Benchmark Email vs Loops
Benchmark Email and Loops are both popular choices in the email marketing platform space. Benchmark Email has been around since 2004, giving it a 18-year head start over Loops (founded 2022). Benchmark Email is the more affordable option at $19/mo, which is $30 less than Loops's $49/mo entry point. Both offer free plans to get started. Benchmark Email has the edge with A/B testing, landing pages, advanced analytics.
Quick Verdict
Benchmark Email wins on price, integrations.
Loops wins on deliverability, rating.
Best for most users: Loops (saas startups).
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.
Loops
The email platform built for SaaS
Loops is a developer-first email platform designed exclusively for SaaS companies, combining marketing and transactional email in a single clean interface. Built by Y Combinator alumni, it features a Notion-style block editor, event-based automation triggered by user behavior like signups and upgrades, and contact-based pricing with unlimited sends. Its standout strength is letting small SaaS teams replace both their marketing email tool and transactional service (like SendGrid) with one unified platform.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Benchmark Email | Loops |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Starting Price | $19/mo | $49/mo |
| Free Plan | 500 contacts, 2,500 emails/month, 1 user | 1,000 contacts, 4,000 sends/month, Loops branding |
| Founded | 2004 | 2022 |
| Email Templates | 200 | 15 |
| Integrations | 1,500 | 24 |
| Deliverability Rate | 47.1% | 95% |
| Marketing Automation | Yes | Yes |
| A/B Testing | Yes | No |
| Landing Pages | Yes | No |
| Segmentation | Yes | Yes |
| Drag & Drop Editor | Yes | No |
| SMS Marketing | No | No |
| Ecommerce Features | No | No |
| API Access | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-Language | Yes | Yes |
| Web Push Notifications | No | No |
| Live Chat | Yes | No |
| Advanced Analytics | Yes | No |
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
Loops: Pros & Cons
Pros
- + Clean Notion-style block editor with extremely fast email creation and minimal learning curve
- + Unified platform for both marketing and transactional emails eliminates need for separate services like SendGrid
- + Simple contact-based pricing with unlimited sends and no per-seat charges on all paid plans
- + Strong developer-focused API with direct integrations for Stripe, Supabase, Clerk, and webhook support
- + Founder-led customer support with direct access via live chat, email, and 1:1 Calendly calls
Cons
- − Limited automation logic — lacks advanced multi-branch workflows and conditional logic found in mature platforms
- − No built-in CRM or detailed contact history, requiring external tools for relationship management
- − Editor has reported bugs including no undo functionality, risking accidental content loss
- − Narrow SaaS-only focus makes it unsuitable for ecommerce, media, or non-tech industries
- − Very small integration ecosystem (24 native integrations) compared to competitors with hundreds
The Verdict
Loops edges ahead with a 4.6/5 rating compared to Benchmark Email's 4.3/5. The gap comes mainly from deliverability (4.6 vs 3.2) and value for money (4.9 vs 4.6). On deliverability, Loops reports 95% compared to 47.1% for Benchmark Email — a meaningful difference if inbox placement is critical for your campaigns.
| Criterion | Weight | Benchmark Email | Loops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | 30% | $19/mo Winner | $49/mo |
| Deliverability | 25% | 47.1% | 95% Winner |
| Rating | 25% | 4.3/5 | 4.6/5 Winner |
| Integrations | 10% | 1500 Winner | 24 |
| Free Tier | 10% | Yes | Yes |
Weights determine how much each criterion counts toward the final score. See full methodology
Choose Benchmark Email if…
- + You want lower starting costs ($19/mo)
- + You need built-in landing pages
- + You need A/B testing
- + You need advanced analytics
Choose Loops if…
- + You're a saas startups
- + You're a developer first teams
- + Clean Notion-style block editor with extremely fast email creation and minimal learning curve