Email automation gets pitched as a time-saver, but most tools feel like they're built for marketing departments of 50+, not for actual sales teams trying to close deals. You're drowning in features you'll never use, paying per contact, and still manually copying contact names into templates because the CRM connector broke again. There's a better way.
The right email automation tool should let you send sequences without jumping between five different tabs, track which links your prospects actually clicked, and feed that data back into your CRM so you know who's warm. Below are some of the tools worth considering—each approaches the problem differently, so the one that fits depends on what you're trying to do: nurture a big list, run cold outreach campaigns, or something in between.
# Clkly
Clkly is the simplest way to run email sequences without leaving your CRM. It handles link tracking, email automation, and contact management in one place—no integrations to break, no data syncing delays. You can be set up in 30 seconds.
- Send email sequences with branching and conditional delays based on opens or clicks
- Track every link click, open, and bounce tied directly back to the contact record
- Create branded short links on your own domain; QR codes with your logo for print campaigns
- Warm up new mailboxes gradually to protect sender reputation and inbox placement
- Automate workflows triggered by link clicks, email opens, contact tags, or deal stage changes
# HubSpot
HubSpot bundles email automation, CRM, landing pages, and sales tools into one platform, often positioned as the go-to for growing teams moving beyond spreadsheets. The free tier covers basic contacts and email sequences; paid tiers add lead scoring, advanced workflows, and multi-user access. It's most popular with marketing-led companies running nurture campaigns, though the sales and service hubs serve outbound and support teams respectively. Learning curve is moderate—the interface is documented heavily—but feature depth means setup can take weeks on an enterprise implementation. Pricing scales with contact volume, which compounds for teams managing large prospect lists.
# Mailchimp
Mailchimp started as an email newsletter tool and evolved into a email marketing software platform with basic CRM, landing pages, and ad-running features. It handles list segmentation, drip campaigns, and behaviour-triggered emails well, making it popular for e-commerce and small-to-medium content businesses. The free plan supports up to 500 contacts and basic automations; paid plans charge per contact. The platform sits comfortably between "easy enough for non-technical users" and "limited for advanced workflows"—you can build drip campaigns and list management quickly, but conditional logic and multi-channel orchestration feel patchy compared to enterprise tools.
# ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign positions itself as a CRM with marketing automation built in, targeting teams between small business and mid-market. It offers contact management, email sequences, lead scoring, and sales automation features. The platform is known for flexible workflow automation and site tracking; deals start around £17–20/month for single users but climb steeply with contact volume. Implementation typically requires some setup time, and the UI feels busier than lightweight alternatives. The platform works well for teams running both marketing and sales automation, though smaller teams often find themselves paying for features they don't use.
# Klaviyo
Klaviyo is purpose-built for e-commerce email and SMS campaigns, with particular strength in behavioural segmentation and revenue attribution. It excels at tracking purchase behaviour, abandoned carts, and post-purchase flows, making it the default for online stores. The tool includes list management, dynamic content blocks, and integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom ecommerce platforms. Pricing is contact-based; free tier covers up to 250 contacts with limited sends. Klaviyo is not well-suited for B2B cold outreach or complex sales workflows—it's optimised for repeat customer messaging, not prospect prospecting.
# Lemlist
Lemlist is built for cold email outreach and email sequences at scale, with an emphasis on personalisation and deliverability. The platform supports email automation with conditional branching, A/B testing, and multichannel outreach (email, LinkedIn, SMS). It includes inbox warmup, tracking, and basic CRM features. Pricing is team-based rather than contact-based, which appeals to sales teams; a single user starts around £25–30/month. Lemlist is stronger on outreach ergonomics (finding prospects, sequencing, tracking) than on deal management, so it pairs best with a separate CRM or pipeline tool.
# Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a sales CRM with email automation layered on top, focusing on deal tracking and pipeline visibility. Sales teams favour it for its drag-drop pipeline view and reporting on won/lost deals. Email sequences are available but secondary to the core deal-management focus. The platform integrates with Gmail, Outlook, and various third-party tools, making it a hub for email and CRM data. Pricing is per user, starting around £10–12/month, which scales affordably for growing teams. For outbound sales teams wanting a CRM-first experience with email sequences on the side, Pipedrive delivers; for email-first campaigns, it's less natural.
# Instantly
Instantly is a cold email tool designed for rapid outreach campaigns with minimal manual work. It handles email sequences, deliverability optimisation, and tracking; the focus is on volume and speed rather than deep CRM integration. The tool includes email warmup and AI-assisted reply detection. Pricing is relatively low (around £25–35/month per user), appealing to solopreneurs and small sales teams. Instantly is not a CRM; it's a sequence-and-send engine, so you'll need a separate tool to manage contacts and deals if you want structured pipeline management.
# Salesloft
Salesloft is an enterprise sales engagement platform used by large sales teams for cadence management, deal tracking, and revenue intelligence. It covers email sequences, phone dialling, LinkedIn messaging, and call recording all in one console. The platform integrates deeply with Salesforce, making it a natural fit for Salesforce-dependent organisations. Pricing is per user and enterprise-level; it's aimed at teams of 10+ with structured selling motions. For small teams or bootstrapped companies, Salesloft's cost and implementation overhead is prohibitive; it's built for scaled sales operations.
# ConvertKit
ConvertKit is an email platform for creators—bloggers, podcasters, and course authors—with a focus on audience growth and paid subscriber workflows. It handles segmentation, automation, and subscriber management; the platform is known for simplicity and creator-friendly features like subscriber landing pages. Pricing is subscriber-based (free up to 1,000 subscribers, then per-subscriber fees). ConvertKit is not designed for B2B sales outreach or CRM use cases; it's optimised for creator monetisation and audience nurture.
---
If you need email automation that actually talks to your CRM and tracks link clicks as part of the same workflow, Clkly brings all four surfaces together—link tracking, outreach, contacts, and workflows—without the integration overhead. You can create a branded short link, send an email sequence to a list, and see exactly which prospects clicked which links, all tied back to the contact record.
- Set up email sequences with branching logic and send them immediately; no waiting for approval workflows
- Every link click feeds back into your CRM and can trigger automated follow-up actions
- Create branded links on your own domain to reinforce brand consistency across outreach campaigns
- Warm up new mailboxes gradually so your emails land in the inbox, not spam
- See country-level click analytics—which regions are engaging, which aren't—to refine your targeting