7 Best Drag-and-Drop HTML Email Template Builders in 2023

Email marketing remains important for businesses seeking to engage, inform, and convert their audience into customers. Creating responsive email campaigns is paramount, but it doesn’t have to be a cumbersome task. This is why you need drag-and-drop HTML email template builders and email editors.

In this article, you’ll learn some of the best tools to revolutionize email marketing efforts. These intuitive builders empower you to design and customize your HTML email templates with unparalleled ease. No coding expertise is required.

Each tool on our list offers unique features, making it accessible to beginners and seasoned email marketers. Whether you want to create stunning e-commerce campaigns, promotional newsletters, or engaging transactional emails, this collection has the perfect solution to fit your needs.

This guide will explore the top drag-and-drop HTML email template builders and editors, highlighting their key features, user-friendliness, and flexibility. Let’s first understand what options you have when creating an email.

HTML emails vs Plain-text emails

When creating an email, there are two ways to produce one: Using an HTML email editor or a plain-text email editor.

A plain text email is a text-only message without formatting. Here is the plain-text email editor in AWeber:

Plain text emails are perfect for solo ads emails in solo advertising campaigns. For example, Udimi, a solo ads website to purchase email traffic, has a plain-text email editor:

HTML email editors possess diverse email designing components like a website page builder and are perfect for newsletters.

Here are the key differences:

• Plain-text emails are easier to create as they do not need coding knowledge and designing skills. It takes a lesser amount of time to create a plain-text email. On the other hand, to create an HTML email, you have to use an HTML email builder that includes designing blocks and customization options.
• Plain-text emails are mobile responsive and have a lesser HTML size (in KBs), so they load quicker on email clients. However, the HTML email templates must be responsive to look perfect on devices customers use, and typically, HTML email templates are higher in file size (in KBs and even MBs in some circumstances) and are prone to HTML errors. Therefore, it takes more time to load HTML emails entirely on clients’ email inboxes.
• HTML-rich templates seem to be getting flagged by email providers as commercial email, which means they get filtered out of a recipient’s main inbox and mostly land on the “promotional tab” on Gmail.
• According to studies like this one from Hubspot, average open rates and click-through rates across various industries of plain-text emails are higher compared to HTML emails.
• HTML emails can be tracked, and also, with integrations with services like ClickMagick, a quality link click tracking tool, you can analyze and optimize campaign performance.
• HTML email designers have the capability to add dynamic content, such as email countdown timers, which display an animated countdown with a fallback image and include dynamic URLs based on the timer’s activity.
• Only HTML email builders let you create AMP emails and add interactive modules such as puzzles, games, scratchers, and quizzes.
• Some email clients block HTML content and images inside an email. So, even if you have the perfect HTML email, it’s crucial to have a plain-text version of the email.

Benefits of using drag-and-drop HTML email template builders

Using the best drag-and-drop HTML email template builders and email editors can offer several significant benefits, especially for businesses or individuals engaged in email marketing campaigns. Some of these advantages include:

• Time-Saving: With drag-and-drop editors, you can create customized email templates quickly and efficiently. This can significantly reduce the time required to design and develop emails. Additionally, you can create your email template with your branding details and footer and reuse it again.
• Responsive Design: Most HTML email template builders often include responsive design capabilities. This ensures the email HTML templates are optimized for various devices and screen sizes. It provides a seamless user experience across different platforms, including desktops, tablets, and mobile devices.
• Ease of Use: These email builders simplify email creation. It allows you to design professional-looking emails without extensive coding knowledge. This makes it easier for marketers and designers to create engaging email campaigns.
• Customization Capabilities: These HTML email designing tools typically offer a wide range of customization options, such as the ability to add images, videos, and interactive elements, as well as to adjust the layout and formatting to match specific branding requirements. This level of customization can help businesses create unique and personalized email campaigns that resonate with their target audience.
• A/B Testing: Some advanced editors may include A/B testing functionality. This allows you to test different versions of their email templates to determine which ones yield the best results. This feature can help businesses optimize email marketing strategies and improve campaign performance.
• Integration with Marketing Tools: Many HTML email template creators are designed to seamlessly integrate with various marketing tools and platforms, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems and email marketing software. Furthermore, you can download the HTML code for email template and use it on your email marketing platform, hosted ones like AWeber, GetResponse, and MailChimp, and self-hosted software such as Mautic and Sendy.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Using a drag-and-drop email builder can be cost-effective because it eliminates the need to hire professional designers or developers to create custom HTML email templates. This can significantly reduce the overall costs associated with email marketing campaigns.

Factors to consider when choosing the best drag-and-drop HTML email template builder

Here are the features you should look for when choosing these tools:

• Collection of Pre-made Email Templates: A good email editor will let you use pre-designed templates, which is great if you’re new to email marketing, short on time, or seeking inspiration. You should also be able to create your email template within the app and have a user-friendly file manager to store your templates and images.
• High-Quality Email Output for Different Devices: Your chosen email builder should ensure that your emails look good on all devices, as this can boost open and click rates. Failing to do so might leave a negative impression on your subscribers.
• Email Service Provider (ESP) Integration: After creating your email template, it should seamlessly connect with your ESP. Before selecting an email builder platform, ensure it has built-in integration for your ESP or at least allows downloading the source code of the HTML email template. 
  
  Email editors offer various advanced functions, some of which may be necessary for certain users but irrelevant for others. Features like personalization, automation, and dynamic content rules are typically found in advanced ESPs and marketing automation tools.
• User-Friendly Interface: While user experience can vary, every application should follow UI design basics, such as a simple and clean interface, structured page layout, and strategic use of colors and fonts. Trying out different online HTML email editors can help you assess the user experience.
• Instant Email Preview: A quick preview option shows you how your email appears on various devices, while more advanced previews can save you time.
• Collaboration Tools:  Some email builder platforms facilitate collaboration between design teams, copywriters, and marketers, allowing multiple users to contribute to email campaigns.
• Compatibility with Email Clients: Your email builder should generate HTML codes that work across email clients like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo! Mail. And use an HTML email code validation tool like VMail and Google Email Markup Tester to ensure your HTML email template code is error-free.

How to use HTML email templates in your email marketing platform

Here’s a video on creating a reusable email template designed in Stripo email creator in AWeber.

You can also use the email templates HTML codes in your email broadcasts, automation campaigns, and email autoresponders.

Best Drag-and-Drop HTML Email Template Builders & Editors

Stripo

Stripo is an easy-to-use tool for creating email templates. It has a variety of features to assist you in designing and sending emails through an email service provider. 

Unlike other template-building tools, Stripo provides an extensive array of customizable elements, including templates, blocks, modules, and structures. Also, you can switch to a CSS/HTML editor and conveniently insert your code whenever you need to.

Key Features

• Collection of Responsive Templates: Stripo provides over 1400 complete HTML email templates. This ensures they display correctly on both mobile and desktop devices, as well as most email clients. All of Stripo’s templates are completely responsive, having undergone testing with Email on Acid.

You can decide what to hide on mobile devices, whether it’s an image, container, email element, or an entire row/structure. Also, you can customize various style elements, such as font size, button width, and container spacing, differently for mobile and desktop devices.

• Export Options: Stripo allows easy export of all its free responsive email templates to major ESPs and popular email clients like Gmail and Outlook without requiring additional setup. If your email marketing platform isn’t listed, you can download your email templates as HTML and AMP HTML files and then import them into the ESP of your choice.
• Testing and Preview: This feature enables you to test your email content before it’s sent out. It supports both traditional HTML and AMP HTML emails. You can check how your email will appear on more than 90 different devices. Plus, you can use the preview mode to see how it looks on desktops and mobile devices.
• Integration: Stripo works well with major email service providers like Mailchimp, Salesforce, and HubSpot, among others. Its smooth integration with these platforms lets you quickly transfer your designs to your preferred email marketing tool. It allows a seamless and efficient workflow from creation to sending.

• Collaboration and Approval Workflow: This function enables multiple team members to work together on a project simultaneously. Teams can leave comments and suggestions directly within the platform, facilitating smooth coordination to ensure the final output meets high standards.
• Automation and Triggers: Stripo facilitates automation by allowing you to create email sequences based on triggers. This feature enables marketers to send targeted messages to specific audiences at optimal times, thereby enhancing the likelihood of conversions.
• AMP-powered emails: AMP enables interactive email features, such as forms, carousels, and accordions. You can display real-time information like stock prices, weather updates, or live tracking data. Also, you can integrate interactive surveys and feedback forms directly into emails. This encourages recipients to engage with the content without visiting a website.
• Sharing and Preview: Template sharing is exclusive to paid plan users. You can preview the mobile, desktop, HTML, and AMP versions of the template. Stripo also identifies any errors in your template code, which you can edit directly in the editor.
• Stripo Plugin: Stripo offers a plugin feature that can be embedded into various ESPs, CRM systems, and websites. This allows you to create and edit attractive and appealing emails more efficiently. The plugin feature provides a high degree of customization. For example, you can choose where to store images and multimedia by selecting a specific server domain.

Pros

• Stripo has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor 
• Extensive collection of templates 
• You can export your templates to various ESPs, CRM systems, and automation tools.

Cons

• Many templates require premium access

Stripo Pricing

Stripo is a free HTML email template builder with up to 4 exports per month, 10 stored emails, and 5 test emails a day. For premium templates, more features, and increased limits, you have to subscribe to a paid plan.

• Free Plan
• Basic Plan is $15 per month
• Medium Plan is $45 per month
• Pro Plan is $95 per month

Tabular

Tabular offers a simple drag-and-drop email template editor with easy layout editing. This editor helps you create an HTML email template hassle-free.

The editor automatically adjusts row and column widths as you move blocks around. Adjust the layout easily by dragging the dots and lines on the side of any block. This feature makes it effortless to create responsive email layouts, even for intricate designs.

Key features

• Export Email HTML for Free: Tabular employs a smart algorithm that automatically converts your email design into HTML. This ensures it looks perfect in every inbox and on all devices, including Outlook desktop clients. You can download the HTML for free or upload it directly to your marketing platform. This HTML can be used as templates for transactional emails or incorporated into your email marketing campaigns.
• Email Editor: With Tabular’s user-friendly drag-and-drop editor, you can create emails quickly, with no coding required. It provides essential building blocks for crafting intricate email layouts.
• Pre-designed Templates: Tabular offers over 200 ready-made email modules based on those building blocks. These modules save you time and effort by allowing you to easily incorporate standard email components such as headers, content, products, social media icons, and footers. You can even create reusable team blocks to streamline email creation across multiple emails with shared elements.
• Mobile Responsiveness: The editor lets you visually adjust how your email appears on mobile devices. By switching to mobile design mode during the creation process, you can make styling changes specific to mobile devices, offering a tailored experience for mobile readers.
• Integrations: Tabular allows you to send emails through various platforms like VBOUT, Mailchimp, Brevo, SendPulse, and more. You can design your emails within Tabular and seamlessly use them in your preferred email-sending platform, either through integrations or manual HTML export.

Pros

• It has a free plan
• You can export email HTML for free
• It has customizable email templates

Cons

• It has few pre-designed templates compared to Campaign Monitor

Tabular Pricing

• Tabular Free plan: You can make 3 custom emails, download 2 email HTML/PDFs monthly, send 4 email previews daily, and directly upload your email updates from Tabular to Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, and six other platforms.
• Tabular Pro Plan: Ideal for individuals or teams aiming for unlimited access to create top-notch emails effortlessly and enhance productivity. It’s priced at $14 per month (Billed annually) or $19.99 monthly for a monthly subscription.

Postcards

Postcards, an HTML editor for online emails, is a tool within Designmodo’s suite of design resources. It allows users to create their initial email templates without any delay swiftly.

In contrast to other editors, Postcards provides distinct blocks for different segments of the email. These blocks mimic mini-templates and are organized by functions such as transactional, e-commerce, call to action, etc.

This facilitates simple tasks like formatting text and tables, importing images from your device, and managing templates within projects. The platform also features an email tester to preview emails on desktop and mobile, ensuring they are responsive.

The drag-and-drop email builder enables fast customization of emails without the need for coding. You can easily personalize their content by inserting images, text, and links. Also, you have the option to select from over 1,400 Google Fonts to enhance your design.

Exporting the template to your email marketing platform can be done with just one click, or you can choose to save it as a plain HTML file for use elsewhere.

It has a version history feature that ensures quick collaboration and efficient tracking. You’ll also find cloud image hosting and support for retina-ready displays to enable the addition of high-quality images to your emails.

Pros

• Responsive designs for all devices
• Allows you to collaborate
• Plenty of Google fonts to use on your designs

Cons

• The design and template library is limited and only accessible through paid plans.

Postcard Pricing

Postcards is another free HTML email builder with up to 10 template projects, 5 monthly email template exports, and 10 daily test emails.

• Start Plan is free.
• PlusPlan is $16 per month (billed yearly)
• Pro Plan is $24 per month (billed yearly).

Beefree

BEE is an abbreviation for Best Email Editor, which is a user-friendly drag-and-drop tool for making HTML email templates. You can also manually write HTML code and save the template’s source code using BEE tools.

Key Features.

• Customizable Templates: Beefree offers a vast selection of HTML email templates, totaling over 1,000 options. These templates simplify your work process, help create effective marketing campaigns, and improve your brand’s email marketing quickly. Their user-friendly editor lets you easily adjust the templates to match your brand’s identity by customizing elements such as colors, fonts, images, and layouts.
• Mobile Design Mode (MDM): Beefree’s Mobile Design Mode is designed to create mobile-responsive emails and pages. This dedicated staging area provides complete design freedom, enabling you to hide specific elements, manage columns, and more, resulting in a better mobile experience that drives conversions.
• Integration with Other Platforms: Beefree seamlessly integrates with popular email-sending platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud, making it a versatile choice for users looking to connect their email marketing efforts with these services.

• Email Deliverability: Beefree has designed its templates to follow the best practices for ensuring that your messages land in recipients’ inboxes rather than being marked as spam. This optimization for different email clients and devices enhances the likelihood of successful email delivery.
• Collaborative Teamwork: You can collaborate with your team members in real-time, allowing simultaneous editing, design-specific feedback, and instant design modifications. This streamlines communication and ensures that everyone is on the same page without the need for lengthy email exchanges.
• Email-to-Page Conversion: It permits you to easily transform your emails into editable landing pages with just one click. This feature enables you to expand the reach of your email campaigns beyond traditional inboxes.
• Enhanced Security: Safeguard your data and privacy using Beefree’s two-factor authentication (2FA) option. This extra layer of security ensures that only authorized individuals can access your profile, enhancing overall data protection.
• Preview and Testing: Before sending out your emails, you can preview and test them to ensure optimal appearance across different devices. The real-time preview feature, combined with the drag-and-drop builder and Mobile Design Mode, enables you to make necessary adjustments for seamless email delivery to all recipients.

Pros

• Extensive Library of Email Templates
• Easy-to-Us Email Editor Interface
• Generate responsive emails that appear nicely on all devices.

Cons

• Restricted integration with Email Marketing tool
• You can’t edit the HTML code

Beefree Pricing 

The platform offers three modes of plans:

• Free Plan: It allows you to access Mobile Design Mode, easily export to your preferred sending platform, and choose from over 1,500 free templates and additional features.
• Team Plan costs $25 monthly (billed yearly): You can enjoy unlimited emails, pages, folders, and reusable blocks. Also, you’ll access customized user roles and permissions and access other benefits.
• Enterprise Plan: Contact the Sales department for details. This plan includes all features from the Team Plan, as well as a multi-workspace environment, enhanced workspace management, user permissions, custom domains, increased monthly image hosting space, premium support, and more.

Unlayer

Unlayer is a tool that lets you design and edit HTML email templates. Just like the TOPOL.io platform, it allows you to import your HTML code to help you enhance your email even more. 

For those who want to dig into the code, Unlayer allows you to export your creations as HTML. This gives you the freedom to further customize or use them outside the platform.

You can use Its editor just like a regular email designer, either using standard blocks (such as dividers, images, or text) or creating custom ones. Unlayer also offers useful features like merge tag support. 

Key Features

• HTML Email Template Library: Unlayer provides access to a diverse collection of pre-designed templates for emails, catering to various industries and styles. You can use these templates to customize and align with your brand identity, saving valuable time.

• Drag-and-Drop Editor: Unlayer is a drag-and-drop email editor that allows you to quickly design email templates from scratch or with the help of hundreds of professionally designed email templates for Mautic. By using Unlayer, you can customize your own responsive HTML emails.
• Real-Time Collaboration: The platform supports collaboration, making it easy for teams to work together on email campaigns and web projects. Multiple team members can access, edit, and comment on projects simultaneously.
• Responsive Design: Unlayer’s responsive design capabilities automatically adjust the content to fit different devices, guaranteeing a smooth user experience.
• Seamless Integration: It easily integrates with popular email marketing platforms like Mautic, Mailchimp, SendGrid, Moosend, and other tools.

Pros

• Gives a real-time collaboration
• User-friendly interface
• Smooth integration with various email marketing platforms.
• It offers a free plan.

Cons

• It has limited template customization options.

Unlayer Pricing

• It has a Free plan with limited features.
• The Designer Plan is priced at $20 per month and provides services like mobile-ready campaigns, a drag-and-drop builder, free stock photos, custom templates, and more.
• The monthly cost for the Team Plan is $40 per month. It includes functions such as Drag & Drop Builder, Mobile-Ready Campaigns, Free Stock Photos, Export to ESPs, Custom Templates, and more.

Chamaileon

Chamaileon is a tool that helps professionals and teams construct email templates. It permits you to generate an HTML email template, import your email HTML to produce a template or build your email from the beginning.

Upon setting up your personalized email design system, this platform offers comprehensive video training to educate your team on no-code email construction and efficient email production. Furthermore, it allows the migration of your current email templates into Chamaileon.

Key Features

• User-Friendly Email Builder: Chamaileon provides a drag-and-drop email builder with a wide selection of pre-designed templates. You can easily personalize your emails to align with your brand and campaign requirements. In addition, this builder allows for the effortless addition of images, text, buttons, and other elements, ensuring visually appealing and on-brand emails.
• Responsive Email Design: The tool ensures your emails look great on any device. Emails created in Chamaileon are automatically optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop screens. It adjusts elements to fit different screen sizes. This guarantees that your message reaches your audience effectively, regardless of the device they’re using.
• Real-Time Collaboration: It offers real-time collaboration features that allow team members to work together seamlessly on email designs. Multiple team members can edit and provide feedback simultaneously. This will reduce the need for back-and-forth emails and ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Content Blocks and Modules: The platform allows email creation with a library of pre-designed content blocks and modules. These components, such as headers, footers, product showcases, and social media links, can be easily inserted into your emails. This saves time and effort in designing from scratch and maintains a consistent and professional appearance across various email campaigns.
• Integration Capabilities: It integrates with various email marketing platforms like HubSpot, MailChimp, and SendGrid. This makes it easy to incorporate your email designs into your existing email marketing workflow. Also, it reduces the time and effort required to move designs from Chamaileon to your chosen email service provider.
• A/B Testing: The tool has A/B testing capabilities that let you create different versions of their emails and determine which one performs better. This data-driven approach helps businesses make informed decisions about email content, design, and messaging to maximize engagement and conversion rates.
• Customer Support: Chamaileon offers 24/7 human-run chat support beyond addressing technical issues and providing expert advice and assistance.

Pros 

• It has a free trial version
• It comes with a customizable email design
• It has a wide range of templates
• Reliable HTML code without coding

Cons

• It doesn’t have a free plan, and its premium plan is relatively expensive

Chamaileon Pricing

Chamaileon’s pricing is expensive compared to other HTML email designing tools. Its pricing plans start from $300 per month.

• Standard Plan is perfect for individual marketers and includes 3 users. It’s priced at a minimum of $250 per month when billed annually.
• Premium Plan is designed for experienced marketing teams and comes with 5 included users. It’s available at $250 per month when billed annually.
• Scale Plan is well-suited for active email marketing teams aiming to increase their email production. It includes 3 users and is priced at $1,000 per month when billed annually.

Litmus

Litmus allows you to create code modules and HTML email templates completely from the beginning using their email builder. It gets rid of delays in production and complicated email editors, reducing the time needed for email development.

Key Features

• Intuitive Drag-and-Drop Interface: Its user-friendly interface allows you to drag and drop elements effortlessly; this helps you to design visually stunning and responsive emails without coding expertise. 
• Comprehensive Template Library: With a diverse array of pre-designed templates catering to various industries and purposes, the Litmus Email Builder offers many options to kickstart their email marketing campaigns. These templates are not only aesthetically appealing but also optimized for different devices. It guarantees a consistent and engaging experience for recipients across all platforms.

• Litmus AI Assistant: Use AI to produce engaging content more quickly with Litmus Assistant. You can create the most attention-grabbing subject lines and modify your content’s tone to expedite the delivery of high-performing emails to the market.
• Previews and Testing: One of the standout features of Litmus is its ability to provide real-time previews of how the email will appear on different devices and email clients. This feature lets you identify formatting issues beforehand. Ensuring the final email delivers a seamless and immersive experience to every recipient.
• Collaboration: It facilitates team collaboration and seamless approval workflows. Teams can work together in real time, share feedback, and track changes, fostering a more efficient and cohesive approach to email campaign development.
• Integration Capabilities: The platform works smoothly with well-known email service providers and CRM systems, improving overall performance. This connection lets you match your email campaigns with existing processes and information, forming a cohesive marketing setup that boosts productivity and success.

• Analytics and Reporting: The Litmus Email Builder gives detailed information about how well emails are performing, including how many people open them, click on links, and take action. This helps marketers use data to make intelligent choices and improve their email marketing plans for the best outcomes.

Pros:

• Automate tests for quality assurance. 
• Create efficient and flawless emails swiftly.
• Enhance teamwork and achieve better outcomes.

Cons:

• Users with limited HTML coding skills might need extra training.
• Restricted choices for personalization. 
• Possibility of technical issues. 

Litmus Pricing

• Basic Plan starting at $99 per month.
• Plus Plan starting at $199 per month
• For Enterprise plans, you need to contact their Sales department

Conclusion on Best HTML Email Template Builders

After reviewing these email template builders, choosing the right one shouldn’t be as difficult. We know there are several drag-and-drop HTML email templates editors available online. But since you understand what to look for, you don’t need to try nearly all. Check for high-quality, responsive email layouts, integration, ease of use, and compatibility features.

If you’re new to email marketing, start with any of the tools on this list to learn how to utilize an email builder. And if you’re familiar with HTML, don’t be scared to try out one of the email builders that enables HTML editing.

Also, there are open-source email builders available online, such as Mosaico. Nevertheless, they are limited in email template editing features, a wide range of templates, integrations, and support.