Updated March 2026

ActiveCampaign vs AWeber

ActiveCampaign is the upgrade path for AWeber users who need more sophisticated marketing. ActiveCampaign's automation builder (135+ triggers, 750+ recipes), built-in CRM, lead scoring, and website tracking are in a different league from AWeber's basic automation. The price difference is modest at small lists ($19/month vs $15/month at 1,000 contacts) but grows at scale. The migration is worth it if you're running a business that needs multi-step nurture sequences, sales pipeline management, or behaviour-triggered campaigns. If you're a small business that sends a weekly newsletter and occasional promotions, AWeber's simplicity and 24/7 support are really fine.

Our pick: ActiveCampaign (7.4/10 vs 6.2/10)

ActiveCampaign wins 3 out of 6 categories. AWeber is better for: non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages.

Try ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign

7.4/10

AWeber

6.2/10

5/5

Automation

2/5

4/5

Deliverability

3/5

2/5

Ease of Use

4/5

2/5

Templates & Design

3/5

4/5

Analytics

2/5

Customer Support

5/5

At a Glance

Feature	ActiveCampaign	AWeber
Free Plan	No	Yes
Starting Price	$19/mo	$15/mo
Automation	5/5	2/5
Deliverability	4/5	3/5
Ease of Use	2/5	4/5
Templates & Design	2/5	3/5
Analytics	4/5	2/5
Customer Support	2/5	5/5
Overall	7.4/10	6.2/10

Pricing Comparison

ActiveCampaign

Paid plans from $19/mo

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AWeber

Free Plan

Paid plans from $15/mo

View Pricing

Pros & Cons

ActiveCampaign

First-rate automation builder with 135+ triggers and 750+ pre-built recipes — no other platform matches this depth (G2: 4.5/5 from 14,000+ reviews)

900+ integrations including 40+ new ones added in 2025 alone (Wix, Webflow, SOCi) — plays nicely with almost anything

Deep segmentation with new AI Segments Agent that lets you describe audiences in natural language

Aggressive price hikes documented at 20-100% for existing customers. Real examples: $588/yr to $1,800/yr; $1,400/mo to $2,800/mo; $2,000/yr to $7,800/yr

As of November 2025, now charges for ALL contacts including unsubscribed, bounced, and unconfirmed — same controversial practice as Mailchimp

Trustpilot rating of 2.8/5 from 1,358 reviews — billing complaints, cancellation horror stories, and users charged after cancelling

Full ActiveCampaign review →

AWeber

Customer support is consistently rated 4.5/5 on Capterra — 24/7 live chat and phone support (8AM-8PM EST). Phone support is rare in this space and really valuable for non-technical users

Smart Designer auto-generates branded email templates from your website URL — enter your domain and it pulls your colours, fonts, and logo. Clever and really time-saving for small businesses

Web push notifications built in — send browser notifications to re-engage visitors. Most email marketing competitors don't offer this at all

December 2024 price hike eliminated ALL grandfathered pricing and hit users with 50-150% increases. Real examples: users paying $29/month saw bills jump to $70+. One user with fewer than 1,000 subscribers went from legacy rate to $55/month overnight

Trustpilot rating of 2.5/5 with 33% one-star reviews — dominated by the price hike backlash and reports of list deletions in January 2025 shortly after the increase

Deliverability is mediocre — EmailToolTester ranked it 11th of 15 platforms at 83.1%. The claim of 'great deliverability' is outdated. MailerLite (94.41%) and ActiveCampaign (94.2%) significantly outperform it

Full AWeber review →

The Bottom Line

Choose ActiveCampaign if: Mid-sized businesses (1K-25K contacts) that actively use complex automation daily. It wins 3 of 6 categories in our scoring.

Choose AWeber if: Non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages. It offers better value for its specific use case.

Price comparison: AWeber starts at $15/mo (free plan available) vs ActiveCampaign at $19/mo.

Who Should Pick Which?

Pick ActiveCampaign if…

You need a tool best for mid-sized businesses (1k-25k contacts) that actively use complex automation daily
First-rate automation builder with 135+ triggers and 750+ pre-built recipes — no other platform matches this depth (G2: 4.5/5 from 14,000+ reviews)
900+ integrations including 40+ new ones added in 2025 alone (Wix, Webflow, SOCi) — plays nicely with almost anything

Try ActiveCampaign

Pick AWeber if…

You need a tool best for non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages
Customer support is consistently rated 4.5/5 on Capterra — 24/7 live chat and phone support (8AM-8PM EST). Phone support is rare in this space and really valuable for non-technical users
Smart Designer auto-generates branded email templates from your website URL — enter your domain and it pulls your colours, fonts, and logo. Clever and really time-saving for small businesses

Try AWeber

Related Comparisons

Mailchimp vs ActiveCampaign

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ActiveCampaign vs Klaviyo

Klaviyo vs AWeber

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ActiveCampaign

AWeber

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ActiveCampaign or AWeber better?

ActiveCampaign scores higher overall (7.4/10 vs 6.2/10). ActiveCampaign is best for mid-sized businesses (1k-25k contacts) that actively use complex automation daily. AWeber is better if you need non-technical beginners who value phone support and simplicity above all else, and digital product sellers who want built-in payment processing on landing pages.

Which is cheaper, ActiveCampaign or AWeber?

AWeber is cheaper, starting at $15/mo with a free plan. ActiveCampaign starts at $19/mo with no free plan.

What is ActiveCampaign best for?

ActiveCampaign is best for mid-sized businesses (1k-25k contacts) that actively use complex automation daily. It scores highest in automation, deliverability, analytics.

How we compared these tools

We research every tool using real user reviews from Reddit, G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot — then verify current pricing and cross-reference independent deliverability data. No paid placements, no sponsored rankings.

Read our full methodologyLast updated: March 2026

Transparency note: We earn affiliate commissions from some tools on this page. This never influences our scores. Our methodology