Campaign Monitor features: what you get on each plan
Campaign Monitor covers 23 of the 24 features we test, and it gives away more at the bottom than most: the builder, segmentation and A/B testing are all on the free plan. What the upper tiers sell is polish and control — inbox previews, send time optimisation, link tracking, brand locking — rather than the ability to run a campaign at all.
The tier language is the problem with this catalogue, not the feature set. Campaign Monitor calls automation on Lite “basic” and automation on Essentials “advanced”, and never says where the boundary sits: no journey count, no step count, no trigger list attached to a plan. We record the gate that both the pricing page and the knowledge base agree on — journeys are capped below Essentials and uncapped from Essentials — and we do not invent the cap.
The free plan is a 30-day trial in practice: 500 sends to 500 contacts. Lite lifts the contact ceiling but caps traditional sends at 2,500 a month. Only Essentials and above send without a volume cap.
Feature matrix
| Feature | Included | From plan | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop email builder | Yes | Free | Same builder on every plan |
| Template library | Yes | Free | Over 100 customisable templates |
| Segmentation | Yes | Free | Present from the free plan |
| Engagement segments | Yes | Premier | Top tier only, no add-on |
| Automated journeys | Yes | Free | Capped, and the cap is undisclosed |
| Uncapped journeys | Yes | Essentials | Automation ceiling lifts here |
| A/B testing | Yes | Free | Free plan included, unusually |
| Send time optimisation | Yes | Premier | Paid add-on at Essentials |
| Transactional email | Yes | Lite | Absent from the free plan |
| Landing pages and website builder | Yes | Premier | $10 monthly add-on below |
| Signup forms | Partial | Lite | Limited on the free plan |
| Inbox preview | Yes | Essentials | Twenty included, none below |
| Spam testing | Yes | Free | Unlimited from Essentials |
| Link review | Yes | Free | Included on every plan |
| Advanced link tracking | Yes | Premier | Top tier only, no add-on |
| Countdown timer | Yes | Essentials | Not offered on Lite |
| Time zone scheduling | Yes | Essentials | Not offered on Lite |
| Email builder locking | Yes | Premier | Brand control for larger teams |
| Analytics | Partial | Lite | Limited on the free plan |
| Unlimited users | Yes | Free | No seat charge at any tier |
| Uncapped sending | Yes | Essentials | Lite stops at 2,500 a month |
| Phone support | Yes | Premier | Priority email at Essentials |
| Free plan | Partial | Free | 500 sends, 30 days only |
| SMS | No | — | Named on no tier at all |
What each tier actually buys
Lite buys transactional sending and a real contact list. Essentials buys volume: uncapped sends, uncapped journeys, and the testing tools — inbox previews, unlimited spam tests, time zone scheduling — that make a large send safe to press. Premier buys control over other people’s work: engagement segments, advanced link tracking, builder locking and phone support. A sensible ladder for an agency, an expensive one for a single sender who only needed the volume.
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This review follows our email infrastructure testing methodology. We disclose affiliate relationships in our editorial independence policy.
