Replacement Guide

How to Build Your Own Emma

Replace Emma with a custom build. Email marketing built for your ecosystem

Weekend Project
57 features1 integrationsOne weekend

Estimated Timeline

Based on 57 features at Weekend Project difficulty, expect about One weekend with AI-assisted development.

1
Setup & scaffolding
2 hours
2
Core features
4-6 hours
3
Polish & deploy
2 hours

Recommended Tech Stack

Next.js 14

Full-stack React framework with API routes and server components

Supabase

PostgreSQL database, auth, and real-time subscriptions

Tailwind CSS

Utility-first styling for rapid UI development

Resend

Transactional and marketing email delivery

Key Features to Replicate

Top features across 8 categories. See all 57 features

Administration(18 features)

Activity Dashboard

View recent activity for all your subaccounts right on your homepage

Approvals Dashboard

Review and approve email content and its recipients

Asset Sharing

Share images and documents across subaccounts

Audience Sharing

Share email contacts and audiences across subaccounts

Brand Controls

Powerful brand controls to ensure consistency and compliance across all emails

+13 more in this category

Support(8 features)

1:1 Onboarding Support

Personalized onboarding support to get you started

Deliverability Support

Expert deliverability team will help investigate any delivery issues that may arise

Email Support

Access to the industry-leading support team via email

Help Center

24/7 access to expansive library of resources and robust help documentation

In-App Support

Utilize the Emma Virtual Assistant to help you troubleshoot and contact support if needed

+3 more in this category

Marketing(7 features)

Email Campaigns

Send email campaigns to your audience

Email Scheduling

Set your email campaigns to be sent at a specified time and date

Landing Pages

Use landing page editor to easily create beautiful pages for your site

Signup Forms

Grow your lists with signup pages and pop-up forms

Smart SendAI

Analyzes past campaign engagement to target when your audience is most active and responsive

+2 more in this category

Automation(5 features)

Automation Builder

Create a series of automated emails that send based on a set trigger with journeys and branching points

Branching Points

Automatically check for specific interactions before deciding which email your audience should receive next

Custom Event-Driven Automations

Automate email campaigns using customer data from your website, CRM and eCommerce platform

Multiple Starting Points

Select from multiple triggers to begin your automated email series

Unlimited Automation

Create unlimited automated email journeys and campaigns

Design(5 features)

Asset Library

Store images and documents to use in email campaigns

Code Your Own Emails

Design emails with your own HTML code for advanced customization

Drag and Drop Email Editor

Easily create professional emails using content blocks without coding

Email Template Gallery

Choose from an extensive library of customizable, responsive email designs

Save Email Rows

Save pre-designed rows and reuse them in future emails

Analytics(3 features)

Comparative Reporting

Compare the results of multiple sent email campaigns

Real-Time Reporting

Watch response results roll in as your audience opens and clicks

Trends Reporting

Understand your best email send times, top trending email content and top trending subject lines

Audience(3 features)

Segmentation

Easily segment your audience into groups based on data stored in your account

Smart SegmentAI

Instantly generate segment filters based on your natural language description, saving setup time and providing a framework to refine from

Subscription Management

Manage the subscription preferences of your audience

Testing(3 features)

A/B Content Split Testing

Send two versions of an email to test which performs best

A/B Subject Line Split Testing

Send an email campaign with two different subject lines to test which performs best

Pre-Send Email Testing

Built in tools to preview, proofread and test your email campaigns before sending them out

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Emma

Monthly$99/mo
Yearly$1.2k/yr
5-Year Total$5.9k

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~4 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyVery Easy

Total Cost Comparison

1 YearSave $948
SaaS
$1.2k
DIY
$240
3 YearsSave $2.8k
SaaS
$3.6k
DIY
$720
5 YearsSave $4.7k
SaaS
$5.9k
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 57 features at very easy complexity.

Ready to Build?