The short answer: Mailchimp and Brevo are easy, low-cost starting points for email. ActiveCampaign offers deep email automation for a modest price. HubSpot is a big marketing suite, but fuller automation sits on its expensive Professional plan. If your leads come in by phone, text and web forms, an all-in-one platform like My New Admin automates texts, emails, missed calls, bookings and reviews in one place.
Most marketing automation tools were built for email. That’s great for newsletters and online stores, but service businesses usually need more: instant replies to calls and texts, appointment reminders and quote follow-ups. Here’s how the popular options compare.
The options at a glance
| Software | Starting price | Watch out for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailchimp | Free for 250 contacts. Essentials from US$13 a month | Multi-step journeys need the Standard plan, from US$20 a month | Simple newsletters and beginners |
| Brevo | Free plan. Starter from US$9 a month | Fuller automation is on the Business plan, from about US$18 a month | Large lists on a tight budget |
| ActiveCampaign | Starter from US$15 a month, billed annually | No free plan, and prices climb as your list grows | Detailed email automation |
| HubSpot Marketing Hub | Starter about US$15–20 per seat a month | Fuller automation is on Professional, from US$890 a month plus a one-off onboarding fee | Teams wanting a large marketing suite |
| My New Admin | $297 a month incl. GST, unlimited users | Built for service businesses, not big online stores | Texts, email, calls, bookings and automation in one app |
Most tools price in US dollars, before GST and exchange-rate costs, as published or reported in 2026. Prices usually rise with the number of contacts, so check each website for your list size.
Mailchimp
The best-known name in email marketing, with a gentle learning curve and lots of templates.
- Good: easy to start, free plan for small lists.
- Watch out for: the free plan is small, and branching automations need a paid upgrade.
Brevo
A value-focused platform that prices by how many emails you send, rather than how many contacts you have.
- Good: generous free plan, low entry price, SMS available.
- Watch out for: the cheapest plan keeps Brevo branding, and advanced automation costs more.
ActiveCampaign
A favourite for detailed email automation and segmentation.
- Good: powerful automation on every paid plan, built-in CRM.
- Watch out for: a steeper learning curve and no free plan.
HubSpot Marketing Hub
A large marketing suite with a free CRM and polished tools.
- Good: free tools to start, huge ecosystem, strong reporting.
- Watch out for: the big jump in price from Starter to Professional, where fuller automation lives.
My New Admin
My New Admin’s marketing automation runs texts, emails and internal alerts from simple workflows, triggered by forms, missed calls, bookings, payments and more. It sits alongside your CRM, inbox, calendar, invoices and AI receptionist.
- Good: automates the whole customer journey, not just email, with unlimited users on one flat price.
- Watch out for: if you only send a monthly newsletter, an email-only tool may be enough.
How to choose
- Where do your leads come from? If it’s mostly calls and texts, an email-only tool will miss most of them.
- What do you want to automate? Newsletters, or replies, reminders, follow-ups and review requests?
- How big is your list? Per-contact pricing gets expensive as you grow.
- Who’s setting it up? Some tools take weeks to learn. Ready-made templates help.
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Frequently asked questions
It depends on how your customers find you. Mailchimp and Brevo suit simple email marketing, ActiveCampaign suits detailed email automation, and My New Admin suits service businesses that need texts, emails, missed-call replies, bookings and reviews automated together.
Mailchimp, Brevo and HubSpot all have free plans with limits on contacts, emails or features. They’re a good way to start, but most businesses outgrow them.
For newsletters, email is fine. For new leads, appointment reminders and quote follow-ups, texts are usually seen sooner, so service businesses often get better results using both.
Automation works best when it’s connected to your customer records. My New Admin includes both, so every message and reply is saved against the customer.