Best Email Service Provider for 2018: ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, Aweber or GetResponse?

Email marketing should always play an important role in your business. It will often grow to become your most reliable traffic source and the best way to cultivate a relationship with your readers. Your email list is a long term asset, that you need to consistently invest your time in and treat carefully.

That is why picking the best email service provider (ESP) for your email marketing is extremely important and you should do some extensive research before deciding on the one you want to go with.

Any decent ESP will enable you to manage your email lists, collect emails, and send out both manual and automatic email blasts. You will also need to make sure that any emails you are sending out are reliably landing in your subscriber's inbox and your chosen service should provide responsive support in case anything goes wrong.

Another important consideration are marketing automation capabilities.  Automations can greatly improve your ROI when done correctly and it's important that you pick and email service provider that supports this.​

There are many different  services out there, and it can be a challenge to figure out which one is the best for your business.

So in this post, we are going to take a look at 4 popular email service providers we have had a chance to use over the years: ConvertKit, Active Campaign, Aweber, and GetResponse.

Continue reading to find out the pros and cons of each, and see which one we ultimately pick as our top autoresponder.

We've written an updated and more in-depth post on the best email marketing software for 2018. It takes a look at 9 of the most popular email services out there. Click the link to check it out.

ConvertKit

ConvertKit came on strong a few years ago and has grown rapidly to become one of the top email service providers for 2018.

It all started when Pat Flynn switched over to ConvertKit from InfusionSoft and started touting the ease of use of ConvertKit's marketing automation capabilities.

Using ConvertKit he was able to easily segment his massive subscriber base, and publish more targeted emails to grow his business.

ConvertKit specifically caters to professional bloggers. So it includes all your standard autoresponder features like creating web forms, sending email broadcasts and reports.

What I like the most about ConvertKit is that it is a joy to use. The interface is wonderfully designed and it is easy to navigate around to find what you need.

Take ConvertKit's drip courses for example. Everything is layed out beautifully on a single page which allows you to visualize and edit your email sequences.

But the power of ConvertKit is it's automation features. ConvertKit recently introduced a new visual automation editor which is as beautifully designed as the rest of the software.

These automations allow you to do things like

  • Tag customers who bought your product
  • Segment subscribers by who clicks specific links in your emails
  • Automatically transition people from one email course to another

While not as powerful as say, ActiveCampaign's automation capabilities, it still lets you accomplish quite a lot with them. The only thing lacking in my opinion, is the ability to take any list cleanup actions in automations.

What I love though is the way you can seamlessly edit forms or emails directly from the automation editor itself. It's very smooth and slick.

Price wise, ConvertKit is slightly more expensive than the other email service providers on this list. For up to 1,000 subscribers, the price starts out at $29 a month and it increases up from there.

There's also no free trial, but it does include a full 30 day money back guarantee.

ConvertKit is continually innovating and adding new features and I'm very interested in seeing how it continues to evolve.

Sign up for ConvertKit

ConvertKit Pros

  • Intuitive, beautifully designed interface
  • Not charged for unsubscribes on your lists
  • Easily segment your lists with marketing automation

ConvertKit Cons

  • Slightly higher pricing structure
  • Can't unsubscribe people from an automation
  • No free trial

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is probably the most advanced email service provider I've had a chance to use. It's chock full of features including the ability to do email automation.

Which you might not realize you need yet, but once you try it, you may find out you can't live without it.

There is a lot to take in when you first login to your ActiveCampaign account. The dashboard is made up of different widgets which provides a birds-eye view of all your email marketing campaigns. You can drag the different widgets around and add or remove them as desired to make a fully customized view.

You can import your contacts in from a wide variety of different services with a click of a button. I personally like the way the contacts are presented. If an email on your list has a gravatar associated with it, then you can see your subscriber's image which is a nice touch.

ActiveCampaign includes a basic web form editor and drag and drop email builder. The web form editor is somewhat limited, as you can only do some basic styling to it. 

A campaign is the term used by ActiveCampaign for any single email you send out. A campaign can be one of 8 different types including your standard email blast, time based, automation based, split test, date based and more. 

Where ActiveCampaign really shines is with its automation capabilities. It has a really simple to use interface for creating some fairly sophistic email automation workflows.

For example, lets say you have a membership site that has both free and paid accounts. Whenever anyone new signs up to your site, they are added to your email list. Nothing special there.

However, when one of these members pays for a premium account, you can automatically trigger an event that starts an automation. You can then tag this user as a premium user and send them an email offering them a premium member bonus gift. Since a paid membership renews yearly, you can add a wait action of 11 months and then send a reminder email to the user to renew their membership.

This is just one simple example of what you can do with ActiveCampaign's email automation features.

Compared to ConvertKit's automation features, it's quite a bit more sophisticated and powerful.  It includes conditional branching and wait delays so you can create some really interesting workflows.​

Other services that have these sorts of automation features like InfusionSoft will set you back more than $200 a month. However, even with all of it's advanced features, ActiveCampaign is very competitively priced.

Create a free account with ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign Pros

  • Easily create email automation workflows
  • Supports tagging and other useful segmentation options
  • Good split testing capabilities
  • Not charged multiple times if subscriber is on multiple lists

ActiveCampaign Cons

  • Limited web form builder
  • Potentially restrictive with affiliate links

Aweber

Aweber used to be one of the most popular autoresponder service out there. I'm actually still a subscriber of Aweber for many years now and have been constantly impressed by the reliability of their service.

What got me using Aweber is that all the top marketers were using and recommending it. Now, many years later, I still look in my inbox and I see that the majority of my favorite bloggers are still using Aweber like Brian Dean and Ana Hoffman.

The best word I can use to describe Aweber, is solid.

Aweber is a fairly easy autoresponder to use. They recently update their user interface with bigger fonts and buttons to give it that more contemporary look. The site provides step by step wizards for all the essential functions which makes it quite simple to get around.

Aweber's web form editor is one of the better ones available. Forms are very customizable, and most every element on your form can be modified. You can start your form from scratch, or pick from one of the many templates as starting points.

There is also a drag and drop editor for publishing emails. Different modules can be dropped in to make great looking html emails. You also get access to a decent selection of stock photos which can help give your newsletters that extra zing.

The Aweber autoresponder is pretty standard. It lets you send time based emails which means you can specify specific intervals at which each email in your follow-up series is sent.

Aweber also includes basic split testing. You can create different variations of your emails and collect stats on each variation. It's not as well implemented as ActiveCampaign or GetResponse, but it does the job.

Aweber has click tracking and goal tracking which requires you to place a snippet of code on your pages. Analytics are decent and will display a wide variety of stats and basic graphs that show who opened your emails, and what links they clicked on. Aweber also has a very good API which is why you see a lot of 3rd party addons that work with it.

Aweber has been the slowest of the email service providers to embrace the new trend of marketing automation.  Their new campaigns feature adds some simple tagging and click tracking.  But overall, their automation features really lag behind the others.

Take the Aweber 30 Day Free Trial

Aweber Pros

  • Easy to use step by step wizards
  • Very reliable email delivery
  • Integrates with majority of third party tools
  • Awesome support options

Aweber Cons

  • Not a lot of advanced autoresponder options
  • Basic split testing options
  • Very basic marketing automation features

GetResponse

GetResponse touts itself as the "Worlds Easiest Email Marketing".

With its new Autoresponder 2.0 features, I'd have to agree. I really like what GetResponse has done to update itself recently, and I now consider it the most well rounded autoresponder in this whole roundup.

Getting started with GetResponse is dead simple. There is a free 30 day trial and you don't even need to pull out your credit card. Just sign up and go.

The first thing you will notice is that the interface is very friendly to use. Lots of big buttons and the site is easy to navigate.

GetResponse's web form editor is quite powerful, and on par with Aweber's. Everything is fully customizable and there are plenty of templates to choose from as a starting point.

The email builder makes it easy to create great looking html emails with little effort. You can pick from different email layouts to start with and drag and drop modules as you need them. GetResponse has also partnered with IStockPhoto so you can access high quality stock images to include in your emails.

Where GetResponse really stands out though is its autoresponder capabilities.

You can choose from 6 different autoresponder types: time based, clicked, opened, subscribed, goal-reach and data-changed. Time based is the one you are used to but the other types can be used in other special situations as well.

For example, lets say send out an email blast that includes a link to your latest blog post that talks about your upcoming product launch. By choosing a click based autoresponder, you can automatically have GetResponse send out a followup email to only the people who clicked the link in your email.

Since you are emailing only your subscribers who have shown interest, you are sure to see higher conversions. And conversely you are not bothering the rest of your list who hasn't indicated an interest in your new product launch.

GetResponse also has the best management for your standard time based autoresponders. You are presented with a graphical calendar view of all your follow-ups so you can see exactly when and where each follow up will be sent. I really like the email previews which are a nice touch.

You can drag emails around and you can see the current stats for each email. It's all very intuitive and makes setting up your followup series very easy to deal with.

It used to be hard to recommend GetResponse because it lacked any marketing automation capabilities.  Not anymore though.  GetResponse now has marketing automations that are similar to what ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit offer.  

There's a fully featured drag and drop visual automation editor that allows you to easily wire conditions (triggers) and actions together.  It supports tagging and even advanced features like lead scoring which is very cool.

Price wise, GetResponse is very good, and it is cheaper than every autoresponder service in our roundup. You can also get an additional 18% GetResponse discount if you purchase a yearly subscription (instead of monthly).

Take the GetResponse Free 30 Day Trial (No CC Required)​

GetResponse Pros

  • Powerful and flexible autoresponder features
  • Easy to use split testing
  • Customizable form and message builders
  • Best value to price ratio

GetResponse Cons

  • Marketing automations still not as powerful as ActiveCampaign

Final Thoughts

Each of the email service providers we have looked at, have their own strengths and weaknesses.

I originally started off with Aweber and I still have an account with them and it is still quite reliable. However, it lacks a lot of the advanced features that you'd like to see now. Their campaigns feature was supposedly their answer to marketing automations but it's too simplisitic in my opinion and doesn't hold up to the competition.

GetResponse was my top pick last year for best autoresponder 3 years ago. It's the most affordable email service provider on this list, and it's pack full of features.  It sort of lagged behind in introducing marketing automations, but it has it now, and I'm curious to see how it improves over time.

For someone who is new to email marketing, I do recommend giving ConvertKit a try. It has a very low learning curve, yet has the marketing automation features that will help you grow as your business does.  Plus it's beautiful user interface is a joy to use.

But for the best overall email service provider in 2018, I have to go with ActiveCampaign. It is the best overall in terms of ease of use, features, advanced capabilities and pricing.

Still, a lot of this is personal preference. That is why I always suggest that you at least give two or more of these autoresponders a try. Most of them have free trials so you can easily test them out before you commit.

Got an opinion on your favorite email service provider? Feel free to leave a comment and let us know.​

  • This article is incorrect. ActiveCampaign does not flatly restrict the use of affiliate links. An explanation of ActiveCampaign’s affiliate policies can be found here:

    http://www.activecampaign.com/help/affiliate-marketing/

    In short, affiliate links that supplement content in the message are okay.

    Content that is solely affiliate marketing is not.

  • Hey!

    Thanks for writing this. Overall looks okay but just to add, GetResponse does have automation 🙂

    Cheers!

    • Sergio says:

      Yes, GetResponse does have automation, but is not so powerful as having ActiveCampaign

      • Barbara says:

        GetResponse has made huge improvements to their automation marketing with an entire infusionsoft like set of tools.

        I currently use them but was about to switch to convertkit when I found they’ve improved the whole experience, I may stay.

  • Ritu says:

    Activecampaign looks like it takes the cake! can’t believe how cheap the entry level monthly service is!

  • Vogele says:

    This is a very useful post! I run my own blog and I really wanna send newsletters to my readers. After reading it I’m pretty sure that GetResponse is the best choice for me. Thanks a lot!

  • Oyvind says:

    I have been using Aweber for a couple of years, but I’ve never been happy with it. API is really slow, it takes a lot of clicks to send an email. Moving users between lists is a nightmare. Any kind of automation requires another external service that you have to pay for, and it becomes a mess.

    I’ve stuck with them for so long because there wasn’t really any good alternatives. And that’s what all my online marketer friends are saying too.

    But ActiveCampaign really looks promising. And since I just found out that Aweber removed country data from all my subscribers when moving from one list to another, I really don’t feel like paying them anymore.

    Thanks for the post! I’m looking forward to testing ActiveCampaign.

  • Aella says:

    Because of this blog I will be going with GetResponse
    as I have a free trial with them currently. Thanks a lot!

  • Tom says:

    Thank you really for this post. It’s really cool, and I will go for GetResponse …. no doubt. !!
    Good luck All.
    Tomi

  • Martin says:

    Aweber no longer offers A/B split testing. The feature is currently not available for whatever reason.

    I created a support ticket about that 2 days ago and have yet to hear back from them.

    One more thing:

    Even if you pay for Aweber and AW Pro Tools, you may be cheaper off than with ActiveCampaign. It depends on your number of subscribers.

  • Austin says:

    I haven’t tried active campaign yet, but I have to say I love Getresponse. It is one of the few resources I recommend all the time when people are starting their business. Heck it is even in my top resources page!

    I especially like their autoresponder series, it is easy to use and really effective. Glad there is another blogger who loves getresponse.

  • Val Geisler says:

    Hey Kinley! Thanks for including ConvertKit (and for the praise for what we’re building over here). I wanted to note that we have some exciting features launching in the next few weeks that will answer some of your needs for more advanced automations. Excited to share it with the world and see what you have to say!

    • Kinley McFadden says:

      Sounds awesome Val! Looking forward to playing with it. I’ll be sure to update this post when you guys do.

    • Hi Val. I am a new customer of ConvertKit. Are these new features ones that add the features this article talks about being the reason Active Campaign leads the pack?

  • Kelly says:

    Thank you for such a comprehensive review! I’m switching from MailChimp & this post has helped me narrow down my decision on which service to choose.

  • Chidi Anslem says:

    Thanks for this great reviews. I was told of Madmimi, but decided to research for alternatives which landed me on this post. I will go with GetResponse.

  • Vikas Jain says:

    I have used convertkit, but as I am into seminar business, hence phone number is an essential field. One can create custom field, but working with custom field is very difficult. Also export list does not contain fields other than Name and Email. Hence thinking of moving to getresponse.

  • I used Aweber, Getresponse, ActiveCampaign and iContact. After all of that, I`ve decided to go with Convertkit.

    I got a penalty on ActiveCampaign because I was offering some ” get rich” schemes on my campaign… which is not true. It was a franchising opportunity my company was selling… so I had to change it.

    The segmentation you can do with convertkit is not something to be ignored. They offer a very good list automation tool.

    You can tag and set actions for everything.

    • Kinley McFadden says:

      Hi Alex. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, ActiveCampaign can be a little strict with what you can promote so you definitely need to watch out for that. ConvertKit is definitely a very good alternative though! I love some of the new features they just released.

  • Howard says:

    As a newcomer to all this, it’s a bit confusing. I am about to start blog. I just need easiest way to send emails to hopeful subscribers of my newest article. I like to have automation for time zones, but of course, I will send the email out when article is completed! No fancy campaign needed (assumedly yet) as I just sell my content! SO: which one?? I see Mail chimp not included..?)
    Thanks Howard

    • Kinley McFadden says:

      Hi Howard,

      Not a real big fan of Mailchimp…you can read my review of it here. If you’re looking for simple, I would go with ConvertKit or GetResponse. Both are simple to get started with, but can grow as your business does as well.

  • Dont your review SendLane? it’s newer but specifically for internet marketers.

    I currently use ActiveCampaign.

    I think AC has a feature in the automation that makes all the proccess a lot easier: “go to” or also called “jump to”: it consists in the ability to make the prospect “jump” to another part of the automation.

    So if a prospect didnt open a mail, you can split with another mail and then get him back to the principal branch automation.

    Noone has it, even if i asked to SendLane, Aweber and Getresponse.

    BUT

    I’ve heard some deliverability issues with AC, even if i didnt face them myself. Do you know something about?

  • Terry says:

    My choice is GetResponse! I’m looking forward to seeing how they improve their marketing automation. It’s already pretty cool.

  • Chase Berggren says:

    If you’re a digital entrepreneur in Latin America, Get Response is not a good option unless you’re already experienced in technology. Setting up a Landing Page and Autoresponder using my GoDaddy purchased domain name and email was a NIGHTMARE. The two features of GR I could not live with: 1) No phone support outside the U.S. – their toll-free # doesn’t work – you can call England’s direct # if you don’t mind paying for the call 2) utilizing my private email as well as my domain from GoDaddy could not BOTH be done. I spent countless times with GR ChatLive and never got a easy-to-understand explanation of how to integrate both. After a week of back-and-forth and still getting un-clear responses and directives to click on their links for explanations, I had to give up and start looking for another autoresponder. Easiest in the world? I think not.

  • gen says:

    You forgot to include the most important required feature which is FB leads ad s integration. I just canceled w/ GR because they still have not figured the need. FB leads is by far best ROI for get new highly targeted leads. Which of these list offer that intergration? I know Aweber, Mailchimp offer it but not sure about the rest.

  • Johnny Lloyd says:

    Very odd you didn’t tell your readers that Aweber counts a subscriber for each list they’re on and even if they unsubscribe from one list they’re still counted on that list as a subscriber, costing them money and greatly skewing their subscriber list size. Very misleading.

  • Marsha Kelly says:

    Great article review. Based on your recommendation I am trying the Getresponse for 30 days. So far all is well until I used the support chat today. Got a snarky gal on the line whom was no help at all. Will keep pressing on and figure that it is only one gal in the whole company.

  • Kevin says:

    I currently use GR and may be changing due to unreliable deliverability and weird software glitches that they are currently trying to figure out. I have a ongoing ticket waiting for their response. GR support was at a loss as to why things were not working properly. I have used GR for over 2 years and for the most part like it with very little complaints. Their support is outstanding, but I may have to change change and am seriously looking at Convert Kit to replace GR. I really don’t want to move because I have spent so much time and effort learning GR, but if your not confident in the GR software reliability then I must make the move

    • Kinley McFadden says:

      Yeah, email reliability is the most important thing! I’m surprised that GetResponse is having these issues though since they have normally been very reliable in my experience.

  • Alice Jonsson says:

    Thank you for the article! I’m always keeping an open eye out for some new and upcoming ESP to try out! I started out with MailChimp as probably have 80% of users, but once my list grew, I realized that it was eating my money up quite fast, so I started looking for alternatives. I had my share of experience with Aweber, GetResponse, but finally settled (and still am very happy) with Mailerlite. It’s relatively small and niche service, but their features are very well made and thought out. And the costs are also very nice to look at the end of the month! So that’s my go-to service for now.

    • Kinley McFadden says:

      Hi Alice, thanks for stopping by. I haven’t had a chance to play with Mailerlite yet, but I just looked at the features and it definitely looks like it’s worth checking out. Thanks for the suggestion!

  • Kaz says:

    What about Drip? We’re a small ecommerce biz with a list of 25000 and trying to decide between Drip, Active Campaign and GetResponse right now. As mentioned above FB advertising is very important, too.

    • Kinley McFadden says:

      Hi Kaz. I really like Drip too, and would definitely be included in the next version of this post. The only con with Drip is that it’s quite expensive especially compared to ActiveCampaign. With 25k contacts, it would cost you $299 a month. ActiveCampaign would be $179 a month w/ their Lite plan and GetResponse would be $145/ month.

  • Great article review. Based on your recommendation I am trying the Getresponse for 30 days. So far all is well until I used the support chat today. Got a snarky gal on the line whom was no help at all. Will keep pressing on and figure that it is only one gal in the whole company.

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