Dubsend and Promoly compared
Both send unreleased music to DJs, radio and press and collect feedback before the download. The main differences are what you pay for, who receives the promo, and the extra tools each one includes.
Published .
Dubsend publishes this page. It compares our product with Promoly using Promoly's public website and help centre, listed under Sources with the day we checked them. Prices and features change, so check their site before you decide.
What each one does
Promoly describes itself as a way to "send pre-release promos to DJs, radio contacts, bloggers, and journalists". It records opens, plays and downloads, collects written feedback and puts the results in a shareable campaign report. On top of your own contacts, every plan can send to its Tastemaker Network, a pool of DJs and tastemakers who applied to receive promos.
Dubsend sends promos to your own list only: DJs, radio and press you know or who joined your list. Each person gets a personal promo page in your branding where they stream, give feedback and download files tagged with their name, and you see how many seconds each person played of each track.
Prices
| Promoly | Dubsend | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | A 7-day trial with 150 sends, no card | Free plan with no time limit: 1 promo every 30 days, 100 recipients a month |
| Monthly plans | Starter £15 (300 sends), Basic £29 (750), Pro £59 (2,000), Premium £119 (15,000) a month | Artist £12 (500 recipients), Label £29 (2,500), Pro £79 (10,000) a month |
| What the limit counts | Sends: each email, reminders included | Unique people emailed in a calendar month: reminders to the same person don't count again |
| Promos | Unlimited campaigns | Unlimited promos on paid plans |
| Yearly billing | 20% off | 2 months free |
| Extra capacity | £7 per 250 extra sends a month | Move up a plan |
| VAT | Not stated on the pricing page | Included in the price |
An example. A label with 1,000 contacts sends 2 promos a month to all of them. That is 2,000 sends on Promoly, which fits the Pro plan at £59 a month, and reminders would use more sends on top. On Dubsend the same label emails 1,000 unique people a month, which fits the Label plan at £29 a month with VAT included, and the reminders don't count again.
A label that sends one promo a month to 250 people fits Promoly's Starter plan at £15 a month. On Dubsend it fits the Artist plan at £12 a month, or the Free plan if its list has 100 people or fewer and it sends once every 30 days.
Who receives the promo
- Promoly sends to your contacts and, on every plan, can add DJs from its Tastemaker Network. DJs apply to join, list their genres and preferred audio formats, and Promoly reviews each application. You can filter the pool by genre, role, location and format.
- Dubsend sends only to your own list. There is no pool, and Dubsend doesn't provide or sell contacts. Lists grow through CSV import with a consent record, a join page with double opt-in, and invitations that show your label's card.
If you want reach beyond the people you know, Promoly's pool is built for that. If you want every promo to go to people who chose your label, Dubsend is built for that. Promo pool or your own list? goes through the trade-offs.
Feedback, files and the promo page
| Promoly | Dubsend | |
|---|---|---|
| Feedback before download | A setting per campaign: a star rating and a written comment unlock the download | The default, with optional and off modes per promo |
| What feedback asks | A 1 to 5 star rating and a comment; reports also show a support level when the DJ gave one | 1 to 5 stars, a favourite track, how they will support it (In my sets, Radio show, Playlist or Not sure yet) and a comment of at least 15 characters, or Pass |
| Uploads | WAV and MP3 on the pricing page; its help centre also lists AIFF, FLAC and M4A | WAV, AIFF or FLAC |
| What DJs download | The formats you upload: upload several formats of a track and each is offered | MP3, WAV and AIFF from one upload, made by Dubsend, the WAV unchanged |
| Files tagged with the recipient's name | Not stated in Promoly's pages | Yes, name and email in every file |
| Account needed to listen | No, DJs listen in the browser | No, a personal link that opens in any browser |
Reminders
Promoly can send an automatic reminder after five days to contacts who didn't listen or download the first time, and the Pro plan and above can choose the delay. Each reminder uses a send.
Dubsend sends up to two reminders (after 3 and 10 days by default, both editable) to people who haven't opened the promo page, downloaded or given feedback, and a Nudge button emails people who listened and left no feedback, once each. Nobody gets more than 3 emails per promo, and reminders don't count as new recipients.
Stats and reports
Promoly logs opens, plays, downloads, views, feedback, unsubscribes and bounces for each recipient, with a contact CRM and engagement scores. Its shareable campaign report hides email addresses, and you can save it as a PDF from the browser.
Dubsend counts the seconds each person actually played, track by track, and lists opens caused by email privacy tools (such as Apple Mail) separately. You share a read-only report link, with an end date if you like, or download a PDF, with DJ names shown or hidden. Reports never show email addresses.
Branding, brands and teams
| Promoly | Dubsend | |
|---|---|---|
| Look of the email and page | A sender profile per label with its own display name and logo | Paid plans: your logo, colours, fonts and one of four layouts on the email and the page |
| Sent from | A Promoly address with your sender name; its help centre says you can't send from your own domain today | "Your brand via Dubsend" at mail.dubsend.com |
| Labels per account | Sender profiles: 1, 2, 3 or 7 by plan, plus £3 a month each extra | Brands: 1 on Free, Artist and Label, 5 on Pro |
| Team seats | 1, 1, 2 or 3 by plan; extra seats £9 a month on Pro and above | 1 on Free and Artist, 3 on Label, 10 on Pro, with Editor and Viewer roles |
Where Promoly fits better
- You want to reach DJs beyond your own contacts: its Tastemaker Network is included in every plan.
- You want fan-facing tools in the same account: smartlinks, pre-save pages that collect fan email addresses, Bandcamp download codes and event campaigns.
- You want AI help writing campaign copy and building audiences.
- You need several sender profiles at a low price each.
Where Dubsend fits better
- You want a free plan with no time limit to send real promos.
- You want to pay for the people you reach, with reminders that don't use up your limit.
- You want feedback before download as the default, with a support pick and a Pass button.
- You want to upload once and let DJs choose MP3, WAV and AIFF, every file tagged with their name.
- You want listening time per track as the main number, with privacy-tool opens kept apart.
- You want the email and the promo page in your own brand kit.
- You want more team seats included, private links for one person, and a free inbox where DJs keep every promo.
Moving to Dubsend
- Export your contacts as a CSV file from your current tool or your own records.
- Import it into Dubsend and record how you got consent. Only import people who joined your own list: contacts from a shared pool gave their consent to the pool.
- Set up your brand kit and send your next promo. Your earlier campaigns and reports stay where they are.
Questions
Is Dubsend cheaper than Promoly?
It depends on how you send. Promoly counts every email, reminders included; Dubsend counts each person once a month. A label emailing 1,000 contacts 2 times a month needs Promoly's £59 Pro plan, or Dubsend's £29 Label plan with VAT included. A small list sent once a month fits Promoly's £15 Starter or Dubsend's £12 Artist plan.
Does Dubsend have a DJ pool like Promoly?
No. Dubsend sends only to your own list and doesn't provide or sell contacts.
Is there a free plan?
Promoly has a 7-day trial with 150 sends. Dubsend has a free plan with no time limit: 1 promo every 30 days, 100 recipients a month.
Can I bring my contacts?
Yes. Import a CSV file into Dubsend, up to 10,000 rows per file, and record how you got consent for each import.
Sources
- Promoly home page, checked
- Promoly pricing, checked
- Promoly features, checked
- Promoly DJ pool, checked
- Promoly: feedback collection, checked
- Promoly terms, checked
- Promoly help: cost, checked
- Promoly help: sends, checked
- Promoly help: reminders, checked
- Promoly help: promo pool, checked
- Promoly help: audio formats, checked
- Promoly help: feedback reports, checked
- Promoly help: sender profiles, checked