Thousands of businesses around the globe use Aweber. But over the years, the email marketing platform is turning out to be a pain, especially on the segmentation and automation front. The lack of advanced automation features has compelled users to seek a reliable alternative to Aweber.
In this blog, we’ll share some of the best alternatives, including free Aweber competitors, to upgrade your email marketing automation experience.
Why Consider Aweber Alternatives?
Aweber is a popular email marketing automation software. However, many users complain that the solution is slowly becoming obsolete and confusing. Here are some reasons why users are considering other Aweber alternatives:
- Outdated & Confusing Interface. Many users complain that the UI feels laggy and looks obsolete compared to other email marketing tools. There are many non-useful features, and the outdated navigation isn’t helping anyone save time.
- Small Email Template Library. Aweber’s email templates are pretty limited and look dated regarding aesthetics and design. Plus, the lack of variety in templates turns off many serious marketers.
- Lack of Advanced Features. Aweber offers basic automation & segmentation capabilities. But that’s insufficient to create elaborate email sequences or deliver a personalized experience.
- Limited Customization Options. Most Aweber templates are designed for particular purposes. If you’re not happy with default templates, then Aweber will be limiting for you as limited customizations are available.
7 Best Aweber Alternatives in 2023
If you agree with Aweber’s limitations and are looking for better solutions for your marketing automation needs, here are the best Aweber competitors for you:
- Sender
- ActiveCampaign
- CampaignMonitor
- Mailjet
- Mailchimp
- GetResponse
- Convertkit
Let’s look at each one of these platforms one by one.
1. Sender – Best Aweber Alternative for Automation
If you’re disappointed by Aweber every time you’re trying to build automation, Sender should be your first choice. With an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop automation builder, create automated campaigns across SMS & emails quickly.
- Email and SMS automation;
- Smart segmentation and personalization features;
- Drag-and-drop builder for high-converting popups and emails;
- Excellent deliverability with dedicated IP.
Sender is an amazing solution for anyone who wants to automate their marketing campaigns and build long-term relationships simultaneously. Its smart segmentation capabilities let you run highly-personalized campaigns that boost conversion rates.
Sender also has useful features for eCommerce business owners, including automation for abandoned carts, win-back campaigns, and several other automation workflows to increase eCommerce revenue. You can also send web push notifications over SMS using Sender.
Along with all the standard email marketing features, Sender has impressive SMS marketing capabilities to ensure you never miss out on any opportunity to engage your potential customers.
Why is Sender the Best Aweber Alternative?
- Advanced omnichannel automation builder for email and SMS campaigns;
- Responsive email template library and drag-and-drop email builder;
- Forever-free plan for up to 2500 subscribers without feature restrictions;
- Behavior and activity-based trigger for marketing automation campaign.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Drag-and-drop email and SMS automation builder for automated campaigns | No landing page builder (yet) |
| Responsive email template library | Sender’s branding with Free plan |
| Affordable pricing plans |
Pricing
- Free forever plan for 2500 subscribers without any feature restrictions;
- Paid plan starts at $8 per month for 15,000 emails per month.
2. ActiveCampaign — Best Alternative for SMB Businesses
ActiveCampaign is another compelling Aweber competitor that works great for small to medium-sized businesses. It offers advanced email marketing automation, CRM, and sales automation features on a single platform.
- Drip campaign automation;
- CRM and sales automation features;
- Lead and contact scoring capabilities;
- Email personalization based on lead scores and segments.
ActiveCampaign’s automation workflows support crafting and scheduling personalized messages that cater to each customer’s needs. The CRM and sales automation features make managing leads and closing deals easier.
Sales automation, customer management, and funnel customization are where ActiveCampaign works really well. If you’re looking for a solution with extensive customer relationship management and event marketing features, ActiveCampaign can be a good alternative. However, the email design elements are pretty basic and feel restrictive.
Why is ActiveCampaign a Good Aweber Alternative?
- Powerful automation features;
- CRM integration;
- Excellent customer support.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Intuitive user interface | Expensive pricing plans for large email lists |
| Seamless lead scoring, CRM, and sales automation features | Confusing email automation builder |
| Advanced segmentation and personalization capabilities | Steep learning curve |
Pricing
- Starts at $29 per month for up to 500 subscribers;
- A 7-day free trial is available.
3. CampaignMonitor — Best in Terms of Simplicity & User-Friendliness
CampaignMonitor is a good Aweber alternative for business owners and marketers who appreciate simplicity and want advanced data insights simultaneously.
- Deep analytics and subscriber tracking features;
- Drag-and-drop email builder;
- A/B testing and optimization;
- Integrations with all major marketing, CRM & automation tools.
CampaignMonitor focuses on advanced marketing automation, deep analytics, and core email marketing capabilities, making it a viable Aweber alternative. Understanding campaign effectiveness becomes much easier with real-time tracking and subscriber behavior analysis.
CampaignMonitor also provides unique features to benefit small and medium-sized businesses, such as the Link Reviewer, which quickly catches and fixes broken links in email newsletters. However, CampaignMonitor has some drawbacks as Aweber, such as focusing on pumping out features rather than making them work effectively. As a result, users may encounter clunky UIs or broken features.
Why is CampaignMonitor a Good Aweber Alternative?
- Better, more responsive email templates than Aweber;
- Advanced customer segmentation capabilities based on subscriber activity;
- Excellent email deliverability rates;
- Automatic link checker to identify broken links in newsletters and emails.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Deep user tracking and analytics features | No landing page builder |
| Great email deliverability | Slow email builder |
| Powerful integration capabilities with all major marketing, CRM, and sales tools | Restrictive pricing plans (some features are available on top-tier plans) |
Pricing
- Free limited-period trial available for testing the platform;
- Paid plan starts at $9 per month for up to 500 subscribers and 2500 emails.
4. Mailjet — Best Competitor For Email Template Designs
Mailjet is a viable alternative if you’re tired of dull email templates offered by Aweber. It has a vast email library with refreshing templates for various businesses and uses.
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop email builder;
- Large email template library;
- Strong collaboration capabilities powered by an internal tool;
- Transactional email API.
An intuitive drag-and-drop email builder simplifies the process of creating responsive email campaigns. Plus, the transactional email API handles all your automated email campaigns for order confirmations, shipping confirmations, password resets, and more. The platform’s collaboration capabilities also help streamline your marketing workflow across teams.
If you need a fuss-free tool with a great template library and transactional email support, check out Mailjet.
Why Mailjet is a Good Aweber Alternative?
- Great collaboration features to save time in creating and launching an email campaign;
- Extensive template library with attractive email templates;
- Robust transactional email API;
- Detailed analytics and reporting.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Awesome email deliverability | Limited automation capabilities |
| Transactional email API | Slow customer support |
| Affordable pricing plans | Poor documentation |
Pricing
- Free plan to send up to 6000 emails monthly and store unlimited contacts;
- Paid plan starts at $15/month for sending up to 15000 emails.
5. Mailchimp — Best for Landing Page Builder
Mailchimp is a well-known email marketing solution with an easy-to-use landing page builder. This platform can be a great choice if you’re unsatisfied with Aweber’s builder. Create high-converting landing pages to attract sign-ups, grow your email list, promote your offer, and supercharge your email marketing efforts.
- Drag-and-drop landing page, form, and email builder;
- Standard segmentation and targeting options;
- Email optimization feature and appointment scheduling;
- Integrations with all major CRM, marketing, and automation solutions.
If you’re looking for fuel for the ‘Aweber vs. Mailchimp’ debate, here’s some information. Though Mailchimp appears more user-friendly, sophisticated, and modern than Aweber, its pricing strategy isn’t the most user-friendly.
It has a built-in form builder, campaign automation, and segmentation features, but users complain they pay more when they want to use the desired features. Even on the most expensive plans, some features must be unlocked by purchasing them additionally (as add-ons). Plus, you will be charged for every subscriber, including duplicates, wrong emails, and unsubscribed emails. Read the fine print associated with pricing plans before you make a switch.
Why Mailchimp is a Better Alternative to Aweber?
- Easy and human-friendly UI;
- Email template library;
- Intuitive landing page builder;
- Simple process workflow and standard features.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Intuitive UI | Predatory pricing model |
| Simple automation workflows | Limited reporting and analytics features |
| Integrations with popular apps | Restrictive segmentation and email list updation features |
Pricing
- Free plan for up to 500 contacts and 100 email sends per month with limited features;
- Paid plans start at $9.99 monthly for up to 500 contacts and 5000 email sends per month.
6. GetResponse — Good Alternative for CRM Features
GetResponse is a good choice for businesses looking for an alternative to Aweber with advanced features for managing customer relationships. It specializes in generating leads for your business, engaging/nurturing those leads by building relationships, and closing the sales cycle faster.
- Conversion funnel builder and automated campaign builder;
- eCommerce journey optimization using AI;
- Excellent deliverability and reputation;
- Behavioral segmentation and personalization features.
GetResponse has an interesting automation workflow builder to personalize messages for each customer quickly. It also has deep segmentation capabilities, an AI-powered journey builder, and intelligent CRM capabilities to ensure you never miss an opportunity to convert.
Moreover, it also supports transactional emails and has all the standard email marketing automation features, paid ads management, a landing page builder, and a powerful journey builder. Though, some users complain that not all features are fine-tuned. GetResponse is a good choice for businesses focusing on marketing and sales, but the learning curve and UI/UX might be challenging for some users.
Why is GetResponse a Good Aweber Alternative?
- Powerful conversion funnel and automation workflow builder;
- Inbuilt CRM, lead nurturing, and sales productivity features;
- Amazing deliverability for marketing as well as transactional emails;
- AI-powered recommendation engine for optimizing eCommerce flows.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Live chat widget feature for websites; | Limited reporting and analytics capabilities; |
| CRM and sales-friendly features and flows. | Costly plans; |
| AI-powered automation flow optimizer. | Extensive feature sets may confuse many business owners. |
Pricing
- Starts at $15.58 per month (billed annually) for up to 1000 subscribers;
- Free plan is also available for up to 500 subscribers and 2500 emails per month.
7. Convertkit — Feature-Rich Solution for Email Designs
Convertkit is a creator-first email marketing platform famous for its refreshing email newsletter templates and designs. The platform promotes itself as an all-in-one email marketing solution for artists, creators, influencers, and small business owners.
- Drag-and-drop email builder;
- Opt-in and lead magnet automation;
- Landing page/opt-in page builder;
- Standard automation features.
Convertkit offers all the standard features of a modern email marketing solution and tools to start, grow, and nurture an email list. It has excellent customization and creation features to help marketers create emails that stand out.
But don’t expect pro-level or advanced analytics or automation features. It has limited capabilities when it comes to creating scalable campaigns. The fixed seats on paid plans don’t make things easier for growing teams.
Why is ConvertKit a good Aweber Alternative?
- Attractive email templates and design-first approach to email marketing;
- Powerful opt-in funnels and automation to start and grow an email list;
- Lead magnet automation features;
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Simple and intuitive interface; | Basic reporting and analytics features; |
| Opt-in and nurturing automation campaigns; | Simple segmentation and personalization only; |
| Landing page builder. | Limited user seats, reducing chances of collaboration or scaling up. |
Pricing
- Paid plan starts at $9 per month for up to 300 subscribers;
- Free plan is also available with limited features and capabilities.
Free Alternatives to Aweber
You’re in for a surprise if you’re searching for the cheapest Aweber alternatives. Because we’ve identified three free options to use without breaking the bank. Use these solutions to do everything Aweber does without paying anything. Here are the three free competitors to Aweber:
- Sender
- Mailjet
- Mailchimp
Sender
Sender is a powerful marketing automation solution offering users a free-forever plan. Create and send up to 15000 emails to 2500 subscribers without paying a penny on the free plan.
It has a user-friendly drag-and-drop editor that makes it easy to create visually appealing emails. There’s a form builder, advanced automation capabilities, and many valuable features to start building and growing an email list.
Plus, the platform doesn’t impose any feature restrictions on users on a free plan. Use advanced drag-and-drop automation builder, get detailed campaign insights, and enjoy advanced automation features to scale up your marketing efforts without worrying about costs. Even the paid plan starts at $8 per month, in case you want to scale in the future.
Mailjet
Mailjet is another free email marketing service that allows you to create and send email campaigns. It has a user-friendly interface and offers a variety of email marketing templates to choose from.
Mailjet also offers a detailed analytics dashboard to track the success of your campaigns. With Mailjet, send up to 6,000 emails per month for free, but there’s a limit to sending up to 200 emails daily.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing services offering a free plan. However, the free plan is limited to 500 contacts and 1000 emails only.
Its drag-and-drop editor allows you to create visually appealing emails. One of the differentiating features of Mailchimp is that it allows you to create landing and opt-in pages quickly.
Overall, there are many free alternatives to Aweber for your email marketing campaigns. These three email providers – Sender, Mailjet, and Mailchimp – are just a few of the best alternatives to Aweber. Choose the one that best fits your needs.
Aweber Alternatives: Price & Feature Comparison Table
| Contacts | Sender | ActiveCampaign | CampaignMonitor | MailJet | Mailchimp | GetResponse | ConvertKit |
| Emails | Up to 2 500 (Free Plan) | 100 Contact (free plan) | Up to 500 contacts (Starter Plan) | Up to 200 (free plan) | Up to 500 (Free Plan) | up to 500 contacts (free plan) | – |
| Daily limits (Free account) | Up to 15 000 (Free Plan) | 100 emails (Free plan) | 2500 emails per month (Starter Plan) | Up to 6,000 (free plan) | Up to 1000 | 2500 emails per month (free plan) | – |
| Support | Unlimited | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| WordPress Integration | 24/7 Live Chat + Email | Email and Live Chat | Email Support | Email and Live Chat | Email-only, first 30 days | Email Support | Email Support |
| Email Automation | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” |
| Email Templates Library | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | Basic | “+” | “+” |
| Advanced Segmentation | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | Basic | “+” | “+” |
| Email Scheduling | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | Basic | “+” | Basic |
| Advanced Reporting | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | – | “+” | “+” |
| Geography & device reporting | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | – | Basic | Basic |
| Heat map reporting | “+” | “+” | – | “+” | – | – | – |
| Advanced open & click stats. | “+” | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Multi-user access | “+” | “+” | “+” | “+” | – | Basic | “+” |
| Pricing | Unlimited | 3 Users | Limited on Lower Plans | Yes | Limited on Lower Plans | Limited on Lower Plans | Limited on Lower Plans |
| $8 per month for 2500 subscribers and up to 15k emails per month | $9 per month for 500 subscribers | Paid plan starts at $9 per month for up to 500 subscribers and 2500 emails sent per month; | $15/month for up to 15000 emails | $9.36 per month for 500 subscribers and 5000 emails per month | Starts at $15.58 per month (billed annually) for up to 1000 subscribers; | Paid plan starts at $9 per month that supports only 300 subscribers; |
Key Takeaways: Aweber Alternatives
- Try the free plan of all major email marketing services before making a decision;
- Look out for hidden charges or fine print between pay-as-you-grow pricing plans of popular email marketing tools;
- Choose an Aweber substitute that offers a generous free plan for testing before final migration;
- Select an email marketing tool that offers advanced marketing automation capabilities with behavioral triggers and a drag-and-drop automation builder.
Also read:
- 10 Best Mailchimp Alternatives for 2023 (Incl. Free Competitors)
- 7 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives (Incl. Free Competitors)
- 12 Free Email Template Builders (HTML + Drag and Drop Editor)
Author Bio
Anmol Ratan Sachdeva is a content marketer and small business consultant who has a strong grip on topics like marketing automation, email marketing, and content marketing. He loves to write about building, improving, and growing a business.
