Flodesk Pricing (2024): Is it really that cheap compared to other email marketing services?

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One of the biggest reasons I switched from Mailchimp to Flodesk was because of Flodesk’s pricing.

While Mailchimp was charging me an arm and a leg for my newsletter’s steadily-growing subscriber list, Flodesk’s flat-rate price of $38/month – regardless of how large my list grew – was an offer I simply couldn’t refuse.

Now, after more than three years using Flodesk, I can confidently say I made the right choice. But, I also know the ins and outs of what’s included (and what’s not), the little catches, and where it falls behind other email marketing services.

In this all-you-need-to-know guide on Flodesk pricing, I’ll go into each one of these to help you decide whether or not Flodesk makes sense for your email marketing and newsletter campaigns.

Flodesk Pricing Plans

Flodesk’s pricing is unique in the email marketing industry. Rather than charging based on your list size, or the number of emails you send per month, Flodesk offers two flat-rate plans:

• Email: This includes all of Flodesk’s email marketing features for $38/month (reduced to $35/month if you opt for an annual subscription)
• Email & Checkout: This includes Flodesk’s ecommerce features for $64/month (reduced to $59/month with an annual subscription)

There’s also a Free plan to let you capture subscribers via social media with a “Link in bio” page, although this doesn’t include email marketing features. However, you can trial both paid plans for free for 30 days, and only pay when you want to start sending campaigns or selling.

Given that some email marketing services can charge hundreds of dollars for similar features, Flodesk’s pricing is a steal.

Surely, there must be a catch, right?

For me, thankfully, there isn’t. However, you are right to guess that Flodesk is not for everyone. There are some important limitations you should be aware of before signing up for a Flodesk plan.

Before I get into that, let’s quickly explore what you get for the money you pay.

What’s Included in Flodesk’s Plans?

On its paid plans, Flodesk includes some excellent email marketing features for content creators, bloggers, small business and freelancers, including:

Here’s a feature-by-feature breakdown of what’s included in each of Flodesk’s three plans.

As you can see, Flodesk offers a range of useful email marketing features - but it’s not overstuffed with unnecessary ones, either. If all you’re looking to do is send some beautiful-looking emails, and access some handy segmentation, basic automation, and digital selling features, Flodesk offers great value for money.

Which Flodesk Plan Should I Choose?

An example of a Flodesk Link in Bio page

The free Link in Bio plan lets you create a customized page to capture subscribers from your social media profiles.

However, because it doesn’t include any email sending features, you won’t be able to do much with your subscribers once you’ve got them! In short: it’s not really designed to be the kind of plan you can stay on for very long.

Some of the gorgeous email templates available with the Flodesk Email plan

The Email plan, however, is packed with some excellent email marketing features. Its heavy emphasis on design and aesthetics means you get access to some sleek templates for your emails, forms, and landing pages. You can segment subscribers, set up basic automated workflows (based on when a subscriber joins a segment), and optimize email send times.

Sell digital products with Flodesk Checkout

Email + Checkout is ideal if you sell digital products such as newsletters access, online courses, ebooks, artwork, templates, event tickets, or online services. In addition to all the email marketing features included in the Email plan, you also get all the tools you need to build a complete sales funnel, including sales page templates, online payment processing (via Stripe), checkout pages, and digital product delivery.

What’s great is that Flodesk Checkout doesn’t charge sales fees - unlike some other platforms. All you have to pay is the standard Stripe processing fee of 3% + 30 cents per transaction.

One thing to note, though, is that Flodesk Checkout isn’t available in all countries. It’s currently only available for users in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and some Euro area countries.

What’s Not Included in Flodesk’s Plans?

There are some limitations to Flodesk’s features. For one, its free plan doesn’t let you send any emails. If you’re after a free email marketing service, I’d recommend checking out alternatives like Kit and MailerLite, which include a lot more within their free plans. (We also have a complete list of free email marketing services here).

Compared to other platforms, Flodesk’s automations are also pretty basic - especially since they can only be triggered when subscribers join a segment. That might be fine if you’re only looking to send simple automated emails, but if you’re after more complex automations, such as the ability to trigger automations based on email clicks or abandoned carts, you’ll be disappointed.

Here, I’d recommend alternatives such as ActiveCampaign and Brevo, which offer advanced automations at affordable prices. We also review other email automation platforms in our detailed roundup.

Finally, Flodesk only provides email support, which isn’t great when you’re coming up against urgent issues. Most other providers offer chat support, so if this is a priority for you, it might be worth paying a little extra for that level of service.

Is Flodesk Pricing Cheap Compared to Other Email Marketing Platforms?

Let’s see how Flodesk’s pricing stacks up against some of its biggest competitors.

Flodesk vs Mailchimp

While Mailchimp’s pricing starts from as low as $13 per month for up to 500 contacts for its Essential plan, this quickly increases once you start having more subscribers (e.g. 2,500 subscribers will cost you $45/month). This basic plan also enforces an email sending limit of 10x the contact list, and doesn’t include dynamic content, advanced segmentation, or advanced automations. Access to these features will require an upgrade to the Standard plan, which starts at $20 per month for up to 500 subscribers.

While you do get access to more features with Mailchimp’s plans (which can also be tested out on its free plan), they’re not ideal for growing subscriber lists. Once you start having more than around 2,500 contacts, Flodesk starts being a much more economical option.

Read more about Flodesk vs Mailchimp.

Flodesk vs Kit

Another popular email marketing platform for content creators is Kit. Like Mailchimp, Kit uses a tiered pricing model, which means your monthly cost increases as your subscriber count rises. Its Creator plan starts from $15 per month for 300 subscribers, and includes unlimited emails and automations. Upgrading to the Pro plan (from $29 per month for 300 subscribers) adds extra features such as subscriber engagement scoring, Facebook custom audiences and access to a newsletter referral system.

Kit offers a free tier for up to 10,000 subscribers, but this comes with limited features and requires bank details for automatic upgrades once the limit is reached.

While Kit might seem cheaper initially, Flodesk's fixed pricing can be more economical in the long run, particularly once you hit the 3,000 subscriber mark.

Learn more about Flodesk vs Convertkit.

Flodesk vs MailerLite

Thanks to its great value for money, MailerLite is one of our top-rated tools here on EmailTooltester. So, how does it compare to Flodesk’s pricing?

Similar to Kit, MailerLite also charges based on subscriber count, with no limits on email sends. But its pricing is a lot more affordable, with its Growing Business plan starting at $10 a month for up to 500 subscribers. And for $39 per month (similar to Flodesk’s pricing), you’re allowed 5,000 subscribers, which is a pretty generous limit. It’s even possible to sell digital products on this tier, making it a much cheaper option than Flodesk Checkout.

It’s only once you hit the 8,000-subscriber mark that Flodesk Checkout starts being the more cost-effective option for online selling.

Learn more about Flodesk vs MailerLite.

Are There Any Restrictions?

Taking a look at the fineprint, there doesn’t seem to be any significant catches. Flodesk’s only restriction in terms of sending is that a single email send should not exceed 1 million recipients – and unless you’re a big enterprise, it’s pretty unlikely you’ll ever hit this anyway!

Also be aware that some limitations are imposed on certain industries, with a few surprising ones including affiliate marketing, real estate and travel agencies. Learn more here.

Flodesk Pricing: Conclusion

There’s a reason why Flodesk is becoming a popular choice for those starting out with email marketing. Aside from its ease of use and stunning templates, it’s pretty hard to beat Flodesk’s flat-rate pricing. In my personal experience, being able to predict your email marketing costs every month (and not worry about prices increasing as your subscriber list grows) is worth every penny! But again, for users that need a bit more complexity for automated sequences, it might be worth spending more somewhere else.

> Want to give it a go? You can try out Flodesk for free for 30 days here (and even get 50% off of your first year!).

And of course, if you have any questions about Flodesk, let me know in the comments below!