# Benchmark Email

> Benchmark Email is a privately held email-marketing SaaS company founded by Curt and Denise Keller in 2004. After expanding through a merger with Hatchbuck and the acquisition of Contacts+, the company rebuilt its core platform in 2025 around a deliberately narrower promise: help busy marketers design, send and measure email without wrestling with an all-in-one marketing suite. It sells contact-based subscriptions, a useful free tier and custom enterprise plans, with human support and international localization as central differentiators.

- **Founded:** 2004
- **Headquarters:** St. Louis, United States
- **Founders:** Curt Keller (Founder and CIO), Denise Keller (Founder and CFO)
- **Team size:** 51-200 employees on LinkedIn; supplied company data lists 180 employees.
- **Products:** Benchmark Email, Smart Content, Smart Design, Next-generation Benchmark Email, High-volume email service
- **Notable:** Bootstrapped from a husband-and-wife startup in 2004 to more than $10 million in revenue, according to the company., Built local teams across 15 regions and support across nine languages., Merged with Hatchbuck in 2019, creating a combined team of nearly 130 serving 150,000 reported users at the time.

## Products & services

- **Benchmark Email** — Web-based email campaign creation, contact management, signup forms, segmentation, sending and reporting for small businesses through enterprise senders.
- **Smart Content** — AI-assisted copy generation and rewriting inside email templates.
- **Smart Design** — AI-assisted email creation that uses a website or business description to suggest branded copy, imagery, colors and layout.
- **Next-generation Benchmark Email** — A ground-up rebuild launched with modern architecture and a narrower focus on email creation, contacts, forms and reporting.
- **High-volume email service** — Send-based plans, deliverability guidance, dedicated IP options and account support for large-volume senders.
- **REST API and integrations** — Developer API plus connections that move contact and campaign data between Benchmark and other business tools.

## Achievements

- Bootstrapped from a husband-and-wife startup in 2004 to more than $10 million in revenue, according to the company.
- Built local teams across 15 regions and support across nine languages.
- Merged with Hatchbuck in 2019, creating a combined team of nearly 130 serving 150,000 reported users at the time.
- Secured a $3 million debt facility in 2021 without selling equity.
- Acquired Contacts+ in 2021.
- Released Smart Design globally in 2024.
- Launched a ground-up platform and brand rebuild in October 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2022-09** — Released Smart Content to help users generate and revise email copy.
- **2024-05** — Launched Smart Design globally, using AI to create branded email drafts from a website and campaign objective.
- **2025-08** — Introduced a simplified visual identity anchored in purple ahead of the platform relaunch.
- **2025-10** — Launched the next-generation Benchmark Email platform, rebuilt from the ground up around a focused email workflow.
- **2026-04** — A TechRadar hands-on review rated the rebuilt product 4/5, praising usability and support while noting the limited advanced automation and A/B testing.

## Links

- Website: https://www.benchmarkemail.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/benchmark-email/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/benchmarkemail
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/benchmarkemail
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benchmarkemail/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenchmarkEmail

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/benchmark-email
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-21