Postcards alternatives: where to go depending on why you are leaving
By Mara Levin · Updated October 7, 2026 · Vendor pages and prices checked that day
Postcards, from Designmodo, is a hosted builder at $0, $16 or $24 a month that can draft an email from a prompt. Alternatives are other builders (Topol, Stripo, Beefree), code-first editors (Parcel) or frameworks (MJML, Maizzle, React Email). The right one depends on whether you are escaping an export cap, a credit meter, a seat limit or the hosted model itself.
The short answer
If you want a similar visual builder with no export meter, try Topol PRO at $10. If the module library and ESP reach matter, Stripo is the established alternative from $20. For approvals and brand governance, Beefree Business at $160 ($134 yearly). If you are ready to write HTML, Parcel or a framework removes the hosted-builder dependency. Postcards itself is still a good fit for AI-assisted drafting on one or two seats, so leave for a reason, not a trend.
Postcards at a glance
The Postcards pricing page lists Start at $0 (10 template projects, 5 monthly exports, no AI credits), Plus at $16 (unlimited projects, 20 monthly and 5 daily exports, 5,000 AI credits, 20 client previews a month, AMP for Email) and Pro at $24 (unlimited exports, 10,000 AI credits, three teammates, 50 previews, CDN image hosting, SSO). It renders the digits with JavaScript and the Yearly/Monthly toggle was left on its default, so confirm the billing period when you compare.
Why people leave a hosted builder
- Exports run out. Start gives 5 a month and Plus 20 a month with a 5-a-day ceiling. A team that exports after every review round can burn the daily limit before lunch.
- AI is metered. Credits reset every billing cycle. Postcards says a full email from scratch takes roughly 150 to 300 credits on its Basic model and 1,000 to 1,500 on Ultra, so heavy generation needs a top-up (5,000 credits for $7) or the $24 plan.
- Seats and sign-on. Plus includes one teammate and Pro three; SSO appears only on Pro.
- Review depth. Plus offers 20 email client previews a month and Pro 50. A team that previews every variant in every client will want a dedicated tool or a builder with a QA step.
- Where your work lives. By Postcards' FAQ, a refund cancels the license and the emails created under it, and a lapsed license keeps only your most recent templates open for editing. That is a reasonable policy, and a reason to keep HTML in your own repository.
Pick the alternative by the problem
| If you want… | Try | Prices listed |
|---|---|---|
| No export meter, still visual | Topol | PRO $10; Team $15 for 3 members; a trial with all PRO features |
| A big module library and many ESP connectors | Stripo | Free $0; Basic $20; Medium $45; Pro $125 a month |
| Approvals, locked brand elements, workspaces | Beefree (RGE Studio) | Starter $0; Professional $30 ($25 yearly); Business $160 ($134 yearly) |
| To write the HTML yourself with checks built in | Parcel | Community $0; Pro $29; Business $56 per user a month |
| An editor inside your own product | Unlayer, Topol plugin | Unlayer Launch $250; Topol Startup $70 a month |
| A governed design system for a large team | Chamaileon | Premium $400 a month, or from $4k a year |
Same workload, five prices
Take two people who together export 30 emails a month. Postcards Plus's 20-export allowance is too small, so the fair comparison starts at Postcards Pro, $24 with three teammates. The same work costs $15 on Topol Team (three members, unlimited exports), $20 on Stripo Basic (2 members, 50 exports), $30 on Beefree Professional ($25 billed yearly, one extra seat) and $58 on Parcel Pro (2 × $29). A team of ten changes the picture: Postcards covers three seats on Pro, Topol would be $15 + 7 × $10 at the "from" price for extra members, which is $85, and Stripo Pro at $125 has ten members.
Treat these as starting points. The detail that decides is usually not the headline price but the one limit you will touch first, which is why the per-vendor sections below each name one.
Topol: the cheapest visual swap
Topol's pricing page lists PRO at $10 a month with unlimited templates and HTML exports, a full version history, unlimited test emails and an AI assistant with no credits. It has no permanent free plan, only a trial with all PRO features. If your frustration is the export meter or credits, this removes both. The gap is that its page does not print a list of ESP connectors, so verify your sender before you commit. See Topol vs Stripo for the per-seat arithmetic.
Stripo: depth and reach
Stripo lists 300+ pre-built modules, synchronized modules for bulk updates, a code editor beside the visual one, real-time co-editing and testing with Email on Acid, and its integrations page names 90+ ESPs. Its limit is the export meter (4, 50, 300 and 4,000 a month). A direct comparison is in Postcards vs Stripo, and the broader field in Stripo alternatives.
Beefree: when review is the point
Beefree's pricing page lists approvals, a QA assistant, two workspaces and brand controls on Business, with an HTML importer that its FAQ says can bring existing designs in without rebuilding. That importer makes it the smoothest destination for a Postcards export. The price jump from $30 to $160 is the cost of the workflow, and its own FAQ says small teams sending occasionally may find their ESP alone is enough. Stripo vs BEE Free compares the two plans in detail.
Parcel and the frameworks: leave the hosted builder
Parcel is a browser editor for HTML with validation, previews and an optional $49-for-500 inbox preview add-on. MJML, Maizzle and React Email are open source and free to use, and keep templates in your repository where a license lapse cannot touch them. They ask for a developer, and moving a Postcards email in means rewriting its markup in that tool's syntax. Our MJML vs React Email and MJML alternatives pages explain the trade.
What to take with you when you leave
- HTML for every live template. Export while your plan still has export capacity, and commit the files to version control.
- Images. Postcards hosts images online, and its FAQ says images you hosted stay online after a license lapses. Do not rely on that for a campaign: download them and re-host on your own storage or CDN so links in sent and future emails never break.
- Brand settings. Write down your colors, fonts and button styles from the brand presets so you can recreate them quickly.
- ESP-side copies. Emails already exported to Mailchimp, Brevo or another platform live there independently. Trigger emails you still need to edit need their source HTML.
- A test send in your real ESP. Compare the old and new HTML in the same clients, as described in the client compatibility guide.
Stay with Postcards if…
- You value AI-drafted first versions and are comfortable watching a credit balance.
- Your team is one to three people and Pro at $24 covers your exports.
- You want AMP for Email and countdown timers on a $16 plan.
FAQ
Why do people look for a Postcards alternative?
The reasons that show on Postcards' own pricing page are export limits (5 a month on Start, 20 a month and 5 a day on Plus), AI credits that run out (none on Start, 5,000 on Plus), seat counts (one teammate included on Plus, three on Pro) and SSO only on Pro. Some teams also want a builder that is part of a larger approval workflow, or an editor they can embed in their own product.
Which alternative has no export limit?
Topol's PRO plan at $10 a month lists unlimited templates and unlimited HTML exports, and MJML, Maizzle and React Email are free open-source tools with nothing to meter. Postcards Pro at $24 also has unlimited exports. Stripo caps exports at 4, 50, 300 and 4,000 a month across its four plans, and Beefree lists 6 exports a month on Starter and unlimited on paid plans.
Can I move my Postcards emails into another builder?
Export the HTML first; Postcards says it exports clean code you can edit. Beefree's FAQ says its HTML importer brings existing designs into the builder without rebuilding, and a code editor like Parcel takes HTML directly. Stripo and Topol do not describe an upload route on the pages read, so assume modules and blocks must be rebuilt there.
What happens to my Postcards templates if I stop paying?
By Postcards' FAQ, a lapsed license drops you to the free plan: your most recently created templates stay available to open and edit and hosted images stay online, while higher export limits, AI credits and client previews are lost. A refund cancels the license and the emails created under it. Treat that as a reason to export HTML for every template before you cancel.