- Premium features included
- No hidden costs or usage limits
- Scale from startup to enterprise
After spending months testing Sender vs. GetResponse, I’ve learned that picking the right email marketing tool isn’t about finding the “best” one—it’s about finding the right fit for your specific needs. Both Sender and GetResponse have carved out solid positions in the market, but they serve different audiences and priorities.
I’ve dug deep into both platforms, testing features, analyzing pricing, and even reaching out to support teams at 2 AM to see who actually shows up. This comparison cuts through the marketing fluff to give you the real story—where each platform shines, where they stumble, and which one will likely work best for your business.
Sender is a cost-effective email marketing platform that launched in 2012, focusing on delivering powerful features without the enterprise price tag. It’s built around unlimited email automation, SMS marketing integration, and a generous free plan that includes nearly all features available to paid users.
The platform prioritizes simplicity and value, making advanced marketing tools accessible without tiered feature restrictions.
GetResponse has been around since 1998 and has evolved into a comprehensive all-in-one marketing platform. It offers everything from email marketing to webinar hosting, conversion funnels, landing pages, website builders, and course creation tools.
This breadth makes it genuinely versatile for businesses needing multiple marketing channels under one roof—though this comes at a higher cost, with essential features often locked behind premium tiers.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Free Plan
2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails/month
500 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month
Starting Price
$7/month (1,000 contacts)
$15/month (1,000 contacts)
Email Automation
Unlimited workflows on free plan
Limited on Starter, advanced on higher plans
Webinar Hosting
No
Yes (Marketer plan and above)
Conversion Funnels
No
Yes (included)
SMS Marketing
Yes (from Standard plan)
Yes (Enterprise plan only)
24/7 Support
All plans
Paid plans only
Bottom line: Sender delivers exceptional value for businesses focused on email and SMS marketing, offering nearly all features across all plans at significantly lower costs. GetResponse provides more marketing channels and tools in one platform, but you’ll pay premium prices—especially if you need advanced automation or ecommerce features.
Sender keeps email campaigns refreshingly simple. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor makes creating email campaigns effortless—you can design from scratch or customize responsive templates with your brand elements.
Built-in A/B testing (up to 8 variants) helps optimize subject lines and content for higher engagement, while scheduling ensures your campaigns go out at the perfect time. With personalization tags and real-time performance tracking, Sender streamlines campaign creation from design to delivery.
GetResponse takes campaigns further with more sophisticated options. Their “Perfect Timing” feature analyzes each subscriber’s past engagement and automatically sends your campaign at the optimal individual time within a 24-hour window.
You get more template variety (240+ templates vs. Sender’s smaller library), advanced personalization using custom fields and behavioral data, and the ability to create more complex email series. The AI email generator is a nice touch for writer’s block moments, though it’s not revolutionary.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Email Templates
100+
240+
A/B Testing
Yes (up to 8 variants)
Yes (up to 5 variations)
AI Content Assistant
No
Yes
Time Zone Sending
No
Yes (Time Travel)
Personalization
Basic merge tags
Advanced dynamic content
Winner: GetResponse edges ahead for larger campaigns requiring sophisticated personalization and more template variety, though Sender delivers solid core functionality at a fraction of the cost.
Sender’s drag-and-drop builder feels lighter and faster, with a clean interface that minimizes menu clutter. You can easily add visuals using free stock photos from Unsplash, or upload your own images.
All emails are automatically mobile-responsive, and you can preview designs across devices before sending. For advanced customization, you can switch to HTML editing anytime to fine-tune your layout or code elements manually.
GetResponse’s editor offers a more feature-rich environment with extensive customization options. You get a full HTML editor for developers who want granular control, more styling options for individual elements, and a larger template library with 247+ professionally designed templates organized by industry and use case.
The interface provides more buttons, panels, and configuration options throughout, which gives you flexibility but can feel cluttered if you’re just trying to build a simple newsletter.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Yes
Yes
HTML Editor
Yes
Yes
Mobile Optimization
Automatic
Automatic
Image Library
Stock photos included
Stock photos included
Winner: Tied. Sender wins on simplicity and speed; GetResponse wins on flexibility and variety. Choose based on whether you value ease-of-use or advanced customization.
Sender includes SMS marketing starting from the Standard plan ($7/month), and you get free SMS credits on Pro. You can create SMS campaigns alongside your emails, set up SMS automation workflows, and manage everything from one dashboard.
The pay-as-you-go credits system for SMS is straightforward, though rates vary by country. I’ve found the deliverability to be solid, and the character counter prevents costly mistakes.
GetResponse only offers SMS on their Enterprise (MAX) plan, which requires custom pricing. They also require separate SMS credit top-ups beyond the monthly fee. For US and Canada markets, you’ll need brand registration and campaign registration with additional monthly fees. It’s powerful but expensive and complicated compared to simpler alternatives.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Availability
Standard plan+ ($7/mo)
Enterprise only (custom)
SMS Automation
Yes
Yes
Global Coverage
190+ countries
Global (via top-ups)
Pricing Model
Pay-as-you-go credits
Enterprise + separate credits
Integration with Email
Unified dashboard
Unified dashboard
Winner: Sender dominates SMS marketing with accessible pricing and inclusion on affordable plans. GetResponse’s enterprise-only restriction makes SMS impractical for small to mid-sized businesses.
Sender gives you unlimited automation workflows even on the free plan. You can build welcome series, abandoned cart sequences, re-engagement campaigns—all the essential automations work out of the box. The visual workflow builder is intuitive, with drag-and-drop functionality that makes complex sequences manageable.
You can add A/B split paths to test different messages or timing within your automations. The pre-built templates cover common scenarios, and you can trigger automations based on subscriber activity, time-based triggers, list changes, and custom events.
GetResponse’s automation is more sophisticated but requires paid plans for the good bits. The visual builder is excellent with more conditional logic options, A/B split testing within workflows, and advanced segmentation triggers.
Lead scoring helps prioritize hot prospects, and the event tracking integrates with your website to trigger emails based on specific page visits. The Marketer plan ($48/month) is where automation really opens up—Basic/Starter users get minimal automation capabilities.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Availability
All plans (including free)
Starter+ (limited), Marketer for advanced
Workflow Complexity
Moderate
High
Pre-built Templates
Yes
Yes
Lead Scoring
No
Yes (Marketer+)
A/B Splits
Yes
Yes (Marketer+)
Winner: For accessibility and value, Sender wins by offering powerful automation to everyone. For complexity and sophistication, GetResponse takes it—if you’re willing to pay.
Sender offers basic contact management with custom fields, tagging, segmentation, and activity tracking. You can see subscriber engagement history and create segments based on behavior, but don’t expect pipeline management or deal tracking. It works well for email-focused businesses but won’t replace tools like Salesforce.
GetResponse includes more robust CRM tools, especially on higher-tier plans. You get contact scoring, more detailed activity timelines, better integration with sales processes, and the ability to track deals through simple pipelines.
It’s still not a dedicated CRM, but it’s closer than Sender. For small teams managing both marketing and sales from one platform, GetResponse provides more structure.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Contact Management
Yes
Yes
Custom Fields
Unlimited
Unlimited
Lead Scoring
No
Yes
Deal Pipelines
No
Basic
Winner: GetResponse offers superior CRM-like features for businesses needing light sales management alongside email marketing. Sender is perfectly adequate for pure marketing use cases.
Sender includes built-in tools for creating signup forms, popups, and landing pages—unlimited on paid plans (1 landing page on Free). You can create standard signup forms, popup overlays, embedded forms, and gamified spin-to-win wheels. The platform excels at popup targeting with exit intent detection, scroll depth triggers, time on page, and custom event triggers.
The form builder supports multi-step forms with conditional fields. Landing pages use responsive templates with drag-and-drop editing. With Sender’s seamless automation integration, new subscribers from any form or popup automatically enter relevant email sequences.
GetResponse offers 100+ landing page templates across various industries with built-in A/B testing and detailed conversion tracking. The platform includes integrated payment processing through Stripe and PayPal, letting you sell products or services directly from landing pages without external tools.
Multi-step forms break long signups into digestible chunks, while progressive profiling gradually collects subscriber data across visits. A basic website builder extends beyond single pages, and form customization options are significantly more extensive than Sender’s.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Landing Pages
Unlimited
Unlimited
Gamification
Spin-to-win
Third-party integration only
A/B Testing
No
Yes
Website Builder
No
Yes (basic)
Winner: GetResponse provides more flexibility and sophistication for businesses heavily relying on landing pages and forms. Sender delivers the essentials competently at much lower costs.
Sender provides segmentation through static groups and dynamic segments that automatically update as subscriber behavior changes. You can segment by demographics, engagement metrics, purchase history, SMS activity, and custom fields. The segment builder shows real-time subscriber counts as you add conditions, with AND/OR logic for precise targeting.
This works well for personalized campaigns, cart recovery, and re-engagement sequences without requiring advanced technical skills.
GetResponse offers more granular segmentation with advanced filtering options, conditional logic for complex segments, better predictive analytics suggesting new segments, and integration with more data sources.
The contact scoring system automatically ranks subscribers by engagement, helping prioritize your best prospects. For larger lists with complex segmentation needs, these extras matter.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Segment Types
Demographic + behavioral
Demographic + behavioral + predictive
Auto-Cleaning
Yes
Yes
Contact Tagging
Yes
Yes
Scoring
No
Yes
Conditional Logic
Yes
Yes
Winner: GetResponse wins for businesses with complex segmentation requirements. Sender handles standard segmentation needs perfectly well for most users.
For online stores, Sender integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop. You get abandoned cart emails, product recommendation blocks, purchase tracking, and the ability to pull product feeds into emails.
The ecommerce automation templates make setup faster and you can track core ecommerce metrics including revenue per email and conversion rates. It’s suitable for small to medium-sized stores.
GetResponse provides deeper ecommerce integration with the Marketing plan. You get promo code generation including unique codes for each subscriber, abandoned cart recovery, product recommendation algorithms, and ecommerce-specific segmentation based on purchase behavior.
The plan includes unlimited web push notifications and dedicated ecommerce tracking showing revenue per campaign. Transactional emails are available as a paid add-on exclusively for MAX plan users. It’s built for serious online retailers with substantial budgets.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Platform Integrations
Shopify, WooCommerce, more
Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, more
Abandoned Cart Emails
Yes
Yes
Product Recommendations
Basic
Advanced (dynamic)
Promo Code Generation
No
Advanced (unique codes)
Transactional Emails
Professional plan+
Add-on on MAX plan
Winner: GetResponse offers superior ecommerce features for large online stores with complex needs, but it comes with a price. Sender provides solid basics for small to medium ecommerce businesses at much better value.
Sender maintains strong infrastructure with dedicated IP options on Professional plans, SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication, bounce handling, and ISP monitoring. In my testing, inbox placement rates typically hover around 90-97%, which is competitive. The platform automatically validates emails during import and provides tools to maintain list hygiene.
GetResponse reports similar deliverability rates, they offer more transparency with deliverability consulting for enterprise customers, detailed bounce reports, ISP-specific analytics, and partnership programs with major inbox providers.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Dedicated IP
Professional plan
MAX plan
Authentication Support
SPF, DKIM, DMARC
SPF, DKIM, DMARC
Deliverability Tools
Standard
Standard + consulting (Enterprise)
List Validation
Automatic
Automatic
Winner: Tie with a caveat. Both platforms provide good deliverability infrastructure. Some user reports suggest more consistency with Sender, but individual results vary greatly based on sending practices. Your own list hygiene and content quality matter more than platform choice here.
Sender keeps reporting simple and functional. You get real-time tracking of opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes, plus heatmaps, geographic data, and device breakdowns. Revenue tracking works when you connect your store.
Reports export to CSV or XLSX, and Google Analytics integration automatically adds UTM parameters to track what happens after people click. It’s straightforward without being overwhelming.
GetResponse goes deeper with more polished visuals, custom report building, and advanced goal tracking. You can create comparative reports to analyze performance across multiple campaigns side-by-side.
The platform offers better segmentation analytics and more detailed ecommerce attribution showing which specific campaigns drive revenue. Google Analytics integration works the same way with automatic UTM tagging, and you get more export format options for sharing data with stakeholders or importing into other tools.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Real-Time Tracking
Yes
Yes
Heatmaps
Yes
Yes
Revenue Tracking
Yes (ecommerce)
Yes (detailed)
Custom Reports
Limited
Yes
Export Options
CSV, XLSX
CSV, XLSX, PDF
Winner: GetResponse provides more sophisticated reporting for data-driven marketers. Sender gives you everything essential without unnecessary complexity—perfect for small businesses that don’t need enterprise analytics.
Sender integrates with major ecommerce platforms: Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop and more. The integrations sync product data, orders, and customer information automatically. Setup is typically straightforward via plugins or API connections. You also get access to Zapier for connecting other tools.
GetResponse offers similar platform integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, and others. The connections are deeper with more data syncing options, transactional email triggers, and better product feed management.
They also provide more native integrations beyond ecommerce—payment processors, webinar tools, CRMs—reducing reliance on Zapier. The API is more robust for custom integrations.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Major Platforms
Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop and more
Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento and more
Setup Difficulty
Easy (plugin-based)
Easy to moderate
Data Sync Options
Standard
Advanced
API Quality
Good
Better (more endpoints)
Third-Party Connections
Zapier
Native + Zapier
Winner: GetResponse provides deeper, more flexible integrations for businesses requiring complex data flows. Sender handles standard integration needs perfectly well for most ecommerce operations.
Sender gives you 24/7 live chat support on all plans—even free. Response times in my tests were consistently under 1 minute, and the support agents actually knew their material rather than just reading scripts.
Email support is also available, and they’ve built an extensive knowledge base with tutorials and guides. Phone support is enterprise only, but honestly, for this type of software, chat is usually faster anyway.
GetResponse provides 24/7 email and chat support on all paid plans, with support available in multiple languages (English, Polish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian).
The free plan gets support for 14 days only—after that you’re left with the Help Center. Response times are generally good. Phone support is available only on the Max (Enterprise) plan.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
24/7 Chat Support
All plans (including free)
Paid plans only
Email Support
All plans
Paid plans only
Support on Free plan
Unlimited
14 days only
Phone Support
Enterprise only
Enterprise only
Languages
English primarily
8+ languages
Winner: Sender wins on accessibility and value by offering 24/7 email/chat to free users. GetResponse wins on language support for international businesses.
Sender’s unique strengths lie in its generous free plan, the SMS integration at accessible prices, and the straightforward pay-as-you-go credit system for occasional senders. The platform also excels at being simple—there’s no overwhelming feature bloat, making it faster to learn and use.
GetResponse stands out with webinar hosting built into the platform (up to 1,000 attendees on higher plans), conversion funnels for building complete sales processes, the website builder for creating full sites, paid ads creator for Facebook and Google, live chat widget for website visitor engagement, and course creation tools on the Creator plan.
It’s genuinely all-in-one if you need these extras.
Feature
Sender
GetResponse
Webinar Hosting
No
Yes (Creator plan)
Pay-as-you-go option
Yes
No
SMS on all paid plans
Yes
No (Enterprise only)
Website Builder
No
Yes
Course Creator
No
Yes (Creator plan)
Paid Ads Management
No
Yes
Winner: GetResponse clearly wins the feature breadth battle. If you need webinars, funnels, or other marketing tools beyond email/SMS, GetResponse is the obvious choice—though you’ll pay significantly more for the privilege.
Plan Tier
Sender
GetResponse
Free Plan
Up to 2,500 subscribers, 15,000 emails/month
Up to 500 subscribers, 2,500 emails/month
Entry Level
Standard: $7/mo (1,000 contacts)
Starter: $15/mo (1,000 contacts)
Mid-Tier
Standard: $23/mo (5,000 contacts)
Marketer: $78/mo (5,000 contacts)
Creator
Starnard: $61/mo (15,000 contacts)
Creator: $109/mo (10,000 contacts)
Ecommerce Focus
Profesional: $196/mo (25,000 subscribers)
Ecommerce Marketing: $176/mo (25,000 contacts)
Enterprise
Enterprise: Custom
Enterprise: MAX
Summary: The pricing difference is stark. At 5,000 subscribers, you’d pay $23/month with Sender versus $78/month with GetResponse (Marketer plan for automation). That’s over 3x more expensive for GetResponse, though you do get access to webinars and funnels.
For basic email marketing, Sender delivers approximately 70-75% savings compared to GetResponse at most subscriber tiers.
Feature
Sender Free
GetResponse Free
Contacts
2,500
500
Monthly Emails
15,000
2,500
Email Automation
Unlimited workflows
Limited
Landing Pages
1 page
1 page
Forms & Popups
Yes
Yes
Templates
Full library
Full library
Support
24/7 email/chat
24/7 email/chat (14 days only)
Branding
Sender logo
GetResponse logo
Summary: Sender’s free plan provides significantly more value for growing businesses. GetResponse’s free plan works for very small lists but you’ll outgrow it quickly.
Sender
GetResponse
Summary: The choice boils down to priorities: Do you want comprehensive marketing tools in one platform regardless of cost? GetResponse. Do you want excellent email and SMS marketing at budget-friendly prices? Sender.
Small businesses / startups — If you’re just getting started or have a modest list size, Sender gives you professional-grade email + SMS functionality at a minimal cost. The generous free plan and simple UI mean you can hit the ground running.
Ecommerce shops with modest volume — If your store is small-to-medium and you need email and SMS automation without spending a fortune, Sender offers strong value (cart-abandonment workflows, purchase triggers, ecommerce integrations) while keeping cost predictable.
Non-profits, solopreneurs or budget-sensitive users — The free/low-cost tiers and strong support make Sender a great choice when resources are tight.
Growing SMBs scaling fast — If your marketing is more than just “send newsletter” and you’re building funnels, running webinars, integrating multiple marketing channels, then GetResponse’s richer feature set will serve you.
Ecommerce enterprises / stores with high volume — If you’re sending large volumes, need deep analytics, revenue attribution, multiple automation workflows, and integrations built for scale, GetResponse delivers.
Marketers who want an “all-in-one” platform — If you’d rather consolidate tools (email + landing pages + webinars + automation + CRM) into one stack, and have budget and time to invest, GetResponse fits.
GetResponse users on G2 love how the platform simplifies email marketing with easy-to-use campaign builders, clear statistics, and helpful template editing. They appreciate the autoresponder functionality and list generation features for customer acquisition.
However, some find the initial setup challenging and note that pricing can become steep as databases grow, especially compared to newer alternatives in the market.
G2 users appreciate Sender‘s intuitive campaign builder and quick setup process that gets emails out the door fast. The automation features work well, and reviewers consistently highlight the genuinely useful free tier that gives small businesses meaningful functionality without forcing an upgrade.
Users find the analytics straightforward, deliverability strong, and customer service responsive. The biggest wish? A larger selection of ready-to-use templates, although many feel the flexible customization tools compensate for this gap.
Capterra users appreciate GetResponse for its user-friendly interface and robust email automation capabilities that simplify campaign management. They highlight the platform’s extensive targeting options and ability to build complex email funnels.
However, reviewers note a steep learning curve for mastering advanced features, and some express frustration with customer support quality, citing language barriers and difficulty getting clear assistance when needed.
Capterra reviewers highlight Sender‘s strong feature set, user-friendly design, and budget-friendly pricing that works well for nonprofits and smaller organizations. The customer service team earns consistent praise for quick responses and taking initiative to resolve problems. Users enjoy the straightforward visual editor and note the platform keeps getting better with regular updates.
Reddit users have mixed feelings about GetResponse. Long-time users praise its straightforward automation setup, integrated landing pages and webinars, and competitive pricing compared to alternatives.
However, frustration runs deep among those who’ve experienced steep price increases over the years and unexpected account blocking over minor billing issues. Critics argue the platform has added features they don’t need while service quality has declined, with some feeling the pricing model punishes growth unfairly.
Reddit users praise Sender for its ease of use, affordable pricing, and strong deliverability. The drag-and-drop builder and responsive support team get positive mentions. The free plan’s 2,500 contacts and 15,000 monthly emails make it a favorite among startups and small teams.
While the template library isn’t extensive, users consider it a minor trade-off given the platform’s solid performance and value.
Yes, both platforms support CSV imports for contacts and have migration tools. Sender’s support team can assist with migration. You’ll need to rebuild automation workflows as they won’t transfer automatically between platforms.
Yes, SMS marketing is available starting from the Standard plan ($7/month) with pay-as-you-go credits. GetResponse only offers SMS on Enterprise plans with custom pricing, making Sender far more accessible for SMS.
For small to medium ecommerce stores, Sender provides excellent value with solid integrations and essential features. Large ecommerce operations with complex needs benefit from GetResponse’s advanced product recommendations, unique promo codes, and dedicated ecommerce plans—though at significantly higher costs.