The Litmus Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Litmus in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Litmus
The Insider’s Guide
Email preview, testing and monitoring across 100+ email clients
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among email marketing and newsletter tools, read from Litmus’s own pages.
Made by Litmus Software, Inc. · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Litmus’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Litmus’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
1.6
GPA, above 2 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade
Litmus is a platform for checking, building and reviewing marketing emails before and after they send. It previews messages in a long list of email clients and devices, monitors deployed emails and gathers feedback and approvals. It sits alongside an email service provider rather than sending campaigns itself, and it is now presented as part of Validity Engage.
To get you started, here are 7 things to know about Litmus, taken from its own pages and our grades.
It's a web app that you connect to your email platform, so there's some setting up before the first preview.
- 1
Best for checking how an email looks in 100+ inboxes before it sends
Litmus shows you how a marketing email will look in a long list of email apps, then watches it after it goes out.
- 2
It runs on Web
Web.
- 3
Email previews
Preview an email in desktop, mobile and web email clients, including dark-mode versions of many of them.
- 4
Email building
Build on-brand templates so teams can assemble emails quickly, with testing alongside.
- 5
Live monitoring
Alerts on problems with deployed emails, such as failing links and broken rendering after a client update.
- 6
A 1.6 GPA, above 2 of 102
That is against the other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 7
Keep it
The plain part of Litmus you could make: templates and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 1 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Litmus at a glance
- Pricing
- Paid
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Litmus Software, Inc.
- Category
- Email Marketing & Newsletters
- Our grade
- 1.6 GPA, weak
The report card
Best for checking how an email looks in 100+ inboxes before it sends
Litmus shows you how a marketing email will look in a long list of email apps, then watches it after it goes out. But it doesn't send anything, so you still need an email platform on top, and there's no price on the site at all, only a contact-sales form.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Nothing is published, so there's no price to set against what email tools charge (middle of the category: $15 a month). That puts it in the ordinary slot until a quote says otherwise. |
| Free plan and trial | F | No free plan and no trial on the listing. The Pricing link goes to a contact-sales form. |
| Features | D | Previews, monitoring, review and approval, but it doesn't send campaigns. It works beside Mailchimp, Klaviyo or HubSpot, so on its own it can't do the email job. |
| Ease of use | C | No rating on record. It's a web app that you connect to your email platform, so there's some setting up before the first preview. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web only, but it ties into Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Campaign Monitor, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo, Eloqua and Responsys. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Litmus is for
- Fits if your team already sends from an email platform and needs to check rendering before every send
- Works for groups that put every email through a review and sign-off step
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want one tool that also sends your campaigns, because Litmus doesn't
- Not for you if you need a price before talking to anyone: the site only offers a sales form
- Watch out: the site now calls it part of Validity Engage, so product names and packaging may differ from older material
- Too light for a one-person newsletter, since it's built around teams checking and approving emails
Good to know
Good for
- Email teams that need to check rendering across many clients before sending
- Groups that route every email through a review and approval step
- Marketers who already have an email service provider
Worth knowing
- Prices are not published: the Pricing link leads to a contact-sales form.
- Litmus does not send campaigns; it works with an email service provider such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo or HubSpot.
- The site now describes Litmus as part of Validity Engage, so product names and packaging may differ from older material.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Litmus's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site.
That puts it in the ordinary slot until a quote says otherwise.
We could not confirm Litmus’s current prices from its own site, so this guide lists no plans. litmus.com has them.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Email preview, testing and monitoring across 100+ email clients. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: templates, reports.
Previews, monitoring, review and approval, but it doesn't send campaigns.
- Email previews
- Preview an email in desktop, mobile and web email clients, including dark-mode versions of many of them.
- Email building
- Build on-brand templates so teams can assemble emails quickly, with testing alongside.
- Live monitoring
- Alerts on problems with deployed emails, such as failing links and broken rendering after a client update.
- Review and approval
- A central place for collecting feedback and sign-off on an email before it goes out.
- Personalization
- Add content such as live polls, personalized images and countdown timers to emails.
- Deliverability
- Inbox placement, domain reputation and engagement insights, presented as part of Validity Engage.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Mailchimp
- Klaviyo
- HubSpot
- Campaign Monitor
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Adobe Marketo
- Oracle Eloqua
- Oracle Responsys
Litmus is made by Litmus Software, Inc.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
2/102
Other email marketing and newsletter tools it is graded above
Litmus's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 2 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 9.
It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 31 of 102) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 103 email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Litmus’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 21 of 102
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 102
- DFeaturesAbove 0 of 102
- CEase of useAbove 11 of 102
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 31 of 102
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of Litmus you could make: templates and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 1 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 91 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools grade higher.
What you could make
- Templates and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- It plugs into other products, Mailchimp, Klaviyo and HubSpot among them.
What this rests on. Litmus’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Campaign Monitor and RGE Studio
The 4 tools Litmus is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.8GPA
Mailchimp
Free plan · from $13/mo
Email and SMS marketing with automations, priced by contact count.
- Mailchimp has a free plan. Litmus does not.
- Only Mailchimp lists iOS and Android apps.
- Litmus also covers templates.
- 2.4GPA
Klaviyo
Free plan · from $20/mo
Email, text and push marketing built on online-store customer data.
- Klaviyo has a free plan. Litmus does not.
- Litmus also covers templates.
- Klaviyo also covers marketing automation, forms and email campaigns.
- 2.4GPA
Campaign Monitor
Free trial · from $11.70/mo
Email marketing for small businesses, nonprofits and agencies.
- Litmus also covers templates and reports.
- Campaign Monitor also covers marketing automation, forms and email campaigns.
- 2.0GPA
RGE Studio
Free plan · from $25/mo
Drag-and-drop email and landing page designer, formerly Beefree.
- RGE Studio has a free plan. Litmus does not.
- Litmus also covers reports.
- RGE Studio also covers no-code.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
10
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Litmus free?
No. Litmus is a paid product.
What platforms does Litmus work on?
Litmus is available on Web.
Does Litmus have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Litmus is listed for Web.
Does Litmus have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Litmus is listed for Web.
Is Litmus open source?
Litmus is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 12, 2026.
What does Litmus integrate with?
Litmus's listing names Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Campaign Monitor, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Adobe Marketo, Oracle Eloqua and Oracle Responsys.
Who makes Litmus?
Litmus is made by Litmus Software, Inc.
What are the alternatives to Litmus?
The closest alternatives to Litmus in our directory are Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Campaign Monitor and RGE Studio.
How does Litmus compare with other email marketing and newsletter tools?
Litmus's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 2 of the 102 other email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, and level with 9.
Could I make my own version of Litmus?
The plain part of Litmus you could make: templates and reports. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Litmus’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Litmus's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Litmus Software, Inc. Prices change, so check litmus.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Litmus, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/litmus
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Litmus: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/litmus
Know someone choosing between email marketing and newsletter tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/litmus/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded email marketing and newsletter tools after Litmus, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Email Marketing & Newsletters Insider's GuideEvery one of the 103 email marketing and newsletter tools we grade, compared
- Substack Insider's GuideNewsletter, podcast and video publishing with paid subscriptions3.2 GPA
- Mailrelay Insider's GuideEmail marketing with a large free plan and SMS and WhatsApp add-ons3.0 GPA
- SendFox Insider's GuideEmail newsletters and list building for creators on a budget3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Litmus’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Litmus is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Litmus Software, Inc. Prices and plans change: check litmus.com before you buy.