How We Review Email Marketing Platforms
Every review is research-based: official pricing, documentation and policies, evaluated by Carlos Gil. We don’t test products, and no review says we did.
“Tested 40 tools” is an easy claim to make and almost impossible for a reader to check. I don’t test products, so no BestSends review will ever say I did.
What you get instead is the paper trail: the vendor’s own pricing page and documentation, dated, plus any third-party data named and linked. If a claim can’t be traced to a source, it doesn’t make the page.
Key takeaways
- Every review is research-based and labeled editorially reviewed or research preview; previews carry no score.
- Each scored review shows one overall rating out of 5, my editorial judgment across five weighted dimensions. Per-dimension scores are not published.
- Prices come from the vendor pricing page, with the date checked shown on the review.
- Paid relationships (GetResponse, Brevo, Flodesk, affiliate links, Enhanced Sponsored Profiles) are disclosed wherever they touch a ranking, and none of them changes a score.
Two evidence statuses, one editorial standard
Every review is labeled with one of these, near the top of the page.
Editorially reviewed
A substantive, research-based evaluation using official pricing pages, product documentation, help-center articles, published policies, release notes and vendor demos, interpreted through Carlos Gil’s 15+ years of marketing experience. We do not test products ourselves, and no review claims we did.
Research preview
Initial research coverage that helps readers understand the product while the full editorial evaluation is still in progress. Previews state their limits and carry no score.
Rating rubric
The same five dimensions and point weighting, 10 points in total, apply to every platform. The weights guide how each dimension counts toward the overall rating out of 5, which is an editorial judgment rather than a mechanical sum. Reviews show only that overall rating, not per-dimension numbers. Scores rest on documented, sourced evidence; research previews carry no score.
Features
3 / 10Automation builder, forms and landing pages, segmentation, A/B testing, reporting, AI assistance, ecommerce and SMS where relevant.
Ease of use
2 / 10Documented onboarding steps, editor capabilities, setup requirements, and how much documentation you need to get a campaign out.
Deliverability
2 / 10Authentication support (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), sending controls and list-quality safeguards. We do not run inbox-placement tests.
Customer support
1 / 10Support channels and hours by plan, documentation quality, and published support policies.
Value
2 / 10What the plan costs at common list sizes (usually 1,000, 10,000 and 50,000 subscribers), checked against the vendor's pricing page, versus what you get.
What every review is built on
First-party sources come first. When we use anything else, we name and link it on the page.
What we don’t do
The hard rules that protect editorial independence, applied to every review.
- Rankings and scores are never for sale. Sponsored profiles, where offered, are labeled Sponsored and kept separate from the rankings.
- We never let vendors review their score before publishing. They see the review when you do.
- We never claim to have tested a product. Every review is research-based.
- We do not present vendor marketing claims as our own observations.
- We never publish statistics we cannot source.
Conflicts of interest
These are the paid relationships that touch brands we cover, and how we handle each one.
- I was GetResponse's U.S. Brand Evangelist from 2024 to 2025. GetResponse is ranked and reviewed on BestSends, and every page that ranks or recommends it carries that disclosure.
- I've done paid partnerships with Brevo and Flodesk. Those tutorials are labeled Sponsored, and pages that rank or recommend either brand repeat the disclosure.
- Enhanced Sponsored Profiles, where offered, are labeled Sponsored, carry no score or star rating, and sit apart from the rankings.
- Affiliate commissions fund the site. Disclosed in full on our affiliate disclosure page, they never change a score, ranking or verdict.
Editorial principles
Evidence status is explicit
Every review is labeled editorially reviewed or research preview, near the top of the page. Both are research-based; neither involves product testing by BestSends.
Affiliate links never change rankings
We use affiliate links to fund the work, but rankings rest on the evidence, not on commission rates. 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. Sponsored content is always labeled, and a sponsorship or affiliate relationship never changes a review’s evidence status, score, ranking or verdict.
Dates describe what happened
Every review has an updated date, and most show when pricing was last verified against the vendor’s own pricing page. We do not show test dates because we do not test products.
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.
Corrections and updates
We update reviews when platforms change their pricing, plans or features. If you find an error, email the address below and we will check it and correct the page.
“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. A method nobody can argue with is one nobody bothered to publish.”
Methodology FAQ
Does BestSends test email marketing software?
No. Every review is research-based, built from vendor pricing pages, documentation, help-center articles, published policies and named third-party sources. No review claims hands-on testing.
Can a brand pay to rank higher on BestSends?
No. Rankings and scores are never for sale. Brands can buy an Enhanced Sponsored Profile, which is labeled Sponsored, carries no score and sits outside the rankings.
How is the overall star rating decided?
Each scored review carries one overall rating out of 5. It's my editorial judgment across five dimensions (features, ease of use, deliverability, customer support and value), weighted by the rubric below and based on documented, sourced evidence. Per-dimension numbers aren't published, because BestSends doesn't run its own tests to measure them.
See the methodology in action
Browse all reviews to compare evidence status, verdict, pricing and fit, or read our affiliate disclosure to see how we make money.