How We Test Email Marketing Platforms
Every review on BestSends is the result of hands-on testing across seven weighted dimensions. Here is the exact scorecard, the test environment we run, the things we refuse to do, and the last date we fully re-tested every tool.
Methodology scorecard
Seven dimensions, weighted out of 100. The weighting is fixed across every review so scores are comparable head-to-head.
Ease of use
10 / 100Time-to-first-send, UI clarity, onboarding friction.
Features
20 / 10060-point checklist: forms, automations, A/B, RSS, SMS.
Deliverability
25 / 100Inbox placement across 250-seed list (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud).
Support
10 / 1003 real tickets per platform across email, chat, phone.
Pricing
15 / 100Re-priced at 1K, 10K, 50K subscribers with tier unlocks.
Integrations
10 / 100Native + Zapier coverage for top 50 marketing/sales tools.
Value
10 / 100Composite of features-per-dollar against the segment median.
The actual setup behind every score
What we don’t do
The hard rules that protect editorial independence. Every contributor signs off on these before joining BestSends.
- We never accept paid placements. Rankings cannot be bought, sponsored, or upgraded.
- We never let vendors review their score before publishing. They see the review when you do.
- We use real production accounts on our own domains — never sandbox or vendor-provided demo accounts.
- We never copy claims from a vendor’s marketing site without verifying them in the product first.
- We never publish a review without a documented test log signed off by Carlos.
Last full re-test
Every reviewed tool, sorted by most recently re-tested. Click through to the live review for the full scorecard, pricing, and verdict.
| Tool | Last full re-test | Review |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Apr 12, 2026 | Read → |
| Campaign Monitor | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Systeme.io | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Loops | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Customer.io | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Sender | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Beehiiv | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Flodesk | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| Constant Contact | Apr 11, 2026 | Read → |
| ActiveCampaign | Mar 15, 2026 | Read → |
| MailerLite | Mar 12, 2026 | Read → |
| GetResponse | Mar 10, 2026 | Read → |
| Mailchimp | Mar 8, 2026 | Read → |
| ConvertKit | Mar 5, 2026 | Read → |
| Brevo | Mar 1, 2026 | Read → |
| Klaviyo | Feb 28, 2026 | Read → |
| Omnisend | Feb 25, 2026 | Read → |
| AWeber | Feb 20, 2026 | Read → |
| Moosend | Feb 18, 2026 | Read → |
Editorial principles
Hands-on testing only
Every platform we cover has been used by a member of our team for at least 30 days on a real list. We do not rank platforms based solely on vendor demos, marketing copy, or reseller documentation.
Affiliate links never change rankings
We use affiliate links to fund the work, but rankings are decided before any partnership conversation. If a platform we already recommend has an affiliate program, we use it. If we cannot recommend a platform, we do not promote it — even if the commission would be high.
Re-tested every quarter
Email marketing changes fast. Pricing shifts, deliverability fluctuates, and features ship. Every review is re-tested at least once per quarter. The "Last tested" date at the top of every review tells you exactly when we last verified the page.
Transparent on what we got wrong
When we change a recommendation, we say so in the review changelog. When a platform we recommended drops in our ranking, we explain why. We would rather lose your click than mislead you.
“I personally sign off on every review and every score on BestSends. If a methodology decision on this page is wrong, that’s on me — email me at carlos@gilmediagroup.com and I’ll look at it.”
See the methodology in action
Read any of our hands-on reviews to see scoring applied across every dimension — or read our affiliate disclosure to see how we make money.