many of my clients, the opportunity to nurture leads that used to be a pipe dream into actual sales, all because of the accessibility, simplicity, and capability of this powerful marketing tool. 

Top Email Marketing Platforms

Most marketing specialists will assert the value of an email list is equivalent of $1 per email per month since marketing to a list of individuals who have already confirmed they want to hear from you is so much more profitable than pitching to a cold lead.

That means that if you have an email list of 1000 subscribers, the potential value this list could provide you long-term is $1000/month – so if you’re currently sitting on your email list with no plan ahead of you, you’re essentially sitting on free money.

Currently, the top email marketing platforms used by small business owners across the world include MailChimp, ConvertKit, and Flodesk. With so much profitability at stake, it is vital that you understand the benefits and limitations of each of these platforms so that you can make the best decision for your business. 

Now I’ll say with total transparency, I have worked with a variety of clients across a broad spectrum of industries from exterior designers and women’s ministries to furniture makers and window installers and my recommendation is always the same. However, it is important (at least to me) that you understand why I recommend Flodesk over its competitors so that you can feel more equipped to start or develop your email marketing strategy. 

MailChimp: The Pioneer

MailChimp is still one of the most well-known marketing platforms. As one of the first email marketing systems developed entirely for small businesses (instead of huge corporations) MailChimp has grown and changed substantially over the past two decades. Integrating with WordPress was groundbreaking back in the day, but now pretty much any email platform has that capability. Although MailChimp does offer flexible pricing and customizable templates, they may no longer provide the best value per dollar.

Pros of MailChimp:

• Integration with WordPress, Shopify, Squarespace, and more
• Drag & drop editor to create your own visually appealing & functional templates
• Offers new template formats such as social ads and landing pages
• 24/7 chat support

Cons of MailChimp:

• Fairly limited template designs 
• Pricing changes frequently and penalizes you for increasing your subscriber base
• Easy to outgrow due to subscriber increase or feature & template limitations
  • The first 500 subscribers are free, but the price quickly skyrockets with subscriber increase (up to $225/month!)

ConvertKit: The Well Intentioned

ConvertKit did their best to fill in the gaps where MailChimp was lacking. Built with creators in mind, this platform is tailored specifically towards coaches, authors, musicians, bloggers, and podcasters.

Although ConvertKit is very similar to MailChimp, it still has some unique benefits and limitations.

Pros of ConvertKit: 

• Integration with WordPress, Shopify, SquareSpace, and more
• Option to create a landing page to collect emails – even if you don’t (yet) have a website
• They don’t double charge for the same subscriber on 2 different subscription lists
• Offers a free version for up to 1,000 subscribers with limited features & integrations

Cons of ConvertKit: 

• Offers only 3 design templates, mostly text based without much room for creative design
• To further customize templates, HTML coding is necessary
• Reports are not as detailed as other platforms
• Once you pass 1,000 subscribers ($49/monthly as of Sept 2022), the price increases steadily

Flodesk: The Consolidator

First of all: Unlimited subscribers & alllll the features for 1 flat rate. WHAT?!

This unheard of pricing structure seems too good to be true, but it’s not. Flodesk is a female-owned business dedicated to providing top notch, affordable email marketing to small businesses and creators.

CEO and co-founder Martha Bitar explained in an interview with Forbes that Flodesk was created to empower small businesses to market “as beautifully and successfully as the big brands.” If that doesn’t convince you, then maybe this list will:

Pros of Flodesk: 

• Integrates with Shopify, WordPress, Squarespace, Facebook, Google Sheets, and more
• Offers user-friendly drag-and-drop design tools that are quite customizable in templates or from scratch 
• Optimizes emails for desktop and mobile***
• Access to step-by-step tutorials & detailed marketing strategies in Flodesk University
• Ability to import contacts from MailChimp or other email platforms 😉
• $38/month for UNLIMITED contacts, emails, pages, etc.

Cons of Flodesk: 

• There is a free 30-day trial, but no longterm free version
  • (We’ve got a deal for you though, scroll down!)

Enjoy 50% Off Your First Year with Flodesk

If you want to get the best of both worlds by using Flodesk, click the link below.

This will lock in your rate at only $19/month for your first year – 50% off the usual price! Then if you don’t love it, you can go back to your old system…but I don’t think you will.

Worried about migrating your contacts over from another email platform?

It’s a snap. Here’s a quick video tutorial to show you how step-by-step. 

Using Flodesk has transformed my own email marketing and I’ve watched it do the same for dozens of other businesses. If you want to see what all this buzz is about, click the link below to check out how Flodesk can help level up your business, too!