Campaign Monitor

Overview

Campaign Monitor is an email marketing platform used by over 250,000 businesses to design, send, and automate campaigns. It combines a drag-and-drop email builder with around 120 responsive templates, visual customer journey automation, engagement segmentation, and a full analytics dashboard. Newer AI features like AI Email Booster and Segment Mapper help you improve performance and build audience segments using plain language. Now part of Marigold, it suits small businesses, mid-market brands, and agencies managing multiple clients.

Key Features

Drag-and-Drop Email Builder: Build responsive emails in minutes using around 120 professional templates, with automatic brand color and logo import from your website URL.
AI Email Booster: Get goal-driven recommendations you can apply in one click to improve opens, clicks, and conversions.
Segment Mapper: Build complex audience segments using plain language prompts instead of manual logic, no technical skills needed.
Visual Journey Designer: Create automated customer journeys triggered by purchases, signups, link clicks, or segment changes, with conditional branching.
Engagement Segmentation: Automatically sort subscribers into six pre-built segments based on how they interact with your emails.
Analytics Dashboards: Track email, automation, and transactional performance with geo-tracking, device reports, click maps, and real-time results.
Agency Tools: Manage multiple clients with a client dashboard, sub-account template sharing, white-labeling, and built-in billing.
Transactional Email and SMS: Send on-brand transactional messages and US-based SMS campaigns personalized with subscriber traits.

Pros

Clean, Beginner-Friendly Interface: Reviewers consistently praise the intuitive UI, quick page loads, and guided setup that make campaigns easy to build.
Strong Email Design Quality: Templates look polished and render well across devices, which is a top selling point in user reviews.
Solid Analytics and Reporting: Advanced dashboards with geo-tracking, device data, and click maps give clear visibility into performance.
Accessible Automation: The visual journey designer lets you build welcome series and conditional flows without a separate tutorial.
Good Fit for Agencies: Multi-client dashboards, sub-account management, and template sharing make it practical for freelancers and agencies.

Cons

No Free Plan and Limited Support: There's no free tier, only a 14-day trial, and live chat isn't available, phone support is Premier-only.
Automation Lacks Depth: Missing advanced triggers like website behavior tracking and complex multi-channel workflows that competitors offer.
Integration Gaps: No Instagram integration and limited options with certain CRMs, plus signup forms lack mobile optimization controls.

Use Cases

Small Business Newsletters: A boutique retailer uses the drag-and-drop builder and brand import to send weekly newsletters that match their website styling without hiring a designer.
Automated Welcome Series: A SaaS company builds a branching welcome journey that nudges new signups who open but don't click, improving activation rates.
Agency Client Management: A marketing agency runs campaigns for 20 clients from one account, sharing locked templates and billing each sub-account separately.
E-commerce Re-Engagement: An online store uses engagement segmentation and integrated purchase data to target abandoned cart shoppers with personalized offers.
Nonprofit Donor Outreach: A charity triggers on-brand transactional receipts after donations and segments donors by giving level using Segment Mapper.
Performance Optimization: A mid-market marketing team applies AI Email Booster recommendations to improve open and click rates on recurring campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Campaign Monitor free?

No. Campaign Monitor doesn't offer a free plan. You can start a 14-day free trial, and there's a limited sandbox mode that lets you send test emails to up to five addresses.

How much does Campaign Monitor cost?

The Lite plan costs $17.10 AUD per month and has a sending limit of approximately five times your subscriber count. This tier includes basic features along with some AI and automation tools. It is the best choice for those with small lists who send emails occasionally.
The Essentials plan is priced at $42.30 AUD per month and offers unlimited email sends. It provides priority support and access to all full core features. This option is ideal for most businesses and newsletter creators.
The Premier plan costs $234.90 AUD per month and features unlimited sends plus advanced functionality. Subscribers receive phone support and advanced segmentation tools. It is designed specifically for teams, agencies, and those who require heavy automation.
The Enterprise plan uses custom pricing and includes a dedicated account manager, a service-level agreement, and enhanced security features. This plan is best suited for large-scale operations.

Does Campaign Monitor have AI features?

Yes. AI Email Booster provides one-click recommendations to improve opens, clicks, and conversions. Segment Mapper lets you build audience segments using plain language instead of manual logic.

Who is Campaign Monitor best for?

It's aimed at small businesses, mid-market brands, and agencies. It works well for teams that value clean design, solid analytics, and easy-to-build automation, and is especially popular with marketing professionals and agencies managing multiple clients.

Does Campaign Monitor support SMS and transactional email?

Yes. Transactional emails are included on Essentials and Premier plans, capped at 10x your subscriber limit. SMS campaigns are available for US-based recipients and use a credit-based pricing model.

What kind of customer support is available?

Email support is available on all plans, and phone support is included with Premier. There's no live chat, which some reviewers note as a drawback.

How does Campaign Monitor handle subscriber counts?

Billing is based on active subscribers across all your lists. If the same email appears on five lists, it counts five times, so list hygiene matters for cost control.