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Both ConvertKit (now rebranded as Kit) and AWeber are email marketing platforms aimed at people who want to grow an audience and turn it into a business — but they approach that goal differently, and the pricing structures alone tell a meaningful story about who each one is built for.
The clearest upfront difference: ConvertKit leads with a creator-first identity — paid newsletters, newsletter sponsorships, digital product sales, and an AI layer woven throughout — while AWeber plants its flag firmly in small business email, leaning on ease-of-use, automation, and built-in AI writing tools to help teams “convert more customers.” Neither is objectively better; they’re aimed at slightly different versions of “I want to grow with email.”
Pricing
Side-by-Side Pricing Table
| ConvertKit | AWeber | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry / Free tier | $0/month, billed monthly | — |
| Low tier | $33/month, billed monthly | $12.49/month, billed annually (0–500 subscribers) |
| Mid tier | $66/month, billed monthly | $19.99/month, billed annually (0–500 subscribers) |
| High tier | — | $20/month, billed annually (0–500 subscribers) — Done For You |
A few things worth noting:
ConvertKit publishes a $0 free plan — an actual free-forever entry point with no commitment required. From there, paid plans run $33/month (Creator) and $66/month (Pro), both billed monthly at flat rates.
AWeber’s pricing works differently: the captured plans — Lite at $12.49/month, Plus at $19.99/month, and Done For You at $20/month — are all billed annually and scoped to the 0–500 subscriber tier. That annual billing commitment is worth weighing before you compare sticker prices.
One honest caveat: AWeber’s pricing is subscriber-count-based and the fact sheet captures only the 0–500 tier; costs will change as your list grows, and it’s worth checking AWeber’s current pricing page directly for higher subscriber tiers.
Features: Where Each Platform Focuses
ConvertKit — Creator Commerce at the Center
ConvertKit’s positioning is explicit: “everything creators need to grow.” The feature set reflects that. Alongside standard email marketing, visual automations, landing pages, and an email designer, the platform adds tools specifically built for monetization: a paid newsletter capability for recurring subscription income, newsletter sponsorships, and paid recommendations. There’s also a Kit App Store for connecting creator tools, Subscriber Signals, Analytics, and Kit MCP (a newer AI-adjacent capability). On the support and learning side, ConvertKit lists free migrations, Kit University, a knowledge base, and an option to hire a Kit Expert.
The Kit + AI feature signals an AI layer, though the fact sheet describes it at a category level rather than detailing its specific functions.
AWeber — Small Business Email with AI Writing Built In
AWeber’s positioning is “grow your small business with easy-to-use email marketing tools.” Its feature set covers email marketing, email automation, a landing page builder, web push notifications, an AI Signup Form Builder, and an AI Writing Assistant — the last of which is called out prominently in their positioning as a tool to help you “write high-converting emails faster.” AWeber also lists a Link in Bio page, pre-written email campaigns, a Landing Page Template Gallery, custom templates, virtual events, app integrations, free account migration service, and 24/7 contact with Customer Solutions. Support resources include video tutorials, free workshops, AWeber Certified Experts, and a 24/7 Email Marketing Master Class.
Notable for sellers: the fact sheet references Ecommerce functionality — AWeber collects a fee per transaction processed — and specifically calls out Etsy shops as a use case.
What’s Captured for One But Not the Other
- Paid newsletters / newsletter sponsorships / paid recommendations: present in ConvertKit’s captured features; not present in AWeber’s.
- Web push notifications: captured for AWeber; not for ConvertKit.
- AI Writing Assistant (named explicitly): captured for AWeber; ConvertKit captures “Kit + AI” as a broader category item.
- Link in Bio page: captured for AWeber; not for ConvertKit.
- Kit App Store / Kit MCP: captured for ConvertKit; not present in AWeber’s data.
- Ecommerce / Etsy shops: captured for AWeber; not for ConvertKit.
This is what the fact sheets contain — draw your own conclusions about which feature mix matches your workflow.
Friction to Know About
Both platforms have third-party review data, used here only as a heads-up on reported friction points — not as ratings or verdicts.
ConvertKit: Some users report friction with customer support, price/value, ease of use, features and functionality, and invoicing and payments. The ease-of-use note is worth flagging if you’re newer to email marketing tooling.
AWeber: Some users report friction with ease of use, invoicing and payments, and the mobile app. If you rely heavily on managing campaigns from your phone, the mobile app friction signal is worth probing in a trial.
Choose ConvertKit If…
- You want a free plan to start before committing to a paid tier.
- Your business model centers on paid newsletters, newsletter sponsorships, or recurring subscription income — features explicitly captured in ConvertKit’s toolkit.
- You’re a course creator or newsletter creator (both named in ConvertKit’s positioning) and want tools built around that identity.
- You prefer flat monthly billing with no annual lock-in at the entry level.
Choose AWeber If…
- You run a small business and want an email platform positioned explicitly for that audience.
- An AI Writing Assistant built into the email-creation flow is a priority for you.
- You want web push notifications or a Link in Bio page alongside your email campaigns.
- Etsy shops or ecommerce transaction processing is part of your model.
- You’re comfortable with annual billing in exchange for a lower monthly rate at the 0–500 subscriber level.
Neither platform is a lock — both publish transparent pricing and both offer migration help, so switching costs are lower than they used to be. The right pick comes down to whether you’re building a creator-monetization model (paid newsletters, sponsorships, subscriptions) or a more traditional small-business email funnel. Let that answer guide you.