What are the best EU-based email service providers (ESPs)?
Summary
What email marketers say15Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor ensures that a company is completely compliant with GDPR. If you plan to target people in the EU then this can be important
Email marketer from Reddit's r/emailmarketing suggests MailerLite and GetResponse as popular choices for EU-based businesses, citing their affordable pricing and focus on smaller companies.
Marketer from Email Geeks lists Ometria, Pure360, and Dotdigital as EU based ESPs.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum recommends AWeber as a safe choice. Though US based they are careful to be fully GDPR compliant. Jane finds the solution easy to use.
Marketer from Email Geeks lists Newsletter2Go, Agnitas, Copernica, sendinblue, episerver, Inxmail, mailkit, and Xqueue as EU based ESPs. They also say they haven't had pressure regarding Anti-spam Policy (explicit consent) vs. Legitimate Interest because they have a clear policy of prior explicit consent.
Marketer from Email Geeks mentions Moosend as an EU based ESP.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares a list of EU based ESPs including Epsilon, Mailkit, Mailerlite, Acoustic (now based in Poland), and Emarsys. They also suggest checking certified-senders.org for ESPs with good deliverability to European mailbox providers.
Marketer from Email Geeks mentions Mailjet as an EU based ESP.
Email marketer from Omnisend Blog suggests Omnisend is a good option for e-commerce businesses in the EU, highlighting its powerful segmentation, automation workflows, and GDPR-compliant features.
Marketer from Email Geeks lists Episerver, Communicator, Adestra, Exponea, RedEye, and smartFocus as EU based ESPs.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog highlights Mailjet as a reliable EU-based ESP, emphasizing its GDPR compliance and features tailored for European businesses, including multi-language support and data residency within the EU.
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog positions Sendinblue as a strong EU-based ESP, noting its comprehensive marketing automation capabilities, focus on small to medium-sized businesses in Europe, and adherence to European data protection regulations.
Marketer from Email Geeks mentions Splio as an EU based ESP.
Email marketer from Quora mentions CleverReach as a reliable German-based ESP, highlighting its strong customer support and features tailored for the German market.
Marketer from Email Geeks believes GetResponse is based in Poland.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spamresource.com highlights the need for EU based businesses to check EU based ESPs follow GDPR and other EU data laws. Failure to do so can mean regulatory punishment.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, emphasizes the importance of understanding EU data privacy laws like GDPR when choosing an ESP, noting that compliance is crucial, and ESPs must provide adequate data protection measures.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from European Commission outlines the rules for transferring personal data outside the EU. They state that ESPs based outside the EU must have adequate safeguards in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), to ensure data protection.
Documentation from Cloudflare emphasizes that all marketing activities, must comply with the GDPR if you have audiences in the European Economic Area (EEA), this regulation applies to all organisations worldwide, including those based outside of the EEA. It is therefore important that your emails include a way for subscribers to opt out.
Documentation from GDPR.eu explains that any ESP handling data of EU citizens must comply with GDPR, regardless of where the ESP is headquartered. They state that companies need to assess ESP's data processing agreements, security measures, and data transfer mechanisms.
Documentation from Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (now replaced by the European Data Protection Board) clarifies the requirements for valid consent under GDPR. They specify that consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous, emphasizing the need for opt-in mechanisms.