MailjetvsConvertKit

Mailjet vs ConvertKit

Budget transactional platform vs creator-first email marketing

TL;DR

Mailjet offers unified transactional and marketing email with real-time collaboration starting at $15/month. ConvertKit is a creator-focused email platform starting at $119/month for 10,000 subscribers, built for newsletters, courses, and digital products. Mailjet for transactional + marketing on a budget, ConvertKit for creator businesses.

Key Differences

The main things that set these tools apart

Transactional vs Creator Email
Mailjet wins

Mailjet is a transactional + marketing platform with strong API and SMTP relay. ConvertKit is creator-focused with no transactional email capabilities. If you need to send receipts, password resets, or app notifications, Mailjet is the only choice.

Creator Monetization
ConvertKit wins

ConvertKit includes digital product sales, paid newsletters, tip jars, and creator network for referrals. Mailjet has none of these. For creator businesses monetizing through email, ConvertKit is purpose-built.

Budget Friendliness
Mailjet wins

Mailjet is significantly cheaper at $35-50/month for 10k contacts vs ConvertKit at $119/month. ConvertKit charges premium for creator features. Budget-conscious teams get more value from Mailjet.

Email Design Philosophy

Mailjet Passport offers rich visual editing with real-time collaboration. ConvertKit favors simple, text-focused emails that feel personal. Different philosophies for different purposes. Neither is wrong.

Pricing Comparison

At 10,000 contacts

Mailjet
~$35-50/month

Premium plan with automation. Essential $15/mo for lower volumes.

Visit Mailjet
ConvertKit
$119/month

Creator Pro plan. Creator plan at $100/mo. Free tier limited.

Visit ConvertKit
Sequenzy

The SaaS alternative

$49/month

10k contacts, unlimited sends, marketing + transactional unified.

Feature Comparison

Side-by-side feature breakdown

Feature
Mailjet
ConvertKit
Sequenzy
Core Focus
Primary Audience
SMBs, developers
Creators, bloggers
SaaS founders
Transactional Email
Core feature
Limited/none
Core feature
Newsletter Focus
Included
Core strength
Included
Creator Tools
Digital products, tips, referrals
Marketing Features
Visual Email Builder
Passport (collab)
Simple, text-focused
Visual builder
Landing Pages
Built-in
Subscriber Forms
Basic
Advanced with incentives
Basic
Marketing Automation
Premium plan
Visual automations
AI-powered
Segmentation
Good
Tag-based
Attribute + event
Creator Monetization
Digital Products
Built-in commerce
Paid Newsletters
Built-in
Tip Jars
Built-in
Referral System
Creator Network
Course Integration
Native
Developer & Technical
API Quality
Good REST API
Adequate
Good REST API
SMTP Relay
Transactional API
Core feature
Core feature
Webhooks
Available
Available
Available
Real-time Collaboration
Yes (Passport)

Best For

When to choose each tool

Choose Mailjet if you...
  • Businesses needing transactional + marketing email
  • Teams wanting real-time email collaboration
  • Budget-conscious companies
  • Developers needing API and SMTP access
Choose ConvertKit if you...
  • Bloggers and content creators
  • Course creators and educators
  • Newsletter-focused businesses
  • Creators selling digital products
Choose Sequenzy if you...
  • SaaS founders needing marketing + transactional
  • Stripe-integrated businesses wanting payment triggers
  • Teams wanting SaaS-focused automation
  • Companies wanting behavioral automation

When to Consider Sequenzy Instead

SaaS-Focused Features

Mailjet is general-purpose. ConvertKit is creator-focused. Sequenzy is built specifically for SaaS with trial-to-paid sequences, MRR segmentation, and behavior-based automation.

Native Stripe Integration

Trigger emails based on Stripe payments, subscriptions, and billing events. Mailjet has no Stripe integration. ConvertKit has basic commerce but not SaaS-focused Stripe automation.

60%+ Cost Savings vs ConvertKit

Sequenzy costs $49/month at 10k contacts vs ConvertKit at $119/month. If you are running SaaS, not a creator business, Sequenzy offers better value.

Overview

Mailjet and ConvertKit serve completely different markets. Mailjet (owned by Sinch) is a budget-friendly platform combining transactional email and marketing campaigns. ConvertKit is built for creators, bloggers, and course sellers with newsletter-first features and monetization tools. See our ConvertKit alternatives for more options.

Different Businesses, Different Tools

Mailjet is for businesses that need to send transactional emails (receipts, notifications, password resets) alongside marketing campaigns. ConvertKit is for creators who build audiences through newsletters and monetize through courses and digital products. Completely different use cases.

Transactional Email

Mailjet offers robust transactional email with REST API and SMTP relay. ConvertKit has no transactional email capabilities at all. If your business sends any automated app emails, ConvertKit cannot help. This is the most fundamental difference between these platforms.

Creator Monetization

ConvertKit includes digital product sales, paid newsletter subscriptions, tip jars, and the Creator Network for referrals. Mailjet has none of these. For creators monetizing their audience, ConvertKit is purpose-built with commerce features Mailjet cannot match.

Pricing Reality

At 10k contacts, Mailjet costs $35-50/month while ConvertKit costs $119/month. That is a 2-3x price difference. ConvertKit's premium pricing reflects creator-specific features. If you do not need those features, you are overpaying.

Email Design Philosophy

Mailjet Passport offers rich visual editing with real-time collaboration for marketing teams. ConvertKit favors simple, text-focused emails that feel like personal correspondence. Different philosophies, both valid for their respective audiences.

The SaaS Alternative

Neither platform is built for SaaS. Mailjet lacks SaaS-specific features. ConvertKit lacks transactional email and is creator-focused. Sequenzy offers unified marketing and transactional with native Stripe integration and behavioral automation for SaaS businesses.

Making the Choice

Choose Mailjet for transactional + marketing email on a budget with collaboration features. Choose ConvertKit if you are a creator building an audience and monetizing through newsletters and digital products. For SaaS with Stripe integration, consider Sequenzy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Depends entirely on your business. Mailjet for transactional email + marketing campaigns. ConvertKit for creator businesses with newsletters and digital products. They serve completely different use cases.

No. ConvertKit is marketing-only focused on creators. For transactional emails like receipts, password resets, or app notifications, you need a separate service like Mailjet or Sequenzy.

Mailjet is much cheaper at $35-50/month vs ConvertKit at $119/month for 10k contacts. ConvertKit charges premium for creator-specific features. If you do not need creator tools, Mailjet is better value.

Yes, but they would miss creator-specific features like digital product sales, paid newsletters, and referral systems. Mailjet works for newsletters but lacks ConvertKit's creator monetization tools.

No built-in landing pages. ConvertKit includes landing pages as part of their creator toolkit. For landing pages with Mailjet, you need a separate tool.

Passport is Mailjet's real-time collaborative email builder. Multiple team members can edit simultaneously like Google Docs. ConvertKit favors simpler, text-focused emails.

Not ideal. ConvertKit lacks transactional email, has no Stripe integration for subscription events, and its features are optimized for creators rather than software businesses. Consider Mailjet or Sequenzy instead.

Yes, ConvertKit scales to large creator audiences. However, pricing increases significantly with subscribers. At high volumes, Mailjet can be more cost-effective if you do not need creator features.

Export contacts from Mailjet. Import into ConvertKit via CSV. Rebuild automations in ConvertKit visual builder. Note: you will lose transactional email capabilities and need a separate service for that.

Export subscribers from ConvertKit. Import into Mailjet. Rebuild automations and templates. You will gain transactional email and collaboration tools but lose creator monetization features.

Not sure which to pick?

If you're a SaaS founder who needs Stripe integration and unified email, try Sequenzy free. No credit card required.

Related Comparisons

Sequenzy - Complete Pricing Guide

Pricing Model

Sequenzy uses subscriber-based pricing. You only pay for subscribers active in sequences (automations). Inactive subscribers are free to store.

All Pricing Tiers

  • 0-100 subscribers: Free (Free annually) - 2k emails/month
  • 101-1,000 subscribers: $19/month ($205/year annually) - 15k emails/month
  • 1,001-5,000 subscribers: $29/month ($313/year annually) - 60k emails/month
  • 5,001-10,000 subscribers: $49/month ($529/year annually) - 120k emails/month
  • 10,001-25,000 subscribers: $99/month ($1069/year annually) - 300k emails/month
  • 25,001-50,000 subscribers: $199/month ($2149/year annually) - 600k emails/month
  • 50,001-100,000 subscribers: $349/month ($3769/year annually) - 1.2M emails/month
  • 100,000+ subscribers: Custom pricing (Custom annually) - Unlimited emails/month

Yearly billing: All plans offer a 10% discount when billed annually.

Free Plan Features (0-100 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Paid Plan Features (1,000 - 100,000 subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy)
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Enterprise Plan Features (100,000+ subscribers)

  • Visual automation builder
  • Transactional email API
  • Reply tracking & team inbox
  • Goal tracking & revenue attribution
  • Dynamic segments
  • Payment integrations
  • Full REST API access
  • Custom sending domain

Important Pricing Notes

  • You only pay for subscribers who are active in automations/sequences
  • Storing inactive subscribers is free
  • No hidden fees - all features included in the price
  • No credit card required for free tier

Contact

  • Pricing Page: https://sequenzy.com/pricing
  • Sales: hello@sequenzy.com