Question: If you send emails weekly, are you paying for reach or for limits?
This section lays out what you actually pay for with two leading email marketing platforms. We focus on real US plan numbers, sending rules, and billing quirks that change costs over 12–24 months.
The two services target similar use cases but diverge on cost drivers. One plan family includes unlimited sends; the other ties monthly send caps to list size and bills unsubscribed profiles unless removed. Those differences shift your effective cost per message and may force extra subscriptions for automation or webinars.
Read on to see clear, numbers-first comparisons and a practical framework that links list size, sending cadence, and feature depth to the most cost-effective choice for users and teams.
Key Takeaways
- You’ll get a numbers-first view of what you pay over 12–24 months.
- Unlimited sends on paid plans change costs vs monthly send caps tied to list size.
- Billing rules—like counting unsubscribed profiles—can raise your effective cost.
- Bundled features (automation, landing pages, webinars) may replace extra subscriptions.
- We provide quick price points across list sizes to benchmark your upcoming quarters.
Why pricing matters in an email marketing platform today
How you pay matters more than what the sticker says.
How a service charges for send volume, billable contacts, and discounts shapes your real costs. A low monthly fee can hide send caps or billing for unsubscribed profiles that blow up budgets as your list grows.
Think beyond the plan label: unlimited sending lowers marginal costs if your team runs frequent campaigns. Fixed monthly caps can make each extra campaign much pricier.
- Account for subscriber acquisition and churn—growth changes tiers and monthly costs.
- Bundled features like landing pages, automation, or webinars reduce the need for separate tools.
- Prepay and nonprofit discounts differ by provider (examples range from ~15%–50%) and shift ROI over 12–24 months.
Model likely list sizes and campaign frequency for a 12–24 month horizon. That gives you a clear view of total cost of ownership and which marketing tools you truly need.
getresponse vs aweber pricing comparison: quick snapshot for the United States
Small differences in send caps and contact billing quickly alter what you pay each month.
Starting prices, plan names, and what you actually get
Entry-level: GetResponse offers a Starter plan from $19 for 1,000 contacts with unlimited sending. AWeber’s Lite/Plus options begin lower per-contact but apply a 10x–12x monthly send cap, which limits frequent newsletters.
Mid-tier: Marketer (GetResponse) at $59/1,000 adds visual automation and ecommerce triggers. AWeber Plus focuses on core email features and tagging but lacks the same behavioral workflows at that price point.
How monthly send limits affect your true costs
Send caps are the silent cost driver. Weekly full-list campaigns use four sends per month. Add promos, drips, and transactional emails and you can exceed AWeber’s 10x–15x caps quickly.
Billing model matters: AWeber counts unsubscribed profiles as billable unless you purge them. GetResponse charges by unique contacts and avoids double-billing across lists.
- At 5,000 subs expect roughly $54 on GetResponse vs $90 on AWeber Plus.
- At 50k the gap widens (approx. $299 vs $400); at 100k it expands further ($539 vs $750).
- Prepay discounts (15%–30%) can increase GetResponse’s price advantage.
| Tier / List Size | GetResponse Plan | AWeber Plan | Send Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | Starter — $19, unlimited sends | Lite/Plus — $15–30 (per 500), 10x–12x cap | Unlimited vs capped multiplier |
| 5,000 | Starter/Marketer — ≈ $54 | Plus — ≈ $90 | Unique-contact billing vs billable unsubscribes |
| 50,000 | Marketer/Creator — $299 | Plus/Unlimited — $400 | Unlimited sending vs 12x–15x caps |
| 100,000 | Creator/Max — $539 | Plus/Unlimited — $750 | Prepay discounts can widen gaps |
Free plans compared: what you can do with up to 500 subscribers
A 500-subscriber free plan can accelerate testing — or slow growth if you hit feature walls.
If you are starting out, both free tiers let you send basic email campaigns with provider branding and ads. They cap lists at 500 subscribers and limit advanced tools that paid users get.
Branding, ads, and key feature restrictions
AWeber’s free plan includes basic autoresponders and web push for early drip sequences. That helps you deliver lead magnets and simple welcome series without paying.
The other free option offers a basic website builder and landing pages, but it lacks automation. That makes it useful if your priority is a quick site or single landing page launch.
- Both insert advertising into sent emails and limit templates and segmentation.
- Neither supports high-frequency campaigns or deep targeting for scaling users.
When to move from free to paid for best value
Move to a paid plan when you hit roughly 300–500 subscribers or need unlimited sending, richer automation, or integrations that close sales faster.
| Limit | Free Autoresponders | Basic Website / Landing |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | Up to 500 | Up to 500 |
| Automation | Basic autoresponders | Not included |
| Branding | Provider ads on emails | Provider ads on emails |
Paid plans and list-size tiers: where costs diverge as you grow
Costs change fast as your list grows — small per-contact steps become large annual bills.
Price points from 500 to 100,000 contacts
Below are representative US plan snapshots that show how costs scale as you add subscribers.
| List Size | GetResponse | AWeber Plus | Annual delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | $19/mo | $30/mo | $132 |
| 5,000 | $54/mo | $90/mo | $432 |
| 50,000 | $299/mo | $400/mo | $1,212 |
| 100,000 | $539/mo | $750/mo | $2,532 |
Billing gotchas: unsubscribed contacts and duplicate counting
Watch billing rules. One provider bills unique contacts only. The other counts unsubscribed profiles unless you purge them. That builds needless cost.
Prepay and nonprofit discounts that change the math
Prepay discounts (15%–30%) and nonprofit rates (30%–50%) tilt the total cost of ownership. If you plan heavy marketing or seasonal spikes, model 12–24 months with those offers applied.
Value for money: what each dollar buys in features
Deciding which platform gives more value means mapping features to real campaign needs, not plan names.
Unlimited sending vs 10x-15x send caps
Unlimited sends on paid tiers remove monthly ceilings. That means you can run frequent newsletters, promotional bursts, and multi-branch automation without surprise overages.
Capped models suit low-frequency email programs, but behavior-driven journeys and high-volume campaigns can eat through monthly allotments fast.
Feature depth at comparable tiers (automation, testing, ecommerce)
At similar price points, one provider includes deeper automation, send-time optimization, and advanced A/B testing up to five variants.
- Advanced testing and Time Travel boost conversion odds for complex campaigns.
- Native ecommerce triggers reduce the need for extra tools to track abandoned carts and purchases.
- Interactive capabilities like AMP and native design integrations favor teams building richer emails.
Bottom line: for teams scaling marketing automation and frequent sends, the higher feature density per dollar delivers better ROI. If your priority is interactive email experiences and simple flows, the alternative toolset is easier to launch and maintain for users.
Marketing automation depth and ROI impact
Marketing automation can shift email programs from one-to-many blasts to personalized revenue engines. Choose a platform by matching workflow complexity to your growth plans.
The visual builder supports drag-and-drop mapping of branches, delays, and multi-trigger actions. That enables adaptive journeys when contacts open, click, visit URLs, buy, or abandon carts.
Practical upside: lead scoring and ecommerce triggers let you prioritize sales-ready leads and recover revenue from cart abandonment. Webinar-triggered automations also raise event ROI by treating registrants, attendees, and no-shows differently.
- Use visual workflows for behavior-driven routing and complex, multi-step campaigns.
- Choose linear autoresponders and tagging for simple onboarding, timed drips, or basic nurture tracks.
- Keep version control on sequences to test changes safely without breaking live flows.
For teams running frequent, engagement-based emails, the richer toolkit delivers better ROI. If you run simple series, start with a tag-based approach and upgrade as your list and campaigns demand more advanced features.
Email creation and templates: design quality vs quantity
Design systems and usable templates shape how fast your team ships marketing emails. Pick a platform that matches your pace: high-quality, modern layouts speed production; large template libraries offer variety but not always relevance.
Get the balance right. One platform delivers 150+ modern templates, reusable content blocks, an AI email generator, inbox previews, spam checks, and A/B testing up to five variants. These features reduce production time and help maintain visual consistency.
The alternative lists 700+ templates and Smart Designer, which pulls brand colors and logos from your site. Its AMP support enables carousels, forms, and interactive elements inside emails. Canva and Unsplash integrations make asset creation fast without leaving the editor.
- Speed & consistency: reusable blocks and AI content speed repeat campaigns and standardize branding.
- Deliverability checks: inbox previews and spam checks protect visual fidelity and inbox placement.
- Interactive options: AMP features add engagement, while extensive web fonts give tighter typographic control.
- Testing: run structured testing—more variants let you refine subject lines and layout faster.
Decide by workflow: if you need polished templates and rapid output, prioritize a modern builder and governance via reusable modules. If interactive emails matter most, favor AMP-capable editors and integrations that streamline design assets.
For a deeper look at real user reports, see this review of complaints to understand how template and editor issues affect teams in practice.
Deliverability and compliance essentials
Deliverability is the technical bridge between your campaign strategy and actual inbox placement. You can build great messages, but they must arrive to matter.
Authenticate your sending domain. Proper SPF and DKIM are non-negotiable for inbox placement. Both platforms support these records, and one offers automated DNS setup through Entri for compatible domains.
Automatic list hygiene keeps your sender score healthy. Remove hard bounces, suppress known traps, and let the service purge invalid addresses.
Authentication, send-time optimization, and inbox placement
Use send-time tools. Features like Time Travel or Perfect Timing align delivery with recipient behavior and can lift open rates.
Run pre-flight testing on content and spam filters before large sends. Regular testing across consumer and business inboxes catches placement issues early.
- Segment by engagement to avoid blasting inactive addresses.
- Delegate a subdomain for email to protect your main domain.
- Follow Gmail and Yahoo guidelines to minimize complaints and throttling.
Independent tests report roughly 89.7% inbox placement for one service that combines authentication, trap removal, and optimized sending. That level of performance matters when your marketing relies on consistent delivery.
Monitor, test, and escalate. Check placement regularly, keep a support cadence, and work with deliverability teams if you see drops. Proactive maintenance protects long-term engagement and revenue.
Landing pages, website builder, and funnels
Integrated page and funnel builders reduce the friction between ad clicks and checkout completion.
The platform includes a full website builder and AI-assisted page creation to speed campaign launches. Use the AI flow to generate microsites and landing content in minutes, then tweak layout and copy.
Native A/B testing on landing pages validates offers before you scale traffic. Conversion funnels link ads, pages, emails, and sales events so you can track ROI end-to-end.
Centralized analytics remove the need to stitch separate tools together. That simplifies attribution and lets you optimize offers faster.
- Design governance: reusable blocks and global styles keep pages on brand.
- AWeber-style landing basics: simple capture pages work for lead magnets and promos but lack full funnel templates.
- SEO & performance: prioritize fast load and mobile responsiveness for longer-lived pages to protect organic value.
Tip: ensure forms and tracking align with your CRM or ecommerce to avoid attribution gaps and lost revenue data.
Webinars and online courses: built-in vs bolt-on costs
Native event tools shift budget away from bolt-on licenses and toward directly measurable outcomes.
Built-in webinar and course capabilities reduce integration work. When you host events inside the same platform that sends your marketing emails, registration, reminders, and post-event nurtures flow without extra connectors.
That matters because automation around registrants, attendees, and no-shows raises attendance and conversion rates. Course creation features also streamline onboarding and customer education, extending lifecycle value.
Bolt-on implications for AWeber users typically include an extra monthly license, more integration maintenance, and fragmented analytics. Third-party webinar or LMS tools add costs and increase the time your team spends reconciling attendance with email performance.
| Capability | Native Hosting | Bolt‑On Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Registration & Reminders | Built into dashboard | Separate service + integration |
| Automation Post‑Event | Trigger-based follow-ups | API or zap required |
| Event Analytics | Connected to email metrics | Split reporting, manual joins |
| Content Reuse | Evergreen funnels & courses | Manual repurpose, extra hosting |
Decision tip: budget both license and time costs when you evaluate options. Centralization simplifies permissions, asset management, and the path from a webinar to revenue on your website or funnel.
Integrations and APIs: connecting your stack without friction
Connecting email to the rest of your tools should be fast, reliable, and auditable.
You want integrations that reduce manual work and keep data fresh. If you value breadth, AWeber offers roughly 770 direct connections. That includes embedded Shopify and Etsy dashboards for quick sales correlation.
For teams building custom flows, GetResponse provides about 249 integrations and a robust API. Many key platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, and PayPal are supported natively, and missing links can be handled via Zapier.
- Choose breadth when: you need many direct connectors and fewer third-party layers.
- Choose depth when: core platforms and a strong API support custom syncs and low-latency automations.
- Audit ecommerce, CRM, analytics, webinar/video, and payments for required connections.
| Need | AWeber | GetResponse |
|---|---|---|
| Direct integrations | ~770 (wide breadth) | ~249 (covers major platforms) |
| Embedded ecommerce dashboards | Shopify, Etsy dashboards | Platform reporting + API |
| Custom builds | Supported; relies on connectors | Robust API and docs for custom work |
| Fallback connector | Zapier / third-party | Zapier / native API |
Practical tip: map data directionality and build an integration monitoring plan. That protects revenue paths and keeps your marketing automations dependable.
Customer support and service levels
Support availability often decides whether a tool helps you meet tight launch windows or creates delays. For teams running frequent email marketing or timed product launches, the hours and channels of help matter as much as features.
Get 24/7 live chat and multilingual options if you operate across time zones. Always-on chat reduces downtime for distributed teams and answers urgent ticket items fast. This capability not only enhances communication but also streamlines project management, allowing teams to focus on delivering exceptional results. With access to resources such as home design ideas for every style, team members can collaborate effectively, ensuring their designs meet diverse client preferences. This seamless connectivity ultimately leads to improved customer satisfaction and project success.
Phone access and account escalation
Phone support is valuable when you need real-time troubleshooting on deliverability or account configuration. One platform reserves phone help for its top MAX tier; the other includes phone on paid plans and is known for fast, friendly service.
- Match support hours to your peak campaign times; prioritize 24/7 live chat if you work nights or international hours.
- Use phone for escalations that require step-by-step, synchronous guidance.
- Track response and resolution times during trials to confirm the claimed service level.
| Need | Live chat | Phone | Extra service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outside US hours | 24/7 multilingual | Top-tier / MAX only | Onboarding resources, knowledge base |
| Real-time troubleshooting | Immediate answers | Included on paid plans | Deliverability guidance, account reviews |
| Enterprise launches | Dedicated channels | Dedicated phone & SLAs | Account manager, escalation matrix |
Practical checklist: build an escalation matrix that tells your team when to use chat, phone, or tickets. Evaluate knowledge bases, onboarding guides, and proactive deliverability help as part of total support value.
Both platforms score well on responsiveness. Choose the channel mix that matches your operating hours, the complexity of your account, and how critical email is to revenue.
Who should choose GetResponse vs AWeber
Match capabilities to your workflow and growth plan. Choose a platform by mapping team needs, sending cadence, and channel mix rather than by sticker price.
Best fit by business size, sending frequency, and channel mix
Small teams with low-frequency newsletters and basic automation can thrive on either option. Factor in provider branding on free plans and when you need early automation.
Mid-market growth benefits from unlimited sends and bundled pages, webinars, and courses. That reduces external subscriptions and staff handoffs.
Interactive and integration-led use cases favor broad direct connectors and AMP for email. Choose the tool that lowers integration friction and matches your channel mix.
Total cost of ownership scenarios over 12-24 months
Model list growth and campaign cadence. Include add-on licenses, staff time, and deliverability needs when you project 12–24 month TCO.
- If your team sends frequent emails and needs advanced automation, the bundled approach reduces net costs.
- If you value simple flows, broad integrations, and phone support, count integration and support time into TCO.
- Set quarterly checkpoints to validate the chosen plan and adjust as strategy evolves.
| Use case | Best match | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High-frequency campaigns | GetResponse | Unlimited sends, automation, bundled pages/webinars |
| Simple drips & integrations | AWeber | Straightforward flows, AMP, wide direct connectors and phone support |
| Small lists testing | Either | Low cost to start; watch branding and earliest feature limits |
Editor’s verdict: best overall value by list size and feature needs
Your ideal plan depends less on sticker price and more on how often you send, which features you need, and who helps you when things break.
Summary judgment: For most U.S. marketers up to 100k subscribers, GetResponse delivers the strongest price-to-feature ratio and the practical benefit of unlimited sends on paid plans. That removes monthly caps that inflate costs as you scale. Additionally, GetResponse offers a variety of tools to enhance email marketing campaigns, including automation and landing page creation. For those interested in exploring the service further, it’s essential to review the GetResponse pricing details to find a plan that aligns with your business needs. Overall, the platform stands out not only for its competitive pricing but also for the robust features that support growth. Additionally, users can take advantage of multiple integrations with popular e-commerce and CRM platforms, making it easier to streamline their marketing efforts. By leveraging the advanced analytics and reporting features, marketers can gain insights into their campaign performance and optimize their strategies effectively. To make an informed decision, it’s advisable to closely examine the getresponse pricing details to ensure you’re choosing the best option for your marketing goals. When considering options for email marketing services, it can be beneficial to compare different pricing structures, such as examining the getresponse vs elastic email pricing. This comparison can reveal significant differences in features and overall value, allowing businesses to choose the best fit for their specific requirements. Ultimately, finding the right platform will empower marketers to maximize their outreach and drive better results.
If your program runs frequent touchpoints and complex multi-branch journeys, the automation depth and bundled funnels/webinars make GetResponse the growth pick. If phone support on paid plans, AMP interactivity, and wide direct connectors are critical, AWeber is the pragmatic choice.
- Most teams (≤100k subscribers): GetResponse for cost control and feature density.
- Creative + brand teams: AWeber for Smart Designer, Canva links, and AMP options.
- Very large lists: Consider AWeber’s fixed Unlimited plan, but confirm your send cadence against caps.
- Replace extra tools: Bundled webinars and course features in GetResponse can cut SaaS spend.
Final line: Choose the platform that matches your marketing cadence, integration needs, and support expectations—value is the sum of features, deliverability, and responsive support.
Conclusion
Your final decision should come from modeling list growth, campaign frequency, and real feature use. Run 12–24 month scenarios to see which plan keeps costs predictable as you scale.
Test both platforms during trials. Validate deliverability, editor speed, automation ease, integrations, and how fast you can publish a landing or website with the builder.
For many teams, unlimited sending and bundled funnels, webinars, and course tools deliver more capability per dollar. If you need broad connectors, AMP interactivity, and phone support, choose the service that matches your stack and hours.
Final tip: keep list hygiene, authentication, and regular testing as priorities. Reassess quarterly and adjust your roadmap so your marketing stays efficient as users and campaigns grow.