What’s the best Stripo alternative for designing email marketing newsletters?

Hi! If Stripo’s price jump is the trigger, the best “safe” alternatives for weekly email marketing newsletters (responsive HTML, predictable rendering, and clean export to your ESP) are usually Beefree, Postcards, Topol.io, and Chamaileon—then Litmus Builder if you’re more code-first. The main trade-offs tend to be (1) how “locked down” the layout/code is, (2) how exports handle images/CSS, and (3) how good collaboration/approvals are without breaking formatting.

Here are reliable Stripo alternatives (and what you’re really trading off):

1) Beefree (BEE / Beefree) — best all-around for most newsletter workflows

• Why people switch to it: very smooth drag-and-drop editing, strong template library, and straightforward export/push into many ESPs (or just export HTML).
• Trade-offs to watch: exports are typically “export-and-reexport” (not a live two-way sync), so you’ll want a clear workflow for “Beefree is the source of truth” vs “ESP editor is the source of truth.” Also, like most visual builders, truly custom layout tricks can be harder than hand-coded.

2) Postcards (Designmodo) — great templates + easy exporting, strong for designers

• Why it’s good: fast modular building, solid-looking templates, and multiple export options (copy code / ZIP / integrations). It’s also appealing if your design workflow starts in Figma and then you finalize/build in the email editor.
• Trade-offs to watch: pay attention to how it handles image hosting and assets on export (some setups host images externally by default). If your ESP/team has strict asset rules, test that early. Collaboration can be plan-dependent, so confirm what your team actually needs (roles, approvals, etc.).

3) Topol.io — good value, simple editor, decent integrations

• Why it’s popular: straightforward builder, lots of templates, reusable blocks, and it’s often cheaper than enterprise-oriented editors.
• Trade-offs to watch: some ESP exports may require a specific “custom HTML block” or a slightly more manual step depending on the provider. It’s usually not hard, just not always as “push button, done” as you’d like—so test with your exact ESP before committing.

4) Chamaileon — best for teams (collaboration + approvals + permissions)

• Why it’s great: real-time collaboration, roles/permissions, lockable blocks, review/approval flows—ideal when multiple people touch the newsletter (copy, design, legal, marketing ops).
• Trade-offs to watch: it can feel more “workflow platform” than “quick solo builder,” and pricing is often geared toward teams. If you’re mostly solo, you may not get full ROI unless approvals and brand governance are a real pain point.

5) Litmus Builder — best if you want code control + testing workflow

• Why it’s worth considering: if you care most about code quality, versioning, QA, and deliverability/testing, this is strong—especially for teams that prefer editing HTML directly and want a more production-style workflow.
• Trade-offs to watch: it’s not the same drag-and-drop “newsletter builder” feel. ESP syncing exists, but supported ESPs can be more limited than the big “visual builder” tools, so it’s not always the best fit if you need broad one-click exports.

6) Unlayer — usually best for embedding (or enterprise use cases), not most freelancers

• Why it’s known: powerful editor tech and integrations when you’re embedding an email builder into a product/workflow.
• Trade-offs to watch: pricing and packaging are often oriented toward platform/enterprise needs (especially if you want collaboration and advanced controls). For a typical weekly newsletter workflow, it can be overkill cost-wise.

The “don’t break formatting” checklist (what to test before switching)

If your main concern is exports not exploding in your ESP or landing in the spam folder due to messy markup, test these with your actual ESP and a real newsletter layout:

• Export method: “Push to ESP” vs “Download HTML/ZIP” vs “Copy/paste HTML” (copy/paste is usually the most fragile).
• Image handling: does it upload images into your ESP’s file manager, or does it host elsewhere and link out?
• CSS handling: does it inline CSS reliably, and does the email still look right in Outlook/Gmail after export?
• Reusable blocks / locked sections: crucial if you reuse the same header/footer and want to prevent accidental layout edits.
• Merge tags & dynamic content: can you easily insert your ESP’s personalization tags (and will the editor leave them untouched)?
• Collaboration: comments, approvals, roles/permissions, and “who can edit what” without breaking layout.

If you tell me which ESP you’re exporting into (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, SFMC, ActiveCampaign, etc.) and whether you’re solo or working with teammates, I can narrow this to the top 2–3 options that tend to export most cleanly for that setup.