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Most buyers should pick EmailOctopus.
Choose EmailOctopus for the free tier or lower paid entry price: Pro is $9/month billed yearly, versus Campaign Monitor’s $11.70/month annual-equivalent Lite price. Its Starter plan caps at 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 monthly emails. Pick Campaign Monitor if you need customer journeys, unlimited sends on Essentials, or AI campaign tools. Its starting Lite tier covers 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails, so compare your list size and send volume before switching.
01Side by side
| Campaign Monitor | EmailOctopus | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $11.70/month annual equivalent; $13 month-to-month. | $0 Starter; Pro $9/month billed yearly. |
| Free plan | No free plan; 30-day free trial. | Starter: 2,500 subscribers, 10,000 monthly emails. |
| Best for | Teams needing customer journeys and campaign optimization tools. | Small lists seeking free email marketing or lower-cost Pro. |
| Core strength | Visual journeys, AI recommendations, and campaign translation. | Drag-and-drop campaigns, forms, segmentation, and automations. |
| Learning curve | Not published; a visual journey designer is listed. | Not published; a drag-and-drop editor is listed. |
| Integrations and reporting | Benchmarks and tracking; integration details not specified. | Reports and integrations listed; integration details not specified. |
| Team and seat costs | Unlimited users on Lite, Essentials, Premier, and Enterprise. | Starter has one user; Pro has unlimited users. |
| Support | Phone support on Premier; other plan details not published. | Support terms not published on the vendor's site. |
Campaign Monitor Choose Campaign Monitor if
- Choose Campaign Monitor if you need automated customer journeys.
- Choose Campaign Monitor if unlimited sends matter on Essentials.
- Choose Campaign Monitor if you want campaign AI and benchmarks.
EmailOctopus Choose EmailOctopus if
- Choose EmailOctopus if you want a free plan to start.
- Choose EmailOctopus if 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 monthly emails suffice.
- Choose EmailOctopus if a $9 annual-billed Pro plan fits.
02Pricing compared
EmailOctopus is cheaper at entry: its Pro plan is listed at $9/month when billed yearly, while Campaign Monitor Lite starts at $11.70/month on annual billing. EmailOctopus also has a free Starter plan for up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month, with branding and 30-day reports. Campaign Monitor has no free plan; its Lite starting tier includes 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails. Essentials is $27.90/month annual-equivalent for 500 contacts and unlimited sends. The pricing page advertises 20% off Essentials annual billing, while the listed starting price reflects 10% off. EmailOctopus Pro includes 10,000 monthly emails, but its monthly price is not published. Check Campaign Monitor’s contact tiers: accounts exceeding contact or sending thresholds move to a higher tier, and overage rates are not published.
03Features and depth
Campaign Monitor has the broader set of campaign and journey tools. Its visual journey designer supports automated customer journeys, and Essentials includes unlimited email sends. Its AI-focused tools include generating campaigns and branded visuals, translating campaigns, turning emails into Instagram posts, and recommendations based on campaign results or industry benchmarks. These extras matter if you want more than email creation and sending, but they come with a higher starting price than EmailOctopus Pro.
EmailOctopus covers the core workflow: a drag-and-drop editor, email automations, signup forms, segmentation with tags, personalization, and scheduling. Its Starter plan is limited to 10,000 emails a month; Pro also lists a 10,000-email monthly allowance. The published feature list does not include Campaign Monitor’s AI or benchmark tools, or SMS and other add-on services. In short, EmailOctopus focuses on targeted email campaigns, while Campaign Monitor offers more named tools for campaign production and customer journeys.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Both products scored 7/10 for ease of use in our reviews. The feature descriptions point to different kinds of setup: EmailOctopus offers a drag-and-drop editor, forms, tags, and scheduling, while Campaign Monitor adds a visual journey designer and several AI-assisted campaign tools. More tools can mean more options to learn, but the published material does not establish how long setup takes or how difficult either product is in practice. If you only need to create and send campaigns, EmailOctopus’s narrower feature set may be easier to evaluate. If you need automated customer journeys or AI campaign features, compare those workflows before switching.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper, Campaign Monitor or EmailOctopus?
EmailOctopus has the lower listed paid entry price: Pro is $9/month billed yearly, compared with Campaign Monitor Lite at $11.70/month on annual billing. EmailOctopus also offers a free Starter plan. Compare send limits and list size, not just the headline price.
Does Campaign Monitor have a free plan?
No free plan is listed for Campaign Monitor. Its Lite starting tier costs $11.70/month on annual billing and includes 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails. EmailOctopus has a free Starter plan with limits of 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails per month.
Which platform has more automation and AI tools?
Campaign Monitor lists a visual customer-journey designer and AI tools for campaign generation, translation, Instagram posts, and recommendations. EmailOctopus lists email automations, segmentation, personalization, and scheduling, but the published feature information does not list equivalent AI or benchmark tools.
What should I check before switching?
Compare your subscriber count and monthly send volume against each plan’s limits. Campaign Monitor Lite starts at 500 contacts and 2,500 emails per month; EmailOctopus Starter allows 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails. Also check Campaign Monitor’s unpublished overage rates and EmailOctopus Pro’s unpublished monthly price.