Best Drip Email Tools for Startups in 2026

What Startups Need from Drip Tools

Startups have unique constraints and requirements:

• Budget sensitivity: Every dollar matters pre-revenue or early-revenue
• Quick setup: No time for weeks of implementation
• Room to grow: The tool should scale as you scale
• Essential features: Core drip capabilities without bloat
• Self-serve: No need for dedicated marketing ops

Startup-Friendly Pricing Models

Free Tiers Worth Considering

• MailerLite: 1,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month - best free tier
• Brevo: 300 emails/day (unlimited contacts) - good for low volume
• Mailchimp: 500 contacts, limited features - decent starting point

Affordable Paid Starting Points

• Sequenzy: $19/month with billing integration - best for SaaS startups
• MailerLite: $10/month for 500 subs - budget champion
• Omnisend: $16/month - good for e-commerce startups
• ActiveCampaign: $29/month - powerful for the price

Top Drip Tools for Startups

#1 Sequenzy - Best for SaaS Startups

Starting at $19/month

Sequenzy was built for SaaS startups with specific advantages:

• Native billing integration: Stripe, Paddle connect without custom code
• AI-generated sequences: Get running quickly with AI-created drips
• Startup-friendly pricing: $19/month is accessible from day one
• No complexity tax: Focus on essentials, not bloated features

Best for: SaaS startups who want billing-aware drips without enterprise overhead.

#2 MailerLite - Best Budget Option

Free for 1,000 subs / $10/month paid

MailerLite offers exceptional value:

• Generous free tier (1,000 subs, 12,000 emails)
• Clean, simple interface
• Automation and drip capabilities included
• Landing pages and forms included
• Website builder bonus

Best for: Pre-revenue startups and bootstrappers watching every dollar.

#3 Loops - Modern SaaS Email

Starting at $49/month

Loops offers a modern, developer-friendly approach:

• Clean, minimal interface
• Transactional + marketing in one
• Developer-friendly API
• Built for SaaS workflows

Best for: Startups who value modern UX and have slightly more budget.

#4 Brevo - Volume-Based Value

Free 300/day / $25/month for 20k emails

Brevo's email-volume pricing benefits some startups:

• Unlimited contacts on free tier
• Charges by emails, not contacts
• Multi-channel (SMS, WhatsApp) included
• Transactional email built-in

Best for: Startups with many contacts but lower email frequency.

#5 ActiveCampaign - Power at Reasonable Cost

Starting at $29/month

ActiveCampaign offers sophisticated features affordably:

• Powerful automation builder
• CRM capabilities included
• Lead scoring
• Good for B2B startups

Best for: B2B startups needing CRM integration.

Startup-Stage Considerations

Pre-Launch / Idea Stage

You need:

• Simple landing page to collect emails
• Basic welcome sequence
• Updates as you build

Recommendation: MailerLite free tier. Don't overthink it.

Beta / Early Users

You need:

• Onboarding sequences
• Feedback collection
• User engagement tracking

Recommendation: Sequenzy if SaaS, MailerLite if not. Start building real drips.

Post-Launch / Growing

You need:

• Trial conversion sequences
• Customer success drips
• Churn prevention
• Revenue attribution

Recommendation: Sequenzy for SaaS (billing integration becomes crucial). ActiveCampaign for B2B.

Essential Startup Drip Sequences

Welcome/Onboarding Sequence

Your first priority - get users to value:

• Welcome + first action (Day 0)
• Quick win guide (Day 2)
• Core feature highlight (Day 4)
• Social proof / early testimonial (Day 7)
• Check-in and help offer (Day 10)

Trial Conversion (for SaaS)

Convert free users to paying:

• Trial progress check-ins
• Value reminders
• Trial ending sequence
• Post-trial follow-up

Feedback Collection

Early startups need feedback:

• NPS surveys
• Feature request prompts
• User interview requests
• Review/testimonial asks (for happy users)

Scaling Considerations

When to Upgrade

Signs you've outgrown your current tool:

• Hitting subscriber limits regularly
• Need features only available on higher tiers
• Integration requirements beyond current capabilities
• Team needs more sophisticated permissions

Migration Planning

Moving email platforms is painful. Consider:

• Export capabilities of your current tool
• Import support in your target tool
• Sequence rebuild time
• Historical data preservation

Choose a tool you can grow with to minimize migrations.

Our Recommendation

For SaaS startups: Start with Sequenzy at $19/month. The billing integration will save you hours of integration work, and AI sequence generation gets you running quickly. It's built for exactly your use case.

For non-SaaS startups or very early stage: Start with MailerLite free tier. Upgrade when you hit limits or need more sophisticated automation.

For B2B startups: Consider ActiveCampaign for its CRM integration, or Sequenzy if you're B2B SaaS.