Benchmark Email vs Encharge
Benchmark Email is a email marketing platform while Encharge is a all-in-one marketing platform. Benchmark Email has been around since 2004, giving it a 14-year head start over Encharge (founded 2018). Benchmark Email is the more affordable option at $27/mo — that's $52 less than Encharge's $79/mo entry point. Benchmark Email offers a free plan (500 contacts, 2,500 emails/month, 1 user), while Encharge does not. Benchmark Email stands out with landing pages, while Encharge offers ecommerce integrations.
Quick Verdict
Benchmark Email wins on price, rating, integrations, free tier.
Encharge wins on deliverability.
Best for most users: Benchmark Email (beginners).
Benchmark Email
Straightforward email marketing with all features on every plan
Benchmark Email is a multilingual email marketing platform founded in 2004 that takes an all-features-included approach, giving every user access to automation, A/B testing, and analytics regardless of plan tier. Available in 9 languages with global support, it appeals to international teams and nonprofits, though its significantly below-average deliverability rate (47.1% in third-party testing) is a serious concern that undermines its otherwise user-friendly design.
Encharge
Email & marketing automation, simplified
Encharge is a marketing automation platform built for SaaS and product-led companies. It excels at behavior-based email sequences triggered by in-app user actions, making it strong for onboarding flows, trial conversion campaigns, and lifecycle marketing.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Benchmark Email | Encharge |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Starting Price | $27/mo | $79/mo |
| Free Plan | 500 contacts, 2,500 emails/month, 1 user | No free plan |
| Founded | 2004 | 2018 |
| Email Templates | 200 | 30 |
| Integrations | 1,500 | 55 |
| Deliverability Rate | 47.1% | 96.5% |
| Marketing Automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| A/B Testing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Landing Pages | ✓ | ✕ |
| Segmentation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag & Drop Editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| SMS Marketing | ✕ | ✕ |
| Ecommerce Features | ✕ | ✓ |
| API Access | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-Language | ✓ | ✕ |
| Web Push Notifications | ✕ | ✕ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✕ |
| Advanced Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
Benchmark Email: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +All features included on every plan including free -- no feature gating between tiers
- +Available in 9 languages with live customer support in each, making it ideal for international teams
- +Intuitive drag-and-drop editor with mobile-optimized templates and device previews
- +Generous free plan with 500 contacts and 2,500 emails per month including AI content generation
- +Simple contact-based pricing that scales predictably without hidden charges for features
Cons
- −Extremely poor deliverability rate of 47.1% in EmailToolTester's January 2024 independent test, consistently ranking near the bottom
- −Segmentation is limited to within individual lists only -- cannot create cross-list segments for flexible targeting
- −Fewer than 30 pre-designed email templates despite marketing claims of 200+, limiting design variety
- −Slow product development cycle with features lagging behind competitors in automation and ecommerce capabilities
- −No migration support for non-enterprise customers when switching from another email platform
Encharge: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Excellent behavior-based automation for SaaS user onboarding and lifecycle emails
- +Visual flow builder is intuitive with granular event-based triggers
- +Native integrations with Stripe, Chargebee, and HubSpot for SaaS workflows
- +14-day free trial with no credit card required
- +Visual flow builder makes complex automation sequences easy to understand
Cons
- −No free plan and pricing starts at $79/mo for 2,000 subscribers
- −No SMS or push notification channels
- −Template library is limited compared to competitors
- −Smaller integration ecosystem than enterprise alternatives
- −No built-in landing page builder — requires third-party tools
The Verdict
Benchmark Email edges ahead with a 4.3/5 rating compared to Encharge's 4.1/5. The gap comes mainly from support (4.7 vs 3.9) and value for money (4.6 vs 3.8). On deliverability, Encharge reports 96.5% compared to 47.1% for Benchmark Email — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Benchmark Email | Encharge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $27/mo | $79/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 47.1% | 96.5% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 | 4.1/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 1500 | 55 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | No |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Benchmark Email if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($27/mo)
- + You need a free plan to get started
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You're a beginners
Choose Encharge if…
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You're a SaaS companies
- + You're a product led growth teams