AWeber Reviews: Is This Email Marketing Veteran Still Worth It?

AWeber has been around since 1998 – it literally invented the autoresponder. But being first doesn't mean being best. After digging through user reviews, testing the platform, and comparing it against modern alternatives, here's the honest verdict on whether AWeber deserves your money.

The short version: AWeber is a solid, beginner-friendly email marketing tool with great customer support. But it's overpriced for what you get, the automation is basic, and recent price hikes have frustrated long-time users. There are better options for most businesses.

AWeber Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

AWeber uses a tiered pricing structure based on subscriber count. Here's what each plan costs:

• Free Plan: Up to 500 subscribers, 3,000 emails/month. Limited to 1 email list, 1 automation, 3 landing pages. AWeber branding on all emails.
• Lite Plan: $15/month for up to 500 subscribers. Gets you 1 custom segment, 3 landing pages, 3 automations. Send limit of 10x your subscriber count. Still includes AWeber branding.
• Plus Plan: $30/month for up to 500 subscribers. Unlimited automations, landing pages, and lists. 12x subscriber send limit. Removes AWeber branding. Lower transaction fees (0.6% vs 1.0%).
• Unlimited Plan: $899/month for unlimited everything. Personalized account management, advanced landing page features, full template library.

Prices scale up as your list grows. Here's the catch: AWeber charges based on total subscribers, and until recently, that included unsubscribed contacts sitting in your account. You had to manually delete them to avoid overage charges. They've since changed this, but it burned a lot of users.

The bigger issue: AWeber raised prices significantly in late 2024, with some grandfathered customers seeing 50-150% increases. This forced many long-time users to migrate to cheaper alternatives.

For detailed pricing breakdowns, check out our AWeber pricing guide and AWeber cost analysis.

What AWeber Gets Right

Ease of Use

AWeber is genuinely easy to use. The drag-and-drop email builder is intuitive, and you can get your first campaign out the door quickly. If you're new to email marketing and don't want to spend hours learning a complicated platform, this is a real advantage.

Template Library

AWeber claims over 600 email templates (though the actual unique designs are closer to 169 with variants). Either way, it's one of the larger template libraries in the email marketing space. They're all mobile-responsive and easy to customize. The landing page templates (about 53) are actually quite good – modern designs covering everything from webinar signups to product sales.

Canva Integration

AWeber was the first email marketing platform to integrate Canva directly into the editor. You can design graphics, banners, and images without leaving AWeber and drop them straight into your emails. For non-designers, this is genuinely useful.

Customer Support

This is where AWeber shines. They offer 24/7 live chat, email, and phone support across all plans – including free. The support team is US-based and consistently gets praised in reviews. They also have extensive educational resources: articles, videos, webinars, and tutorials for beginners.

eCommerce Features

AWeber supports Stripe and PayPal integration for selling digital products, accepting donations, or setting up recurring subscriptions. Landing pages can accept payments in 100+ currencies. It's not Shopify-level, but for selling a course or ebook, it works.

What AWeber Gets Wrong

Basic Automation

This is AWeber's biggest weakness. The automation builder is dated compared to competitors. You get basic autoresponders and some tagging/segmentation, but the automation builder lacks branching/conditional logic. If you want sophisticated "if this, then that" workflows, you'll be disappointed.

The Lite plan only allows 3 automations total. Even the Plus plan, while offering "unlimited" automations, doesn't give you the advanced triggers and conditions that tools like ActiveCampaign or even MailerLite provide.

Deliverability Concerns

Independent testing puts AWeber's deliverability rate around 83.1%, which is considered "acceptable" but sits near the bottom of tested platforms (ranking 11th out of 15 in one major study). Gmail inbox placement specifically scored 81% – the second-lowest among tested tools.

AWeber claims internal deliverability exceeding 99%, but that measures email delivery (did the server accept it?) not inbox placement (did it reach the primary inbox vs. spam?). These are different things.

To be fair, deliverability varies based on your content, list hygiene, and sending practices. AWeber does enforce proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and has a dedicated deliverability team. But if inbox placement is critical to your business, there are platforms with better track records.

Limited Reporting

AWeber's analytics are basic. You can see opens, clicks, and subscriber growth, but there's no way to filter out bot clicks or inflated Apple Mail Privacy opens. Custom reports aren't available. Ecommerce and sales attribution reporting require paid plans. Compared to competitors, the analytics feel restricted.

Pricing vs. Value

Here's the real issue: AWeber charges premium prices without premium features. The Lite plan at $15/month gives you only 3 automations and 3 landing pages. For comparison, MailerLite's free plan offers more functionality, and their paid plans start at $10/month with better automation.

Multiple reviewers noted that AWeber "doesn't really stand out in any single area" and that "the template library could use a refresh." The automation system "feels dated compared to competitors."

What Real Users Say

Looking at reviews across G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, and Software Advice, common themes emerge:

Positive feedback:

• "Easy to get set up and get going"
• "Great email templates with superb integration with other top tier programs"
• "It is stable, and it is always encouraging to see that very successful people whose emails I let into my inbox are using Aweber"
• Phone support gets consistently high marks

Negative feedback:

• "The new sending limits and price increases have actually hindered our ability to effectively communicate with our audience"
• "We move one of our companies off Aweber owing to lack of eCommerce integration... The automation builder lacks branching/conditional logic"
• "From the beginning, it was a bit difficult to navigate the program. I have had problems with their templates and understanding how to use them"
• Several users reported being charged after canceling, requiring multiple cancellation attempts

The pattern is clear: AWeber works well for basic email marketing needs, but users outgrow it or get frustrated by limitations and pricing as their needs become more sophisticated.

Who Should Use AWeber?

AWeber makes sense if you:

• Are brand new to email marketing and need hand-holding
• Want phone support (rare among email tools)
• Have a small list under 500 subscribers and want the free plan
• Just need basic newsletters and simple autoresponders
• Already use AWeber and don't want to migrate

Skip AWeber if you:

• Need advanced automation with conditional logic
• Have a growing list and are price-sensitive
• Want detailed analytics and custom reporting
• Rely heavily on Gmail deliverability
• Need sophisticated ecommerce integration

AWeber Alternatives Worth Considering

Given AWeber's limitations, here are better options depending on your needs:

For better value: MailerLite offers a more generous free plan (1,000 subscribers), better automation, and lower pricing. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) charges by emails sent rather than subscribers, which can save money.

For better automation: ActiveCampaign is the gold standard for marketing automation. More expensive, but the automation capabilities are leagues ahead of AWeber.

For creators: Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is designed for bloggers, YouTubers, and creators selling digital products. Better automation than AWeber with creator-friendly features.

Looking for more options? Check out our guides on best email marketing software and email marketing for small business.

The Bottom Line

AWeber is a legitimate email marketing platform with a long track record. The customer support is excellent, it's genuinely easy to use, and the free plan is decent for beginners.

But "decent" doesn't cut it when competitors offer more features for less money. The automation is basic, the pricing has gotten aggressive, and the deliverability rates are middling. AWeber coasts on its reputation rather than innovation.

If you're just starting out and value phone support, AWeber's free plan is worth trying. But for most businesses – especially those planning to grow – there are better options. You'll likely outgrow AWeber or get frustrated by its limitations before long.

Our rating: 3/5 stars – Good for beginners, but not competitive for serious email marketers.

Ready to try AWeber anyway? Start with their free plan and see if it fits your needs. Just keep your eyes open for alternatives as you scale.