Best email scheduler software

Best email scheduler software

12 min read
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Email scheduler software is an invaluable asset — think of this a secret weapon for today’s business communication. Email scheduling lets users send emails at the perfect time without being at a desk, or even awake. And email scheduling software enables you to seamlessly integrate email scheduling functionality into your applications, enhancing user experience and communication efficiency.

This is especially handy for your users working with people or teams across different time zones. They can write an email whenever inspiration strikes and schedule it to be sent directly from your application when it’s most likely to be read. It’s about ensuring your users’ messages land at the right moment.

But it’s not just about timing. This tool is a plus for helping users stay organized and keeping email strategies on track. Scheduled emails let users plan and schedule emails in advance to manage workloads more effectively. This way, they’re not overwhelming their recipients with a flood of emails and freeing up their time to focus on other important tasks.

Email scheduler software is a smart move for anyone looking to integrate scheduled email functionality for your users. 

What is an email scheduler?

An email scheduler is a tool or functionality that lets users draft emails and then set them to be sent out automatically at a later date and time. It’s like setting an alarm clock for your emails.

Email scheduler capabilities

An email scheduler does a lot more than delaying send times. It’s packed with features that can transform email communication. For example: 

  • Timezone synchronization: Say your users work with clients or colleagues across the globe. An email scheduler can adjust the sending time so their email lands in the right inbox at a reasonable hour, not in the middle of the night. 
  • Workflow integration: Good email schedulers blend smoothly with popular email platforms. Users can write and schedule emails from their usual email interface, maintaining a seamless workflow.
  • Recurring emails: Have users sending weekly updates or monthly newsletters? Enable them to set it up once, and the scheduler will send it out like clockwork. It’s a huge time-saver, especially for regular, repetitive email tasks.

Benefits of scheduled email 

Scheduled emails provide significant benefits in handling digital correspondence, boosting the effectiveness and efficiency of email interactions. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits: 

  • Improved time management: With scheduled emails, users can write emails at their convenience and schedule them for later. This means batch-processing emails, writing several simultaneously, and then setting them to go out at different times. It’s a fantastic way to manage workloads more efficiently and avoid spending all day in the inbox.
  • Enhanced global reach: Emailing at the right time can be tricky when working across different time zones. Scheduled emails take care of this by allowing users to send messages conveniently to the recipient, no matter where they are. This thoughtful approach can increase the likelihood of emails being read and responded to promptly.
  • Consistent communication: Whether it’s a weekly newsletter, monthly updates, or regular check-ins, scheduling these in advance ensures that communication is regular and reliable. It’s particularly useful for maintaining long-term client relationships or managing large teams, where consistent updates are key.

Best email scheduling software

Selecting the right email schedule software is about finding the right fit for your needs. But first, it’s important to understand the distinction between the different types, which can be broken down in a few different ways. 

Let’s start by looking at ready-made solutions versus building scheduled functionality with an email API:

  • Ready-made solutions: These are pre-built email scheduler software programs ready to use ‘out of the box’. They typically have a user-friendly interface and standard features catering to general email scheduling needs. Ideal for users or businesses looking for a quick, hassle-free solution without needing customization.
  • Building with an email API: This approach involves using an email API to create custom scheduled email functionality. It offers greater flexibility and can be tailored to specific requirements but requires some technical expertise and development resources. Suitable for businesses with unique needs or those who want to integrate email scheduling into existing systems seamlessly. 

There are also two types of email APIs that support adding this functionality: transactional APIs and contextual APIs. Transactional APIs are ideal for businesses requiring high-volume, rapid email dispatch with minimal customization. Consider scenarios like automated marketing updates, promotional offers, and transactional notifications, where the emphasis is on quickly delivering large quantities of emails.

Contextual APIs are perfect for businesses focusing on personalized, conversational email interactions. These APIs enhance user engagement by enabling personalized sales outreach, customer service inquiries, or tailored newsletters. They offer features like sending messages from personal addresses, customizing emails with HTML and images, and providing analytics tracking to gauge engagement while maintaining high deliverability rates. This approach suits those needing a more nuanced, user-specific email scheduling capability.

How to choose the best email scheduler software

Let’s dive into some additional factors for choosing the best email scheduler software:

  • Ease of use: The ideal solution should have an intuitive interface, making it simple to schedule emails, set reminders, and organize your inbox. A good UX means less time figuring out how to use the tool and more time benefiting from its features.
  • Integration: The best email scheduler should seamlessly integrate with your existing email platform and other productivity tools. This integration minimizes disruptions to your workflow and ensures a smoother, more efficient email management process.
  • Customization: Look for software that allows you to tailor scheduling options to your specific needs. Whether setting recurring emails, customizing time zones for different recipients, or creating personalized email templates, these customization features can greatly enhance your emailing efficiency.
  • Security: Your email scheduler will handle sensitive information, so strong security features are necessary. Look for software with robust encryption, reliable data protection policies, and compliance with privacy regulations to ensure your correspondence remains secure.

By keeping these factors in mind, you can choose an email scheduler solution that meets your communication needs and enhances your overall productivity and email management strategy.

1. Nylas

How it works: Nylas is a contextual email API that enables the scheduled sending of personalized emails. It integrates seamlessly with existing systems, allowing businesses to automate and precisely time their email communications. This makes Nylas ideal for tailored email strategies that require specific timing for maximum impact.

Key features:

  • Personalized email scheduling: Nylas enables users to schedule emails according to specific requirements, ensuring each recipient sends messages at the optimal time.
  • Advanced customization: Offers extensive options for customizing emails with HTML, images, and personalized content, catering to unique business needs.
  • Analytics tracking: Comes with built-in analytics tools to track engagement rates, providing insights into the effectiveness of email campaigns.
  • High deliverability rates: Ensures emails reach their intended recipients with near-perfect deliverability, maintaining consistent communication.
  • Integration with all email service providers (ESPs): Nylas easily integrates with 100% of ESPs (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, IMAP, etc.), maintaining workflow continuity.
  • Enterprise-grade security: Nylas prioritizes security, offering features like two-factor authentication and compliance with stringent standards like GDPR and SOC 2 Type II. 

Pros and cons: 

  • Pros: High degree of customization, robust analytics, excellent deliverability, and seamless integration capabilities. Ideal for personalized, conversational email strategies.
  • Cons: May require a higher level of technical expertise for setup and customization. 

Pricing: Nylas’ pricing tiers are designed to be simple and easy, with clear benefits that prioritize customers. With three tiers, customers can select value-added features while balancing growth with maximizing cost savings, making choosing the plan that best meets your requirements simple.

  • Free: This tier enables developers to connect up to 5 accounts to build, test, and iterate until they’re ready to move forward.
  • Pay as you go: Available for Full Platform packages, Nylas offers a month-to-month option to start with what you need and when you need it.
  • Custom: Available for Full Platform or Calendar-only packages, Nylas’ custom plans offer the flexibility to choose a plan to fit your unique needs while unlocking volume discounts, upgraded support & onboarding options, and making sure you are only paying for the features or capabilities that you need.

2. Sendgrid

How it works: SendGrid is a cloud-based email service that supports transactional email and offers scheduled email sending. It’s great for businesses managing large-scale email campaigns and other transactional email sends. 

Key features:

  • Email scheduling: Allows scheduling of marketing and transactional emails by using either its Marketing Campaigns, SMTP API header, or API.
  • Analytics and reporting: Tracks the performance of scheduled emails.
  • API integration: Integrates with existing systems for streamlined operations.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: Reliable for high volumes, robust analytics, and flexible API.
  • Cons: Transactional APIs aren’t built with reply management in mind and offer no out-of-the-box support for critical quality-of-life features. Additionally, transactional APIs send email through proxy (third-party) IPs, resulting in 80% deliverability on average.

Pricing: SendGrid’s pricing includes a Free Plan for basic use, an Essentials Plan starting at $19.95 per month for small businesses, a Pro Plan from $89.95 per month for higher volume needs, and a Premier Plan with custom pricing for large-scale or specialized requirements. Each plan caters to different levels of email-sending needs, with higher tiers offering more features and capacity. 

3. Mailgun

How it works: Mailgun is an email service that offers scheduled sending for transactional and marketing emails. It’s known for its robust API and detailed control over email operations. 

Key features:

  • Email scheduling: Enables precise scheduling for various types of emails.
  • Deliverability tools: Provides tools to optimize email delivery rates.
  • Detailed analytics: Offers analytics for tracking email performance.
  • API for custom integration: Designed for custom integration with different systems.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: Scalable, advanced analytics, flexible integration.
  • Cons: More suitable for developers and technical users.

Pricing: Mailgun offers a Trial plan at $0/month for up to 5,000 emails per month. Their Foundation plan is priced at $35/month, including 50,000 emails per month, while the Scale plan costs $90/month for 100,000 emails. For larger or more customized needs, Mailgun provides a Custom plan, with pricing available upon request.

4. HubSpot Sales Hub 

How it works: HubSpot Sales Hub, part of the HubSpot CRM, is a ready-made software that offers integrated email scheduling to optimize sales communication. It’s designed for businesses looking to streamline their sales processes and improve email timing.

Key features:

  • Email scheduling: Schedule emails within Gmail and Outlook, with options for the best sending times.
  • Multi-time zone support: Adjusts for different time zones, ensuring timely delivery.
  • Editable scheduled emails: Flexibility to edit emails even after scheduling.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: User-friendly scheduling within popular email platforms; optimizes email send times.
  • Cons: More beneficial for users integrated into the HubSpot ecosystem.

Pricing: Free with basic features. For more advanced functionalities, they offer several paid tiers. The Starter plan begins at $45 per month, the Professional plan at $450 per month, and the Enterprise plan at $1,200 per month. These plans are designed to cater to different levels of business needs, from basic sales tools to more comprehensive, enterprise-level functionalities.

5. Mailchimp

How it works: Known for its marketing automation capabilities, Mailchimp is a ready-made software solution that provides efficient email scheduling features for businesses focusing on marketing and customer engagement.

Key features:

  • Automated email campaigns: Schedule marketing emails and newsletters.
  • Audience segmentation: Customize emails based on subscriber data.
  • A/B testing: Optimize scheduled emails with A/B testing for effectiveness.
  • Analytics: Gain insights into the performance of your email campaigns.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: Excellent for marketing campaigns, segmentation, and analytics.
  • Cons: More suitable for marketing rather than individual scheduling needs.

Pricing: Mailchimp’s pricing structure includes a Free Plan for basic email marketing needs, an Essentials Plan starting at $13.00/month for more features and higher contact limits, a Standard Plan from $20.00/month for businesses with larger contact lists, and a Premium Plan for extensive marketing needs with advanced features, catering to larger businesses.

6. ActiveCampaign

How it works: ActiveCampaign specializes in customer experience automation, which includes email scheduling. It is a good solution for businesses looking for email marketing and CRM capabilities.

Key features:

  • Email scheduling: Automate email campaigns and schedule them based on user behavior.
  • CRM integration: Seamlessly integrates with their CRM for a unified approach to customer interaction.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: Comprehensive marketing and CRM tools for behavior-driven email scheduling.
  • Cons: May be more complex due to a wide range of integrated features.

Pricing: Pricing ranges from $15/month for the basic Lite Plan to higher tiers for advanced features, with costs increasing based on contact numbers. The Plus, Professional, and Enterprise Plans cater to larger businesses with more complex needs, and prices are discounted for annual payments​. 

7. Constant Contact

How it works: Constant Contact is an out-of-the-box software solution primarily for email marketing, with email scheduling as a key feature.

Key features:

  • Email scheduling: Simplifies scheduling marketing emails and newsletters.
  • Template variety: Offers a wide range of customizable templates.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: User-friendly interface, good for small to medium-sized businesses.
  • Cons: More focused on marketing emails, less on individual scheduling.

Pricing: Constant Contact’s Email and Email Plus plans range from $20/month to $335/month, varying based on the number of subscribers. Higher subscriber counts lead to higher prices, and a custom quote is provided for lists over 50,000 subscribers. Both plans have different features, with Email Plus offering more advanced options. There are also discounts for non-profits and advance payments. No free plan is available, but a 30-day free trial is offered​. 

8. GetResponse

How it works: GetResponse is a ready-made online marketing platform offering email scheduling as part of its suite of tools, aimed at small to medium-sized businesses.

Key features:

  • Email scheduling: Offers scheduled sending of marketing emails.
  • Marketing automation: Integrates email scheduling with other marketing tools.

Pros and cons:

  • Pros: Integrated marketing tools, good for automated campaigns.
  • Cons: Might be more than needed for just email scheduling.

Pricing: GetResponse offers a range of pricing plans starting from the Basic Plan at $15/month for smaller needs, scaling up to the Professional Plan for more complex requirements. There’s also a custom-priced Max Plan for large-scale businesses with advanced needs. Prices vary based on the number of contacts and are discounted for longer-term commitments. A 30-day free trial is available for new users​. 

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