MailerLite is the best AWeber alternative for most users in 2026. It starts at $12 per month, keeps a real free plan for 1,000 subscribers, and includes automation and landing pages on every tier. Kit is the best pick for creators, and Brevo is the cheapest way to keep a large list.
AWeber gave longtime users two hard reasons to shop around. In December 2024 the company raised prices by 50 to 150 percent and eliminated all grandfathered legacy pricing, according to Marketer's Choice's 2026 pricing analysis. The free plan is also gone. New users now get a 14-day trial, then pay from $15 per month for 500 subscribers on Lite.
Email still earns its keep. Litmus research shows an average return of $36 for every $1 spent on email marketing. The platform you pick decides how much of that return you keep. We tested seven AWeber competitors on price, automation, deliverability, and migration effort. If you are building a broader stack, start with our guide to the best AI marketing tools, then come back to replace AWeber.
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Quick Comparison: Top 7 AWeber Alternatives in 2026
| Platform | Best For | Starting Price | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| MailerLite | Best overall replacement | $12/mo (500 subscribers) | Yes, 1,000 subscribers |
| Kit | Creators and newsletters | $39/mo (1,000 subscribers) | Yes, up to 10,000 subscribers |
| Brevo | Large lists on a budget | $9/mo (5,000 emails) | Yes, 300 emails/day |
| Constant Contact | Local small businesses | $12/mo (500 contacts) | No, trial only |
| Moosend | Lowest total cost | $9/mo (500 contacts) | No, 30-day trial |
| GetResponse | All-in-one with webinars | $19/mo (1,000 contacts) | Yes, limited |
| ActiveCampaign | Automation power users | $15/mo (1,000 contacts) | No, 14-day trial |
Why Switch From AWeber?
AWeber users switch because of the December 2024 price increase of 50 to 150 percent, the removal of grandfathered legacy rates, and the discontinued free plan. Competitors now deliver stronger automation and modern editors at or below AWeber's new prices.
AWeber was one of the original autoresponder companies, and it earned loyalty over two decades. The 2024 restructuring changed the math. Long-time customers on legacy rates saw bills jump without new features attached, per Marketer's Choice. Meanwhile the Lite plan starts at $15 per month for 500 subscribers, which is above MailerLite, Moosend, Constant Contact, and Brevo.
Feature depth is the second issue. AWeber's automation covers tagging and simple flows. It lacks the branching workflows, site tracking, and lead scoring that ActiveCampaign ships at a similar price. Every platform below imports AWeber lists via CSV in minutes, so the switching cost is low.
The 7 Best AWeber Alternatives in 2026
1 MailerLite: Best Overall AWeber Alternative
MailerLite does everything AWeber does for less money, plus a real free plan.
What it does well. MailerLite includes unlimited sends, automation workflows, landing pages, and forms on every paid plan. The editor is modern and fast. Deliverability ranks near the top of independent tests year after year. The free plan covers 1,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month, which restores what AWeber took away.
Key features:
- Free plan for 1,000 subscribers
- Visual automation builder on all paid plans
- Landing pages, pop-ups, and surveys included
- Unlimited monthly sends on paid tiers
- Free migration assistance on annual plans
Pricing. Growing Business starts at $12 per month for 500 subscribers, below AWeber Lite's $15.
Best for: Small businesses and newsletter senders who want AWeber's simplicity at a lower price.
Limitations. No built-in CRM. Approval process for new accounts can take a day.
2 Kit: Best AWeber Alternative for Creators
Kit, formerly ConvertKit, is built for creators selling audiences, not just sending emails.
What it does well. Kit's free Newsletter plan covers up to 10,000 subscribers, the most generous free tier in email marketing, according to EmailTooltester's 2026 analysis. Paid plans add visual automations, a creator network for cross-promotion, and native paid newsletter and digital product sales. Tag-based subscriber management beats AWeber's list-centric model.
Key features:
- Free plan up to 10,000 subscribers
- Tag-based subscriber organization
- Paid newsletters and digital product sales built in
- Creator network for audience growth
- Visual automation funnels on Creator plan
Pricing. The Creator plan starts at $39 per month for 1,000 subscribers, or $33 per month billed annually.
Best for: Bloggers, podcasters, and newsletter writers monetizing an audience.
Limitations. Email templates are deliberately plain. Expensive for pure broadcast senders. Compare more options in our Kit alternatives guide.
3 Brevo: Best for Large Lists on a Budget
Brevo charges for emails sent, not stored contacts, which flips AWeber's pricing model.
What it does well. AWeber bills by subscriber count even if you rarely send. Brevo's Starter plan costs $9 per month for 5,000 emails with unlimited contacts. A 20,000-subscriber list that sends monthly costs a fraction of AWeber's rate. The free plan allows 300 emails per day forever. You also get a basic CRM and transactional email in the same account.
Key features:
- Unlimited contacts on every plan
- Free plan with 300 emails per day
- Built-in CRM and deal pipeline
- Transactional email and SMS included
- Pay-per-send pricing model
Pricing. Starter begins at $9 per month for 5,000 emails. Business adds A/B testing and advanced automation from $18 per month.
Best for: Big lists with low sending frequency, and anyone who wants a free plan back.
Limitations. Frequent senders burn through email credits fast. See our Brevo alternatives guide before committing.
4 Constant Contact: Best for Local Small Businesses
Constant Contact is the closest like-for-like replacement for AWeber's audience.
What it does well. Constant Contact targets the same small-business crowd AWeber does: local shops, nonprofits, and service businesses. The Lite plan starts at $12 per month for 500 contacts, per SendX's 2026 breakdown. Event management, social posting, and SMS add-ons cover the channels a local business actually uses. Phone support is available on all plans, which most rivals dropped.
Key features:
- Event invitations and registration management
- Social media posting and ads
- Phone, chat, and email support on all plans
- Hundreds of prebuilt templates
- Nonprofit discounts
Pricing. Lite starts at $12 per month for 500 contacts. Standard with automation starts at $35 per month.
Best for: Local businesses and nonprofits that want phone support and event tools.
Limitations. Automation is basic below the $35 Standard tier. Costs scale steeply with list growth.
5 Moosend: Best Low-Cost AWeber Alternative
Moosend delivers the lowest total cost of any full-featured platform on this list.
What it does well. The Pro plan starts at $9 per month for 500 contacts with unlimited emails, automation, and landing pages included, according to EmailVendorSelection. AWeber charges $15 for the same list size with weaker automation. Moosend's prebuilt recipes handle onboarding sequences, cart recovery, and re-engagement without setup work.
Key features:
- Unlimited emails on every paid plan
- Prebuilt automation recipes
- Landing pages and forms included
- 30-day free trial
- 20% annual billing discount
Pricing. Pro starts at $9 per month for 500 contacts, scaling to about $315 per month at 50,000 contacts.
Best for: Budget-first senders who still want real automation.
Limitations. Smaller template library and integration list than Mailchimp or Constant Contact.
6 GetResponse: Best All-in-One With Webinars
GetResponse replaces AWeber plus a webinar tool in one subscription.
What it does well. GetResponse bundles email, event-based automation, funnels, and native webinar hosting. No other platform on this list runs webinars at all. The AI campaign generator drafts complete emails from a prompt. For coaches and course sellers, consolidating a webinar subscription usually covers the price difference with AWeber on its own.
Key features:
- Native webinars up to 1,000 attendees
- Conversion funnel templates
- Event-based automation workflows
- AI email generator
- Web push notifications
Pricing. Starter begins at $19 per month for 1,000 contacts. Webinars require Marketing Automation from $59 per month.
Best for: Course creators and B2B teams that run webinars and funnels.
Limitations. Entry plan limits automation to autoresponders. Interface is busier than MailerLite's.
7 ActiveCampaign: Best Automation Upgrade From AWeber
ActiveCampaign is where AWeber users go when tagging stops being enough.
What it does well. ActiveCampaign's builder supports branching logic, lead scoring, site tracking, and a built-in sales CRM. It ships hundreds of prebuilt automation recipes and over 900 integrations. AWeber's simple flows cannot follow a subscriber across your website, score their intent, and route them to sales. ActiveCampaign does this on its mid tiers.
Key features:
- Branching automations with conditional logic
- Lead scoring and site tracking
- Built-in sales CRM and pipelines
- Predictive sending
- 900+ integrations
Pricing. Starter begins at $15 per month for 1,000 contacts. Full automation arrives on Plus at $49 per month.
Best for: Growing teams that want behavior-driven campaigns and a CRM.
Limitations. Steepest learning curve here. Renewal costs climb with contact count.
How Should You Choose the Right AWeber Alternative?
Pick by use case: MailerLite for general small-business email, Kit for creators, Brevo for large low-frequency lists, Constant Contact for local businesses, and ActiveCampaign for automation depth. Then confirm the migration path and test deliverability on a trial before moving your list.
Three factors decide the right fit. First, list economics. Price your actual subscriber count on each vendor's calculator at today's size and at double. AWeber's December 2024 restructuring showed why projected cost matters more than entry price. Second, feature ceiling. If you only broadcast a weekly newsletter, MailerLite or Moosend covers you for years. If you plan product launches, tag-based funnels, or sales handoffs, start on Kit or ActiveCampaign so you never migrate twice. Third, support needs. Constant Contact and AWeber both offer phone support. Most modern rivals are chat-only, which matters for less technical teams.
Migration itself is simple. Export your AWeber list as CSV, import it, and rebuild your welcome sequence first. Warm up the new sender domain by emailing your most engaged segment for the first two weeks. Our AI email marketing software guide explains warm-up and deliverability testing step by step, and our free AI marketing tools roundup lists no-cost helpers for the transition.
How We Evaluated These Platforms
We scored each platform on five weighted criteria: total cost at 500, 5,000, and 25,000 subscribers (30%), automation capability versus AWeber's baseline (25%), deliverability tooling (20%), migration effort from AWeber including list import and form replacement (15%), and support channels on entry plans (10%). All pricing was checked against official vendor pages and independent trackers including EmailTooltester in July 2026. We weight entry-tier automation heavily because AWeber switchers most often cite feature gaps, not just price. Some links are affiliate links. Placement is never sold.
The Bottom Line
MailerLite is the best AWeber alternative for most senders: cheaper, more capable, and it restores the free plan AWeber removed. Creators should pick Kit for its 10,000-subscriber free tier. Large quiet lists save the most on Brevo. Automation-driven teams should go straight to ActiveCampaign.
Whichever you choose, run one real campaign on a trial before canceling AWeber, and keep both accounts live for one billing cycle during the switch. For the wider toolkit, see our complete AI marketing tools guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best AWeber alternative in 2026?
MailerLite is the best AWeber alternative in 2026. It costs $12 per month for 500 subscribers versus AWeber's $15, includes automation and landing pages on every plan, and keeps a free plan for 1,000 subscribers.
Does AWeber still have a free plan?
No. AWeber discontinued its free plan and now offers a 14-day free trial. After the trial, the Lite plan starts at $15 per month for 500 subscribers. MailerLite, Kit, and Brevo all still offer permanent free plans.
Why did AWeber get more expensive?
AWeber raised prices by 50 to 150 percent in December 2024 and eliminated all grandfathered legacy pricing. Long-time customers lost their locked-in rates, which pushed many to competitors like MailerLite and Moosend that charge less at the same list size.
What is the best free AWeber alternative?
Kit has the most generous free plan, covering up to 10,000 subscribers on its Newsletter tier. MailerLite's free plan covers 1,000 subscribers with 12,000 monthly emails, and Brevo's free plan allows 300 emails per day with unlimited contacts.
Is it hard to migrate away from AWeber?
No. Migration takes under an hour for most lists. Export your subscribers from AWeber as a CSV, import them into the new platform, and rebuild your signup forms and welcome sequence. MailerLite and Moosend include free migration help on annual plans.
David Austin is a technology writer and software analyst at DeployHyre, where he covers AI tools, SaaS platforms, cloud hosting, and business automation. He focuses on hands-on comparisons of pricing, features, and real-world performance so teams can pick the right software with confidence.