Campaign Monitor vs Mail Blaze (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Campaign Monitor grades higher than Mail Blaze: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Campaign Monitor grades higher on features and platforms. Mail Blaze grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Campaign Monitor
Email marketing for small businesses, nonprofits and agencies
Mail Blaze
Month-to-month email marketing platform priced by contacts
Which one is for you
Pick Campaign Monitor if
- Fits if you're an agency sending for several clients under your own brand
- Works for teams where lots of people need to log in, since every plan has unlimited users
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're on Lite and email your list often, as sends stop at 5 times your contacts a month
- Pricey if you want phone support, send-time optimization or section locking, which need Premier from $153.90
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only a 30-day trial for 500 contacts
- Watch out: the website builder costs $10 a month more on Lite and Essentials
- Watch out: lists over 50,000 contacts are priced through sales, and Lite is $117 a month at 10,000
Pick Mail Blaze if
- Fits if you want to pay month to month with no contract
- Works for small lists where $9 covers what you need
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as it's only a 14-day trial
- Pricey if your list grows: Flame runs $68 to $201 and Fire $205 to $920
- Tight if you need transactional email, because it isn't in Ember
- Watch out: exact prices only show after picking a contact range in the calculator
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACampaign MonitorFair | 2.2GPAMail BlazeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $11.70 a month for 500 contacts on yearly billing, or $13 monthly, right around the middle of what email tools charge. It's $117 a month billed monthly at 10,000 contacts, and unlimited sends need Essentials at $27.90. | BEmber is $9 a month for up to 500 contacts, inside the cheaper quarter, with no contract. It reaches $63 by 10,000 contacts. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but there's a 30-day trial for up to 500 contacts and 500 emails. That's time to build and send a couple of campaigns, but it's a trial, not a plan you can stay on. | C14-day trial limited to 500 subscribers and 1,000 sends. No free plan. The listing doesn't say whether a card is needed. |
| Features | BA drag-and-drop builder with over 100 templates, templates made from your website, journeys, RSS and transactional emails, engagement segments, dynamic content and reports that drop bot clicks. That's the whole job, plus agency sub-accounts. | CBuilder, automations, surveys and reporting. Transactional emails aren't in Ember and start on Flame. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record and no phone app. Marketing Studio can draft a branded email from your site, but there are still lists, journeys and segments to set up. | CNo store rating on record. A web app where you build campaigns and automations. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Salesforce, Shopify, WordPress, Unbounce, Intercom, OptinMonster, AdRoll and Zapier, and an API. No desktop or phone app keeps it at a B. | CWeb only, and no integrations are listed. |
| Best for | agencies sending email for several clients | month-to-month email priced by contacts |
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: Campaign Monitor and Mail Blaze. How we grade
Price against what you get
Campaign Monitor starts at $11.70 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Mail Blaze starts at $9 a month and scores 2.0.
Campaign Monitor scores higher, and starts $2.70 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Campaign Monitor for less, and 9 score higher than Mail Blaze 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
- Campaign Monitor also covers forms.
- Mail Blaze also covers surveys, reports and transactional email.
At a glance
| Campaign Monitor | Mail Blaze | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $11.70 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually | $9 per month for 0-500 contacts, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial for up to 500 contacts and 500 emails | 14-day free trial for up to 500 subscribers and 1,000 sends |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Marigold | Mail Blaze |
| Price read from | campaignmonitor.com | mailblaze.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Campaign Monitor
- Lite caps sends at 5 times the contact tier each month; Essentials and above have no cap.
- Phone support, send time optimization and section locking need Premier, from $153.90 a month billed annually.
- The drag-and-drop website builder costs $10 a month on Lite and Essentials.
- Lists over 50,000 contacts are priced through sales.
Mail Blaze
- Price follows contact count; the page shows $9 to $63 on Ember, $68 to $201 on Flame and $205 to $920 on Fire.
- There is no permanent free plan, only a 14-day trial limited to 500 subscribers and 1,000 sends.
- Transaction emails are not listed in the Ember plan.
- Exact prices appear only after picking a contact range in the price calculator.
Key features
Campaign Monitor
- Email builder and templates
- A drag-and-drop builder with over 100 templates, custom-coded HTML imports and branded templates generated from your website's URL.
- Marketing Studio and AI tools
- Marketing Studio drafts a branded email from your site and a goal. AI Writer, AI Email Booster and AI Segment Mapper help with copy, review and segments.
- Automated journeys
- Pre-built journeys, date-based Campaign Series, RSS-triggered emails and transactional emails, with volume tied to the plan's limits.
- Segments and personalization
- Engagement segments, dynamic content, custom fields, a preference center and countdown timers; send time optimization comes with Premier.
- Agency accounts
- Client sub-accounts under one admin account, private labeling, a markup on the base price billed through Campaign Monitor, and shared templates.
- Reporting
- Marketing Monitor benchmarks, campaign scores, real-time world-map reporting and a filter that drops bot clicks from results.
Mail Blaze
- Drag-and-drop campaign builder
- A visual builder with a template library for designing newsletters and campaigns.
- Customizable automations
- Automations are listed in every paid plan, with the number of contacts deciding the price.
- Surveys
- Surveys are included in all three paid plans, listed beside the builder and automations.
- Full reporting
- Campaign reporting is listed in each plan, with support offered seven days a week.
- Transaction emails
- Transaction emails appear in the Flame and Fire plan lists but not in Ember.
- No contract terms
- The vendor says plans run month to month with no lock-in contract.
Plans
Campaign Monitor
Lite$11.70
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($13 monthly)
Sends 5 times the list a month, unlimited users, AI Writer, automations and transactional email. Price rises with the list: $117 a month billed monthly at 10,000 contacts.
Essentials$27.90
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($31 monthly)
Unlimited sends, automated emails and AI features, priority support, inbox preview and Marketing Studio. $182 a month billed monthly at 10,000 contacts.
Premier$153.90
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually ($171 monthly)
Phone support, send time optimization, engagement segments, section locking, team templates and the website builder. $300 a month billed monthly at 10,000.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom annual contract, a dedicated account manager, multi-brand accounts, deliverability monitoring and invoice or PO billing.
Mail Blaze
Ember$9
per month for 0-500 contacts, billed monthly
For lists up to 10,000 contacts, $9 to $63 a month. Reporting, builder, templates, surveys, automations.
Flame$68
per month for 10,001-10,200 contacts, billed monthly
For lists from 10,001 contacts, $68 to $201 a month. Adds transactional emails to the Ember features.
Fire$205
per month from 50,001 contacts, billed monthly
For lists from 50,001 contacts, $205 to $920 a month, with the Flame feature set.
Ways to pay less
Campaign Monitor
- Annual discount
10% off with annual billing
Campaign Monitor's pricing page takes 10% off Lite, Essentials and Premier billed yearly: Lite at 500 contacts is $11.70 a month instead of $13.
Mail Blaze
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Campaign Monitor or Mail Blaze?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mail Blaze is cheaper to start with: $9 a month, against $11.70 a month for Campaign Monitor. Campaign Monitor starts at $11.70 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed annually, and Mail Blaze starts at $9 per month for 0-500 contacts, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Campaign Monitor or Mail Blaze?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Campaign Monitor nor Mail Blaze has a free plan. Both have 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.