AWeber and MailChimp are two leading names in the marketing automation and email marketing industry. Both vendors have thousands of satisfied customers and come with their own strengths and weaknesses. Although there are alternatives, one of these is probably the best choice for getting started. But how do you decide which platform is right for your business?
We’ve compared AWeber and MailChimp to highlight key differences and the factors to consider when making a purchase decision.
Product Overviews
Here are brief descriptions from our detailed AWeber and MailChimp reviews.
AWeber – AWeber is a complete email marketing solution that’s designed to help small companies and entrepreneurs create and send targeted emails. Its drag-and-drop template editor enables users to design newsletters and automated campaigns based on a variety of HTML templates. When it comes to marketing automation, AWeber allows users to send auto-responders based on time and day, contact behavior and tags associated with database contacts.
MailChimp – MailChimp is an all-in-one email marketing tool with robust marketing automation capabilities. It comes with an intuitive drag-and-drop template builder that makes it easy to design and share campaigns across multiple emails and ad channels and has built-in analytics and reporting capabilities. In terms of marketing automation, the tool allows users to create an onboarding email series to welcome new customers as well as set up a win-back email series based on the unique needs of their business.
How They Stack Up
Automation
AWeber: AWeber makes it easy for users to set up autoresponders and segment lists to provide relevant content and keep their subscribers engaged. The tool also lets users create custom drip campaigns – like a product launch series, customer onboarding sequence, welcome series, or even an online course. In addition, users can tag recipients and send them emails accordingly, including personalized messages.
MailChimp: MailChimp offers solid autoresponders. For example, users can create email chains and launch a campaign for different subscriber groups. However, each auto-responder must be set up separately, which can be time-consuming. Also, they can’t activate or test the entire series at once. MailChimp requires them to activate and test each auto-responder email individually.
Bottom Line: Both AWeber and MailChimp allow users to set up autoresponders to deliver the right messages to the right individuals at the right time using trigger-based emails. However, AWeber allows users to test the entire email series at once to make sure the information they intend to present is sequential – a capability that MailChimp lacks.
Email Templates
AWeber: AWeber’s editor is ideal for beginners since users can simply pick a template and input their content. However, designing templates from scratch is more complicated. Most of the templates are pre-designed, which means that creating templates will require HTML knowledge. For changing the font, color, layout or background of an existing template, AWeber charges a $29 fee.
MailChimp: MailChimp’s editor is easy to use, which is great for novices. It comes with drag-and-drop functionality so users can rearrange where their text and image content appears, and is optimized for mobile. In addition, MailChimp enables users to design their forms entirely from scratch or use its graphical user interface (GUI) to create professional looking forms.
Bottom Line: From a usability standpoint, MailChimp is more mature than AWeber, offering beautiful email templates that load fast and are extremely easy to customize.
Customer Support
AWeber: AWeber offers robust customer support options, including phone, email and live chat. Weekend support is available only through live chat and email from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. For less urgent questions, users can consult the AWeber Knowledge Base.
The company also offers a series of free live webinars and video tutorials to answer questions, get new users acclimated to the platform and provide ongoing training.
MailChimp: MailChimp’s customer support services exist primarily online, with no option to call the support team directly. When a user has a question or concern, they’re directed to the Contact page. Users are led through a series of prompts to narrow down the nature of the question, and shown a number of articles from MailChimp’s Knowledge Base to provide relevant information.
If this doesn’t resolve the issue, users can send a message to MailChimp’s support team or send a direct inquiry via Twitter by tweeting at the @MailChimp handle.
Bottom Line: Both platforms offer robust online resources and articles to answer questions. However, MailChimp doesn’t offer phone support or live chat. Users who prefer more hands-on customer service may opt for AWeber.
Pricing
AWeber: AWeber has a free plan for companies that are just starting out. It includes basic features, such as up to 500 email subscribers, landing pages, a drag and drop builder, push notifications, email templates and eCommerce functionality.
Then, there are three paid plans: Lite, Plus and Unlimited. The Lite plan starts at $12.50 per month (billed annually) for up to 500 subscribers and includes all of the features of the free trial, plus unlimited email sends, advanced message analytics, up to three users, email automation and landing pages, import shared campaigns, email split testing, the ability to buy and connect domains and phone support.
The Plus plan starts at $20 per month (billed annually) for up to 500 subscribers. It accommodates unlimited users, email automation and landing pages. It adds on priority support, a full template library and advanced reporting, among other features.
The Unlimited plan starts at $899 per month (billed monthly) for up to 500 subscribers. It adds on personalized account management and the ability to send 12 times the number of subscriber emails per month.
MailChimp: MailChimp provides four pricing plans.
The Essentials plan offers three audiences, 5,000 monthly emails, email templates, A/B testing, custom branding and 24/7 support. Prices start at $13 per month (500 contacts).
The Standard plan provides five audiences, 6,000 monthly emails, advanced customer journeys, predictive segmentation, send time optimization, custom-coded templates and dynamic content. Prices start at $20 per month (500 contacts).
The Premium plan includes unlimited audiences, 150,000 monthly emails, advanced segmentation, multivariate testing and phone support. The price starts at $350 per month (500 contacts).
Bottom Line: In terms of paid plans for moderate users, both MailChimp and AWeber offer similarly priced plans. However, for larger or enterprise-level needs, MailChimp becomes considerably more expensive with its $350/month Premium plan.
Key Takeaways
AWeber and MailChimp are user-oriented email marketing platforms with robust marketing automation capabilities. For organizations that value email and phone support, the scale is tipped in AWeber’s favor, as MailChimp only offers online support. However, being able to design templates from scratch and customize existing designs free-of-cost is something just about every business marketer wants to be able to do – and MailChimp outrivals AWeber at these abilities.
Eventually, picking one over the other depends on the user’s company size and preferences.
If you’re entirely new to Marketing Automation tools, take a look at Marketing Automation Buyers Guide. It offers a full overview of market trends, must-have features and common challenges to avoid.
Finally, if you’re looking for software alternatives, our detailed reviews is a good place to start.