Aweber vs Mailchimp
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Best for: Small businesses building an email list from genuine opt-ins, Creators and sellers taking payments through landing pages via Stripe
Read the full Aweber reviewBest for: Small businesses that want email and SMS marketing in one tool, Ecommerce stores running on Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, or Squarespace
Read the full Mailchimp reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Aweber vs Mailchimp: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Aweber if
- You want AWeber's team to migrate your list from your old provider.
- You sell through landing pages using Stripe with low 0.6% fees on Plus.
Choose Mailchimp if
- You need email and SMS campaigns in one platform.
- You rely on 300+ integrations and AI content tools.
Aweber vs Mailchimp: pros and cons
Aweber
AWeber stands out for transparency: published trial limits, strict permission rules, and a migration team that moves your list for you. Selling through Stripe on landing pages is handy, but costs climb steeply with list size and Lite is tightly capped. Overall, it's a solid pick for small businesses that value clear rules over deep ecommerce control.
Pros
- Done-for-you migration — AWeber's team transfers your list and emails from your previous provider, uses your shared login only for the move, and never retains it afterward.
- Trial and sending limits are published up front — 12x your subscriber count per month on Plus and 10x on Lite — so you know exactly what the 14-day trial covers before billing starts.
- Ecommerce is built in — you can take payments directly on landing pages via Stripe, with a low 0.6% transaction fee on Plus (1.0% on Lite) and sales tracking included.
Cons
- Ecommerce control is limited — Stripe handles payments, refunds, and chargebacks directly, and AWeber adds its own per-transaction fee (1.0% on Lite, 0.6% on Plus) on top of Stripe's charges.
- The Lite plan is tightly capped — 1 email list, 3 landing pages, 3 automations, 3 users, and 1 saved segment — and AWeber branding cannot be removed on it.
- The permission policy cuts both ways — importing purchased, co-registration, or 'safe list' contacts is strictly prohibited, and violations can mean immediate account termination without a refund.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp pairs a genuinely usable free tier with polished email design, strong automations, and 300+ integrations, though costs climb with your contact count and top features sit behind pricier tiers. Overall, it's a dependable starting point for small businesses and ecommerce stores — just watch for automatic overage billing.
Pros
- Genuinely usable free tier — 250 contacts, 500 sends per month, popup forms, and core campaign tools with no credit card required to start, plus a 14-day trial on all paid plans
- Email and SMS managed in one platform, with Mailchimp reporting up to a 97% higher click rate for US users who send both channels versus email alone
- Automation scales with your plan — flows up to 4 steps on Essentials and up to 200 steps with branching on Standard — with vendor-reported figures of up to 8x more orders for paid-plan automation users
Cons
- Costs scale with your contact count and overage fees are billed automatically rather than pausing campaigns, so an unexpected list spike can inflate your bill
- The Free plan is tight — 1 seat, 1 audience, 250 contacts, 500 sends per month capped at 250 per day, sending pauses at limits, and email support only for the first 30 days
- SMS marketing is a paid-plan add-on in select countries that requires an application and approval (typically 2-5 business days), and unused monthly credits expire with no rollover
Aweber and Mailchimp in detail
Aweber
AWeber is an email marketing platform aimed at small businesses. It covers email campaigns, sign-up forms, and landing pages, and it supports ecommerce payments through Stripe. The service runs on strict permission-based rules: you email only people who asked to hear from you. AWeber's team handles migrations from another email provider, and a free trial lets you test sending before you commit to a paid plan.
Standout features
- Permission-Based Sending, Enforced by Design
- Sell Straight From Your Pages
- A Migration Team That Does the Moving
- A Trial With Its Rules in Writing
- Your List Stays Yours
Use cases
- Switch providers without the headache
- Sell straight from your landing pages
- Build your first list the right way
- Skip the setup entirely
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is an email and SMS marketing platform owned by Intuit. It helps small businesses, ecommerce stores, non-profits, and professional services grow their audience and drive sales. You get a drag-and-drop email builder, marketing automations, AI content tools, reporting, and 300+ integrations with tools like Shopify, Canva, and Salesforce. Plans run from a basic free option up to Premium, so it can scale as your contact list grows.
Standout features
- Design emails without a designer
- Automations that keep working after you hit send
- Reach customers on email and SMS
- Connect the apps you already use
- Test, target, and improve every send
Use cases
- Send your first campaign with confidence
- Turn store data into automatic sales
- Reach customers on email and SMS
- Keep your community engaged
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Aweber | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $15/mo Lite | $20/mo Standard |
| Free plan | No | Yes Max 250 contacts; sending pauses if contact or email send limits are exceeded |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | Up to 33% | — |
| Pricing model | Flat price | Flat price |
| Cost for 1 user | $12.50/mo Lite plan, billed annually | FreeCheaper Free plan, billed annually |
| Cost for 5 users | $15/mo Lite plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $20/mo Standard plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 10 users | $15/mo Lite plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $20/mo Standard plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Cost for 25 users | $15/mo Lite plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) | $20/mo Standard plan, billed monthly · price per account (user limit not stated) |
| Plans | 3 | 4 |
| Prices checked | Vendor page checked Oct 12, 2026 | Vendor page checked Oct 13, 2026 |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 1 user (billed annually), Mailchimp costs $0/mo vs Aweber at $12.50/mo.
- Only Mailchimp has a free plan.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.
More comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Do both tools offer free trials?
Yes, both offer 14-day free trials. AWeber's converts automatically to a paid plan, while Mailchimp's needs no credit card. Mailchimp billing starts unless you cancel, downgrade, or switch to Free.