The 5 Best Collaboration Tools for Businesses
This article introduces you to 5 collaboration tools that really make a difference, each with its own unique features, strengths, and…
Read more
People regularly predict the death of email. Instant messaging, collaboration tools, and professional social networks have proliferated, yet email remains strong. In 2024, more than 4.5 billion people worldwide use an email address, and that number continues to grow. For professionals, entrepreneurs, startups, and small and medium-sized businesses, email remains the most universal, direct, and often the most cost-effective communication channel.
The problem is that the email tools market has become highly fragmented. Today, a newsletter tool is not the same as a cold email tool, which is not the same as a business email account, which is not the same as a transactional SMTP server. Each use case has its own requirements, its own metrics, and its own dominant players.
This guide is designed to help you navigate these options. We’ve selected the most relevant tools available in 2026—all of which are available at a discount Freelance Stack—and organized them into four main categories: email marketing, cold emailing and lead generation, professional email accounts, and deliverability and transactional email solutions.
For each tool, you’ll find a practical overview, the profiles it’s suited for, its real-world benefits, and its limitations.
Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) has established itself as one of Europe’s leading email marketing platforms. Originally developed in France, the tool has since significantly expanded its capabilities to include email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp, forms, landing pages, a lightweight CRM, and automations. Brevo is no longer just an email sending tool but a full-fledged marketing platform.
What sets Brevo apart from its American competitors is its pricing model, which is based on the volume of emails sent rather than the number of contacts. This is a significant advantage for those with large contact lists but moderate sending frequencies.
🧑💼 Freelancers and consultants:
Brevo is particularly well-suited if you manage a newsletter or want to automate your customer communications without having to juggle dozens of tools. The free plan lets you get off to a solid start, and you can upgrade gradually as needed.
🏢 Small and medium-sized businesses and startups:
The integrated CRM and advanced automation features make it a strong option for teams looking to centralize their marketing efforts without investing in a complex tech stack. The fact that data is hosted in Europe is also a significant regulatory consideration (GDPR).
🛒 E-commerce retailers:
Native integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop enable the creation of automated workflows: abandoned cart, post-purchase follow-ups, and personalized recommendations.
Mailchimp practically invented the self-service email marketing market over twenty years ago. Today, it remains the world’s most widely recognized tool, giving it a clear advantage in terms of integrations and available resources. It offers thousands of tutorials, a massive community, and native compatibility with virtually every tool on the market.
However, the platform has evolved into something more comprehensive—and, as a result, more complex. Mailchimp now offers features for websites, online stores, appointment scheduling, and more. This can be confusing if you’re simply looking for a good email marketing tool.
🧑🎨 Content creators and bloggers:
Mailchimp remains a go-to choice for editorial newsletters thanks to its polished editor and templates tailored to different content styles.
🌐 Companies with a diverse suite of tools:
If you already use Shopify, Salesforce, WordPress, or other popular tools, Mailchimp can often be integrated in just a few clicks without any special development work.
🔰 Beginners in email marketing:
The learning curve is manageable, and the abundance of available resources makes it a reassuring choice for someone just getting started.
Kit, formerly known as ConvertKit, was designed from the ground up for content creators: bloggers, podcasters, authors, and online instructors. Its approach is different: fewer complex marketing features, more simplicity for engaging an audience and selling digital products.
The tool really stands out for its tagging and sequencing system, which allows users to create highly targeted email campaigns without needing any technical expertise.
🎙️ Creators, trainers, authors:
Kit is designed for people who sell digital products or courses, and for whom email is the primary tool for customer acquisition and retention.
Its streamlined interface is ideal for newsletter publishers who want to focus on content rather than technical details.
When it comes to automation capabilities in email marketing, ActiveCampaign stands out as one of the most advanced tools on the market. Its strength lies in the sophistication of its automation engine: multiple conditions, lead scoring, native CRM integration, and on-site behavioral tracking.
This isn't a tool for beginners. ActiveCampaign requires an initial time investment, but the return on investment can be significant for organizations with complex customer journeys.
📈 B2B marketing teams:
The combination of CRM, advanced automation, and scoring makes it the go-to solution for long sales cycles and complex onboarding processes.
🏪 High-volume e-commerce retailers:
Behavioral triggers and advanced personalization enable highly targeted scenarios based on purchase history.
Lemlist has carved out a unique niche in the lead generation tool ecosystem thanks to a distinctive approach: dynamic email personalization. This goes beyond simply inserting a first name as a variable; it includes automatically generated personalized images, landing pages tailored to each recipient, and multichannel sequences (email, LinkedIn, phone calls).
It's a tool designed for salespeople and growth teams who want to stand out in crowded inboxes.
💼 Sales reps and SDR teams:
Large-scale personalization and multichannel sequences are exactly what an SDR needs when managing dozens of prospects at the same time.
🚀 Startups in the acquisition phase:
For a startup looking to attract its first customers but without a substantial marketing budget, Lemlist makes it possible to create impactful outreach campaigns with limited resources.
Instantly is designed for those who engage in large-scale email outreach. Its key feature is simplified management of multiple email accounts to distribute mailings and ensure deliverability. The tool also includes an automatic warm-up system and detailed analytics broken down by campaign and sending account.
🏭 Lead generation agencies and growth hackers:
Instantly is designed for those who handle large volumes of data—often on behalf of multiple clients—and need a reliable and scalable infrastructure.
Smartlead operates in the same market segment as Instantly, with a focus on email list rotation and intelligent deliverability management. The tool also offers a unified inbox and native integrations with CRM and data enrichment tools.
📊 Growth and Revenue Operations Teams:
Smartlead is ideal for teams that want a robust cold email infrastructure without having to handle the technical aspects themselves.
Superhuman is in a league of its own. It’s not just a campaign tool—it’s a high-end email interface designed to help you manage your inbox as quickly as possible. With keyboard shortcuts, a streamlined interface, built-in AI for summaries and reply suggestions, and real-time open tracking, every feature is designed to save you minutes every day.
Its premium pricing ($30/month) is intentional. Superhuman targets professionals for whom time is their most valuable resource.
⚡ Executives and high-volume sales representatives:
Superhuman is a good fit if you handle 100+ emails a day and are looking to achieve "inbox zero" on a consistent basis, not just once in a while.
🤝 Profiles that sell or negotiate via email:
Real-time open tracking and follow-up reminders are valuable features for sales representatives and consultants.
Proton Mail is the gold standard for encrypted email services. Developed in Switzerland by engineers from CERN, it uses end-to-end encryption that prevents even Proton from accessing the content of your messages. For professionals concerned about privacy or who handle sensitive data, it is a serious alternative to major U.S. platforms.
Proton now offers a complete suite of services: Proton Drive, Proton Calendar, Proton VPN, and even Proton Pass for password management.
🔐 Regulated professionals and freelancers concerned about their privacy:
Lawyers, doctors, journalists, and consultants who handle sensitive data: Proton Mail meets privacy requirements that Gmail or Outlook cannot provide out of the box.
🌍 Entrepreneurs committed to digital sovereignty:
For those who don't want to rely on major U.S. platforms, Proton is the most mature and reliable solution on the market.
Front transforms email into a collaborative work tool. In practice, this means that multiple team members can manage the same inbox (support@, contact@, sales@, etc.) using assignments, internal comments, tags, and a complete history of all communications. It’s a tool that blurs the line between email and helpdesk.
🤝 Support and Customer Success Teams:
Front is probably the best option for teams that manage shared inboxes and want to avoid duplicate replies and unanswered messages.
🏢 Small and medium-sized businesses with multiple contact channels:
If you receive emails, text messages, and social media messages all in one place, Front brings them all together.
MailerSend is a transactional email service developed by the MailerLite team. It is designed for developers and technical teams who need to send automated emails related to their products, such as account confirmations, notifications, invoices, and alerts. The interface is polished, the documentation is comprehensive, and deliverability is top-notch.
👨💻 Developers and product teams:
MailerSend is designed to be integrated into an application or SaaS platform. If you need to send automated emails, it’s one of the most affordable solutions available.
Mailivery is a tool designed to warm up email addresses. Specifically, it simulates real email exchanges between users on the network to train email providers’ algorithms to recognize your domain as legitimate. This is essential before launching a cold email campaign or after changing your domain.
📤 Cold email prospectors:
Anyone who does cold calling should take deliverability seriously. Mailivery ensures that your emails land in the inbox rather than the spam folder.
The prices listed are for reference only and are subject to change: we recommend that you check them directly on the official websites before making a decision.
| Tool | Primary use | Ideal for | Admission fee | Key strengths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevo | Email marketing | SMEs, e-commerce, freelancers | Free / €7/month | All-in-one, GDPR, per-mail rate |
| Mailchimp | Email marketing | Beginners, various integration options | Free / $13/month | Ecosystem, UX, brand awareness |
| Kit | Newsletter / Designers | Newsletters, trainers | Free / $25/month | Generous free plan, monetization |
| ActiveCampaign | Marketing automation | B2B, advanced e-commerce | $15/month | Automation, Integrated CRM |
| Lemlist | Cold email | Salespeople, startups | $39/month | Personalization, multichannel |
| Instantly | Scalable cold emailing | Agencies, growth | $37/month | Multi-account, deliverability |
| Smartlead | Scalable cold emailing | Revenue Operations, B2B | $39/month | Mailbox rotation, unified inbox |
| Superhuman | Business email account | Executives, sales representatives | $19/month | Speed, AI, aperture tracking |
| Proton Mail | Secure email account | Sensitive professions | Free / $4/month | Encryption, privacy |
| Front | Shared mailbox | Support/Sales Teams | $19/month | Collaboration, routing |
| MailerSend | Transactional | Developers, SaaS | Free / $30/month | API, deliverability, pricing |
| Mailivery | Warm-up email | Cold email prospectors | $29/month | Deliverability, specialization |
Before you start comparing features, ask yourself the right question: What is your main use for email?
If you send regular newsletters or marketing campaigns to a contact list, solutions like Brevo, Mailchimp, Kit, or ActiveCampaign should be your first consideration. The choice between them depends mainly on the size of your list, the complexity of your automations, and your regulatory requirements.
If your goal is cold calling, you need a dedicated tool like Lemlist, Instantly, or Smartlead, possibly combined with a warm-up tool like Mailivery.
If your personal email inbox is your main workplace and you rely on it heavily, Superhuman can transform your daily routine. Proton Mail is the obvious choice if privacy is a business requirement or a strong ethical priority. And if your team manages shared inboxes, Front is likely the most robust solution.
Finally, if you’re building a product and need to send programmatic emails, MailerSend or SMTP2GO are solid technical options worth exploring.
There are a few questions that come up often when you're trying to choose or switch email providers. Here are the straightforward answers.
An email client (such as Superhuman, Proton Mail, or Front) is the interface you use to send and receive individual emails on a daily basis. An email marketing tool (such as Brevo, Mailchimp, or ActiveCampaign) is used to send bulk campaigns to a list of contacts, with features for segmentation, automation, and reporting.
When you create a new domain or email address, email providers (such as Google and Microsoft) don’t trust you yet. The warm-up process involves gradually sending small volumes of emails to build a positive reputation. Without this, your prospecting emails risk ending up directly in the spam folder. Tools like Mailivery or the warm-up modules built into Lemlist, Instantly, or Smartlead automate this process.
Technically, yes, but it’s not recommended. Brevo (like all email marketing tools) requires that your contacts have consented to receive your emails. Sending cold emails through these platforms puts your account at risk of suspension. For cold outreach, use a dedicated tool such as Lemlist, Instantly, or Smartlead.
All the tools featured in this article can be used in compliance with the GDPR, provided that you follow the rules of use (contact consent, right to opt out, data management). Brevo and Proton Mail stand out for their European hosting and their commitments to data sovereignty. For the others, check the data processors and data processing agreements (DPAs) before committing.
Absolutely, and that's often the best approach. A typical setup for a B2B startup might include: Brevo for newsletters and customer onboarding, Lemlist or Instantly for sales prospecting, MailerSend for transactional product emails, and Mailivery to maintain deliverability for prospecting lists. The key is not to skimp on deliverability: it’s the foundation of any effective email strategy.
Brevo is often the best place to start: unlimited contacts, 300 free emails per day, and a full-fledged marketing platform at your fingertips. Kit offers an attractive alternative if you’re a content creator, with up to 10,000 subscribers for free. MailerSend offers 3,000 transactional emails per month for free if you have specific technical needs.
The key metrics to monitor are: open rate (general benchmark: 20–30% depending on the industry), click-through rate (2–5% on average), unsubscribe rate (should be kept below 0.3%), and, most importantly, the conversion rate for the campaign’s objective. Deliverability should be monitored via the spam placement rate and the bounce rate. Tools like ActiveCampaign or Brevo include these reports natively.
