Turn your transactional emails into marketing opportunities. Learn more →
Hey Product Hunt 👋 Get 30% off your first 3 months if you sign up using this link
Looking for that perfect SaaS email automation software? It can be hard to understand how various customer messaging tools compare to each other. But do not worry, we gathered all the information for you.
Intercom is a great all-in-one tool that does many things at once: live chat, the entire support helpdesk, knowledge base, etc. While Userlist is focused on customer messaging for SaaS companies, which makes it much easier to use.
See comparison
Customer.io is one of the most popular tools for customer messaging. This multi-channel automation software can deliver emails, SMS and push notifications. They serve all kinds of customers. Userlist, on the other hand, focuses on SaaS businesses. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Drip is a popular email marketing & SMS tool that focuses exclusively in ecommerce. It gives you numerous ways to segment your audience and build complex automations at an affordable price. In that sense it is not comparable to Userlist, since their markets are quite different, and Userlist deeply focuses on SaaS customer communication. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
ConvertKit is a popular email marketing tool for bloggers. Its free plan and nice automation features make it ideal for beginners in the email marketing world, and creators that want to keep in touch with their audience. It was not built for SaaS, so Userlist is a much better choice for founders and product owners. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Ortto is another great all-around marketing tool with diverse features. It is focused on ecommerce these days. If you run an online store, then Ortto is for you. If you want to build relationships and nurture your SaaS customers, then Userlist is the ideal option. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Vero is a customer communication tool that is ideal for sending email and mobile push notifications. Its architecture makes it slightly more complicated with quite a bit of a learning curve. Userlist is equally effective, but a lot easier to set up and use. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Gist's "all-in-one" bundle includes support and marketing features, making it a good "all-in-one" tool for any industry. It's cost-effective, but the email automation features are only available in the higher plans. If you want versatility in your communication, then Gist might be for you. But if you're in SaaS and concerned about effective and timely customer communication, then you might prefer Userlist.
See comparison
Drift is a popular tool that really sells you on it's "conversational marketing" philosophy. At heart, it's an advanced chatbot that allows you to build flows for lead generation as well as customer support. At that price range, it is ideal only if you're particularly keen on using chat in your business. Userlist follows a completely different approach — no chat, purely informational in-app messages, so that you can focusing on running your SaaS.
See comparison
Everybody know Mailchimp for its famous free plan (and the monkey mascot). That's enough to make it the industry leader, since most businesses do not need the sophistication of other email marketing tools. If you only need regular broadcast emails to your list, Mailchimp is for you. If you are in SaaS and want targeted behavior-based communication with your users, stay away from it. Userlist is a better choice, hands-down. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Pendo is great for web apps as it gives you all the features you could need for product-led growth. It does it well, and has no shortage of features or tracking abilities. The downsides are that communication is entirely in-app, and the tool totally lacks email marketing features. Great tool for what id does, but if you want something a bit more flexible, Userlist could be your choice. Otherwise you may need to pay for a second email marketing automation tool.
See comparison
Bento is a tool for anyone who wants to track their website visitors (as well as users) and communicate with them in multiple ways. You can send broadcast emails, create surveys, talk via live chat, have marketing automation and attribution analytics. All at an affordable price. Userlist is deeply focused on SaaS customers after they sign up, which makes it much easier to use.
See comparison
Mixpanel's value proposition is clear: It is one of the most powerful product analytics tools out there. It could also do some messaging before, but they sunsetted this feature. Userlist doesn't offer product analytics, but can offer insights on individual user behavior, and can send behavior-based messages very well.
See comparison
Encharge keeps it simple. It is a pure marketing automation tool, specialized on SaaS. While it does not offer many product-related features, it does traditional email communications, integrating well with your app, using its events-based system. If you are mostly interested in email marketing, then Encharge is for you. If you also need in-app notifications as a channel, then Userlist is definitely the better choice. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Beamer is a unique product that focuses basically on a single thing: notifications inside your web app. It is the perfect product for companies that want to communicate regular updates and announcements for their users. Userlist provides email in addition to in-app messaging, and offers a whole behavior-based automation system for SaaS founders.
See comparison
HelpCrunch is a reliable and flexible tool for customer support. Its chat, knowledge base and help desk features help customers find answers without much friction. Also, the ability to send out email broadcasts adds to its value. However, it doesn't offer any behavior-based automation. While serving the same market, Userlist and HelpCrunch are not direct alternatives as their feature set is rather different.
See comparison
Chameleon is one of the priciest customer messaging tools out there, but there is a reason for that. It provides you with the most complete set of tools for customer onboarding and in-app notifications. However, it doesn't offer any email automation. If you need behavior-based emails in addition to in-app notifications, then Userlist is your choice.
See comparison
Userpilot helps you create engaging onboarding experiences and increase product adoption, integrating flawlessly with any web application. If you have the budget for these very specific needs, then Userpilot is for you. However, it doesn't offer any email automation. Userlist, at a fraction of that price gives you in-app notifications, as well as behavior-based email. Clearly a better deal for startups who want to use multiple channels for user onboarding.
See comparison
Salesforce Pardot is one of the most robust marketing automation tools for enterprise level companies, focusing on B2B sales. That is made clear by the advanced features, as well as its steep pricing. Userlist plays in a completely different field, is reasonably priced, and offers in-app notifications as another communication channel. Userlist is clearly a much better choice for startups.
See comparison
In terms of marketing features, ActiveCampaign offers nearly everything a human mind can imagine — for any type of business. But does it mean a good experience for you as the user? If you run a SaaS company, we recommend to take a look at tools built specifically for your niche. Userlist doesn't try to be a "one-size-fits-all" tool, but instead provides exceptional service for SaaS products. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Appcues is a fairly expensive tool for in-app onboarding, but you can't send any email with them. Userlist can partially replace Appcues when it comes to in-app messaging, while it also provides event-based email for SaaS. Userlist is clearly a better choice for SaaS companies who're looking for powerful multi-channel messaging automation. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
Mixpanel is sunsetting their Messages feature, and Userlist is a perfect alternative if you're looking to switch. Userlist can send automated emails to your users based on specific actions and events they take. As a bonus, you can use in-app messages as another channel in your campaigns. Userlist also supports company accounts which is very helpful if you're dealing with teams.
See comparison
“Userlist has quickly become one of my must-have tools. It’s so well designed and focused on SaaS, unlike other bloated products I’ve used before.”
Send user events and properties into Userlist via our HTTP JSON API (or get started instantly with Segment). View the integration guide
We provide full-text templates, worksheets & blueprints — so you never have to start from scratch. Easily customize them to fit your product goals.
Setting up your automations can be intimidating, so you’ll get hand-holding and personal advice from the founders.
Let’s see how Userlist fits into the bigger picture of your SaaS business. You’ll learn about our automation features, integrations, proven lifecycle frameworks, and how we can help you hit your SaaS growth targets.