Benchmark Email vs HubSpot Email Marketing
Benchmark Email is a email marketing platform while HubSpot Email Marketing is a all-in-one marketing platform. HubSpot Email Marketing starts at $20/seat/mo versus $27/mo for Benchmark Email. Both offer free plans to get started. HubSpot Email Marketing has the edge with SMS marketing, ecommerce integrations.
Quick Verdict
HubSpot Email Marketing wins on price, deliverability, rating.
Best for most users: HubSpot Email Marketing (b2b).
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.
HubSpot Email Marketing
Email marketing powered by CRM data
HubSpot's email marketing is part of its complete Marketing Hub. While the free and Starter tiers offer competitive email marketing, the real power comes with Professional tier and above, where HubSpot's CRM data feeds into sophisticated automation and personalization.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Benchmark Email | HubSpot Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Starting Price | $27/mo | $20/mo |
| Free Plan | 500 contacts, 2,500 emails/month, 1 user | 2,000 emails/month |
| Founded | 2004 | 2006 |
| Email Templates | 200 | 80 |
| Integrations | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| Deliverability Rate | 47.1% | 97% |
| 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
HubSpot Email Marketing: Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Best-in-class CRM integration
- +1,500+ integrations (largest ecosystem)
- +Powerful marketing automation
- +All-in-one marketing, sales, and service platform
- +Excellent analytics and attribution
Cons
- −Professional plan is very expensive ($890/mo)
- −Annual commitment required for higher tiers
- −Complex pricing structure
- −Steep learning curve
- −Email features alone don't justify the cost
The Verdict
Benchmark Email and HubSpot Email Marketing are closely matched — both score within 0.1 points of each other in our overall rating. Your decision should come down to specific needs rather than overall quality. On deliverability, HubSpot Email Marketing reports 97% compared to 47.1% for Benchmark Email — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Benchmark Email | HubSpot Email Marketing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $27/mo | $20/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 47.1% | 97% |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Integrations | 10% | 1500 | 1500 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Benchmark Email if…
- + You're a beginners
- + You're a small businesses
- + All features included on every plan including free -- no feature gating between tiers
Choose HubSpot Email Marketing if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($20/mo)
- + You need SMS marketing
- + You need ecommerce integrations
- + You're a b2b