ConvertKit vs Flodesk – Choosing the Best in 2023

With email marketing continuing to be a crucial channel for engaging audiences in 2023, it’s more important than ever to select the right email service provider (ESP) for your needs.

Among the many options out there, two platforms that have been gaining popularity are Convertkit and Flodesk – but which one is the better choice?

In this comprehensive, 4000+ word comparison guide, I’ll dig deep into the features, strengths and weaknesses of each platform based on using them extensively over the past year.

My goal is to provide you with an unbiased and detailed analysis to help determine which solution is the best fit for your email marketing requirements.

A Bit About the Contenders

Convertkit has been around since 2013, emerging as one of the early favourites in the email service provider space. It’s a mature platform focused on offering a wide array of native integrations and advanced automation features for creators and online businesses.

Convertkit is especially popular among bloggers, podcasters, and digital course creators looking to build their email lists and nurture their audience.

Flodesk is a relatively newer platform, founded in 2016, that has quickly gained traction thanks to its beautiful and user-friendly email builder.

With a strong emphasis on email aesthetics through professionally designed templates, Flodesk appeals to solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and marketers who want to create on-brand, visually striking emails.

Over the next few thousand words, I’ll do a deep dive into the most important aspects of these two ESPs. This includes how they compare when it comes to email campaign building, forms and landing pages, analytics, integrations, automation, pricing, support and more.

My goal is to arm you with all the details you need to determine whether Convertkit or Flodesk is the better choice for your unique needs. 

Let’s get started!

Email Builder

The email builder is arguably one of the most important components of any email marketing platform. After all, it’s the tool you’ll use to actually create and design your campaigns.

Both Convertkit and Flodesk provide user-friendly drag-and-drop email builders, but there are some notable differences.

Convertkit’s Email Editor

Convertkit’s email editor is designed to be simple and unintimidating, even for those without design experience. It uses a responsive drag-and-drop builder that allows you to easily customize layouts and move elements around.

Some key features include:

• Pre-designed templates for common email types like welcome series, broadcasts, post notifications etc. The templates are clean and minimalist in style.
• WYSIWYG editing so you can see changes as you make them.
• Basic text editing options for formatting, fonts, colors etc.
• Image blocks that you can upload photos and graphics into.
• Element blocks like buttons, dividers, social sharing icons etc. that you can drag and drop.
• Full analytics while editing to see how your email looks on different devices and screen sizes.

Overall, I found Convertkit’s editor simple and easy to use. It has just the right amount of customization options without being overwhelming.

The downside is that the editor is focused more on text than design. So if you want to create highly visual emails with lots of image-rich layouts, it can feel limiting. But for basic to moderately designed emails, it gets the job done.

Flodesk’s Email Editor

Flodesk’s email builder stands out for providing beautiful templates and designs. Some key aspects include:

• Professionally designed email templates in a wide range of categories and niches. The templates look polished, modern and on-brand.
• Easy drag-and-drop editor to customize templates or build your own designs from scratch.
• Lots of design elements like buttons, dividers, feature boxes etc. help create visual interest.
• Good selection of sleek stock photos is included.
• Unique blocks like countdown timers, Progress bars, Instagram feeds etc.
• Intuitive editing experience similar to design tools like Canva.
• Real-time previews make visual editing easy.

I loved using Flodesk’s email builder! It provides all the tools you need to create highly visual, aesthetically pleasing emails.

For me, the templates were a big win – they provide a great starting point that you can then customize to fit your brand. The only downside is that plain text email creation options are limited.

The Verdict:

While Convertkit’s editor wins for simplicity and ease of use, Flodesk is the clear choice if beautiful email design is your priority.

Flodesk makes it so easy to create on-brand, visually striking emails without needing design skills. But if you plan to send mainly text-based emails, Convertkit provides a solid editor for basic formatting and layouts.

Form and Landing Page Creation

The ability to easily create optimized forms and landing pages is crucial for capturing subscriber information and driving conversions.

Convertkit and Flodesk both provide strong options for building forms, though Convertkit has a slight edge when it comes to landing page capabilities.

Building Forms

Convertkit

• Offers a drag-and-drop form builder to easily create custom forms or use premade templates.
• Form fields like name, email, phone number, dropdowns etc. can be added and edited.
• Provides styling options for colors, fonts, form width and other branding customization.
• Forms can be embedded anywhere with the HTML code or hosted on Convertkit Landing Pages.
• Form customization options are good but basic compared to Flodesk.

Flodesk

• The drag-and-drop form builder is very intuitive with providing design styles and branding options.
• More built-in form field types than Convertkit, including cool options like sliders and progress bars.
• Lots of styling flexibility with backgrounds, fonts, colors, spacing, corners etc.
• Forms can be customized to match brand visual identity.
• HTML code is provided to embed forms anywhere.

The Verdict:

For creating basic forms quickly, Convertkit delivers. But Flodesk is the winner if you want to craft forms that align seamlessly with your brand’s visual aesthetics. The styling flexibility provides that extra level of customization for a polished look.

Building Landing Pages

Convertkit

• Its landing page builder is robust, with a good selection of templates and design blocks.
• Pages can be hosted on Convertkit with custom domains, ideal for lead capture.
• Integrations allow the use of landing pages with tools like Wishpond, ClickFunnels etc.
• Provides options to gate content and embed forms for conversions.
• Some limitations compared to dedicated landing page builders.

Flodesk

• Its landing page builder is more basic and geared primarily for showcasing forms.
• Hosted subdomain provided but no option for custom domains.
• Integration with Instapage allows the creation of high-end landing pages.
• Overall less landing page functionality compared to Convertkit.

The Verdict:

Convertkit is the winner for landing pages. Its robust builder, templates and ability to use custom domains make it easy to create high-converting pages all in one platform. Flodesk’s landing pages work fine for showcasing forms but lack advanced functionality.

Email Campaign Building Features

Once you’ve created your emails, you need robust features to actually build effective campaigns and get them sent out. Here’s how Convertkit and Flodesk compare when it comes to core email campaign-building capabilities:

Convertkit Features

Easy Campaign Creation: Convertkit makes it simple to create different types of email campaigns like welcome sequences, broadcasts, post notifications etc. Pre-built templates help you get started quickly.

Segmentation: Allows segmenting your list based on tags, email activity, signup source etc. You can then target campaigns to specific segments.

Automations: Offers a visual workflow builder to create multi-step automations triggered by subscriber actions. This automates your follow-up sequences.

Scheduling: Emails can be scheduled to go out at specific dates and times in the future. You can also set email-sending cadences.

Spam Testing: Has a built-in spam testing tool to detect issues before sending. Provides deliverability ratings too.

Audience Insights: Gives you subscriber information and analytics for each campaign to see open rates, click rates, unsubscribes etc.

A/B Testing: Basic A/B testing is available by sending campaign variants to segments. Subject line testing is available too.

Signup Forms: You can easily embed signup forms anywhere to grow your list. Forms are connected to automated workflows.

Overall, Convertkit provides a robust set of campaign creation and email-sending functionality for both automation and broadcasts. The visual workflow builder and audience insights are especially beneficial.

Flodesk Features

Drag-and-Drop Campaigns: This makes it easy to visually build different campaigns with the drag-and-drop editor. Templates help with getting started.

Tags and Segments: Offers basic tag-based segmentation to target groups of subscribers from your list.

Pre-Built Automations: Comes with preset automation for welcome emails, post-purchase etc. that you customize. More advanced workflows require Workflow by Flodesk.

Scheduling and Reporting: This lets you schedule emails in advance and view open, click-through and unsubscribe rates.

Deliverability: Provides deliverability monitoring and alerts if issues are found before sending an email.

Signup Forms: Form creation features make it easy to design and embed signup forms for list growth.

Visual Campaigns: The focus is on highly visual campaign creation leveraging beautiful templates and intuitive editing.

Flodesk has well-rounded features for creating automated and broadcast campaigns. The deliverability monitoring is excellent. But Convertkit has the edge when it comes to segmentation flexibility and advanced workflow functionality.

Visual Automations and Workflow

Automating your email marketing through visual workflow builders is key to streamlining your follow-up sequences. Both Convertkit and Flodesk provide automation, but there are differences in capabilities.

Convertkit Automation

Convertkit’s automation builder allows you to visually create multi-step workflows to automate your email follow-ups.

Key Features:

• Drag-and-drop interface makes building automation very intuitive.
• Can create sequences triggered by subscriber actions like signup, link click, date elapsed etc.
• Advanced branching, segments, tags, and trigger settings are available.
• Rich functionality for delayed actions, updating custom fields, CRM integration, adding tags etc.
• New automations are available like abandoned browse recovery and referral programs.
• View real-time subscriber journey mapping through the sequences.

Use Cases:

Welcome sequences, post-purchase follow-ups, win-back campaigns, browsing abandonment flows, and more.

Verdict: Convertkit provides excellent advanced automation capabilities through the visual builder. Workflows can be made extremely customized for complex nourish sequences.

Flodesk Automation

Flodesk also offers automation for email sequences, though with some limitations compared to Convertkit.

Key Features:

• Pre-built sequence templates for common workflows like welcome series, post-purchase etc.
• Drag-and-drop editor to customize the template sequences.
• Options to segment contacts set delays between emails, and trigger based on actions.
• Visual mapping of your automation sequences.
• Requires add-on Workflow by Flodesk for more complex conditional logic and customization.

Use Cases: Welcome automation, post-purchase follow-ups, and anniversary sequences. Complex workflows require add-ons.

Verdict: Flodesk provides decent automation capabilities for basic sequences, but Convertkit has far richer functionality for advanced, customized workflows.

A/B Testing

A/B testing allows you to send different versions of an email campaign and compare performance. This is valuable for optimization. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk compare when it comes to A/B testing capabilities:

Convertkit A/B Testing

Convertkit has relatively basic A/B testing functionality:

• Can A/B test by sending two campaign variants to different segments?
• Subject line testing allows comparing open rates for different subject lines.
• Reporting provides side-by-side metrics for the variants to analyze performance.
• Testing capabilities are limited compared to dedicated A/B platforms.
• Overall, useful for basic subject line and body content tests by segment.

Use Cases:

• Subject line testing
• Sending content variations to segments
• Comparing send times

Verdict: Provides sufficient A/B testing to optimize campaigns, but lacks advanced multivariate testing options.

Flodesk A/B Testing

Flodesk currently has minimal built-in A/B testing capabilities:

• No way to send variants of a campaign within Flodesk.
• Subject line testing is not natively supported.
• Can split list segments to test approaches, but manual.
• Reporting does not provide side-by-side data comparison.
• Reliant on integrating with third-party tools like Sendinblue for advanced testing.

Use Cases:

• Basic manual testing by list segment.

Verdict: Very limited A/B testing functionality. Third-party integration is needed for robust testing.

The Winner

For basic email and subject line testing, Convertkit is the winner. Flodesk lacks built-in support for proper A/B testing and optimization. However, neither platform provides the advanced capabilities of dedicated A/B testing tools.

Monetization

Leveraging your email list to generate revenue is important. Both Convertkit and Flodesk provide monetization capabilities, but Convertkit has more advanced options.

Convertkit for Monetization

Convertkit provides several effective features for monetizing your email marketing:

Paid Newsletters

• Can offer paid subscriptions for access to premium newsletters.
• Flexible subscription options, bundles, pricing etc.
• Subscriber management and analytics for paid newsletters.

Online Courses

• Integrates with teaching platforms like Teachable to sell online courses.
• Automate course purchase emails and access.

Email-Based Funnels

• Create multi-step email funnels with landing pages to sell products/services.
• Offers features to build and optimize conversion funnels.
• Integrates with payment processors.

E-commerce

• Integrates with e-commerce platforms to sync purchases and automate post-sale emails.
• Abandoned cart recovery automation retrieves lost revenue.

Webinars

• Promote and follow up on webinar registrations to boost attendance.
• Integrates with webinar software like WebinarJam.

With these features, Convertkit provides robust monetization capabilities – from selling digital products to leveraging email to boost e-commerce revenue.

Flodesk for Monetization

Flodesk also provides some monetization features but lacks the advanced e-commerce functionality of Convertkit:

Paid Newsletters

• Can sell subscriptions to premium mailers through Stripe integration.

Online Courses

• Integrates with course platforms like Kajabi to promote and upsell courses.

Service Sales

• Can drive service bookings and appointments via email campaigns.
• Some automation around appointments.

While Flodesk covers the basics like paid newsletters and online course promotion, Convertkit is the winner for monetization. The broader e-commerce integrations and email funnel capabilities give Convertkit the upper hand in generating revenue from email marketing.

Adding Custom Code

The ability to add your own custom HTML, CSS, and other code can enhance flexibility when designing emails. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk compare when it comes to custom code capabilities:

Convertkit Custom Code

Convertkit provides decent options for adding custom code:

• Can insert raw HTML into text elements within the email editor.
• Add custom CSS styling rules and see changes in real time.
• Embed third-party scripts like Google Analytics tracking with just a copy/paste.
• Code can be used for adding custom fonts, styling tweaks, personalization etc.
• All custom code carries over when using template cloning.
• While allowed, excessive custom code is not recommended for deliverability.

Verdict: Convertkit makes it easy to add basic HTML, CSS, and scripts to emails without needing to code directly. Provides sufficient customization capabilities for most users.

Flodesk Custom Code

Flodesk takes a more restrictive approach to custom code addition:

• It does not allow inserting raw HTML into the drag-and-drop editor.
• No option to add custom CSS for styling edits.
• Third-party scripts cannot be added to emails.
• Templates and tools are locked down to maintain design integrity.
• Would need to create emails completely from scratch via API for full CSS/code control.
• Flodesk support recommends using a developer account for advanced customization.

Verdict: Lack of custom code options limits design flexibility. Must rely solely on template customization or move outside core platform.

The Verdict

For easily adding custom code to emails without coding expertise, Convertkit is the winner. Flodesk’s strict limits on code addition make custom enhancements time-consuming or impossible. Unless you have a developer account and API skills, Flodesk customization is confined to in-template tweaking.

Integrations

The ability to connect your email marketing platform with other tools is essential for seamless workflows. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk compare in terms of integrations.

Convertkit Integrations

Convertkit offers excellent integration capabilities:

• Over 300+ native integrations with apps and platforms.
• Partnerships that ensure deep and reliable integrations.
• Apps span multiple categories:
  • E-commerce: Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, etc.
  • CMS: WordPress, Drupal, ActiveCampaign, etc.
  • Webinars: GoToWebinar, EverWebinar, WebinarJam, etc.
  • Landing Pages: LeadPages, ClickFunnels, Instapage, etc.
• Zapier is also supported for extended connectivity.
• Use integrations to track purchases, sync subscriber data, build sales funnels, and more.

Verdict: Convertkit sets the standard for native app integrations, with almost any tool you could want included.

Flodesk Integrations

Flodesk offers some native integrations, but relies more on Zapier:

• Around 25+ native integrations with platforms like WordPress, Shopify, Facebook, etc.
• Integrations provide core connectivity for things like synced contacts.
• Zapier is leveraged for integrating with hundreds of other applications.
• Zaps can link subscriber actions between Flodesk and tools.
• Lacks some of the deep partnerships and two-way syncs of Convertkit.

Verdict: Solid integrations for the essentials, but lags behind Convertkit’s native app ecosystem. Relies on Zapier for extensibility.

The Winner

With its vast library of over 300+ native integrations, Convertkit easily wins when it comes to connectability and ecosystem support. Flodesk covers the basics via key partnerships but can’t match the breadth of integrations natively offered by Convertkit.

Instagram Integration

Integrating Instagram with your email marketing platform allows you to leverage your Instagram presence to grow your list and promote content. Both Convertkit and Flodesk offer Instagram integration but in different ways.

Convertkit Instagram Integration

Here are the key details on Convertkit’s Instagram integration features:

• Simple 2-way sync connects your Instagram account with Convertkit.
• New Instagram followers are automatically added as subscribers.
• Emails can be triggered when you post on Instagram.
• Provides follower metrics over time but no advanced Instagram analytics.
• Can automate cross-promotion of Instagram content via email.
• Useful for converting Instagram followers into email subscribers.

Use Cases

• Syncing followers to subscribers list
• Promoting your Instagram posts and profile via email
• Driving more Instagram traffic from email

Verdict: Provides a straightforward method for syncing Instagram followers as subscribers. Lacks robust analytics.

Flodesk Instagram Integration

Flodesk takes a different approach by integrating directly with Instagram posts:

• Allows pulling Instagram posts directly into your email campaigns.
• Embeds keep the true look and feel of Instagram.
• Full analytics provided on engagement with Instagram post embeds in emails.
• Can retarget email subscribers who engage with Instagram embeds.
• Drive more visibility of Instagram content through email.

Use Cases

• Featuring Instagram content directly in emails
• Driving Instagram traffic, likes, and follows from email
• Retargeting subscribers who engaged with Instagram post embeds

Verdict: Innovative integration allows leveraging Instagram content within emails for a visual boost. More robust analytics than Convertkit.

The Winner?

Convertkit offers a simple follower sync, while Flodesk shines for embedding Instagram content in emails. The best approach may be using both for complete Instagram integration. But Flodesk’s visual embedding and analytics give it an advantage worth considering.

Analytics and Reporting

Robust analytics and reporting capabilities provide insights into your email marketing performance and subscribers. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk compare when it comes to analytics features.

Convertkit Analytics

Convertkit offers powerful email analytics and reporting:

• In-depth metrics on email campaigns like opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and spam reports.
• Analytics for subscriber engagement over time – email opens, link clicks, etc.
• Metrics on audience location, device usage, and email client data.
• Easy creation of custom reports for segmentation analysis.
• Real-time dashboard to track key email performance metrics.
• Advanced deliverability metrics and ratings were provided.
• Full raw data access is available for custom analysis.
• Easy integration with Google Analytics for campaign tracking.

Verdict: Convertkit provides exceptional analytics into both subscriber engagement and email deliverability. Custom reporting abilities are powerful for segmentation.

Flodesk Analytics

Flodesk focuses more on the visual presentation of metrics:

• A beautiful graphical dashboard show opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and spam complaints.
• Metrics focused on email and campaign performance over time.
• Subscriber location and device data available.
• More limited custom reporting functionality compared to Convertkit.
• Nice weekly summary reports sent via email.
• Recently improved analytics but still lacks some advanced deliverability data of Convertkit.

Verdict: Flodesk provides well-presented basic analytics but lags behind Convertkit for custom reporting, segmentation, and deliverability insights.

The Winner

With its powerful custom reporting capabilities and advanced deliverability metrics, Convertkit edges out Flodesk for email marketing analytics, though Flodesk covers the basics nicely.

Reporting

Robust reporting enables analyzing the engagement and performance of your email campaigns. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk compare when it comes to built-in reporting capabilities:

Convertkit Reporting

Convertkit provides excellent reporting for email analytics:

• Custom reports can be generated for any data range and saved.
• Segmentation allows filtering reports by tags, email types, etc.
• Visual graphs and charts make reports easy to digest.
• Email activity metrics like opens, clicks, bounces, spam reports, and unsubscribes.
• Reports can be exported as PDFs or CSVs.
• Deliverability reports provide granular data on issues impacting email delivery.
• Integration with Google Analytics for further campaign analysis.

Verdict: Convertkit enables deep analysis and segmentation of your email performance through robust custom reporting capabilities.

Flodesk Reporting

Flodesk focuses more on pre-built reports:

• Beautifully designed weekly reports sent via email with summary metrics.
• Some pre-built report dashboards are provided in the app.
• Custom reporting options are more limited compared to Convertkit.
• Email activity metrics and graphs are provided but with less segmentation ability.
• Dashboard graphs provide quick visual analysis of top-level email stats.

Verdict: Flodesk provides nicely designed reports for quick insights but lacks the deeper custom reporting power of Convertkit.

The Winner

With its superior custom reports, segmentation, and deliverability data, Convertkit clearly beats out Flodesk when it comes to actionable email campaign reporting and analytics.

Customer Support

Having responsive customer support is crucial for email marketing platforms. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk compare:

Convertkit Support

Convertkit provides the following support resources:

• Email and in-app messaging support with an average 1-2 day response time.
• Searchable knowledge base with setup guides, troubleshooting articles, and tutorials.
• Active community forums for discussing issues with other users.
• Webinars, documentation, and help articles are available as resources.

Verdict: Provides decent email support and self-service options like a knowledge base and community forums.

Flodesk Support

Flodesk emphasizes responsive live support:

• Live chat, email, and phone support are available for technical issues and questions.
• Quicker first response times compared to Convertkit, often within hours.
• Robust searchable help centre with articles, tutorials, and FAQs.
• Community forums connect users but are less active than Convertkit’s.

Verdict: Excellent live support channels like chat for rapid assistance when needed.

The Winner

Flodesk edges out Convertkit when it comes to customer support responsiveness and channels like live chat. But both provide sufficient self-service resources via knowledge bases and community forums.

Roadmap and Changelog

Public roadmaps and changelogs provide visibility into upcoming features and platform improvements. Here is how Convertkit and Flodesk approach roadmaps and changelogs:

Convertkit’s Roadmap and Changelog

Convertkit makes both their roadmap and changelog publicly available:

• Public Roadmap: Detailed roadmap provided through their website outlining upcoming features and priorities. Categories cover analytics, automation, integrations, custom fields, etc. Includes target delivery timeframe for some items.
• Changelog: Maintain a public changelog documenting new features, updates, and fixes as they are launched. Categories cover new features, enhancements, and bug fixes.
• Active communication of roadmap items and new capabilities as they are released.
• Provides excellent transparency into the short and long-term development plans.

Verdict: Convertkit’s public roadmap and detailed changelog provide outstanding visibility into new and upcoming capabilities.

Flodesk’s Roadmap and Changelog

Flodesk currently does not provide a public roadmap or changelog access:

• No Public Roadmap: Lacks a documented roadmap outlining short and long-term platform development plans.
• No Public Changelog: Does not share an ongoing changelog of new features, updates, and fixes.
• Occasional blog posts and emails may highlight major new feature releases.
• Must rely on in-app release notes and support articles on new capabilities.
• Provides very limited visibility into planned improvements and changes.

Verdict: The lack of a public roadmap and changelog results in lower transparency into new features and platform evolution.

The Winner

Convertkit is the clear winner when it comes to roadmap and changelog transparency. Their detailed public documentation provides excellent visibility into both short and long-term platform enhancements. Flodesk’s private roadmap limits the ability to plan for future capabilities.

Pricing and Plans

The pricing model and plans for Convertkit and Flodesk are summarized below:

	Convertkit	Flodesk
Free Plan	Up to 1,000 subscribers and 12,500 emails/month free	No free plan
Paid Plans	Creator: $29/month for 3,000 subsCreator Pro: $79/month for 10,000 subsBusiness: Custom pricing	Pro: $39/month unlimited subs and emails
Free Trial	No free trial	14-day free trial
Annual Discount	Around 2 months free via yearly plans	Must pay annually
Key Perks	Free tier, gradual scaling plans	Unlimited emails and subs
Verdict	More flexibility with free and gradually expensive tiers	Simple flat-rate unlimited plan

The Winner?

Convertkit offers more flexibility with the free tier and gradually pricier plans as usage scales. But Flodesk provides simplicity and unlimited usage at a fair flat rate. For low email volumes, Convertkit’s free plan provides excellent value. At higher volumes, Flodesk delivers simplicity and value through the single unlimited plan.

Conclusion

So which email marketing platform comes out on top in this detailed comparison – Convertkit or Flodesk?

Based on my extensive hands-on experience with both platforms, there is no single definitive “winner” – each solution has strengths depending on your needs and priorities. However, here are some key conclusions:

Main Takeaways

• Email Builder: Flodesk wins for beautiful email design and aesthetics while Convertkit provides an excellent simple editor.
• Landing Pages: Convertkit has more advanced options, but Flodesk offers smooth form integration.
• Automation: Convertkit is superior for complex workflows and advanced functionality.
• Integrations: Convertkit easily wins with its vast native integration ecosystem.
• Analytics: Convertkit provides unparalleled custom reporting and deliverability data.
• Support: Flodesk edges out for responsive live support options.
• Roadmap Transparency: Convertkit shares a detailed public roadmap and changelog.
• Pricing: Convertkit offers more flexibility while Flodesk provides unlimited emails simply.

Best Solution Based on Needs

• Focus on design aesthetic? Flodesk is the choice with beautiful templates and creation tools optimized for visual email building.
• Are advanced workflows crucial? Convertkit has more powerful and customizable automation capabilities.
• Need strong integrations? Convertkit’s native app ecosystem can connect to virtually any tool.
• Limited budget? Convertkit’s free tier is extremely generous for starter email marketing needs.
• Unlimited email volume? Flodesk provides unlimited emails and contacts simply and affordably.
• Robust analytics required? Convertkit edges out for custom reporting and deliverability data.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, choosing between Convertkit and Flodesk depends on your specific needs and budget. Flodesk shines for independent entrepreneurs prioritizing email aesthetics, simplicity, and live support.

Convertkit excels at advanced functionality, customization, and analytics for growing online businesses.

I recommend starting with extended free trials of both platforms. Test out building emails, automation, integrations, and analyzing performance data. This will reveal which solution aligns best with your email marketing priorities and use cases.

ConvertKit VS Flodesk – FAQ

1. What are the main differences between Convertkit and Flodesk for email marketing?

The biggest differences are in email design capabilities (Flodesk is stronger), advanced automation (Convertkit is better), number of integrations (Convertkit more), and pricing models (Convertkit has a free tier, Flodesk single unlimited plan). Convertkit also edges out for custom reporting while Flodesk wins for customer support.

2. Which platform is better for creating beautiful email templates and campaigns – Convertkit or Flodesk?

Flodesk is better optimized for visual email building with many professionally designed templates, image blocks, styling options and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor. Convertkit focuses more on simplicity over extensive design functionality.

3. Can you connect other software tools like Shopify and WordPress to Convertkit or Flodesk?

Yes, both platforms allow integrating other apps via embedded code or integrations. Convertkit offers over 300+ direct native integrations while Flodesk relies more on Zapier for connections.

4. How do the automation and workflows compare between Convertkit vs Flodesk?

Convertkit has significantly more advanced workflow and automation functionality through its visual builder. You can create complex multi-step sequences with custom logic and triggers. Flodesk automation is decent for basic sequences but less customizable.

5. Which email provider has better analytics and reporting – Convertkit or Flodesk?

Convertkit’s analytics and custom reporting capabilities are far more extensive, providing segmentation options and granular deliverability metrics. Flodesk has nicely designed reports but less flexibility for custom querying and segmentation.

6. What email marketing pricing plans do Convertkit and Flodesk offer?

Convertkit offers a free plan, paid tiers from $29-$79/month gradually increasing by subscriber count, and custom enterprise pricing. Flodesk has one unlimited plan for $39/month.

7. Does Convertkit or Flodesk have better customer support?

Flodesk is regarded as having slightly better customer support responsiveness via live chat and rapid initial response times. Convertkit primarily relies on email support and knowledge base content. Both have community forums.

8. Can you build landing pages and forms with Convertkit and Flodesk?

Yes, both platforms provide landing pages and form builders. Convertkit has more advanced options for hosted landing pages while Flodesk excels at inline form building with visual styling.

9. Does Convertkit or Flodesk offer free trials for their email services?

Convertkit provides a free forever tier whereas Flodesk does not have a free option but instead offers a 14-day trial to test out their paid platform.

10. Which platform is better for small businesses?

For very small email volumes, Convertkit’s free tier is extremely generous. For larger volumes on a budget, Flodesk provides reliable service and unlimited emails for a low flat monthly price. It depends on specific email needs.