Compare the 4 best email marketing software for nonprofits

Email marketing remains one of the best ways for nonprofits to reach donors and encourage them to act. In this article, we’ll provide you with everything you need to know about choosing the best email marketing platform for your nonprofit, including key features to look for when comparing platforms.

Key features to look for in an email marketing platform

It’s crucial for nonprofits to have email marketing software that offers all the tools they need to design, schedule, and send emails (along with email analytics that can help them improve).

Regardless of the size of your marketing budget, these are the features you should look for when selecting the best email marketing platform for your organization.

• Nonprofit discounts 💸 Organizations can save funds by looking for an email marketing platform that offers a free trial, plan, or special pricing for nonprofits (many do!).
• Design templates 🎨 Email marketing platforms that provide free design templates or user-friendly visual editing tools make sending out eye-catching emails a breeze.
• Automated workflows 🤖 Email marketing software that provides automated data collection and delivery will reduce admin time and give you more energy to focus on writing a compelling appeal.
• Customized reporting 📈 Look for email marketing software that makes the data collection process easy and provides valuable insight to help your organization get an even better click-through rate.

4 best email platforms for nonprofits to consider

Most email platforms offer similar features, but the cost of the software varies depending on the features you need, the number of contacts you have, and the amount of email campaigns your organization sends out every month. 

Givebutter: Integrates seamlessly with fundraising tools and nonprofit CRM

Givebutter is an all-in-one fundraising platform that offers free text and email marketing tools that nonprofits can use to build donor relationships, encourage event attendance, solicit gifts, and more.

💰 Price: Givebutter’s email marketing tools are completely free for nonprofits. Organizations will also get access to a robust CRM and 100+ fundraising features when they sign up for a free Givebutter account.

📣 Standout features:

• Make emails your own by adding your organization's logo and brand colors
• Connect your nonprofit's domain to send email blasts from your organization's email address
• Create emails using a visual email editor with a built-in Canva integration that allows you to create and upload designs without leaving the page
• Send emails right away, set up automated campaigns, or schedule for later
• See who read, bounced, and unsubscribed from your email list and understand each message's ROI
• Personalize emails by creating smart segments, adding merge fields, and sharing campaign updates
• Add YouTube video thumbnail previews
• Embed custom signup forms to grow your email contact list directly on your website
• Enjoy other built-in nonprofit marketing software like texting, letters, and more
• Connect seamlessly with built-in fundraising tools, nonprofit CRM, and 1,000+ third-party integrations

✅ Best for: Givebutter is an excellent option for nonprofits that want one place to raise funds, keep track of donor data, and send free email and text blasts to donors.

🔥 Our take: Givebutter doesn't stop with email marketing. After collecting supporters' information, you can create a communication plan and send automated emails to welcome new supporters, link them to fundraising pages, send them event reminders, or encourage them to create an online campaign.

Givebutter’s additional features—like embeddable donation forms, social fundraising pages, and interactive livestreaming—give you one centralized place to raise money, track data, and engage donors in real-time.

Mailchimp: Provides standard tools for small nonprofits

Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing platforms that’s free to start, but more features and donor contacts will lead to higher costs.

💰 Price: Nonprofits get a great deal initially with Mailchimp's free plan that's good for 6,000 emails a month and up to 500 contacts. As your organization gains followers, however, prices quickly grow. Mailchimp does offer nonprofits a 15% discount on all plans.

📣 Standout features:

• Pre-built email templates
• 300 integrations
• Basic reporting and analytics
• Forms and landing pages

✅ Best for: Mailchimp is a world-class email marketing tool for new and smaller nonprofits.

🔥 Our take: Mailchimp is an excellent option for nonprofits just getting started in email marketing, but you may need to transfer contacts to more affordable software as you grow. 

If you can afford Mailchimp, paid plans let nonprofits A/B test emails and schedule emails to reach donors at the right time. Paid Mailchimp plans also let organizations remove Mailchimp branding, so donors do not lose trust in the nonprofit as they are asked to give more. 

Constant Contact: Drives traffic to your nonprofit's website

Constant Contact boasts a 97% delivery rate and digital marketing tools designed to boost sales (or, in your case, donations) for small businesses. 

💰 Price: Constant Contact offers a 20% nonprofit discount for organizations that purchase a six-month plan and 30% off of a twelve-month plan. Still, plans with Contact Contact cost more than the rest on this list, starting at up to $45+ a month.

📣 Standout features:

• Hundreds of design templates
• Automated emails to segmented donors
• Series triggers for automated emails
• List-building tools and sign-up forms to attract new contacts via website, Facebook, text, and more
• Resend unopened emails with a different subject line

✅ Best for: Constant Contact’s features make it an ideal tool for mid-level nonprofits with their eyes on the future.

🔥 Our take: Mid-level organizations may be willing to spend $10 to $35 a month for email templates, sign-up forms, social media sharing, and third-party integrations. Still, to benefit from features like automated communication and donor segmentation, you must purchase a Premium plan at an increased monthly fee. 

If you can afford Constant Contact, this tool can help your nonprofit drive traffic to your website and form deeper donor relationships.

Flodesk: Offers seamless checkout experiences

Flodesk stands out because it offers most of Constant Contact’s digital marketing features for lower monthly costs.

💰 Price: Flodesk’s prices fit squarely in the middle of our list with a starting price of $35 a month. Flodesk doesn't offer a nonprofit discount, but there is a 30-day free trial (no credit card needed). There’s also a 3% + $0.30 payment processing fee on all transactions made through Flodesk checkout pages.

📣 Standout features:

• Creative email templates
• Third-party integrations
• Unlimited emails
• Automated email workflows
• Unlimited landing page forms
• Share on social media
• Automatically resend emails that weren't opened

✅ Best for: Flodesk features like automated workflows and beautiful email templates can help small and mid-level nonprofits reach a larger audience.

🔥 Our take: Many nonprofits may find Flodesk pays for itself with the time saved using its automated email workflows, record gifts in their database, send personalized emails to donors, and track earned revenue.

But, nonprofits should keep in mind that Flodesk was designed for businesses needing a seamless digital marketing and checkout experience. You’ll have to be intentional when using Flodesk, so your communication with donors doesn’t come off as too “sales-y.” 

Givebutter is the top-rated choice for nonprofit email marketing 

If you’re tired of having to pay for multiple tools to fundraise, track donor contacts, and host your marketing automation, Givebutter remains the only free option on this list that provides nonprofits with everything they need to strengthen donor relationships and raise funds.

Sign up for a free Givebutter account and see how quickly your email appeals encourage donors to give.

Ultimately, we want you to choose the email marketing software that best fits your organization’s unique needs and budget. It’s easy to switch to Givebutter later on if it wasn’t your first choice.