AWeber Review: Features and Pricing 2021

In this AWeber Review, I discuss the software’s key features, strengths and weaknesses. I break these into segments for you to better understand what it has to offer as an email marketing tool.

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Table of Contents
    Professionally Reviewed by:  Alex Gurevich
    Digital Marketing Expert

    Written By Jason Rowse - Digital Marketing Expert

    Updated: 09/22/2021

    AWeber in a NutShell

    Free Plan:up to 500 subscribers and 3k emails/month
    User Accounts:Multiple, with different logins
    Segmentation and Geo:Yes
    Time-zone-based Delivery:Yes
    Free Trial:Yes
    Means of Use:Tablet, mobile, social media, web
    Industry:Advertising, Marketing, eCommerce

    Try AWeber Now

    Aweber Video Review

    What is AWeber? 

    It is an email marketing software which allows segmentation of your contacts into categories and offers basic automation features that send triggered emails to your contacts when they subscribe to a list. Additional features include a wide range of templates, an autoresponder, reporting, and A/B split testing. 

    AWeber Introduction

    AWeber Pros & Cons 

    PROS

    CONS

    • Design with Canva 
    • List management tool 
    • Variety Templates 
    • RSS to email templates
    • Charge for unsubscribers
    • Keyword Violation 
    • Poor deliverability rates 

    PROS

    • Design with Canva: Canva is a graphic design platform that uses a drag-and-drop system. AWeber allows you to create images with Canva as these are a great way to get an emotional reaction from an audience. People are drawn more to visual content. Having an image in your email campaign has that opportunity to capture your contacts' attention more than it would with plain text. 
    • List management tool: AWeber allows you to collect, manage and segment your subscribers based on different actions. You can track who has opened the emails, what links they have clicked on, revenue generated and how many people have unsubscribed. 

    • Variety templates: AWeber has over 700 HTML newsletter templates available. A few of the templates are a bit outdated, but with some editing you can create one to match for your brand's aesthetic. If you, for some reason, don't like any of them, AWeber allows you to import HTML templates. 

    Aweber templates

    • RSS to email templates: AWeber has a feature called "Blog Broadcasts" that allows you to broadcast your latest or previously written blog to your subscribers. Unfortunately, they don't have the widest selection of templates to choose from when using the RSS broadcast.

    I decided to test this feature to see just how it works and if it is easy to use. To create a broadcast message, you can navigate to the “messages” section on the left-hand side and then select “Broadcasts”.

    Create A Broadcast Message

    There you will have 3 options: 1) Drag and Drop Email builder, 2) Plain Text Message, and 3) HTML Editor. For this review, I used the drag and drop editor.

    Broadcast Message drag and drop editor

    You can insert your subject line in the top left corner after you have clicked on the drag and drop option.

    Insert Your Subject Line

    After you created your subject line, it is time to choose and edit your template. On the right-hand side, select templates. There you will find a series of templates, but for this review, I selected the “Newsletter” template.

    Broadcast Template

    When it comes to the broadcast drag and drop editor, you will find that all the elements are on your left side.

    broadcast editor

    To edit a row, select the row you wish to customize, and using the tools on the right-hand side, you can edit the row as you wish.

    Broadcast Row Editor

    Once you are done, you can “Preview and Test” and once you are happy, you can click on “Save and Exit”.

    Save Your Broadcast Message

    On the final screen, you have the option to either send a test broadcast to yourself to preview the email, delete the broadcast, copy it to your drafts, or check the spam score of the email. 

    If you are happy with your broadcast, you can send it out by scheduling it to be sent out at a time best suited for you. 

    Send a Broadcast

    CONS

    • Charge for unsubscribes:If you're not careful, AWeber’s pricing can start to add up without you realizing it. AWeber charges you for the number of subscribers you have and will still keep on charging you for that subscriber until you remove the contacts information from the system. 

    • Keyword violation:One review I found online said that AWeber closed his account due to a violation of keywords. Going through the AWeber agreement, they mention that you don't have permission to use any words that resemble AWeber. So that is something to watch out for. 

    • Poor deliverability rates:AWeber has a 6% deliverability rate which can mean your emails have a high chance of landing in the spam folder. There are ways to boost your deliverability rates by keeping subscribers engaged and deleting those that never open your emails. However, even if you do your best to stick by the rules, you might still find your emails end up anywhere but your subscriber's inbox. 

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    Who is AWeber Good for? 

    If you want thorough reporting- AWeber does well in this area. They don't offer google analytic integration, but they have various other reporting, including email opens, link clicks, and generated sales. You can also see new subscribers that have been added and in what ways they were obtained. 

    If you need phone support- Multiple reviews online have been raving over AWeber's support, saying that they are quick to get back to you and can easily sort out a problem. A bonus is that you can contact them via phone, email or live chat. 

    If you are looking for an autoresponder- Businesses don't always have the time to personally respond to emails. AWeber allows you to set up an autoresponder so that will automatically reply when someone sends a message requesting information.

    AWeber is not recommended for:

    If you can afford to have your account closed suddenly- AWeber is strict regarding their terms of agreement and if you do not obey the rules even if it was unintentional, they will shut down your account without warning. They don't offer any suspension, and when they do shut down your account, you can possibly lose all of your data. If you're lucky, they will send you your data in a zip file. 

    If you can afford to pay a premium price- Unfortunately, AWeber charges significantly more than other software. If you are in the beginning 

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    AWeber Deliverability (Rated: 4/5)

    There are tools offered to help boost your deliverability rates, and it is easy to segment your email lists to allow for delivery by time zone. The deliverability of Aweber can be low, but they earn a score of 4.

    Aweber has a deliverability rate of 6%, which on the whole is poor, despite advanced systems for time zone scheduling and geographic segmentation. Aweber offers ways to improve your deliverability rates, but there is still the high chance that your emails will not reach the intended inbox.

    AWeber Pricing (Rated: 4/5)

    Aweber is priced higher than most of their competitors, but the offer of multiple tools to improve, analyze and review your campaigns are worth it. I give it a score of 4.

    AWeber prices range between $19-$149. They also offer a 19.2% discount if you pay annually. There is a free and a pro plan to choose from. The pro plan's features stay the same, but the price goes up the more contacts you add. The free plan is limited and doesn't include email split testing, behavior automation, and purchase tagging. 

    0-500 Subs.Price: $16.15/month
    • Unlimited emails
    • Segmenting
    • Analytics
    • Integrations
    • Sign up forms
    501-2500 subs.Price: $26.15/month
    • Unlimited emails
    • Customer solutions
    • Integrations
    • Email Hosting
    • +700 email templates
    2501-5000 subs.Price: $46.15/month
    • Unlimited emails
    • Automation
    • Analytics
    • Integrations
    • +700 email templates
    5001-10000 subs.Price: $66.15/month
    • Unlimited emails
    • Automation
    • Image hosting
    • 6000+ stock photos
    • Sign up forms
    10001-25000 subs.

    Price: $146.15/month

    • Automation
    • Segmenting
    • Analytics
    • Image hosting
    • 6000+ stock photos

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    Cancellation/Refund Policy

    Refunds are possible, but they will first evaluate your account. Canceling your subscription is easy, and it can all be done from within your account. Your account won't close immediately, and you can still use it until the end of your billing period. If you don't want to close your account entirely, you can put it on hold for $4.99 per/month. This way, all your information, and contacts will stay safe. 

    Key Features and Workflows

    And what about the key features and workflows for AWeber? Here is an overview.

    Creating Emails and Campaigns

    What first stood out with AWeber is how easy it is to create an email campaign. The drag-and-drop functionality makes the whole process quick and painless.

    The platform is easy to navigate and in a matter of a few minutes, you’ll be ready to send your campaign to your email list.

    I liked the fact that if I wanted to select a feature such as the drag-and-drop email builder, all I needed to do was to hover the mouse over the tabs and select the right tool.

    • Emails Sent/Opened and Links Clicked– AWeber provides you with email analytics that include opens, click-throughs, unsubscribes and emails sent. The information from these reports allows you to make improvements to increase the impact of your campaigns. The revenue per email report makes it easy to directly connect your campaigns’ success to the ROI they bring back in dollar terms.

    • Deliverability Rates and Delivery by Time Zone– one of the main ways to ensure that emails sent arrive at the most convenient time for the recipient is delivering by time zone. This is an area where the AWeber software excels. The company makes it easy to segment your email lists by geographic locations and schedule emails to be sent to each group at the time that will ensure the greatest open rates.

    • Creating and Importing Email Lists– AWeber lets you import your subscribers list on their “Add Subscribers” page. The software also allows you to omit the unsubscribed list by clicking on the “Currently Subscribed” button. The process lets you add only the current and active subscribers. You can also create conditions to automatically remove users based on factors like number of bounces or set time without an email sent.

    • Split Tests and A/B Testing– Creating a split test with AWeber lets you test different content to increase the response rate of your readers. AWeber even provides you an eBook with multiple examples for carrying out your split tests. The A/B testing feature helps boost the subscriber list and conversions. I was also able to boost my autoresponder series to increase my conversions.

    • Personalization– you can add information that is specific to your email subscribers via the personalization fields. AWeber also lets you add a personalization field when editing your messages by first choosing a block where you would like to add your message. This is an effective way to boost engagement and a good tool to prevent the message from landing in the spam folder.

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    Reporting and Analysis (Rated: 5/5)

    Aweber earns a perfect score for their analysis features, which offer in-depth tracking for your campaigns. The metrics offered are extensive, giving you a well-rounded view of the campaign’s performance.

    AWeber Reporting

    AWeber’s reporting and analytics allows you to track your email campaigns more in-depth.

    You can view your total emails sent, bounces, and even complaints. You are also able to see the total number of emails opened, clicks, sales, web hits, and unsubscribes.

    With the data from the reports, it was easy for me to segment my email list and create and send more targeted email campaigns.

    • Engagement Reports- the AWeber platform lets you easily see your email opens and click rates. This allows you to tell whether your email campaigns are running successfully or need to be improved for more subscriber engagement. Simply go to your messages drop-down menu and click campaigns to see your opens and clicks.

    • Heat Maps- heat mapping allows you to see not just who visited your website, but also which clicks had the most engagement. Unfortunately, AWeber does not have a heat-mapping feature. However, there are integrations that you can connect with AWeber to enable heatmapping.

    • Campaign Comparison Report- with AWeber’s email automation platform you can create multiple email campaigns and set them to run either individually or concurrently. This allows you to compare the results from each campaign and find the one with the most engagement.

    • Segmentation- the AWeber segmentation feature enables you to divide your email list into groups with similar interests so you can send tailored email campaigns to each group with information that is directly relevant to them. You can easily create a segment through the “Manage Subscribers” button.

    • Social Media Tracking- integrating social media and email marketing is a powerful way to create leads and increase subscriber list and conversions. AWeber social media integrations such as Heyo, Woobox, Shortstack, and Viralsweep allow you to keep an eye on the interactions of your email campaigns and customers on social media.

    • ROI Analysis- AWebers email tracking feature shows you your emails’ revenue. This data can be used to make changes that increase conversions and ROI. You can even track this data on the go thanks to AWeber’s mobile stats app.

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    AWeber Integrations (Rated: 5/5)

    The integrations assist in upgrading Aweber into an effective marketing tool, and there are hundreds of options so that you can build the campaigns you need. I give them a score of 5.

    AWeber Integrations

    I was pleased to see that AWeber has an extensive catalog of third-party integrations that let you customize and optimize your email marketing campaigns.

    You can access hundreds of integrations for CRM, eCommerce, lead generation, social media, and Content Management.

    I found all the integrations that I needed to be simple to connect with my AWeber account. The WordPress plugin, for instance, made it easy to add a sign-up form on my site in just a few minutes.

    • Google Analytics- The google analytics integration lets you keep track of your sign-up forms and how your subscribers and customers are engaging with your messages. I could easily track my web pages as well as specify goals for certain webpages on my site.

    • API Integrations– AWeber features an API that allows users to connect their AWeber account with other services and sites. This is a great tool for advanced users, although beginners should still have more than enough with the available AWeber integrations

    • Ecommerce Tools– AWeber gives you plenty of ecommerce integrations. You can connect your AWeber account with PayPal using the PayPal integration. There is also the Shopify, Big Commerce, WooCommerce and Etsy integrations that enable you to connect your AWeber account with the leading eCommerce platform\

      AWeber eCommerce Integrations
    • CRM Integrations– You can connect a number of CRM integrations including Zendesk, Salesforce, and LiveAgent to help keep your business vivid in the minds of your customers. By integrating your CRM and email campaigns, you can gain a broader view of each customer and provide better tailored content with higher success rates.

    • Social Media Integrations- With the Facebook plugin, you can connect your AWeber account to send your email campaigns to your Facebook fans. Aweber has multiple other social media integrations such as Facebook Leads Ads, and LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms. You can even create landing pages for social media easily with the Lander integration. 

    • Apps– you can connect your AWeber account with hundreds of different App integrations to get the most out of your email marketing campaigns. There are multiple apps for social media, CRM, eCommerce, lead generation, landing pages and more. Whatever goals you have, you can find an app to help you achieve it.

    • Plugins- I enjoyed using AWeber as I could always find a plugin for the task I needed to accomplish. There are hundreds to choose from including WordPress, Blogger, Squarespace, Wix and many more. The integration process is fast and easy and only takes a couple of minutes.

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    AWeber Automation (Rated: 3/5)

    Aweber has effective automation features in place, but some of the email templates could do with an update, and so I give them a score of 3.

    AWeber Automation

    The AWeber platform is incredibly simple to navigate and intuitive to use. Its email automation feature makes it easy to create scheduled email blasts, and even set up custom drip campaigns for a variety of purposes, from post-sales to lead nurturing.

    You can also send triggered email campaigns and tag your customers according to the types of links clicked and the emails opened.

    The drag-and-drop feature lets you easily create automated sequences. I found the advanced email automation feature to be just as simple and straightforward to use. 

    I created a Welcome Email Campaign to test this feature and see just how easy it is to use. To create your email campaign, you have to navigate to the campaign section on the left side of your AWeber dashboard. You will find the campaign section under the main section “messages”.

    Email Campaigns Section

    When you choose to create your email campaign, you will be given various options to choose from. You will have to choose your campaign type and from this, your settings will be adjusted to fit your campaign needs.

    Your campaign type will be determined by the template you choose. I chose the “Welcome Series” for this review.

    Choose Your Campaign Type

    After you have chosen your campaign type, you will need to name your campaign.

    Name Your Campaign

    When you go to the “create” section, you will see that your template automatically includes 3 emails and 2 wait actions. This is what I meant with a “campaign type” determining your automation sequence.

    automation sequence

    This makes AWeber’s automation feature so easy to use. With less time handling tasks manually, you have more time to boost engagement and conversions.

    Naturally, the next step is to edit each email in your campaign sequence individually to fit your brand and convey your message. Luckily, the Aweber drag and drop editor makes this a very easy step in our campaign automation setup.

    To edit an email, you need to select the email box and click on the subject line.

    Edit Your Email

    You will be directed to the drag and drop editor. On the left-hand side, you will find a series of elements that you can drag and drop into your email. This way, you can create your email to fit your brand.

    AWeber drag and drop editor

    To edit the text in your email template, you can just double-click on the text section. Once your email is customized, you can “Preview and Test” the email and when you are happy with it, you can click “Save and Exit”. You can repeat this step with all the emails in your sequence.

    Save Your Email

    After you edited your emails, you will naturally want to edit the wait conditions in the sequence. It is very easy to do this, all you have to do is to click on the wait box you would like to edit and adjust the wait time as you wish.

    Adjust the wait time

    After this, you need to add a tag to your campaign sequence. An email tag is a nice way to keep track of what emails your subscribers have or have not received.

    To add a tag, you can drag and drop it from the lefthand menu and add it to the bottom of your email campaign.

     Insert A Tag

    To edit the tag, you can double click on it and you will have the option to type in a tag you wish to add. You need to add a comma to the tag to add it.

    Edit Your Tag

    Once your subscribers have gone through the sequence, they will be tagged and you will know if this was a success! After you are happy with your email sequence you can save & exit.

    To publish your campaign, you can click on drafts on the left-hand side and choose to activate the campaign.

    activate your campaign

    Your campaign is now active and when subscribers subscribe to this list, they will start receiving the emails within the campaign.

    Design and Ease of Use (Rated: 5/5)

    Aweber offers an intuitive and simple interface, earning a score of 5. The system allows for the creation of email campaigns that are quick and effective.

    The best email marketing software is not just one that delivers results but is also easy to use. AWeber is without a doubt very intuitive. Its streamlined design also makes it easy to navigate.

    Using the various features and connecting with the various integrations is fast and simple, which helps to make your email marketing that much easier.

    Drag and Drop Interface

    AWeber Builder

    Creating and sending your email campaigns couldn’t be easier with the AWeber drag and drop email editor. You can create professional looking emails even if you don’t have any design experience. By picking whichever tools you want from the toolbar, you can easily drag and drop them on your message and customize them.

    Landing Page Creator

    To create landing pages with AWeber, you can choose any of the available landing page integrations such as LeadPages, Instapage, Unbounce, Landing Page Cat, and PageWiz. LandingCube allows amazon sellers to build landing pages from the ground up. You can also create a landing page in AWeber without integrations.

    I created a landing page and found it very easy! The first thing you will do is to go to the “landing page” section on the left-hand menu, click on it and choose to create a landing page.

    Create a landing page

    You can choose from the various templates AWeber offers or you can choose to start from scratch. To select a template, hover over the template you'd like to use and click the "Choose”. I chose the “free service” template for this review.

    Choose A Landing Page Template

    Once your landing page template has loaded, you can provide a name for your landing page and insert it at the top on the left-hand side.

    Name Your Landing Page

    To customize your landing page, you will use the drag and drop builder. It works very similarly to the email editor. On the left-hand side, you will see a series of elements that you can drag and drop into your landing page.

    Edit Your Landing Page

    To add a domain for your landing page is also very easy. On the right side of your page you will see two options, “design” and “settings”, you can go to settings.

    Landing page settings

    You will then click on the “customize your domain” option. The page will open in a new tab and you can either connect an already existing domain or get a domain from Google Domains or create a subdomain.

    choose a domain

    Once your landing page is customized to your liking and you have chosen your domain or subdomain, click on “Save and Exit” located in the bottom right.

    Save Your Landing Page

    Before you publish your landing page, you will be able to see a mobile preview of how it will look. If you are happy, you can click on “Publish” and your landing page will be published.

    Publish your landing page

    Your landing page is now live and you can share the page URL online or directly share it to Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn from AWeber so you can start collecting email addresses.

    Email Templates

    With over 700 email templates, all of which are customizable, you can create awesome email campaigns that are also responsive on mobile devices.

    Sign-Up Forms Within Newsletters Tool

    AWeber’s sign-up form generator allows you to create simple yet effective sign-up and opt-in forms. You can tweak and customize the design to match your business brand. You can also use the forms to segment your subscribers for more targeted email marketing.

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    AWeber Customer Service (Rated: 5/5)

    The support offered by Aweber is round-the-clock and they have a quick response time, especially by live chat, earning them a score of 5.

    AWeber offers around-the-clock support via email, live chat, or even over the phone. If you choose email, a support agent will usually reach you within a business day to acknowledge your issues and start the resolution process.

    If you’re pressed for time, or in an emergency, however, the live chat is your best option.

    Contact Information
    1100 Manor Drive, Chalfont,
    PA 18914, USA

    AWeber Alternatives

    Mailerlite: They have affordable prices compared to AWeber, and the features they offer are advanced. With Mailerlite's free plan, you can have up to 1000 contacts with a limit of 12,000 emails per month. 

    ActiveCampaign: If Aweber’s automation doesn't quite do it for you, then ActiveCampaign won't disappoint. They offer powerful automation, some of the best I have seen, and for a premium price, you will get the ultimate email marketing software. 

    Benchmark: This is an easy-to-use software that offers basic features. What stands out about them is their fast drag-and-drop editor that provides a smooth experience. Benchmark also has great support with an extensive library of resources.

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    My Verdict

    After using AWeber for 6 months I found the software to be intuitive and easy to use, complete with a variety of templates, extensive support options, and an all-round great tool for small businesses.

    What I Liked About AWeber

    There are many AWeber features which I really liked, starting with its intuitive design and easy-to-use interface.

    AWeber also offers more email templates than most of the competing email marketing solutions.

    Additionally, the software integrates easily with third-party apps and tools. The easy drag-and-drop features plus the automation features make AWeber among the best email marketing software in the market today.

    What I Didn’t Like About AWeber

    Although it does offer plenty of features and resources, AWeber is on the higher end of the pricing spectrum. If you’re in a budget crunch, there are other tools that may be more appropriate for your financial state. Additionally, although there are hundreds of templates to choose from, some could do with design update. Also, I discovered that you could not include or exclude a number of segments all at once when you are sending a newsletter.

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    AWeber FAQ

    1. How Can I Export Contacts?

    You can use the AWeber Backup Data feature. It creates a copy of your email list as well as a copy of all the messages. You can also go to “Subscribers” then click “Manage Subscribers”. Use the search to pull up your contacts, then scroll down to the bottom left side and click “Export to CSV”. 

    2. How Can I Delete an Account?

    To delete your AWeber account, log into your account. Go to the top right corner of your screen and click “My Account”.

    Find the billing section and then click “Close My Account”.

    A pop up will appear and you can click the “Continue to Cancellation” button. There is an optional survey that you can ignore or fill. Otherwise, click the red “No Cancel My Account” button.

    Lastly, enter your password and you are done!

    3. Are there any other payment methods other than credit cards and PayPal?

    AWeber does not accept payments via PayPal.  You can, however, pay via Visa, American Express, Mastercard, as well as Debit Cards with the Visa or Mastercard Logo.

    4. Do They Have Discounts for Prepayments?

    AWeber does not offer discounts for prepayments. However, you can take advantage of the AWeber Cyber Weekend Sale that offers you a 25% discount for the first 12 months.

    5. What Happens If I Want to Send More Emails Than My Current Plan?

    With AWeber you have unlimited emails regardless of the plan.

    6. Do They Have Training Materials Available?

    AWeber has an extensive knowledgebase resource that is accessible to anyone.

    It has tutorials and guides on how to use the various AWeber features and integrations. In case you have any questions, you can access their 24/7 customer service.

    7. Do they accept marketing affiliate links?

    While AWeber does not allow affiliate marketing using their platform, you can take part in their customer referral program. Here you can earn 30% referral payment on a recurring basis every time you refer a customer to AWeber.

    Compare AWeber with alternatives: