MailPoet
Newsletter and email automation plugin from Automattic with a drag-and-drop editor, WooCommerce emails and an optional built-in sending service.
88
FluentCRM
Self-hosted email marketing and CRM plugin by WPManageNinja: unlimited contacts, campaigns and automation funnels, sending through your own SMTP or ESP.
Free installs80K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~6.6KLikely 3.3K–13K
Vendor claims80K+Vendor's own figure
Rating4.8/5250 reviews
Price from$129/yrFreemium
Last updated29 Oct 2026Version 3.3.1
Overview
FluentCRM is a self-hosted email marketing automation and CRM plugin from WPManageNinja, the team behind Fluent Forms and FluentSMTP. Contacts, campaigns and automation data all live in your WordPress database, and there are no limits on the number of contacts or emails. FluentCRM does not send mail itself: it hands messages to WordPress, typically through FluentSMTP connected to Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo or a similar provider, so your sending cost is whatever that service charges.
How it works
Contacts are organised with lists, tags and custom fields, and each contact has a profile showing emails sent, purchase history, form submissions and notes. Campaigns are written in a block-based email composer with saved templates, then sent immediately or scheduled. Automation funnels run on a visual canvas: a trigger (sign-up, form submission, purchase, tag applied and so on) followed by waits, emails, tag and list changes.
Free vs Pro
The free plugin already covers unlimited contacts, campaigns, scheduling, basic funnels, double opt-in, a preference page and campaign reporting. Pro, sold per site from $129 a year, adds email sequences, the drag-and-drop visual email builder, subject-line A/B testing, recurring campaigns that send your latest posts, dynamic segments, conditional branches in funnels, WooCommerce abandoned cart, LMS and membership triggers (LearnDash, LifterLMS, TutorLMS, MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro and more), revenue reports, smart links and 45+ integrations.
Strengths
- Flat per-site pricing with unlimited contacts makes it cheap for large lists.
- Deep integrations with WordPress commerce, LMS and membership plugins.
- Bounce handlers for SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Brevo and others keep lists clean.
Limitations
You must set up and pay for your own sending service and handle deliverability yourself. Large lists put extra load on your hosting, and the free version lacks sequences, conditional logic and most e-commerce triggers. There are no native popup forms; opt-in forms rely on Fluent Forms or other form plugins.
FluentCRM is a strong fit for technically comfortable site owners, course creators and stores that want a full marketing automation stack inside WordPress without per-subscriber SaaS pricing.
Best for: Course creators, membership sites and WooCommerce stores that want CRM-style automation inside WordPress without per-subscriber fees.
FluentCRM offers the broadest automation and CRM feature set of the WordPress-native options at a flat yearly price, which makes it excellent value for big lists. It does expect you to run your own sending service and is less beginner-friendly than MailPoet.
Pros
- No contact or email limits, with flat per-site pricing
- Contact profiles with purchase history, form submissions, notes and email log
- Visual automation funnels with many WooCommerce, LMS and membership triggers in Pro
- Bounce handlers for SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Brevo and more
- Migration tools from Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, MailerLite and Drip
- All data stays in your WordPress database
Cons
- No built-in sending service; you configure SMTP/ESP and deliverability yourself
- Sequences, A/B tests, dynamic segments and funnel conditions are Pro-only
- No native popup or slide-in forms
- Large lists add load to your own hosting
Key features
What FluentCRM highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Unlimited contacts and email campaigns
- Block-based email composer
- Send now or schedule campaigns
- Lists, tags and custom fields
- Contact profiles with email history
- Basic visual automation funnels
- Double opt-in confirmation emails
- Subscriber preference page
- Campaign open and click reports
- Fluent Forms integration
- Import from CSV and other services
- Bounce handling for major ESPs
Pro / paid adds From $129/yr
- Email sequences and drip campaigns
- Drag-and-drop visual email builder
- Subject line A/B testing
- Recurring latest-posts campaigns
- Dynamic segments and advanced filters
- Conditional branches in funnels
- WooCommerce abandoned cart emails
- LMS and membership triggers
- Revenue and e-commerce reports
- Smart links that tag on click
- 45+ integrations and webhooks
- Contact export
Feature checklist
24 of 25 features we track in Email Marketing & Newsletters, feature score 91/100
Campaigns 5/5
Drag & drop email builder Key
Design newsletters visually without code.
Free block-based composer with dynamic tags; the drag-and-drop visual builder is Pro.
Included
Email templates
Ready-made newsletter and email templates.
Several built-in template styles, custom HTML templates and reusable saved templates free.
Included
New post notifications Key
Automatically email subscribers when you publish (RSS to email).
Recurring campaigns send latest posts daily, weekly or monthly; Pro only.
Paid version Solo/Blogger
Scheduled campaigns
Schedule newsletters for a set date and time.
Free version can send or schedule campaigns for a set date and time.
Included
A/B testing
Test subject lines or content variations.
Subject-line A/B (split) testing for campaigns is a Pro feature.
Paid version Solo/Blogger
Automation 4/4
Automation workflows Key
Welcome series, drip sequences and trigger-based emails.
Free funnels with sign-up and form triggers, waits and emails; sequences need Pro.
Included
WooCommerce marketing emails Key
Abandoned cart, purchase follow-ups and customer segments from WooCommerce.
Free gets some purchase triggers and history; abandoned cart and revenue reports are Pro.
Partial
Visual automation builder
Build workflows on a visual canvas with conditions and delays.
Visual funnel canvas with delays is free; conditional branches require Pro.
Partial
Membership & LMS triggers
Automations triggered by membership, course or form events.
LearnDash, LifterLMS, TutorLMS, MemberPress, PMPro and other triggers are Pro only.
Paid version Solo/Blogger
Subscribers & lists 7/7
Sign-up forms Key
Embedded, popup or slide-in subscription forms.
Embedded opt-in forms via free Fluent Forms integration; no native popup or slide-in.
Partial
Double opt-in
Confirmation emails before subscribers are added.
Global double opt-in settings with customisable confirmation email and redirect.
Included
Lists, tags & segments Key
Organise subscribers with lists, tags and dynamic segments.
Lists, tags and contact filtering free; dynamic segments are Pro.
Included
Custom subscriber fields
Store extra data such as birthday or company.
Unlimited contact custom fields, grouped and editable.
Included
CRM contact profiles
Full contact timeline with emails, purchases and activity.
Profiles show email log, purchase history, form submissions and notes, even in free.
Included
Import & export subscribers
CSV import/export or migration from other services.
CSV, WP users and migration from Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit etc.; export is Pro.
Included
Unsubscribe & preference centre
Subscribers manage lists or unsubscribe themselves.
Email preference page lets contacts manage all or specific list subscriptions.
Included
Sending & deliverability 4/5
Subscribers stored in WordPress Key
Contacts and campaigns live in your own WordPress database.
All contacts and campaign data are stored in your WordPress database.
Included
Send through your own SMTP or ESP
Use Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun or your own SMTP to send.
Sends through any SMTP or ESP, typically via FluentSMTP with SES, Mailgun or SendGrid.
Included
Built-in sending service
Vendor-run sending service included or available.
FluentCRM does not send email itself; you connect a third-party delivery service.
Not included
Bounce handling
Detects bounced emails and cleans the list.
Bounce handlers for SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Brevo, SparkPost and more.
Included
No subscriber cap in the free version
Free plan has no low limit on subscribers or emails.
No limits on contacts or emails in the free plugin.
Included
Reports & integrations 4/4
Open & click reports Key
Track opens, clicks and unsubscribes per campaign.
Campaign open, click and link-level reports with dashboard charts.
Included
Revenue tracking
Attributes WooCommerce or other sales to emails.
Campaign revenue and WooCommerce reports are listed as Pro features.
Paid version Solo/Blogger
Form plugin integrations
Add subscribers from WPForms, Gravity Forms, Fluent Forms and similar.
Fluent Forms integration free; Elementor Forms, webhooks and others in Pro.
Included
GDPR consent tools
Consent checkboxes, consent records and data export/erase.
Double opt-in and data kept in your own database; vendor describes it as GDPR ready.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Free
Freeper yearUnlimited
Free on WordPress.org; unlimited contacts and campaigns, basic funnels.
Solo/Blogger
$129per year1 site
First year shown at $103 (20% off); all Pro features, updates and priority support.
Small Business
$249per year5 sites
First year shown at $199 (20% off).
Agency
$499per year50 sites
First year shown at $399 (20% off). Sending costs from your ESP are separate.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use FluentCRM?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
80K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
80K+
Sites/users claimed on the vendor's website. source
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~6.6K
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: WordPress.org shows 80K+ free installs, which could mean anything from 80K to 90K. The vendor says 80K+ sites, so we put the free count halfway between the middle of that range and the vendor figure, at about 83K. About 83K free installs x 8% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when some key features are paid) gives 6.6K. Likely range: 3.3K to 13K. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
41,927 downloads last week, 2M all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 3.3.1 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 29 Oct 2026 (5 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 6.0+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 6 of 6 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 29 Sep 2020 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 14-day money-back (source, 11 Oct 2026) |
|---|
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FAQ
Is FluentCRM free?
Yes. FluentCRM has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $129/yr.
How many sites use FluentCRM?
WordPress.org reports 80K+ active installations of the free version. The vendor claims 80K+ sites in total. We estimate around 6.6K sites run the paid version.
Does FluentCRM have drag & drop email builder?
Yes: included. Free block-based composer with dynamic tags; the drag-and-drop visual builder is Pro.
Does FluentCRM have new post notifications?
Yes: paid version (Solo/Blogger). Recurring campaigns send latest posts daily, weekly or monthly; Pro only.
Does FluentCRM have automation workflows?
Yes: included. Free funnels with sign-up and form triggers, waits and emails; sequences need Pro.
Does FluentCRM have woocommerce marketing emails?
Yes: partial. Free gets some purchase triggers and history; abandoned cart and revenue reports are Pro.
Does FluentCRM have sign-up forms?
Yes: partial. Embedded opt-in forms via free Fluent Forms integration; no native popup or slide-in.
Does FluentCRM have lists, tags & segments?
Yes: included. Lists, tags and contact filtering free; dynamic segments are Pro.
Does FluentCRM have subscribers stored in wordpress?
Yes: included. All contacts and campaign data are stored in your WordPress database.
Does FluentCRM have open & click reports?
Yes: included. Campaign open, click and link-level reports with dashboard charts.
Does FluentCRM send emails itself?
No. It sends through WordPress mail, usually via FluentSMTP connected to Amazon SES, Mailgun, SendGrid, Brevo or another provider, which bills you separately.
Is there a contact limit?
No. Both the free plugin and Pro allow unlimited contacts and emails; your hosting and sending service are the practical limits.
What do I need Pro for?
Email sequences, A/B testing, recurring post campaigns, dynamic segments, conditional funnel logic, abandoned cart and the LMS/membership triggers are Pro features.
Can I migrate from Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign?
Yes, FluentCRM includes migration from services such as Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, MailerLite and Drip, as well as CSV import.
Last updated 11 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.