Does AWeber Have Mailchimp Beat on Mailing List Features?

AWeber wasn’t as well known in its early days, but it’s older than Mailchimp. However, in the last few years, AWeber has become seen as the go-to provider for new digital marketers.

However, it’s also true that Mailchimp has been around the block and knows the marketplace inside and out. Subsequently, it’s evolved with the times since its early beginnings over 18 years ago.

So, does AWeber have Mailchimp beat or is the latter still a worthy contender? It’s time to find out.

Keeping It Simple

When wanting to keep things simple, people turn to AWeber for their email marketing. Why is this? Because their interface is well-produced, so beginners can get to grips with it quickly. Even people switching over from another email provider find it manageable once they’ve adjusted.

The interface for Mailchimp isn’t difficult to use, but it requires extra time to learn it. The website is clean and attractively designed though. Ultimately, once you’re up to speed, it’s not hard to use and won’t slow you down.

Email Templates and Design

Marketers who don’t wish to design their own custom newsletter will be looking to use an email template supplied by the mailing list provider to increase touchpoints with customers and boost their conversion rate.

AWeber’s templates number in the hundreds. With that said, they’re a little dated looking at times, so it’s necessary to search through them to find something modern. This requires time to do, but is a one-time thing.

Mailchimp has fewer templates to pick from. However, the good news is that it appears more time has gone into the design. Therefore, it’s easier to find a better one and get started sooner.

Pricing Models

Mailchimp has a pricing model that includes a free trial that supports up to 2,000 contacts. Their next plan up is under $10 a month and includes extra features like pre-built templates rather than just the most basic ones and the ability to strip out the promotional Mailchimp footer inside every email.

What’s important to understand with Mailchimp is that with each pricing tier, they include or exclude certain features. Therefore, if you must have certain features, then picking the appropriate, higher-priced tier becomes necessary.

AWeber has clearer pricing on a per-subscriber basis based on how many subscribers you have. Also, you get all their features with every tier, so there’s no jumping around between tiers. There isn’t a free plan, which is something that attracts people to Mailchimp, but they do offer a free trial period.

Working with Other Platforms and Apps

Mailchimp successfully works with a few platforms and apps like WordPress, Canva, WooCommerce, and Slack. They do have over 240 different integrations which is more than most people think is the case.

AWeber has gone overboard with their integrations. They do a better job of presenting them on their website, dividing them into categories, and making it clear what they support. The big names are all covered across many categories and they have hundreds of them too.

Another approach, instead of relying only on individual service providers connecting to other platforms, is to use a cloud service that lets many types of apps communicate as needed. One service like that is PieSync which allows the free movement of data records between apps and provides a centralized way to manage it all.

Lastly, if you want a more detailed breakdown of the differences between AWeber and Mailchimp, that’s provided here at piesync.com. Their article is comprehensive, which will make it easier to reach a final decision about which service provider to go with for your email list management needs.