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The bottom line
Good deliverability and a real free plan, but its list structure and rising prices can sneak up on you.
AWeber's free plan covers 500 subscribers, and paid tiers start at $15/month ($12.49 billed annually) for the same subscriber count, per the pricing page. Plus jumps to $30/month ($19.99 annual) and unlocks unlimited lists, automations and users, plus lower ecommerce transaction fees (0.6% vs 1.0% on Lite). A Done For You tier at $20/month annual plus a discounted $79 setup fee builds your first template and newsletter for you. In one informal Reddit test comparing five email tools, a user ranked AWeber first for inbox placement and said triggered emails fired instantly after a tag was set.
The catch, per another Reddit thread, is that AWeber's list model can double-count subscribers: putting one person on two lists means paying for two subscribers, which inflates costs faster than list size alone suggests. An AWeber product manager responded in that thread saying a newer automation platform, Campaigns, was in beta to let customers manage one list with tags instead of duplicating across lists — but as of that discussion, triggered sequences based on clicks or page views weren't yet available in the beta. A separate commenter mentioned their bill jumped from $30 to $90, which is the kind of plan-tier or subscriber-growth jump worth modeling before you commit.
Good fit if
- Small businesses wanting simple automations
- Creators needing landing pages bundled in
- Sellers running small ecommerce stores
Skip it if
- Teams needing advanced multi-trigger automation now
- Lists split across many overlapping segments
- Buyers wary of future price increases
ScoresHow it rates
What works
- Free plan covers up to 500 subscribers
- Reddit test ranked it #1 for inbox deliverability
- Free account migration from other platforms
- Lower 0.6% ecommerce fee on Plus plan
- AWeber staff actively respond to user complaints on Reddit
What doesn't
- Subscribing one person to two lists counts as two
- One user reported a bill jump from $30 to $90
- Triggered click/page-view automations still limited per a 2024 Reddit reply
- Plus plan costs $30/month billed monthly, not cheap
- Ecommerce sales carry a 1.0% or 0.6% transaction fee
01What AWeber actually does
AWeber is an email marketing platform aimed at small businesses, bloggers and creators rather than enterprise marketing teams. The core product covers email campaigns, automation, and landing pages, plus ecommerce pages and web push notifications bolted on top.
Per the pricing page, the free plan covers up to 500 subscribers, and paid plans start at $15/month billed monthly ($12.49/month if you pay annually) for the Lite tier. A Plus tier adds unlimited lists, landing pages and automations, plus lower ecommerce transaction fees. There's also a "Done For You" tier where AWeber's team builds your first templates and signup form, and a custom Enterprise tier for lists over 100,000 subscribers.
AWeber also offers free account migration, meaning its team moves your existing lists and automations over from another platform at no charge.
02Where AWeber is strong
The most-cited strength isn't a feature on the pricing page — it's deliverability. In one Reddit thread comparing AWeber, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit and MailerLite, the poster ranked AWeber first, saying it consistently hit the Gmail inbox rather than the promotions tab, and that tag-triggered emails sent almost instantly.
On the feature side:
- A genuinely usable free plan up to 500 subscribers, not just a trial
- Free, done-for-you account migration from other platforms
- Pre-built automations (welcome sequences, abandoned cart) you customize rather than build from scratch
- AI-assisted landing pages and an AI writing assistant for subject lines and copy
- Ecommerce pages that accept 100+ currencies via Stripe, useful for creators selling subscriptions without a full store platform
- Web push notifications as a channel outside the inbox, included even on Lite up to 50,000 subscribers per the pricing page
For a small list that just needs reliable sending and basic automation, that combination covers most of what a solo marketer or small team needs without separate tools.
03Where it falls short
AWeber's list structure can inflate your subscriber count, and therefore your bill. A commenter in one r/Emailmarketing thread described needing to subscribe someone to two lists to move them through a course sequence and onto a main list — meaning one person counts as two subscribers for billing purposes. An AWeber product manager replied in the same thread confirming this is a known issue and said the newer "Campaigns" automation tool, then in beta, was intended to let customers manage one list with tags and segments instead.
Pricing can also move more than expected. A different commenter in the deliverability comparison thread said their bill went from $30 to $90, and asked the original poster whether they still recommend AWeber after that kind of increase.
On top of subscriber-tier pricing, AWeber charges ecommerce transaction fees: 1.0% on Lite, dropping to 0.6% on Plus and Done For You, per the pricing page. Triggered automations based on clicks or page views also weren't available in the Campaigns beta as of that Reddit exchange, with the company describing only manual workarounds.
04AWeber pricing: what you'll actually pay
AWeber's free plan covers up to 500 subscribers with one email list, three landing pages and three automations — a real starting point, not a crippled demo.
Paid plans start at Lite, $15/month billed monthly or $12.49/month billed annually for 0-500 subscribers. Lite caps you at one list, three landing pages, three automations and three users, plus a 1.0% transaction fee on any AWeber Ecommerce sales.
Plus jumps to $30/month monthly or $19.99/month annual at the same subscriber tier, but removes the list, page and automation caps, adds unlimited segments, priority 24/7 support and drops the ecommerce fee to 0.6%.
Done For You runs $20/month annually plus a one-time setup fee (listed at $599, discounted to $79), and bundles a built landing page, email template and a setup call.
The real gotcha is scale: per AWeber's published tables, Plus at 10,000 subscribers runs $135/month billed monthly. Budget for that climb before you commit to annual billing.
05Switching to (or from) AWeber
AWeber offers free account migration — its team moves lists, automations and templates over from another platform at no charge, which lowers the usual switching-cost barrier.
Export is standard CSV for subscriber data, so leaving isn't blocked technically. The friction is structural: Lite restricts you to one email list, so businesses running several brands or overlapping segments outgrow it fast and get pushed to Plus.
Per AWeber's own plan breakdown, the features that matter for scaling — unlimited segments, unlimited automations, lower ecommerce fees — all sit behind the $30/month (or $19.99 annual) Plus tier, not Lite. Anyone comparing tools should treat the $15 headline price as a starting point, not the working price.
Based on the plan caps and the pricing jump between tiers, the people most likely to leave AWeber are those who need advanced multi-trigger automation now, or who get burned by subscriber-count pricing creeping up as lists grow.
From the threadsWhat users say
AWeber gets a positive report for inbox placement and fast triggered emails, but user feedback is mixed overall. Reddit users also flag list-count costs, automation limitations and a sharp price increase; the deliverability report was a small test over a few days, not a broad comparison.
Aweber always hit the gmail inbox (rather than promo tab), and emails were the quickest to hit the inbox after a tag was triggered
in aweber you have to sub them to both lists, and then one person counts as two - increasing costs
Triggered sequences based on clicks, or page views are not yet available in our beta release
Ours went from 30 to 90 and we are fed up
Questions people ask
Is AWeber a legit company?
AWeber is described in the published product information as an email marketing platform for small businesses, bloggers and creators. That information does not independently verify the company’s corporate standing or resolve complaints. Reddit feedback is anecdotal: one user praised inbox placement, while others raised concerns about automation, list costs and pricing.
Can AWeber emails reach the inbox?
One small-business poster said AWeber emails consistently reached Gmail’s inbox rather than the Promotions tab and arrived quickly after a tag trigger. The poster described the test as very limited, using a few Gmail and Outlook accounts over a few days. Treat it as one user’s report, not a deliverability guarantee.
How much does AWeber cost?
For 0–500 subscribers, Lite is listed at $15 per month with monthly billing or $12.49 per month billed annually. Plus is $30 monthly or $19.99 monthly billed annually. A free plan covers up to 500 subscribers, and a 14-day free trial is listed. Higher subscriber tiers cost more.
What automation limits should I check before choosing AWeber?
Lite includes one email list and three email automations; Plus lists unlimited lists and automations. A Reddit user reported that using two lists for a course flow counted each subscriber twice. In a separate thread, an AWeber representative said click- and page-view-triggered sequences were not available in the Campaigns beta discussed there.
Can I move my account to AWeber?
AWeber lists free account migration from another platform, with its team moving the account at no cost. Before switching, confirm how your contacts, list structure, tags and existing automations will transfer, especially if you rely on one subscriber appearing across multiple lists. The published information does not specify migration timing or what data is excluded.
Sources
- AWeber homepage
- AWeber pricing page
- Reddit: Seeking VPS Hosting (Even though I don't need it)
- Reddit: I tested mailchimp, activecampaign, aweber, convertkit, and mailerlite - here are my results
- Reddit: Considering leaving Aweber - would really appreciate a bit of help.
- Reddit: Quitting message to Aweber CEO