A WordPress plugin or a hosted email service?
Both can send good email. They differ in what you pay as you grow, where your data lives and how your shop data gets in. Here is the honest side-by-side.
HiveMail and a typical hosted email service.
Hosted services differ from one another, so read the right-hand column as the usual pattern, not a rule.
| HiveMail | A typical hosted email service | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay as your list grows | Nothing for the free plugin: no contact or email limits. Pro is a one-time payment. | Usually a monthly fee that rises with the number of subscribers. |
| Where your contacts and history live | In your own WordPress database. | On the provider's servers. |
| WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads data | Read directly from your own site, so there is nothing to sync. | Usually copied across with a connector and kept in sync. |
| Abandoned carts and order emails | Cart tracking and a recovery automation are in the free plugin. | Often need the shop connector and a paid plan. |
| Who sends the email | You choose: WordPress mail, or a sending service you connect, such as Mailgun or SendGrid. | The provider's own sending infrastructure. |
| Visitor tracking and journeys | First-party, on your own site, tied to the people on your list. | A separate tracking script and account. |
| Automation | A visual canvas with a run log for every contact, inside WordPress. | Varies, and is often limited on lower plans. |
| Leaving | Nothing to move: it is already your database, and you can export it any time. | Export a file and rebuild your automations elsewhere. |
| Getting started | Install a plugin. | Create an account and connect your site. |
Three things you will notice.
A bill that stays flat
HiveMail does not charge by the number of contacts. You pay your sending service for the email you send, and nothing for the size of your list.
Your data, in your hands
Contacts, campaigns and reports sit next to your orders in your own database. Back them up, query them or take them with you.
Shop data without the plumbing
Orders, customers and carts are already in WordPress, so segments and automations use them directly instead of a copy.
When a hosted service may suit you better.
HiveMail is built for WordPress sites and shops. It is not the right tool for everyone.
You do not run WordPress
HiveMail lives inside WordPress. If your site is somewhere else, a hosted service is the simpler choice.
You want someone else to manage sending reputation
With HiveMail, deliverability depends on the sending service and domain you connect. A hosted service handles more of that for you.
You send at a very large scale
At very high volumes, a dedicated sending platform and a team that watches it can be worth paying for. HiveMail can connect to one.
Questions about switching
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