Staffbase Alternatives: Why You Should Choose ContactMonkey

We understand the importance of choosing the right internal communications tool for your workplace. After all, you’ll need to onboard it, roll it out, and introduce it to your team. If you’re debating between Staffbase and ContactMonkey, we’ve put together some key differentiators to make your software decision an easier one.

If you’re an internal communicator, chances are you’ve heard about Staffbase. Maybe your team even uses it. Staffbase is a solid platform, but depending on your needs, it may not fit the bill.

If your day-to-day involves building emails, tracking employee engagement, and trying to drive real-time feedback from your workforce, then you might prefer a software solution designed specifically for internal communicators. 

This guide is for internal communicators who are exploring Staffbase alternatives who may be underwhelmed by Staffbase analytics or looking for a more agile, email-first solution.

Why Internal Comms Teams Are Looking for Staffbase Alternatives

We speak with hundreds of internal communicators each month and have identified consistent feature gaps and challenges with Staffbase. 

Here are the key challenges that lead communicators to seek Staffbase alternatives for their internal email solution: 

Gaps identified in Staffbase by real users:

• No segment or audience customization to target the right employees with the right message.
• No searchable photo or asset library, which slows down email creation.
• Can’t see exactly which email addresses opened or didn’t open an email (only device-based data with Outlook DLs).
• Can’t send test emails without inserting the sender’s info, which complicates reviews.
• No ability to save custom content blocks for re-use and brand consistency.
  

Many teams are also cautious about relying on future product updates. While Staffbase, like most other SaaS solutions, does roll out product improvements, these things take time. If your contract is hinging on features that are not currently live, it may be worth exploring other solutions that already have. 

Voice of the Customer: Biggest Challenges with Staffbase

Beyond lacking features, another key reason for considering Staffbase alternatives is that they’re phasing out the very tool some teams rely on. 

Staffbase email offers two email builders: the newer Designer tool and an older Rich Text Editor. Many customers still use the Rich Text Editor for straightforward, plain-style internal emails. But as one user shared:

“They [Staffbase] are no longer investing in the Rich Text Editor tool, which is more of the plain-style email we’re currently sending. It’s basically a legacy tool at this point.”

The problem doesn’t end there:

• Engineering support is no longer prioritized for the Rich Text Editor, so when issues arise, they stay broken.
• Compatibility is inconsistent—emails sometimes break in Gmail, and Staffbase won’t fix it: “Staffbase isn’t willing to work on it, and Gmail is going to do what they’re going to do.”
  

Staffbase is also discontinuing its Outlook plugin, pushing teams to rely solely on a web-based dashboard—adding friction for internal communicators who rely on Outlook for day-to-day workflows.

Below is what else we’ve heard from real users on operational and technical challenges with Staffbase.

Challenges with sending from the Staffbase dashboard:

• External message delivery: Emails are delivered as external messages, requiring employees to manually download images.
  
• Email size: Messages must be kept under a certain size or risk being flagged as spam.
  
• Audience management: Manual distribution list creation is needed, as users can’t access Outlook lists from within Staffbase.
  
• Setup delays: Long onboarding times—some users said it took ages just to begin sending emails.
  
• Collaboration limits: Multiple users cannot edit emails at the same time, making team collaboration difficult.
  
• Template stability: Frequent bugs with the email builder, including lost work due to autosave failures.
  

Metrics and reporting challenges:

• Inaccurate analytics: Staffbase’s Outlook add-in tracks data at the device level, not the individual level.
  
• Cumbersome reporting: Pulling metrics is time-consuming and lacks automation.
  
• Abandoned integrations: Teams gave up on setting up WorkDay integration due to the long delay in enabling email sending—resorting to manual CSV uploads from IT.
  

Template ownership pain point:

• Locked ownership: Users can’t reassign template ownership. Every personnel change requires reaching out to Staffbase support.
  

Recipient experience limitations:

• Workarounds required: Some teams insert a shared mailbox in the “To” field so the email doesn’t appear blank—because Staffbase uses BCC for tracking, creating a confusing user experience.
  

These real-world frustrations are part of why so many teams are actively searching for Staffbase alternatives—not just based on features, but on usability, speed, and the ability to scale communications without bottlenecks. While small in nature, these gaps add up, making Staffbase harder to scale, harder to maintain, and harder to love.

Let’s Talk About Staffbase Pricing

One of the biggest reasons communicators go looking for Staffbase alternatives is the pricing.

Staffbase uses a quote-based model. Depending on your organization’s size, app needs, and feature add-ons, your annual costs can spiral upwards fast: 

Staffbase pricing is often:

• Pricing tiers that lack analytics
• Increased by plug-ins for email and analytics
• Tied to tiered support and onboarding
  

In contrast, ContactMonkey offers:

• Pricing tiers that always include analytics
• All-in-one functionality (email, feedback, analytics)
• White-glove onboarding and ongoing support
  

When comparing Staffbase pricing to ContactMonkey’s structure, it becomes clear: you may be paying more for unnecessary complexity.

BONUS: Not sure where the exact value lies for internal comms? Here’s a breakdown of why internal communication is important and how it impacts engagement, retention, and productivity. If you’re looking to have budget approved, you can use this to justify investment in an internal comms platform that helps you do more with less.

What Do Staffbase Customers Actually Use It For?

If you scan through G2 reviews and customer feedback, a clear pattern emerges: most Staffbase customers use the platform for broader, top-down communications—not agile, everyday internal emails.

Here’s what Staffbase is most often used for:

• Employee intranet hubs for housing company news, HR resources, and leadership messages
• Mobile apps for frontline or distributed teams
• Push notifications and alerts for time-sensitive updates
• Branded newsletters created via the Designer tool
  

These use cases make sense—especially for large enterprises with complex comms needs and IT support. But for many internal communications teams, these features don’t align with their day-to-day reality. 

What internal communicators often want is something faster, lighter, and easier:

• A way to send a weekly update or CEO message without switching platforms
• Built-in feedback loops to measure sentiment in real time
• A tool that plays nicely with Outlook, Gmail, and existing distribution lists

If that sounds like you, here are some internal communication examples to help you reimagine what’s possible when your tools work with—not against—you.

When Staffbase email falls short, many users look for Staffbase alternatives built for email-first communication—like ContactMonkey.

Who Uses What? A Look at Staffbase vs ContactMonkey Customers

The line between Staffbase and ContactMonkey isn’t about company size—it’s about priorities and the kind of support your comms team needs.

• Staffbase customers are typically large enterprise organizations with deep IT involvement. They tend to lean on the platform for intranet solutions, mobile employee apps, and structured, top-down communications. These organizations usually have the resources to manage platform workarounds, manually upload CSVs, and maintain two sets of distribution lists.
  
• ContactMonkey customers include enterprise teams, too—but they’re usually internal comms professionals who want autonomy without IT dependencies. These teams want a tool that works inside their existing tech stack (like Outlook or Gmail), gives them granular analytics features, and lets them launch campaigns quickly.
  

Enterprise doesn’t have to mean complex. Many large organizations are switching to ContactMonkey because it offers
enterprise-grade functionality, like segmentation features, dynamic content, and analytics—without the enterprise bloat.

So whether you’re a five-person team or a global enterprise, ContactMonkey is built for internal communicators who need power and speed—minus the red tape.

BONUS: Curious what else you can do with ContactMonkey? Explore 30+ ways to use ContactMonkey for internal communication.

What Makes ContactMonkey Different

After hearing all the challenges internal comms teams face with Staffbase—from missing analytics and rigid templates to delayed setups and lack of collaboration—it’s clear that communicators need a tool that simply works, right out of the box.

Here’s how ContactMonkey stands out: 

• Seamless Outlook and Gmail integration: Send straight from your inbox without separate logins, IT bottlenecks, or deliverability issues, thanks to Integration Features.
  
• Event management: Create, track, and manage internal events directly from your comms dashboard—no third-party tools required, just the Event Management Feature.
  
• Real-time, individual-level analytics: Know who opened your message, how long they read it, and what they clicked. No more guessing.
  
• Reusable content blocks: Design once, save forever. Maintain brand consistency and cut down on creation time with Dynamic Content.
  
• Dynamic segmentation and targeting: Customize messages based on department, role, location, and more with our List Management Feature and dynamic content blocks that change based on who’s receiving the email.
  
• Collaborative editing: Multiple team members can build emails together in real time.
  
• Searchable asset library: Quickly find logos, photos, and files without combing through folders.
  
• Test emails without metadata: Preview designs cleanly, just as your employees will see
  
• SMS, surveys, and RSVPs: Manage multi-channel internal comms in one dashboard.
  

While other tools try to be everything to everyone, ContactMonkey is laser-focused on what internal communicators actually need: flexibility, usability, visibility, and proof of impact.

You won’t be stuck waiting on a roadmap. You won’t be emailing support just to swap template owners. And you won’t need to worry about work getting erased because your platform forgot to auto-save.

You’ll just be doing your job—better, faster, and smarter.

BONUS: If you’re an internal communicator with a strategy prioritizing culture and retention, explore these 10 ways to improve employee engagement and turn your comms into a competitive advantage. 

What Internal Communicators Love About ContactMonkey

When you’re evaluating new internal comms software, what really matters is what real users are saying once they’re in the day-to-day trenches of sending emails, tracking engagement, and collaborating with teammates.

Here’s what actual internal communicators have shared about their experience with ContactMonkey on G2. These aren’t cherry-picked marketing lines—they’re candid stories and unfiltered takes from people who have used ContactMonkey and seen the impact:

“The best thing I like about ContactMonkey is that the UI makes it very easy to create emails or edit from templates. The customer support in most cases responds very quickly and provides helpful information.”
— Sajal M., Enterprise User​ G2

“Excited to learn more! It’s also great for people like me who are not necessarily well-versed in tech – Many of us in internal comms are primarily communicators, writers & editors – so it’s a pleasure to use a platform that is easy and intuitive to navigate. Also great for reporting to senior execs and seeing what’s working and what’s not at a glance – GREAT customer support – Always there when we need help!”
— Anonymous Reviewer​ G2

“Great customer service and user-friendly system! The integration with Microsoft makes it easy for me to align with our internal systems and utilize our existing distribution lists.”
— Danielle T., Director of Communications​ G2

“Great service but needs customization. The interface is very user friendly and it’s intuitive even for beginners. Template builders works perfectly and covers it all.”
— Jana K., Enterprise User​ G2

“Enjoy Contact Monkey for our internal newsletter. The use of internal communication is nice. I also like Kaitlin our customer support specialist.”
— Samar F., Public Relations Specialist​ G2

BONUS: Want to learn how storytelling can boost your comms? Start with these internal communications storytelling tips to inspire your team.

Quick Breakdown: Staffbase vs. ContactMonkey

Still comparing? We get it. When you’re investing in internal comms software, it’s not just about features, it’s about fit. 

Here’s a side-by-side look at how Staffbase and ContactMonkey stack up when it comes to usability, flexibility, and the tools you actually need to do your job well:

Feature	Staffbase	ContactMonkey
Core Focus	Intranet & mobile comms	Internal email & comms analytics
Email capabilities	Add-on or limited	Native and central
Ease of use	Enterprise-heavy	Plug-and-play (no IT)
Integrations	Complex setup	Outlook, Gmail, HRIS—done in minutes
Feedback loops	Optional extras	Built-in polls, emoji reactions, surveys
Analytics	Limited without extras	Real-time, individual-based analytics
Price	Custom, often high	Transparent, scalable

BONUS: While this comparison makes sense to you as an internal communicator, your leadership is likely asking you to prove ROI. Read this post on measuring ROI for employee engagement to access strategies that you can take back to leadership. 

Staffbase Alternatives for Internal Communications Software (and Why They Also Don’t Stack Up)

If you’ve Googled Staffbase alternatives, you’ve likely run into names like:

• Poppulo: Strong multichannel support, but overly complex for email-focused IC teams.
  
• Firstup: Great for mobile workforces, but again, better suited to enterprise use with more resources.
  
• Haiilo: Beautiful interface, limited analytics.
  
• SnapComms: Solid alerts, weak in email customization and user data insights.
  
• Cerkl Broadcast: AI-curated emails, but limited in segmentation and depth of feedback.
  

Most of these Staffbase competitors are trying to be everything. ContactMonkey isn’t. It’s laser-focused on helping you create better internal emails, gather instant feedback, and prove your impact.

TL;DR: Why Choose ContactMonkey

If you’ve been nodding along while reading about Staffbase’s limitations—from slow setups and limited analytics to collaboration headaches—here’s your bottom line about why you should choose ContactMonkey:

• Built for Outlook and Gmail users.
  
• Powerful feedback tools baked in.
  
• Real-time email analytics (yes, you can ditch those “Did you get my email?” follow-ups).
  
• Clearer pricing than Staffbase pricing.
  
• A true alternative to Staffbase email without the bloat.
  
• Trusted by thousands of internal comms teams worldwide.
  

Overall, ContactMonkey helps you improve your internal communication. If you’re looking for Staffbase alternatives that help you do more with less—less time, less money, less complexity—ContactMonkey is the tool you were hoping existed. And now you know it does.

Ready to see ContactMonkey for yourself? Get ready to share your internal comms goals and book a 15-minute call to see how our team can help you meet them.