The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its amendment, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), give California residents specific rights over their personal data. If you have subscribers in California (and if you do business in the US, you almost certainly do), your email marketing practices need to comply.

CCPA is less prescriptive than GDPR about specific technical requirements, but the core obligations are clear: tell consumers what data you collect, let them opt out of data sales/sharing, and delete their data when asked. Your email tool needs to support these operations.

What CCPA Requires From Your Email Tool

Right to know: Consumers can request what personal information you've collected about them. Your email tool needs to support data export.
Right to delete: Consumers can request deletion of their personal information. Your email tool needs to support permanent data deletion.
Right to opt out: Consumers can opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information. If you share subscriber data with third parties, you need opt-out mechanisms.
Non-discrimination: You can't treat consumers differently for exercising their CCPA rights (no penalizing unsubscribers).
Data minimization (CPRA): Collect only the personal information reasonably necessary for your purpose.

The 6 Best Options

1. Sequenzy

Best for: SaaS companies handling CCPA subscriber requests

Sequenzy supports CCPA compliance through subscriber data management. Subscriber data can be exported for right-to-know requests and permanently deleted for right-to-delete requests. The platform handles deletion across email history, events, and subscriber profiles.

For SaaS companies with California users, Sequenzy's subscriber management includes the tools needed to respond to consumer requests within CCPA's 45-day response window.

CCPA features: Data export, permanent deletion, subscriber data management Pricing: From $29/month Pros: Full subscriber deletion, data export, SaaS-focused

2. Mailchimp

Best for: CCPA compliance tools integrated into a widely-used platform

Mailchimp includes CCPA-specific features: a "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" option in audience settings, data export capabilities for right-to-know requests, and permanent deletion for right-to-delete requests. The platform's data processing addendum covers CCPA requirements.

Mailchimp's widespread use means its CCPA features are well-tested. The audience management tools make it straightforward to handle individual consumer requests, and the export format is standard enough for most compliance needs.

CCPA features: Data export, permanent deletion, opt-out mechanisms, data processing addendum Pricing: Free up to 500 contacts, from $13/month Pros: Well-established CCPA tools, widely used, good documentation, data export

3. ActiveCampaign

Best for: CCPA compliance within a marketing automation suite

ActiveCampaign supports CCPA compliance through its data management features. Contacts can be exported (right to know), permanently deleted (right to delete), and flagged with custom fields for opt-out preferences. The automation builder can incorporate CCPA-related workflows like processing opt-out requests automatically.

The CRM integration means CCPA requests affect both marketing and sales data in one action. When a consumer requests deletion, their contact record, deal history, and automation history are all removed.

CCPA features: Data export, permanent deletion, custom opt-out fields, CRM-wide deletion Pricing: From $29/month Pros: CRM + email CCPA compliance, automation for opt-outs, comprehensive deletion

4. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)

Best for: Affordable CCPA compliance with EU-grade privacy standards

Brevo, being EU-headquartered and GDPR-compliant by design, exceeds CCPA requirements in most areas. The data management features include export, deletion, and consent tracking that satisfy both GDPR and CCPA. If you're already GDPR-compliant with Brevo, CCPA compliance is essentially automatic.

The affordable pricing means even small businesses can maintain privacy compliance without significant cost.

CCPA features: Data export, permanent deletion, consent tracking, privacy-first design Pricing: Free for 300 emails/day, from $9/month Pros: Exceeds CCPA via GDPR compliance, affordable, consent tracking, EU-based

5. Klaviyo

Best for: E-commerce CCPA compliance with customer data visibility

Klaviyo includes CCPA compliance features for e-commerce businesses. Customer profiles can be exported and deleted. The platform tracks what data is collected about each customer and supports opt-out of data sharing with integrated services.

For e-commerce businesses that collect purchase data, browsing data, and engagement data through Klaviyo, having centralized CCPA tools simplifies responding to consumer requests.

CCPA features: Profile export, permanent deletion, data collection visibility, opt-out support Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts, from $20/month Pros: E-commerce data visibility, profile-level export and deletion, opt-out mechanisms

6. Customer.io

Best for: Technical teams building custom CCPA workflows

Customer.io's API supports CCPA compliance programmatically. Delete customer data via API, export customer profiles and event history, and manage opt-out preferences as customer attributes. For technical teams that want to build CCPA compliance into their application (rather than handling it manually in the email tool), the API approach is flexible.

You can build automated workflows that process CCPA requests: receive a deletion request, suppress the customer in Customer.io, delete their data via API, and confirm completion. This systematic approach scales better than manual processing.

CCPA features: API-driven deletion, data export, programmable opt-out, custom workflows Pricing: From $100/month Pros: API-driven compliance, programmable workflows, flexible implementation

CCPA vs. GDPR for Email Marketing

Requirement	CCPA	GDPR
Consent for marketing email	Not required (CAN-SPAM still applies)	Required (opt-in)
Right to delete	Yes (45 days)	Yes (30 days)
Right to know/access	Yes	Yes
Opt-out of data sale/sharing	Yes	N/A (consent required for processing)
Applies to	California residents	EU residents
Penalties	$2,500-$7,500 per violation	Up to 4% of annual revenue
Private right of action	Yes (for data breaches)	Varies by member state

Key difference for email marketing: GDPR requires opt-in consent before sending marketing email. CCPA does not (CAN-SPAM's opt-out model still applies in the US). However, CCPA requires opt-out of data sharing, which can affect how you use subscriber data with third parties.

Practical CCPA Compliance Steps

For Right-to-Know Requests

Receive the consumer request (verify identity)
Export their data from your email tool (subscriber profile, engagement history, custom attributes)
Compile data from other systems if applicable
Deliver within 45 days

For Right-to-Delete Requests

Receive and verify the consumer request
Delete the subscriber from your email tool (permanent deletion, not just unsubscribe)
Confirm deletion with the consumer
Document the request and action
Complete within 45 days

For Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing

If you share subscriber data with third parties (ad platforms, data brokers, partners), provide an opt-out mechanism
Add a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link where required
Honor opt-outs within 15 business days

FAQ

Does CCPA apply to my SaaS business? CCPA applies to for-profit businesses that collect California consumers' personal information AND meet one of: annual gross revenue over $25 million, buy/sell personal information of 100,000+ consumers/households, or derive 50% or more of annual revenue from selling personal information.

Is unsubscribing from email the same as a CCPA deletion request? No. Unsubscribing stops future marketing emails but doesn't delete the subscriber's data. A CCPA deletion request requires removing all personal information, including email address, engagement history, and custom attributes.

Do I need a "Do Not Sell My Information" button on my email signup forms? If you sell or share personal information (including with advertising partners), you need this option accessible to California consumers. If you don't sell or share data, you don't need it, but many businesses add it proactively.

What personal information does email marketing collect under CCPA? Email addresses, names, engagement data (opens, clicks), device information, location data, purchase history (if tracked), and any custom attributes you store. All of this is "personal information" under CCPA.