COMPARISON CRITERIA
The main criteria you should look for while shopping for an autoresponder service are usability and effectiveness.
Is the interface is hard to manage or navigate? Is it easy to quickly compose a message and blast it to your list? Is it easy to check the stats and reports? These are the types of questions you’ll need to ask to ensure that the service scores high on the useability criteria.
Effectiveness is determined by how many messages are delivered to your recipients and how many get opened. Is the delivery consistent? Are open rates consistent? Other factors like your subject line and relationship with the prospect also impact your open rates. But, you still need to know that your autoresponder service is doing everything it can to make sure your messages are delivered and read.
There are several other criteria to consider as you can see in the comparison chart below.
COMPARISON CHART
Mailchimp vs. GetResponse vs. Aweber vs. ConstantContact vs. iContact vs. Infusionsoft
NOTE: Comparison chart was created based on available information. Features are subject to change.
| GetResponse getresponse.com | Aweber aweber.com | Constant Contact constantcontact.com | iContact icontact.com | Infusionsoft Infusionsoft.com | MailChimp mailchimp.com |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | 30 days | $1 for 30 days | 60 days | 30 days | No | No trial but free option |
| Cost | Basic - $15/mo. Essential - $49/mo. Professional - $99/mo. Enterprise - $1199/mo. Other pricing options available. | $19/pm for upto 500 subs. $29/pm for 501 - 2500 subs. $49 for 2501 - 5000 subs. $69 for 5001 - 10000. $149 per month for 10001- 25,000 subs. Other pricing options available. | Email - $1289/mo. Email Plus - $2900/mo. Other pricing options available. | Essential - $32.00/mo. $99.00/mo. for up to 10,000 emails. Other pricing options available. | From $99 to $299 per month, depending on features needed. Higher volume plans also available. | Essentials - $9.99/mo. Standard - $14.99/mo. Premium - $299.00/mo. |
| Web-Based Service or Script | Web-based service. | Web-based service. | Web-based service. | Web-based service. | Web-based service. | Web-based service. |
| Import & Export Subscribers |  | | | | | |
| Add Leads from Offline Sources | | | ||||
| HTML & Text | | | | | | |
| Message Personalization | | | | | | |
| Click Tracking & Campaign Statistics | | | | | | |
| Social Media Integration | | | | | | |
| HTML Email & Opt-in Templates | | | | | | |
| Criteria sending (subscription date, location, etc.) | | | | | | |
| Best for (business size) |
In summary…
If you’re looking for a great autoresponder there are two clear choices. If you’re pretty new to the whole concept of automated email, we recommend MailChimp for its friendly interface, ease of use and great service and support.
If you’re more confident with your email marketing, AWeber has proven itself time and again as a user-friendly, comprehensive platform for all your requirements, with more options for customisation than MailChimp provides.
There is, however, another option if you’re looking to gain complete control over your email marketing strategy and develop a bespoke solution that enables you to truly define, own and manage all aspects of your strategy