Beefree vs Pixcraft: Which Tool to Choose for Your Email Campaigns

Today, visual email editors have become commonplace in email marketing. With their help, email templates can be crafted without a single line of code: everything is done directly in the interface, and the result is immediately visible on the screen.

In this article, we will compare the Pixcraft visual email builder with the popular international service Beefree and examine how exactly these tools differ in their approach to creating and editing email templates.

Working with the Canvas

Elements and Structures

Both builders operate on the drag-and-drop principle: simply drag the required element onto the canvas and edit its content. Their toolkits include both basic elements (such as text, images, buttons, or dividers) and ready-made structures. However, Pixcraft and Beefree take different approaches to working with the latter.

Ready-made blocks in Pixcraft contain columns: horizontal and vertical layouts consisting of individual elements. This format provides particular advantages:

• it’s possible to configure both individual elements and the entire column at once (for example, set its background, borders, rounding, and spacing);
  
  
• users can move the entire column with all its contents without having to drag each element separately.

Blocks and individual elements can easily be saved for future use. This is a convenient solution if you regularly need to add recurring elements to your emails, for example, a ready-made footer or promo block.

In Beefree, the basis for the structure of emails are horizontal Rows that contain individual content elements and can also be saved for future use. This approach is convenient but imposes limitations on flexibility:

• users can edit either the properties of the entire Row or each individual element within it;
  
  
• it’s impossible to combine several elements into a single structure inside a Row: you will have to move either the entire Row or each element separately.

Settings and Styling

In large emails with dozens of identical elements, making edits can take a lot of time. Pixcraft simplifies this task thanks to the Styles panel, which automatically detects and groups similar elements:

• texts and buttons with the same features (color, style, font) are combined into unified categories;
  
  
• with a single action, users can change the design of all identical elements at once — for example, the button color or the text font;
  
  
• a target icon next to each parameter can be used to highlight the elements that will be affected by the changes.

Beefree offers general configurations at the template level. For example:

• set the background and email width;
  
  
• choose a default font;
  
  
• change the color of all links.

While these settings are useful, they don’t allow users to bulk update all buttons or necessary text elements at once. Beefree provides an additional solution called Brand Style Management, which makes it possible to apply styles to the entire template or to Rows (for example, button styles). However, it can only be used through the API, not directly in the builder, and requires additional integration.

Links

Large email campaigns may include numerous unique links. Pixcraft offers a special tool, the Link Map, to conveniently work with them. It displays all email elements that contain hyperlinks, ensuring full control over them:

• the list of all links in the email is presented in a single panel;
  
  
• users can make edits without wasting time on searching for each separate element on the canvas;
  
  
• easy to track outdated or incorrect links;
  
  
• as with the Styles panel, it features a target icon, which highlights the element that contains the link.

Beefree does not offer a unified panel for managing hyperlinks. These must be edited manually directly in the template: users need to locate the element, open its settings, and change the link. The only exception are social media links with a dedicated panel. But other links in buttons, images, and texts have to be specified or edited one by one.

AMP Support

AMP technology makes email campaigns interactive, adding brightness and engagement to them. In Pixcraft, AMP elements are available by default and serve as a fully functional tool, not an experimental feature.

Working with them is as simple as with other email elements. AMP blocks are added by dragging them onto the canvas and can be easily configured directly in the interface. The number of available AMP components is expected to increase in the future.

Beefree can also be used to craft interactive emails. However, it’s not possible to add AMPHTML directly into a template: only special AMP widgets can be used via the Beefree SDK. This means that:

• a separate developer account is required;
  
  
• the SDK must be connected, and those who work with email templates must be familiarized with technical aspects.

Template Preview

Preview is an important step before sending an email. It helps ensure that the template will look exactly as intended. Pixcraft provides an extended set of tools for previewing email templates:

• preview on desktop and mobile devices with the option to set a custom screen width for the latter;
  
  
• separate preview of the AMP and HTML versions of the email to check the display of interactive blocks;
  
  
• email preview in dark mode (including dark mode in Gmail on iOS, one of the most layout-sensitive email clients);
  
  
• a built-in screenshot feature that allows the user to quickly share results with colleagues or clients.

Beefree also supports preview scenarios:

• switching between desktop, smartphone, and tablet modes;
  
  
• the ability to set a custom screen resolution;
  
  
• preview in dark mode;
  
  
• HTML and AMP versions preview (when using Beefree SDK).

At the same time, Beefree does not support dark mode simulation in Gmail on iOS, where color inversion may behave differently compared to other email clients. It’s also not possible to take a full screenshot of the email using the editor’s built-in capabilities.

Ready-Made Solutions and Icons Customization

Template Gallery

Although Pixcraft is a relatively new email builder on the market, its library already includes more than 100 ready-made templates and is regularly updated. The collection covers the most in-demand email marketing scenarios:

• welcome emails for new subscribers;
  
  
• promotional newsletters with offers and discounts;
  
  
• trigger-based messages;
  
  
• product selection for e-commerce.

Each template can be easily adapted to a brand’s style. The flexible editing system allows users to turn any draft into a unique email without the need to create one from scratch.

Beefree, thanks to its many years on the market, has assembled a truly extensive library: users have access to more than 1,700 templates. Here, you can find solutions for a wide variety of tasks, from e-commerce and promotions to event-driven campaigns and B2B communications.

Social Media Icons Customization

At first glance, social media icons may seem like a minor element, yet such small details can influence the overall perception of a brand. Through them, a company guides subscribers to its social pages, which is why it’s important that these elements look consistent with the brand’s style.

Pixcraft places special emphasis on customizing social media and messaging apps icons. In particular, users can:

• change the logo and background colors of icons to match the brand palette;
  
  
• add or remove logo borders;
  
  
• adjust the degree of rounding and spacing;
  
  
• apply different styling to each individual logo.

As a result, even a standard set of icons can be seamlessly integrated into a company’s visual style: icons and logos will look as if they were originally designed for that specific brand or campaign.

Beefree also provides ready-made icons within the editor. Users can select a preset style, quickly add icons to the email, configure links, and set alt text. However, the appearance of icons remains fixed:

• logo colors cannot be changed manually and will remain adherent to the selected style;
  
  
• manual customization of backgrounds, rounding, and logo borders is not available;
  
  
• if a brand’s style requires special design, custom icons have to be prepared and uploaded.

Facebook and Instagram are owned by Meta Platforms Inc., which has been designated as an extremist organization and is banned in the Russian Federation. Access to the social network X (formerly Twitter) is restricted in the Russian Federation, and LinkedIn is blocked in the Russian Federation.

Localization, Exporting, and Integrations

Language Support

Pixcraft is available in English and Russian, making it a great fit for both Russian-speaking and global audiences. For instance, the following is provided in two languages:

• the entire interface;
  
  
• documentation, knowledge base, blog articles, and email templates;
  
  
• additional tools such as the HTML to AMP converter and TJML Framework.

Beefree, by default, is available only in English, including the email builder interface, knowledge base, and documentation. Beefree SDK supports 20+ languages, but this feature is available only in Core price plan and above. Such plans are suitable mostly for the corporate segment, with their price starting at $1,000 per month. Therefore, localization in Beefree remains mainly an option for large companies.

Exporting and Integration with Services

Once a template is assembled and verified, the next step is exporting or direct integration with email platforms.

Here, Pixcraft offers several convenient formats:

• HTML — a universal format that can be used in any ESP;
  
  
• ZIP archive — convenient for storing and sharing templates with team members or clients;
  
  
• AMP version of the email — for campaigns with interactive blocks;
  
  
• EML file — can be opened in Outlook, Thunderbird, or another email client to immediately check how the campaign will look to subscribers, or to carry out a small internal email distribution to company employees without the need for an ESP.

In addition, Pixcraft supports direct export to ESP platforms. The list of integrations includes both international services (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, SendGrid, SendPulse) and Russian providers, such as Altcraft, enKod, Sendsay, Unisender, and others.

Beefree also provides a number of export and integration options. By default, users can:

• download an email in HTML format with images;
  
  
• export it as a PDF file;
  
  
• use ready-made connectors to major international platforms (Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign and others);
  
  
• copy the HTML code for insertion into an ESP.

At the same time, it comes with some limitations:

• direct export of the AMP version of an email is supported only when using Beefree SDK;
  
  
• specific formats (such as EML) are not available “out of the box” and require a separate connector;
  
  
• there are no direct integrations with Russian services, only through the Custom Connector option (but this requires a developer to configure the API).

Business Integrations

Beefree SDK allows users to integrate the email editor directly into a product or a company’s internal platform. With its help, companies can deploy the editor in a white-label format without the Beefree logo, adapt the interface to the corporate style, and also manage their own blocks and templates.

Pixcraft is also available for integration into business platforms and corporate products. It supports deep customization, from the visual layer to functional logic. This approach brings particular value to large businesses where it’s important to organize marketing campaign management in the format of a single product.

Additionally, Pixcraft offers On-Premises deployment. Such an approach ensures full autonomy and control over processes. In this case, not only the editor itself but the entire Pixcraft ecosystem is deployed within the client’s internal infrastructure:

• storage and analytics of AMP emails, including working with AMP forms;
  
  
• collection of unique statistics and subscriber feedback, as well as storing them within the company’s own infrastructure;
  
  
• execution of all AI processes (such as image creation, AI-based generation of email templates based on descriptions, and others) exclusively within the corporate infrastructure.

To learn more about integrating Pixcraft into your business, contact our team, and we will provide you with detailed information about all available options.

Conclusion: Which Tool to Choose?

Both Pixcraft and Beefree solve the same task: they help create email templates without coding. However, the two tools take different approaches.

• Beefree remains a proven international visual HTML email editor with a large template library, integrations for global teams, and an easy-to-learn interface.
  
  
• At the same time, Pixcraft, in addition to its convenient interface, immediately offers a full set of tools for creating large-scale email campaigns. These include built-in AMP support, centralized editing of styles and links, as well as integrations with both Russian and international services.

Ready to see it for yourself? Try Pixcraft today and experience how much easier your work with email templates can become.