Method · Email marketing
How we test email marketing software
Ten tasks, the same on every tool, each timed on screen. Plus a pricing snapshot from the official page.
The 10 tasks
- Sign up and reach a usable dashboard
Minutes, whether a card or phone number was asked for, any approval wait. - Authenticate a sending domain
DNS records required, time until verified, SPF / DKIM / DMARC result. - Import our standard 25-contact test list
2 custom fields + 1 tag. Time and mapping errors. Only addresses we own. - Build a signup form and landing page
Embed the form on a test page, confirm double opt-in, check mobile view. - Create a welcome automation
3 emails, 1-day delays, one tag-based branch. Possible on this plan? Time and limits hit. - Design and send a broadcast
From a template, with a mobile preview. Time and editor quirks. - Build a segment
“Tag = X AND clicked the last email.” Possible? Time. - Find the report and export it
Open/click report and CSV export. What's included. - Ask support one standard question
Channels available on the tested plan, time to first human reply. - Downgrade, cancel and export your data
Steps, any dark patterns, whether the export works.
Pricing snapshot: the price at 500, 2,500 and 10,000 subscribers from the vendor's official pricing page, monthly billing, with a screenshot, URL and date.
How we mark each task
- Pass: done on the tested plan.
- Limit hit: done only partly because a plan limit stopped us.
- Fail: could not be done.
- Not tested: we didn't run it (for example, it needs a paid plan we didn't buy), so we don't guess.
The test list
A standard 25-contact CSV of addresses we own, with two custom fields and one tag. We never import bought or scraped contacts.
Scoring
| Category | Weight | Scored from |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 25% | Task times and clicks for sign-up, import, forms and broadcast, compared with the median of all tools tested |
| Automation | 20% | Welcome automation and segment tasks, plus limits hit on the tested plan |
| Free plan / price value | 20% | Free-plan limits and price at 500 / 2,500 / 10,000 subscribers (official page, monthly billing) |
| Deliverability setup | 10% | Domain authentication passes and how clear the DNS steps are |
| Forms and landing pages | 10% | Form and landing page task |
| Reporting | 5% | Report and export task |
| Support | 5% | Support question task |
| Fair exit | 5% | Cancel and export task |
Each category has written score anchors. For example, Automation: 9–10 = branching, multi-step flows on the tested plan; 5–6 = simple linear flows only; 1–2 = none on this plan. We don't publish scores as star ratings.