Bento vs Loops (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Loops grades higher than Bento: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Loops grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bento
Approval-only email marketing with campaigns and transactional email
Loops
Marketing, product and transactional email for SaaS teams
Which one is for you
Pick Bento if
- Fits if you sell online and want per-active-user pricing with no seat fees
- Works for teams that want campaigns and transactional mail from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to just sign up, as the vendor says Bento is approval only
- Skip it if you want a free plan, because after 30 days it is $29 a month
- Pricey if you add chat, which is $30 a month on top and needs the Marketing Platform
- Watch out: transactional email is billed separately at $5 a month up to 12,500 emails
- Watch out: annual billing is on request only
Pick Loops if
- Fits if you run a SaaS product and want product emails and newsletters in one place
- Works for small user lists, where the free plan covers 1,000 contacts
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 4,000 sends per rolling 30 days, to the first 1,000 contacts only
- Watch out: free emails carry a Loops footer
- Pricey if your list grows: $49 a month at 5,000, rising from there
- Skip it if you want priority support or migration help, which are Enterprise features
- Skip it if you want a desktop or mobile app, as only a web app and API are listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABentoFair | 2.4GPALoopsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$29 a month for up to 5,000 active users, then about a cent per extra user. That's between the $20 middle and the $50 dearer quarter. | C$49 a month for up to 5,000 subscribed contacts is above the $35 where the dearer quarter of this category begins, though under the $80 of the dearest tenth. The price rises with contacts. |
| Free plan and trial | C30 days free with no charge during the trial, and no free plan after that. | BFree plan with unlimited contacts stored, but sends go only to the first 1,000 contacts, up to 4,000 per rolling 30 days, with a Loops footer. |
| Features | CCampaigns and automations are included. Transactional email is a separate $5 a month product and Bento Chat is a $30 add-on. | CCampaigns, workflows, transactional email and a single contact record with no seat or send fees. It is built around SaaS, and the pages read show no SMS or landing pages. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It's a web app where you build the automations yourself. | CA web app and API with no rating on record. You wire it to your product events and database. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb app with Twilio, 360dialog and Bandwidth listed. No phone or desktop app. | BWeb and API only, with Stripe, Clerk, Supabase, Segment, PostHog, HubSpot, Salesforce and Framer. |
| Best for | campaigns and transactional email by active users | SaaS companies emailing their users |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bento and Loops. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bento starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Loops starts at $49 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Bento starts $20 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 23 score higher than Bento for less, and 27 score higher than Loops for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bento also covers shared inbox and forms.
At a glance
| Bento | Loops | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month for up to 5,000 active users | $49 per month for up to 5,000 subscribed contacts |
| Free plan | None | Free: unlimited contacts stored, with 4,000 sends per rolling 30 days to your first 1,000 contacts, and a Loops footer. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no charge during the trial | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Bento | Astrodon Corporation |
| Price read from | bentonow.com | loops.so |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bento
- The vendor says Bento is approval only, so not every sender is accepted.
- There is no free plan; the first month is a 30-day trial.
- Transactional email is a separate product: $5 a month up to 12,500 emails, with 100 free.
- Bento Chat is a $30 a month add-on, and annual billing is available on request.
Loops
- Free-plan emails carry a Loops footer, and sending stops at 4,000 per rolling 30 days to the first 1,000 contacts.
- The Growth price rises with subscribed contacts, from $49 a month at up to 5,000; the page's slider steps are not shown as text.
- The pages read describe a web app and API only; no desktop or mobile apps are listed.
- Priority support and migration help are listed under Enterprise, not Growth.
Key features
Bento
- Campaigns and automations
- Campaigns, automated flows and forms for sending to a list, with CRM and deliverability tools included.
- Active-user pricing
- Active users are subscribed users or people with an event in the last 30 days; others do not count toward the bill.
- Transactional email
- A separate product for receipts and password resets over API or SMTP, with logs and a Delivery API.
- Bento Chat
- An add-on with a shared inbox, live chat, push notifications and SMS and WhatsApp through Twilio, 360dialog or Bandwidth.
- Switching help
- The vendor reviews a customer's current invoice for a price match and helps move lists, forms and automations.
Loops
- Campaigns and workflows
- Send one-time campaigns to segments, or build workflows triggered by events such as a contact being added.
- Transactional email
- Send single emails such as password resets from an API call. Transactional sends are included at no extra charge on paid plans.
- One contact record
- Marketing, product and transactional emails all work from the same contact record, with forms to collect sign-ups.
- No seat or send fees
- The pricing page says there are no team seat fees and no separate charge for sends on paid plans.
- Integrations for SaaS stacks
- The integrations page lists payments and auth tools such as Stripe, Clerk and Supabase, plus CRMs and analytics tools.
Plans
Bento
Marketing Platform$29
per month for up to 5,000 active users
Then $0.01 per active user from 5,001 to 50,000, $0.009 to 250,000 and $0.008 above. No seat fees.
Bento Chat$30
per month, added to Marketing Platform
Add-on: shared inbox, live chat and push notifications. Needs an active Marketing Platform plan.
Loops
Free$0
Sends up to 4,000 marketing and transactional emails per 30 days to the first 1,000 contacts, with a Loops footer.
Growth$49
per month for up to 5,000 subscribed contacts
Unlimited marketing and transactional sends, no Loops branding. Price rises with contacts, up to 1.5 million.
EnterpriseCustom
For 1.5 million or more contacts, with priority support and migration help. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Bento
- Other savings
Price match on your current email bill
The pricing page says Bento reviews a new customer's invoice for a price match and transition credits.
Loops
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bento or Loops?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bento is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $49 a month for Loops. Bento starts at $29 per month for up to 5,000 active users, and Loops starts at $49 per month for up to 5,000 subscribed contacts.
Which has a free plan, Bento or Loops?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Loops has a free plan. Bento does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.