10 Best Email Automation Tools Every £100k Founder Swears By

10 Best Email Automation Tools Every £100k Founder Swears By

Right. Let's talk about email automation.

You know your time is money if you're running a business hitting that £100k mark. And manually sending emails? That's just not on.

I've spent countless hours testing dozens of email platforms over the past five years. Some brilliant, others proper rubbish. This guide cuts through the marketing fluff to show you which email automation tools are worth investing in in 2025.

Why Email Automation Still Reigns Supreme in 2025

Despite the constant chatter about new communication channels, email remains the backbone of business communication. A well-crafted email automation strategy does more than save time—it creates consistent customer touchpoints that drive revenue while you focus elsewhere.

The right email automation tool lets you build relationships at scale. You're cloning your best salesperson and letting them work around the clock without the burnout.

According to recent data, businesses using sophisticated email automation see an average 14.2% increase in sales opportunities and a 16.8% reduction in customer acquisition costs. It's not bad for something that mostly runs in the background.

What Makes an Email Automation Tool Worth Your Money

Before we dive into specific recommendations, let's establish what separates the decent from the exceptional:

• Intuitive workflow builders – Can you create complex sequences without wanting to throw your laptop out the window?
• Deep personalisation capabilities – Beyond “Hi {FirstName}”, can it dynamically adjust content based on user behaviour?
• Deliverability rates – All the fancy features mean nothing if your emails land in spam
• Integration ecosystem – How smoothly does it play with your existing tech stack?
• Analytics robustness – Can you understand what's working?
• Scalability – Will it grow with your business or become a limitation?
• Support quality – How quickly can you get help when things inevitably go pear-shaped?

I've judged each tool against these criteria, focusing specifically on what matters to businesses in the £100k+ revenue bracket.

The 10 Best Email Automation Tools for Growing Businesses

1. ActiveCampaign – Best All-Round Email Automation Platform

ActiveCampaign stands head and shoulders above the competition in terms of sophisticated automation capabilities without requiring a computer science degree to operate.

Their visual automation builder makes creating complex, branching workflows surprisingly straightforward. You can trigger emails based on nearly any user action—website visits, form submissions, purchase history, or even inactivity.

What sets ActiveCampaign apart is how it combines CRM functionality with email marketing. The platform automatically remembers everything about your contacts and uses this data to personalise communications.

A standout feature is their predictive sending, which analyses when individual subscribers are most likely to open emails and schedules delivery accordingly. This alone can boost open rates by 20-30%.

Pricing starts at £29/month for basic features, with most £100k businesses needing the Plus plan at around £70/month. Given the potential ROI, it's easily justified.

“We switched to ActiveCampaign last year and saw our email conversion rates increase by 23% within the first quarter. The automation rules save our team about 15 hours weekly.” – Sarah Thompson, Ecommerce Director.

Best for: Businesses requiring sophisticated automation with CRM integration.

2. Kit – Best for Content Creators and Digital Product Sellers

Kit deserves your attention if your business revolves around content, courses, or digital products. Previously called ConvertKit, it was built specifically for creators and simplifies what would otherwise be complex automation sequences.

Their visual automation builder uses a trigger-action system that's dead easy to understand. You can segment subscribers based on their interests, purchases, or engagement levels without writing a single line of code.

The tagging system is brilliant for tracking customer journeys and triggering appropriate sequences. For instance, when someone downloads your lead magnet, purchases your entry-level product, and then visits your premium offering page, Kit can automatically send a perfectly timed upsell sequence.

The landing page and form builders can be included as features rather than the main event. You can create decent-looking opt-in pages without needing additional tools.

Pricing is subscriber-based, starting around £25/month for up to 1,000 subscribers, making it accessible for early-stage businesses.

Best for: Digital product sellers, course creators, and content-focused businesses.

3. Klaviyo – Best for Ecommerce Email Automation

For ecommerce businesses, Klaviyo is simply unmatched. It integrates deeply with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento to create hyper-targeted automation based on shopping behaviour.

The pre-built automation templates cover virtually every ecommerce scenario: abandoned carts, browse abandonment, product recommendations, replenishment reminders, post-purchase sequences, winback campaigns—you name it.

Klaviyo is special because it combines transactional and marketing emails into cohesive customer journeys. Rather than treating order confirmations as separate from your marketing efforts, everything works together to increase lifetime value.

Their predictive analytics can forecast which customers will likely make another purchase, allowing you to time your communications perfectly. The platform automatically calculates customer lifetime value, helping you identify your most profitable audience segments.

The pricing model is based on subscriber count, starting around £20/month for small lists but quickly scaling up as your database grows. While not the cheapest option, the ROI for ecommerce businesses is typically substantial.

I've worked with several brands that have generated 30-40% of their revenue directly from Klaviyo automation.

Best for: Ecommerce businesses of any size looking to maximise customer lifetime value.

4. Drip – Best for Advanced Ecommerce Personalisation

While Klaviyo gets most of the ecommerce attention, Drip offers comparable features with unique advantages for businesses focused on hyper-personalisation.

Drip excels at behavioural automation—triggering emails based on minute details of how customers interact with your store. Their visual workflow builder lets you create particular customer journeys based on products viewed, categories browsed, time spent on pages, and dozens of other trackable events.

The platform's strength lies in its segmentation capabilities. You can slice and dice your audience based on purchasing behaviour, engagement metrics, or custom fields you define. This makes sending highly relevant content to concrete audience segments possible.

Drip also offers multichannel capabilities beyond email, allowing you to coordinate SMS messages alongside your email sequences for truly integrated campaigns.

Pricing starts around £39/month for basic features and scales with subscriber count. While slightly more technical than some alternatives, the advanced personalisation capabilities can deliver exceptional results for the right business.

Best for: Data-driven ecommerce businesses focused on advanced personalisation and customer behaviour analysis.

5. HubSpot – Best Integration of Email Automation with Full Marketing Suite

For businesses looking to align email automation with broader marketing efforts, HubSpot provides an all-in-one solution that's hard to beat. While not the cheapest option, it eliminates the need for multiple disjointed tools.

HubSpot's email automation is part of its complete marketing platform, including CRM, landing pages, forms, ad management, social media, and content tools. This integration means your email efforts synchronise perfectly with other marketing activities.

The workflow builder is exceptionally intuitive, letting you create complex automation with simple if/then logic. Emails can be triggered by virtually any action tracked in the CRM, from website behaviour to sales interactions.

One standout feature is HubSpot's content recommendations, which can automatically personalise email content based on a contact's past engagement with your website. This creates highly relevant emails without manual effort.

The analytics capabilities are comprehensive, showing email metrics and how email performance connects to broader marketing goals and revenue generation.

The catch is pricing—HubSpot's Marketing Hub starts around £50/month for basic features, with most growing businesses needing the Professional plan at £800+/month. However, consolidating with HubSpot can sometimes be cost-effective if you're already paying for multiple marketing tools.

Best for: Businesses seeking to integrate email automation with comprehensive marketing and sales systems.

6. MailerLite – Best Budget-Friendly Email Automation Tool

Not every business needs enterprise-level features, and MailerLite strikes an excellent balance between functionality and affordability. Despite its lower price point, it offers surprisingly robust automation capabilities.

The drag-and-drop automation editor is one of the most user-friendly in the industry, making it ideal for teams without dedicated email specialists. You can create automated workflows based on subscriber actions, including email engagement, form submissions, and anniversary dates.

MailerLite's segmentation tools allow audience targeting based on demographic data and engagement metrics. While not as sophisticated as some premium options, the essentials are covered well.

The platform also includes landing pages, pop-ups, surveys, and a decent website builder, making it a good all-rounder for small marketing teams.

Pricing starts with a generous free plan (up to 1,000 subscribers), with paid plans beginning at around £10/month. This makes it particularly attractive for bootstrapped businesses or those just beginning to explore email automation.

Best for: Budget-conscious businesses and startups needing solid automation without complex features.

7. Customer.io – Best for SaaS and Product-Led Businesses

Customer.io specialises in behavioural email automation for tech companies and SaaS businesses. If your company's growth depends on user onboarding, feature adoption, and reducing churn, this platform deserves serious consideration.

Unlike more general marketing tools, Customer.io is built to trigger communications based on how people use your product. The platform can track virtually any in-app event and use these data points to trigger relevant emails, push notifications, or SMS messages.

The workflow builder uses a unique combination of visual elements and segments to create complex automation rules. While there's a steeper learning curve than some alternatives, its flexibility is unmatched for product-focused businesses.

A standout feature is the ability to A/B test entire workflows—not just individual emails—allowing you to optimise the customer journey rather than isolated touchpoints.

The reporting focuses on business metrics for SaaS companies, like conversion rates, retention impact, and revenue attribution.

Pricing starts around £150/month for basic features, making it more suitable for established businesses rather than early-stage startups.

Best for SaaS, subscription businesses, and companies with complex user journeys to automate.

8. Omnisend – Best for Multichannel Retail Automation

For retail businesses wanting to coordinate email with SMS, push notifications, and other channels, Omnisend provides specialised automation capabilities beyond standard email platforms.

The standout feature is how seamlessly Omnisend integrates multiple communication channels into single automation workflows. You can start with an email, follow up with SMS to non-openers, and then add push notifications—managed from a single visual builder.

Their pre-built automation templates are explicitly tailored for retail scenarios: welcome series, abandoned cart recovery, browse abandonment, order confirmations, shipping updates, and post-purchase follow-ups.

The platform's product recommendation engine automatically generates personalised suggestions based on purchase history and browsing behaviour, increasing average order values without manual work.

Omnisend also excels at campaign timing with features like send-time optimisation and campaign booster, which automatically resends campaigns to non-openers with different subject lines.

Pricing starts with a free plan (up to 250 contacts), with paid plans beginning at around £16/month and scaling with subscriber count and features.

Best for: Retail and ecommerce businesses wanting to coordinate email, SMS, and web push notifications in unified workflows.

9. Brevo – Best Value for Small-to-Medium Businesses

SendinBlue (recently rebranded as Brevo) offers the best value proposition for growing businesses needing comprehensive features without premium pricing.

Their automation capabilities include a visual workflow builder that lets you create multi-step campaigns triggered by email engagement, website behaviour, ecommerce actions, or custom events. While not as deep as specialist tools, the feature set covers 90% of what most businesses need.

What sets Brevo apart is how it combines email marketing, SMS, chat, CRM, and landing pages in an affordable package. This makes it particularly suitable for businesses running multiple campaigns across different channels.

The robust segmentation capabilities allow you to target contacts based on demographic information, engagement metrics, and transactional history. Dynamic content blocks let you personalise email content for different segments without creating multiple versions.

Their AI-powered send time optimisation determines when each subscriber will engage with your emails and schedules delivery accordingly.

Pricing is primarily based on email volume rather than subscriber count, starting at around £25/month for 20,000 emails, with unlimited contacts even on the starter plan.

Best for: Growing businesses seeking comprehensive features at mid-market pricing.

10. Moosend – Best Simplicity-to-Power Ratio

Rounding out our list is Moosend, which offers an exceptional balance between ease of use and automation capability for businesses that need powerful features without complexity.

The automation editor uses a flowchart-style interface that's intuitive even for beginners. You can create workflows triggered by list membership, user behaviour, or custom events with conditional branches based on subscriber actions.

Moosend includes AI-powered product recommendations for ecommerce, weather-based personalisation, and recurring automation for birthday emails or renewal reminders.

The platform also offers landing pages, subscription forms, and a decent selection of responsive email templates that work well across devices.

Analytics capabilities include standard email metrics, revenue tracking, and automation performance statistics, providing good visibility into what's working without overwhelming you with data.

Pricing is reasonable, starting around £6/month for basic features and scaling with subscriber count. Enterprise features like SMTP integration and dedicated IP addresses are available on higher tiers.

Best for: Teams wanting powerful automation with minimal complexity.

Choosing the Right Email Automation Tool for Your Business

Selecting the perfect email automation platform isn't just about features—it's about finding the right fit for your business needs. Here's how to approach the decision:

Match the Tool to Your Business Model

Different tools excel for various business types:

• Ecommerce businesses typically benefit most from Klaviyo, Drip, or Omnisend due to their deep integrations with shopping platforms and focus on purchase behaviour.
• SaaS and tech companies often find Customer.io or HubSpot better suited to user onboarding and retention needs.
• Service businesses might find ActiveCampaign or Kit more aligned with their lead-nurturing requirements.
• Content creators and digital product sellers typically love Kit's simplicity and focus.

Consider Technical Expertise

Be honest about your team's technical capabilities:

• Tools like Moosend and MailerLite offer gentler learning curves.
• Platforms like Customer.io and Drip require more technical understanding to utilise fully.
• Some tools (like HubSpot) provide excellent training resources to help bridge knowledge gaps.

Evaluate Integration Requirements

Your email automation tool needs to play nicely with your existing tech stack:

• What CRM do you currently use?
• Which ecommerce platform powers your store?
• What analytics tools do you rely on?
• Do you need webhooks or API access for custom integrations?

Make a list of must-have integrations before committing to any platform.

Think About Scalability

The right tool should grow with your business:

• How many subscribers do you expect to have in 6-12 months?
• Will you need more sophisticated automation as you grow?
• How might your email strategy evolve?

Avoid choosing solely based on current needs—plan for where your business is heading.

Implementation Strategies for Maximum ROI

Having the right tool is only half the battle. Here's how to ensure your email automation investment pays off:

Start with High-Impact Automation First

Don't try to build everything at once. Begin with these proven sequences:

1. Welcome series – Introduce new subscribers to your brand and set expectations
2. Abandoned cart recovery – Recapture lost sales with timely reminders
3. Post-purchase follow-up – Enhance customer experience and encourage reviews
4. Re-engagement campaigns – Win back inactive subscribers before they're gone for good

These four sequences alone can generate significant revenue while you build out more sophisticated automation.

Focus on Segmentation

The days of sending the same email to everyone are long gone. Modern email automation tools excel at segmentation—use this capability to:

• Send different content to prospects versus customers
• Tailor messaging based on past purchase categories
• Adjust offers based on engagement levels
• Personalise based on demographic information

Even basic segmentation can dramatically improve performance metrics.

Test and Optimise Continuously

Email automation isn't a “set it and forget it” solution:

• A/B test subject lines, sender names, and content
• Experiment with timing and frequency
• Try different calls-to-action and layouts
• Review automation performance regularly and refine

Businesses that see the best returns from email automation are constantly testing and improving their sequences.

Common Email Automation Mistakes to Avoid

Having helped dozens of businesses implement email automation, I've seen the same mistakes crop up repeatedly:

Overwhelming New Subscribers

Bombarding fresh subscribers with too many emails too quickly is a fast track to unsubscribes. Space out your initial communications and focus on providing value before heavy selling.

Neglecting Mobile Optimisation

Over 60% of emails are now opened on mobile devices. If your automation sequences aren't mobile-friendly, you're providing a poor experience to most recipients.

Forgetting the Human Element

Automation doesn't mean impersonal. Your emails should still sound like they came from a human, not a robot. Inject personality, tell stories, and write conversationally.

Poor List Hygiene

Continuing to send to unengaged subscribers damages deliverability. Set up automation to clean your list periodically, removing or attempting to re-engage subscribers who haven't opened emails in 3-6 months.

Advanced Email Automation Strategies for 2025

For those ready to take their email marketing to the next level, here are some advanced approaches worth exploring:

Behavioural Segmentation Automation

Move beyond basic demographic segmentation to create dynamic groups based on how subscribers interact with your content:

• Engagement scoring to identify your most valuable subscribers
• Content affinity tracking to understand topic preferences
• Purchase pattern recognition for timely product recommendations

Tools like ActiveCampaign and Drip excel at this type of behavioural automation.

Predictive Analytics Integration

Some platforms now offer predictive capabilities that can:

• Forecast which customers are likely to churn
• Identify prospects most likely to convert
• Determine optimal send times for individual subscribers
• Recommend next best product offers

Klaviyo and Customer.io are leading the way in this space.

Cross-Channel Coordination

The most sophisticated businesses are using email automation as part of coordinated cross-channel experiences:

• Triggering personalised remarketing ads to email non-openers
• Following up email engagement with targeted SMS messages
• Using email behaviour to personalise website experiences
• Coordinating email content with social media campaigns

HubSpot and Omnisend offer strong capabilities for this approach.

Email Automation and Design: A Critical Partnership

While this article focuses primarily on automation tools, it's worth noting that even the most sophisticated automation strategy needs compelling design to succeed. Your automated emails should reflect your brand identity and create a cohesive visual experience across all touchpoints.

If you're serious about maximising email performance, consider investing in professional email template design alongside your automation platform. A well-designed template system can significantly boost engagement metrics while ensuring brand consistency.

For businesses looking to elevate their email design, Inkbot Design offers bespoke email template creation that works seamlessly with all major automation platforms.

Email Automation Tools Comparison Chart

Frequently Asked Questions

From Automation Chaos to Email System

For many £100k+ businesses, email starts as a necessary evil and evolves into a haphazard collection of campaigns. The transformation happens when you stop thinking about individual emails and start building a systematic approach to customer communication.

The right automation tool is the foundation of this system—it transforms manual, inconsistent processes into reliable revenue engines that work. At the same time, you focus on growing other aspects of your business.

Whether you choose the all-around capabilities of ActiveCampaign, the ecommerce focus of Klaviyo, or the simplicity of MailerLite, the important thing is to start building automated journeys that deliver the right messages to the right people at the right time.

Your customers want relevant, timely communication. Your business needs scalable, efficient marketing systems. Email automation delivers both—but only when you choose the tool that aligns with your specific needs and commits to using it properly.

Ready to elevate your brand's visual identity across all marketing channels? Contact Inkbot Design for expert branding and design services that complement your email automation strategy.