Choosing email marketing software for affiliate marketing may seem easy at first. You may see a low price, many useful tools, or a well-known company and think you have found the right one.
An email platform is an online service you use to collect email addresses and send emails to your readers. In this article, I will simply call it a platform.
Affiliate marketers have another thing to think about. An affiliate link is a special link that helps a company know that you sent the reader. If the reader later takes the required action, such as buying something, you may earn a commission. A commission is money the company may pay you for that action.
The platform you choose must allow the way you plan to use affiliate links. It should also be easy enough for you to use and affordable enough for you to keep. This guide will help you compare five possible choices without rushing you into buying one.
1. Quick Answer
There is no one email platform that is right for every affiliate marketer. First, check the company’s rules about affiliate links and email. Then think about the kind of email work you want to do. Compare the price, the tools you need, and what may happen as your email list grows.
GetResponse may be a good choice for a beginner who wants email, simple ways for people to join a list, and emails that send automatically. SendX is worth considering if you do a lot of affiliate marketing and want simple pricing. EmailOctopus can be useful if you want to start at a lower cost. Kit is mainly for people whose own content comes first. Systeme.io can work well for a beginner who wants email and other online-business tools in one place.
MakeMoneyOnlineBestTools.com (MMOBT) teaching graphic: A Simple Way to Choose
2. Why This Choice Matters
Your email platform can become an important part of your affiliate work. It keeps your email list, sends your messages, and helps new readers join your list.
An email list is a list of people who have agreed to receive emails from you. Each person on the list is often called a subscriber.
If you choose the wrong platform, you may waste money. You may also spend many hours moving your subscribers and rebuilding your emails later.
The company’s rules matter too. A platform may have good tools but still not be right for you. This can happen when its rules do not allow the kind of affiliate email you plan to send. So check the rules before you become excited about the features.
3. What an Autoresponder and Email Platform Do
An autoresponder is a tool that sends an email automatically after something happens. For example, a person may join your email list and receive a welcome email at once. Two days later, the platform can send the next email without you sending it by hand.
This kind of automatic work is called automation. Automation simply means that you set the steps first, and the platform carries out those steps for you.
Most modern platforms can also help people join your list. A signup form is a small box where a person enters an email address. A landing page is a simple page built around one main action, such as joining your email list.
Some platforms let you add a tag to a subscriber. A tag is a simple label, such as “affiliate marketing” or “online business.” You can also put subscribers into groups. This helps you send people information that matches what they are interested in.
Platforms also give you reports. A report may show how many people received an email, opened it, clicked a link, or joined your list. These numbers can help you learn, but they do not guarantee sales or income.
4. First Check the Company’s Rules
Do not start with price. First ask whether the company allows the way you plan to use affiliate links in email.
A person who teaches useful lessons and sometimes recommends a product is different from a person who sends emails mainly to promote other companies’ products. Some email companies treat these two types of use differently.
Also build your list with permission. A permission-based list means that people asked to receive your emails. Do not buy, rent, or copy email addresses from other places and then start sending messages to those people.
If the company’s rules are not clear for your kind of affiliate work, ask its support team before you pay or move a large list.
Four Beginner Situations to Think About
- Content comes first — You teach through a website, email, video, or other useful content. Affiliate recommendations are only one part of what you do.
- Affiliate marketing is a large part of your email work — Many of your emails talk about products or services from other companies.
- You also sell your own product or service — You may use affiliate links sometimes, but they are not the main part of your work.
- You want several tools in one place — You want email, signup pages, sales pages, and other basic business tools without connecting many separate services.
5. How MMOBT Compared the Five Platforms
We did not put a platform first because it may pay MMOBT an affiliate commission. We looked first at what may help a beginner.
Affiliate disclosure: If you use one of our affiliate links to sign up for a service, MMOBT may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not affect which platforms we recommend. We put beginner fit first.
We used five main questions. Does the company allow your kind of affiliate email? Is the platform easy enough to use? Can it send useful automatic follow-up? What will it cost now and later? Can you take your subscriber list with you if you move to another platform?
We also looked at signup tools, reports, and how well each platform can connect with other common tools. No platform can promise that every email will reach a reader’s inbox.
Prices and rules can change. The prices in this article were checked on 22 September 2026. Check the company’s current official page again before you pay.
6. Short Comparison of the Five Platforms
The prices below are in U.S. dollars. They were checked on 22 September 2026 and can change. This table is only a starting point.
| Platform | Simple beginner view |
| GetResponse | Good for email and stronger automatic follow-up. Starts at $19 a month for up to 1,000 subscribers. |
| SendX | Good for affiliate-focused users who want simple pricing. Starts at $9.99 a month for up to 1,000 contacts. |
| EmailOctopus | Good for a lower-cost start. Free up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails a month. Affiliate accounts may receive extra review. |
| Kit | Good when your own content comes first. Free up to 10,000 subscribers. Not a good fit when emails are mainly affiliate offers. |
| Systeme.io | Good when you want email and other business tools together. Free up to 2,000 people on the list. Check the current paid price before buying. |
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you use one of these links and take a qualifying action, MMOBT may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
This does not affect which platforms we recommend.
7. GetResponse
GetResponse may suit a beginner who wants more than basic email. It gives you email, signup forms, landing pages, and tools for sending emails automatically.
Its Starter plan begins at $19 a month for up to 1,000 subscribers when you pay month by month. The Starter plan includes one custom set of automatic steps. Higher plans allow more automatic work.
GetResponse also publishes help for people who use affiliate marketing. This does not mean every kind of affiliate email is allowed. You still have to follow its current rules about email, unwanted messages, and content the company does not allow.
You can download your subscriber list later. This makes it possible to move your contacts to another platform. However, you may still have to rebuild some automatic email steps after you move.
Main strengths
- Email, signup forms, and landing pages in one place.
- Good room to grow into stronger automatic follow-up.
- Useful for a beginner who wants one main email system.
Main limits
- The lowest paid plan limits how much automatic follow-up you can build.
- The price rises as the list grows.
- The same email address may count more than once if you keep it on more than one list.
Choose another platform if your main need is the lowest possible price or very simple email only.
8. SendX
SendX openly offers its email service to affiliate marketers. This makes it worth looking at if affiliate marketing is a large part of your work.
Its price starts at $9.99 a month for up to 1,000 contacts. SendX uses the word contact for a person stored on your email list. Its price changes as the number of contacts grows.
SendX includes unlimited email sending, testing tools, and automatic follow-up on its plans. Testing means sending two versions of an email to learn which one works better.
You still have to follow SendX rules and use a permission-based list. If your subject or offers may be restricted, ask support before moving a large list.
Main strengths
- Simple pricing based mainly on the number of active contacts.
- Automatic follow-up is included without paying for a higher plan just to get that tool.
- The company clearly speaks to affiliate marketers.
Main limits
- Affiliate marketing is not permission to send unwanted email.
- Some subjects or offers may need extra checking.
- You should confirm how well SendX connects with any other tools you already use.
Choose another platform if you want a large all-in-one system with many website, course, or sales tools.
9. EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus may suit a beginner who wants to start at a lower cost. Its free plan allows up to 2,500 subscribers and 10,000 emails each month. Its Pro plan starts at $9 a month when you pay for a year at once.
It also gives you signup forms, landing pages, subscriber groups, reports, and automatic email. The free plan allows fewer automatic email setups than the paid plan.
There is one important rule to understand. EmailOctopus says affiliate-marketing accounts may receive extra review. This does not mean every honest affiliate marketer is banned. It means you should make sure your list and content follow the company’s rules.
You can download your subscribers if you later move. Check what information can be downloaded and what parts of your email setup you would need to rebuild.
Main strengths
- Low starting cost.
- A large free subscriber limit for a beginner.
- Useful basic tools for collecting subscribers and sending follow-up.
Main limits
- Affiliate-marketing accounts may receive more checking.
- The free plan has more limits than the paid plan.
- Do not choose it only because it is cheap.
Choose another platform if you want the clearest possible support for a business that is heavily focused on affiliate offers.
10. Kit
Kit is mainly built for creators such as writers, teachers, coaches, and other people who build an audience around their own work.
Its free plan allows up to 10,000 subscribers. At 1,000 subscribers, the Creator plan was $33 a month when paid for a year at once. The paid plan gives you stronger automatic follow-up and email series.
Kit has stricter rules for affiliate marketing than some of the other platforms in this article. It allows affiliate recommendations when they are only part of your own useful content. It is not meant for a business whose emails are mainly affiliate offers.
You can download your subscribers later if you decide to move to another platform.
Main strengths
- Good for people whose own teaching or content comes first.
- Large free subscriber limit.
- Strong tools for organising readers and sending useful follow-up.
Main limits
- Not a good choice for an affiliate-only email business.
- Some types of affiliate offers are restricted.
- The free plan does not include all the automatic tools available on the paid plan.
Choose another platform if affiliate offers will make up a large part of your email content.
11. Systeme.io
Systeme.io may suit a beginner who wants several online-business tools in one place. It includes email, signup pages, websites, courses, and tools for building sales steps.
A set of pages and steps that guides a person towards one action is often called a funnel. For example, a person may first see a signup page, join your email list, and later see a product page.
Systeme.io has a free plan for up to 2,000 contacts and allows unlimited email sending. Its lower plans limit how many email series, automatic steps, pages, and other items you can build.
When we checked Systeme.io on 22 September 2026, its main official pricing page showed the Startup plan at $17 a month. Prices can change, so check the current price again before you pay.
Systeme.io help pages show that affiliate links can be used in its email system. Even so, check that your exact type of business and offers follow the current rules.
Main strengths
- Email and several other online-business tools in one place.
- A free plan that lets a beginner test the system.
- May reduce the number of separate services you need to connect.
Main limits
- It may give you more tools than you need if you only want email.
- The free and lower plans limit how many items you can build.
- Prices can change, so check the current official price before you pay.
Choose another platform if you want a simple email-only service and do not need the extra business tools.
12. Which Platform May Fit You?
Use these examples only as a starting point. Then check the company’s current rules and price before paying.
- You want email, signup pages, and more ways to send emails automatically as your list grows: GetResponse may be worth considering.
- Affiliate marketing is a large part of your work and you want simple pricing: SendX may fit what you need.
- You want a lower-cost start and are comfortable with possible extra account review: EmailOctopus could be a good place to start.
- Your own teaching or content comes first and affiliate links are only a smaller part of it: Kit may work well for you.
- You want email and several other online-business tools in one place: Systeme.io may give you the combination you need.
If two platforms still look equally good, compare what each one may cost when your list is larger. Also check how easy it will be to take your subscriber list with you if you change platforms later.
13. Think About the Cost as Your List Grows
A platform may be cheap when your list is small. It may cost much more when you reach 5,000 or 10,000 subscribers.
Before you choose, look at the price for the next two or three list sizes. This helps you see whether a cheap starting price may become expensive later.
Also check how the company counts people on your list. Some platforms may count the same email address more than once when it appears on different lists. Others count one active person only once.
Growth is not only about price. Later you may need more automatic follow-up, more signup pages, more people working in the account, or better reports.
A cheap plan can become costly if you have to move everything after a few months. Think about the money and the work involved.
14. Common Mistakes
- Choosing only by the first price you see. A cheap plan is useful only if it fits your work.
- Choosing only because the company is well known. A famous platform can still have the wrong rules or price for you.
- Choosing the platform with the most tools. You may pay for tools you do not need or make the system harder to learn.
- Ignoring the rules about affiliate links. Do not assume every email company treats affiliate marketing in the same way.
- Choosing because the platform pays a high affiliate commission. A company paying MMOBT or another publisher does not make the tool better for you.
- Buying too much too early. Start with the tools you need now. You can add more later.
- Forgetting about moving later. Before you build many emails, check whether you can download your subscriber list.
- Using email addresses from people who did not ask to hear from you. Build your own permission-based list.
15. Practical Action
Before you open a paid account, do these six things:
1. Write down how you plan to use email. Will your own teaching come first, or will many of your emails promote affiliate products?
2. Write down how many subscribers you have now and how many you may have in one year.
3. Decide whether you need only a welcome email and a few follow-up emails, or a more advanced automatic system.
4. Read the company’s current rules about affiliate links and email.
5. Check what the platform will cost at your expected list size, not only at your starting size.
6. Check whether you can download your subscribers and what you may need to rebuild if you move later to another platform.
If the rules are not clear for your kind of affiliate work, ask the company before you pay. Keep the answer for your records.
16. Key Points to Remember
- Check the company’s rules before you compare its tools.
- The lowest starting price may not be the lowest price later.
- Do not pay for advanced tools you do not yet need.
- Kit is mainly for creators whose own content comes first.
- EmailOctopus may review affiliate-marketing accounts more closely.
- SendX openly serves affiliate marketers. GetResponse and Systeme.io can also support affiliate work, but their current rules still control what you may do.
- Choose a platform because it fits your work and your readers, not because it pays a high commission.
- Check current prices and rules again before you pay.
17. Suitable Next Step
After you choose a platform, do not rush to send many affiliate offers. Start by building a list of people who asked to hear from you.
Create one simple way for people to join your list. Then prepare a short welcome email that tells them what kind of useful information you will send.
If you are still at the beginning of affiliate marketing, the Free Affiliate First 7 Days Kit can help you take your first steps. You can follow the steps one at a time. You do not need to buy an email platform before you understand what you need.
The Kit is optional. This article should still help you choose a platform even if you do not join our email list.