Best email marketing for ecommerce brands
Trade a first-order discount for an email. Tag buyers so they don't get "10% off your first order" after their third order. Email every launch and restock before you post it. SendFox is free up to 1,000 contacts, then $29 once for 5,000.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. No card.
SendFox is the best email tool for most small online stores: a first-order discount signup, a welcome series, buyer tags so repeat customers skip first-order offers, and launch and restock emails. Your store can add buyers through the SendFox API, and adding a buyer to a list can start a thank-you series. It's free for 1,000 contacts and $29 once for 5,000.
A demo setup you can copy
The walkthrough below uses a fictional demo account. Its sample emails, schedule and screenshots are teaching examples, not the featured creators’ accounts or results.
Ads get more expensive every year. Your email list doesn't. For a small store, the list is the cheapest way to sell the second bag, the refill, the restock, the thing you launched on Tuesday.
The example is Ridgeback Coffee Roasters, a made-up two-person roaster that sells beans online. Ridgeback isn't real. The emails, the tags and the screenshots are from a real SendFox account set up to match.
Buyers get into SendFox two ways: your store or checkout adds them through the SendFox API with a tag or a list, or you import a customer CSV with a buyer tag. Either way, a buyer joining a list can start an automation, like a thank-you and a "how to brew it" email.
What the form asks for
- Fields: First name and email. Every extra field costs signups.
- Button: "Send me the code"
- What they get: 10% off the first bag with the code RIDGE10.
- Where signups go: the Coffee club list, which starts the welcome automation.
Use it as a hosted link (your bio, a QR code, the back of a book) or paste one line of code to put it on your site.
Best email tools for ecommerce brands
I make SendFox, so it's listed first. Each tool below says what it does better than us. Prices are at 5,000 subscribers. How we checked.
| # | Tool | Best for | At 5,000 subscribers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SendFoxBest value | Small stores that email launches and restocks | $29 once |
| 2 | MailerLite | Selling digital products from email | $49/mo |
| 3 | Flodesk | Beautiful emails with checkout pages | $59/mo |
| 4 | Kit | Selling digital products to your list | $89/mo |
| 5 | EmailOctopus | The lowest monthly bill | $31.50/mo |
01 SendFox Best value
- Price
- Free to 1,000 contacts. $29 once for 5,000. Pro from $19/month.
- Moves
- Imports from Mailchimp, Kit, Google Contacts or a CSV
Good
- Free for 1,000 contacts and 3,000 sends a month
- $29 once for 5,000 contacts and 300,000 total sends
- Smart Pages and subscriber referrals on every plan, RSS-to-email from the $29 plan
Not so good
- The $29 plan has a send pool. Weekly to 5,000 people uses it in about 13 months, then you move to Pro
- No CRM or sales pipeline
- Paid newsletters and removing branding need Pro
02
- Price
- $49/month at 5,000 (Comfort).
Good
- Website and landing page builder included
- Preference center and 100+ integrations
- Sells digital products and bookings
Not so good
- Free plan is now 250 subscribers
- Comfort caps you at 10 emails per subscriber a month
- Jumps to $89 at 10,000
03
- Price
- $59/month at 5,000 (Pro).
Good
- Best-looking templates
- Checkout and sales pages built in
- Doesn't bill for unsubscribed or bounced contacts
Not so good
- Flat price retired in December 2025
- Free plan does not send email
- $389/month at 50,000
04
- Price
- $89/month at 5,000 (Creator). Free to 10,000 without automations.
Good
- Recommendations network and newsletter sponsorships
- Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers
- Store for digital products built in
Not so good
- The first welcome sequence needs a paid plan
- Takes 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale
- Bills for subscribers who stopped opening
05
- Price
- $31.50/month at 5,000 (Pro).
Good
- Cheapest monthly price we found up to 50,000 subscribers
- Unlimited users and landing pages
Not so good
- Free plan puts EmailOctopus branding on your emails
- Free keeps only 30 days of reports
The signup offer: a first-order discount, once
For a store, 10% off the first order is the offer that works. It's simple and people understand it. Ridgeback uses the code RIDGE10 and puts the Smart Page link in the shop footer, on the packing slip and on the bag itself.
Don't send a discount every week. You'll train people to never pay full price, and they'll learn to wait for the next code. Discounts are for welcome, one or two sales a year, and saying sorry when you mess up an order.
The lists and tags to set up
Create these on day one, with these exact names, so every email has an obvious place to go.
Coffee clublistEveryone who signs up. The welcome series runs off it.
WholesalelistCafes and offices. They never get consumer promos.
buyertagImport customers from your store with this tag. Exclude it from first-order reminders.
guji-waitlisttagPeople who replied "Guji". They hear first when it's back.
Build the welcome series before anything else
It runs every time someone joins the Coffee club list, including everyone who signs up from the footer at 11pm.
- Right away"Your 10% code (and how we roast)"The code RIDGE10, a photo of the roaster and one line on why small batches.
- 3 days later"Not sure which coffee to start with?"Three picks for three kinds of coffee drinker, each with a link.
- 7 days later"Your code is still good through Sunday"A short, friendly reminder. No countdown timer, no guilt.
Some people will have used the code by email three, so keep it friendly. A reminder that reads like a nudge never annoys a customer.
The back-in-stock email
Restock emails are easy money. People already said they wanted it. Here's Ridgeback's, which goes out the morning the coffee goes back in the shop.
Scarcity only works when it's true. "60 bags" is a real number. "Almost gone!!" on everything is how people learn to ignore you.
Copy the text of this email
Hey,
The Ethiopia Guji sold out in four days last month, and a lot of you asked about it. It's back.
We got 60 bags from this lot. When they're gone, the next harvest lands in April.
Tasting notes: blueberry, jasmine, a little brown sugar. Great as pour-over. Weirdly good as cold brew.
[Button: Get the Guji]
$19 for 12 oz. Free shipping over $40, so grab two and stop worrying about it.
Roasting Tuesday, shipping Wednesday.
Luis
P.S. If it sells out before you get one, reply "Guji" and I'll put you on the April list.
Restock emails are the easiest money in email. People already told you they want it.
From the SendFox teamBuyers vs browsers: use tags
Ridgeback's checkout adds each customer to SendFox through the API with a buyer tag. (A weekly CSV import with the same tag works too.) Then:
- Launch emails go to everyone.
- Welcome-discount reminders exclude the buyer tag, so repeat customers never see "10% off your first order".
- A "thank you, here's early access" email goes only to the buyer tag the day before a launch.
- Wholesale customers live on their own list and never get consumer promos.
SendFox campaigns can include tags and exclude tags, so this takes two clicks per send.
A launch month with real dates
- Tue Oct 6
Story email: meet the farmer behind the new Colombia lot. No ask.
- Tue Oct 13
Buyer tag only: early access to the new Colombia, 24 hours before launch.
- Wed Oct 14
Launch email to everyone.
- Fri Oct 16
Resend the launch email to people who didn't open it.
- Tue Oct 27
Back in stock: the Guji email above.
Three to four emails a month is plenty for a small store. One of them should never ask for anything.
Say your list is 2,500 people. If 40% open the Guji email, 1,000 people see it.
If 2% of the whole list buy, that's 50 orders. With 60 bags, that's most of the lot in a morning.
Rough math, not a promise. Round numbers for illustration; they aren't SendFox data, and your list will do its own thing.
Subject lines
The SendFox features a store will use
Tags on campaigns
Include or exclude tags when you send. Buyers, wholesale, whatever you track.
Every planAPI for your store
Add buyers from your store or checkout with tags, lists and custom fields.
Lifetime & ProAutomations from a list
When a buyer joins your Buyers list, send a thank-you and a follow-up on their own.
Free: 1 · Lifetime & Pro: unlimitedCSV import
Export customers from your store and import them with a tag.
Every planForms on your site
Embed a form with one line of code, or use a hosted Smart Page link.
Free: 1 · Lifetime & Pro: unlimitedResend to non-openers
One click, two days after a launch.
Every planScheduling
Line the launch email up with the minute the product goes live.
Every planSettings for a store's list
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| From name | Luis at Ridgeback | An email from Luis reads like a person. An email from "Ridgeback Coffee Roasters Inc" reads like a receipt. |
| From email | An address you actually read | Replies go to your from address. Replies are the best signal you'll get. |
| Send time | Tuesday, 10am | The day the coffee is roasted, so it ships while it's fresh. Campaigns schedule in your time zone. |
| Double opt-in | Leave it on to start | Confirmed subscribers mean fewer typos and fake signups. Single opt-in is available on Pro, or on Lifetime after a one-time domain setup. |
| Lists and tags | Coffee club, Wholesale, buyer, guji-waitlist | So each email goes only to the people it's for. What each one is for is spelled out in the lists and tags section. |
| Engaged only | On for promos, off for must-read news | It sends only to people who opened in the last 90 days or joined recently. |
| Footer | Nothing to add | SendFox adds your mailing address and an unsubscribe link to every campaign. You'll need to enter your address before your first send. |
What it costs a store
Free
1,000 contacts, 3,000 sends a month. 1 Smart Page, 1 form, 1 automation.
Lifetime
5,000 contacts and 300,000 total sends. Unlimited automations, Smart Pages and forms.
Pro
From 5,000 contacts and 100,000 sends a month. Paid newsletters, teammates, no SendFox branding.
| Plan | Price | Contacts | Sends | Smart Pages, forms, automations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,000 | 3,000 / month | 1 of each |
| Lifetime | $29, once | 5,000 | 300,000 total | Unlimited |
| Pro | From $19 / month | 5,000 to 250,000 | From 100,000 / month | Unlimited |
Free and Lifetime emails carry a small SendFox footer; Pro removes it. Pro also adds paid newsletters on your own Stripe account and teammates. Lifetime and Pro get the full API and MCP server; Free gets a limited set. Current plans: sendfox.com/pricing.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. $29 once for 5,000. Bigger lists move to Pro from $19/month, with flat pricing by list size.
How that compares to 12 other tools at 5,000 to 100,000 subscribers: email marketing pricing compared.
How we checked
Every price comes from the vendor's own pricing page, read on October 14, 2026, at monthly billing unless noted. We priced each tool at 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000 and 100,000 subscribers on the plan named in the table. The ranking is for ecommerce brands who email one list regularly. Nobody paid to be on this list. SendFox prices come straight from our billing system, so they match what you will pay.
FAQ
What is the best email marketing platform for a small online store?
One that is cheap, lets you tag buyers, and makes launch and restock emails quick. SendFox is free for 1,000 contacts, then $29 once for 5,000, with tags, forms and scheduling on every plan.
Does SendFox connect to my store?
Your store or checkout can add buyers through the SendFox API, with tags, lists and custom fields (Lifetime and Pro). You can also import a customer CSV with a buyer tag. Adding a buyer to a list can start an automation, like a thank-you series.
Can I stop sending first-order discounts to people who already bought?
Yes. Import buyers with a tag and exclude that tag when you send the discount reminder.
Can I put a signup form on my shop?
Yes. Embed a SendFox form with one line of code, or link to a hosted Smart Page.
Copy this setup this afternoon
Free for 1,000 contacts. $29 once for 5,000. Import from Mailchimp, Kit or a CSV.
Free up to 1,000 contacts. No card.
Keep reading
Featured newsletters link to public creator pages and public emails. The walkthrough and screenshots use a fictional SendFox demo account, before any emails were sent.