18 Essential Types of SaaS Emails You Need to Know

Most business owners focus on the quality of the product but neglect customer communication. The right email communication eliminates the need for customer support requests, builds strong connections, and helps you create a brand.

There is no doubt that email marketing is the most effective channel, with an overall ROI of 4,200%. But it's much more than that; it's the sole direct channel between your SaaS and your customers. For successful customer relations and better engagement, there are several types of SaaS email templates you can use that will save time, help you achieve professional branding, and manage a large user base. While some of these SaaS emails are must-haves, like account confirmations, onboardings, and password resets, others, like trial notifications, newsletters, and discount notifications, help you increase your conversions.

My suggestion is to think of these email types as a whole package for your SaaS and create and use email sequences that complete the entire user journey. Without further ado, here are the most common types of SaaS emails you can use in 2025:

Types of SaaS Emails with Examples

Let's start with the basics: "What is a SaaS email?" SaaS emails refer to types of emails used in the context of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) businesses. These emails are part of SaaS email marketing strategies and customer relations. They are meant to promote software services, engage users, support customer journeys, and notify users about required actions. SaaS emails can include welcome messages, trial reminders, product updates, reactivation prompts, account notifications, promotional offers, and feedback requests to nurture customer relationships and drive conversions.

• SaaS email primarily relates to marketing and transactional emails sent by SaaS companies to users or customers.
• Types include welcome emails, trial notifications, product updates, promotional offers, and transactional messages like password resets.

1. Welcome Email / Onboarding Email

• What it is: The first email a new user gets after signing up. It confirms they made a great choice and starts guiding them.
• When to use: Immediately after sign-up.
• Best for: Every single SaaS. Non-negotiable.
• Benefits: Reduces early confusion, sets the tone, and drives first key actions.

2. Account Confirmation Email

• What it is: A functional email asking the user to confirm their email address is real.
• When to use: During the sign-up process.
• Best for: All SaaS to ensure list hygiene and security.
• Benefits: Verifies a real user, protects against fake accounts, and is a required step for security.

3. Password Reset Email

• What it is: A secure email with a link to reset a forgotten password.
• When to use: When a user clicks "Forgot Password?"
• Best for: Every SaaS that has logins.
• Benefits: Solves a frustrating problem instantly, reducing support tickets and failed login attempts.

4. Product Intro Email

• What it is: Part of the onboarding sequence. It highlights a core feature and shows the user how to use it.
• When to use: In the first few days after sign-up.
• Best for: SaaS with multiple features or a slightly complex interface (e.g., project management tools, design software).
• Benefits: Increases product understanding and shows immediate value.

5. Feature Adoption & Feature Education Emails

• What they are: Emails that teach users about a specific feature they aren't using yet.
  • Adoption: "Did you know you can do X?" (aimed at new features).
  • Education: "Here's a pro tip for using Y." (aimed at existing features).
• When to use: When data shows a user isn't using a valuable feature.
• Best for: Mature SaaS products with extensive feature sets.
• Benefits: Increases product usage and stickiness, making the tool more essential.

6. Free Trial Reminder Email

• What it is: An email that tells a trial user how much time they have left and what they'll lose if they don't convert.
• When to use: During a free trial (e.g., at the 3-day and 1-day marks).
• Best for: SaaS that offers free trials.
• Benefits: Creates urgency and directly drives paid conversions.

7. Trial Expiration Email

• What it is: An email sent immediately after a trial ends.
• When to use: The day the trial expires.
• Best for: SaaS that offers free trials.
• Benefits: One last chance to convert the user, or to understand why they didn't convert.

8. Upgrade Email & Limit Reached Email

• What they are: Emails prompting a user to move to a higher-tier plan.
  • Upgrade: Proactive ("Unlock more features!").
  • Limit Reached: Reactive ("You've hit your storage limit, upgrade to continue.").
• When to use: When a user's usage nears or hits their plan's limit, or when they achieve a milestone that suggests they need more power.
• Best for: Freemium or multi-tier SaaS products (e.g., cloud storage, marketing platforms).
• Benefits: Directly increases revenue (Average Revenue Per User - ARPU).

9. Payment Confirmation Email

• What it is: A receipt. It confirms a payment was successfully processed.
• When to use: After any successful payment (new or recurring).
• Best for: Every paid SaaS.
• Benefits: Provides trust and clarity for the customer, and reduces "was I charged?" support tickets.

10. Milestone / Reward Email

• What it is: An email celebrating a user's achievement (e.g., "You've published 100 posts!" or "You've earned a badge!").
• When to use: When a user hits a significant usage milestone.
• Best for: SaaS focused on engagement and community (e.g., social media schedulers, learning platforms).
• Benefits: Builds positive emotion, encourages continued use, and fosters loyalty.

11. Invite a Team Member Email

• What it is: An email generated by a user to invite a colleague to join the tool.
• When to use: When a user clicks "Invite Team" or similar.
• Best for: Collaborative or B2B SaaS (e.g., Slack, Asana, Figma).
• Benefits: Drives viral growth, increases the product's value (more users = more sticky), and expands the account.

12. New Post Newsletter

• What it is: A regular digest (weekly/monthly) highlighting new blog content, product updates, or industry news.
• When to use: On a regular schedule.
• Best for: SaaS companies that invest in content marketing or have frequent product updates.
• Benefits: Drives traffic to your blog, educates users, and positions your brand as an expert.

13. Feedback Email

• What it is: A request for a user's opinion, often via a survey or a reply-to email.
• When to use: After a user has experienced a key feature or has been a customer for a while.
• Best for: All SaaS, especially in early stages or when researching new features.
• Benefits: Provides invaluable product insight and makes users feel heard.

14. Sign-In Alert Email

• What it is: A security email notifying a user of a new sign-in from a new device or location.
• When to use: Automatically after a suspicious or new login.
• Best for: Any SaaS handling sensitive data.
• Benefits: Critical for security. Alerts users to potential unauthorized access, building immense trust.

15. Re-engagement Email

• What it is: An email designed to win back a lapsed or inactive user.
• When to use: After a period of inactivity (e.g., no login for 30 days).
• Best for: SaaS with a risk of users "forgetting" to use the tool.
• Benefits: Wakes up dormant users, potentially saving them from churning.

16. Winback Email

• What it is: An email sent after a customer has canceled, trying to get them back.
• When to use: Shortly after cancellation.
• Best for: SaaS with high-value customers or competitive markets.
• Benefits: Can recover lost revenue and win back customers who left for the wrong reasons.

17. Discount Email / Promotion Email

• What it is: An email offering a limited-time price reduction.
• When to use: Strategically. For holidays, to win back canceled users, or to encourage annual upgrades.
• Best for: Most SaaS, but must be used carefully to not devalue the product.
• Benefits: Effective at overcoming hesitation, driving conversions, and clearing end-of-quarter goals.

18. Sign-up Reactivation Email

• What it is: An email sent to someone who started to sign up but never finished (e.g., didn't confirm their email).
• When to use: A few hours or a day after an incomplete sign-up.
• Best for: SaaS with a multi-step signup process.
• Benefits: Recovers potentially lost leads and completes the acquisition process.

Key Takeaways

For SaaS businesses, transactional emails are just as important as promotional emails. Every type of email template complements the others in the user’s journey and helps your brand build strong relationships with your customers.

Every email should have a clear goal. Is it to:

• Teach? (Onboarding, Education)
• Help? (Password Reset, Confirmation)
• Sell? (Upgrade, Trial Reminder)
• Retain? (Milestone, Newsletter)
• Protect? (Sign-in Alert)

Think about the user's journey and what they need to feel successful at each stage. That's what dictates the right email.

You can create professional SaaS email templates in seconds using Tabular. Tabular is a drag-and-drop email builder that helps SaaS businesses design professional email templates for every need, with premade customizable modules and free email templates.