Free plan: None available
Paid plans start at: $149/month
This is a real Userlist review — not from a blogger or affiliate, but from someone who’s been deep in SaaS for years, with one goal in mind: growing MRR, which is probably what you’re after as well.
I’m David, nice to meet you! 👋 👋
Over the last 6+ years, I’ve built and exited two SaaS companies, and…
If there’s one thing that’s always been a pain, it’s getting email automation right. You know, we’re taking about onboarding flows, trial-to-paid nudges, upgrade prompts, all the stuff that actually moves MRR.
I’ve used everything: Encharge, ActiveCampaign, Customer.io, HubSpot MH etc.
Userlist caught my eye because it looked like it was built specifically for SaaS.
So I gave it a proper shot!
Not just a test; I wired it into a live product and ran all our key flows for 8 months.
This isn’t one of those copy-paste affiliate reviews. I’ve tested Userlist myself — inside real SaaS setups, with real data and real automation flows.
I’ll lay everything out so you can make the right call for your product. You know your business best. I’m just here to make sure you’ve got the full picture.
Read how we test tools like Userlist →Contents
Userlist Screenshots
Userlist Pricing
Most Userlist plans come with unlimited emails, automation workflows, and event tracking, even at the lower tiers. Once you hit the Professional plan, you also get things like premium support and advanced integrations.
Pricing is a bit tricky though: It changes for every 1,000 subscribers and keeps climbing all the way up to 500,000 contacts.
Therefore, we’ve only updated the table for up to 200,00 subscribers. Otherwise, the table would’ve been miles long if we were to include all settings.
To keep it readable, we’ve only included pricing up to 100k in the table above.
Pros and Cons: Userlist Review
Is Userlist the Best Email Automation Tool for Your SaaS?
It can be — if you’re the right kind of user.
Userlist is designed specifically for SaaS. You feel that right away.
You should go for Userlist if…
SaaS-forward features are what you need.
The onboarding flows, the event tracking, the in-app messages — it’s all tailored for B2B software companies that care about user journeys. And if you’re coming from a clunky all-in-one platform, this focused approach can feel like a breath of fresh air.
But here’s what I noticed after using it for months: It works best when your product is simple, your audience is narrow, and you want clean, event-driven automation without too many moving parts.
If you just want to trigger emails when users sign up, finish onboarding, or go inactive, then rest assured, Userlist nails it.
You shouldn’t go for Userlist if…
You think you’ll grow fast.
Where Userlist starts to fall short is when you scale:
- Want to A/B test emails? Not really the greatest tool for that.
- Want to send broadcasts based on user actions and behavior-based tags? Gets messy.
- Want to integrate with more than just Stripe, Segment, or webhooks? You’re limited.
Even small stuff, like sending based on time zone or automating campaigns across multiple channels (email + in-app + push), becomes hard or not possible at all.
And the pricing?
It goes up pretty fast.
You’ll be in the $300–$800/mo range before you even hit 100k contacts — and that’s just email.
So if you’re running a small SaaS and want a tool that does onboarding well without extra features you won’t use — go for it. It’s clean and easy to use.
→ Top email marketing software for SaaS businesses
Let Me Help You Decide
Userlist gets a lot right — especially if you’re in that early-to-mid SaaS stage and don’t want to overcomplicate things. But once you start needing deeper logic, advanced targeting, or faster iteration… you’ll feel the limits.
And switching tools mid-growth? Painful.
If you’re already thinking ahead; about testing, personalization, AI, or going multi-channel; it might be smarter to start with something that grows with you.
That’s why we built Encharge: Same SaaS-first mindset.
But with room to scale, test, and experiment, without having to migrate all later.
Take it for a spin. If you like Userlist’s clean UX, you’ll feel right at home.
Userlist Score for Each Aspect
1. Ease of Use
Userlist feels clean and focused right from the start. Setting up onboarding emails and event triggers is straightforward. The UI isn’t cluttered, and it’s clear what to do next. That said, when you dive into more complex automation, it’s still basic and lacks some polish you might expect from a mature product.
2. Segmentation & Event Tracking
This is Userlist’s bread and butter. Tracking user events, subscription plans, and engagement lets you send targeted emails that actually matter. The segmentation options are well-tailored for SaaS, making it easy to trigger messages based on real product usage, not just generic lists or tags.
3. Automation & Flows
Userlist lets you build basic onboarding and lifecycle flows with event triggers, but don’t expect complex branching or multi-condition logic. For many SaaS startups, this is enough. But if you want to run sophisticated campaigns or multi-channel journeys, it’s going to feel limited.
4. Broadcasts & Campaigns
Sending one-off campaigns is possible but clunky. Personalization options are basic, and there’s no A/B testing. Plus, managing complex segments or behavior-based tags for broadcasts quickly becomes tricky. This area feels like a work in progress.
5. In-App Messaging
Userlist includes in-app messaging, which is great for SaaS onboarding. It integrates well with the user lifecycle and can reduce reliance on email alone. But the design options and targeting controls are still pretty basic compared to dedicated tools.
6. Pricing & Scalability
Pricing gets steep fast — once you start hitting 50k+ subscribers, expect your bill to climb into the hundreds or thousands per month. The model is complicated, changing for every 1,000 contacts, which can be overwhelming. It’s fine for small SaaS but less ideal for fast scaling.
7. Integrations
Userlist integrates well with Stripe, Segment, and webhooks, covering core SaaS needs. But beyond that, integrations are sparse, so if you rely on multiple tools or want richer ecosystem connectivity, you’ll likely need workarounds or Zapier.
8. Support & Documentation
Support is decent, with email and chat available. The documentation covers the basics but could be more detailed, especially around advanced automation and integration scenarios. Some users may need onboarding help.
But if you want more advanced features or to connect with more apps, Userlist might feel limited and get expensive as you grow.
Userlist Feature Review: What You Get
1. Behavioral Event Tracking
Behavioral event tracking lets you trigger emails based on what users do inside your app — like signing up, completing onboarding, or hitting milestones. This is the backbone of good SaaS email marketing because it makes your messages relevant and timely.
- Pros: real-time event triggers, easy onboarding flows, simple setup
- Cons: limited complex conditions, no AI optimization, no event chaining
Userlist tracks events in real time and ties them to user profiles, so you can build workflows that react instantly to user actions.
Setting up triggers is straightforward, and it works well for common use cases like onboarding emails or inactivity nudges.
But it doesn’t go deep into complex event logic or multi-step event sequences.
2. Workflow Builder
This is where you design your email sequences and automations.
Userlist offers a drag-and-drop flow builder for creating simple user journeys — think welcome series, trial expiration reminders, or re-engagement emails.
- Pros: drag-and-drop simplicity, clean UI, fast setup
- Cons: no branching, limited personalization, not for complex flows
The builder is clean and intuitive, making it quick to get campaigns running.
However, it lacks advanced features like branching paths, if/else logic, or complex personalization within flows. If your automations are simple and linear, it works well, but it won’t scale to complicated lifecycle marketing.
3. Broadcast Emails & Segmentation
Broadcasts let you send one-off emails to specific groups of users, like announcements or product updates. Segmentation is how you group users based on traits or behavior to target these emails accurately.
- Pros: live segment updates, easy broadcast setup, behavior-based targeting
- Cons: basic segment logic, no lead scoring, no multi-channel support
Userlist’s segmentation updates live based on user actions and profile data.
You can create segments like “users who signed up but haven’t activated” or “users in trial period.” Broadcasts can be sent to these dynamic lists easily.
The segment logic is basic, but it covers most standard SaaS needs.
4. Transactional Emails
Transactional emails handle crucial automated messages like password resets, billing notices, or account confirmations. They’re tied directly to user actions or system events.
Userlist supports transactional emails linked to events in your app.
- Pros: essential transactional emails, event-driven, basic automation
- Cons: limited templates, minimal analytics, no advanced workflow
While it covers the essentials, the options for templates, testing, and analytics are limited compared to dedicated transactional platforms.
It’s fine if you need the basics but won’t satisfy more complex needs.
5. Personalization & Dynamic Content
Personalization means tailoring emails to each user by inserting their data and showing or hiding content blocks based on conditions.
- Pros: simple tags, basic conditional content
- Cons: no advanced dynamic content, no visual editor, manual setup
Userlist supports simple personalization with tags like first name and basic conditional content. But it lacks advanced dynamic content features and visual editors for conditional logic.
So you get basic personalization but not the rich, dynamic experiences that more flexible tools offer.
6. Integrations & API
Integrations connect your email tool to other SaaS platforms, CRMs, or analytics. Userlist integrates with essentials like Stripe and Segment and supports webhooks for custom flows.
- Pros: Stripe & Segment support, flexible webhooks
- Cons: limited native integrations, no app marketplace
While these cover core SaaS needs, Userlist doesn’t have a broad app marketplace or tons of native integrations.
The API is flexible but requires some developer input to get the most out of it.
Conclusion
Userlist is good if you run a SaaS and need basic email automation like onboarding emails and simple event triggers. It’s easy to use and made for SaaS companies.
But if you want more features like advanced workflows, personalization, or multichannel messaging, Userlist might not be enough. It can also get expensive as you grow.
If you’re just starting out or want something simple, try Userlist.
If you want more power and room to grow, check out Encharge.
Want to try Userlist? Sign up for their free trial and see how it feels.
Need more features? Try another free tool, like Encharge, so you can compare it.
Userlist FAQs
1. Userlist deliverability – is it good?
Userlist’s email deliverability is generally solid but not outstanding. They have the key features to help your emails land in inboxes, like DKIM and DMARC authentication, which reduce spam flags. They also provide tools for spam reporting to keep your sending reputation clean.
- That said, deliverability depends on more than just Userlist’s tech.
- It’s affected by your sender reputation, email content, and the policies of your recipients’ email providers.
- So, your results can vary.
Most email services average around 83% deliverability, while anything above 89% is considered very good. Userlist falls in the average to good range.
By default, Userlist sends emails through a shared domain they manage. This setup works fine but can sometimes limit customization options for improving deliverability.
If deliverability is a major priority, Encharge consistently achieves over 90% deliverability and offers tools that help keep your emails landing in inboxes reliably.
2. Is Userlist GDPR compliant?
Yes, Userlist says they are GDPR compliant. They act as a data processor, which means they handle data based on instructions from their customers, who are responsible for collecting the data legally.
They provide a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that includes protections for transferring data outside the EU. Userlist also gives users rights like access, correction, deletion, and data portability, but these requests usually go through their customers first.
To follow GDPR rules, Userlist has:
- Audited their systems for data security and privacy
- Improved company policies
- Updated their Privacy Policy
- Made sure third-party vendors meet GDPR standards
- Appointed a Data Protection Officer and EU/UK representatives
They promise to report any data breaches within 72 hours as required by law.
There’s no official GDPR certification for Userlist, but they’ve taken all the right steps. Still, GDPR compliance is a shared responsibility — your company (the data controller) must follow rules too.
If GDPR is a big concern for you, it’s best to read Userlist’s full GDPR Policy and Privacy Policy for all the details.
3. Is Userlist worth it?
Userlist is a solid pick if you run a SaaS and want simple, behavior-based email automation focused on onboarding and keeping users engaged. It’s built for software teams who want to send emails triggered by actions inside their product.
What makes it worth it:
- Easy to use and set up.
- Good at creating user segments based on behavior.
- Helpful and quick customer support.
- Perfect if you want to manage SaaS user journeys without extra clutter.
What might make you think twice:
- Mostly email-only — no SMS or push notifications built in.
- Pricing can get pricey once your list grows fast.
- Lacks some advanced marketing automation like lead scoring or complex workflows.
- No built-in lead capture forms, so you’ll need extra tools for that.
If you want a simple tool for SaaS onboarding emails and engagement, Userlist works. But if you want a platform with multi-channel messaging, deeper automation, and easier scaling, Encharge is a great alternative.
Thank you so much for reading this,
David Ch
Head of Marketing at Encharge
