Is Flodesk worth it in 2025? Features, pricing, and alternatives review
After a year of building my email list with Flodesk, I reviewed the platform’s offerings to help you decide if it’s right for your needs.
Flodesk at a glance
Flodesk impresses with its user-friendly interface and stunning email templates that make it easy to create beautiful campaigns. However, its lack of tiered pricing may give pause to businesses with smaller email lists.
Note: While this review has been updated in 2025, it was written based on my experience and observations running a weekly newsletter from 2023 to 2024, and other newsletter creators' experiences with alternative email marketing platforms.
Fast facts
This San Francisco-based email marketing software company was founded in 2018 by Martha Bitar, Rebecca Shostak, and Trong Dong
Flodesk marries simplicity with aesthetics, helping users create visually appealing email campaigns
It offers a simple pricing structure — for a flat monthly fee, enjoy unlimited access to features regardless of subscriber count
The good
Flodesk is a breeze to figure out and use, even if you’re new to email marketing. You can drag and drop elements to make your campaigns look high-end without coding or design skills. With Flodesk’s variety of fonts and stylistic features, making emails match your branding is effortless.
The not-so-good
Flodesk’s pricing is high for businesses with small audiences. It costs $420 a year — even if you only have, say, 500 subscribers. Another downside is you can only contact customer support by email, so it might take a while to get help when you need it. Unlike platforms such as Klaviyo, Flodesk doesn’t offer native SMS features for online stores. You must integrate it with third-party software such as Zapier.
A closer look at Flodesk’s pros and cons
Flodesk is excellent for creators and business owners who have never started a newsletter. You can access graphics and GIFs directly on the platform without using third-party apps such as Canva. When properly set up, its email deliverability rate is incredible — often 99% if not 100%.
But it isn’t for small businesses seeking a free plan. Those starting from scratch may want to consider options such as beehiiv, which offers a free plan for lists under 2,500 subscribers. Flodesk also lacks features other email marketing services have, including A/B testing for email content and live chat support.
How much does Flodesk cost?
Flodesk has a 14-day free trial, so you can try it before you pay. After that, it costs $35 per month no matter how many subscribers you have. This price includes all the essential features you need for email marketing, such as audience segmentation, automation workflows, analytics, forms, landing pages, and email templates.
The company’s simple pricing structure is ideal for businesses with thousands of subscribers because the price doesn’t increase as email lists grow. But it might be too much for new creators or those with limited budgets, especially after the first year.
Tip: Get a 50% discount on your first year with my Flodesk coupon code. Another way to save money is by sharing your unique affiliate link on social media or in your emails. You’ll get $19 sent to your PayPal account for each person who signs up using your link.
What features and services does Flodesk offer?
Flodesk's clean analytics dashboard lets you easily track open rates, link clicks, and other key metrics to see how your emails are doing. From there, you can tweak your email marketing strategy based on real data. Creating forms, landing pages, and email campaigns is also simple thanks to its drag-and-drop functionality. Its audience segmentation feature lets you divide your email list into smaller groups based on interests or behavior.
However, Flodesk could be even better if it had A/B testing for email content. This would allow users to send two different versions of an email to see which one performs better. While its customer support team replies fairly quickly, having a live chat or phone support option would be helpful for urgent issues. Lastly, I’d love to see a free plan for businesses with a certain number of subscribers. Even a low threshold (e.g., 250 or 500 subscribers) would be better than not having a free option for those with small email lists, considering other major email marketing platforms do.
Here’s a breakdown of Flodesk’s features and services in a nutshell:
Flodesk customer service and experience
You can expect friendly service when you need help from Flodesk. Representatives respond to emails within two business days after you submit a support ticket to support@flodesk.com.
After joining, I had trouble verifying my domain after switching email addresses. I contacted support, and they sent me detailed troubleshooting steps within a day. When those didn’t work, they had someone fix the issue for me on the back end. While it would have been nice to chat with someone live for faster support, I was happy with the swift service I got.
Customers have mixed experiences with Flodesk, but overall, it has high ratings online.
Krittika M., a small business owner, gave Flodesk a 4-star rating on G2, recommending it to non-tech-savvy people who want nice emails with minimal work. She noted that “newsletters barely end up in spam,” which is a good sign — nobody wants to spend hours crafting emails no one will see. However, she mentioned that Flodesk “has limited functionality [and the pricing model] works better for people with large audiences.”
In contrast, Stephanie J., a marketing and advertising professional, left a 2-star review for Flodesk on GetApp. While she found it “affordable compared to more robust programs” and “easy to use, set up, and customize,” she also said it’s limiting. She pointed out, “You can’t segment beyond the basics, can’t A/B test text or anything… I’d like to test to write better emails.” This might make it difficult for businesses to create the most effective email campaigns.
How does Flodesk stack up to its competitors?
Flodesk is a solid choice for building a community and marketing your offers, but other platforms could be better depending on your needs.
Here’s how it stacks up to three major competitors:
Flodesk vs. Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit is a promising option for creators and business owners wanting to grow their email lists quickly.
Blair Sharp, a freelance writer, started with Flodesk but switched to Kit. She wanted to use its Creator Network, where “you choose other newsletter writers to recommend, and they recommend you.” This can help you get more subscribers faster than with Flodesk, which doesn’t have a similar feature.
The Creator plans start at $25 per month. But Kit came out with a FREE newsletter plan for those with less than 10,000 (!!!) subscribers not needing the bells and whistles (e.g., unlimited visual automation and sequences, full flexibility with Recommendations, and integrations). It's incredible if your main goal is to build an audience through email.
Kit's main drawback is it costs more as your subscriber list grows — assuming you choose the Creator or Creator Pro plan. Flodesk doesn’t have multiple plans and charges the same price no matter how many subscribers you have.
Flodesk vs. beehiiv
beehiiv is fantastic for independent writers who don’t have websites but want to start publishing online. It’s free for up to 2,500 subscribers, which is nice if you’re just starting. One cool thing about beehiiv is it shows all your past newsletter issues on a public page, so people can peruse your content before subscribing.
Email newsletter writer, Neil Kollipara, says he’s a huge fan of beehiiv: “As I grow my brand and newsletter, I want to have a place where people can preview some of my stuff before they invite me into their inbox.” New subscribers can also visit this page to catch up on previous newsletter issues.
Flodesk doesn’t have this feature. You can share individual newsletter links with people, but there’s no native RSS feed where readers can browse your past issues at once. If you want to give potential subscribers a taste of your content, beehiiv is the better choice.
Flodesk vs. Klaviyo
Klaviyo is a powerful email marketing tool specifically designed for eCommerce businesses. It has advanced features, including SMS messaging and AI features to predict future order dates and customer lifetime value, that Flodesk doesn’t offer.
Flavia Gabriel, founder of a stationery store, The Fabulous Planner, chose Klaviyo for her email marketing needs. “I especially love Klaviyo’s Analytics feature," she says. "You can easily segment your top customers, people who haven’t bought in a while, etc., so you can send them highly personalized emails.”
The downside of Klaviyo is it gets expensive quickly as your email list grows. “I have around 10,000 subscribers and pay $150 a month, which adds up fast over the years,” Gabriel explains. If you have a big list but don’t need all the eCommerce-specific features, Flodesk’s flat pricing is cheaper in the long run.
Competitor comparison at a glance
The table below overviews how Flodesk compares to Kit, beehiiv, and Klaviyo:
The bottom line
After looking at Flodesk’s offerings and comparing them to other email marketing platforms, it’s clear that Flodesk is a smart choice for people who prioritize aesthetics and want an easy-to-use platform. If you’re a creative professional (e.g., blogger, artist, photographer), you’ll likely love Flodesk’s elegant templates and drag-and-drop editor. And if you have a big email list, Flodesk’s flat fee of $35/month will save you heaps of money over time.
However, Flodesk isn’t the best fit if you’re an eCommerce business owner needing advanced features, including seamless integrations with Shopify. You’d be better off with a more specialized platform (e.g., Klaviyo). Finally, if you’re starting with no email list, you may prefer a platform such as beehiiv or Kit that offers a free plan.
My thoughts
In 2023, I built my first email list and sent weekly newsletter issues with Flodesk. While I absolutely loved its user-friendly interface and pretty templates, I eventually switched to Kit. The $420 annual price tag was difficult to justify for my intimate email list, especially since I wasn't monetizing my newsletter. My primary goal was to connect with my community outside of social media, and Kit's free Newsletter plan was a better fit at that stage.
In 2025, I've retired my original newsletter, and instead, am building this independent YMYL publication, Wavecomber, on Substack.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell digital products with Flodesk?
Yes, you can use Flodesk to market and sell digital products, including courses, services, and e-guides. The platform allows you to drive urgency with discounts, deliver downloadable goods automatically upon receiving payment, and get more sales with upsells.
Does Flodesk have landing pages?
Yes, Flodesk offers landing pages for businesses who want to build an email list but don’t have a website yet. You can create different ones for separate offers or businesses, directing customers to the appropriate ones. When people subscribe through a specific landing page, Flodesk adds them to the corresponding segment and triggers your tailored workflow to send them relevant emails, freebies, etc.
How many subscribers can I have on Flodesk?
You can have an unlimited number of subscribers with no change in price if you choose Flodesk. This differs from other email marketing platforms that charge more as your subscriber count grows.
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Note: This story was originally published on https://wavecomber.com/flodesk-review/.