Last updated: January 2026

What Is Campaign Monitor?

Email marketing sits at the foundation of digital marketing for good reason: owned audience, direct communication, measurable results, and ROI that outperforms most channels. Campaign Monitor is an email marketing platform built for brands that take their communications seriously—designer-quality templates, powerful automation, advanced personalization, and analytics that reveal what's actually working.

Since 2004, Campaign Monitor has helped over 250,000 businesses send billions of emails. The platform balances sophistication with usability: marketers can create beautiful campaigns without HTML knowledge while developers can extend capabilities through APIs and custom templates.

For brands where email represents a critical customer touchpoint—where every send reflects brand quality—Campaign Monitor delivers the polish and precision that commodity email tools lack.

Key Features Explained

Email Builder

Drag-and-drop editor creates responsive emails without coding. Pre-built content blocks—text, images, buttons, dividers, social links—snap together into professional layouts. Real-time preview shows how emails render across devices before sending.

Template Library

100+ professionally designed templates span industries and use cases. Start with proven designs rather than blank pages. Templates are fully customizable—change colors, fonts, layouts, and content to match brand guidelines.

Custom Coded Templates

For brands with specific design requirements, Campaign Monitor supports custom HTML templates. Template language enables dynamic content, conditional sections, and personalization. Agencies often build custom templates once, then use them across client campaigns.

Automation Journeys

Visual journey builder creates multi-step automated sequences triggered by subscriber behavior. Welcome series, cart abandonment, re-engagement campaigns, post-purchase sequences—set them up once, let them run continuously.

Segmentation

Divide subscribers based on demographics, behavior, engagement, and custom fields. Send relevant content to relevant audiences. Segments update dynamically as subscriber data changes.

Personalization

Beyond "Hi [First Name]"—Campaign Monitor supports dynamic content blocks that change based on subscriber attributes. Show different products, offers, or messages to different segments within a single campaign.

A/B Testing

Test subject lines, content variations, send times, and from names. Let data guide decisions rather than assumptions. Campaign Monitor automatically sends the winning version to remaining subscribers.

Analytics Dashboard

Track opens, clicks, conversions, unsubscribes, and bounces. Geographic data shows where subscribers engage. Device reporting reveals mobile vs desktop behavior. Click maps visualize exactly where recipients click.

Transactional Email

Beyond marketing campaigns, Campaign Monitor handles transactional emails—order confirmations, password resets, receipts—with the same deliverability and tracking capabilities.

Pricing (2026)

Pricing scales with subscriber count:

Lite — From $9/month for 500 subscribers. Core email features, basic automation, and templates. Suitable for small lists and simple needs.

Essentials — From $29/month. Adds unlimited sends, advanced automation, A/B testing, and time zone sending. Most popular for growing businesses.

Premier — From $149/month. Full features including send-time optimization, advanced segmentation, premier support, and deliverability consulting.

All tiers include core templates, drag-and-drop builder, and standard analytics. Higher subscriber counts increase pricing across all tiers.

Who Uses Campaign Monitor?

Agencies and Consultants

Marketing agencies use Campaign Monitor for client email programs. Multi-account management, client-branded reporting, and flexible permissions support agency operations.

E-commerce Brands

Online retailers drive revenue through promotional campaigns, abandoned cart emails, and post-purchase sequences. Integration with e-commerce platforms enables behavior-triggered messaging.

Media and Publishers

Newsletters and content distribution rely on email. Campaign Monitor's design capabilities match publisher brand standards.

Nonprofits

Donor communication requires professionalism. Campaign Monitor offers nonprofit pricing and features suited for fundraising campaigns.

Pros and Cons

What We Like

Beautiful templates and intuitive builder

Strong automation for common journey types

Excellent deliverability rates

Clean analytics and reporting

Agency-friendly with multi-client features

Responsive customer support

What Could Be Better

Pricing higher than some competitors

Advanced features require higher tiers

Automation less sophisticated than specialists

Limited SMS/multichannel capabilities

Some integrations require workarounds

Campaign Monitor vs. Alternatives

vs. Mailchimp: Mailchimp has broader feature set and free tier; Campaign Monitor offers more polished design tools and better agency support.

vs. ActiveCampaign: ActiveCampaign excels at complex automation; Campaign Monitor excels at beautiful design. Choose based on priorities.

vs. Brevo: Brevo offers more channels (SMS, WhatsApp) at lower prices; Campaign Monitor provides superior design experience.

vs. Drip: Drip specializes in e-commerce automation; Campaign Monitor serves broader use cases with better design tools.

Tips for Success

Start with templates: Customize proven designs rather than building from scratch.

Segment early: Begin collecting data that enables future segmentation from first signup.

Automate basics: Welcome series and engagement-based sends should run automatically.

Test consistently: Make A/B testing habitual rather than occasional.

FAQ

Is Campaign Monitor good for beginners?

Yes. The interface is intuitive, templates are excellent, and core features are accessible. Advanced capabilities grow with you.

How does deliverability compare?

Campaign Monitor maintains strong deliverability through authentication requirements, list hygiene tools, and deliverability team expertise.

Can I import existing subscribers?

Yes. CSV import with field mapping brings existing lists into Campaign Monitor. Confirmation options ensure compliance.

Is there a free plan?

No permanent free plan, but free trial lets you explore before committing. Lite tier is affordable entry point.

Final Verdict

Campaign Monitor delivers email marketing for brands that care about presentation. The platform's design focus—beautiful templates, intuitive builder, polished output—serves organizations where every communication reflects brand quality.

For marketers who want powerful automation without sacrificing aesthetics, Campaign Monitor strikes an excellent balance.

Rating: 4.3/5