AWeber vs iContact
We give AWeber a 2.4 GPA and iContact a 2.6, out of 4.0. iContact grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AWeber
Email marketing for small businesses, with landing pages and a store
iContact
Email marketing for small businesses, with social posting built in
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAWeberFair | 2.6GPAiContactGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $12.50 a month for 500 subscribers on yearly billing, or $15 monthly, a little under the middle of what email tools charge. Unlimited lists, automations and pages need Plus at $20, and Lite reaches $100 a month at 10,000 subscribers. | BStandard is $9 a month for 500 contacts billed monthly, inside the cheaper quarter of email tools, and $73 at 10,000. It stops at 1 user, 2 lists, 1 segment and 1 automation, though; unlimited use and social posting are Premium at $16, a little above the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree for up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month, with no card and no time limit. You get 1 landing page and 1 automation, and every email carries AWeber's branding. 500 people is a cap you'll reach. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial with full access, and no card is mentioned. A month is enough to send a few real newsletters before deciding. |
| Features | BA drag-and-drop editor with Canva and AI built in, a Newsletter Assistant that drafts your weekly issue, automated and RSS emails, landing pages, forms, web push and pages that sell through Stripe. That's the whole job. | BThe whole job: a drag-and-drop editor with templates, AI-written emails and images, automations on sign-ups, dates and segments, forms, landing pages and social posting from the same dashboard. Dynamic content and built-in verification are Ultimate only. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record, and there's only a web app. You build the sign-up form, templates and sequences yourself, though AWeber will do it for a $79 setup fee. | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a web app where you build the emails, lists and landing pages yourself; the AI drafts help, but there's still setting up before the first send. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, PayPal, Stripe, Canva and Zapier, and an API. On a phone you use the browser. No desktop or phone app keeps it at a B. | BWeb only, with Salesforce, Shopify and posting to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and X, plus a separate edition that runs inside Salesforce. No API, Zapier or phone app on record. |
| Best for | newsletters and sequences with a free start | small-business newsletters with social posting |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AWeber and iContact. How we grade
Price against what you get
AWeber starts at $12.50 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. iContact starts at $9 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and iContact starts $3.50 a month lower. Of the other email marketing and newsletter tools on the chart, 2 score higher than AWeber for less, and none scores higher than iContact for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- AWeber starts at $12.50 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed annually. iContact starts at $9 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly.
- AWeber has a free plan. iContact does not, though it has a free trial.
- iContact also covers templates.
At a glance
| AWeber | iContact | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12.50 per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed annually | $9 per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly |
| Free plan | Up to 500 subscribers and 3,000 emails a month, with 1 landing page and 1 automation. No time limit or card, but emails carry AWeber branding. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Lite or Plus; the paid subscription starts automatically when it ends | 30-day free trial with full access |
| Web | ||
| Made by | AWeber | J2 Martech Corp |
| Price read from | aweber.com | icontact.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
AWeber
- Small businesses and creators with a list under 500 who want to start free
- Bloggers and YouTubers who want new posts and videos emailed automatically
- Owners who would rather pay for the setup to be done for them
iContact
- Small businesses sending regular newsletters to a modest list
- Marketers who want email and social posts planned in one place
- Salesforce users who want to send campaigns without leaving it
Worth knowing
AWeber
- Lite allows 1 list, 3 landing pages, 3 automations and 1 saved segment; unlimited use of each needs Plus.
- Monthly sends are capped at 10 times the subscriber tier on Lite and 12 times on Plus.
- Only a web app is offered; the mobile editor works in a phone's browser.
- Lists of more than 100,000 subscribers are priced by contacting AWeber.
iContact
- There is no free plan; after the 30-day trial the cheapest plan is $9 a month for 500 contacts.
- Standard allows 1 user, 1 landing page, 1 automation and 1 segment; unlimited use needs Premium or Ultimate.
- Sending past the plan's monthly limit is charged as overage, and lists over 50,000 contacts are priced by contacting sales.
- The comparison chart on the pricing page shows different figures from the price slider, such as Ultimate at $54 for 5,000 contacts against $84.
Key features
AWeber
- Email editor with Canva and AI
- A drag-and-drop editor with Canva built in, a theme panel, an AI writing assistant and a subject line generator. HTML and AMP emails are also supported.
- Newsletter Assistant
- Generates a weekly newsletter draft written in your voice, ready to edit and send.
- Email automation
- Welcome and sales sequences, behavioral automations triggered by subscriber actions, tagging, and RSS emails for new blog posts, podcasts or YouTube videos.
- Landing pages and sign-up forms
- An AI page builder, templates, sign-up forms, a WordPress plugin and a link-in-bio page. Lite allows 3 landing pages; Plus has no cap.
- Ecommerce pages
- Sell products, subscriptions and payment plans through Stripe in over 100 currencies, with a fee of 1.0% per sale on Lite and 0.6% on Plus.
- Web push notifications
- Collect browser push subscribers and send them messages alongside email: up to 50,000 on Lite and unlimited on Plus.
iContact
- Drag-and-drop editor and templates
- Build emails from blocks of text, images, buttons and video, starting from a library of pre-designed email and landing page templates and stock images.
- AI email and image generation
- Describe the email, tone and length and AI drafts the subject line, copy and calls to action, or creates images saved to the media library. Brand settings keep drafts on style.
- Automations
- Welcome emails on sign-up, specific-date and custom-date triggers, and journeys that start when a contact qualifies for a segment. Standard allows one automation.
- Social posting
- Schedule posts to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and X from one dashboard, embed posts in emails, and post an email's content to social channels as it sends.
- List management and verification
- CSV import, segmentation, sign-up forms and landing page forms, plus email verification that marks addresses deliverable, risky, undeliverable or unknown.
- iContact for Salesforce
- A separate edition that runs campaigns, scheduled sends and reports inside Salesforce using its contact and lead data. It is arranged through a specialist.
Plans
AWeber
Free$0
500 subscribers, 3,000 emails a month, 1 landing page and 1 automation, with AWeber branding on emails.
Lite$12.50
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed annually ($15 monthly)
Sends up to 10 times the tier a month, 1 list, 3 landing pages, 3 automations, 3 users. Price rises with the list: $100 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
Plus$20
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed annually ($30 monthly)
Sends 12 times the tier, unlimited lists, pages, automations and users, no AWeber branding, priority support. $135 a month at 10,000 subscribers.
Done For You$20
per month for up to 500 subscribers, billed annually
Plus, with a one-time $79 setup fee (shown cut from $599): AWeber staff build a template, landing page and sign-up form and draft weekly newsletters.
iContact
Standard$9
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
Sends 10 times the list a month, 1 user, 2 lists, 1 segment, 1 landing page and 1 automation. Price rises with the list: $73 a month at 10,000 contacts.
Premium$16
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
Sends 12 times the list, unlimited users, lists, landing pages and automations, social posting and the AI content assistant. $109 a month at 10,000 contacts.
Ultimate$24
per month for up to 500 contacts, billed monthly
Everything in Premium, sends 15 times the list, email verification included, dynamic content and AI templates and images. $128 a month at 10,000 contacts.
Ways to pay less
AWeber
- Annual discount
Up to 4 months free with yearly billing
At 500 subscribers, Plus costs $240 a year billed yearly against $30 a month billed monthly, and Lite $150 a year against $15 a month.
iContact
- Annual discount
Save 15% with yearly billing
iContact's pricing page lists a 15% saving for paying yearly: Standard at 500 contacts is $92 a year against $9 a month billed monthly.
